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Let's Look

Let’s Look: How We Prep for the Holidays

Hello all! Happy Wednesday! I hope you are having a great week as we made it to hump day!Ā I don’t know about you, but it is full on fall here, we have had rainy days, leaves falling and some sunshine peaking through, but the changing weather is getting me excited for the next few months.

Cool crisp fall mornings

This year has been flying by, I canā€™t believe we are already at the second week of October. Itā€™s time for another Letā€™s Look, where we share different parts of our lives. Each month, I link up with  Shay and Erika to share my thoughts on different topics. 

Hereā€™s what we have covered so far this year:

In January, we talked about How We Clean Our Closets.

In February, the topic was Things We Do Every Day

In March, it was all about whatā€™s in our Grocery Carts

In April, we chatted about our Quiet and Prayer Time.

In May, we talked about Summer Staples.

In June, we shared our Summer Schedules.

In July, we chatted about our favorite TV Shows and Podcasts.

In August, we learned about our Pantry Staples

In September, we shared Easy Weeknight Meals

This month, the topic is how we prep for the holidays. I love all the seasons, summer is by far my favorite, but I do enjoy the ā€œBerā€ monthsā€¦September, October, November and December. There is so much to look forward to, from the holidays, traditions, extra family time, and festivities. 

Fall, one of my favorite times of the year

As we get closer to the holiday months, Iā€™m sharing how I prep for all the fun and I hope you will share some of your holiday prep hacks too! I donā€™t have my own home or family yet, so how I prepare may look a little different.

I always like to prep for the holiday seasons, by creating bucket lists, by writing a bucket or goal list, this ensures that things that I want or hope to get done, get accomplished. Some are big activities and others are little outings or things I want to cook or bake. For example, my fall bucket list includes celebrating Halloween, Thanksgiving, watching festive movies, enjoying holiday treats and Halloween activities.

I donā€™t know how I will celebrate Halloween on the actual holiday, but I do plan on making some festive treats, decorating and enjoying some Halloween movies. 

Some fall treats from last year

As far as Thanksgiving goes, we typically enjoy the holiday with family and then we have our own Thanksgiving dinner the weekend after. Preparations for Thanksgiving looks like figuring out what traditional dishes will be made, baking pies, and doing some decorating around the house. These are subtle ways to celebrate the holiday. Thereā€™s so much cooking and baking that goes into Thanksgiving that it is nice to just enjoy the time with family. 

A delicious, Thanksgiving spread!

Christmas always comes with the most prep. Once again, I make a Christmas bucket list of things I want to do around the Christmas season, from ice skating, baking cookies, shopping, looking at lights, and decorating. I like to make the most out of the Christmas season.

Prep for Christmas starts with decorating the day after Thanksgiving, itā€™s a tradition we have been doing for years and itā€™s always one of my favorite things.

I will also make a master list of people I want to buy for and set a budget. I keep a running list in my phone of who I need to buy for, what the gift is, the status of it, and how much I spent. Once all the gifts have arrived, I take time to wrap them all and watch a holiday movie. This method always keeps me organized.

I love to bake cookies around the holidays and one of the ways that I prep is by making one or two types of cookies a week leading up to Christmas. I will share some with family after I bake them and then store the rest for the holidays. This method ensures that I get all my baking done, but Iā€™m not stressed getting it done.

After all the prep is done, itā€™s time to enjoy the holidays and relax. Thereā€™s only so much prep you can do, what matters is the end result and spending time with family and loved one around the holidays. They will be here before we know it, so I want to know what hacks you have to make the holidays smoother? Let me know in the comments below! Happy Holiday Prepping!

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Currently

Currently #24

Hey guys! Happy December…the countdown is on until Christmas! I hope you are gearing up for the holiday season!

Quick check in time…How are you doing? Got everything wrapped? Checking off all those holiday traditions? Feeling overwhelmed with everything you still have to do? Weā€™ve all been thereā€¦while it may seem like this season will never end, it will. In the meantime, enjoy every moment and soak up all the moments, the big ones (like decorating the tree) or the little ones like looking at Christmas lights.

Onto todayā€™s post, can you believe that we are up to two years of Currently?!  This has been such a fun monthly post, not only does it keep you updated on my life but it also puts in perspective everything Iā€™ve done in 30 days or soā€¦without further ado, hereā€™s this monthā€™s Currently.

What Iā€™m up to: ALL the Christmas fun and cheer. From skating, to watching Christmas movies, listening to Christmas music at every opportunity, baking cookies and shopping and wrapping this month has been about enjoying all the Christmas fun!

There’s Christmas cheer all over the house.
We got our tree earlier in the month and it was perfect tree cutting weather.

What Iā€™m wearing: Besides work clothes, Iā€™ve been getting in the Christmas spirit by wearing Christmas sweaters, some cute graphic shirts and of course, Christmas socks!!! I canā€™t get enough of Christmas socks!

What Iā€™m reading:  I finished reading ā€œAll the Light We Cannot Seeā€, it was definitely a heavier read but it was so well done. This month I have been reading all the Christmas books. I read “A Shoe Addictā€™s Christmas”, which was super cute. I then read “Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe”, this was the perfect mix of Christmas and a beautiful tribute to Jane Austen. Iā€™m currently reading “The Mistletoe Secret” by Richard Paul Evans, I read his series, ā€œThe Walkā€ during the pandemic and loved it, so Iā€™m very excited to read this one too. 

What Iā€™m Watching:Ā Besides watching classic Christmas movies and some Hallmark ones too.Ā Ā I have also been watching Selling Sunset on Netflix and like many other women out there, Iā€™ve been watching ā€œAnd Just Like Thatā€ā€¦the first two episodes were so beautiful and so poignant, but broke my heart. I canā€™t wait to see what else this season has in store. If you have watched them, what are your thoughts on the shows?

What Iā€™m Loving:Ā Christmas spirit all day, every day! I love this time of year, thereā€™s nothing better than having a candle lit, while wrapping presents and watching Christmas presents. Plus, making treats hasnā€™t been bad either. I made some Christmas bark this year and it was so good. Itā€™s super easy to make and itsā€™s easy to save and store. Hereā€™s the recipe I used, thank you Mix and Match Mama!

Look at all this delicious Christmas bark!

What Inspires Me:Ā The holiday season puts me in the best mood. I decorated my room at the end of last month and whenever I put on my tree and light a candle, Iā€™m automatically put in the Christmas spirit. I also canā€™t wait to spend time with family and continue our holiday traditions.Ā I went skating this month and had the best time.

Skating in the city
Buffalo was beautiful.

What I accomplished: Iā€™ve been doing a great job at being intentional and present during the holiday season. From the gift buying to the family time and holiday traditions. I wish this season was longer. Even enjoying a hot coco and cookie while driving back from ice skating made me so happy. 

Besides homemade cookies, I can’t resist some Pillsbury cookies too!
Even the shopping malls are all decorated

Goals Accomplished from Last Month I got all my Christmas shopping done by my deadline and I got almost all my gifts sent out or wrapped. It was a huge accomplishment! I love all the gift giving but it can be a lot to get everything organized. I donā€™t know how parents do it, they are the real super heroes during the holiday season!

My presents for others all wrapped up under my tree.

Goals for the New Month:Ā Ā Kick off 2022 with my New Yearā€™s Resolutions. I also canā€™t wait to break out my new Simplified planner and start getting ready for the next. As much as I hate to see the holidays come to an end, thereā€™s nothing quite like a fresh start.

Thatā€™s a look into my life this past month, lots of holiday fun and traditions. How are you spending the last few weeks of this year?