merry merry

A few thoughts as the holidays draw near...

:: Sweet gifts ::

• Learning about a budding interest...together. Julia + I went to a cooking class for her birthday. She didn't want any"thing"...and this wasn't really a thing. (It was fun to spend the time together + delicious too!)
• A stone or shell or an undisclosed something picked up during last year's vacation along with a note written with fond remembrance...and something like a book about or a snack made in the destination for next year's vacation. (I wish I would have thought of this earlier...and I can't wait to make this a tradition going forward.) What a sweet way to conjure memories of + anticipation for time spent together!
• I'm not disclosing anything I'm actually gifting: surprises, surprises!  ;)

:: Simple menu ::

• My girls are grown + will arrive later in the morning on Christmas Day. We'll have cinnamon rolls that our favorite gluten-free bakery sells frozen (they bake up a real treat!) along with coffee to start.
• Then we're keeping it simple with an all day grazing board situation that we'll all contribute to. Yum.

:: Gentle decorating ::

• My favorite decoration this year is a little sage + dried orange garland I made with fresh sage from the garden + dried oranges I had already on some red + white twine. 
• A few big bows sprinkled around are feeling playfully festive.
• Candlelight makes me so happy on dark evenings. I needed some new beeswax for candles (I'm still using all of these same jars + tools) + was able to find some right down the street collected from local bees! Amazing!

I'm approaching the holidays with the theme of joy + lightness. Obligation is not on my to-do list this year. (I have to keep reminding myself.) I'm trying to focus on what I am doing rather than what I'm not. It's love. It's light. It's good.

Happy Holidays, my friends!

With so much love,
Jane