Working away on gift guides over here (planning to share next week!), and in the meantime, I thought I’d share a few things on my own wish list. Surprisingly, a few of you requested this when I asked for your GG input, and I’m happy to oblige!
— Julie Vos Penelope Small Studs | I wear simple pearl studs day in and day out, and while I love them, I think these would be a fun, beautiful alternative that’s not too flashy. Plus Kristin told me to get them and I do what she says. — More gold taper candle holders | We have two we use on our table nightly and I’d love a few more for special occasions! I linked a style I love but these could just as easily come from the thrift store. — Misty blue mixing bowls | When we moved to NC my mom sent me with a set of 7 glass nesting mixing bowls, which have served us well for over a decade. Since having kids, however, several have met an unfortunate demise… these sturdy bowls in the prettiest color would get us back to a full roster. — A cozy fleece | I love my Patagonia 1/4 zip, but sometimes I just don’t feel like pulling something over my head. I think I’d reach for this often – love the navy color. — The cookbook that all of my friends are raving about. Many of Tieghan’s recipes are in our rotation, so I’m sure this would be a hit! — A beautiful block print quilt | Would love one of these in a king size for picnics and reading in the yard! — Another Long-Long set of Lake Pajamas | I tend to buy things and wear them into the ground, and that is certainly the case with the Lake Pajamas I was gifted last Christmas. I have worn them to bed almost every night this year (I wash them, I promise!), and would love another set to rotate with. Eyeing the Parisian green. — White dish rack | We have a very utilitarian plastic drying rack. Since it sits on our counter 100% of the time, I think this would be a nice upgrade! — Ugg Classic II Shearling Short Boot | I feel VERY conflicted about putting these boots on my list. First, the price makes me wince. Second, they’re Uggs, which I’m pretty sure I swore about 15 years ago I’d never wear. But. But but but. I have nothing like this in my closet, and in a season when I am outside in the cul-de-sac with my kids every evening into the dark (and in a COVID winter when we’re all going to be spending more time outside), it seems worth it to be as comfortable as possible. Tell me you love them and make me feel better? (Or, tell me you don’t and suggest an alternative – that’s cool, too!) *UPDATE!* After reading this post, Kristin texted me to suggest the Ugg Classic Mini Fluff, describing it as “less aggressive,” ha! I love it and have decided that’s the one I’ll go with (or at least officially put on the wishlist!). On super sale as of this writing, too!
What’s on the top of your list this year? I always get inspiration from what others are wishing for!
Surely by now you’ve seen the Christmas decor and debates popping up on Instagram. I give decorating before Thanksgiving a solid salute of “good for her, not for me,” but in many ways my attention has turned to the holidays. The way I see it, there are a few options to tee up a peaceful, joyful holiday season:
Be someone with few or no expectations around holiday festivities. Don’t have specific things you want to do, food you want to make, people you want to see, gifts you want to give, or experiences you want to have.
Be someone with very few demands on your time. That way, you have the space for last-minute errands, day-of adjustments, and pivoting on a dime without getting ruffled.
Plan ahead.
This might sound flippant; I really don’t mean it to. If you’re someone who’s happy to go with the flow, has a fairly empty schedule, and is just happy to experience whatever festivities fall into your lap, planning ahead is maybe not necessary. But — if you have a vision for how you’d like your holidays to unfold, if you have a job or other demands on your time, if you have kids relying on you to make holiday magic, if you have a budget to stick to… then, yes, planning ahead is necessary for a peaceful and joyful holiday.
With that out of the way, I’d first like to direct you to this post I wrote last year. It outlines six things I do every November to set myself up well for December, and I stand by them all (many are on my goals list for this month!). If you carve out time to do these things in the next few weeks, not only will you have set yourself up for a smooth and worshipful last month of the year, but you’ll be able to indulge in some of those holiday vibes we’re craving without going whole hog.
That being said – the point of this post is a little more commercial. I’m the last person to tell you you need to buy anything to have a magical holiday, but I also know you likely will buy a few things, and want to help equip you well. (And the weird fact is, many of these things will sell out by the end of the month – such is the way of the world). So, I’ve rounded up a few of our favorite Christmas accoutrements (as well as a few I have my eye on) early so you can plan your shopping accordingly. Or at the very least, indulge in a little window shopping :)
— This candle is my holiday ultimate. I’m not really a “candle person,” per se, but I will go through one of these in the month of December. I like to buy mine at a favorite local boutique, but they’re available online, too. As a runner up, I considered buying this scent I spotted while walking through Whole Foods the other day – the holder is so pretty! It’s also available online.
— Our ring-around is one of my most treasured Christmas decorations – it stays on our kitchen table throughout the month and our kids are as transfixed by it as I remember being when I was their age. Other decor I’ve been eying: this whimsical dish towel, this canvas or this one from Lindsay Letters (we will pull out our classic O Holy Night that we got as a wedding present!), and a fluffy garland for around our porch steps.
— I’ve long been enamored by Christmas villages, and love the more modern takes that have been popping up in recent years (though truly, I love the classic ones, too!). I even went so far as to order all five of these from Target, only to return them when they arrived larger than I expected and accepting that I don’t actually have a tabletop to display them on. If you have the space, these are cute, too! (And these are a little smaller – and a GREAT price!)
— Our tabletop real estate goes to our nativity scene. I collected the Willow Tree set over many years (love it!), but just added this little peg version for June to play with this year.
— We added this tree (above) to June’s room last year and it is MAGICAL! Totally worth it at the $25 price point. It’s sold out right now, but add yourself to the in-stock list if you’re interested – I’ll bet it might come back in the next few weeks. The same model also seems to be available here, though for twice as much! We added a pom pom garland and a multi-pack of pink and gold balls from Hobby Lobby to June’s – this mini blush faux fur tree skirt would be perfect, too. Planning to get another one for Shep’s room (for next year!) when they’re back in stock! If you can’t or don’t want to have a full-on tree, this little pom pom tabletop number is adorable.
— We go real for our big tree, and ever since our first year celebrating as a couple, I have been searching for a topper that strikes my fancy. I imagine I’d like an angel or a star – maybe something like this. (This natural wood star is also really pretty!) We also buy an ornament for each other and for the kids every year – eyeing one of these sea creatures for June (in honor of our Octonauts extravaganza) or this one in honor of her new wheels! Though we use several Ikea faux fur mini rugs around the base of our tree, it’s fun to see all the options for tree baskets after posting about them so long ago! :) This cream knit pom pom version is lovely, too.
— I LOVE the ceramic Rifle Nutcracker plates I snapped up last year and can’t wait to bring them out of the attic – just wish I had bought more! Anthro’s offerings this year include this sweet city design and a fun 12 Days of Christmas set by Inslee. So fun for after December breakfasts and after school snacks. Also love this plaid or city scene version of the cork placemats we use daily.
— This will be the first year we’re home for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning and need to hang our stockings by the chimney with care! Accordingly, I’ve been on the hunt for stocking holders. These stars (or these ones – would need to see the finish in person) are pretty, but I might go for something simpler (or for a little less). If we didn’t have heirloom knit stockings (made by my grandmother and sister!), I’d probably choose something like this cream knit for the stocking itself! For a head start on your stocking stuffers, try this list for grown-ups and this one for kiddos. Will add more in the gift guides!
— Pajamas! These often go quick – many sizes are already sold out. My best-case scenario would be a pair of these from Lake for myself. Look, I know they’re $$$, but I have one long-long pair and I have worn them almost every single night this year… embarrassing, but true? Alas, they are currently sold out in my size – added myself to the list to see if they restock. While I LOVE the idea of matching with June, I don’t think I can stomach the price tag for something she’ll grow out of in a year. Other lovely options: this plaid set for mama, this very sweet Nutcracker set or pink candy canes for little girls, this polar bear Fair Isle number in pretty colors, and these cute forest friends. And my little fire-truck loving man would LOVE these!
Whether you’re pulling boxes out of the attic, cutting branches in the woods, or building your Christmas collection from scratch this season, I hope this post was an enjoyable little foray into the Christmas spirit! :) My encouragement: shop now for whatever you decide on, then set it aside for a few weeks.
What, decor or accoutrement-wise, are you shopping for this holiday season? I’d love to know!
P.S. Though I have never seen more exhortations to vote in my entire life, I would be remiss not to include my personal endorsement for exercising your civic duty today, if you’re a US citizen and if you haven’t already.Voting is a privilege and an honor and I am so grateful to be able to do it!
I wasn’t planning to write a post about this weekend’s festivities, but it was such fun to bring y’all along on Instagram Stories that I figured I’d record this little slice of everyday magic here, too! (If you’d like to catch up on Stories, you can do that in this highlight!)
For those just joining in, Friday was the premier of an Octonauts Netflix special – Octonauts and the Cave of Sac Actun. Since Netflix’s algorithm can surely tell that our family has a predilection toward Octonauts viewing, they let us know it was “coming soon” a few weeks ago. We mentioned it to June, and started talking about how we were going to watch it together as a family – a movie premier party!
Buoyed by her excitement, things quickly ballooned from there, ha! The timing lined up perfectly with the kids’ last weekend before the first day of preschool, and we figured it would be a fun way to close out this particular season of our lives (especially in a year when a lot of fun has been canceled).
So, I added two boxes of blue jello and a bag of Swedish fish to my grocery list and picked up a blue plastic tablecloth, green streamers, and shell plates at Target. (June was SO EXCITED about the blue jello that she pulled it out of our pantry to show our babysitters every day last week.)
I had already planned to take Friday off as a last summer hurrah, so June and I had plenty of time that afternoon to prep the jello, make some Octonauts place cards (after I explained to her what place cards are, she agreed that every fancy dinner party needs them), and set the table with our “kelp forest” and plenty of sea creatures.
John’s contribution? Fishza: takeout pizza cut into the shape of a fish :) We rounded it out with cut veggies and dip and “ocean water” (blueberry lemonade). After dinner by candlelight, baths, and jams, we dug into the jello back at the table (verdict: after a few hours in the fridge, the Swedish fish are more for looks than taste, ha!).
And then, of course, it was time to snuggle up and watch the main event!
Except, of course, I probably don’t need to tell you that the main event had already happened… though the movie was just fine, the real magic was in the excitement and lead-up to the big day. I’m telling you, June literally couldn’t have been more excited if we had been going to Disney World – the perfect reminder that sometimes it’s just really fun to indulge your children’s quirky interests (truly one of the best parts of parenting, I think!) and that “going big” can mean a few dollars of Target party supplies and – most importantly – a few hours of quality time with mama and daddy. It was kind of painfully adorable how the whole family setting aside time to celebrate one of her favorite activities was just thrilling to her little heart.
Friends, I hope this encourages you to indulge in some at-home, everyday magic this fall! And if you’ve ever had an experience like ours, I’d love to hear about it! :)
Over the last few years, the Kirk and Thomas families have developed a tradition of attending our town’s Fourth of July parade together. It’s pretty much guaranteed to be outrageously hot and charmingly old-fashioned :) This year, of course, the parade is cancelled, but Lisa came up with the idea to make a bit of our own Fourth fun – and I was immediately on board!
Whether you’ll be celebrating at home alone this weekend or socially-distanced with another family, we hope these ideas inspire you to have a little fun and get a little fancy! After months of leggings and jean shorts, it felt wonderful to wear a dress while toasting to silver linings, friendship, and our magnificent country.
A little background: you may recall that Lisa and I spent several years together criss-crossing the South creating editorial photo shoots for Southern Weddings. Though this most recent collaboration was hardly a professional production, we had fun brainstorming over Zoom and then bringing our ideas to life! And though our details were far more casual than our wedding days, we were very lucky to have professional photography on hand to capture them – thank you, Christen, for coming out to snap a few photos!! They turned out beautifully!
Even if it’s just your family around the table on Saturday, here is your permission to break out your favorite tablecloth, pour a cocktail, and try something new for dinner.
About the food: though I love a good modern spin on a charcuterie board (always and forever inspired by my friend Kayte!), we wanted to style an option that might feel more comfortable in the age of COVID. Instead of everyone sharing from a central platter, we made individual “boards,” complete with tomato, watermelon, and feta salad, cheese and crackers, summer fruit, spiced almonds, and pigs in a blanket (in honor of everyone’s cook-out favorite!).
Lisa mixed up a delicious drink with prosecco, simple syrup, raspberries, and mint to go alongside – you can find the recipe here!
Though your kids would probably be totally into the charcuterie situation (ours were), we also thought it would be fun to give them their own little spot…
Yes, Shep had eyes on Christen at all times, ha!
Super simple: I brought our kiddie-size table outside and added melamine plates, paper napkins, plastic silverware, and a fancy drink (lemonade with added blueberries!).
For dinner, we went with – wait for it – pizza with pepperoni stars :) It turned out so cute and was SO easy – just cut out the pepperoni with a cookie cutter and pop it on top of a cheese pizza!
For dessert, Lisa made blueberry hand pies and individual berry trifles. June made the sweetest sweets model :)
Gosh, seeing these photos just makes me even more grateful for an outdoor space to call our own, for beloved friends, for reasons to celebrate, for my sweet family, and for the freedom to enjoy it all. In the midst of our communal work to make this country truly a land of equal opportunity, I hope you take a few minutes this weekend to be thankful for all that we already have. I know I will.
Thank you again to Christen Smith for these beautiful photos and to Lisa for asking me to collaborate – be sure to check out her post today, too!
Friends, though I’m curious to hear how you’re spending the Fourth (and please feel free to let me know!), today I’d really love to hear something you love about America in the comments. It can be anything! After all, if we are to work to make this country better, we have to believe that there’s something good at root to build from. I’m eager to hear your thoughts, as always. xo
