This week of favorites is actually two weeks combined into one! With Buffy passing away so close to Christmas, my husband and I didn’t really have a chance to “rest and recover” during the holiday season, so we booked a random, quick vacation, and I skipped blogging last week. That said, I have a couple favorites from Before and even more During that trip!

Favorite New Magazine That I Had No Idea Existed:

It’s beyond time for my yearly eye examination and while I was waiting for my appointment, I spotted this display in the office:

Umm, it’s tea? Everything, every spread, every article, every photo, all about tea? I LOVE IT. I immediately sat down and started flipping the pages.

More and more I’m seeing people combat this digital age and their scrolling addiction by picking up “analog” hobbies or other tactile entertainment. It’s a big reason I think crochet has been such a wonderful outlet for me. So I, too, have been feeling this itch toward magazines. I’m subscribed to Texas Monthly, I picked up a copy of Color Club, and now, here, in my doctor’s office, was two of my favorite things combined.

One of the articles also gave me a new place to try when I next drive up to Austin!

Despite needing this appointment so badly, I was disappointed when my name was finally called and I had to set the magazine down.

Favorite Signing Pen:

Another To-Do I accomplished before the trip was signing the 250 bookplates for THANKS FOR WATCHING. I’d put some various pens and markers to the test, asked people in YouTube shorts and on polls which they preferred the look of, but ultimately, the winner was: 

I do think this was unique to the specific kind of sticker paper used for the bookplates, though, so I’ll give myself more options when I go to actually sign the opening pages of the book. (Maybe a different color for each event? Who knows!)

While we were on our holiday at Epcot’s Festival of the Arts, Rob Kaz recommended this pen for signings as he was adding his signature to a canvas we’d bought!

He did note it was pretty expensive and occasionally finicky, but said he’d done a lot of research and trial runs and concluded this was the best one, so I had to share!

Favorite Bite:

One of my favorite things about Epcot’s Festival of the Arts is the food. The culinary arts, if you will. (My controversial opinion is that this festival has the best cuisine, bar none, even better than the Food & Wine festival in the fall. Festival of the Holidays is probably the worst, everything a little too sweet. And that’s saying a lot coming from a Certified Sweet Tooth.)

My husband and I have developed a tier system and I’d put this “Sparkling Spectacle Gâteau” (vanilla bean mousse with a golden caramel center and apricot jam on a hazelnut cookie) firmly in S, meaning it’s inspired me to try to make this at home.

The rest of the tiers go: S, A, B, C, D, F, but with a bonus asterisk* that can be added, which means it was so disappointing that it’s inspired me to make one at home so I can prove that it can be done well. (Thankfully there were no asterisks needed on this trip!)

Favorite “Magical” Moment:

As Disney World fanatics, it’s easy for my husband and I to get into a rhythm of our trips to the theme park and just do all our previous favorite things. (Disney World is like our beach trip. A place we can turn our brains off and relax. I also do enjoy an actual beach trip, but solo, because, like Anakin, my husband hates sand.)

So we’ve been trying to add one new thing each time, usually a new restaurant. This time it was an “experience,” which is what Disney calls it. Basically we paid to have a prix fixe meal at a new-to-us dinner spot and a (partitioned) good view of the Epcot fireworks. We usually don’t stay for the fireworks because, despite loving Disney, we hate crowds and prefer to already be gone by the time the masses start leaving.

There was this one moment, as the fireworks are going off, that I realized I could see the nearly-full moon slowly creeping up the horizon. A duck also started bobbing in and out of the water, creating some really beautiful ripples and reflections of the fireworks. For me, this was absolute magic.

I’m not sure I’d ever pay to do this again (though we drank enough included alcohol to get our money’s worth), but it was fun and worth the once-in-a-lifetime view (courtesy of the duck and the moon). I would order the Shepherd’s pie from Rose & Crown again though!

Least Favorite:

Getting a sunburn in early February. 

Excuse me, what? The high was like 72 degrees the entire trip, most of it was cloudy and every other day was cold. How dare.

I’ve been so diligent about sun protection the last few years—often traveling with and utilizing a UV umbrella—and I can’t believe I was so cocky to not think that Florida would best me. Of course it would.

We won’t be back until May but you better believe I won’t let Florida get one over on me again.

Though most of the trip was relaxing, I did spend a nice portion of our time back at our condo working through A Closet Full of Cauldrons. It’s so wonderful to get to reread this story and see all the places where my editor, Kerri, improved it. In the next couple days, I’ll send it out to a final batch of readers before I consider this fully Done and switch over to formatting. AHHH, I can’t wait.

I started this blog out by mentioning Buffy so I’d be remiss not to end it on a little note about grief. Over the past few days, I’ve teared up three times while mentioning her. Other times, I’ve been able to chat and recollect stories and look at pictures and have those memories be, at least mostly, happy. Even typing this out now, I can feel my eyes stinging. Our home still feels emptier without her, but I’m coming to accept this as our new normal. I’m not all right, but I’m not in the trenches anymore, either. (And, I’m happy to confirm, that my SSRI continues to be a lifesaver.)

I’m not looking forward to when I am all right, either, though. So I’ll continue on this strange tightrope of not knowing if a memory will produce tears or not and do my best to be an available friend, wife, sister, and daughter. It’s all I can do.

Back in 2012, I read THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. There are two things from that experience that have stuck with me. The first: the shaking sobs from my heart being wrenched out of my body and stomped on. I have cursed John Green’s name ever since. (JK, nerdfighteria, don’t come for me.) The second is the quote: “…I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.”

There are so many moments in life like this. This week was one of them for me. A slow Monday, a slower Tuesday, a slow rolling Wednesday into Thursday, and then a weekend so fast it’s like I blinked and it was over, as if I almost imagined being in St. Louis as I sit here, at home, writing this post. Like a daydream come true. A weekend surrounded by the warmth of family, inside jokes, and celebration.

So perhaps it’s not surprising that all my favorites come from Friday through Sunday.

Favorite Crochet Pattern:

My future SIL sent me an IG with a picture with the viral flower coasters, which I completed in their wedding colors. Here’s me still working on it in the airport before the second and final flight to get to St. Louis:

But then an idea struck me: I could make mini flowers with the leftover yarn and match them to the dresses for the bridal party! And, lucky me, when I went in search of key rings because I misplaced the ones I’d already bought (yippee), I found these adorable pastel flower charms, too. It was meant to be!

This pattern is also a very satisfying make. It works up quickly, the stitches themselves are different enough to keep you engaged the whole way through, and I love the final product! I’ll definitely be making more of these to give out at random. (And one for myself! I always forget about that part bahaha.)

Favorite Part of St. Louis:

Besides my brother and future SIL residing there…it’s the weather! I’ve now visited in the Fall and the Winter and am beyond happy to say that while on this trip, IT SNOWED. Beautiful, huge flakes. The kind of snow we never see in Texas.

I had a blast playing and running around in it with their dog, Goldie.

We also went on a little family hike. I didn’t pack accordingly, so by the time we made it back to my brother’s house, I couldn’t feel my thighs. Worth it!

Favorite On The Road Again Order: 

Participating in Dry January means that I’m the designated driver! And there is nothing I crave more on a 3+ hour drive than a McDonald’s double cheeseburger with extra pickles and a side of fries. I cannot explain it. I refuse to try. In fact, I only stop at McDonald’s when I’m on the road (which is more often than a lot of people — I do love my roadtrips) so maybe it’s a self-fulfilling craving cycle. Regardless, no trip for me is complete without one (or two).

We drove through half Missouri to get to my future SIL’s bridal shower and the McDonald’s gave me all the sustenance I needed. Shout out to you, you beautiful golden arches.

Favorite Family Activity:

Axe throwing! David managed to be the first on the board, but with the hilt instead of the blade:

And actually, even better than axe throwing, was throwing star throwing!

This location truly had it all. Different sizes of axes, throwing stars, metal cards, and then they even gave us balloons to try to hit with the last half hour of our time.

It was also a BYOB/W location, so my brother shared his weed drink with me (he’s doing a California Sober January), and I would like to nominate it for this blog’s first official Least Favorite of the Week. 

It was so gross. I’m not a huge energy drink fan and that’s exactly what it tasted like to me. A sugar-free energy drink. My brother kept joking that it’s “not bad….but not good. Not terrible, but you don’t really want to drink it. Not delicious, actually kind of gross, but not the worst, but definitely not the best.” This went on and on with each face I pulled after taking a sip. I finished my third of the bevy, regretting every moment of it, until about an hour or two later when it finally started hitting. I went to bed shortly after and achieved a wonderful amount of deep sleep (or so said my Oura ring).

While on the trip, my SIL said that she and my brother had been talking about how this year is really just a dream come true. Their wedding (and the bridal shower and my brother’s Bachelor Party before that) and then, just a few short weeks later, my release party for THANKS FOR WATCHING.

And I think they nailed it. Truly, a dream.

I’m posting this a bit belatedly due to all the travel but there’s already so many exciting, publishing-related things happening this week. I can’t wait to share! Until next time, friends. 🙂