Let’s Play Oprah! (November Edition)

Last month we started a new series here on the blog, called “Let’s Play Oprah”, where we share with each other our top 3 “Favorite Things” at the moment, and then at the end of each month I give away one of those very things.

To you guys!

Because blogging is fun, and I can!

The whole thing turned out to be so fun that it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite series here on the blog. I loved hearing all of your favorite things, I loved drawing the winners on FB live, and I especially loved packaging up the prizes, writing a little note, and sending real mail to a new friend. (By the way, congratulations to Caroline TeSelle and Amber Kanallakan who both won the October prizes!)

There’s something so enchanting about receiving mail that isn’t bills, isn’t there?

There’s nothing better than sifting through a boring old pile of utility bills and Cabela’s catalogues and finding a package with your name handwritten across the front.

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I couldn’t help but notice a running theme in all of your responses last month:

1. That I really need to watch Gilmore Girls or just give up on being a human person.
2. Apparently LuLaRoe is a thing that I need to know about?
3. We all have strong and varying opinions on which mascara and Netflix series are best.
4. But we can all agree that This Is Us is definitely the new Parenthood.

You should know that I really do have deep shame about the fact that I’ve never watched a single episode of Gilmore Girls. You should also know that I had every intention of watching it this month, but while I was in North Carolina last week Husband got himself sucked into a new show called Arrow, which we discovered is cross-mojonized with another show we recently started watching with the kids called The Flash, and well, he got so uncharacteristically excited while he tried to fill me in on all the plot-lines I’d missed that it sort of sucked me in too. Sorry, Lorelai. I will come for you. Just not until I’m finished with the Arrow. You understand. (Btw, is Lorelai the daughter or the mother? I feel like I should know this.)

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But I digress.

Back to our Favorite Things.

Here are 3 things that you need to know about right this very instant:

JOHNNYSWIM. You might recognize their song “Home” from the intro to a little show called “Fixer Upper”. (Related: If you haven’t watched Fixer Upper then you and I are at a very high risk of breaking up. This is more important than Gilmore Girls. This is more important than Scandal. This is not a drill. GO WATCH FIXER UPPER.) Anyway, these Indie darlings are a husband and wife duo who’s music is a little folk, a little rock, a little blues, and a lot of perfection. 
I can’t even with these two. Their voices are so smokey and rich, their faces are so attractive, and their whole vibe is so brilliant it’s almost like looking directly into the sun. I want them to adopt me and raise me as their own. I want to live in their house and eat dinner with them and have them sing me to sleep every night. Their new album, Georgica Pond has been on a repeating loop at my house since I discovered it last month. Two of my favorite tracks are “Annie” and “Live While We’re Younger”, and their cover of “Wicked Game” will make you feel things. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Also, BONUS! They have a killer holiday album. Get you some.

THE PERFECT JOGGER. Now, I don’t mean to brag or anything, but I do wear a lot of stretchy pants, so I’m basically an expert in this arena. I don’t care where you fall in the do-leggings-count-as-pants debate, because it doesn’t even matter anymore. There is a whole new stretchy pant stealing the show, guys. Enter THE JOGGER. (I like to say it with a soft J, like Ron Burgundy would, but that’s just me.) You can throw them on with a pair of Nike’s, a cute T-shirt, and go about your regular life in supreme comfort, while the whole world assumes you are Sporty Spice when really you’re just in a phase of severe zipper intolerance. All you have to do is pull them 1/3 of the way up your calves and it takes your whole vibe from “I’m slouchy” to “I’m effortlessly cool”. Magic. My favorite pair for the price right now is THIS PAIR from H&M:

ONE LINE A DAY (5 YEAR MEMORY BOOK). If the idea of “journaling” is oppressive or overwhelming to you, then you should know that this little memory book is the opposite of all that. There’s only enough space on each page for a couple of sentences each day, but the beauty of it is that it holds 5 years worth of memories. So for instance, when I write down my one memory from today, I can glance up on the page and see exactly what mattered to me on this same day five years ago. As someone who tends to throw words around like confetti at a parade, I happen to love the aspect of brevity. It forces me to focus on one main thing I want to remember about each day. I mean, how else would I remember that 3 years ago on March 8th Jaxon climbed into bed with me and asked, “Whenever you and daddy drive me to college, can we stop and get some squeeze juices on the way?”, or that on April 9th of 2012 Bella told me she was taking a day off “to go on a screwship (cruise ship)”? It’s great for moms who want to keep track of the cute things their kids say, or for someone who wants to track their progress with a long-term project, or really, for any human who wants to remember the most important moments of their day. It does take a bit of discipline to remember to do it daily, but it takes no time at all and it’s so worth it.

November’s giveaway will be the One Line A Day Memory Book. To be sure you’re entered to win, just type your email address in the blue lighted bar at the end of this post. And because I’m all about keeping it simple, the beautiful part is that you only have to enter once. If you’ve previously entered the drawing, you’re STILL IN THERE.

You could still win!

Isn’t this fun?

Be sure and sound off in the comments and on social media! Use the hashtag #letsplayoprah and tag me on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram– I want to hear about all of your Favorite Things!