7 Things That Made Me Smile Over the Holiday Week
Happy black-hole-days-of-December, friends!
The past holiday week was the most restful, wonderful week I’ve had in a long time. Alex and I enjoyed so many cozy days at home and had no real plans, which allowed us to slow down and take major advantage of our time unplugged from work. We cooked so much good food, got tons of fresh air outside with the pup, and spent lots of extra hours present in one another’s company. Not that we haven’t spent enough time together throughout 2020 (because #pandemic), it just hits different getting to spend that extra time with those you love around the holidays.
Reflecting on the last seven days, I thought it’d be fun to share some of the little moments that made me happy over the past holiday week. So much can be said about how different the holiday felt, and I agree, but I still believe it’s important to recognize the things you’re grateful for and write them down or say them out loud. If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s to approach each day with gratefulness, even when it feels like there’s not a lot to be grateful for in the first place.
On that note, here’s my list of seven moments that made me smile throughout the week of the Christmas holiday. As you scroll through, I encourage each of you to think about your moments of happiness and gratitude as well!
Celebrating my 29th birthday.
It’s always been a bittersweet feeling to share a birthday with Christmas week, but over the years, I’ve learned to embrace it. With all the hustle of the holidays, December 21st is one of those days that can easily fade into the buzz of Christmas preparations, but my family and friends always find ways to put a smile on my face and make it feel like the most special day. Back in early 2020, I never imagined I’d have a pandemic birthday, mostly because I thought COVID-19 would have lessened in impact by now, but it happened this year nonetheless. As we’re in curfew and didn’t want to risk infection by going out to dine and celebrate, Alex made me one of my favorite stir fry dinners and gifted me new Green Bay Packer’s attire. It was a perfectly cozy pandemic birthday — and the perfect way to kick off the last year of my twenties.
Receiving so much positive feedback on my 29 lessons blog post.
I didn’t expect to receive such an extensive list of compliments on my 29 lessons on my 29th birthday blog post, but after hitting publish on December 21st, I’ve been so overwhelmed by the support and feedback that I’ve received. Each of the lessons I wrote out were authentically thought up by me, drawing inspiration from actual life events I’ve experienced over the past nine years. As with any blog post I share, my end goal is always the same: I aim to share my words with the hope that I’ll connect to and reach at least one person who needed to hear what I had to say. I was so happy to receive a message from someone I hadn’t heard from in years telling me she greatly appreciated what I shared and it made me smile the biggest most genuine smile. Blogging about real life has become a true passion for me and I’m starting to see my hard work pay off.
Baking all the holiday goodies.
I had so much fun whipping up tasty holiday treats in the days leading up to Christmas. To kickoff my holiday baking marathon, I baked a batch of delicious sugar cookies using my mom’s family recipe, a Christmas tradition I’ve adopted over the last four or five years. Mom’s sugar cookies always end up being a big hit in our household; with or without frosting, the soft, fluffy, and sugary goodness always makes for the tastiest, most perfect cookies. In addition to the Christmas sugar cookies, I also made a bowl of puppy chow and baked my favorite peanut butter blossoms and the cutest little chubby Santa cookies. I had plans to bake a few more varieties, but I was tuckered out after three days in the kitchen. Literally exhausted, haha!
Enjoying a low-key, snow flurry filled Christmas.
Earlier this year, I expected to have gone home to be with family on Christmas, but with spiking COVID-19 cases all over the country, I used my better judgement and chose to stay home with the boys in North Carolina. It’s hard to be so far away from family during the most cheerful and joyous days of the year, but Alex and I made the most of it and enjoyed steaks on the grill, a glass of Christmas wine, a couple Christmas movies, and five minutes of the most wild, out-of-nowhere snow flurries! Not exactly the white Christmas I would have desired, but the random un-forecasted snowfall was a perfectly timed surprise from Mother Nature. So 2020 for it to snow in East-Central North Carolina on Christmas Day.
On Christmas Eve, Alex and I exchanged gifts and much to my surprise, he shocked me with a full key keyboard so I can continue to pursue my desire to learn piano again; he knows I’ve been talking about it all year and then some, so he went above and beyond to help get me started. Alex and I then proceeded to open several packages of gifts from our sweet families, did a few FaceTimes with the crew, and felt so loved, even a thousand miles away. I also received a totally unexpected gift from my coworkers in China; upon opening the package, I unwrapped the most beautiful porcelain tea set. On Christmas Day, we frosted our sugar cookies which was a fun way for us to be festive and spend time with each other away from the screen (PS — Alex is the most amazing cookie decorator and we shared lots of laughs about our amateur designs). I have so much hope for 2021 with the vaccine, so hopefully next year’s Christmastime will be worlds different.
Taking time to myself to read a cute holiday novel.
Coming from someone who hasn’t read many actual books over the last six years, I’ve found a deeper appreciation for reading in 2020. A few weeks ago, I wrote on my December bucket list that I wanted to read a holiday book during the Christmas week and hey, to my surprise, I actually followed through! Over the past couple days, I’ve been totally immersed in the world of Kate Turner, reading The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss. I thought it was the sweetest story — and I must say, the ending made me smile for all the characters. Such a fun read!
Trying out new beauty products.
For so long, I heard so much good about the Tula skincare brand, so I figured it was high time to try it out myself. Tula is so popular among the influencers, I wanted to see if it was worth the rave or just an easy way to make a few bucks with all the promotion and discount codes circulating the Internet. I bought the cleanser, 24/7 hydrating cream, and a gel-like primer last week and it delivered with good timing on my birthday. Turns out, the product really works on my skin and though I’ve only been using it for six days, my face feels so clean, smooth, and hydrated. Good skin care is self care at its finest!
Having the week off work to relax and recharge.
This goes without saying, but damn am I glad to have had the holiday week off work! Not that I don’t love my job, I just really needed this past week off to get myself squared up in the mental health department. With work from home still ongoing after eight months, my work life balance has admittedly been all jumbled up this year. In the back half of 2020, I was working early mornings and late nights trying to catch up and keep my many projects on track and it proved to be quite draining to say the least. And with my usual vacation outlets unavailable to me throughout the course of the year, I was really beginning to feel like I wasn’t taking enough time off for myself. On December 18th, I shut off my work brain and I’m happy I don’t have to turn it back on until January 5th. Whew!
Without a shadow of doubt, 2020 has been such a crazy year, yet despite all the unpredictability and hard times we’ve experienced throughout, I’ve still put forth my best efforts in the gratitude department, choosing to see and recognize all the good in life when it feels it may as well be easier to let it go unnoticed. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the negative and blind yourself from life’s smallest most positive blessings, but I promise you a grateful heart is more powerful than you’d imagine.
With that I ask you: What are you feeling grateful for?
Enjoy!
JB