Wednesday, November 29. 2023
Well, you guys, it’s the last Wednesday of the month and we only have one more day of November – “30 days have September, April, June, and November” – I chant this to my students. Can you believe they don’t know this?
It’s time for the fun monthly link up with Sheaffer Told Me To and Mix and Match Mama.
What I’m Wearing…
I have started wearing sweaters and trying to wear sweaters to school. I wore this on Monday:
I didn’t pass out. This is my new Christmas sweater from Target.com. Here it is! I can’t remember where I saw it, but I fell in love with it. I got mine on sale for $20 and it appears the price has gone up.
I also tried out my new Nordstrom chelsea boots:
They are very comfortable and supportive, but my feet got hot and I did change shoes halfway through the day.
I also wore this on Saturday to watch a basketball game:
This is another Target sweater I got a couple of months ago from the special collab with Rowing Blazers.
For Thanksgiving, I wore this wine color of Impress press ons:
Not sure what I did differently, but this set would not stay put:
I let my nails breathe for a few days and now I am wearing this color:
What I’m loving…
I went in Target on Sunday to make a return and saw…
this cute display and goodies:
Tom put up my Michael’s pencil trees. This one in the bedroom and…
this one in the living room. I am happy I decided to decorate minimally to enjoy it now and when we get back from our trip.
I can’t find my strands of white lights for the mantel and the banister! I think I put them in my January decor stash and I can’t find that either. I like to keep blue and white up in January with snowmen because teachers love snow and snow days! I guess I will look again this weekend. I hate being disorganized and I hate not being able to find things.
What I’m reading…
Still this. Ha!
This collection made me happy! I placed a Target order for the sweater, Mrs. Meyer’s peppermint hand soap and kitchen counter cleaner spray, these peppermint crunch Junior Mints, and then the other sweater that I didn’t keep. It was too cropped. Here it is if you want to try it. It’s very cute!
What We’re Eating…
I spent time Sunday getting 9 breakfasts ready to put in the freezer. I made 6 Amy McMuffins and 3 breakfast burritos.
My sister-in-law gave me a bit of turkey and this is my fave – the cold turkey mayo sandwich on white bread!
I did Soup Sunday and made my friend’s soup again but this time I added corn, bacon, diced potatoes and onions to make it more like a chicken, potato, corn chowder. I also used less cheese and less cream of chicken soup. I added chicken broth. It turned out great!
I am loving my new sugar free peppermint mocha, and I also used it to make an iced protein coffee – instant coffee grounds, a splash of this, ice, and a half of a premier chocolate protein.
And, we are enjoying eating off of my old Target plates!
What I’ve been up to…
At school, I am trying to be super organized and plan everything out until break and for the week after we come back.
At home, I am working on meal prepping and eating healthy. I am ordering things we need for travel.
What I’m dreading…
I am dreading the stress of travel and hoping for the best! Honestly, I’m not great at things not going according to plan, but I am working on it and I am better than I used to be.
What I’m excited about…
You know, this is going to make me sound like The Grinch, but I am excited to not be involved in the mad rush of the holiday season. At the end of Christmas last year, I just felt empty and depleted. It just hit me that the holiday didn’t have to be that way. It was not a deliberate plan at that time to be gone over Christmas, but then it just worked out that meeting Mason at the tail end of his semester made the most sense.
This year, I am not shopping, wrapping, stressing, buying food, hosting, cooking and it feels very freeing. Now, remember that I have done all of this and been in charge of making the season magical for many, many years. My kids are 21 so I’ve been through it all while also teaching full time.
Jack suggested we shop for each other on the trip, so we have something to open on Christmas Day, and I plan on bring back gifts for the grandparents. I also plan to surprise my kids with some stocking gifts, I think, and many of you said I should try to pack their stockings. Mason wants us to cook in the Airbnb on Christmas Day, so that should be interesting! It’s also high on my list to attend a church service in a beautiful old cathedral. I have asked our Airbnb host for suggestions.
I’m also fully aware that I may realize I don’t want to be gone for Christmas in the future.
So, that’s a little bit of What’s Up with me this Wednesday!
What about you?
Amy
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 
We started travelling for Christmas in 2015 and have travelled every year since. Initially, we just thought it would be a fun thing to do but it has truly turned into the most special time for our family. We only do a few gifts for our daughter and my husband and I don’t exchange and the trip is our gift to all of us. We truly embrace the time together and make tons of memories on every trip and that is the true gift. We didn’t know it would become an every year thing the first time we did it but we love it so much now and can’t imagine being at home on Christmas.
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Thank you for this – that is a great perspective!
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We’re not going to be gone for Christmas this year… but that’s pretty much how our Christmas is shaping up to be too and while it feels a bit weird to have nothing to do (and we decorated very minimally since none of us really felt like decorating) I have to admit I am not hating it at all. Plus we are thinking we might be gone for the holidays next year so I figure this is good practice!
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Sometimes it’s good to just keep it simple and maybe you can call it a “staycation”!
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Hi! Its very funny you say that about you might find out you don’t like being gone for the holidays. Last year my husband and I decided to take a trip right before Christmas, coming home on Christmas Eve. And I will never ever do that again. I’m looking forward to you point of view on this after you trip!
Have a great day!
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Why will you never do that again? Did you still try to do all the traditional Christmas tasks when you got back or before you left? Thank you! I will for sure be an open book!
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ha! yes I was up at 6am making appetizers and wrapping more gifts we bought on vacation. I just feel like I totally missed everything, including a couple of parties just going to the mall and out to dinner, it was the very small things I felt cheated on. and for the couple weeks leading up to the trip I was all about suntan oil and sun dresses. We went to 90 degrees to wind chills at 20 below. I could not get warm. I was beyond exhausted, didn’t feel good and I had to take all Christmas down feeling like I never even enjoyed it.
Thats my sob story! lol
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Yeah, so I am not planning to come home and do all that. I think that would be the danger of coming home before actual Christmas! I would do the same!
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The things that you listed about how you feel at the end of the holidays is something that I think a lot of people feel. In light of that, I think it’s good that you’re trying something new this year! I hope that the trip is everything you’re hoping for; you should consider a post to tell us what you’ve planned so far. I have such mixed emotions about traveling at this time of year. While part of me wants to try it to see places at Christmas, the other part of me doesn’t want to miss a second here at home. It’s all about the small things for me these days!
I hope you have a great day, my friend!
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I don’t always feel that way – but I did last year. I think it also involved some sadness that I feel about my extended family without going into great detail here.
I hope so!
I am really weird about telling too much beforehand. I have debated what to share and when.
I feel the same – I am writing down all the fun and free events that my community has to offer and debating how much I have time to do. So much of the events involve shopping if you think about it!
I am all about those, too.
You too!
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Just love your Christmas sweater, you look great in red! Little orders from target like that make me so happy as well. I have the burn out on my Christmas list I just love Sophie K. Your dark nails are divine! Happy Wednesday!
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Thank you! Same! I am impressed with how they package things, too. They do a great job! It’s a cute book, but has been slow for me (I think it’s a me problem). Loving the dark nails and you cannot tell these are press on unless you get super close!
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I love that Target sweater! I need to find peppermint soap. We’re eating off our target plates too.
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Thank you! I couldn’t find the soap in store and that is why I had to go the Target.com route.
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I think you have a great attitude about the trip, and it will be just what you need for this year. Will you do it again? Who knows, but enjoy the journey and the time with the boys. I’m trying some Impress nails for the first time later today…eek!
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Thank you! Oh, I want to hear if you are “impressed”! It does take some practice, but not much. If I can do it anyone can. I am wearing my set from Sunday and it’s now Friday. They are in no way looking like they are going anywhere. I do think cutting and filing them short helps that, too.
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Your sweaters and boots are really cute. As kids get older, traditions change and love your viewpoint on staying flexible.
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Thank you! So true! We have to adapt.
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Hmmm…I have never thought about it before, but I do get extremely stressed out at Christmas. I work really hard to get the just right gifts for my people. I try to do thoughtful things I think they will like. But, I don’t take tags off things, and I hand them the receipts so they can feel free to return them (so I don’t have to). I know it would be easier to just give them money, but that’s not fun for me. I would love to take them all on vacation, but I can’t afford that…teacher’s pensions don’t stretch that far!
I hope you’ll find your stress about leaving lessens with every day. Just think of it this way, if you forget something (other than meds), you can always buy it there. If you forget something and don’t need it, that’s even better. Instead, you will be creating memories with your sons and husband that will last far beyond any other Christmas gift you could give them. One of these days, I hope to spend some time at Christmas in London. I just think it would be gorgeous, but maybe I’m buying into movies too much!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
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I don’t get that stressed out, but of course I usually hope everyone likes what I give them. My husband and I have taken the pressure off of each other by helping each other with our kids and we also don’t do big gifts for each other, but we do stockings.
I hope so too! I’m sure it is gorgeous, but the movies make it even more so and leave out the bad parts of a big city at Christmas!
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Here’s another trick I was taught as a child besides the one in your post. Make a fist. Start with knuckle on your pointer finger – that’s January. The space between that knuckle is February. So go knuckle, between knuckle saying the months. At the knuckle on the little finger is July. Back to knuckle on pointer for August. All of the knuckles are months with 31 days. Space between knuckles have 30 days. Except February which is always an odd player.
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My students tried to teach me that, but I knew I would forget how that went! I like my jingle! Ha!
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Not a grinch! After the simplicity of Christmas during Covid lockdown, I never looked back! I still decorate and Christmas shop, but it’s minimal and I’ve cut out all unnecessary social events 😉 It makes Christmas so much more enjoyable. Plus London is my favorite city at Christmas! Enjoy every minute. And I love love love the Chelsea boots. I’ve been wearing the same All Saints motorcycle boots for 15 years now, those might be the replacement!
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Thank you! Yes – good point – I think many have changed or re-evaluated how they do the holidays. That is the sign of a good buy – 15 years!
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