February 2019

by | Aug 2, 2019

Here we are in February. February feels like the “hump day” of winter. Or as my wise best friend once said, “February is the 1 AM of the year. NO ONE is thinking straight or making good choices.” February is the exact moment that you swear WINTER WILL NEVER END. But we know it will. It always does. And it’s so glorious when it happens. But until it does, I like to give myself LOTS of things to look forward to. February is when I start planning lots of vacations (even if they might never happen) and make lots of plans to see friends and have get-togethers. It’s so very fortunate that Valentine’s and Galentine’s Day fall smack in the middle of the month, giving us lots of reasons to decorate with lots of brightly-colored-heart-things, plan brunches and dinners with friends and loved ones, and take the time to write nice Valentine cards and notes to friends. And, dear friends, I have got you covered this month:

  • I’m giving you the scoop on Galentine’s Day and hopefully inspiring you to plan your own celebration
  • I’ve included some favorite things SURE to cheer you up and keep you entertained during this hump-month

I am SO PUMPED for Galentine’s Day this year. I just mentioned the holiday to a friend the other day and he had, shockingly, NEVER HEARD OF IT BEFORE. And it occurred to me that there may be people in the universe who have never seen Parks and Rec, who know NOTHING of Leslie Knope’s magic, and have never considered celebrating a Galentine’s Day (?!?!). I am here to convince you otherwise. 

Galentine’s Day is a holiday invented by Leslie Knope, the lead character on a sitcom called Parks and Recreation (or, more accurately, by the writers of the show). It’s celebrated on February 13thas an alternative to Valentine’s Day, where you gather all of your girlfriends and celebrate the beauty of female friendship. There is usually brunch involved because Leslie LOVES waffles on the show. And as much as I hate gender stereotypes, oversaturated trends, and any and all shirts that have phrases involving “brunch” or “rose,” GOD, DO I LOVE BREAKFAST FOOD AND MIMOSAS. 
 
I love creating designs that speak to and empower women and so, Galentine’s Day feels like the absolute peak of my designing experience in a calendar year. I absolutely loved dreaming up these cards and buttons this winter. Similar to my Enneagram Collection, I wanted to continue to write my own copy for my cards. I worked really hard to come up with phrases that felt genuine and funny and hit on my actual experiences with my girlfriends, but that didn’t feel too Target-sweatshirt-phrase-y, if you know what I mean. I hope I successfully pulled it off.

Friends- I am here to tell you that if you want to still celebrate Galentine’s Day, IT IS NOT TOO LATE! Text some friends right now and plan a brunch party or evening cocktails and appetizers or coffee and desserts gathering. It can TOTALLY be after the actual Galentine’s Day. Heck, you can even then score the clearance Galentine’s Day stuff from Target if you wait! Part of Leslie Knope’s deal is that she hand-made these incredibly elaborate gifts for each friend. This is not required, obviously, but I LOVE the sentiment; presenting each friend with something special and thoughtful. Maybe a little doodle or mini painting for each friend? Or a small bag of homemade treats? Or even a lovely handwritten note or Three Letter Birds cards to tell them each how much they mean to you? Whatever you choose to do, I hope you feel enlightened and inspired and go off into the world to celebrate your friends well!

Here are my fav things for February! First is such a silly little thing, but my phone charging cord that I keep by my bed recently broke. When I went on Amazon to replace it, I found this AmazonBasics rose gold charging cable (with a nylon cord, so less chance for breaking!) and fell in love. My phone case is also pink and it just all makes me so happy, sitting on my night stand at bedtime. WHATEVER IT TAKES IN FEBRUARY, PEOPLE! Next is this BEAUTIFUL book, Feminist Cross Stitch by my maker friend, Stephanie Rohr from stephXstitch that released this week. I am not a cross stitcher, but I LOVE the craft and think it would be such a fun little hobby to pick up this winter. The book is full of her feminist cross-stitch patterns and is AMAZING.

I am OBSESSED with these prints from from friend Adrianne at Ponnopozz. I already own “Denise” (not pictured), but my next purchase is FOR SURE this “Bert, Ernie, and Nolan” print. But her prints are all STUNNING colorful plants and landscapes. If you’re lucky enough to catch her at a show around Chicago, not only is she super nice and super cool, but she also frequently has original mini paintings that I can’t wait to get my hands on. And finally, if you’re looking for a show to binge this winter I can’t recommend highly enough Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. I never read the books, so everything was fresh for me and it was RIVETING. There are three seasons and the show is a little dark/spooky getting darker/spookier as the series progresses, so just be warned about watching with small children. It’s interesting, but also super funny with an all-star cast and lots of fun guests appearances. My eight year old and I stayed up VERY late finishing the series in January and now I’m starting from the beginning again 🙂

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