cool stuff i like

Happy Friday! Always at this time of year, we go on a major citrus bender. Oranges with every meal, marmalade on everything. We've emptied bowl after bowl. I've been buying clementines, but can anyone explain to me what exactly is the difference between those, and mandarins, and satsumas??? I got the Christmas tree down and had a big sadness about it. I really think Christmas should last for two months - the lead up to Christmas and the wind-down from Christmas. I've moved into Phase 2 of my winter decorating - the tree is down but now the snowflakes go up, along with another of my beloved IKEA star light strands. Those might have been one of my best purchases ever in my life. I loved my first one so much, I went and bought another one, a few years ago. Now currently I have one hanging in my kitchen, and another in my front living room. They are the BEST. Hanging lights everywhere is really the only thing that gets me through winter. If you have other fantastic hygge-inspired winter coping strategies, I'm all ears....in the meantime, here are some tips for hygge-ing your way into the new year!


First cool stuff list of 2017:

Gingerbread brownies. I can't wait to try these.

I LOVED THIS SHOW. I'm in. 

Did you know there was such a thing as a narwhal nightlight?

Put this up on Instagram - such a beauty of a book!

These treats would be so cute to do at a birthday party.

LOVED this house tour, and I got inspiration for my winter decorating - COLOR snowflakes instead of white!

Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake.

I posted this on Facebook but it bears repeating. Beautiful post about wishes for the new year.

You have to see this darling little dollhouse.


Cool Book of the Week: 'Circus Mirandus' by Cassie Beasley is a book that is on its way to me as we speak. I ordered it promptly after a dear friend wrote to me just to rave to me about it, and to make sure that I knew about it. My friend and I are both ardent lovers of 'The Night Circus' by Erin Morgenstern, and my pal said that this book here is sort of like 'The Night Circus' - the junior version. That right there was enough for me to hit 'order' on my Amazon cart! For kids aged 9-12, this one follows a boy named Micah, as he learns that the magical tales spun by his ailing grandfather about a mysterious circus are actually real. I can't WAIT.

Have a lovely weekend! It's been cold cold cold here -- but no snow. I'm so disappointed! It always seems to pass us by! Where we live in the Pacific Northwest, when it's cold enough to snow, it's always clear and dry, and then when we have some moisture moving in, it warms up too quickly for the precipitation to fall as snow. Le sigh. Stay cozy, wherever you are....

~Melissa