Friday Obsessions: New T-shirt, Avengers Menorah, and Reading! Lots of Reading!

Sometimes the week flies by so fast that I swear I won't have anything I've been obsessing over to share with you on Friday. And then...whaddaya know? So, here it is -


Everything I was obsessed with this week.
Because I know you want to know.

1. My new t-shirt.

Okay. So being a Jew and whatnot, I'm not exactly accustomed to giving and receiving Christmas gifts. But when Gina started talking about the epic package she was going to send me for Christmas, well, I got pretty stoked. She's so thoughtful that I knew it'd be something sweet.

You guys? I totally underestimated her. Check out the t-shirt G sent me.



Confused? There are no inside jokes here. Click over to this post where I explain it all.

Bahahahaha are you laughing yet? Because I did for a good twenty minutes. And then I wore the shirt to work the next day. And I'll probably wear it again this weekend.

2. The Avengers Menorah.

I want my kids to be psyched about Chanukah. So when I hauled out the Chanukah box and realized that our kid menorahs are a little....well, not lame, I wouldn't say, but cutesey-boring maybe?....I asked the boys what kind of menorah they wanted this year. I figured I'd Google it, order one, and we'd have a great holiday.

They told me they wanted an Avengers menorah.

But Avengers menorahs do not exist....

until now.

Behold, my craftiest craftiness of the year. I stole some of their toys, and a block of wood, some hardware nuts, spray paint, and a s*%t ton of epoxy, and we've got ourselves one of our very own.  Yeah, I was totally obsessed with getting this done. So. Worth it.

3. Reading. So so much reading.

Guess what I finally got on my Kindle just about an hour ago?


The Official First Draft of ONE!
*confetti*

Since it's hanging out in Chessie and Maggie's inboxes right now, and there's not much for me to do on it until they start sending me bits of feedback....

I get to read. A lot.
It feels luxurious.

Check out my TBR pile:

Not to mention, I get to start critiquing a second project for Chessie! I am seriously over-the-moon-obsessed.


Oh! And Prince Charming. But that's a given. Here's a picture anyway. (You're welcome.)



Your turn, loves! What were YOU obsessed with this week?

Friday Obsessions: David/Mary Margaret, the Breaking Dawn Soundtrack, and Chanukah!

(Before we begin: a Special "Hiiiiii!" and hugs to my new followers! You are amazing. Yep! YOU.)


Everything I was obsessed with this week. 
Because I know you want to know.

1. David and Mary Margaret from "Once Upon a Time." Don't groan. If you follow this blog, you're gonna hear about these two in more than one Friday Obsessions post. Just go with it. Let the awesomeness sweep over you.

I've decided that in an alternate universe David/Prince Charming is my boyfriend and Mary Margaret/Snow White is my bestie. (Yes, I know it might get complicated. That's okay.) He's so gorgeous! (Watch his lips move. Juuuust watch 'em.) She's so adorably pretty! He's so heroic! She's the best friend a girl could ask for! What's not to love?

Watch this scene and just try to tell me, in all seriousness, that your heart doesn't break. JUST TRY.


2. The Breaking Dawn Soundtrack. Don't hate. (And CPs, prepare yourselves, you're all getting a burned copy for Christmas. I'm an evangelist. Love me or leave me.)

Oh! You want my favorite tracks? I thought you'd never ask.
Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years" (makes me think of my mains from THE TRAVELERS, tears my heart out every time.)
Cider Sky's "Northern Lights" (makes me think of the happy times for my MCs in ONE - noticing a pattern here?)
Iron & Wine's "Flightless Bird, American Mouth - Wedding Version" (Guh. Gorgeousness.)

3. Chanukah. 
I'm normally opposed to getting too psyched for Chanukah before, well, Chanukah.
Here's why. Not only is Chanukah eight nights long, but we do pretty much the exact same thing every night. (Light the candles, sing the songs, fumble to pry chocolate coins out of their foil wrappers before the children eat us instead.) So, my fear is that the kids will get all blase about Chanukah by, like, night five, and by the end of it, they'll just kind of lay on the carpet, stare at the menorah, and say, "Oh, that again?"  (Remember, my kids are only 4, 3, and 18 months, so I don't have decades of experience here.)

In past years, I haven't hauled The Chanukah Box out of storage until the day of candlelighting #1. But this Wednesday (T-13 days till Chanukah) my doula called looking for some dreidels for a Boy Scout thing, and I was set to facilitate a Chanukah prep program for area interfaith families that required I bring my own menorah, so I had to crack The Box open way early.

Of course the kids hover over any box to come out of storage, sweet little vultures that they are. Their chubby hands hauled out the glittered Jewish-star garland from preschool last year, dreidels in all shapes and sizes, our copy of "A Rugrats Chanukah," every Chanukah toy on the face of the planet, and all ten million of our Chanukah books, along with copious amount of wintertide cheer. As I watched my them spend hours (seriously! hours!) stuffing candles in  the plush menorah and flipping wooden latkes, and then poring over THE RUNAWAY DREIDEL and CHANUKAH BUGS, my heart grew three sizes and I let them keep all the stuff out for a few days.

And of course, now I'm kind of obsessed with Chanukah too. Two weeks too early. Oh well.

Here's a shot from last year at our house, in case you want to catch the Chanukah warm-fuzzies too.



Okay, my dears, it's your turn. What were you obsessed with this week?

Friday Obsessions and Guest Vlogging at Gina's!

A couple of housekeeping notes AWESOME ANNOUNCEMENTS before we start with the obsessing:

1. I'm doing my first guest vlog ever about my history of literary crushes over at Gina's blog this morning! Please come visit and assure me that I don't sound like a man. Or a complete tool.

2. I'll be announcing the winner of the Lauren Myracle's SHINE giveaway on Monday (which means there's still time for you to enter!!!) and simultaneously kicking off my Classy Author Giveaway series. Get excited for this one, guys...

Okay. And now...


Everything I was obsessed with this week.
 Because I know you want to know.

1. Once Upon A Time.  I blogged about the preview to this months back, and this show does not disappoint. It's beautiful. And incredible. But if I'm being honest, my real obsession is with Prince Charming:

If you watched the first episode, you know he's not only devastatingly handsome, but also totally kickass. He took down, like, five guys with a sword. With one hand. WHILE HOLDING A BABY IN THE OTHER HAND. 

Yes, it's true. I can't find the video clip because I think ABC is, like, patrolling YouTube for it or something, but if any of you has it, please please post the link so that everyone can enjoy. *grin*

2. Sweaters. And tea. And heavy blankets. It's that time of year and there's nothing more I want to do than hibernate and not come out till spring snuggle on the couch with the fam and a book.

3. Sushi. Maybe it's Halloween and all the candy that's been around, or maybe it's that I've been obsessed with tater tots and other fried, quasi-fried, and high-fat foods over the past few months. But suddenly all I want is sushi, in all its cold, whole-food, fresh gloriousness. (Yes, I got some on Wednesday. Yes, it was delicious.)

Your turn! What were your obsessions this week?