I always say Christmas is my favorite holiday but I think it’s actually tied with Galentine’s Day (à la Leslie Knope). Beginning in 2020 (right before the pandemic), I started hosting a gathering to celebrate Galentine’s Day back and kept up with it most of the years since. This year, I decided to step it up a little bit (only because I recently started feeling like my pre-pandemic self) and it was my favorite Galentine’s celebration to date! As I did with Cool People Christmas Party (which I’m just realizing I never shared on the blog!!!), I started the prep and setup in advance. I ordered some helium-filled heart-shaped balloons…

I’m not a huge New Year’s resolutions person but at the beginning of 2024, I did share some hopes for the year, which included picking up hobbies. I’m happy to report that I picked up and stuck with needlepointing all year! I was completely hooked after completing a couple of beginner kits/canvases as I reported at the end of Q1. Mindlessly basketweaving while listening to an audiobook is SO meditative, and I’ve spent many mornings doing so, even completing two needlepoint stockings! I find the act of stitching (and the accompanying ASMR) so soothing, and often find myself reaching for my current WIP (work-in-progress) when I’m feeling stressed or anxious.…

Hi, friends! It’s been almost three months since I picked up needlepointing as a hobby so I figured it was time for an update! Since January, I have officially stitched five canvases (they are sitting on the TV stand waiting to be “finished”) and am very much having fun! It had a pretty small learning curve at the beginning (and then another one when I switched from continental stitch to basketweave stitch) but nowhere as daunting as I expected before I just started going at it. Though I haven’t stitched every single day since I started, I have stitched most days and it’s become a comforting part of the day.…

Happy new year, friends! Since I took the opportunity of my 31st birthday shy of a couple of months ago to reflect on 2023, I wanted to briefly share my goals in today’s post! Unlike previous years (you can read my 2022 Reflections & 2023 Intentions here), this one is pretty short and sweet. P.P.S. Since 2023 was a special year for us, we stepped up our holiday card game and ordered from Dogwood Hill for the first time. The specific design is the “En Pointe Garland Border” by Riley Sheehey, and we loved how it turned out!

Hi, friends! I turned 31 earlier this week. On the same day, I started a new role at work in a completely different function. So all in all, reflection feels timely. In many ways, this year was one of the most challenging times of my life. I had a lot going on at work and between the workload at my day job, wedding planning, keeping up with the blog and life, needlessly to say I was stretched thin. I was talking to one of my friends last night and proclaimed that I will put my life back together in 2024, which reminded me of a conversation she and I had…