Despite the inherent anxiety that comes with November in an election year, this year I feel like November brings a little extra jazz to it. With the way the year has unfolded, I feel like we could all use a little cheer and are looking forward to leaning into the holidays a bit more than usual. Regardless of if we can go out and about or have robust holiday parties, I am definitely looking forward to decorating, sipping hot chocolate by the fire and binge watching all of the feel good holiday movies out there. I am so here for it this year.
When I originally started this post, we had planned on celebrating Thanksgiving as we normally do – hosting our immediate family for an intimate dinner of 10 or so at our house, but with the rising COVID cases and subsequent strain on the healthcare system and professional, we decided it was best for out of state family to stay put. We froze our turkey and made chicken instead, paired down our menu and had my mother-in-law over for dinner. I must admit I was pretty bummed that we couldn’t all get together, but continue to remind myself that my family is safe and healthy and that is more important right now.
Disappointments aside I did get to have a nice girls weekend in North Bend, Washington at the beginning of the month. We stayed up gossiping, slept in late, walked in the woods and cried as we watched our country elect the first female Vice President. It was just what the doctor ordered for an otherwise hectic month.
I wish I had more to report, but outside of Thanksgiving and a weekend getaway, November was very work heavy due to the nature of retail. If you’re not familiar, November and December are typically one of, if not the, busiest times of the year thanks to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. On average, retailers generate 19% of their annual sales in those months and if you’re a small businesses, it’s even more. As a small business we were rather busy! On top of it we decided to launch a new website that we have spent all year designing the week before Black Friday which was exhausting in and of itself, but also very necessary – we were long overdue for a digital face lift. It was also extremely rewarding to see my vision come to life and be so well received!
All that’s to say, that I am definitely looking forward to a lower key December and hopefully spending some quality time with family {IRL or digitally} and taking some much needed R&R.
Reading
I have a habit of starting books, putting them, and then picking them back up after a few months. This recently happened Joe Dispenza’s Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself and I spent a whole afternoon sitting in front of the fire reading a few chapters. If you are at all interested in personal growth, wellness, manifestation, or even neuroscience and the mind-body connection, then you might find this book interesting. I’ve always felt that we have so much more creative “control” of our lives than we lead ourselves to believe and that we often times get in our own way of being our most powerful selves so I always enjoy books like. I also loved You Are a Badass and Big Magic which are in a similar vein!
On My List
Pro tip: stock up on your favorite skincare during the holidays.
If there is a product that you know and love or splurge worthy product that is otherwise out of your budget, Cyber Weekend is the time to stock up and/or splurge. I always do this, especially with products like True Botanicals Face Oil, NuFace’s Primer Gel and Necessarie’s Body Lotion and Serum, that I use daily or weekly. This year I finally pulled the trigger and splurged on a red light face mask {Chris and I both use it so it really drives down the cost-per-use!} and Furtuna’s Transformation Set. {A few months ago I took advantage of a promo on Furtuna’s serum and balm and have been hooked on them ever since.}. I also got a few jars of Chris’s favorite face cream for his stocking!
Cooking
I finally broke down and bought Cafe Gratitude’s latest cookbook {don’t ask me why it took so long} and have been making their Ceasar Salad on repeat. I also made Chicken Marbella from Ottolenghi’s Simple cookbook for the girls during our girls trip. I made this once before, last year for Christmas, and it was delicious – it did not disappoint this time either!
Wishing you all a safe, healthy, and happy holiday!
xo
-S
P.S. All of these images and their original sources can be found here.
