Friday Night Puzzling! 4-2-2021

When quarantine started last year, my husband and I soon realized we’d now be spending our once very social weekends at home with just the two of us for an unforeseeable amount of time. We had to get creative about how to make our weekends still feel fun and special. But it was also a stressful time with so many unknowns about what was happening in the world and what the future would look like. We were looking for ways to have fun but at a relaxed and calm pace. With that in mind, puzzles soon became our best Friday night friends.

It’s a simple formula. Take one fun puzzle and then add in your ambiance: an album to play in the background, a scented candle with an enjoyable aroma, and a refreshing beer to sip. Voilà! A new Friday night tradition was born! I’ve been posting our Friday night fun on Facebook for the past year and decided it would be the perfect weekly post to share with you all here. So, welcome to the very first edition of what will become a regular feature most weeks: Friday Night Puzzling!

Puzzle: Mudpuppy Music Cats 🧩

I took one look at this puzzle and knew I must have it! It’s the perfect mash-up of two of my favorite things in the world: cats and music artists that I love!

This week’s puzzle is by Mudpuppy and is titled “Music Cats.” It features a play on the names of many of my favorite musical artists. Bonus: there’s a ‘David Meowie’ on there that goes perfectly with my own mini lion, Bowie!

Find it here:

Mudpuppy Music Cats puzzle (at Mudpuppy’s Amazon store)

Album: David Bowie Aladdin Sane 🎵

There’s no real criteria for the album we choose to accompany our Friday puzzling, though we often will be inspired by the puzzle itself. The album can be one we’ve been curious to hear, something brand new, or even an old fave. This week, I just HAD to go with someone parodied on the puzzle, of course! But it was a difficult choice with so many great artists to choose from. In the end, I went with one of my very favorites: The Thin White Duke aka Ziggy Stardust aka Jareth the Goblin King aka Davy Jones aka the one and only David Bowie!

Since the kitty in the puzzle has the iconic lightning bolt makeup on, we decided to be on the nose with “Aladdin Sane” as our album pick. Fun fact: it was the most expensive album cover ever produced up to that point, utilizing an unprecedented seven-color system vs. the usual four that was the standard for most album cover art at the time. Bowie’s manager insisted the cover be as costly as possible in an effort to ensure that the record label RCA would properly promote the album.

Listen to it here:

David Bowie Aladdin Sane entire album (on YouTube)

My Spotify David Bowie Mix

Candle: Capri Blue Gilded Muse Smoked Clove & Tabac 🕯️

I was trying to think if I had a perfect candle to match up with this musical feline fun? I finally settled on Capri Blue’s Smoked Clove & Tabac from their Gilded Muse line. This beautiful candle is one of my favorite scents and also a cherished gift from one of my best friends 💖

This candle’s mixture of ginger, clove, geranium, and tobacco nestled in the opulent faceted onyx jar brings to my mind an image of early 70’s David Bowie. He’s wearing some kind of elegant yet avant-garde cologne, smoking a clove cigarette in between takes while shooting his famous Aladdin Sane album cover.

Find it here:

Capri Blue Gilded Muse Smoked Clove & Tabac 11oz faceted candle (at Capri Blue’s Amazon store)

Capri Blue Gilded Muse Smoked Clove & Tabac 12.5oz luxury tin candle (at Capri Blue’s Amazon store)

Beer: Seapine Brewing Hefeweizen Ale 🍺

Although Hefeweizens are more of a summer beer (at least in my mind), we saw this at the store and it sounded so good, we just had to go for it. This Southern German-style hefe is brewed with 50% German wheat and 50% German pilsner malt and has the traditional hefe aromas of banana and clove. Simply titled “Hefeweizen Ale,” it is produced locally in Seattle, WA by Seapine Brewing Company.

This beer is very light and easy to drink. Definitely would be a refreshing choice on a hot day. The traditional cloves and banana are there but on the lighter side.

Find it here (if you’re in Seattle, WA):

Seapine Brewing Taproom

I hope you enjoyed sharing in on our little weekly puzzle party! Do you have a favorite Friday evening pastime? Perhaps getting takeout (our fave Friday dinner is pizza delivery!), watching a movie with the whole family, or even just conking out early after a long work week? Tell me what you love to do on Friday nights in the comments. Happy weekend, everyone!! 🍻🎉🥂

P.S. Catch the next fun puzzle night here!

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