Sunday, November 29, 2020

I survived my weirdest Thanksgiving on Thursday and cheered myself back up on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. My credit score might not survive. I hope you've had a nice, inexpensive Sunday and still have leftovers (I'm out)!

Out of an abundance of caution, I stayed home alone for Thanksgiving. With all the time on my hands and nothing to cook (I ordered a plate from a nearby restaurant and my friends brought me food), I watched a lot of TV, binge drew, and made a video for a work talent show about my doodles. My dad liked it, which is a solid endorsement if you know him.

I also had my first media interview with goodnewsplanet.com. More to come on that! And my sister is working on turning some of my doodles into cards. I can't wait to show you and send them out! Let me know if you have a birthday coming up and email me your address :) Or if you happen to be getting Bar or Bat Mitzvah'd.

On to the doodles —a belated Thanksgiving greeting, my favorite TV shows — one of them experienced some controversy this week — and my take on the hit "The Queen's Gambit." It's not too late to get a deal on a chess set tomorrow.

This Thanksgiving was so weird, even turkeys were confused

Because many people had much smaller Thanksgivings celebrations this year, that meant many people wanted smaller turkeys, too. Here's to hoping we can all get back to the big guys, and big tables, next year. I ate in my apartment with my family — on Zoom — so it felt like we were together. It was different, but it wasn't bad. Best of all, it felt very safe. And like the turkey above, I haven't known what day it is for a long time.

Shows that are new (to me) that I love and you might love, too

1. You've probably heard of "Schitt's Creek" (Netflix) — it's hilarious and lovable and everyone is talking about it so you have to watch. Give it a few episodes to get into it.
2. "Dancing with the Stars" ended Monday. Kaitlyn Bristowe, from "The Bachelor" (also an ABC show hmmmm) won. While she is a very talented dancer, many people think Nev Schulman, from "Catfish", should have won because he was consistently AMAZING. #NevGotRobbed was trending and I was team Nev. 
3. "Younger" (Hulu) stars Sutton Foster posing as a 26-year-old to get a job in publishing. Hilary Duff is in it too. If you loved "Sex and the City," you have to watch it. It's smart and funny and is the closest depiction of what my life used to be like working in NYC.
4. My sister introduced me to "Finding Your Roots" on PBS. The host finds the answers to mysteries in celebrities' family histories. It's funny, surprising, emotional, and historical! Start with Andy Samberg's episode.

Watching "The Queen's Gambit" is like chess — challenging but rewarding in the end

Thank you to "The Queen's Gambit" for keeping me company during quarantine. I had no idea what it was about when it started. This is not in the four faves doodles from above because it doesn't belong there. For this show, I'm not going to tell you to hang in because it's kind of odd and you might hate it, and that's ok. And if you like it, or keep watching it anyway like me, know that the last couple of episodes are satisfying. Also, apparently, sales of chess sets are way up partly because of this show!

Here's a brief overview video of how I got started doodling and my process — thanks to my cousin!

I made this video for a work talent show! But I'm starting to make more videos about the process called "Draw and Talk Session with Danielle in Doodles" and turn doodles into videos, as per the advice of my 14-year-old cousin whose insights have been incredibly valuable. You met him at age 4 in the Emily in Paris doodle. He also showed me over Zoom how to position my tripod to get this angle. I could not figure it out on my own! And my sister introduced me to Video Leap which makes editing videos really simple. Overall, this is a youth/Gen-Z appreciation paragraph.

Enjoy the upcoming week and be careful tomorrow on Cyber Monday. Ok, maybe I'm the only one that needed to hear that. Reply with thoughts, feedback, complaints, suggestions, etc.! 

Why did you get this email? Because I thought you'd like it, or you expressed interest in my doodles in one way or another. Unsubscribe or contact me if you want to be removed from the list.