It’s been a minute since my last one of these! I’ve just had so many other things to talk about. I hope all of you had a good holiday season, whatever you celebrate, and were able to spend quality time with those you love. I’ve been super busy lately. As a family, we always have a jam-packed December with birthdays and Christmas celebrations and my graduation this year. It’s also been just the best to have my hometown friends back here in KY. We’ve had game night, tried Swig for the first time, and just shit-talked up a storm. I’ve also been able to spend a lot of time reflecting and setting my goals for the new year. As this will be my first year without school since I was 3, I really just want to get all my ducks in a row to ensure I maintain balance and feel good about my life. Now onto the REPORT…

Reading: I have read lots this month but the stand-out was definitely the Naturals series. Just soooo fun to read! I also really loved The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter, a Knives-Out style romantic mystery. Carter was my favorite author growing up and I was so excited to find out that she is still writing. Definitely added to my TBR! Right now, I’m 200 pages into Heat of the Everflame by Penn Cole. I’m definitely liking it, but wow it is so long. 1000+ pages for a middle book in a series is just crazy. It is so good though and there’s lots happening, just feels like I’ve been reading it for a while. After that, I plan to start Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater. As a sneak peek, my sister will be picking my January TBR, so I have no idea what is in store for me there.

Eating: I’ve been really loving the home cooking lately, but of course those recipes are all hand-written and secret. I’ve started working on a Pinterest board with meal and treat ideas that I’m planning to use this year. I’ve linked it here and I plan to keep adding to it as I find new ideas. I’ll definitely still be eating my Trader Joe’s favorites and lots of family recipes, but I do enjoy cooking too. I also can’t take a ham sandwich to lunch everyday because I’ll go crazy. The overall goal is healthy lunches I’m excited about, making a dinner for my parents every now and then, and keeping lots of baked goods around for mental health purposes.

Playing: I got my 2024 Replay from Apple Music, so that has been playing lots lately because I like all the songs on it (duh). As for Christmas music, I love Meghan Trainor and Sabrina Carpenter’s albums as well as Ed Sheeran’s single with Elton John. Otherwise, Vlogmas has been on in the background constantly because there were just too many videos to watch as they were coming out. Some favorites are @REMLIFE and @destinysidwell – Remi is the OG though.

Obsessing: My list for the week:

1. Happy Planner – been magical to have a clean slate and I love the one I got. Just makes goal setting and planning SO EASY. My mom gets the large size but I like the medium personally.
2. Aerie Sweaters – I have been the same size for years now, so I try not to buy too many clothes each season. However, the sweaters this year are so comfy yet make me feel put together. They’ve been a great, high-quality replacement for some of my older items. Perfect with leggings for a lazy work from home day or two!
3. Legos – My mom refuses to admit that my sister (18) and I (22) are too old for toys at Christmas, so she gets us a lego set every year. This year’s was just the cutest and so much fun! It’s a 3-in-1, so I chose to build the roller skate first and put it on my bookshelf. I’m already excited to take it apart and build one of the other options.

Recommending: This week’s random list: Skyjo (fun card game), Christmas cookies (4 sticks of butter…), and Christmas movies (Red One, Our Little Secret, Santa Baby). Also, absolutely nothing can beat a comfy blanket and your Kindle with a nice candle going. I totally plan to spend my Amazon gift cards on Kindle reads even though my physical TBR is atrocious.

Treating: if you know anything about me, I shop THE SALES. I hate spending lots of money, and I am known to wear hand-me-downs or even items I bought for far longer than the item was intended. With that being said, I did buy two Lululemon sets on their Boxing Day sale and I am so excited. I got two of the Flow Y Bra Nulu and the matching align leggings all for under $200. I’m telling myself this is my gift to myself for graduating, but I also am really trying not to think about how much I just spent on leggings. Definitely going to be wearing these for the next 20 years to make it worth it!

That’s all for this week! Talk soon…