I’m dedicating this week’s download post to all things Valentine’s Day! Swapping out my usually book list with some of my all-time favorite romantic-reads, rounding up a few local brands with lovely Valentine’s gifts, sharing kid-friendly ideas for celebrating the holiday, and pulling some sweet treat recipes to add to your sweetheart menu from my archives!  read more

I’ve always been someone who gets hyped over the new year. I love a fresh start, I love clean to do lists, I love resetting goals and the whole clean-slate thing. It usually gives me so much energy and momentum, but man this year has not been that way! I have been sick, Jane has been sick, we’ve been operating in a cloud of sinus infections, ear infections, and general exhaustion. I even had to cancel plans on my birthday so I was in a reallll cranky spot! Over the weekend I rallied for a girls night out with my best friends’ and today is the first day since the start of 2020 that I’ve felt like I can breathe (literally and figuratively, ha). So I’m trying to get back in the game — a little bit slower in my start than I anticipated — but with lots to share. read more

I made a lofty resolution in 2018 to read 2 books a month and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I took the goal seriously and made it part of my routine (finishing 29 books!), which has since gotten me back into a nice steady groove of reading for pleasure again. Last year my goal was to continue my new habit, and I paced at a very consistent speed because I ended up reading exactly 29 books again! My 2018 reading list recap was one of my post popular posts of the year, and I am writing this one to recap all of my 2019 reads — both for you the reader and for me (I love to go back and use these lists to give other book-nerds some of my favorite recommendations!). read more

One of my biggest resolutions for this year is to put sustainability more in focus on this blog. It’s a topic that I’m really passionate about, but haven’t shared much of on the site because I wasn’t quite sure how it fit in. I’ve come to realize though that where it fits in is everywhere; it’s something we need to be thinking about in every aspect of our life. One site that I continue to be inspired by and look to for practical, simple advice about making impactful changes is on TheEcoMamas. Continuing my week of posts here on the blog about New Year’s Resolutions, I’m so grateful to be sharing this interview with Colleen and Gillian from TheEcoMamas with their thoughts on sustainable choices we can make in 2020! (See my other posts in the series here about getting organized and eating healthy). read more

Is it even New Year’s if we’re not talking about healthy eating resolutions? Indulgent eating at the holidays coupled with picking up bad habits while I was crunched for time during a very busy work season has left me craving a reset on my health goals for the year ahead. My best healthy eating successes comes when I have a good plan in place — which means meal-prepping, brainstorming easy recipes, and filling my fridge with healthy ingredients! I love following Lara from Plan & Plate It because of her super accessible, family-friendly approach to planning meals that fill us up with the good stuff, and wastes less in the process.  Continuing my week of posts here on the blog about New Year’s Resolutions, I’m interviewing Lara from Plan & Plate It to share some of her best hacks for kicking the year off with healthy-choices! (See my other posts in the series here about getting organized and going green).

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I am a full-fledged, 100% extreme, organizational nerd. But! Even I can use some help in this area and love following Corinne at Grid + Glam on instagram for all of her expert tips and frameworks for getting things organized. I started to adopt her Sunday reset method to set me up for success when I’m feeling overwhelmed with a busy schedule. And during my own week-long New Year’s house organization overhaul, I’ve loved leaning on the advice she shared with her followers about setting up systems that work long-term. To kick off a week of posts here on the blog about New Year’s Resolutions and starting 2020 off on the right foot, I’m so excited to share this interview with Corrine from Grid + Glam! (See my other resolutions posts in the series here about eating healthy and going green). 

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We went to our first holiday party this weekend and it got me quite into the holiday spirit. I also enjoyed the festively stocked bar that was full of holiday spirits so I’m moving a little slower than usual today. But sitting by the fireplace, holiday tunes playing, while looking at my twinkly Christmas tree — that’s a pretty lovely place to be recovering from seasonal celebrations! Sharing a little holiday edition of my download — with entertaining and DIY ideas, stocking stuffers, some holiday looks, and a few books I’m reading now!  read more

I have a pretty strong track record of being super organized around the holidays, especially when it comes to gift giving. Some years I’ve started a “gift idea” list on my phone as early as June. This year though, we’re doing a little bit less gift-giving with our family and instead focusing more on experiences, so my to-do-list looks a little bit different this time around. I’m still trying to keep everything in order though, marking things off the list one day at a time to make the most of the holiday season. My friends at AAA Northeast shared a fun, quick online quiz with me to help me find my holiday saving personality and use my #AAADiscounts to save this season as I tackle my holiday errands! read more