I survived the election, our North Carolina vacation and a work/fun quick trip back to Minnesota. With all of that behind us, it looks like we’ll be having a fairly quiet holiday season here in New York.

We snuck in some family time in MN, we met some babies, we surprised a friend at her baby shower, we worked in our headquarters and I survived the solo mission of driving from Newark, to the dog boarder to pick up the kids and then the commute in traffic to Brooklyn without crying.

Since it’s been a while since I’ve checked in, I need to just word vomit here. Welcome to random thoughts Thursday. To add a little fun, I’m going to use the new “special characters” menu in blogger.

😰 I just walked to get groceries and stumbled upon the cutest dog. When I looked up to greet the owner, I realized I was standing two feet from Vincent Chase… well, Adrian Grenier. Instead of being a normal person and just saying hi, I just walked away quickly. I really need to work on my people skills. I think he’s a super awesome human that spends lots of money and time helping rescue dogs and the environment, but I couldn’t seem to utter a simple “hello.”

😇 I’ve decided that 3 month old babies are perfect. They are big enough to hold without thinking you’ll break them, they have figured out awesome facial expressions and they aren’t old enough to run away when you’re trying to cuddle them. We have lots of friends with babies this age and I can’t get enough of them.

😋 I had my first experience with Sugarfina rose gummy bears and now I wish they would just send them to me weekly. I’m afraid to look at how much they cost. My mom gave me a box and I ate them in one sitting.

😁 In Minnesota, the snow is supposed to fly this weekend, but back here in Brooklyn, fall is in full bloom. The trees still have leaves on them and our windows are still open (some days.) I love that the seasons here really end up being 3 months long.

😎 We signed up for HBONow for the winter seasons and I can’t believe the things I’ve been missing out on. Since we had already caught up on GoT, we are now obsessively watching John Oliver and Bill Maher and we will probably start Westworld once it gets a little colder. Shockingly, I’ve never watched Sex and the City, so I watched the first episode of that last night and I will probably indulge in a little more.

😔 My 2017 planner arrived and I switched it up this year. I keep staring at it, but I’m not totally sure if I love it yet. Change is hard, you know?

😉 Last, but not least, daylight savings time. I think I might be the only person that kind of loved it this year. I’ve been going to bed earlier and getting up earlier. Having the sun shining early in the morning is a very helpful reminder to get out of bed. Plus, we just have to remember that the days will start to get longer again in 5 weeks. In the meantime, twinkling lights will start to appear soon and we will be able to enjoy the holiday spirit.

I’ll leave you with this picture of the awesome ladies in my family. Just another to add to the “selfies with Grandma” collection.