As of today, vacation is over. After holidays spent building big fires and reading books in bed, it is over. Technically it was over a week ago, but I stayed in Kentucky for another week because there is nothing I love like eating all the food from my parents’ fridge. Today I am headed back to DC and the piles of responsibility that I shirked for the past three weeks. Good times. To distract myself from the unquenchable “excitement” I feel about buckling down and working starting tomorrow, I’m trying to focus on some of the things I’ve been loving lately. You know the drill.

1. This blanket scarf. Ok, blanket scarves in general because it is stab-a-tauntaun-and-climb-inside cold this week and having an entire blanket around your neck is just delightful. I got one similar to this for Christmas and as I was wrapping it on for the first time, James sighed and declared, “And that was the last time I ever saw her neck.” He’s basically right.
2. Adults acting out Bible stories as told by children. Promise you will at least watch until they sing “Let it go” and then describe the type of water you are given in prison.
3. These weekly Friday news roundups. Y’all know that there is nothing I love like a good blog started by a former Bachelor(ette) contestant, even if I am sad that her love didn’t last. I discovered Andi’s blog this week, and in true form, it is not all fluff. Not only did she rank the coolest women of 2014, but she also posts 5 important news events from the weeks on Fridays. I recently had dinner with my cousin, who just started her medical residency. She confessed that as a resident she has so little time to watch the news that she basically only knows what happens if it is on in a patient’s room or if I mention it in my blog. (Juliana, if you are reading, stop and click over to this link so you can get you some news! Love you. Go back to shoving tubes into people’s intestine.) While you are busy questioning my intelligence because of my aforementioned love of this franchise, I love that the Bach is back! And with it, I am pumped for Sharleen’s recaps, Andi’s recaps’ (YES), and Des’ bracket. My Bach Bunch will be watching it on Sundays so no spoilers!
4. This video of Bao-Bao’s first snow day. Because this is totally how I felt after eating way too much dessert over the holidays and then facing .05 inches of snow one morning this week. Just keep rolling.
5. In light of the atrocities committed in Paris this week, I keep on coming back to this poem. I read it for the first time when I was studying abroad in Paris and it has stayed with me through the years. I had my seniors memorize it when I taught high school and this week reminds us that it is as important and fitting today as when it was originally written. (English translation here.)

Ok, your turn. I feel like Friday is a good day of the week for some audience participation. What are some of the silver linings in your life these days?

 Image via here.