not necessarily in this order

  Well, we made it through the holidays! On the other side of New Year’s, I’m happy to “countdown” a few favorites from the Christmas —> New Year’s season! 4 advent calendars The Mr got a snack one with flavored nuts and meat sticks. It was good for the first 6 (varied nut mixes) and meh for the latter 6 (the same 3 meat sticks repeated.  LM got one of her favorite YouTuber’s Christmas advent which had 12 little plushies of some of the characters in holiday outfits. Now, as a Moriah Elizabeth forward family, there was some sadness with missing favorites, but overall a huge win and great for decorating LM’s pink tree.  I had a 24 day calendar with miniature versions of classic literature each day. It’s super cute - each one has a quote on the back and a loop from the spine so I’m going to make a garland for my office - and I may have squealed when I opened  Anne of Green Gables .  As a family, we also did the  Taskmaster  Advent calendar which was th...

I’m excited to share a 2025 reading trends post  (I’m enjoying catching up on my holds while LM is in rehearsal during my week off, haha, so they’re still piling up!) and some reading goals in the next few weeks.  In the meantime, here are a few thoughts on what I’ve read lately: Midnight at Malabar House by Vaseem Khan: 4⭐️/5 beyond the mystery, which is deep and dense, this look into India entering 1950 and the social, religious, and political tensions through the eyes of a woman navigating being an unwanted pioneer in the police service and familial pressures is just a great read. Even if you’re unfamiliar with Partition and how British rule ended in India, the book brings you into the moment with the right amount of context.  Little Mysteries: Nine Miniature Puzzles to Confuse, Enthrall, and Delight   by Sara Gran: 3.75⭐️/5 I thought this might be a “for fans only” as the stars of some of the puzzles come from Gran’s Claire DeWitt series and other writing. But, i...

  This has been a week. Honestly, this has been a year. However, the Mr having a full week business trip the week before Christmas (and the week that all of LM’s activities do their “ let’s do a Yankee Swap ” and “ let’s wear Christmas pajamas ” nights on top of my car battery dying and our first snow was a bit much, haha! On this winter solstice, Lil Momma and I are writing our intentions for the new year and sending them off into the universe the next few weeks. I’m truly excited to end this year at a slower pace (Monday is my last day of work until after school break) and reset my house and habits. And, of course, there’s the baking, haha! As we gear up for Christmas week, here are five things I’m excited to make: One : I’m using Sadie, my sourdough starter that I started at possibly the worst possible time 8 weeks ago, for the first time and risking our traditional Christmas Eve and Christmas Day  cinnamon rolls  on a Sadie-risen recipe.  Two : I’ve started makin...

A handful of helpful things that are keeping me going recently! One : Scoopable salads. Game changers. (I’m so behind the trends haha!) I’ve been trying to eat more veggies and beans lately and discovered all of these wonderful make ahead salads that we’ve been playing since my birthday. Last week, I made one with black beans and roasted corn and feta and lots of chopped veggies. This week, we have pesto and navy beans and chickpeas and mozzarella. Quick and easy lunches for me and a bonus has been Lil Momma asking for “scoops” in her own meals.  Two : the mood brighteners that are holiday lights. Thanksgiving weekend, we put strands of lights up across our windows in the living room (which we’ve never done) and it’s just brought a new level of cozy joy to our late afternoons and evenings - especially with it getting dark so early. A cup of tea, a book, and fun lights? Yea, please! Three : Big dog cuddles. Maysie is the biggest dog I’ve ever had: She’s at about 35 lbs so far and so...

As I mentioned at the beginning of November, I found myself dangerously close to having read 100 books this year with 2 months to go. Now, I love an arbitrary, no stakes goal and have been steadily working my way through my library holds to see if I can make it. I was slowed down by a couple behemoth entries in a series I feel I must complete, so I find myself this December 1 with 15 books to go. With 2 recital weekends being balanced off by a handful of vacation days (and school vacation), it really is going to be a race to the finish! Note, I accidentally posted these in the reverse order that I read them and will rectify that in future Recent Reads !   The Vanishing Box  by Elly Griffiths:  4 /5  ⭐  I really enjoyed this entry to  The Magic Men  series. Set around the holidays, the mystery itself was the right amount of twisty and it was great to see the main characters grow and evolve. I may have rated this a little high based on how I feel like t...

  One : Poor Maysie got spayed and had her dew claws removed last week. The weekend was sad and hard when she wasn’t feeling well, but we are glad the hardest part is over and she’s on the mend. She’s doing ok physically but her energy came back after 36 hours and it’s all we can do to keep her quiet. She has the cone through next Tuesday, so here’s hoping we can keep her healing and avoid too intense of cone bruises on our bodies, haha! Two : Thanksgiving is a whole thing because Maysie is tall enough to get her head on the table and counters (cone and all), but I think we have a plan to manage. I’m trying to make it easy on myself and baking off homemade Italian rolls on Wednesday instead of trying to time their rise and bake with a turkey on Thursday. We are also baking Lil Momma’s request of Salted Caramel Chocolate Cookies and the Mr’s “pumpkin pie from the can” on Wednesday, too, to simplify what has to happen on the day itself.  Three : I have a MRI on my back and hip...