Happy Weekend

Hey everybody! I hope you had a wonderful week full of the hectic rush that seems to happen the week before Christmas. Obviously this week was a big one for me (read more here) and I’m beyond thankful to be starting my holiday break tomorrow. I have a holiday post that will go up next week, but the rest of the week will be covered by some incredible guest bloggers from all across the world wide web! I am so excited to share them with you. I know you will love them!

I should note that we are still struggling over here with the horrible events that happened one week ago in Connecticut. I still can’t wrap my head around it and I’m not sure I ever will (or ever want to). Taking Lucy to school this week was really hard. The more we find out about those beautiful little children that were lost, the more I find myself swallowed by dispair. One even shared a birthday with Lulu. Oy, my heart. (This post by Rebecca fully illustrates what I can’t articulate here…) I hope you all are treating yourselves and your loved ones with care, turning off the news when it becomes overwhelming, and making sure everyone around you is feeling secure. That has been my goal this week. If you want or feel the need to do something (anything?) for the people in Sandy Hook, here is a great idea. Before we move on, I wanted to share these two tributes, one by the cast of SNL and one by the cast of The Voice. They really moved me and sometimes, for me at least, a few tears is a cathartic thing.

Now, here are some links that I hope will make you smile today and for the rest of the holiday break! The world, and the Internet, can be a really good place.

A video of a soldier’s homecoming in my hometown. (via Nicole)

26 moments that will restore your faith in humanity.

A new whiskey drink is always a good idea.

I made these snickerdoodles with Lane last week and only burned one batch. Yay me! (But for reals, they are super delicious.)

If your friends can make it to your party, take the party to them!

Kelly Musgraves is the artist who did the amazing illustration of my family that we used in our holiday card, and it turns out her whole family is talented! Her sister Kacey is an up and coming country star. And you all know I’m not a country fan, but I am making an exception for Kacey. So good! (She’s on the show Nashville in the next few weeks, yay!)

Paper boats, lit up with colored lights, floating down a river…magic.