2015 in review

When New Year's Eve rolls around, suddenly a year seems like such a short time span, doesn't it? It seems like I just did a recap like this - but then again, the year was chock full of major events and happenings, alongside many great (and some not so) little moments and everyday lovely things. It's especially obvious when you compare the little Hendrik of January 1 to the full-on boy I've got here on December 31... A full year is a big thing, and thus the completion of one something to be celebrated!

It's been so fun to look back at all of my blog posts from 2015 (and Instagram photos too!) and relive the things I did, saw, ate, created, enjoyed, and more. Here are some highlights:

Best trip:

• Bahamas: even if I did get a work trip to one of my favorite cities in the world - London - it's impossible to beat the week we got to spend at an all-inclusive, adults-only resort in the Bahamas. Gorgeous, relaxing, and sunny. 

Best books:

• Station Eleven. The best of all 78 (!) books I read this year for sure. I'm recommending to everyone, and so far I've had only pleased customers!

• I also couldn't stop thinking/talking about: Florence Gordon, Better Than Before, French Kids Eat Everything.

Best date:

• Cincinnati staycation: our pre-move week included so many fun things as pretty much one big long date - so that's impossible to top. Wine tasting, roller coasters at an amusement park, dinner at our beloved Boca, outlet mall shopping, a night in a cool hotel, and more.

• Other really fun (and slightly out of our usual dinner date box) ones included rides with a local cycling group after I got my first road bike, seeing the Avett Brothers in concert twice, and fancy French takeout at-home dates.

Best recipe:

• Fiesta pork chops: one of the most impressive recipes I've ever made, in terms of presentation and restaurant-quality taste. Also in labor-intensiveness, so I only made it once...

• But for go-tos that are super easy and I've used over and over, a couple major winners were baked Greek chicken, Thai broccoli salad, and avocado blueberry muffins (Hendrik's very favorite breakfast) were all great new recipes for 2015.

Best Pinterest project:

• Avocado pinata for Hendrik's birthday party.

• Runners up: chalkboard table and Insta-art.

Best outfit:

Looking back through all the ones I posted, winter and summer actually had some of my favorite outfits, which is a little surprising as they're usually my least favorite seasons to dress for...

• Spring: navy stripes, all the way. 

• Summer: stripes + denim jacket, same favorite go-to combination as the previous summer. This just works, and for so many events/occasions.

• Fall: a simple sweater uniform.

• Winter: I still love pretty much everything from my winter capsule - which is fabulous for inspiration for the next couple of months!

Big achievements

• Successfully took up swimming as exercise, going from struggling to make 25 yards to swimming 700 without stopping!

• Contributed to blogs like Tiny Prints and Bouvardian.

• Got a new job title: Publications and Social Media Coordinator (still managing 2 - actually 3 as of tomorrow - academic journals, but having gradually added all manner of other publications/social media tasks to my job over the last few years finally got a new title for it).

• Did a Whole30 and learned a whole bunch of things about myself and my kitchen.

• Watched/help Hendrik learn to... walk (then run), say the alphabet and recognize all the letters, count to 20, give hugs "with arms", have a really good toddler meltdown, roll out cookie dough, draw circles, recite books, do down dog and happy baby yoga poses, talk in more than full sentences (non stop). 

Big events/happenings
In 2015, we:

• Bought a new (really old) house! Made it through residency! Sold a house! Moved from Ohio to Michigan! Just a few big happenings this year, right?

• Took a family vacation to Turks & Caicos to celebrate end of residency/Hendrik's birthday, and an adults-only one to the Bahamas to celebrate our 9th anniversary.

• Celebrated Hendrik's second birthday with a taco-twosday party, along with 40+ family and friends.

• Managed to pick out a sectional sofa for the new living room, after 8-10 weeks of consideration, and then get it delivered after 16 weeks of waiting.

• Lost an appendix and gained some stitches - Peter and Hendrik, respectively - in the very same day. 

merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone! I've already started in on the family celebrations with a gathering last night (and am gearing up for another tonight), so today's post is over on the Tiny Prints blog: a DIY card display. Here's a peek of the project and this year's Christmas cards...

I wish you all a joyful holiday week, and I'll see you back in the New Year for a recap of 2015 and then lots of fun posts that are already in the works for 2016, like what I've been reading lately (some fun stuff, like Crazy Rich Asians), what my next monthly mini wardrobe will look like, what my newest Pinterest win is, and plenty more.

around town: holiday happenings

We love living close to our small town's downtown and have been taking full advantage of the proximity to fun holiday season events lately, walking down for festive sights, sounds, and eats...

The coolest event we've been to was Up on the Rooftops, a holiday open house for which several businesses and private residences located above downtown shops/restaurants opened up. I have always wanted to live in one of these places, so it was SO cool to walk through them. Tons of amazing exposed brick walls, old wood floors, cool views, and jealousy-inducing office spaces with everything from shuffleboard to awesome patios.

last photo from here

We also enjoyed the Christmas lights parade as a whole family - though as it was pretty much an if you have a truck and put lights on it you can be in this parade type of deal, it was most exciting to Hendrik, who is way into vehicles and Christmas light spotting, both. We also enjoyed the Christmas Vespers at the local college; Peter's dad was in the choir, and it was such a nice concert. And because I love being among the Christmas decorations and the hustle & bustle of holiday shoppers so much, I've been making a habit of working out of one of the local coffee shops while Hendrik's babysitter is here, and enjoying some nice hot cocoa while I'm at it (fun fact: that's the same beverage, in the same glass mugs, in the same coffee shop as Peter and I had our first date... 15 (!) years ago).

What holiday fun have you been up to in your town?

wearing lately: basic(ally) Christmas

It's almost Christmas! Keeping things simple (yet still festive) this week with two takes on some of the most basic items in a style blogger's closet: a chambray shirt and a plaid blanket scarf. (And then my super fun noel flats, because I've got to get as much use as possible out of these babies before the holiday season is over.)

With just a little switch on the bottom, essentially the same outfit looks different and works for church on the one hand and a family gathering on the other - handy if you have to pack for holiday travels and have suitcase space constraints. But lucky me, I get to sleep in my own bed at Christmas for the first time in my married life - and still get to enjoy all the family gatherings! We've already done some cookie decorating at my parents' house, will have one get-together at my house tomorrow, an extended family one on Christmas Eve, stockings and brunch at my parents' house on Christmas, a big bunco party, and a get-together with Peter's parents too.

metallic stripe tee | cable knit sweater (similar) | plaid shirt | little red dress (similar, similar) | skinny jeans (similar cheaper) | black jeans | party skirt (similar, similar) | festive flats | chambray shirt | pea coat (similar cheaper) | clutch | sparkly jewelry: earrings, similar necklace | ankle boots | heels | plaid scarf | chunky cardigan (similar)

Sharing on Hello Monday, Mix It Monday.

mini me Monday: Christmas wear

As you've seen from my little December wardrobe, I quite enjoy picking out festive outfits throughout the month, and it's just as fun to do the mini version... here's what I'm putting Hendrik in this Christmas week, from a plaid shirt just like daddy's to some cheery Christmas morning pjs.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

 

That Crewcuts sweater was one of my few Black Friday/Cyber Monday purchases - I just couldn't help it when it was that cute and on big sale! We've actually already had plenty of occasion to trot out some of his cute holiday looks, going with his Sunday best for church yesterday, of course, and some mini me plaid for a cookie decorating gathering with aunts/uncles/cousins/grandparents over the weekend. With his very good fine motor skills, he was excellent at putting sprinkles on his cookies... but much more interested in eating them, obviously.

I can't get enough of these basic-yet-festive items on him. And tomorrow, a look at the basics that are taking me through the Christmas week too... Spoiler alert in this sneak peek: more plaid!

five things Friday: green Christmas edition

As shown in my holiday home tour, I love decorating with fresh greens for Christmas, from our entryway to our mantels. But there are so many other cool ways to use it besides those obvious ones. Five favorite ideas for this pre-Christmas Friday:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

As you can see, fresh greens can be used for everything from prettified rooms to place cards to present wrapping. These are all really inexpensive and easy ideas - ones you could totally still use, even if we are only one week out from Christmas (!).

The card display branches are a project I did for Tiny Prints with our ornament Christmas cards, partly inspired by the Christmas branches I used in lieu of a tree last year. Go check out the full tutorial here!

pin to present: holiday cheer(s) + linkup

Since 'tis the season to be jolly and all, I thought it would be fun to come up with a festive beverage to bring some cheer(s) to holiday gatherings. Our cocktail-making repertoire is pretty limited around here, but we do stock ingredients for whiskey sours, so when I came across this variation with cranberry on Pinterest I thought it would be the perfect thing to practice on for a little happy hour sitting by our fireplace while Hendrik was gracing us with a late nap...

image and recipe: The Speckled Palate

Cranberries are a good festiv-izer, don't you think? And it was kind of a nice tart addition to the drink. And now I have most of a jug of cranberry juice left in my fridge, so expect to be offered one if you come for a visit. Or perhaps I'll pull the bottle of prosecco out of the fridge and make this prosecco cranberry rose cocktail, which sounds even better but didn't seem quite appropriate, quantity-wise, when it was only two of us around.

Two tweaks if you try it: I decreased the bourbon and upped the cranberry juice a bit, and also based on the unusually temperate December happening around here, I felt like I needed to come up with a new name for this drink - "blizzard" just didn't seem appropriate. Maybe the "holly jolly"? The "cranberry cheer"? Those sound better than the more descriptive "cran-whiskey sour" anyway.

Cheers to your pre-Christmas weekend... And now I want to sit down with a drink in hand and read all about what you've been creating/wearing/making/eating this holiday season - link up your Pinterest-inspired holiday happenings below!

An InLinkz Link-up

the merriest party

One of my favorite holiday season traditions is baking and decorating Christmas cookies, and in recent years I’ve turned it into a great excuse to have a gathering with friends. I think this is even better than a cookie swap - I love how a decorating party allows you to talk with friends, do a creative activity, and eat some delicious treats all at the same time - and everyone still gets to take home more than enough sweet stuff for later.

This year I had such a lovely afternoon hosting some old college friends/roommates for cookie decorating and catching up, made even more fun with all the Tiny Prints products we got to use for the event.

For more details on this year's party and tips for doing your own, head over to Tiny Prints to read my whole post! You can also see the same thing, different color scheme from last year's version of the gathering with my Cincinnati blogger lady friends (miss you all!) or try out my favorite recipe.

wearing lately: holiday plaid

So far this month we've done metallics and red, so now turning to the third trick up my sleeve(s) for festive dressing all December long: plaid. And with my little December capsule, it was super easy to pull together a couple of outfits for a couple of occasions - such as one that could do cocktails and one that could do a casual gathering. Read on for even more styling ideas, and for a new online tool, Capsules, that can help you build a simplified but fabulous little mix & match wardrobe of your very own...

Super easy and pretty basic, but just that mixing in of plaid (plus some well-placed baubles and bright outerwear) makes it all feel much more festive, right? And these are just two of the many ways to wear a plaid shirt in this season... tucked into the sequin mini skirt from my December lineup would be fun. Or layered under the cozy cardigan. (And just to show how timeless a plaid shirt is for the holidays, there are even more ideas from last year here.)

That's just one of the many things I love about this mix & match mini capsule approach - versatility! With a little planning ahead on what items to include, I feel like I've so easily got something to wear for everything, which is helpful when there are so many things this time of year. A simplified wardrobe to make great outfits from - that's what these little wardrobes help me do. And everyone's interested in that, right? I've gotten lots of great feedback on these mini wardrobes that I've been posting monthly since September, including comments like "I want that to be my closet!" and now good news... you can!

Recently the team of a new online tool, Capsules by Cladwell, reached out to share their product, and I'm really excited about it, as one of their chief goals is exactly what I'm going for here: to create awesome outfits from your closet.

metallic stripe tee | cable knit sweater (similar) | plaid shirt | little red dress (similar, similar) | skinny jeans (similar cheaper) | black jeans | party skirt (similar, similar) | festive flats | chambray shirt | pea coat (similar cheaper) | clutch | sparkly jewelry: earrings, similar necklace | ankle boots | heels | plaid scarf | chunky cardigan (similar)

This tool walks you through everything you need to make a capsule of your own: closet cleanout, self discovery (figuring out the wardrobe/color palette that works for YOU), examination of your lifestyle (to make sure everything in your wardrobe will get worn), and finally - the fun part - edit and shop. Capsules generates a simple wardrobe by focusing on your personal preferences and the activities in your life. Users check-off the items you own, and only buy what you need, so you can clear out the clutter and get on with what really matters in life.

This would be a great Christmas or New Year's gift to yourself, the new year being a great time to clean out your closet and start fresh and all. Check it out. I'm planning to use some of my downtime from work over the holidays to do just that, and I'll be sharing my experiences (and new mini wardrobe lineup) in January.

Sharing on Hello Monday, Mix It Monday.

Capsules by Cladwell provided me with a free trial of their tool; thanks for supporting the brands that help make my posts possible!

holiday home tour

This year I was extra excited to decorate for Christmas, given that our new tudor style house just looks like it was made for this time of year, and that our high ceilings and front bay window are just asking for a big tree. Not to mention that I have TWO mantels now!

The theme for my 2015 decorating: fresh greenery, red and kraft paper accents, and scripty writing embellishments. The greens start outside with some garlands and wreaths, and they continue on the living room mantel with bits & pieces we had to cut off the tree to get it to fit (whoops). I stuck some leftover garland on the mantel in the dining room as well, and brought in some more of the tree branches in a big vase, topping it all off with the gorgeous tulip arrangement sent by Proflowers. Tulips are my absolute favorite flower, so I love how they added greens to make this seasonal arrangement, and how the fun red mason jar vase they came in adds a little punch to the decor.

I went simple on the tree - I love the modern look of this tree collar I found, rather than a skirt, and then inspired by the Tiny Prints custom wrapping paper, I found similar tags from Crate & Barrel and hung up a few packs of them, a very inexpensive decorating option. Other than that we have just a few other small touches - a runner and pretty centerpiece for the dining table, a pretty pillow on the couch, and some more lights/candles on the mantel - keeping things simple yet cozy and festive. Just my style.

I actually kept things fairly simple overall, despite my excitement to get all the Christmas on in here, trying to remember that it's just our first year here - there will be plenty of time over the years to accumulate little candles for all of our windows (tons of people have those in our historic district), or hang some garland on the grand staircase banister. So I added just a few things to the small stock of Christmas decor I already had and kept it at that. It'll be a fun tradition to add a new area of decor every year, perhaps. Also something that's going to be a new tradition: we got a real tree for the first time, the day after Thanksgiving, and it makes me so happy. I just love having the lights glowing on these evenings when it gets dark so early.

Now that we're in a back in our home town, with a kid who is starting to "get" Christmas, I'm excited to come up with some traditions of our own for our little family - while getting to enjoy the extended family ones without having to travel very far! Opening stockings on Christmas morning at my parents' house is one of my favorite Christmas traditions, which makes our little family set one of my favorite decorations, and now I'm excited to pick out a time when we have our own tradition of opening them up together. I'm a teensy bit tempted to just do it now, because I can't wait to see how much Hendrik is going to adore the little animal figurines and the toothbrush I put in there.

Making Christmas cookies is also a must-do for me, and I've turned it into an annual party to have some fun hanging out with friends and decorating. You can see I've already done one round with some college friends, and we're enjoying eating those until we do round two with neighbors this weekend...

And of course my all-time favorite Christmas albums provide the soundtrack to all of the above, starting the day after Thanksgiving!

What are your favorite Christmas decorations or traditions?

Sources
Garlands: local nursery
Wreaths/bows: Michaels
Wrapping paper: Tiny Prints
Tree collar: Crate & Barrel
Gift tags as ornaments: Crate & Barrel
Garlands: West Elm
Stockings: Pottery Barn
Small lantern: Target
Large lanterns: TJ Maxx
Throw blanket: Target
Star marquee light: Michaels (similar)
Candles: Target
Throw pillow: Crate & Barrel
Tray: Target
Tulip arrangement: c/o Proflowers
Table centerpiece: Target
Table runner: Target (similar)

Sharing on Kiki's Christmas decor and traditions themed The Circle linkup. Proflowers sent the gorgeous arrangement and Tiny Prints the wrapping paper (thanks!) but all opinions are my own.