Cozy January

Hello!  I hope you are having a good week.  It's a rainy and cold afternoon here, so we are staying warm and cozy inside.  I'm planning to make a lasagna for dinner tonight and I'm on my second cup of hot tea this afternoon.  

I went to Ikea the first week of January and bought a new cabinet for our kitchen/dining area.  I really love everything about.  I needed something not too big, but also some much need storage - this piece delivers both.  I also picked up these darling white heart lights at Ikea. They are perfect for winter! 

And my Trader Joe's tulips are just the best.  They are inexpensive and really brighten up our kitchen table.  I love tulips!

Christmas Recap and Happy New Year

Wow!  I feel like I'm finally starting to bounce back from all the busyness of the holidays.  Charlotte came down with bronchitis the day after Christmas and strep throat for me the day after New Year's day.  It seems like for most of her Christmas break one of us was under the weather.   I think all the busyness of the holidays caught up with us.  Anyway, we had a nice Christmas.  We celebrated with my family at my brother and sister-in-law's house on Christmas Eve.  And there was snow, so that made it feel extra festive!

I think Charlotte got everything she asked Santa for - including a new bike.  This past weekend it was unseasonably warm for this time of year and she was able to get out and practice riding a bit. We have a chance for snow showers this coming Saturday, so go figure.

I've been taking it slow the past few days and resting a lot, as strep was much worse than I remembered.  I'm feeling much better today and seem to have a burst of energy, so I'm doing some much needed housework.  Also, I'm going to make out a big market list along with some meal planning.

I love to put the tree up along with all my Christmas decorations, but I'm always very ready to take it all down by New year's day and freshen up the house a bit.  Earlier last week, we made a trip to Ikea and bought a lovely new white china cabinet/bookcase.  I'll share photos with you soon!

Holiday Baking

The first week of December, I decided to bake cookies for some family and friends just as a little early Christmas gift.  I ended up with eighteen dozen cookies and four dozen bars.  I made Chocolate Crackle Cookies, Gingerbread Cookies, Coconut Meltaways, Frosted Sugar Cookies, White Chocolate Cranberry Blondies (my favorite), and Chocolate Layer Bars from the new Smitten Kitchen Every Day book.  It was so much fun and made the start of the holiday season feel extra special!

What are you baking this holiday season?

A Snow Day

We received fourteen inches of snow yesterday!  I think that's a record for us in December.  It definitely has made it feel more like Christmas.  Charlotte had a blast playing out in it and even built a snowman.  

She has the day off from school today, so we are staying inside where it's warm and cozy, eating cookies and drinking lots of hot tea.

  

Do you have snow where you are?

Feeling Festive

Hello friends!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  It's hard to believe that today is December 1st - really the start of the holiday season.  Charlotte was very excited to start on her Advent calendar this morning.  

We put our tree up last weekend, as we always do right after Thanksgiving.  The house is feeling very festive and cozy, and I love it.  Have you started decorating for Christmas?

We are planning to see the Nutcracker play in two weeks and we are so looking forward to it.  I really need to order our Christmas cards, so I can get them addressed and in the mail before Christmas.  Still lots of little things to do before the big day, and a few more gifts to buy.

I'm baking about fourteen, or maybe more, dozen cookies and bars for friends and family next week and a few will be shipped to friends on the west coast.  I'm looking forward to two full days of baking, and I'll be sure to share photos of all my baked goodies.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, whatever you are doing.  Charlotte is at a birthday party now and has another to attend this afternoon.  I'm looking forward to relaxing with some Thai takeout, a glass of prosecco, and a Christmas movie tonight after all the busyness today!

  

Oh, Charlotte's new pink heart flannel sheets are keeping her warm and cozy on these cold, winter nights.  I might need a set for our bed, too!

Welcome, November

The first morning of November welcomed us with cool temperatures and gray skies, and some rain is expected for later today.  I'm drinking a cup of hot, Earl Grey tea as I type.  I could drink hot tea all day long.  Earl Grey and green tea are two of my very favorites.  And coffee, too!  Below is a picture of my café au lait from brunch at our favorite brunch spot a few weekends ago.  I would say that sweater weather has finally arrived, and I couldn't be happier!

We celebrated Halloween by carving a pumpkin over the weekend and some trick-or-treating in the neighborhood last night.  Charlotte dressed up as Fancy Nancy.  She looked so cute!  Halloween has never been a favorite holiday of mine, but my kiddo enjoys dressing up and getting lots of candy most of all, I think.  

Happy November!  Enjoy this very cozy time of year.

Happy Autumn

Just a quick "hello" as I'm off to the school soon for afternoon pick up.  

I hope it's looking and feeling like autumn where you are.  We headed north to the mountains last Saturday and it definitely looked like autumn there with leaves falling and temperatures in the high sixties.  We are still waiting on cooler weather to arrive here.  It is 90 degrees today - way too hot for October.  It may not feel like autumn, but at least my porch looks like it.  I'm dreaming of sweater weather!