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Hi Reader, and happy Friday!

This week’s newsletter is a “brain dump,” like we are sitting together at my kitchen table or our favorite restaurant catching up with a coffee or cocktail in hand, and we are both unloading our brains. Just a free flow of information that I’ve been thinking about that I want to share with my internet friends!

Some things on my mind, which is a mix of post-Olympics patriotism: including what I’ve read recently, upcoming elections, historical American girl dolls and an affinity for women’s sports, a few new blog posts, and some upcoming travel plans and prep.

I’m going through a bit of a post-Olympics withdrawal, but I am loving the energy Flava Flav is bringing to celebrating women Olympians in Vegas. What started as an in-the-moment Instagram story about the gold-medal-winning women’s hockey team has turned into a full-blown celebration of all female Olympic athletes, and I love the energy. What can I say…I love a chaotic king with a huge clock necklace who has a sincere commitment to supporting women’s sports.

To get a little deeper for a second, the debacle surrounding the men’s hockey team laughing at the women’s team—who had the same amazing accomplishment as them—has made me think about how I’m raising my son, Dylan. Dylan is going to be the kind of man who will support women in everything they do; not laugh at them, not diminish them, not feel threatened by them. He will be in their corner cheering and supporting them. What a privilege it is to raise the next generation.

Speaking of hockey, I have a new recipe inspired by my favorite fictional hockey players. Inspired by Heated Rivalry, I created my version of the Blue Moon Over Brooklyn smoothie that is the beginning of Scott and Kip’s love story. Made with blueberries, pineapple, and kale (although you can’t taste it, I swear), and of course, a banana, just like Kip does.

Transitioning from the Olympics and hockey to what I’ve been reading recently (I swear this jump makes sense in my brain), I just finished Kamala Harris’ book, 107 Days, which shares the nitty-gritty details of her presidential campaign. I listened to it and would recommend it; it was very well written and interesting. The diary style of the writing and storytelling was addicting, and I liked that she gave open and honest thoughts and opinions about other political players. She reads the audiobook version and I liked listening to it in the car to and from work and while I was doing chores around the house.

Speaking of politics (see what my brain is doing here?), we are in the middle of early voting for an important primary here in Charlotte. Early voting runs through tomorrow, February 28, and election day is March 3! Turnout in primaries is notoriously low, which means your vote carries more weight.

We voted as a family earlier this week, and I’m proud to support Habekah Cannon for District Court Judge and Rodney Collins for Sheriff on the Democratic ballot. If you are registered unaffiliated and live in the North or Western part of Mecklenburg County (or in the counties west of Charlotte like Gaston, Cleveland and Rutheford), request a Republican ballot and vote for Kate Barr for NC’s 14th Congressional District.

Also on the ballot are county commissioners. Do your research — local races shape our daily lives more than we sometimes realize. Local elected officials impact schools, safety and other community priorities. If you care about your city, your neighbors, and your kids, this is one tangible way to show it!

Ok, the next topic is a bigger jump, but follow my brain for a second. For Joey’s second birthday, we got her two plush American Girl dolls (the brain jump here is patriotism to historical American Girls). American Girl now makes a plush version of their historical dolls that is perfect for toddlers, and because I couldn’t decide which to get Jo, she ended up with two, Kirsten and Addy. I decided on them after a highly scientific process of taking online personality quizzes titled “Which American Girl are you?”

Ok, one more brain jump, but this is definitely more of a leap (my sister and I loved American Girl dolls growing up and now I’m going to talk about my sister).

In April, my mom, AJ, the kids and I are embarking on a cross-country and trans-Pacific flight to visit Katie, my little sister, in Hawaii. Katie and her husband moved to Oahu in 2017, and I’ve been lucky enough to visit her four times; this will be our fifth and final trip because she’s moving back to the mainland this summer. We’ve experienced so much beauty and food of the islands, and for this trip we are looking forward to a couple of days at Disney’s Aulani, an overnight trip for some beautiful hikes on Kauai, and filling up on shave ice and poke. Part of my trip prep includes ordering a new swim suit, grabbing a Hawaiian print shirt to use as a beach coverup (I love the Spooner University collection and they have tons of schools to choose from), and making sure we have plenty of shows downloaded on the kids’ tablets.

Prepping for this tropical vacay inevitably makes me start dreaming about summer and the beach. I’m looking forward to the four beach trips we have planned already, including a camping trip in a few weeks to Hunting Island State Park, two family trips to the Outer Banks, and a trip to the Florida Keys to celebrate AJ’s 40th birthday.

I believe salt air can fix anything.

Thanks for indulging my chaos-monster energy this week. Reply to this email and tell me what you’ve been loving lately!

-Chrissie