LYB(Holiday)L Week 2 // Seeking Holiday Calm

Happy Monday, guys! I hope that you had a great weekend! We really enjoyed ourselves and felt very productive! Making headway on the Christmas gift game! :) On to week 2 of LYBHolidayL! :) 

New here? The What & Why

Shea from Shea Lennon and I are super psyched to be kicking off LYB(Holiday)L this month! Starting November 1st (Wednesday!) we have one prompt per day to help us live a calmer, more organized, and peaceful holiday season! Each week we'll share the week's prompts, and our own ideas for how we'll do them. We'll give brief re-caps on the previous week as we go. The full list of daily prompts is on IG, and will be linked at the bottom of each of my posts. If you're a plan ahead type person, tape it into your planner or write it out to start thinking ahead. We hope that you'll join us! Use #LYBHolidayL to let us know when you tag along on social media! :) (see the full intro post and details, here).

Week 1 Recap:

My first partial #LYBHolidayL week went really well! I felt like I was able to do that mix of quick vs. longer tasks on the list, and feel productive! I also felt like I was working on taking care of myself. I really enjoyed the link that Shea shared related to "opening and closing ceremonies" for a holiday or season. The entire Lazy Genius podcast seems great. I have listened to all of the holiday ones, KC and I each filled out the "game plan" work sheet and feel super on the same page about the upcoming holidays now. :) We even sent it to family members in case it helped them as well/made it easier to plan in units. Thanks for sharing, Shea! The waffles were perfect, because I've been wanting to start a weekend breakfast ritual. AND my closet is a bit more cleaned up with some outfits ready to wear hanging in it. Score. :) Topping it off with a short list of daily gratitude to look back on just makes me smile. I might have to keep that up in my bullet journal in coming months! :)

If you joined in in any way during week 1, thank you so much! It means a lot to us, and it is nice to feel like there is a community of people trying to focus on the season, and who are rooting for you as you do! :) :)

Week 2:

November 6 - Give back this month: decide as a family how to "give back" to your community. (It could be a family volunteer day, or a monetary donation.) However small or large, give someone else something to be grateful for!

KC and I did something last year that worked well for us, we decided to give back in one way each week during November. It could be something big or small. Something monetary or time-based. I'm excited to give that another go this year. I think this would be a great family project, sit down as a group and ask for ideas on how you could give back this month. I bet it would be heart-warming to hear their ideas. :)

November 7 - Schedule in 30 minutes to curl up with a good book.

This is so needed for me. I haven't felt like reading at all in the past few weeks. Cuddling up with a good book is something I've been missing. I plan to pick up some non-fiction that I have sitting around, and we'll see how that goes. My brain is already heavy into the goals at the end of the year! :)

November 8 - Take a Break: get your hygge on

Oh Hygge, the Danes are my homepeople. Have you heard of Hygge (HOOGA?) It's all about coziness and taking it slow. I read THIS BOOK earlier this year, and it was so perfect. I plan to practice hygge tonight by taking it easy. Putting on some cozy socks, drinking hot chocolate, and relaxing with a book or magazine. We'll see how it goes. That's part of it, right? Going with the flow and doing what sounds best. :) 

November 9 - Let go of one thing you feel obligated to do, attend, or complete this month.

Whew, it is tough for me to say no. I am grateful for this one on the list. I plan to let go of making frequent week-night plans. Keeping my schedule lighter is going to help me spend more time on self-care and battling the to-do list this month.

November 10 - Treat yourself to a new, yummy-smelling candle.

We don't do fragrance at our house, BUT I do have a lavender candle from Honest Co. that I've been too lazy to light. Excited to finally give it a try! I also put the citrus spruce one in my bundle this month! I can't wait to light it! :) Nothing smells better to me than citrus or fresh trees.

November 11 - Clean out your fridge - get it holiday food influx ready!

This one is self explanatory! But I do plan to look through the pantry and freezer shelves too! #muchneeded *extra* My horoscope tells me that 11/11 is believed (by some) to be a "symbol that calls us to be lightworkers on the planet." So if you're still considering ideas about "giving back" from the 6th, maybe make decisions/put them into action today? (it's ok if you're rolling your eyes at me! :P)

November 12 - Give someone an unexpected gift (it could be mail, a quarter in their parking meter, a treat for your kiddo, a coffee for your cube neighbor, or something bigger)

I have a few sneaky ideas... but I can't share them here just yet. :)

What about you guys?! Are you planning to tag along?

Anyone else obsessed with hygge?

Are you good at saying "no"?

I'll be posting about the prompts using #LYBHolidayL on Instagram! Make sure to check in with Shea on her IG too! :) @simplyalexandra12 & @shealennon

XO,

Alexandra