Christmas Links | December 22, 2023

We're in it, guys. It's the last weekend before Christmas and I think there are two kinds of people in the world; those who become manic, and those who are like fuck it, if I forgot, I forgot. Now, if we separate those folks into groups of moms and dads, I think we can guess with startling accuracy how each group is comprised. Ha! I can predict right now, on Christmas Eve morning, Ryan will furtively tell me that he and Duke have some errands to run and I'll wave from the front door, calling out "I'd like a Dutch oven!" as they pull away from the driveway. 

This is startling, but Duke called me at work this week to ask me "Mama, what kinda oven did you want?" and this is how I found out that some of my coworkers did not know Dutch Oven is legitimately a kitchen item. The church giggles prevailed until someone fessed up. Then it was full guffaws. 

In other news, I hoard my PTO for this all year, so after today, I'm on Christmas vacation until 2024. Cue this Slams Laptop Shut video. I generally like a few days off before the grand finale, so I'm delighted to have a full weekend to fill with the most Christmas-y stuff. I want to take Duke through some light-crazy neighborhoods in Traverse City, have a baking marathon, check in with the Google Santa tracker, and finally settle in to watch all the Christmas movies I haven't had time for just yet. We also enjoy the annual Festival of Trains in TC, so I think we'll wander over to that at some point. 

Highly recommend the Sparkle in the Park drive in Bear Lake. 

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1 // ICYMI 

A few things I recently published -

Christmas Past - indulging myself in pictures of Christmastime from 2014 to now. 

Oh, musings on changes. As usual.  

H Fam Christmas. 

The most recent batch of links, from earlier this month. 

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2 // SHOPPING

Listen, the time for shopping is over, unless you're willing to venture into a physical store (nope!) and find things on the shelves yourself (absolutely not). That sounds like a nightmare. Just driving past Target's parking lot gives me chills. Naturally, I'm a big fan of drive-up deliveries and willing to pay whatever fee is required because I think it's worth it.

Earlier the week, I shared a few things I picked up for gifts this year. Mostly for Duke - kids are so easy to shop for. Also my niece's baby girl, but I think she doesn't really want more stuff, so I'm restraining myself. Sort of. 

I did run out to grab this Iron Man mask after Duke wrote a letter to Santa asking for exactly nothing I purchased for him. I wanted at least one thing from the official list, which is why I found myself in Target's drive up on Tuesday afternoon.

Ryan's stepmom texted me after I mentioned my favorite workhorse moisturizer that's also very economical. Seriously, $10 and the tub is giant, plus a little goes a long way. She'll have this forever, I promise. 

I shared this booty covering jacket from Kohls previously, but it's on sale for $27 and still available in most colors and sizes. I pulled the trigger on the black one. 

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3 // INTO IT

Wow. My actual Christmas Eve dream. 

I'm interested in anything that makes my home feel cozy for the next few months, and I'm so attracted to these striped sheets. 

Everything on my Christmas mood board. 

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4 // LINKS

This literary clock is such a whimsical joy! 

Cute! Candy cane bows. 

Haha - spot on! Takes me back to 1994. 

I have never tried a Christmas simmer pot, but I am curious! 

Very cool! The best national parks to visit in winter. Bryce Canyon - wow!

I'd really like to go see a movie in the theatre over Christmas break next week and Wonka looks so visually stunning. 

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5 // CONSUMING

Reading: I finally finished Spare and I think I'm going to take a break from the royal family for a bit. My official review is this: nobody comes out looking good. 

This year, I read Spare, Elizabeth the Queen, and The Diana Chronicles. So...if I ran into a book about Charles, I'd probably read it to round out my education. But in the meantime, I'm feeling like quite the Monarchy expert. 

Eating: I just hashed out the Christmas menu with Ryan's mom last night. We're very vague - you make corn, I'll make salad - but we'll wind up with a table full of food and most of it will be good, so I'm not worried. Half-baked Harvest has never done me wrong, so I'm giving this salad recipe a whirl, and putting this spinach lasagna on my radar. I briefly envisioned myself skipping the usual Christmas fare and making it a pasta holiday instead. Doesn't it look wonderful?!

Listening: As a rule, humility is not my inherent strong suit, so I'm still self-congratulating on this playlist that *I* think is perfect. I am also enjoying the "end of year" and "best of" episodes of my favorite podcasts. 

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6 // PLANS

Honestly? I'm looking forward to tapping out and taking a nap every day until next year. Naps are probably my favorite luxury. I also  loooooove watching movies in bed, so that's basically my plan for the week. 2023 has felt like one wallop to the face after another but this week off always provides the rest I need to reset. 

I do have a few to-dos on my vacation productivity list. Things like, go sledding, finish painting the trim in Ryan's bathroom, and move furniture to vacuum the places I try to forget about. That feels like part of the recovery process - just finishing things instead of always feeling so far behind on my to-do list. 

Speaking of that, I haven't talked about it much here, but I've been writing a book this fall and I'm manic about finishing it before the end of the year. I have a strong desire to check that goal off my list for 2023. I have a feeling I'll be squealing tires and ripping around curves to achieve this goal, but parked is parked, in my opinion, and if I can have this goal in the driveway by 12/31, I'll be a happy gal. 

I'll probably be back in the next few days, but if we don't catch up before, Merry Christmas to you!

PS - there are some affiliate links in here, but aren't they everywhere? If you click on a link, they'll throw me a couple pennies for our combined hardwork, so I guess click with caution.