2013 Goals Recap

+ Blog more.

Well I can't say I really accomplished this since my posts per year has steadily decreased since I began blogging in 2008 (blogger fail!).  However, I have been a tad busier this year with our newest addition :)

+ Save more.

I can honestly say I have saved more (yay!).  I've made a conscious effort to transfer out funds from each paycheck into various accounts that are slowly growing. 

+ Take more pictures.

Absolutely!  Of course, having a baby is also a huge picture-taking motivator!

+ Eat out less and eat more vegetables.

Yes - while we do love our takeout, together my husband and I have made a more conscious effort to plan and cook dinner, and full intend to continue this with more commitment into 2014.  

+ Watch less TV.

Well, yes and no.  I definitely watched more TV during the last few months of my pregnancy; as I was more tired, uncomfortable, and less mobile.  However, since she has been born, I find myself watching MUCH less TV, it just isn't a priority anymore, and happily, I don't miss it at all.  We do still have a handful of shows that we watch on Hulu, but otherwise, our TV intake is significantly down. Huge victory!

+ Worry less.
Well... I think I did better, but I don't think I'll ever be able to "not worry," and that's just life. :)  

Stay tuned for goals/resolutions for 2014...

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Quote of the Week

"Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony."

~ Thomas Merton

Currently...

{my new favorite picture}

I know I'm falling behind on blog posts, but this is all I could muster for now.  Hope it was a happy Christmas, and plan to catch up with you all soon.

Watching...

Listening to...

Reading...

Pondering...

Feeling very content and grateful as we wrap up this holiday season.  

We have so much to be thankful for.

Tis the Season for Christmas Cards!

Holiday card season is upon us, and oh how I do love a good Christmas card!  My parents always sent Christmas cards out by the dozens, which in turn meant we received a bounty of them ourselves.  I fondly emember stalking the mailbox with my sisters, pouring over the new cards, the shining smiles, the gold embossed into the paper, arranging our new cards and adding them to our artful display in our kitchen.

For many years, my mom handmade all of our Christmas cards, which I appreciate now more than ever as an adult, being able to now fully recognize the amount of time and effort she invested into this favorite tradition.  Nowadays, the templates available online are light years ahead of the options available when we were kids.  Again, I'm turning to good ol' dependable Tiny Prints for our first holiday card as a family of three this year, whose printed cards always turn out polished and classy (also because they frequently offer sweet discount codes!).

Some of my favorites include...

 {Christmas caroling}

{Bold and bright}

 {Simple and sweet}

{Arrows and snowflakes}

Are you a Christmas/holiday card giver?

SOMM

I've been on a documentary kick lately, my new past time during nap time, if you will.  I just watched SOMM, an inside look at the prestigious Master Sommelier exam, a 3-day test with one of the lowest pass rates in the world (only 197 have passed in 40 years!).  Pretty interesting, and insightful into a world I don't know much about as my wine standards aren't too high... especially since my husband and I recently began drinking boxed wine.  

Before you write me off after hearing those words "boxed wine,"... let me explain.  First, my husband and I have never been big drinkers, and even before I was pregnant, we would rarely polish off a bottle of wine between the two of us.  Also, since I'm breastfeeding, I'm watchful and definitely conservative with my alcohol intake.  So, basically, at present, it's not cost effective for us to spend money on wine when two thirds of the bottle go to waste in a night.  However, we do enjoy a glass to unwind after dinner. Enter boxed wine (and no, this is NOTHING like Franzia).  We're currently sweet on Bota Box, 3 liters in tasteful packaging complete with an easy on/off pour spout.  Plus, it's available in a handful of varieties (Malbec is our current fave).  This suits our 1-glass a night ritual quite well, if I do say so myself. :)

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If I Went To...Lake Tahoe

Since I already started the talk of dream houses, anyone want to join me in entering HGTV's competition for this house?!  Yes, that's right, you can enter to WIN this luxuriously furnished home in Lake Tahoe!  Now that's a giveaway my friends!  I love the rustic finishes, the beams in the kitchen, the tall windows, and open spaces.  Beautiful!

So...what do you think?  Want to live here?

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Christmas Book #1

For our sweet girl's first Christmas book, I selected Jan Brett's The Night Before Christmas, following the original text by Clement Moore.  Thanks to all who weighed in their favorite Christmas books on my previous post.  I decided this classic was a perfect way to kick off the tradition in our home, plus I've always loved the intricate detail in Jan Brett's illustrations.  Thus we can begin the tradition of reading this book to her on Christmas Eves to come; cozied up and jammie clad, sipping cups of cocoa, and enjoy the magic of Christmas through her eyes.

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A Christmas Book Tradition

One of my Christmas traditions my mom initiated growing up was giving each of us a new holiday book at Christmas time.  Each of my sisters and I received a book, and inside the front cover it lists our name and the year.  As you can imagine, this amounted to quite a collection of Christmas stories.  This year, I'm excited to start this tradition with my daughter!  I realize it will be a couple of years before she can actually read these Christmas stories herself, but by then we'll have a whole shelf to pull from!  It makes me smile to think of us curled up together, reading these stories together with her as she grows up.  Now, all I have to do is find the perfect first book to kick off this tradition.

What are your favorite Christmas story books?

Quote of the Week

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”

— Roald Dahl

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