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What are you up to this weekend? Last night we saw the incredible movie Her. Have you seen it yet? The color palette was exquisite—everything was dusty pink, orange or red—and the story was so compelling. (As the NYTimes review said, she's just a voice, "but oh what a voice.") We really loved it. Also, thanks for all your fun comments this week—it's so nice to be back! Hope you have a good weekend, and here are a few great posts from around the web...

Kate Middleton is just as awkward as the rest of us.

This twitter account made me laugh.

LOVE the color of these boots.

What it's like to be a contestant on The Bachelor. (Answer: Crazy.)

Are you Type A? I'm busted.

What a gorgeous dress from the Golden Globes.

Seinfeld and George were spotted at Tom's restaurant!

Kids winning at hide and seek.

(And why children cover their eyes when hiding.)

The prettiest pink lips.

My mom gave me this book for Christmas and I'm excited to dive in.

If you want to keep your New Year's Resolutions, rephrase them as a question.

What it's like to be a parent, according to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

Directors reveal: The toughest scene I wrote.

A few people asked about how to handle winter blues. Here are seven ideas, and apparently taking Vitamin D really helps too!

(Images from the movie Her, via Diana)

What kind of accent do you have? While growing up in Michigan, my brother, sister and I picked up slight Michigan accents. We'd say things like "maahm" instead of "mom," and "caehr" instead of "car," and "Bab" instead of "Bob." After living in New York for twelve years, I've basically lost it, but sometimes when I drink too much wine, it can randomly bust out again. Yes, Michigan!

George Mason University collects speech samples from around the world, and everyone has to read this paragraph: "Please call Stella. Ask her to bring these things with her from the store: Six spoons of fresh snow peas, five thick slabs of blue cheese, and maybe a snack for her brother Bob. We also need a small plastic snake and a big toy frog for the kids. She can scoop these things into three red bags, and we will go meet her Wednesday at the train station."

Have you taken the fascinating dialect quiz that has spread like wildfire online? What answer did you get? (It pinpointed that I was from Michigan.) And in the video above, actress Amy Walker does 24 different accents (some are better than others). The California one made me laugh out loud.

What kind of accent do you have?

P.S. What British people say versus what they really mean, and Toby in conversation.

(Speech archive found by the brilliant Kottke)

How gorgeous is this engraved locket? I don't wear much jewelry, but Alex gave me a locket for Christmas, and I really love it. He put family photos inside, and it feels surprisingly heartwarming to wear it all day. Have you ever worn a locket?

Erin Boyle of Reading My Tea Leaves and Gardenista and her husband live together in seriously small quarters—a 240-square-foot studio, to be exact. She agreed to share her surprising tips about how to make it work (and not drive each other crazy)...Read More >

My sister sent this vocabulary test over the holidays, and our family went nuts for it. Since I know a bunch of you are word nerds, too, I wanted to share it...

Take the quiz here, and leave your score below!

P.S. Can you read emotions?

Happy Holidays! Can you believe 2014 is right around the corner?! Hope you're having a wonderful week!

Honestly, this year has has some ups and downs—long-time readers know that I'm not great with pregnancy hormones!—so I'm more grateful and touched than ever to have such incredible people returning to Cup of Jo. I love your funny, heartfelt and insightful comments and emails every day. I learn so much and can't express how happy I am to have you here. It's such a gift to have this warm and dynamic community of likeminded women.

Here's a quick look back over the past year, if you'd like...
Motherhood posts, such as co-sleeping with your children, six words to say to your child, five genius motherhood tips, naked babies at the beach, toddlers in the kitchen, a lullaby that really works...and the most moving post of my entire blogging career about a stillborn baby boy.
We also did a motherhood around the world series, where we interviewed mothers living in India, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Norway, Congo, Japan and Abu Dhabi. I was completely riveted by their answers and was inspired by parenting norms in different cultures. We'd love to do another series in 2014 with more countries.
Posts about toddler Toby, such as conversations with a two-year-old and three-year-old, playing his violin, his donut birthday cake, going on a babymoon trip for your older child, bringing his favorite book to life and preparing him for a sibling (thank you so much for the enlightening tips!)
Post about our new arrival, Anton, such as announcing our pregnancy, seeing his sweet profile, choosing a name, fast labors in cabs, introducing our two boys for the first time and decorating our very first Christmas tree.
Beauty posts, such as hair tutorials and nail polish trends, which are my secret favorite. We also did four reader makeovers (here are the afters!).
Fashion posts, such as a five-second trick for feeling pretty, my fall uniform, and the most flattering jeans.
TV posts such as the 101 best written TV series of all time, celebrity look-a-likes, casting auditions for The Office, SNL's spoof on Girls and a fantastic ballet documentary.
Design posts, such as natural home scents, how to arrange supermarket flowers, lost loves, the rain room and how to do...anything.
Home posts, such as a 500-square-foot San Francisco apartment, a vacation rental website for families and our own apartment makeover.
Career posts, such as a Q&A with the Girls costume designer and a Q&A with an animal photographer.
Food posts, such as crunchy roast potatoes, the beauty of eating dinner alone, 11 Nutella recipes, how beer's taste alone gets you a little high and three flavored waters.
Friendship posts, such as what to say when there's an awkward silence, how to say goodbye at parties, a spot-on personality test, the power of empathy, three things you're grateful for, wise words for when you're freaking out and the wobbly path to success.
Travel and NYC posts, such as 9 crazy things about living in NYC, what British people say vs. what they really mean, 11 untranslatable words from other countries, Swedish slides, a Positano travel fantasy and how to piss off every New Yorker in 36 seconds.
Relationship posts, such as making out in public, saying I love you, having sex on your wedding night, what marriage means, how to give a reflexology foot rub, having friends officiate your wedding, what you'd do differently if you got married again, celebrity crushes and a brilliant speech about the word "gay".
And, as always, random posts, such as a When Harry Met Sally prank, goats yelling like people, how a key actually works and how to walk on ice.

I hope you enjoyed this year on Cup of Jo, and thank you again for reading. Very much looking forward to new series and exciting adventures in 2014, and sending a big kiss to you. Happy holidays!!! xoxo

P.S. I'll resume posting on January 6th, if you're in a blog-reading mood:)

Happy holidays! Are you heading anywhere this week? We're leaving tomorrow for our annual trip to Palm Springs and Los Angeles. We debated whether we should go or not, since a cross-country trip with two little dudes sounded intimidating, but in the end, we figured we'd give it a go! I'm so excited to see our family. This year, Anton's basically the same age as Toby when he had his first Christmas. And last year Anton was just a bump:)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend, and here are a few fun posts from around the web...

Beautiful nature photos.

Hibernation sweatshirt. Right on.

This snowy week, we watched almost all of Homeland season two—so addictive! This tumblr made me laugh.

Parents see their youngest children as smaller than they actually are.

Note to Santa: This is at the top of my wishlist.

A ballerina dancing at 39 weeks pregnant.

Santa school.

The Queen of England likes wearing blue.

Cute way to hang a wreath.

My friend Susan gave us this book and it's awesome.

The movie Her has been getting amazing reviews. Are you going to see it?

Why you should bring olive oil to a dinner party.

Cool Brooklyn pennant. (You can get any city you'd like.)

Great stocking stuffer.

Wish us luck on the flight tomorrow with those two little stinks! And if you need them: 10 tips for traveling with a baby, and 10 ways to entertain a toddler on a plane.

Lots of love and safe travels! xoxo

When I posted about the fireplace movie this week, a reader told me that Norway has a show about knitting. People shearing a sheep and then knitting for hours. That's it. The show is part of a movement called "slow but noble television."

The Telegraph reports:

"'Slow TV' has proved successful for Norway's NRK, a veteran in quirky programming, since 2009 when the broadcaster showed the view from the roof of a seven-hour train ride from Bergen to Oslo. Millions watched. In 2011, it broadcast 134 hours non-stop of a cruise ship going up the Norwegian coast to the Arctic, bagging the world record for the longest continuous TV program. Millions tuned in. In February, it aired a 12-hour show on firewood, featuring discussions about stacking and chopping, and a debate on whether the bark should face up or down. One in five Norwegians watched the show at one point."

Interesting, right? Would you watch these? If you live in Norway, do you? Now we just need some gløgg!

P.S. 10 surprising things about parenting in Norway, and how babies sleep outside in Denmark.

(Painting by Francoise Duparc)

How beautiful is this sailboat kite? You can fly it outside or use it as decor.

I believed in Peter Pan until I was embarrassingly old (and waited every night for him to come to my window), so this kite takes me back!

(Via Swissmiss)

We went to our friend's holiday party last weekend, and, although he doesn't have a fireplace in his small apartment, he had a roaring fire on his TV. Apparently, it's a netflix video. Genius!

(Wouldn't it be awesome to pair with a a fireplace-scented candle?)

P.S. How to help your guests relax and how to give a high five.

The New York Times has an amazing slideshow of Yayoi Kasuma's current exhibition—“I Who Have Arrived in Heaven"—at the David Zwirner Gallery in New York.
The infinity room is actually the size of a walk-in closet, but it feels much bigger because of 75 colored LED bulbs and mirror-lined walls.
The lines can circle the block. (When we stopped by last week, people had been waiting for more than four hours!)
And each person get just 45 seconds in the room. When we were there, the docent told us that some people don't know their limits and get freaked out—even busting out of the room in a panic. Others told the New York Times it was "ethereal" and "meditative."
The show is open until December 21st. Would you want to go?

P.S. Cool art exhibits: Swings, slides, rain and marrying Prince William.

(Photos by Benjamin Norman for the NYTimes)

What are your plans for this weekend? We're going to a holiday party tomorrow night. And there are only 12 days until Christmas! Crazy, right? Cannot wait. Hope you enjoyed the 2013 gift guide this week, and have a wonderful weekend. Sending you guys a big hug through the internet. Here are a few fun posts from around the web...

These infinity rooms at an art gallery look amazing. (We went a couple weekends ago, but the lines were 4+ hours long!)

M&Ms and Lifesavers turned Seinfeld down when he was looking for a candy to use in the Junior Mint episode.

This single girl had the perfect reaction to her friends' engagement photo. Made me laugh out loud.

What are your favorite interview questions? (The comments are great.)

A little girl surprises her deaf parents with a sign-language holiday song. So, so sweet.

Who goes to work to have fun? Interesting read.

13 things that mentally strong people avoid.

Beautiful nail polish for the winter.

Has anyone read The Rules of Civility? I'm searching for a book for our trip:)

Love these blue glasses.

Want to be healthy? Eat nuts, apparently.

(Photo by The Sartorialist)

I have a few new favourite shows this year, but one of my newest fav's is Ringer and you will quickly discover why when you have a look at some of the set pictures below. A design lovers dream, let me tell you, and let's not forget the amazing wardrobe that star Sarah Michelle Gellar gets to wear as well! But don't get me wrong the story line is killer, and has tons of plot twists to keep you guessing! I highly recommend it.

























images via