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Friday Favorites: Countdown to Thanksgiving

houston golden retrievers

Happy Friday, friends. What a good week it’s been! I’m sitting here writing this – and I’m kind of shocked at how it’s almost Thanksgiving. I feel like November has just flown by. In the back of my head, I’m mentally building a list of allllll the things that I need to do to for the holidays (and trying not to panic). But you know what, I’m determined to not just plow my way through to the end of the year, I really want to be intentional with how I spend my time. So this morning, I’m putting all of my to-do’s down on a handwritten list to minimize some of the chaos!

I’ve also got (you guessed it) several projects that I’m trying to knock out before Thanksgiving. The odds were in my favor this week, and a project that head a deadline the week after Thanksgiving, got pushed back to January. That’s a much needed respite. I’m expecting to be hitting the ground running (hard) until the end of March. We’ve got a massive 80th Anniversary celebration underway with a long list of items that need to happen to get that little item checked off the list.

Pool decor

With pool season officially over – we aren’t going to cover it because we need to be able to treat and clean it easily. But, we are making it festive. A friend sent us these very neat pool lights. They are floating balls that you can control with a remote. There are something like 14 different colors, and I’ve been loving them this week. I think these are the ones.

Puppy love

houston golden retrievers

The Spuds have taken their energy up a notch this week. I don’t know if it’s the cooler weather or what, but they have been keeping us on our toes. I’ve been taking them for a longer walk in the morning – one at a time, so I have a chance to work with them separately. And we take them on another long walk in the evening. They work with me during the day, and they loooooove to follow me around in the evening no matter what I’m doing. I sure do love them!

Molton Brown

molton brown shampoo

Surely I’ve talked about my love for Molton Brown on here before. When we made the trip to Sea Island, they had Molton Brown products in our hotel room, and Aaron and I fell in love. Their products smell delicious, but they make your entire shower/bath experience so luxurious. My number one favorite product is their shampoo. It makes my hair feel so clean, and my new bottle arrived in the mail this week. I’m not super boujee about a lot of things, but this shampoo is one of my most favorite guilty pleasures.

Matcha Moments

matcha

I’ve been enjoying a nice cup of matcha tea in the afternoons every day this week. It’s been one of those weeks where I’ve been at my desk early – and I’ve stayed there late. Instead of doing an afternoon cup of coffee, I’ve been drinking some matcha. It’s so delicious, and I’m going to need to order some more.

Special delivery

houston golden retrievers

If you remember, I had a photographer take some professional images of our dogs. I’m putting up a gallery wall in our living room, and I was absolutely thrilled with how the images turned out. I’m so glad I decided to do this because I know I will cherish these images forever. Our photographer sent me this custom notepad in the mail this week, and I absolutely love it. (and yes, I need to get my nails done before Thanksgiving).

Chili

instant pot chili

It got cold Thursday evening, which meant it was the perfect night to have some chili for dinner. When I make my Instant Pot chili, it always makes a large amount. So, whatever we don’t eat the first night, I freeze. I just pop it out of my freezer, defrost – and you have a delicious meal ready without having to get a single pot dirty. I might make a fresh batch this weekend.

Teams-giving

Thanksgiving

I saved the best for last. If I had to rank my favorites, this would top the list. I work very closely with a very special team within my Division. These ladies plan allllllll of the events for our organization – and they kill it. I had the pleasure of attending their Thanksgiving pot luck on Thursday. And I cannot express how nice it was to see them in person. We’ve spent all this time staring at each other over Zoom – and to see each other in real life was just the best thing ever. It made my heart so happy. While I’ve adjusted to working from home, and I see the benefits for the most part, nothing beats catching up with one another in person.

This weekend I need to check some holiday to-dos off my list. I have a hair appointment with Rocco on Saturday morning. He’s going to refresh my color – and fix my hair (she’s super long, ya’ll). I need to finish organizing my house, and I really need to figure out what I can bring to Thanksgiving. But, I’m closing out this week with a full heart, and I’m so looking forward to Thanksgiving next week. A year ago, I think many of us were so uncertain about what our “new normal” might look like. And, while things are still different than they were pre-pandemic, I’m feeling optimistic that 2021 is going to end on a strong note.

Happy Friday, Friends!

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