We're four days into this month and I'm quite certain this is the most excited I have ever been about the Christmas Season. Planning for fun events for our family and for Ryan and seeing this time of year through his eyes is seriously the best.
But before I talk about what we're planning for this month, here's a recap of my:
1. Order Christmas Cards
Done! But y'all, I ordered mine on Black Friday and Shutterfly definitely ran a better deal on Cyber Monday- grrr! You know I like getting and sharing the best deals on things like that! I hope some of you were able to use the Cyber Monday deal I posted on the blog's Facebook page and saved more money than me! Note to self for next year- order Christmas cards on Cyber Monday.
2. Read Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
This book was so good! I really loved it. It wasn't super suspenseful or dramatic or romantic- it was just a great story with interesting characters that I felt like I knew when the book was over. That may not sound like a great sell, but I looked forward to reading it every night and was sad when it was over. It is definitely worth checking out!
3. Baby Girl's room to-do list:
Hang window treatments- I decided to go with no window treatments, so that one was easy. Which was good, because let's talk about this next one:
Get fabric for bumper, crib sheet, changing pad cover, and crib skirt- this has been very much the opposite of easy, but y'all- I am SO happy to say I have FOUND FABRIC!!!
This process has straight up made me feel superficial and silly and very first-world-problem for months. Yes months (now you see why silly and superficial and first-world-problem all apply). It took me no time at all to put Ryan's room together, but let me give those of you who like to decorate a little heads up for the future: don't paint a wall, buy a rug, decide to go with gold instead of gray, and THEN decide to look for bedding. It. don't. work. There is literally nothing shy of $500 that matches a gold and coral nursery. Nothing.
But thanks to the help of my crafty mother-in-law, we're (I'll use that term lightly) going to make a bumper and crib skirt with fabric we found at Hobby Lobby (they have the BEST fabric for nurseries- this is where everything in Ryan's room came from), and my sweet friend Lauren is making the crib sheet and changing pad cover.
Hooray! This makes my room-decorating, type-A, I-can't-believe-this-is-not-done-yet heart so happy.
Find dust ruffle for bed
Get frames for above bed
Find letters to complete gallery wall:
Those last three are still a work in progress. I clearly had high hopes for myself last month.
4. Paint Dining Room and Bathroom
Okay I'll be honest. The idea of me painting those rooms myself sounded really good until I went to assess how much actual painting would be involved. And then I called painters and got a quote. And as Matt would say, we all know what happens when I get a quote for something. :)
So this will get done, but not by me (Hallelujah), once the Christmas decorations come down.
5. Get Tal used to his new leash
We are making progress with this pup and his new leash! I worked in the house with him using the new leash and Matt worked on training him on walks with the harness leash we always use. The end goal is no freak-out barking when another dog walks by us at the park, and we are definitely moving in the right direction, but we've still got work to do. Oh Tal.
6. Grill something
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| image cred: Skinnytaste.com |
We grilled, we grilled! We made this pork tenderloin recipe, searing each side on the highest temp for 1 minute and then cooking it on medium heat on each side for 10 minutes. When we took it off, we covered it in foil and let it rest for 15 minutes before cutting and serving. It was delicious!
Okay, honestly, I want this month to be all about celebrating the Season: family traditions, making memories, teaching Ryan about Baby Jesus (who he currently calls "Jeez") and watching him experience the joy that is Christmas.
I want to minimize the to-do's this month and just be.
My shopping is done, almost all of the wrapping is complete, and I'm waiting on a few more things to arrive at the door so I can get them wrapped and under the tree.
On that note, have y'all seen this?!
I died laughing when I saw it. 95% of my Christmas shopping was done online and showed up in loads at my door everyday during nap time. Thank goodness for the internet- ain't nobody got time to go into stores to shop!
Anyway, I'm keeping it simple this month and my goals are to have fun completing our 12 Days of Christmas that I shared a few posts back (if you missed it, you can read it here).
That and read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
That's it!
I hope you all will be able to soak in the sweetness of this month without too much stress from all the activities that come along with it!
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