Skip to main content

5 on a Friday: Philly Edition


Happy Friday! Hope that everyone is enjoying a low-key Friday or some Black Friday shopping if that’s your thing.

1.) I woke up with a bad sinus headache, which was a bummer, but I listened to this Ezra Klein episode while I waited for the medicine to kick in. It was a replay from 2023, but I highly recommend giving it a listen if you haven’t. It’s called “‘The Quiet Catastrophe’ Brewing in our Social Lives,” and is all about how modern society structures undermine social connection. I’m thinking a lot about themes in the episode including control, frequency of interactions, third spaces, imperfect social interactions, and privacy vs. communal space.

2.) Speaking of third spaces, we visited a great library today! I love a good library + coffee shop visit, which was the perfect thing for a blustery day. We thought about heading out for a nature walk, but our kids are definitely not used to the low temps and elected to stay indoors instead. I loved all the things you could check out at the library besides books: cake pans, puzzles, and board games!

3.) Looking forward to getting home tomorrow and having a lot of the day to unpack and settle back in at home. Flying west, you always land with so much of the day ahead. Sunny, warm weather is a bonus!

4.) On tap for later is watching the Eagles and enjoying Thanksgiving part 2 with Joel’s dads’ side of the family. The kids are excited for a repeat hang with the cousins they played with earlier in the week. I’m also excited to meet our friends’ new baby!!

5.) I’m going to take advantage of M’s naptime and A watching a movie with her aunt and read The Strength of the Few. It’s been fun to have an epic fantasy book to read on vacation although I haven’t decided if I like it as much as the first. I’m also loving my new kindle in the matcha color!
Labels:

Comments

  1. JennyNovember 28, 2025 at 2:12 PM

    I'm also watching the game right now (although I would say I'm watching the Bears, ha ha...) Yes, I love a library visit with little kids. Our library used to have really fun storytimes for kids with crafts as well.
    Hope your post-Thanksgiving travel day went well!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JNovember 30, 2025 at 12:07 PM

    That sounds like a great Friday, aside from the headache.

    ReplyDelete
  3. StephanyDecember 2, 2025 at 7:49 PM

    I love having that extra day after vacation to unpack and get back into my routine. That will be lovely for you! I hope the sinus headache doesn't linger too long.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What's Saving My Life: Sick Kid Edition

As I wrote yesterday, one of my daughters got sick, and so we didn’t make it to our camping trip! I had a really good attitude about it for most of the day and mostly felt grateful that she got sick at home and not 2 hours away, in the desert, where we would have to completely takedown a campsite before leaving. But by the afternoon, I was feeling a little grumpy and bummed to miss an adventure we’d been looking forward to and also cooped up from being inside all day with a kid who wasn’t feeling well. Inspired by San’s recent “Five Things That are Saving My Life Right Now” post, I decided to make my own list that was specific to sick days at home. In no particular order: *Emkfit videos on youtube. It’s awesome to have such a fun, silly, sweaty workout to do. I always feel happier having done the dance videos, and it really helps my mood on days when I’m at home a lot and restless *Good books. I posted earlier this week that October was not the best reading month for me, and so I spen...
11 comments
Read more

Adventures Big & Small

     Photos from a recent adventure       I just started listening to Tranquility by Tuesday  by Laura Vanderkam, and one of the ideas she mentioned was planning 2 adventures each week: one big and one small. As I was listening to her describe the rule, I thought about what I had planned this week and realized that I had a few adventures planned without thinking of them in that way. It really helped shift my mindset to realize that I do have some fun and novel things planned, and I'm curious to experiment with adding this to the routine, particularly as we are settling into a new city. I feel like I've plateaued a bit the last few weeks even though things are finally starting to feel settled down. I hit a point where I missed our Colorado friends and my old job, even if I feel like this move and taking time to be at home is right for us in the long run. Thinking through new adventures in this new phase of life is a way to balance some of this feel...
1 comment
Read more

Toddler Travel--Road Trip Edition

      So happy to be writing from Southern California after our road trip out from Colorado. It has been so nice to see family and enjoy cooler weather and time at the beach. This was far and away the longest Avi has ever been in the car, and it was definitely less relaxing to drive long distances with a toddler, but it actually went better than I thought it would.      I love road trips, so I'm happy that this is something we can look forward to lots more of as a family.  In case anyone else is planning to travel with their little one(s), I thought I would share a few things we did that helped, and a few things I wished we did differently. Tips:  *Bring various activities that can be easily done from a car seat. I brought some of Avi's favorite toys including: a toy she could buckle and unbuckle, a chunky beads and thread kit, and a paint with water set from Melissa and Doug's . I also brought bubbles which were a big hit although we left them in...
Post a Comment
Read more