December Around Here {2024}

Updates from around my home

(Note: Affiliate links are used for the books in this post. Thanks for supporting my book habit.)

On The Page {Anything I Read}

{Old-school blogs} I'm trying to get back into reading blogs this month. I've been thinking about that fact that sometimes the only reading we tend to count are books, but many other types of reading are valuable. Shouldn't I be able to count an interesting magazine article, or a short story as part of my reading for the year? And yes, perhaps even blogs? There are other forms of writing we can learn from, be challenged by, and find encouragement within, and I want to honor the time I spend on reading those sorts of things as well. I've especially enjoyed reading The Big White Farmhouse blog, and her "This Week Around The Farmhouse" posts have prompted me to try this new format. I would like to write more in 2025, and sometimes amidst this busier season of life, I make writing too hard on myself. A set format helps.

In My Armchair {Projects I'm Working On}

{Wrapping presents} I actually finished most of my wrapping before December began, but we have a few straggling presents that need to be finished.

{Birthday cards} I started out 2024 very strong on sending out birthday cards to my friends and family, and then I totally dropped the ball over the last 2-3 months. I already sent out my Christmas cards this year, but I would like to attempt to catch up on birthday cards.

In The Kitchen {Things We Made}

{Cinnamon rolls} I made cinnamon rolls from scratch recently, from the recipe in "the red book" as a friend once called it. This is the third time I've made cinnamon rolls - the first time they turned out amazing, the second time they were heavy and dense, the third time was a success again. I have no explanation for this.

{Canning apple butter and apple syrup} A friend from church taught me how to water-bath can this summer, and this is the third time I've tried it. All my jar lids popped within seconds of taking them out of the canner, and I took that as a sign that I am getting better at this. I was fairly freaked out the first time I tried canning, but I'm becoming more and more comfortable with it! Pick up this book if you want to learn how to can preserves safely - it is so helpful, will help you understand the process, and set your mind at ease

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In The Accounts Book {Money We Have Saved}

{Less coffees out} At the end of November, I dropped my kids off at Awana and decided to grab a Starbucks and do a little browsing. I pulled up to the drive through window, and the barista announced the total. It was seven dollars, for a medium-sized coffee. I think the realization suddenly hit me that this is way too many dollars to be dropping on coffee. I could buy a book with seven dollars! I could make the same thing at home for less than a dollar! We've bought far less coffee since.

{Using old wrapping paper} I used to buy new Christmas wrapping paper each year, until I realized that the half-used rolls of wrapping paper were starting to pile up. I decided to not buy any new wrapping paper until I used up our “scraps” - we are now on the third year of wrapping paper scraps! And I think we honestly could get another year out of the wrapping paper we already have. I’m honestly getting a little sick of the same wrapping paper every year. This is what I get for always buying the rolls with the highest square footage, but monotony aside, it does save us money.

Out My Window {Beauty I Noticed}

{Crunchy snow in the trees} We've had more snow than usual this fall, and alot of crunch snow is hanging on back in the trees. Sometimes the "brown months" feel dreary, but it's amazing how even a few patches of snow can make the entire landscape feel cozier.

On My Person {Things I've Worn}

{All the sweaters} Winter is probably my favorite season to dress for - I'm just a sweaters and boots and cozy coats type of girl. These are just a couple outfits I've worn this month - the Santa sweater was for a Christmas sweater contest with my family! I knew I wouldn't win, because my Christmas sweater isn't crazy enough. I first purchased it for a crazy sweater party we hosted years ago, and I thought the Santa's on it were so outrageous back then...but as I get older, I look at that sweater and think, "Is this actually kind of...cute?" My dad says that's a sure sign I'm getting old. But I do kind of like it. I might wear it non-ironically one of these days

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Out And About {Places We Went}

{Christmas lights drive-through} We always see this huge Christmas light display on the side of the interstate, and this year we decided to check it out. I let the kids open new Christmas jammies, and after they changed we all piled in the car with some hot chocolate and drove through the display (for a fee). The music that the lights were synced to was nearly unbearable, but it was still pretty cool. We played our own music and enjoyed the experience. I was sure I would get a migraine from all the flashing lights, but I'm happy to report that I didn't.

{Trail of lights} Every year we go to a Christmas "trail of lights" with my family for my dad's birthday, and this year we all wore ugly Christmas sweaters for fun. It was a great time as always. I was appreciating recently how in-sync we are with our extended family - it is a blessing to not have to stress about serious conflict when we get together because we all think alike on so many things

On My Mind {Thoughts I Want To Share}

{A Christmas tradition} I have to mention a tradition we just started a couple years ago. We were in a Christmas picture book phase, and we picked up a book my aunt gave us years ago called "The Last Straw" - it's story about a family that draws names to do special things for each other in secret. My kids decided we needed to try this, so every week of Advent we drew names, and we had a "secret pal" for a week. We each had to do something nice for our secret pal each day (though we nearly always figured out who our secret person was before the week ended). I thought this would be a one-year activity, but my kids have not let us forget it. Every December they look forward to drawing names and secretly doing things for each other. It brings a smile to my face every time I find a cup of hot chocolate precariously balanced on my bed, a baggy of pretzels on my nightstand, or a plate of toast covertly left where I normally sit with my coffee (yes, there is a general trend toward food gifts). I might say that it teaches my kids to appreciate the joy of giving or something, but I'm not going to make it so didactic. It's just a fun little thing we do.

In My Heart {Things I'm Treasuring}

{1} The glow of the Christmas trees, with pajama-clad sillouettes staring up at the branches.

{2} The warmth coming from the wood stove.

{3} Little dogs that must always sit right down next to me.

{4} Christmas packages from friends.

{5} The way the light shines in our windows first thing in the morning.

{6} A healthy amount of outside commitments.

{7} Time just to be.