Your Yearly Reminder to Stop & Savor.

I write some version of this post every year, and just like always, it's just as much for me as for anyone who may read it. 
Here we are, less than two weeks out from Christmas. Things tend to start to get a little hectic around this time, so I wanted to drop in with my yearly reminder for you to slow down and savor.
'Tis the season for gifts and parties and lots of plans, yes. It's also the season for joy and gratitude and wonder. Don't lose those last three because you're so caught up in the first three. 
Joy and gratitude and wonder are all free, but you have to look for them. And, in my personal experience, it's a lot harder to find them if you're running around at light speed trying to do all the things. 
So this week, slow the heck down for a minute or two and just savor the good things around you. Listen to your favorite Christmas music. Actually look at the Christmas lights in your neighborhood instead of just rushing to get home so you can rush to the next thing. Don't run yourself so ragged that you arrive at Christmas day exhausted and stressed over how much money you've spent. That's no way to start the new year. 
This time of year is beautiful and special for so many reasons other than what you can buy or what you have to do. So don't miss that! 
Have the best day today. Do yourself a favor and savor the week, okay? Love you, mean it. 

Here's Your Reminder to Stop and Savor.

Hi, you. 
You, thriving in the holiday hustle and bustle. Or you, overwhelmed by the chaos. You, so excited that Christmas is in two weeks. You, feeling behind and like you haven't even started the season yet.  Wherever you are, here's your reminder to slow down, stop, and savor. 
Whether this season is everything you hoped it would be or looks nothing like you wanted it to, it's still your holiday season. And it's worth savoring, even just for a minute. 
While you're buying gifts (cheerfully, or frantically), savor the fact that you have relationships in your life that are Christmas present-worthy. When you're driving home from a night full of errands (always chaotic this time of year), savor the coziness of pulling into your neighborhood to see houses lit up with lights. 
Savor the feeling of plugging in the Christmas tree before you turn any other lights on. Savor how your favorite Christmas song makes you feel. Savor the feeling of laughing at Elf, or Home Alone, or The Grinch. Curl up with a blanket and some hot chocolate and take a second to just be happy that it's Christmas. 
Every moment won't be perfect. You'll still have moments of being tired, or overwhelmed, or disappointed, or fill-in-the-blank. But this season, this cozy, beautiful, bright, wonderful season, will be over before you know it. So before that happens, take a second to slow down. Look around and savor it while it's still here. 

Seven Christmases.

Seven Christmases ago, I spent December 22 both making a scrapbook for a boy I had only dated for six months and worrying that a scrapbook was an inappropriate gift for that early in a relationship. We exchanged gifts on December 23rd, not knowing then that we were unofficially picking a day that would always be special to us. PS: The scrapbook was the perfect gift. 
Six Christmases ago, we spent December 23rd driving around the town we had fallen in love in a year and a half ago. I made a scavenger hunt and gave him cheesy little gifts at each stop. We took pictures and ate ice cream and laughed and watched the sunset and it was perfect.
Five Christmases ago, December 23rd brought me the very best present in the form of a surprise proposal and a shiny diamond ring. With every gift I opened on Christmas morning, the ring caught my eye and reminded me just how perfect life was. 
Four Christmases ago, I was just a little distracted because my wedding was four days after Christmas. After almost a year of wedding planning, my dad put a ban on wedding talk for one day only, but that didn't stop me and my mom from sneaking off to the kitchen to remind each other of last minute things.
Three Christmases ago, I woke up in the same bed as the love of my life, in our first apartment. It was one of the best days of my life, opening gifts and playing with our new puppy fox. My heart was so full and life was so good. 
Two Christmases ago, we did all the fun Christmas things downtown had to offer and celebrated in our little apartment in the sky. Our tree was set up against the window and it looked like our Christmas lights blended right in with the city lights, and it was the perfect place to live. 
Last Christmas, we were right on the cusp on everything changing. We were two weeks out from the baby that had taken us by surprise that year, and it made Christmas feel so full. Everything was uncertain - what would parenthood be like? Where would we be living next Christmas? But as we spent our last Christmas just the two of us, everything felt so precious. On Christmas morning, we exchanged gifts and talked about how next year, there would be three of us. 
This Christmas, absolutely everything is different. It will be our first Christmas in our new city, our first Christmas with a house (that we decorated!), and our first Christmas with Jack. It has been wonderful. 
Jack has brought a whole new meaning to Christmas. The joy and thankfulness and celebration I usually feel this time of year is doubled because of him. Buying him toys and watching Christmas movies with him and dancing around the room to Christmas music while he laughs has made this the best Christmas ever. 
As I always do this time of year, I think about our first Christmas together and all the Christmases we've shared since then. And I look at my life now - my beautiful, messy, perfect, stressful, joyful life - and know that it all started because two teenagers fell in love in a little town by the beach. 
How many Christmases have you been with your significant other?

Remember What it's All About: Stop & Savor.

The season of life I'm in right now forces me to stop and savor things while simultaneously reminding me of just how difficult that can be. Every single day is full of a thousand moments I want to remember forever, and every single day is full of busyness and work and stress that make it hard to slow down and do just that. 
Christmas season is my favorite season of all. Christmas with Jack is my favorite thing I've ever had. I want to enjoy the craziness of it all, not rush my way through it. 
Cherishing the moment doesn't come naturally to everyone all the time. Sometimes, especially during busy seasons like this, we have to consciously make a decision to savor it. Working out takes effort. Being good at your job takes effort. Growing a blog following takes effort. I put effort into all of those things, and I'm going to put effort into this. I hope you join me. Because these moments are so worth savoring. 
So that's what I'm going to do. For the next twelve days, I'm going to slow down and savor all the good parts. I'm going to sit on the couch and drink hot chocolate, I'm going to watch Christmas movies with Jack. I'm going to walk around the neighborhood and look at all the lights. And, because I love the hustle and bustle as much as I love the peace and quiet, I'll join the chaos that is Christmas shopping at the mall. I'll frantically wrap and mail presents. I'll enjoy it all. I'll worry a little less about having the perfect holiday and a little more about just enjoying the moment as it is. 
So here's your reminder: Slow down. Be present. Enjoy the chaos and the quiet, the frantic and the calm.
Twelve more days until Christmas. Cheers to making some good memories.  

A Very Merry Grinchmas.

Christmas time in Florida is pretty amazing. It's the second week of December and we're walking around in tank tops and flip flops over here. While some cool weather would be nice for Christmas, I don't mind the sunshine one bit. 

We may not have snowy landscapes or cold weather when it comes to our Decembers, but we do have one thing: Grinchmas. 

It's one of my favorite holiday traditions and I was so excited to take Jack this year. And although his face may not look like it, I promise he was excited too. It's gotta be confusing to fall asleep in the car and then wake up to snow everywhere. 

Jack's experience meeting the Grinch: 

1. Laugh a little bit at the green fuzzy guy, because he looks funny and he tried to sit in your stroller. 

2. Realize that you are, in fact, standing next to the Grinch, and realize maybe you should feel a little panicky about this situation.

3. Promptly burst into tears. 

4. Hold on for dear life in case the Grinch tries to snatch you away. 

He was much happier after we got him away from the Grinch. It was hilarious and I'm so glad we waited in line like tourists to see his expressions. 

Universal puts on their very own Macy's Day Parade and it's so adorable. Jack loved it so much. I'll never forget the look of awe on his little face while he watched all the floats and saw all the characters dancing around to Christmas music. 

His first Santa sighting!

I love Christmas. I love Florida life. If you're ever in the sunshine state in December, you absolutely must go to Universal and experience Grinchmas for yourself. 

Did you do any fun holiday things this weekend?

December Traditions: Old & New.

December is my favorite month of the whole year for so many reasons, but traditions are at the top of that list. It's a month just so full of tradition...old traditions that you probably have no idea who you inherited from, new traditions you found on Pinterest that you want to try out, Instagram and facebook filling up with pictures of other people enjoying their own traditions. It all feels so rich and festive.

My three favorites:
Celebrating Christmas Eve. If you know me at all, you know that I freaking love Christmas Eve. Growing up, my family had our own Christmas Eve traditions that are my favorite. When we got married, Chris and I decided we'd make our tradition Chinese take-out and a movie. I'm not sure what exactly we'll do this year, but now that we have Jack, it's going to be that much more magical. PS: Tell me any fun Christmas traditions to do with an almost-one-year-old. 
Turning Christmas shopping into a date. Chris and I have been doing this ever since we were dating. It's a weird thing to call a tradition, but I love it. We get Christmas coffees and go to the nearest festive mall, where we split up and finish up our shopping for each other. It's so much fun being sneaky and trying not to run into each other. Then, since we usually do this just a few days before Christmas, we meet up and pick out any gifts for anyone else we still need to get before we go to dinner. The stores are so festive this time of year, it's easy to make running errands feel like Christmas fun.

Grinchmas. I know I've said this before, but if you're in or around FL, you neeeeed to go to Universal in December. They go all out for Christmas Grinchmas and everything is so fun and festive. The parks are decked out with Christmas decorations, their shows are Christmas-themed, everything is just perfect. And at the end of the day, they do their own Macy's Day parade (with some of the actual floats from the parade!) and it is just the best. Put this one on your bucket list. 
Three new traditions I want to do this December:
Go see Santa. I'm so excited to take Jack to see Santa. He met the Grinch yesterday and it didn't go so well, so stay tuned for funny pictures. 
Go to a Christmas lights festival. We drive around neighborhoods and look at lights every year, but apparently Gainesville takes their lights seriously. There are several light festivals around that you can walk around or drive through and I'm so excited to see them!
Bake Christmas cookies. I bake almost every day in the fall, but weirdly enough, not so much in December. We always make cookies on Christmas Eve, but they're just store-bought cookies. This year, Chris actually has some time off for Christmas, so I want to bake a few fun things. 
What are your favorite December traditions?

Spending December: A To-Do List For Adventuring Through The Most Wonderful Month of Them All.

1. First things first: DECORATE.
2. DIY a countdown calendar. There are so many cute ones, you could totally copy one and make your own!
3. Go visit a Christmas tree farm. Even if you're not actually cutting down a Christmas tree, they're still fun to walk around (and smell, obviously).
4. Watch your favorite Christmas movies. ELF.
5. Watch a Christmas movie you've never seen before. If you didn't see Love the Coopers last year, I recommend that one just for the ending. 
6. Make Christmas cookies. For Santa, but of course you will test them out for him first. 
7. Kiss someone under the mistletoe. 
8. Create your favorite Christmas music stations. 
9. Experiment with hot chocolate recipes. There are so many! White hot chocolate, cherry hot chocolate, coffee hot chocolate, boozy hot chocolate. Get to sipping! 
10. Look up what your town offers in the way of Christmas celebrations. Lots of towns offer free stuff this time of they year.
11. Leave a secret gift on someone's porch. 
12. Have a fire and drink mulled wine and make smores and listen to Christmas music. If that doesn't sound like the coziest night I've ever heard of, I don't know what does. 
13. Make a date out of Christmas shopping. 
14. Go see Santa. Take your own kid, borrow a kid, take your dog...
15. If you are anywhere near Florida...Go to Universal's Grinchmas. It is 100% worth it. 
16. Send Christmas cards. 
17. Go to (or host!) a Christmas party. Bonus points if you play Dirty Santa. 
18. Buy your pet a Christmas sweater. It's a necessity. 
19. Decorate gingerbread houses. 
20. Go on a Christmas date. 
21. Go look at Christmas lights.
22. Buy yourself new pj's for Christmas Eve. 
23. Go last minute shopping. Don't take yourself too seriously and you'll have the best time ever. This is the best people watching of the entire year. 
24. Celebrate Christmas Eve. My favorite day! 
25. MERRY CHRISTMAS. Stay present today. 
26. Be lazy. Don't lie to yourself and say you're going to be productive today. You're not. 
27. Make a smoothie. Or a salad. New years resolutions are coming up and if you're anything like me you lived off of chocolate and candy canes all month long. 
28. Exchange any gifts you need to. If you don't do this soon, it just won't happen. 
29. Go back and look at your goals/bucket list/hopes for 2016. Pick an easy one you didn't do...and do it!
30. Reflect on 2016. 
31. Celebrate New Year's Eve!
How will you be spending your December?

Our Thanksgiving: Just Us (Plus One)

Every year, the day before Thanksgiving, Chris and I take the night to have our own little celebration. It's one of my very favorite traditions (I've written about it here and here). We always go to Whole Foods (which, if you've never been to Whole Foods the night before Thanksgiving...it's about as crazy as you'd imagine it to be), pretend we're rich, and buy the fanciest dinner. Appetizers, dessert, the works. Then we go home and cook, laugh, and just have the best time ever. 
Thanksgiving is a holiday that centers a lot around family and friends, and I love that so much. But we also love having our own little Thanksgiving, just the two of us. 
That is, until this year. 
This year, we live in Gainesville, where there is sadly not a Whole Foods yet. Fresh Market it was! And, due to residency, we celebrated on a different night than usual. 

Oh, and it wasn't just the two of us this year. 

And it was absolutely perfect. 
Every year I've spent with Chris, I'm so thankful on Thanksgiving. But this year, there just aren't words to say how thankful I am for this life we've built together. 
I'd venture to say that this has been the hardest year of my life so far. I've been stretched and pushed and honestly, run over with a proverbial mac truck on quite a few occasions. Isn't it strange how a year can simultaneously be the best and the hardest? But this is the most thankful thanksgiving I have ever, ever had. 

Happy Thanksgiving, you beautiful people. If you have a significant other in your life, try to take a minute to remind them just how thankful you are for them.
And if you're wondering just how to do that...might I suggest a trip to Whole Foods tonight?

How to Have a Completely Stress-Free Thanksgiving in 11 Easy Steps.

1. First things first: Please absolutely everyone. This is essential. If someone is upset with you for not going along with their plans/being late/saying the wrong thing, Thanksgiving will be ruined. RUINED.
2. Buy a new dress. Of course it will be expensive, even though you already have plenty of perfectly good dresses. Of course it will be form fitting, and you'll have eaten so much before Thanksgiving dinner even starts that you'll probably change into yoga pants. But if you don't buy a new dress, do you even actually care about Thanksgiving??
3. Start your marathon training weeks in advance. Marathon eating, that is. You've got to prepare your stomach so you can actually eat everything. This way, you can avoid these questions and comments: Oh, you didn't like it. || So I guess that's not your favorite anymore? I made it just for you. || Are you feeling well? You didn't eat enough. || You ate before you came, didn't you?
4. Clone yourself. Because that's the only way you're making it to everyone's Thanksgiving plans. 
5. Win the lottery. Let's be honest, that's the only way you're affording all the traveling, cooking, wine, grocery runs, and early Christmas gifts you need to be prepared for. 
6. Lose 20 pounds. So maybe "You've gained weight!" Won't be the first thing out of your grandma's mouth this year. 
7. Get married and have a baby. So when that one family member starts in on how they always thought you'd be married by now, you can say, HA! IN YOUR FACE. 
8. On the other hand, leave your current husband and children. That way when someone is talking to you about their exotic adventures this year, and how it's such a bummer you're tied down and can't have any fun, you can say, "Psh, what are you talking about?"
9. Spend approximately half of the time you're with family planning Christmas. Who cares that it's Thanksgiving? If you don't spend hours drawing up who's buying what gifts, and who's cooking what food, and what events are on what days, Christmas won't even happen.  
10. Make a list of topics to avoid so you don't offend someone/start a fight. Possible topics to avoid: Religion, politics, racism of any kind, anyone's job, breakups, women in general, men in general...you know what? Just stick to talking about the food. 
11. Duck out of Thanksgiving dinner 3 hours early. Black Friday deals on Christmas presents obviously trump spending time with family. You're probably buying gifts for them, anyway. It would be selfish to stay around and finish your dinner. 
///
Wishing you all lots of good food, some thankfulness, and minimal family drama this month. 
What would you add to this list?

Love The Life You Actually Have.

Halloween is in nineteen days. Fall may be my favorite, but Halloween is by no means my favorite holiday. This year is different, though, because Jack is here. So you better believe I will be Halloweening to the fullest extent. 
This year is also different because Chris is in residency. So even though Halloween is less than three weeks away, he has no idea what his schedule will be that week, and if it's a day he'll have off or not. Probably not. 
He probably will also not have Thanksgiving off, or Christmas Eve, or Christmas. 
This is not to say, "Woe is me, my life is so hard!" This is to say, "My life is different right now."
And here's the thing: I freaking love my life. Sure, residency isn't my favorite thing in the whole world, and there are sometimes more hard days than I would like, but overall, I am really so in love with my life. I'm in love with who I get to spend it with and where I get to spend it. And I think a big reason why my little holiday loving heart is able to be so in love with a life that sometimes has to skip over the holidays is because I know my life is different right now. 
A long time ago, before residency was on the horizon, my mom told me that holidays are whatever day you make them. That you can reschedule your holidays for whatever day works for you.
This year, I'll be doing just that. Thanksgiving might not be on a Thursday. Christmas probably won't be on the twenty-fifth. Sure, I'll probably shed a few tears on the actual holidays. I'm sure I'll be frustrated at the lack of flexibility with holiday plans more than once. But that doesn't matter, because we will still have the best holiday season ever. Because this is our life, and we have each other. 

This life...the one you've been given, the one you're living in...whether or not it's the life you imagined, it's the life that you actually have. There are some things you can change about your life, but some of life is just out of your control. Don't waste the life you have being upset by circumstances. 
If you have to reschedule your holidays this year, do it! Who says Thanksgiving has to be at the end of November, anyway? If you have less money than you were expecting and Christmas presents don't seem to be a possibility, hit up the dollar store and buy some silly things. If you aren't able to travel to be with family on the holidays, FaceTime them and then plan the best day ever for yourself in your town. 
This, right here, is life. It's your actual life. It may take a little bit of work, but it's so important to learn to love it. It's so, so worth it. 

It's the Merriest Week of all...Enjoy it!

Merry week of Christmas! No matter what this month has looked like for you, whether you've had the Martha Stewart-esque holiday season of your dreams, or you didn't make it to the first thing on your Christmas pinterest board, it's Christmas week, and it's here. 

So enjoy it! Soak up every hour of every day. Go overboard with the Christmas music and the eggnog. Stay up too late so you can watch Elf and Home Alone. Spend too much time shopping and wrapping and playing Santa. Enjoy every bit of this magical week. 

If the holidays haven't gone the way you envisioned them up until now, let it go. If you just haven't been able to get into the Christmas spirit, well, now's your chance! It's not too late to have an absolutely magical Christmas. 

It's the merriest week of all...enjoy it.

Dear You: A Christmas Letter.

Dear You,

I hope that this Christmas season has been-and continues to be-one for the books. I hope it has been full of magic and cheer and that the next two weeks are filled to the brim the best kind of hustle and bustle.

I hope that this year finds your surrounded by people who love you fiercely-whether that's family or friends that have become your family. 

I hope you take time to savor each moment, even the busy ones. I hope you remind yourself of what Christmas is really all about, and that you celebrate each and every day to the fullest. 

I hope that-in the midst of the madness and hurting in the world-you allow yourself to believe in magic this year. It's Christmas, after all. If there's any magic left in the world, it can be found in Christmas. So this week, allow yourself some wonder and excitement over the little things.

I hope that no matter how full your to-do list is, no matter how long your to-buy list is, no matter how quickly your bank account is shrinking, no matter how many obligatory gatherings you have to make...you choose to be happy instead of stressed. 

I hope that if this Christmas is hard for you this year because of someone you lost in 2015, that you tell someone. I hope that you choose joy over grief and precious memories over tears.

I hope that every single day left in December brings you unexpected joys, both big and small. I hope you learn to look for these joys, learn to delight in the small things like a cup of coffee in a Christmas mug, or the sight of little kids seeing Santa for the first time. I hope you pass that joy on to others, in the forms of gifts and smiles and Merry Christmas greetings.

I hope you do whatever it is that you want to do this Christmas. I hope you don't fall victim to the pressures of having a pinterest-perfect Christmas, and I hope you don't feel guilted by the articles that shame you for having anything other than a minimalistic Christmas. I hope you find what is just right for you and yours, and that you celebrate in the way that makes you the happiest.

I hope that your Christmas is truly merry and bright, that it is filled with happiness and magic and all things festive, that it overflows with love and glitter, and that you feel the happiest you've felt in a long time.

I hope that you laugh at Will Ferrell parading around Central Park in yellow tights, that you tear up a little when Linus reads the Christmas story, and that you fall asleep each night warm, happy, and full of magic in the glow of a Christmas tree.

I hope that this Christmas is nothing short of magical for you. Merry, merry Christmas. 

xoxo

Tis the Season: Make, Watch, Sip, Listen.

I was originally going to write a post with all of the Christmas movies available to watch on Netflix, but when I logged on to look, I saw that Netflix already has them all in one section! Convenient!

So instead of a list of movies you can watch on demand, here's my suggestion of how you should spend your weekend: Making and sipping and watching and listening. Tis the season, after all.

M A K E : Gift tags for your Christmas presents! This can be as simple as writing some Christmas carol lyrics on an index card or printing off and cutting out some pre made tags, or as complicated as going to Joann's and buying stamps and fake snow to add to your tags. Either way, it adds a festive touch to the boxes under your tree!

W A T C H : Any of the Christmas movies on Netflix! Just browse the holiday section...there are classics (White Christmas), Comedies, (Christmas With the Kranks), and an endless supply of cheesy, Hallmark-esque movies.

S I P : Mulled wine! This recipe looks absolutely delicious. Now, if you happen to be housing a tiny human like I am this holiday season, sip on some hot chocolate instead. This recipe for white peppermint hot chocolate looks divine.

L I S T E N : To Christmas music, no matter what you're doing! Pretty much everyone has a Christmas album these days, but you just can't beat Harry Connick Jr. when it comes to classic Christmas music. Be still, my heart.

Realistically, we all most likely have things to get done this weekend that may have nothing to do with celebrating Christmas, but that doesn't mean your weekend can't be celebratory! Sip hot chocolate while you run errands, play Christmas music while you clean the house...no matter what your plans are this weekend, I hope you find a way to make it festive! It's December, after all...time to celebrate the best holiday of all!

How will you be celebrating this weekend?

Sometimes Christmas is Just the Best Gift of All.

Monday night, we had our annual Christmas date. Chris picked me up at the door of our apartment with flowers...something that doesn't really happen anymore once you live together! We saw Love, The Coopers, listened to Christmas music, went shopping, walked around the mall with the giant Christmas decorations...it was a magical night, and it was my favorite.

It made me think of how much I love Christmas and everything that comes with it-the parties, the music, the anticipation, the time we get to spend with people we love. Those are the things that make Christmas so magical for me.

Sneaking around the mall, trying to buy each other gifts without being spotted, and then laughing and sneaking a kiss when you get caught...that's why I love Christmas. And no matter what gift I could have found for Chris, or what present he could have bought for me, nothing could possibly beat out the feeling of happiness that the date night brought me.

Sometimes, I can feel discouraged about gifts and having a smaller Christmas. Having a baby and having residency interviews all around the Christmas season doesn't leave a lot of money left to go on shopping sprees for the perfect gifts. But then moments like Monday night happen, and I remember that Christmas is the best gift. The running around and the music and the family and the cheer....regardless of what's under the tree, there's no way it could beat out the magic of the season.

So cheers to celebrating Christmas for the next two weeks-to enjoying it for the gift that it is.

My Favorite Christmas Traditions!

Once Thanksgiving has come and gone, every day feels worth celebrating. Because hello, it's Christmastime! While I try to find a way to celebrate Christmas each day of December, there are a few days I especially look forward to each year.

Black Friday. Black Friday happens the night of Thanksgiving, and it kicks off the Christmas season! I never went Black Friday shopping before I dated Chris, but once I tried it, I was hooked. It's just so much fun! One of the reasons we have such a good time is that we go into it without a plan. We know where we want to go, but we don't set out with a list of things we must get. That makes it a night of just enjoying everything, and if we find any great deals, it's an added bonus. But if not, we're not disappointed. The only rule is that the night absolutely must include a white peppermint mocha.

After we sleep all the excitement off, we get up and blare the Christmas music while we put up the Christmas tree and decorate our apartment...it's the best! This year, we decorated and put the crib together on the same day...something that will probably never happen again, but was so special!

Grinchmas at Universal. This is one of my favorite, favorite things in the world. I love Christmas, I love Universal, and I love the Grinch. Hello, happy place. Even if you don't live in Florida, everyone should make a trip to do Grinchmas at least once. It's so festive and gorgeous and FUN. I can't even remember how long my family has been doing this, but my dad's gift to us is that we all go to Universal for the day, go shopping at City Walk, watch the Macy's Day parade, and then go out to a fancy dinner. It's always one of the best nights of the year! No matter where we end up living, Jack WILL come back to Orlando to experience Grinchmas!

Christmas Date. The exact details of our Christmas date change a little bit each year, but it always includes going to the big mall here that goes all out in decorating for Christmas. Because there's no way you're not going to have a magical night when your night includes a 50 foot Christmas tree.

December 23rd. This day has been special to me since 2009. It's the first time me and Christopher ever celebrated Christmas together, and we've kept the tradition since then. It would've been a special day forever no matter what, but in 2011, Chris proposed on December 23rd, making it a must to celebrate every year.

Christmas Eve. Growing up, my family had this tradition where every Christmas Eve, we would go to the mall (Yes, it is crazy), and I would go with my dad to buy my mom a present while my brother went with my mom to buy my dad a present, and then me and my brother would switch. I think it started out as my dad making sure me and my brother actually bought my mom something nice for Christmas, but it turned into the best family tradition ever. We see a movie and then end the day somewhere fun for dinner.

I was lucky enough to marry someone that went along with my borderline obsessive love for Christmas, and me and Chris still join my family for Christmas Eve every year, and it's still a favorite day of mine. Except now I love it even more, because I get to go home with my best friend, we order takeout and open a present from each other and make cookies for Santa. Best day ever. 

What are some holiday traditions you look forward to? 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you! I hope you have a wonderful, magical day filled with family and friends and entirely too much delicious food. I hope you watch the Macy's Day Parade in a home full of holiday cheer.

If you go Black Friday shopping tonight, I hope you have a safe late night/early morning full of good deals and warm coffee.

Most of all, I hope your day is full of overwhelming love and thankfulness. I hope that you make memories today that will fill your heart with thankfulness for the entire year to come.

Let today be a reminder of how much we really have to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving! xo

Just Us: Our Thanksgiving.

Today is one of my favorite days of the entire year. It's a festive day full of love and chaos and really good food. It's a day that kicks off the Thanksgiving celebrations, and it's a day of celebrating how thankful I really am for Christopher and our marriage.

This will be the third year we've celebrated our own personal Thanksgiving, and it's a tradition I'm so glad we started.

Every year on the day before Thanksgiving, we go to Whole Foods. I think this is probably their busiest day of the year-it's absolutely chaotic, and that's part of the fun! We pretend we're rich for the day and pick out appetizers, drinks, desserts, the whole nine yards. Then we go home and cook everything and have the best night ever, eating delicious food and celebrating life and all we have to be thankful for.

I have never been more thankful for Chris than I am this year. We're right on the cusp of all these big changes, and every day is filled with so much unknown. But in a time where it would be very easy to freak out and miss out on all the good, I'm able to look at my very best friend and know that no matter what, he will be by my side. And because of that, I'm able to cherish every moment.

I love you, Christopher. I've never been so thankful to have such an amazing life partner. You're my babe, forever and always. 

In the hustle and bustle of tomorrow, don't let the holiday pass without taking a minute to tell your significant other that you're thankful for them!

Savoring the Seasons That Fly By.

October, November, and December are my very favorite months. Although they're two distinct seasons (fall and Christmas), in my mind, it's a 90 day magical season.

We talk a lot about savoring seasons, about making the most of them and getting all you can out of them, but that kind of talk is mostly reserved for seasons that aren't the best and times that are hard. So how to you go about savoring the best seasons? The ones that fly by no matter how badly you want them to last?

Be present. You may not be able to spend all your time doing exactly what you want to celebrate your favorite seasons, but nothing will waste your life and make you miserable faster than wishing you were somewhere else, doing something else. So no matter what your life looks like, be present this season.

Do your favorite things. You already know this season is going to fly by, so make a list of your favorite things that you really want to do. When you have free time, look at your list. An hour you would have spent browsing Facebook can turn into an hour of trying your hand at that pumpkin cookie recipe you love.

Make time for who and what is important to you. We all know we're going to have to rearrange schedules and to-do lists in order to make time for things. Really, we do this every day. Just make sure you're making time for the important things and people. Sure, you can make time to organize your spice cabinet...but is now really the best time for that?

Take a moment to soak it all in each day. For me, nothing flies by faster than December. Last year, I made it a mission to spend at least five minutes sitting in front of the all lit up Christmas tree with my cup of coffee every day in December. Sometimes I spent an hour drinking coffee and listening to Christmas music, sometimes it was just five minutes. But it made me feel like I got a little bit of Christmas every single day, and it was so nice.

Don't beat yourself up when something doesn't meet your expectations. Fall, and especially Christmas, usually comes with a list of things you can't wait to do. I know I have this list (okay, lists) every year. Sometimes everything gets crossed off, sometimes it's January and I haven't so much as baked cookies. Life happens, and that's okay. Don't let missed expectations ruin the season--just enjoy it for what it is.

How do you savor the seasons that fly by?

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Even though Thanksgiving is in 8 days, which is technically longer than a week, I'm insanely excited and feel like it's tomorrow.  Just go with it.

My favorite things about Thanksgiving:

Food. 
Let's just go ahead and put this one out there.  Thanksgiving food is the best.  For me, it's a combination of amazing foods that we don't really eat any time other than the holidays.  Every year my family always talks about how we should really eat this type of food more, and every year we never do.  I love it because it makes the day even more exciting.

Thankfulness. 
It's so nice to have a day where you are constantly thinking about all you have in life to be thankful for.  If you're not thankful about on Thanksgiving, there is no hope for you.

Family. 
This is my first Thanksgiving being married, so I cherish being able to sit around the table with family even more so.
{Side note: last year at thanksgiving my dad made me cry at dinner because since I was getting married the next month, I was probably never having thanksgiving with my family ever ever again and this was the last one ever and I should enjoy it because it was never happening again.  Yes, I was incredibly rational, I know.}

The Macy's Day Parade.
Because Christmas can't start until Santa and Mrs. Claus come riding in on their sleigh.

Black Friday Shopping.  
I've only done this for the past few years, but I love it.  I like to go with nothing specific in mind so I can just enjoy the craziness of it all.

And I love love love going to sleep way too late, full of happiness and way too much food, knowing that the morning will bring Christmas music and decorations and peppermint mochas.  Knowing I get to wake up on that day with my husband this year is almost more than I can stand.  Holidays are the BEST.

What are your favorite things about Thanksgiving?

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