Hello and Happy Thursday! Today I’ve got 3 things that are connected because they all begin with the letter P.

1. Pocketbook. Can someone please (another p) tell me how to keep my pocketbook from constantly sliding off my shoulder? Seriously. It slips and drives me crazy. I know I could wear it cross-body style and I do sometimes but for quick in and out of the car stuff that’s just not practical. This is my bag and I love it but it slips. Maybe I just have super sloped shoulders? I don’t know but if you’ve got a hack to make it stay on there I’d love to hear about it.
2. Podcasts. I listen to podcasts every day and some of my favorites include Happier and Happier in Hollywood as well as The Daily and Up First. There’s a brand new one that I’m loving that I think you should check out. It’s called How To Be American and it’s recorded by the Tenement Museum – and you know how I love the Tenement Museum. It’s very enjoyable and has already given me a lot to think about. The only downside? The most recent episode was about pizza and now all I can think about is good New York style pizza and how I want some!
3. Postcrossing. I signed up for this on Kym’s recommendation and it’s super fun. I’ve sent out 8 postcards so far and they’ve all arrived except for one that’s been on it’s way to Russia for 37 days now. Ahhhh, the irony, it burns, yes? I’ve received 4 so far and they’ve each been unique and exciting, coming from the Netherlands, Germany, Canada and Hong Kong. If you haven’t tried this yet I really recommend giving it a go.

And there you have it. Three Things That Begin with P.

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Kym always says that flowers are magical and I couldn’t agree more. I mean, I mostly agree with everything Kym says anyway (do you read her blog? she’s so wise and wonderful), but on this one she is right times a million. Today I have 3 flower photos to show you and, with another nod to Kym, it’s all because of her. Well. Her and White Flower Farm.

I took this one on Monday after work:

I took this one on Tuesday after work:

And I took this one on Wednesday after work:

That’s Amaryllis Alfresco or, as I lovingly call her, Ally. Kym, along with some other enablers (I’m looking at YOU, Bonny) convinced me to buy three amaryllis bulbs from White Flower Farm. They were a bit more expensive than the ones at my grocery store but I knew, based on photos I’ve seen, that they would be worth it.

I also knew that I sort of kind of didn’t want them to bloom until after Christmas. There’s a lot going on in my house at Christmas when it comes to . . . stuff. There are twinkle lights and Swedish horses and lots of and lots of greenery. I felt like I wanted my amaryllis to really shine on their own and not be pushed to the side but all that’s Christmas here. So, on Kym’s advice, I left the box of amaryllis in my mudroom.

My thought was to have them bloom around Valentine’s Day. All the glamour and beauty of Christmas is long gone and some pretty blossoms would be super welcome. I think I finally brought them in around mid January.

I may have left them there too long.

I mean, obviously I did because they didn’t bloom by mid February. You know what, though? I’m good with it.

For one thing, I think we all know that amaryllis bloom on their schedule, not ours.

And for another, flowers right now? On the 21st anniversary of my mom’s death? The timing couldn’t be better.

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This morning I am boarding a train with Jo-Ann for New York City! We have lots of ideas of things we will do and see, places we will eat and drink and more but it’s all pretty fluid . . . except for . . . you know what’s coming . . . THREE things we are definitely planning to do.

 

1. Hamilton! Saturday night I will finally be in the room where it happened. To say I’m excited about this would be the understatement of, well, most of my life. I’ve been listening to the soundtrack to prepare myself and I’m not in the least bit worried that it won’t live up to the hype. I have had a fleeting thought along the lines of . . . what if I’m the ONLY person in the whole world who doesn’t love Hamilton . . . but I’m pretty confident that won’t be the case.
2. The View. I didn’t even know Jo-Ann requested tickets for us to be in the audience of the taping of The View for Friday morning but she did and we got the tickets. We debated this one, actually, wondering if it would take up too much time, but I think it’s a fun opportunity. I mean, I haven’t been in a live studio audience since . . . okay, since never. The closest I’ve come to a live studio audience is when my brother was on Boomtown back in the 1970s. So yeah. The View. We’re doing it.
3. Drybar. I’ve wanted to check out Drybar since the first time Liz mentioned it on the Happier in Hollywood podcast and I’m really looking forward to the experience. We have appointments for late Saturday afternoon so we’ll look all coiffed for Hamilton. I’m going back and forth between the Cosmo and the Cosmo-Tai. I’m truly open to suggestions from you all and my stylist at Drybar, too.

As I said, we have an entire list of other things like Katz’s Deli, The Tenement Museum, Radio City Music Hall and more but those three things are booked and we are committed. I’ll be back on Tuesday and if I need it ya’ll will send bail money, right?

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Is it just me or does it feel like January is dragggggging by? I mean, I’m not one to wish the time away and I appreciate every day but I can’t help but wonder why June feels like it lasts about 5 minutes and January goes on forever. Okay, I don’t actually wonder at all, I know it’s all about the weather.

Anyway.

How about some laughs this Thursday?

This one is funny:

This one is timely:

And this one is 100% accurate:

It’s still cold but at least I’m laughing and I hope you are, too.

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Sometimes these Thursday posts are tricky. You know, coming up with three things that sort of go together. Not that I always do that but it’s worth mentioning that it’s generally the goal. This week I have three things that are pretty unrelated except that they are all sort of . . . life hacks. In other words, they are three things I’m currently doing to make my life easier/better/more productive.

1. Set some short term seasonal goals. You know Dale and I made a big splashy 19 in 2019 List. I thought about doing one for myself, too, but I had a hard time coming up with things that I knew would carry me through the entire year. Instead, I came up with things I want to do in January/February/March. Things like schedule my annual physical, clean out a couple of cabinets and my closet, and choose new bedding. I’ve got them listed in my journal to remind me to spend some free time each week on this stuff and when April arrives I’ll be ready for new things.
2. Delaying the purchase of things on Amazon. I might be a little hooked on the evil giant that is Amazon. It’s just so easy to buy something instantly and have it 2 days if I order it in the next 3 hours and 42 minutes. Ya know? Sometimes it’s stuff I actually need but sometimes it’s impulse purchases that I could do without. So, what I’ve started doing is putting anything I want to purchase in my cart and then walking away. At the end of the week I take another look at that cart and evaluate what’s there. One question I ask myself is – can you remember what you put in your cart? If I can’t remember something it automatically gets removed. If I can remember and if I still feel like it’s important to purchase then I’ll probably go ahead and click that purchase button.
3. Stand Up! This is an app that I recently put on my iPhone. It’s used to set a reminder to get up and walk around. I have a very sedentary job and it’s easy for me to get so involved in whatever I’m working on that I’ll just sit for 2 hours or more without getting up. When I sit that long my knees get stiff and it’s just not good anyway. I’ve currently got the app set to remind me every 50 minutes to Stand Up! and walk around. I do a loop through the library, including going up the stairs, and I’m finding it’s good not only for my body but for my head.

Those are my 2019 life hacks! I hope there’s something useful in there for you or that perhaps they sparked an idea for something you can try to make your life better, too.

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