It is difficult for me to post about what started out as a pretty ordinary and happy week for me that ended with both something terrible and something wonderful.  Ultimately, however, I feel that it is important to continue sharing about life’s joys even in times of sorrow.  With that being said, I’d like to share some tidbits from my life last week as well as an accompanying photo recap with selections from my Instagram with you.

I like to stock up on firewood in mid-November every year in preparation for chilly winter nights spent cozy and warm snuggled in front of the fire with my family.  This is typically also when I start gearing up for Thanksgiving, the holiday season opener.  I’ve already got my to-do list and schedule helper planned out in anticipation of another full house this year.  I’ve been so excited for the holidays and they’re almost here!

While the temperature drops outside, our food choices heat up.  My husband, Don, was under the weather last week with a cold, so we took advantage of our backup stock in the freezer of his delectable homemade comfort foods like chicken soup and chili.  A warm bowl of something when you’re sick is sometimes the best medicine!  While Don is primarily a coffee drinker, we enjoyed sharing mid-morning cups of tea with honey to help soothe his throat.  I’m happy to report he is all better now!

I’m beginning to transform my home in anticipation of the holidays, starting with the video background in my home office, which is now fully decked out in Christmas wrap and cheery snowmen for my annual Holiday Gift Guide series.  The first post, Little Luxuries, went up just this past weekend and I’ll share two more guides, including Extravagant Splurges and Stocker Stuffers, over the course of the next two weeks.  I also took advantage of the nice weather on Sunday to put up the outdoor holiday lights in front of our house, although I won’t plug them in until Thanksgiving, which is our tradition.  It was nice to be able to work outside in a t-shirt in mid-November, though!

On Friday my Mom took me out for a special Mom & Daughter outing.  We went to one of my favorite local places, Abigails, for lunch.  The food is always so scrumptious there!  Afterwards, she treated me to a manicure, my first professional one in several years, at Red Door Spa.  What an absolute treat!  I haven’t had anyone pay so much attention to my cuticles in a very long time.  We had some time between lunch and my manicure so we did a bit of window shopping at all of the cute children’s clothing boutiques at the mall.  It was a wonderful outing and I had such a good time with my Mom.  I can only hope my daugher and I share such a close friendship when she’s all grown up like I do with my Mom.

I vlogged bits of our day together if you’d like to see more:

My sister-in-law, Emily, and mother-in-law, Suzanne, threw a beautiful tea party themed baby shower for me on Saturday at Suzanne’s house.  It was absolutely lovely and a true light during a dark time.  They put so much thought and effort into every last detail, from the decor and food to the games and party favors.  I hired a photographer to document the event and will be sharing a more in-depth look at the shower in the next couple of weeks if you’re interested in seeing more.  For now, I will just say that I couldn’t have dreamed of a more lovely celebration and I feel very blessed to be surrounded by so many supportive and loving women as I welcome our little lady into the world.

 Art by Jean Jullien

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, it is difficult for me to find the proper words to express how I feel about the terrible events and tragedy that occurred in Paris last Friday.  It is both deeply saddening and extremely unsettling that so many lives were lost.  My thoughts and prayers are with all who have been affected both directly and indirectly by these events.

Even in the darkest of times there is always light as people come together in kindness and compassion to share love.  My wish for everyone is to share in this hope and know that love is always there.

Take good care ❤︎

* This is not a sponsored post.  All opinions are genuinely my own. *