friday favorites
happy friday! in the midst of christmas week, and keeping as much of the magic going. we typically stay home for christmas, and visit family on other weekends around the holidays to celebrate. that means our christmas itself is at home, the five of us, snuggling in pjs and eating our favorite foods.
maya was so into christmas this year, and the magic was not lost on her. she loved writing a note to santa, and preparing his plate of cookies and reindeer treats (carrots and muddy buddies, of course).
we’ve been hibernating and using the time off for fun adventures, visiting friends, crafting, walking, reading, and peppa pig, of course.
this week’s friday favorites feel like a happy cozy place, giving everything christmas, and reminding me what’s important this time of year.
winter walks:
as much as i love summer, there is something so calming and quiet to me about winter. i don’t know that i could live without seasons, and certainly relish warm weather, but winter really does it for me. there’s a peaceful quiet that blankets the world, the trees and parks take on a different beauty to me, letting in the bright winter sun, or soaking in the quiet gray days. it’s quickly become one of my favorite times of year to walk, taking some time to breathe in the crisp air, and feeling cozy, bundled up in my favorite beanie, warm gloves, and a big puffy coat.
simple mom uniform:
to say i love this outfit is an understatement. i held off on the barrel leg pant for a while, waiting to determine if it was a fleeting trend, and where on the barrel scale i really would fall. a good friend alerted me to a gem of a pant from gap, and now i cannot stop wearing them. to say i’m obsessed feels appropriate. i love that the pant can function multi season, but also feels different than just tossing on a great pear of denim (an i’m a denim girlie). this outfit goes from playdates and birthday parties, to happy hours and adulting.
book worming:
i am typically a book worm, and very much love finding new books to read, because i can fly through them. a week like this, where i have time home, i can easily finish a book in a day, losing myself. looking to next year, some that i’m really excited to read are a mix of everything, non-fiction, fiction, chick lit, historical fiction, you name it; and some i’m shocked i haven’t read yet: atomic habits, all the light we cannot see, expiration dates, all the colors of the dark, olga dies dreaming, the french winemaker’s daughter, and real americans, to name a few.
new, and old, traditions with the kids:
i mentioned it once, but this year in particular, felt like we were really able to build and reinforce our own family traditions with the kids. on christmas eve, we finger painted and put some “final touches” on our household decorations. maya painted trees and rainbow lights, while brendan had his own picasso moment. maya also was very into baking cookies this year, especially getting to use the cookie cutters to make shapes, and decorate them with all of the sprinkles she could find. note to self, buy more sprinkles than you think you need. brendan went full toddler, shaking the sprinkles, spilling sprinkles, and most importantly eating the sprinkles, finding joy in trying to guess the colors while maya and i decorated. i’m hyper aware of how fleeting time feels with them, but having these moments to capture our family history of christmas has felt like it’s own magic for me.
