Week/End

weekend

SALES AND STEALS: The great sales have continued this week! As a heads up, these over-the-knee boots I’ve mentioned previously (and ended up getting for myself) are now 40% off — I highly recommend them (I’d also recommend ordering a half size up). Anthro just put all their sweaters on sale (25% off!) — I like this simple gray sweater that’s now marked down to $60 and this gorgeous cardigan. And Banana Republic is still offering 40% off everything this weekend with code BRSANTA, a perfect chance to check out their new styles, if you haven’t already (I’m telling you, the outerwear and sweaters this year are SO good).

POSITIVE THINKING DOESN’T WORK: I’ll probably write a Real Life post about this at some point, but I’ve long suspected that our cultural admonishments to just “be positive” and “think happy” don’t really do anything except stress people out about feeling otherwise (which, hello, is normal). In any case, one NYU researcher recently discussed another method of thinking that studies show CAN affect change in your life.

BEST COOKIES MADE BETTER: Joe’s favorite cookie is oatmeal chocolate chip, and I tend to only make ’em around the holiday (see: two sticks of butter per batch). Tiffany found a way to make these even better, with the addition of big flecks of sea salt. Yum.

DIY FOOD GIFTS: Joy put together a compilation of great ideas for food gifts. Check these out if you’re wanting to make homemade gifts for people this season — these goodies go way beyond packaged cookies or other sweets!

GET (FINANCIALLY) HEALTHY: Even in my 30s, sometimes I still worry about making sure I’m managing finances well and have a true handle on what’s happening in my money life. This article had a lot of good reminders. Long story short, I went grocery shopping after reading and bypassed Seamless for the night…

ON YOUTUBE STARS: “Stardom used to be predicated on a mystique derived from scarcity; you don’t really know much about George Clooney. Now it’s predicated on a familiarity derived from ubiquity.” A really interesting piece from The New Yorker about the changing landscape of YouTube, Vine and how young people get their entertainment (especially timely if any of you watched South Park the last two weeks).

THE NEW SCARCITY: And in somewhat related news, a couple people shared this article on Facebook: “In the Future, Our Attention Will Be Sold.” I’m planning on diving in while traveling this weekend, even though it’s only a 15 minute read or so. Clearly, my mind has been on this this week, hasn’t it?

THE ULTIMATE PARIS GUIDE: Forget Ladurée and the Champs Élysées. One of my old French instructors shared this roundup of off-the-beaten path places to visit while in Paris, and there are a bunch I’m adding to my list. If you’re going to Paris any time soon, bookmark this!

GET CRAFTY: Gaby has shared two great DIY ornament tutorials – Glitter Dust Filled Ornaments, and Clay Christmas Ornaments (that look like little cookies!). These would be fun to do with friends (or your family!) as we lead up to the big holiday!

Happy Friday! I wanted to say thanks to everyone who commented on my Real Life post earlier this week. I read every one of your stories, and y’all, I feel you. While I think participating in our culture’s new media can be fun and really inspiring, I also love taking a step back with everyone and discussing how it’s actually affecting us, like, on a personal level. It’s interesting, and I think a very good thing to maintain some perspective. So thanks for being part of that discussion.

What’s everyone up to this weekend? I’m off to Texas later today to spend an extra long weekend with family and celebrate Christmas a little early. My cousin is graduating from college, so we’ll be celebrating that tomorrow, then heading to Houston for a few days for holiday schtuff. It’s the first time I’ve visited my grandmother in Houston in a couple years, and I’m pretty excited about it (I get to visit both my mom’s home in Austin AND my grandmother in Houston this trip, which is special!). We always end up doing antique and home decor shopping; I can’t wait to see what treasures we discover…

Hope everyone has a fab weekend!

 

Image: Death to the Stock Photo, with handwriting added by Victoria McGinley

10 Comments

  1. 12.12.14

    Looking forward to that Real Life post on new ways of thinking. My boyfriend and I assessed our spending habits recently and I nearly fell over from how much money we spending eating out. That is our #1 downfall. That’s not to say that we don’t save anything, but we could be saving a whole lot more! I’m looking forward to finding other ways we can cut back (hello, iTunes purchases) and go into the New Year with the mindset of not needing all of those extras. After reading this article, I think it’s time to cut back on the magazine subscriptions that I can’t seem to find time to read. Have a great weekend with your family!

  2. 12.12.14

    This is a totally random question, but can I ask where you usually order from when you do order Seamless? I always seem to wind up ordering Chinese, pizza, or sushi, but if you have any great places that you order from I would be so interested in knowing! Especially since I know you eat healthier than I do and I would love some healthy takeout options in the area. Hope you have a great weekend with your family!

    • 12.15.14

      Depends what we’re in the mood for!

      Mediterranean: if we want inexpensive and really easy, Mamagyro (it’s decent). Fancier, we order from Persepolis or A La Turka (the former is not on Seamless, we call)

      Sushi: Fatty Fish

      Thai: Up Thai

      Sandwiches: Lenny’s

      Salads: Chopt

      Vietnamese: Vietnaam (have to call, but their pho is really good!)

      Honestly, it’s difficult to find really healthful, organic food on Seamless!

      • 12.16.14

        Thanks Victoria! I’m definitely going to branch out and give some of these a try :)

  3. 12.12.14
    Lisa said:

    Have a wonderful weekend lady! Your content this week was so good and really got me thinking!
    In Dramatic Fashion

  4. 12.12.14

    Thanks for sharing the recipe! Let me know if you make them for Joe! Have fun in TX!

  5. 12.12.14
    Rose said:

    I love that article on getting financially healthy—I stumbled across her blog recently and read the entire. thing. My #1 goal for 2015 is to get my financial sh*t together!

  6. 12.12.14

    It’s interesting to see how much this internet culture has, and is, influencing us. And, I can’t help wondering if it’s for better of for worse. Also, I definitely agree that sometimes positivity can give us a feeling of over-accomplishment and often leads to too high expectations, and consequent dissapointment. It’s something I recently discussed on my blog as well.

  7. 12.13.14
    nunu said:

    very nice post!
    If you want come to visit the new post on my fashion blog, here: http://honeyandcotton.org/random-photo-instagram/
    Kiss from Italy.
    Nunù.

  8. 12.15.14
    Gaby said:

    Thank you so much for including me Victoria!! Truly truly honoured :)

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