there's no place like gnome.

It’s here.  Friday Favorites!  Maybe not every Friday, but at least periodically, it’s back!

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.  I’m hooked.  Addicted.  Laugh out loud every time. (And it’s only on once a week!  Boo.)  Mr. Oliver does something I love – he doesn’t have a guest like Jon Stewart always did.  He does one extra long focus story.  And it’s everything I’ve ever wanted from a satirical news show.

Have you heard about the new boat that the internet voted to name Boaty McBoatface?  This story wins the internet this week in my opinion.

If I could go on and on about a specific type of beverage container, it would be Hydroflask.  (If you gave me the opportunity, I probably would talk your ear off.)  I’ve been in love with these bottles for about four years.  It’s all I use … and they recently released NEW COLORS!  I want them all (which is super impractical since the bottles are made of metal and pretty much last a lifetime).

Costco.  I got a membership through LivingSocial with a couple perks, and I’ve been to the one in Rochester a couple times.  The best Costco things so far?  Four pounds of delicious strawberries for $7.99.   Egg whites.  Caribou coffee beans.  Roaster chickens.

In honor of Easter, here.  Make some peepshi.

Also Easter: Replace “hubby” with “the boyfriend” and I’m using this to hide Dave’s basket (which is filled with a new card game and a box of quart ziploc bags).  He’s going to come over after my three services for the day.  We will eat frozen lasagna and I’ll probably fall asleep by 8pm.  So, you know.  Big plans.

Baby quilts x 3.

Two just went in the mail this past week and one was gifted months ago.  Here’s the breakdown:

Left: A quilt with Japanese flair, made for a sweet girl born in Japan while my college friend and her Army husband are stationed there.

Middle: A nautical quilt (My first attempt at triangles!) with anchors and waves and boats for a baby boy born to a Dancing Banana and her submarine-ing husband.

Right: This has got to be my favorite pattern – plus signs.  (It’s currently in progress in queen size for my bed.)  This particular quilt went to a boy named Henry, son of dear seminary friends.

Next up:  For a while, I was quite backlogged with quilts of the baby size but these were the last three (that I know of right now).  On the cutting table now is a quilt for my bed in chorals and yellows and grays, and a mini quilt to hang on the wall.  Then there are always the EPP stars and about three other quilts I’m itching to start for no purpose but to start a new quilt.

I feel the strongest urge to share with you my love for paper straws.

I had a l-o-n-g (and wonderful) Palm Sunday.  The end of the day found me wandering the aisles of Target in Rochester at 7pm, recharging my introvert batteries after gathering with a family around the bedside of a loved one, sharing stories and laughs.  I couldn’t quite drive home right away; I needed to recharge.  Walk.  Take a break.

Hello Target.  Hello new paper straws.

It’s my retail therapy – buying more paper straws.

This jar sits on my counter, a product of years of buying a packs of straws here and there.  You could have no idea how much joy it brings me to pick out a straw each morning to drink my iced coffee.  Some days it takes many moments to choose the perfect one.

The striped ones?  Those are my favorite.  Only for use on special mornings when I need a particular boost.

I try and keep a good mixture in the jar.  The rest live in a gallon ziploc in the cupboard, years of collecting gathered together.

It’s grown quite out of hand but it doesn’t necessarily help when Target carries them in their dollar section.  How can I turn down $1 paper straws?

Answer: I can’t.