So you had to skip a few of our emails throughout the week – we understand, life gets in the way. We’ve got a handy recap of the week that doubles as the perfect conversation starter when you see friends + fam this weekend. Here are this week’s top 5️⃣ stories (with a few from last week, because it was a holiday + y'all had such good feedback).

1.Plan your adult winter break

No time like a cold snap to catch a plane somewhere warm. We recommend a $311+ round-trip flight from GSP to Savannah, G.A. (where there are no open container laws, wink wink) or wading through the ocean on horseback in St. Pete/Clearwater, F.L. ✈️

2. A new downtown master plan?

A ton of y’all responded to our Facebook post about the new Downtown Greenville Master Plan + downtown’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats:

A better Public Transportation system for sure! And I am not talking about the downtown Trolley's, I am talking about actual Public Transportation like Greenlink. Spend money on it! – Diego Ampuero Gac

Make some space for trees. If every square inch is made of condos and apartments, there must be some balance with nature. Also, more affordable housing must be developed. – Mary Margaret Duncan Jones

And on Instagram, too:

_dcthree S- a unique sense of place within our downtown. W- affordable housing. O- balanced growth with emphasis on employment centers and housing. T- losing the historic component and/or overbuilding in the retail sector.

rae_sobocinski Downtown has been the focus of Greenville for a long time leaving other areas neglected such as Lauren’s Road, Haywood Road, Wade Hampton and Poinsett highway. Can we not turn the focus off of Downtown Greenville and give the rest of Greenville attention that is greatly needed? Downtown is incredible but these other areas are in great need of attention and focus now. Tax dollars don’t need to go just downtown.

Find more reader feedback from the inbox at the bottom of the article. ✊

3. New Year’s resolutions GVL style

We asked for your best 2017 moments + goals for 2018 on Instagram:

taushkosh: Falling for Greenville was my high! On my 2018 bucket list, I plan to attend three big events in Greenville and go to three new places to intentionally know the community better. Loving it already! 💛

alistorm: For 2018 🤔 Maybe try a handstand @soulyogastudio, eat a lot of @whiteduckgvl tacos, enjoy an unforgettable night @peacecenter with @jason_mraz and my hubby, and listen to A LOT of @hisradio!

4. Alllll the meals with none of the prep work

We all want to eat healthier, but finding the time to cook or plan your meals is harder than it looks. These 6 places have meal plans, ready-to-go dishes, and cater to specific diets (like gluten-free, vegan, and paleo). Try the 5 meal sampler from Farm Fresh Fast for $55 – pick your meals by Thursday at midnight + pickup on Sunday or have them delivered.

5. What we can’t wait to eat + drink in 2018

New food is always a good thing. 🍕 We highlighted a few upcoming food + drink spots we’re excited to try next year. Check out the extended cut over at Greenville Journal and reply to this email to tell us about something opening in 2018 or where you’re excited to have a bite.

Reader feedback like the comments above is what drives GVLtoday – without the community, we’re just pixels on a screen. Send your ideas, questions, feedback + concerns to hello@gvltoday to let us know what you think, and read what others have said here.