Our week in five

// ONE //

Thanks for all of the love on last week’s post about digitizing old photographs. You all are so sweet to take the time to read it and send me such nice comments. It really means a lot to me. Thank you.

// TWO //

Brr. That’s been the theme this week. Not only because the temperatures dropped below freezing for the first time this year, but also because our heater STOPPED WORKING on the coldest night.

I don’t understand it, but The Dot and Lamborghini didn’t seem to notice. Metabolism maybe? They’ve been running around the house like nothing is wrong. I’ve had to remind Lamborghini on numerous occasions to keep his PANTS ON so he won’t get too cold. He thinks he’s supposed to take them off with his shoes when we come inside. I’m happy he takes his shoes off. We’re working on the pants thing.

// THREE //

Interestingly, as much as the kids don’t seem to mind the fifty-degree temperature in our house, this is what they do when we go into stores that actually have working heaters:

By the way, it is incredibly frightening when they do this and suddenly disappear when you think they’re following you. They end up being right next to you, but your heart stops for a minute as you panic when you can’t find them.

Note: Do not mix sheepskin and Costco samples. These were for my mom, and she was kind of freaking out when we made the sample rounds. I didn’t dare tell her when Lamborghini lost the bubblegum he was chewing in the cart. Luckily it landed on Lamborghini’s pants and not the wool. (Sorry Mom!)

// FOUR //

Need a stocking stuffer idea for the man in your life? Mr. L recently discovered these shoe laces:

You take out your old laces and string these in, and they make the shoe easy to slip on and off. I wouldn’t recommend these laces for exercise because your foot isn’t as secure in the shoe as it would be with regular laces (the Lock Laces are elastic). But for everyday walking and around the house, they are great.

On a related note, I just bought these New Balance shoes (affiliate link) that I can slide on and off without need of the fancy laces:

They are so comfortable!!! They have a nice gel bottom and are cut lower at the ankle, so they don’t feel as confining as regular tennis shoes (is it just me who has that issue?).

And continuing the shoe/sports/cold/stocking stuffer topic, we recently purchased this gel ice pack off of Amazon (affiliate link), and are loving it so far:

Except for when the heater is not working. I probably wouldn’t love it then. Anyway! We purchased the half-size, but it comes other sizes as well. The standard is 10.5″ x 14.5″ and they even have an extra large 13″ x 21.5″ that will cover your whole back.

// FIVE //

I wanted to share a few articles that I enjoyed reading last week:

A fascinating read in Cooking Light about Why Are Honeycrisp Apples So Expensive?

Several pieces of Marie Antoinette’s jewelry recently went up for auction (see photos here at Sotheby’s New York).

And this. EVERYBODY should read this Southern Living article. It has some excellent reminders about how to be a good house guest this holiday season (and always, as far as I’m concerned). I have to say, I am extremely lucky because almost everyone who stays overnight at our house follows these rules, and it really does make life easier when you’re the host or hostess.

And finally, things to be thankful for:

Doorbells, anyone?