currently: almost advent edition

Now that we're past Thanksgiving, the Christmas season can officially begin, never mind that it isn't even December 1 yet. I'm writing this by the light of the tree, and I just love it! Here's what else is currently going on heading into the holiday here:

congratulating: my last-December  self for putting all of my family & friend addresses into a spreadsheet, because then this year I could quickly and easily upload it to get (free!) printed envelopes to go with my Christmas cards. Can't wait to get them into everyone's mailboxes even faster and fancier than usual this year. (By the way, not an ad, but I have to say I was thrilled with the service, speed of printing/delivery, and quality of product when I switched to Paper Culture last year, and I am using them again this year.)

modifying: our tree routine, because toddler. It's just not feasible to put a big tree in our front window as usual, unless we put a fence around it to keep Freddie away. Much cuter solution (a la this Pottery Barn inspiration) was to get a mini tree from the grocery store and put it on the table that lives by the front window. Still get to enjoy the twinkle lights in the living room, and we can pile presents up around it, also out of baby reach. And to make up the difference in amount of tree, I got sweet little (pre-lit, so easy!) artificial tree from Target on a Black Friday sale that we put up in the dining room, which is always gated off from Freddie access anyway.

selecting: all holiday-themed Peloton rides, all the time! I love doing rides/yoga flows/etc. from their holiday collection - so much fun holiday spirit in those playlists, and there are enough of them in the archive that I can make my whole December exercise calendar holiday music filled. Christine's Pentatonix ride is one of my favorites from a past year, and Robin has had some great ones too. (And tempted to get this fun ornament to commemorate my month of holiday-themed rides.)

wrapping: the page-a-day advent calendar and all of the gifts under the tree (of which I have quite a few purchased already!) with some Sugar Paper wrap in a lovely red, turquoise & rose color scheme. I love when I find pretty and festive gift wrap that matches my home's color scheme so well. 

lighting: some beauties from the Voluspa mini candle set Peter got me at Christmas last year (this year's advent calendar candle set is so gorgeous looking too!). Now that it's getting dark so early, and we've got all of the holiday season glow going with the trees, it's so nice to have these lovely scented additions to the kitchen in the evenings.

What's currently going on with you as you head in to December? It's always one of my favorite months, with so much to anticipate and enjoy - wishing you a lovely season, no matter what you might celebrate!

mini me Monday: 2022 book-a-day advent calendar

The book-a-day advent calendar is back for 2022! As usual, I have wrapped up 24 books, a combination of old favorites in our collection (which I keep tucked away in a closet during the rest of the year), newly purchased, and library borrows. 

 

If you've been around here awhile, you've seen this idea plenty of times over the years, but it's always fun to post the current year's wrapping paper scheme.... I love the Sugar Paper collection at Target, so I picked out these two cute prints and brought back out the wooden number tags I got on Etsy last year. Here's everything I used to set up the calendar on our playroom shelves:

As for what's inside, it's a bit heavier on the Freddie-level books, partly because that's the bulk of what's in our collection, and partly because Hendrik gets a big-kid Pokemon advent calendar while Freddie does not get any other special thing... Here are a few new books added to our collection this year:

And here are some old favorites that are fun to bring back out - Hendrik will enjoy revisiting them by reading to Freddie (which is adorable and sweet and the best), and Freddie will enjoy getting to really experience some of these for the first time. I just know how much he's going to love the light-up surprise at the end of Little Blue Truck and the construction machines in Construction Site on Christmas Night.

Since Hendrik has grown out of picture books a tad (and definitely has grown out of the board books in our collection, except to read aloud to Freddie), and there aren't all that many Christmas-specific chapter books, I've expanded the "big kid" genre to include books with a winter or snowy setting, or activity/joke type books. Here are some those ideas for the bigger kids:

 

p.s. if you want to do one of these but are getting a late start: don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good! All you need is one wrapped book as of December 1, right? :) In fact, I still haven't gotten over to the library to pick up those ones, so there aren't actually 24 books on my shelves now. I'll add in some more with the higher numbered tags in the coming week when I get to it.

currently: autumnal edition

Most important thing I'm currently doing as autumn is in full swing: voting! And fervently hoping that others will do the same to protect women's rights, LGBTQ rights, healthcare rights, democracy rights... But aside from that, here are a few other things currently going on this season::

 

adjusting: to the daylight savings time change - oof. Last year Freddie was still pretty tiny and not on a solid schedule, but not so this year... Also, it's so hard to get used to it being so dark so early (and earlier by the day!). At least I already loaded fresh batteries into my automatic timer flameless candles, so the cozy glow comes on in the living room as soon as dusk hits.  

raking: nothing, any more, as all of the trees in our yard are now pretty empty of leaves. That always makes me feel a bit bleak, because they're going to look barren for MONTHS, so let's just enjoy this photo of my yard looking gorgeous for fall a month ago. At least we've still been getting tons of mild days to enjoy being outdoors, even if it's a bit grayer as we turn toward winter...

stocking: the pantry with stocks! Peter's been making butternut squash soup lately, and I'm pulling out the chili recipes. This sweet potato + turkey chili was a hit here with all of us, and great components for Freddie to feed himself (I added a can of black beans and omitted the chili peppers, since that's how our pantry and tastes go). He loved it - and then the next night he threw all of it on the floor, individual piece by piece. Okay, so we're entering the finicky toddler eating stage, are we?!

researching: a stroller cover so that we can keep walking outdoors (speaking of turning toward winter). On the frosty mornings we've had so far, Freddie has proven he has zero interest in hats or mittens, and he tends to kick off blankets too. So that he can have it all ways (strong desire to go outside with strong desire not to be bundled up), I think a fleecy stroller sleeping bag type thing is going to be the answer. I loved the infant carseat cover we had last year from 7AM Enfant, so I bet their stroller muff would be great, but need to make sure it's as "universal" a fit as advertised - and also research some similar options because  even if we'll get a ton of use out of it, thanks to our downtown's snow-free sidewalks all winter long, that price is feeling steep!

watching: Indian Matchmaking on Netflix. Okay, this doesn't really have anything to do with fall per se, except that it's getting darker and colder out, and that had me primed to start a new show for the first time in FOREVER. I am so hooked on this one - fascinating to see how matching couples works in the modern era, and in the US (with those of Indian heritage) vs. in India, in terms of the individuals' reactions and their families' involvement. Also I think the next Netflix show should be a cross-over between Queer Eye an Indian Matchmaking... I'd definitely watch that.

wearing lately: fall favorites

While I am not really on top of taking/editing outfit photos these days, I've really been feeling the fall wardrobe lately. Honestly, it helps that we've had a decently warm stretch for fall, so I can actually wear my jackets and cute jeans + sneakers with bare ankles looks instead of already having to cover up everything with boots and big coats. That'll be coming of course.... But for now, here is a little capsule of what have been my faves - they all mix and match so well that you can just imagine my cute outfits :)

long-sleeved henley | cool-kid sneakers (more sizes) | striped sweater (similar, similar) | gingham button-down (similar, similar) | square-toe flats | quilted jacket (similar) | patterned dress (similar) | stovepipe jeans (similar) | sweater blazer | navy cross-body (similar)

Several of these are old favorites - and really, the stovepipe jeans and sweater blazer that I've had for years are kind of season-less. They're lovely in fall with some rusty and burgundy type pairings, in particular - and along with a few new (okay, there have been a lot of good sales lately!) items to mix and match. Definitely best purchase of this fall has been my new sneakers - they make every outfit so cute and fun and they're so easy to wear. Currently it's a gloriously sunny fall day in the 60s and I have on the jeans, henley, and sneakers - and even though it's simple and has no layering, the colors and textures and little details just make it feel like an outfit.

I'm loving my navy cross-body bag too. Perfect size to hold a book on the occasion I'm out and about by myself, it comes with two straps (cloth and leather) to change up your look, and I got it monogramed too. So snazzy!