November Favorites

November has been a whirlwind of a month for me, and December is no doubt going to be even crazier. I have some exciting news that I’ll be sharing in Friday’s post, so make sure to check back for a life update!

As for now, feel free to scroll through some of the randomness I’ve been especially enjoying over the past month.

November Favorites

Keeping Lists of Gift Ideas – This is something I started at least three years ago to help me keep track of what my family had on their wish lists. I can’t recommend this system enough, because I think we all have that one person who’s impossible to buy for. It really pays off to be listening year-round for little things they want or are interested in—even just general themes that could give you some direction. If you struggle with thinking of gift ideas, whether last minute or planned ahead, I recommend making a little list on your phone’s notepad (like I do) or somewhere else you always have access to. It saves a lot of time and energy! (And surprises people when you remembered something they said they wanted six months ago because you’re thoughtful AF.)

Obsessing over My Calendar – This is one of the busiest end-of-the-year periods I’ve ever had. It’s a good thing, but it’s also a bit overwhelming. Since a lot is happening every single week, I check my color-coded Google Calendar multiple times per day and just…stare; soak it all in. As weird as it sounds, studying my calendar all the time makes me really happy, because it makes the chaos less overwhelming and more-so exciting.

Book Shopping Online – “Always be working on a book to read” was one of my Goals for 2018, and as I’ve somehow kept up with that, I’ve discovered a simple pleasure: hoarding books…err…adding to my book collection. Once I found the genres I truly enjoy, it’s become a lot easier to find more books I’m interested in. I tend to go on Amazon Prime and just browse around for what to read next. Always having one book on deck for when I finish the current one has been motivating me to keep reading a priority. Plus, it’s like a monthly present to myself that feels earned and rewarding.

So American by Portugal. The Man – Inspired by their extremely popular “Feel It Still” song, I started exploring albums from Portugal. The Man. This is one of the few songs I’ve had on my “Currently Loving” playlist (that I constantly update based on new song discoveries and one’s I’m sick of) that I’m always in the mood to listen to.

Amazon Lists – In my December 2017 Favorites, I shared how excited I was to discover Amazon Households. Well this year I have a new appreciation for the ‘zon: Wish Lists. At first I just had a list of items that I wanted but wasn’t sure if I was ready to buy them yet, and now I have about five different lists (one of which is a Books to Buy list). It works really well if you’re planning gift ideas for others too (see, this post is going full circle). Another perk? If you have the Amazon app, you can get notifications for when items on your lists are on sale. It’s dangerous but convenient.

Freezing Milk – Do you ever buy a gallon of milk just to realize you’re not going to finish it before it expires or you go on a trip? This doesn’t happen to us too often, but when it happened a couple times in a row recently, I remembered I saw somewhere that you can easily freeze milk to preserve freshness longer (which I was worried would affect the taste; spoiler: it doesn’t). It comes in handy to put a portion of the jug into another container to freeze for later. I believe the rule of thumb is, however many days are left before it expires when you freeze it, that’s about how many days you have left when you thaw it out.

Soulfight by The Revivalists – I haven’t listened to The Revivalists much, but this is a song that stuck once I heard it. Something about it just makes me feel at-ease.

Splitting Up Together – I randomly started watching this show on Hulu because I enjoy Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson. Even though there are only about two seasons so far (if that?), I’m surprised how much I really like it. It’s a lighter comedy and has some funny one-liners and characters.