Hi friends! Happy end of 2022! I'm still fairly thrashed after this year but less so than last year. I definitely went into this Holiday season with the mindset of taking care of myself better. AKA more gym/swimming time during the week and fewer late nights. Come 10 PM, I called it quits most nights and it really helped to not make the 2022 Holiday season completely miserable from a small business standpoint.
Favorite Sketchy Goodies... By far, the favorites this month have been the 2023 Tiny Cat + Plant Calendar, but also the washi tape! Lots of folks we buying the Sunflower Washi and Cactus + Calico Washi to use as stocking stuffers this season.
December Music Jams... the December playlist got a lot of play during the market prep days in the studio! I also listened to a lot of the Heavyweight podcast, great for when you just want a short episode of something. And I dug deep into my High School music archives and binged The Grey Album (a combo of the Beatles' 'White Album' and Jay Z's 'Black Album' by DJ Dangermouse) a LOT!
We've been cooking... I finally got on the green goddess train. This recipe by Bon Appetit is solid (and way less high maintenance than some GG recipes I've seen). Double the batch so you have enough dressing for salads, it's so freaking good. I also baked! I got a big itch to try making Babka for the first time (the namesake of our cat) and it was delicious! I used the Cinnamon Babka recipe in this book. It wasn't the prettiest batch but damn, they were tasty!
Recent Small Business Finds... I ended up doing a good chunk of my holiday shopping at my markets because it's so much easier to just shop from my neighbors than try and deal with a mall. This year I bought some tasty treats from Dem Nutz (loved their marketing) and P.O.P. butter candy. I also bought a cute t-shirt for my nephew from Casa Lulo and a custom sweater for my sister from Decorate It Apparel. I also brought home a candle from Lavender Apothecary.
Highlights this month...
- Taking a BREAK! While our original plans of heading to the Bahamas for Hanukkah got cancelled, we did have a whirlwind 26 hour trip to Chicago and went to South Beach in Florida the next day. It's official... I can't do snow, but I will deal with snow to go to Wiener Circle in Chicago.
- While we were in South Beach for the day, I got to do a little sketching and painting in Goldie the Traveling Sketchbook. Louie found this cute tiki bar at a hotel that we hung out in for a bit.
- Louie was gone for a good chunk of December (not a highlight) but our cats were extra cute while he was gone!
