Friday, November 20, 2020

A Cozy Indoor Packing List for the weeks ahead...

Welcome back, friends, to our final installment in Fun Friday (taking next Friday off from blogging to spend Black Friday shopping online with my family, hee hee), but I have to admit, it doesn't feel like a very fun day, does it? Things are worsening here, as they are worldwide, and I have a feeling that it's going to be a very long winter, sadly. On top of that, I barely have reason to leave the house much right now given the public health guidelines, and that's only going to worsen in the coming weeks, so I'm doing my best to emotionally manage it. And so I thought today's installment of Fun Friday could be a focus on ways to make our indoor time super cozy and delightful. I've been working on building up our supplies this week myself, and thought I would share. :)

1.) Books - Because of course, right? This *is* a librarian's blog, after all. Load up, my friends! Visit your local bookshop if you are able, or otherwise order some titles in print or digital. I think we can all agree that complete escapism is absolutely essential right now. :-0 For my part, I'm currently reading the lovely Amish Christmas at North Star:


Quick blurb:

One night four lives entered the world by the hands of an Amish midwife, just outside North Star, Pennsylvania.

Rebekah’s Babies, as they are called, are now grown adults and in four heartwarming novellas each young person experiences a journey of discovery, a possibility of love, and the wonder of Christmas...

I also have this on my bookshelf from last Christmas, and am planning to pull it out!


2.) Puzzle Books - While shopping with Anne earlier in the week at our local Dollar Tree, I happened upon a display of word finds. Hark. Word finds? I LOVE WORD FINDS! And I haven't worked on any in like, 25 years. :-0 And these were winter and Christmas themed. This isn't the one I bought, but akin to this one:


I bought both a winter themed one and a Christmas one. I love simple ways to occupy my mind like these. I also kind of like picture mazes, but I restrained myself on that one. 😁 Ultimate Dot to Dot books are another great idea!

3.) Jigsaw puzzles - Continuing the puzzle theme, a Facebook sponsored ad read my mind (creepy!) and got me thinking about jigsaw puzzles. Both of my kids loved puzzles when they were little, and although I'm not particularly good at them (500 pieces is a challenge for me, 1000 pretty much impossible!) I truly enjoy working on them. I purchased this one, and it is a DELIGHT. The entire family is enjoying working on it. And because none of us are particularly adept puzzle solvers, the joy just keeps giving, because it's still not completed yet, LOL! Each day, a few of us head over to it to slide in some pieces.


I put in an order for some Christmas puzzles too, excited for those to arrive!

4.) Hand Crafts - You all know that I love my knitting and crocheting, and indeed, I've enjoyed the big yearly yarn sale over at Knit Picks and We Crochet this year more than ever. But I also espied some new hand crafts that I thought would be fun to try, and thought maybe Anne and I could try them together. I ordered a punch needle kit, and I have to say that I am very intrigued. I am not familiar with this craft at all, and can't wait to learn about it! I purchased this one:

I see that it's now out of stock temporarily, but they have other kits as well! And they also have embroidery kits, which Anne is interested in. I have my eye on this fall leaf one:

Trying something new has me all atwitter with excitement. And it's much needed, for sure!

5.) Flavored hot cocoa - Doing our grocery shopping this week, I saw a collection of flavored hot chocolates packaged together, and quickly snapped it up for the kids. This one had peppermint, mocha, Irish Cream and Salted Caramel. When the weather gets cold, I have the urge to fire up the kettle. I like tea, and the kids love hot cocoa. Which reminds me! Celestial Seasonings has their holiday collection teas in stock, and they are THE BEST:


Nutcracker Sweet is my favorite tea of all time, I drink it year round. The kids are favoring Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride, and the pumpkin tea was delightful all October long. Oh it makes me so happy to even think about fun hot beverages!

All right, that is my list for bringing home the cozy. Have anything to add to the list? I'd love for you to leave your ideas in the comments!

8 comments:

  1. OK, what does Nutcracker Sweet taste like? I am strictly a black tea (as strong as possible) with just sugar kind of tea drinker. I do like CS Bengal Spice once in a while, and Twinings has a delicious Christmas tea.

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    1. Hi Barb! It's a traditional black tea with a vanilla undertone, pinch of cinnamon. It's so festive, and my absolutely favorite tea of all time!

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  2. Thank you for this fun and comforting post. Those puzzles are good to do. We enjoy circle a word and crosswords,and fill ins too. Those teas look delicious. The punch needle are new to us. We do embroidery. Hope Anne enjoys the embroidery. We are reading some Amish books. A few Christmas books and Thanksgiving books,too. We ordered our turkey last week. Wishing you and your family a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving.
    Joan,Marion and Marilyn

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    1. Hi ladies! Crosswords are another excellent cozy idea! I'm not particularly good at them, but you never get better if you don't apply yourself, yes? THANKSGIVING BOOKS, love this! Happy Thanksgiving!

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  3. I haven't seen those kind of dot to dots before. Next time I am at the dollar store I'm going to have to see if they have any. I've also been stocking up on crafting supplies (mostly yarn and fabric) and I'd love to make progress on my to be read pile (both unread on my shelf and ones from the library).

    I've also enjoyed sending cards. Mostly store bought from the dollar store but sometimes homemade. Since this year has put most visits on hold I've enjoyed surprising friends and family with mail.

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    1. Hi Melanie! Yes, our Dollar Tree is a real treasure trove, amazing what you can find there! It's my go-to place for gift wrap supplies and little cellophane baggies for goodie bags, that sort of thing. Anne LOVES it there for little toys and knick knacks, candles, seasonal decor, that sort of thing. Cards are a wonderful idea!

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  4. Oh,great ideas! This is so funny - I have that exact puzzle sitting on my dining room table ready to open this weekend! Have a terrific Thanksgiving!

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    1. Hi Amy, ha ha! Was it because of a Facebook sponsored ad?! lol! Happy Thanksgiving!

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