the blog

The kitchen is the heart of most homes and it seems it gets to run a marathon these last few months of the year. I’m hard on my kitchen year round, but the holiday season is a whole other level. So to help jump start all the kitchen activity, here are 5 things you can do now to help later. 1. Clean + Inventory your fridge and pantry: The last thing you want to do is start your famous recipe for (fill in the blank) and find you’re all out of (necessary ingredient) at the last moment. Take an afternoon...

As promised, I am not about to tell you to start decorating before you're ready. This is a list of things you can prepare for when you're ready and a few things you can sprinkle in now. But I will say if you start feeling like the time change and it getting dark so early leaves you feeling a little gloomy, a Christmas tree can really change your outlook. But here are five things you can do for instant Christmas cheer, now or in December. 1. Light a candle: This is always my #1. It hits so many senses and is...

Welcome back! Today we are tackling five things to buy now so you can free up time and money during Christmas. I don’t care how you budget or what you do, the Christmas season is expensive! It is such a joy and privilege to share gifts, food and time with your people over the whole season but it can add up in a hurry! To help spread it out, here are five things you can start stocking up on now, to save you later.  1. Wrapping paper+ Ribbon: It’s out almost everywhere; go ahead and get what you need plus...

Grab your favorite pen and a cup of coffee because we are getting ready for the Christmas season! (Don’t know why we’re doing this in October? Catch up here) Today we're starting with five simple questions that will help you prioritize your season. This list will look different for each of us, but it’s just a way to start thinking about how we will approach the entire holiday season this year.  1. What needs to be done before the holiday season? Really put your thinking cap on for this one. It could mean a home project before guests stay over (i.e....

A long, long time ago an old friend signed me up for an email list about prepping early for Christmas. This was when social media was just for sharing personal stuff  and blogs weren’t even really that popular but a little email list was kind of a big deal. For a whole week in October, someone (I have no idea who it was) would send a task to do now that would make Christmas easier later. While I didn’t follow it all and don’t remember much about what she instructed to do (except prep crockpot meals. That one stuck but...