Happy Friday, my darling readers! What do you have planned for the next couple of days off? I am so pumped for the weekend. I can’t wait to kick back, relax, and brainstorm ideas for the next NYWICI Young Professionals’ book club. We just finished Top of the Morning by Brian Stelter, so if you have any recommendations for what to read next, send them my way! Here, to get your weekend started right, a few happy posts from around the web:

Googling Gosling.

Pretty gold earrings.

Subway exercises.

Have you ever gone tidepooling?

The house Pete Campbell built.

The sweetest Christmas card.

Channeling Sally.

For the love of brussels sprouts.

I’m Ron Burgundy?

How darling!

(Image via I Dream Of…)

It’s rare that I get to walk to see a play in Brooklyn, especially one as exceptional as Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The inaugural production at the new Polonsky Shakespeare Center, this Shakespeare classic reaches new heights under Taymor’s lead. I’ll admit: I enjoy seeing Shakespeare in New York (especially in Central Park), but the interpretation always varies, for better or worse. This time, it’s for better, as Taymor brings a vibrant energy to the show that’s as enchanting as it is hilarious. The content is matched only by the inventive and airy design of her sets, which help make a small (and pristine!) space feel larger than life. If you can, grab tickets now—they are selling out fast!

To up the pressure to catch a performance, here is the New York Times review. 🙂

(Images via the New York Times)

I’ve talked about Rachel Khoo before: Ever since the New York Times’ first wrote about her, I’ve been following her work, and her ‘Little Paris Kitchen’ in France. Fresh off the success of her first book, she’s released a second, called My Little French Kitchen. In it, Rachel goes on a tour of the French countryside, uncovering new and delicious recipes as she goes. I can’t wait to snag a copy, and start sampling her take on so many classic French dishes.

As a precursor, Matt and I attempted to make Soupe au Pistou from her debut cookbook The Little Paris Kitchen. It was delicious! Have you ever tried making pistou? It’s a combination of garlic, basil, and olive oil, all mashed up into a purée. It was a challenge, given my limited culinary expertise, but added such wonderful flavor to this winter soup.

More from Rachel Khoo here, and a peek at her new book!

A snap from when I met Rachel in New York!

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‘Tis the season for holiday music. Well, almost! This may sound crazy, but I’ve been listening to Christmas tunes since October (!!). In the fall, I joined a holiday singing group with a few co-workers of mine. It’s perfect: There are about 25 of us, and we practice once a week for an hour at lunch. Then, our chorale director packs our December calendar with holiday performances around New York.

For my regular readers, you know: I’m bursting with joy every time we rehearse. Singing Christmas music harkens back to my a cappella days. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until the first time we practiced together as  a group.

The amazing part is that our repertoire is so varied. I’m learning all these new holiday songs that I’ve never heard before like this one and this one.

What about you? Has the holiday spirit hit you yet?

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I discovered these tea towels while searching around Artsy Modern, and thought they were a hoot! It would be so fun to cook in the kitchen with these instead of the boring, plaid towels I currently have. Although, I will say, I’d be scared to spill on these—they’re too cute!

(Images via Artsy Modern)