Favorite Experiences of 2022!

Hi friends! Thanks for stopping by—I’m so glad you’re here! 😁

I eventually want to do the usual round-up of favorite purchases of 2022, but I’ve felt a pull to explore some other favorites first—favorite experiences! I had no idea when I managed to go to that random AAA baseball game by myself in 2021 that it would lead to so many cool things in 2022. Who knew I was capable of all this? 😁

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Considering how strong the grip of anxiety and fear can be, I still can hardly believe I actually did these things! Including…

• Becoming a cat mom!

• Meeting two of my fave General Hospital actresses!

• Meeting my favorite baseball player! (A wild experience that I will maybe elaborate on someday, who knows, LOL. 🙈)

• Asking my dad’s favorite baseball player (and his now-wife) a question on IG Live!

• Going to four MLB games in multiple states!

• Going to the botanical garden six times just because I’m a member and it brings me great joy!

There’s a lot of baseball in there (thank you, Pops!), but that darn sport really gave my perfectionist self some interesting perspective. As they say in this video, “Fail 7 out of 10 times and you’re going to Cooperstown” [the Baseball Hall of Fame]. Like, WHAT?! The thought of failing that much makes me want to throw up… and yet, in baseball, failure is just part of the deal. The emphasis is more so on accepting that things will be rough at times and moving on/staying positive when that inevitably happens.

What a concept!!

I’ve always been so so terrified to try things because, what if I fail, screw up, look stupid, regret it, etc. etc.? But this past year, I started to feel more pangs of regret around not trying things. (“Better scared than never”…?) Why not try and just see what happens?

Like, maybe, a very interesting 2022 full of aliveness. 🫶✨

What put the sparkle in your 2022? ✨ 

Happy Friday! xoxo

Linking up with Andrea and Erika over at Friday Favorites!

High Five for Friday: December 30

Hi friends! Thanks for stopping by—I’m so glad you’re here! 😁

I’ve been off for the past two weeks and living it up (well, introvert style 😂)! Unfortunately, I now seem to have a cold, so I’m not feeling (or sounding) so hot, but I didn’t want Christmas to totally fly by, so here are a few snapshots of things that brought the holiday sparkle!

(Not including the “same day delivery” humidifier that I ordered at 3:30 AM yesterday. 👍)

• Let’s start with the most amazing Christmas gift I could ever hope to receive, courtesy of my bffl. WHAT. A MASTERPIECE. I am just this person now! 😂 In all seriousness, I really like clothes, jewelry, etc. that feel emotionally comforting, so this is, like, beyond my wildest dreams of what could be accomplished on that front. 😭💖

IT YOU!

• I was pretty uninspired with gift-buying this year, but these two eBay items were by far my best finds:

For Timmi, who has picked up “Timbits” as one of many ridiculous nicknames. 😂🫶

For my dad, who lamented his inability to go to CT Bobblehead Night pretty much all season. 😂 I don’t think it would even occur to him to get sports memorabilia on eBay!

• I also managed to make a trip to the Christmas Conservatory before it got too crazy!

The purple section was obv my fave.

There were a million varieties of poinsettias, of course…

but there were also these Malibu Barbie cyclamen, which is, ah, a choice at Christmastime—but one that I can fully support! 💖💜

I can’t believe 2022 is over tomorrow. As much as it held some really hard moments, it had a lot of good ones too. I’ve become more able to do what I want, even if I have to do it alone, even if it “scares” me. I want to bring this sudden emergence of “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” energy into 2023 because it really made me feel alive in 2022. 🙌

What are you hoping to leave behind in 2022 or take with you into 2023? ✨ 

Happy Friday! xoxo

Linking up with Andrea and Erika over at Friday Favorites!

High Five for Friday: December 16

Hi friends! Thanks for stopping by—I’m so glad you’re here! 😁

Starting out leaving this link here, in light of tWitch’s suicide (Pops and I used to watch DWTS and loved Allison and tWitch together ❤️):

988 - the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the US

Talking about my suicidal thoughts has saved and continues to save my life, whether with Kristin and the suicide hotline back in the day, or now, in therapy. I always thought the “goal” (lol) was to never have a suicidal thought again, but that’s not realistic. It’s more so learning (over and over again…) to recognize the thoughts for what they are—fleeting, changeable, and untrue. 

…And also learning that the antidote to these feelings is connection, not isolation. No matter what your brain is telling you, you are not a burden. (I say that as someone who struggles to internalize all of this as well!) You are loved. 💖💖

Well, there is no way to transition from that, so just TGIF and here are some sparkly snapshots from the week:

• I feel like I’ve just been soaking in the Christmas spirit, honestly. Pretty lights, Hallmark movies, and a cat ready to be wrapped! 😂 Though time has seemingly gone into warp speed since Thanksgiving, I’m glad I’ve been able to slow down a bit this week and actually enjoy the season. 

A random Marshall’s find that pairs well with my Christmas donut blanket! 😂

Working in a winter wonderland!

Just watching An Unexpected Christmas on repeat…

PETS PLS

• I got really cute stickers for my Christmas cards, and now that they’ve been sent, I’m using up the stickers that I would never ever send to anyone in my planner. Such as:

In flu season/covid times?! No, thank you!! 🙅🏼‍♀️🚫❌

• Lastly, a splash of Barbiecore for a dentist appointment on an incredibly dreary day:

Hope y’all are doing all right out there. 💖🫶 What put the sparkle in your week? ✨ 

Happy Friday! xoxo

Linking up with Andrea and Erika over at Friday Favorites!

High Five for Friday: December 9

Hi friends! Thanks for stopping by—I’m so glad you’re here! 😁

I am also so glad it’s the weekend—I’m exhausted this week, for no apparent reason. And I still have Christmas shopping to do. 😩 Well, here’s what brought the sparkle this week:

(FYI: I make a small commission for purchases or clicks made through links in this post.)

• A treat yo self face mask on Saturday night, something I hadn’t done in forever. I had low expectations for this Elf Cookies ‘n Dreams mask (other than it smelling good), but my skin did actually feel quite soft afterward!

• This incredibly soft, snuggly hoodie! Always here for the Y2K aesthetic, apparently. 😂

• I had to laugh when I woke up to this sight on Sunday morning:

Happy to report this update! (And that Pops has gotten a new stand that actually fits such a small tree LOL.)

• The forever vibe: crystals and reminders to calm the eff down. 😂

Got this sticker recently and it’s been a great addition to my work desk!

• Lastly, some Pudge cuteness, like when she reluctantly tolerated joined me for some stretches!

…even though she’s more of a savasana gal. 🥰🥰

What put the sparkle in your week? ✨ 

Happy Friday! xoxo

Linking up with Andrea and Erika over at Friday Favorites!

High Five for Friday: December 2

Hi friends! Thanks for stopping by—I’m so glad you’re here! 😁

Where did this week go?! Things were, ah, a bit less exciting than last week 😂 but here’s what brought the sparkle:

• The obligatory “I made an effort” Thanksgiving selfie. I’m not sure why the lighting in our kitchen is always spectacular on Thanksgiving, but I ain’t mad at it! 

• Okay, what did you guys get on Black Friday? The most exciting things I got were some of my favorite, super comfy bras and this $20 shoe rack from Amazon, which makes our entryway look 200x better already!

• We haven’t quite figured out what we’re doing re: a Christmas tree this year (our first cat Christmas!), but Pops and I did manage to pack up fall and get the house decked out for Christmas! I love working from home in a winter wonderland! 🎄

Love having this gal out again!

• I made Pops’ dreams come true when I had him watch his favorite baseball player (Chris Taylor) do an Instagram Live, haha! I’m usually just annoyed when I get dings from people going on Instagram Live, and I can’t tell you the last one I actually watched, but it was adorable seeing Pops so excited. He kept saying, “This is so cool!!!” 😁 I don’t know what came over me, but I submitted two questions, and CT and his fiancee actually answered them! Which had Pops and me both freaking out! 😂😂 I don’t know when I became a “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” person, but it is really adding some spice to my life! 💃🏼🔥😂

• Lastly, I usually start writing these posts on Wednesday night, but Pudge had other plans—she came looking for me while I was putting away clothes and wanted to snuggle in my room (which never happens), so we watched Christmas movies in bed instead! 🫶🥹

Paul Campbell is officially my favorite Hallmark actor because I was willing to try a 2013 movie of his that I thought was called WIDOW Wonderland. It was, in fact, Window Wonderland, about department store window-dressers. 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

What put the sparkle in your week? ✨ 

Happy Friday! xoxo

Linking up with Andrea and Erika over at Friday Favorites!