Live Your Best Holiday Life Update // November

Happy Thursday friends! Today, Shea and I are sharing updates for #lybholidayl ! We are doing it a little differently this year, and enjoying it and struggling with it in our own ways! Make sure to check out Shea's post to see what she's been up to. We'd love for you to join in with the ideas and by sharing your own successes and struggles this holiday season! Need the lists again? Scroll to the bottom! :) 

What's Going Well:

We spent a really nice weekend at KC's grandparent's farm. I wrote about what it means to me, here.

A lot of reading! (a lot!) - if you are looking for a cheesy holiday read check out these reviews! here and here.

Keeping a Gratitude Log

Getting outside & walking home more often

Shopped my closet for Thanksgiving outfits

Rules for Making Plans (to reduce anxiety!!):

1) if someone in the group is super busy, let them pick the time between two days, etc. "We are free all day Saturday and Sunday, you guys let us know!"

2) if everyone is free, be the person who says let's go HERE, at THIS TIME.

If it changes, that's ok! But be the decisive person, you'll have a plan sooner!

The "Four" Christmas Gifts - this year KC and I are doing the "four" gifts for Christmas. 

1) something you want

2) something you need

3) something to wear

4) something to read

It has definitely simplified shopping and been kind of a fun challenge!

Cheesy Netflix Xmas Movies - can recommend The Christmas Calendar and The Princess Switch. And obviously last year's A Christmas Prince!

A long snow weekend where we stayed in, read, cozied up with cats, played board games, made a really yummy stew, etc.

Made turkey broth after t-giving with the turkey carcass. It was SO inexpensive and easy. I froze the broth in ice cube trays for easy use and portioning later! (we also do this with leftover broth from the store, and chopped up adobo chiles. :) 

Where I'm Struggling:

Meditating... oy, it's getting a little easier, but is not my jam.

We tried some nail wraps... LOL they were not super successful.

I'm not feeling overly festive this year. I want to feel a little less bah humbug! I'm hoping that getting a tree and decorating soon will help!

Hopes for December:

To make and send Christmas cards - down to the wire... lol

To decorate and feel more "in the spirit"

Donate to a few organizations -- we usually do this in November, but only did a little bit.

Try to reduce a little stress, this week has been a rough one stress-wise.

Do some holiday baking

Overall I think that things are going well, but I am starting to feel some stress this week. I hope that I can do a bit of destressing and getting a bit more festive in the coming weeks!

How about you guys? How is your holiday season going?

Are you doing LYBHolidayL? We'd love for you to join us! 

Please let us know if you are joining in by using #lybholidayl and tagging Shea and I! :) 

XO,

Alexandra

Live Your Best Holiday Life For Less // 2018

Happy Thursday friends! Today, I am super jazzed because Shea and I are revamping #lybholidayl ! We are doing it a little differently this year, so read on below to see what we're up to! We'd love for you to join in with the ideas and by sharing your own successes and struggles this holiday season!

Last year Shea and I did Live Your Best Holiday Life For Less where we picked daily prompts for November and December to help us have a more festive, budget friendly, and self-care inclusive holiday season. It was so fun to put a focus on our months, and really channel what is important during those busy times! Thank you to those of you who participated with us, we had so much fun seeing what you guys were up to, and how you interpreted the prompts!

This year we are not going to be running a daily challenge, but we ARE wanting to keep festivity, self-care, and budgeting in the forefront of our minds this holiday season. Here are a few lists we've compiled for you guys to use this year! The idea is that you can turn to them if you are feeling overwhelmed, uninspired, or strapped for cash!

 If you use the lists, make sure to tag us on Instagram (Me & Shea) and use #liveyourbestholidayl so we can follow along! We will be posting from time to time on our pages and in our STORIES (we are loving IG stories this year!) about how the holiday is going, and how we are keeping family, a low budget, and self-care at the forefront. We would love for you to join us this year!

I am particularly excited to:

make some of our holiday gifts this year
try out a new gifting system between me and KC - I'll share in my stories soon!
send out holiday cards from our new house!
go for winter walks to de-stress and see the quiet beauty of the winter season
shop my own closet for "new" holiday outfits - I LOVED doing this last year!

Are *you* looking for daily prompts? If so here are last year's lists! Feel free to use them!

We will have one round up post at the end of November, and one at the end of December to recap how it went... successes and failures! Hey, we're real people! We struggle from time to time!

Please let us know if you are joining in by using #lybholidayl and tagging Shea and I! :) 

How do you beat holiday stress?

What tradition are you most looking forward to?

XO,

Alexandra

LYB(Holiday)L Week 9 // Seeking Holiday Calm

Well, I was supposed to post this yesterday... but it was Christmas... and I was doing the LYBHolidayL thing, by unplugging and focusing on family. hehehe SO, here's this last little bit of LYBHolidayL, a day late! :)

New here? The What & Why

Shea from Shea Lennon and I are super psyched to be continuing LYB(Holiday)L this month! Starting December 1st 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 8 Recap:

Here's some things I did during week 8! - you can always keep up by following along on IG! This week was a bit tougher to stay on it with this challenge - lots going on - but we still managed to do ok.

• I gave myself a sort-of pedicure by giving my feet a nice exfoliation in the shower at the end of this week. I also felt good about sleeping with thick lotion on my hands!
• I checked for thank-you notes and have enough stamps to get started. We know we'll need stamps anyhow, so we are good getting those later.
• We did not do freezer meals, but did buy a rotisserie chicken, veggies, and made a meal plan for Christmas Eve. :) 
• We did not take a walk or do workouts on the 21st. Oh well. This is the day I moved offices at work, so I was on my feet all day. I don't feel too bad about it! :) 
• I was off on the 22nd, so I definitely took some time to do fun things. :) 
• We didn't make any treats to share, but that's ok with me! :) 
• On Christmas Eve we tried a German "Wintertime" tea with spiced cookies. It was really nice. We spent the evening sipping and munching while playing board games. :) 

Week 9:

December 25 - Unplug. Be present and enjoy the moment.

Clearly did well at this... :P

December 26 - Buy some Christmas decorations/candy on mega sale.

Hoping to just stay at home tomorrow! :) :) But we'll see. If we go out, I'll browse for deals. Because that's just me!

December 27 - Write down/share your favorite moments of the holidays with your family.

May be a good time for me and KC to type up little notes on MY NEW TYPEWRITER!!!!!! GAH! (more info coming soon!). I would love to put these in my December Daily!

December 28 - Start thinking about goals for 2018!

I have only done this in the broadest sense so far! Whew. Time to get a bit more serious. Can't believe how this month flew by! If you have a goal of focusing on gratitude in 2018, please read about a new project I am doing with my friend Rachel, and other bloggers next year. It's called The Year of Gratitude! You can find us on FB and IG too! :)

December 29 - Accomplish a to-do list item that you have been avoiding.

So many options... not sure where to start! LOLOL. Maybe doing an update for my book ban! :P 

December 30 - With your family write down a wish for 2018 and hide it away to pull out at the end of next year.

I think this will be so fun to look back on! :) 

December 31 - Try out a new beauty product or look for NYE.

NYE is our anniversary and we aren't sure what we're doing yet. :P So I guess we'll see. :) 

How was your Christmas? (if you celebrate it)

Any fun plans for the next week or NYE?

Have you been thinking about your goals for next year?!

We'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

LYB(Holiday)L Week 8 // Seeking Holiday Calm

Hello everyone! I hope that you had a fun, festive, and peaceful weekend! :) It was a very hectic weekend around here, but I'm trying to keep in mind that it is nearly holiday time, and that means a bit of vacation time at home for me and KC. Hang in there guys, we've almost made it through the year! :)

Let's get straight into this week's prompts!

New here? The What & Why

Shea from Shea Lennon and I are super psyched to be continuing LYB(Holiday)L this month! Starting December 1st 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 7 Recap:

Here's some things I did during week 7! - you can always keep up by following along on IG! This week was a bit tougher to stay on it with this challenge - lots going on - but we still managed to do ok.

• I wasn't sure what my treat would be, but I got my package from my blogger pen pal Secret Santa (Kelly!)! So I ended up with tons of treats! :) Thank you Kelly!
• I remembered to turn on music toward the end of the day! It was a very productive day making videos so I didn't have anything in the background. :) 
• Hehe we didn't do this. But we did make the crock pot recipe from last week, this week, and it turned out well. We even finished all of the leftovers! :) I also got some self care this day, which wasn't food healthy, but brain healthy!
• This was our first time driving to look at holiday lights, but we really enjoyed it! We saw a neighborhood where tons of houses went all out! So fun!
• We didn't bake cookies this day, because we had a ton of plans! But we did find our cookie press! Yay, and we ended up making them the next day instead. I think we'll try the new recipe this week or during the week of Christmas! :) 
• I set a coffee date with my grandma for this week while she is in town. I am also working on packaging things up for friends and family for Christmas!

Week 8:

December 18 - Give yourself a mini pedicure!

I think I am going to keep it simple and remove old nail polish, use my pumice stone in the shower to exfoliate, and then slather on some thick lotion, and fuzzy socks! (I cannot wait to do this...!)

December 19 - Pick up a box of thank you notes and stamps to have on-hand post-holiday. A thank you note is always appreciated, and a lost practice! Get your family involved to help teach your kiddos about gratitude (thanks, November Challenge!)

We are pretty adamant about sending thank you notes at our house! I will plan to check my stash this day and see if we need more! It is likely that we'll need stamps regardless! :P

December 20 - Make a double-batch of a favorite meal and freeze it.

I have a really tough time freezing things successfully and remembering to eat them. Maybe this is the time! We shall see. I'm not sure how much cooking we'll realistically get done. So I may tweak this one to say, "get groceries for a few quick meals/lunches". We've been eating out too much, but not with enough time to change it!

December 21 - Sneak in an extra workout today. Even if that means a 10 minute walk or 20 reps of arm weights. Just move a little more, your body will thank you!

This will be needed! I am going to try to fit in a calm yoga session in the evening. :) 

December 22 - Give yourself a 20 minute break today. Read, color, do a puzzle, do nothing! Do whatever will make it feel like a treat for you! :) 

I love this one! I can't wait to take a break! hehe We actually don't have anything this day, so I thin it will be easy to fit something in. Maybe a movie with KC. ;) 

December 23 - Make Treats to Share

We've been wanting to make peanut butter balls, and to try the new cookie recipe from last week's prompt. So excited to pick something out and focus on baking without worrying about other things that need done! :) 

December 24 - Enjoy a seasonal drink of your choice.

This seems like the perfect prompt for Christmas Eve. I might sit down with a cup of spiked cocoa or if I get ambitious make mulled wine. hehe :) 

What is your favorite way to take a break?

What is your favorite freezer meal? Or meal that freezes well? Help a girl out (again!)!

Can you believe that Christmas Eve is this week?! It is nuts how quickly this month has flown!

We'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

LYB(Holiday)L Week 7 + Linkup Reminder! // Seeking Holiday Calm

Hello everyone! I hope that you had a fun, festive, and peaceful weekend! :) We did a lot of fun things, but I was also able to catch up on some things that I had been struggling to find time for. :)

Let's get straight into this week's prompts!

New here? The What & Why

Shea from Shea Lennon and I are super psyched to be continuing LYB(Holiday)L this month! Starting December 1st 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 6 Recap:

Here's some things I did during week 6!

• I thought a bit about holiday stresses, and I was at that moment stressed about the Advent activity we were supposed to do... so we put it off until later. :) Still working on trouble shooting ideas for family things. (ideas welcome!)
• KC and I discussed a while back upping the budget for parents and siblings (some of whom we are working on a group fixed amount, so those did not change). But we allowed ourselves to round out some gifts and not worry about the exact dollar amounts. Everything else though is at or under budget, and I feel good about it. :) 
• I mentioned that I got a new planner, but I had a bit of fun playing around with it and adding birthdays, etc. :) 
• We picked a new crockpot recipe, one of you all shared it.. but I don't know who! It was a ham and potato crockpot soup and while we didn't make it yet... we plan to this week! :) 
• We were busy on the "wrapping party" night, so we made a point to get more wrapping done over the weekend... and then ran out of time! We plan to do more wrapping this week!
• We bought a pre-made gingerbread house, because it was a very busy week/weekend for us. Our aim was to have fun and be creative with the decorating.We didn't get to decorating it, but we needed to make a cake as well, so we used a gingerbread house cake mold and decorated it. It was very cute, and fun to decorate... but the cake recipe wasn't my favorite. Oh well, we'll try it again! :) 
• We made a blanket fort and watched Love Actually. With Hotschnappslate, one of our traditions. So fun! :)

Week 7:

December 11 - Allow yourself a tiny impulse buy: the little truffle at the checkout, the $1 holiday socks, etc. You deserve a treat! :)

Hmm... not sure! I'll think of something! :)

December 12 - Put on some Christmas music (or whatever you like to listen to in December) to get you though your chores or work day today.

I am at home on Tuesday, and listening to music definitely helps me feel a bit less lonely around the house by myself. Festive xmas music makes it all the more fun! :)

December 13 - Make an effort to get outside, even for just a few minutes!

KC and I have been pretty well (minus when Scali was sick) at getting out and about for our daily walk at work. Today should be no exception!

December 14 - Plan a few go-to healthy meals and snacks to balance all of the indulging.

This is a really good prompt. To be honest, we've been so busy with projects and plans that we haven't been eating at home much. At the very least I'll plan to eat some clementines, and grab a salad if we are eating out. :) 

December 15 - Drive around and look at Christmas lights!

Oh man, these are still just as magical to me as they were when I was a kiddo! KC and I are excited to do this on Friday night! Have you seen this website? You can find light displays near you, and add your own address if you want. Many cities have their own version of this site as well. :) 

December 16 - Bake holiday cookies (1 classic, 1 new recipe!) 

My very favorite Christmas cookie is one that my sister Jess and I made with my mom at Christmas. We used a vintage cookie press to make spritz cookies in many shapes each year. KC and I got our own cookie press so we can make them too.. Now to find the press...! ha #temporarylivingspaceprobs hehe We want to make a new one as well, I have a Christmas cookie bookazine (magazine cookbook) of just holiday cookies, so once I find that (LOL) I hope to choose one from there for the new recipe! 

December 17 - Make a faraway loved one feel special this holiday season

I am planning to package up cards, notes, and gifts for family and friends across the US. I am still finishing up some DIY things.. .heheh... I am going to try to call my grandma as well. :) 

Linkup Reminder WEDNESDAY 12/13!

Shea and I both had the idea to FINALLY do Advent calendars in our homes this year, and we thought it would be fun to do a linkup where you all can share your calendars if you made them, but also any of your fun holiday traditions in your home! :) No matter what you celebrate this month, we'd love for you to share it with us! The linkup will be on WEDNESDAY!! December 13th! We hope that you will join us in sharing your family's winter holiday traditions!

Do you like holiday lights? Do you drive to look at them or put up some of your own?

What is your favorite holiday cookie? Have one that I should try?!

Go-to healthy recipes?!?!

We'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

LYB(Holiday)L Week 6 + Linkup Reminder! // Seeking Holiday Calm

Hello everyone! I hope that you had a fun, festive, and peaceful weekend! :) We did ALL OF THE THINGS, but it managed to be a good one. :) Let's get straight into the first full week of #lybholidayl December, ok?!

New here? The What & Why

Shea from Shea Lennon and I are super psyched to be continuing LYB(Holiday)L this month! Starting December 1st 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 5 Recap:

This challenged helped me to get through a majorly stressful month mostly unscathed. ;) Following the challenge helped me to keep calm, take time for myself, and get organized here and there. It also gave me permission to spend time on myself and to get rid of things on my to-do list. :) 

• I wrote a note to a friend that I will send this week with a small bday present!
• KC and I discussed our holiday hopes and plans early in the month, so we are feeling good about it!
• I broke out the coloring book, it included getting up to play litter box duty with Scal, but I did it! :) 
• I will admit that I did not try a new coffee/tea/etc. with all the chaos with Scali... I really didn't have the energy to do new things. But that's ok! I think it is the only prompt I have skipped!
• We made some Bailey's hot chocolate at home in our new mugs from 1Canoe2. It was DELICIOUS!
• I shopped my closet for holiday outfits for me and my sister! :P I now have a few things put together for concerts, the nutcracker, and parties. :) 
• We are doing an Advent calendar this year for our new holiday tradition, and I am so excited about it! At first I was really stressed because I had little time, have I mentioned the vet?!, but once I got things together I am feeling great about it! :) I am also doing a December Daily album and LOVING it! :)

Week 6:

December 4 - Make a list of things that stress you out about the holidays, and then take one of those things off of your plate.

hmm.. unfortunately most of the things that stress us out about the holidays are not under our control... but we did decide on a few things we aren't planning on doing. I'm hoping to brainstorm how I can make the stressful things a bit easier this year!

December 5 - Set a budget for Christmas expenses and stick to it.

We set a gift budget, and have changed it a bit as the shopping has gone. I kept our Advent calendar expenses very low - which I feel good about. :) I'm planning to avoid shopping for clothes and other things that I want this month since we plan on doing lots of activities. Granted many of them are free or already paid for! Woohoo! :)

December 6 - Choose a new planner or get your bullet journal/digital calendar organized for the new year. (at least start it ;) )

I bought a new planner! It's not an ECLP! What?! I don't know but I just wanted to try something new!! I bought the planner from 1Canoe2, which was a lot cheaper, has a fun layout, and pretty brush lettering inside. I can't wait to show you guys! I need to get it set up though! Excited to get started on the 6th!

December 7 - Try a new crock pot recipe

I need to look through recipes I have saved from other bloggers, because crock pot recipes are hard for us. They make wayyy too much food for the two of us and we get so tired (usually) of them. Excited to give it a shot. We've been eating out a lot, so this is much needed. :) 

December 8 - Have a gift wrapping "party" with your significant other or friend

We are nearly done with our shopping, but have a good chunk of wrapping, tag making, etc. yet to go. We have a concert this night, so we may or may not get to this task after work. If we don't we'll likely roll it in to one of the next two days... which are also very busy! :P 

December 9 - Make a Gingerbread House

We have only made a gingerbread house once before together. I'm excited to try it again. I'd like to make some sort of interesting shape... but I don't know that there will be time for that! We shall see. :) 

December 10th - Make a blanket fort and watch a holiday movie

We have talked about watching The Holiday under a blanket fort - because the fort in the movie! - and may do that, or watch something else. We are watching The Holiday twice this year. I'd like to FINALLY get around to White Christmas. Can you believe I've never seen it?!

Linkup Reminder!

Shea and I both had the idea to FINALLY do Advent calendars in our homes this year, and we thought it would be fun to do a linkup where you all can share your calendars if you made them, but also any of your fun holiday traditions in your home! :) No matter what you celebrate this month, we'd love for you to share it with us! The linkup will be on December 13th! We hope that you will join us in sharing your family's winter holiday traditions!

Do you have a favorite crock pot recipe?! HELP!

Have you picked your 2018 planner yet?!

What stresses you out about the holidays? How can you make it better?

We'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

LYB(Holiday)L Week 5 (December Prompts) + Linkup Announcement // Seeking Holiday Calm

This was supposed to post yesterday guys... whoops. 24 hour vets, no sleep, etc. does not lead to great blogging. #keepinitreal

It is almost December! :) I'm so excited to get into the Christmas holidays, but definitely feeling a bit of stress! Am I alone? Excited to be kicking off month two of LYBHolidayL! :)  

On to week 5's December prompts for LYBHolidayL! :) 

New here? The What & Why

Shea from Shea Lennon and I are super psyched to be continuing LYB(Holiday)L this month! Starting December 1st 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).

November Recap:

This challenged helped me to get through a majorly stressful month mostly unscathed. ;) Following the challenge helped me to keep calm, take time for myself, and get organized here and there. It also gave me permission to spend time on myself and to get rid of things on my to-do list. :) 

A few highlights:

• THIS AMAZING COMMUNITY OF LADIES WORKING ON THIS CHALLENGE TOGETHER! :)  I loved connecting with you all and seeing how you made the challenge your own! I'm so excited to start December with you! :) 
• getting a jump on some holiday prep work. I felt much more organized and even a bit ahead of the game from time to time!
• having a full gratitude log. Even on the worst of days, I was able to put something down. :) 
• gratitude quote searching left me with so many quotes that are really inspiring. I even put some of them in my November Daily album! :)

If you joined in in any way during November, 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 to succeed as you do the same! :) :) I am so excited to start on December! Here we go! :) 

Week 5 (December Prompts):

December 1 - Make hot chocolate. Here's our favorite "grown up" version.

We love this spiked peppermint hot chocolate. It's our tradition to drink it while we watch Love Actually each year. :)

December 2 - Shop your closet for possible holiday outfits: what can you mix and match from years past? It’s likely you won’t need to do a lot of shopping. And if you do, you’ll know exactly what holes you need to fill!

I'm so excited about this one. We are going to a handful of holiday things (concerts, parties, etc.) where we'll want to look nice. I need to go through my closet and pick out some outfit ideas in advance. 1) This will keep me from spending and spending, and 2) it will have me ready faster on those nights, less fighting with hangers and running around looking for a certain sweater! :)

December 3 - Start a new holiday tradition! This is the year. Keep it simple, make your list, get your supplies, YOU CAN DO IT! (If you brainstormed in November, now is the time to put it into action!)

We are going to be doing an Advent calendar for the first time, and also trying to go to a few local events that we never make time for! We'll see how it goes! :) Which leads me to....

Linkup Announcement!

Shea and I both had the idea to FINALLY do Advent calendars in our homes this year, and we thought it would be fun to do a linkup where you all can share your calendars if you made them, but also any of your fun holiday traditions in your home! :) No matter what you celebrate this month, we'd love for you to share it with us! The linkup will be on December 13th! We hope that you will join us in sharing your family's winter holiday traditions!

What is your go-to holiday event outfit?! (help a girl out!)

Are you planning to start a new tradition this year?!

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

LYB(Holiday)L Week 5 (November Prompts) // Seeking Holiday Calm

Update: Squee! Prince Harry is marrying Meghan Markle! x_x

It's another Monday! I hope that you had a great weekend and Thanksgiving holiday! Ours was a bit busy off and on, but overall productive. I'm definitely feeling the strain of the end of the year, and keeping up with my many projects. LYBHolidayL is still helping though, and I'm very grateful for that!

On to week 5 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 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 4 Recap:

All things considered, last week's lybholidayl went well! Despite some logistical issues, and lots of social plans, I managed to mostly keep up with the challenge, and again, I think it helped me keep it together, and be present. I'm taking it slower, which is really needed. 
Here are some things we did:

• on Monday we spent a very long time driving to and from an airport in my state. There were some flight snafus... so this wasn't a good day for a treat. However, online shopping and Thanksgiving desserts more than made up for it as the week went on.
• I gave myself a quick mani. It was nice to feel like I took some time for myself.
• I was home this day, and I didn't do any makeup or hair or anything... but I did manage to wear pumpkin and blush around the house. :) 
• I put my phone away repeatedly on Thanksgiving. It was tough though because there's not a lot to do while everyone else is watching football...
• we didn't look at old photos on this specific day, but we did do it over the weekend. It was fun to look back on our relationship. :) 
• a hot cocoa break (which we swapped for leftover pie) was much needed...!
• we took some time to call my dad and my grandma in Arizona.

My gratitude log is full! & it makes me happy! It is also making it easy to catch up with things with my November Daily.

If you joined in in any way during week 1, 2, 3, or 4 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 to succeed as you do the same! :) :) I know I shared these last week, but I loved Audrey and Kelly's updates, thank you so much for sharing ladies!

Week 5 (November Prompts): 

November 27 - Hand write a letter or note telling someone how grateful you are for them, and why.

This is such a tough one! I have a few ideas.. we'll see what I am able to pull off! :)

November 28 - Discuss with family existing ideas for new holiday traditions, planning ahead will make pulling it off next month easier!

KC and I spent a lot of time working on this in November. We'll be doing an Advent calendar, which will be new to us, and hope to watch a few new Christmas movies too.

November 29 - Schedule 15 minutes to destress, break out that grown up coloring book (or just doodle)

This will be much needed. I feel like I have an awful lot of things on my plate right now! I'm going to use my paper coloring book, but Disney has a coloring app with a few free pages too! Check it out. :) 

November 30 - Try a new coffee, tea, or coffee creamer

I am a caffeine creature of habit. I rarely like new things that I try.. :P So we'll see how it goes! :)

Come back on Wednesday 11/29 for December's prompts! :) 

What about you guys?! Are you planning to tag along this week? Or in December?!

How do you show people that you are grateful for them?!

Are you adventurous with your coffee and tea?

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