Joy

This year I'm going to make "joy" my theme, hashtag, mantra what have you for 2015. It has been showing up for me in various places for these past few weeks and I like it! 

A few weeks ago, Sean and I went to mass at the parish where I grew up. I'll admit, we haven't been regular in our attendance for several months, but we tried our best to go for the advent season. Anyway, the priest's homily was very inspiring, especially at that point in the holiday season (the third week of advent). His main message was, "The time for joy is now."  It really stuck with me in those stressful days before Christmas while trying to navigate the holiday hustle and bustle. 

Then, while celebrating with Sean's family in Charlotte, I came across this mug (photo above) in their kitchen! It was a nice reminder of the reason we were all gathered to celebrate and enjoy each other's company.

Finally, last night we had a few people over to ring in 2015 and I wanted to change the quotes I have written on my chalkboard in the living room. I just randomly browsed a few of the Pinterest boards I follow and I came across this:

"We have to choose joy and keep choosing it."

~Henri J.M. Nouwen

So for 2015, I haven't really though of any resolutions I'm making for myself... and I've never been one to stick to resolutions anyway. But for now at least, I think I'll just keep thinking in the back of my mind, "The time for joy is now!"

What are your goals, resolutions, or words to live by in 2015?

Winter To Do List

As we approach the "official" first day of winter on Sunday, I thought I'd put together a little list of things I'd like to do this season. some are Christmas related and others are not. With the craziness of the Christmas season upon, it seems a bit late to be posting a list like this, but we still have January, February and March to do wintry things!

1. Drink hot chocolate with marshmallows and/or whipped cream

2. Drink tea

3. Wear warm scarves and hats

4. Ice skating

5. Sledding, if we get the right kind of snow here

6. Festival of Lights in Cincinnati 

7. Wrap presents

8. Eat cookies

9. Eat soup and cold weather dishes

10. Use the good camera more (This requires that we actually bring it with us when we are travelling, which we've been neglecting to do on our last few weekend trips. :/)

*Photos by Sean last winter around our neighborhood

#ChristmasWeekend'014!

I know it's not Christmas yet, but I'm officially in the Christmas spirit now. We spent this past weekend decorating, shopping, and having fun with family and friends.

Friday night, Sean and I continued our yearly tradition of trimming the tree while watching Love Actually. We always pick a small tree since we don't have much room in our living room to spare, but I think even small trees can be mighty. It's fun to see how our collection of ornaments grows each year, and I enjoy thinking of all our loved ones who've given them to us or the places they've come from as we place each one on the tree.

After Love Actually was over, we decided to watch Uncle Buck, which isn't a particularly Christmas-y movie, but it just makes me smile. Macaulay Culkin and John Candy have perfect delivery, and even though it's been awhile since I've seen it, I still remember all the best lines. If you have never seen it, I highly recommend it!

Saturday night we had "Sibs" dinner with the family after Sean and his sister Maggie baked some cookies for us to take to our Christmas celebration in Charlotte, NC this year. We even got fancy and broke out the Christmas dishes.

Sunday, we started the day off right with a blueberry pancake breakfast. Then Sean and I had very successful (and surprisingly stress-free) day of shopping. We finally rounded out the weekend with a lovely dinner at a friends house, that included contemplating plans for our upcoming trip to Ireland at the end of February!

How are you celebrating the season?

November in Review

Well, I've made it to the final post for November. I'm pretty proud of myself for making it to the end. This week was a little sporadic on the posting because of my birthday and Thanksgiving, which we visited my parents to celebrate in Northern Kentucky. I didn't bring my computer and had some trouble with posting from my phone, but I'm all caught up now! It's been fun November! Now on to December and full on Christmas mode! Here are a few photos from the month.

1 Photo

This weekend we've been enjoying the holiday with family and friends. Here's a shot from my parents' house last night. 

Black Friday Shopping?

Now I don't really like going out shopping  for Black Friday at all. I was just telling my friends last night that I would rather just pay the extra money than to get out in that mess (although I do appreciate the satisfaction of getting a great deal… just not on this day).

But if I were to go out today, I would take two people with me: Donna Meagle and Tom Haverford from Parks and Recreation .…because TREAT YO' SELF!

I think Donna would be pushy enough to get us through the crowds, and Tom would know all the latest and best gifts to  buy! Another perk of bringing these two along? They would probably keep my rage for the crazy shoppers at bay and keep me laughing for the whole day. 

Completely Frivolous, Indulgent Christmas List

This post for the #30for30 challenge was actually supposed to be for Tuesday, which was my birthday. I missed posting on Tuesday and Wednesday because even though it was a two day work week, it was a crazy busy two days. But anyway, here is my "completely frivolous, indulgent Christmas list."

So here goes...
This passport case from Cuyana for our upcoming trip to Ireland!

Louboutin flats found on Pinterest.

An exotic vacation sounds nice right about now...

I've had this bag on my Pinterest wish list for a while now, and Sean actually got it for me for my birthday!