YIKES, guys! Happy December 15th (I am the worst.) Life has gotten away from me the last few weeks and I woke up this morning realizing I wrote out this entire post and never actually posted it. So here we are – better late than never I suppose! Hope your Christmas season is off to the happiest start.

things read

  • Beautiful World, Where Are you by Sally Rooney – liked this, but it didn’t hold a candle to Normal People for me. If you LOVED Normal People, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one, too! I saw a TikTok describing it as “purely human” and that is exactly what Sally Rooney is to me. Couldn’t agree more!
  • The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood – the perfect rom-com/romance book to end the reading slump of all slumps.

things watched

  • Dancing With the Stars – I’m honestly SO sad it’s over!!! I’ve genuinely looked forward to Monday night for the last few weeks and will absolutely need to find some way to fill the time now that I won’t be swooning over Iman Shumpert every night. This performance on repeat every night for… the rest of my life thanks!!
  • Ted Lasso – the BEST show. If you haven’t already watched this…watch it. It absolutely lived up to the hype for me and I already cannot wait for the next season. 10/10 recommend.
  • Succession – watched the first few episodes of the new season this month and forgot how great this show is! Can’t wait to get all caught up.
  • Holiday Baking Championship on Food Network – our fall/winter guilty pleasure. We’ve been watching this for years and get so invested in every season.

things listened to

  • Red (Taylor’s Version) – ah, the Red era. This album was everything I wanted it to be and then some. The 10 Minute Version of All Too Well was IT for me and I can’t stop playing it. The Bonus songs are amazing. The re-recordings are amazing. I’m just happy to be living the Red era again.

things loved

  • Crossword Puzzles on the NYT app – became obsessed with these this month. Every morning I wake up and fill in as much as I can and then work on it in pockets throughout the day, always ending with Ry and I trying to fill in the blanks before midnight. We’ve had…few successes. But we’re definitely getting better already!!! A great use of $5/month, IMO.
  • The Pocket Film Camera I bought myself on a whim a few weeks ago. I have been loving snapping just a few pictures here and there when I remember it’s in my bag and cannot wait to get them developed. The most special photos are always the ones you don’t even remember taking.

things baked

  • Almond Poppy Seed Cake from Dessert Person – and it was a 10/10. Really want to make this again and try adding lemon juice in place of the orange juice since I am generally not an orange girlie.
  • Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies – usually a holiday staple for me, but I made them on a whim this month. Every time I do, I forget how easy they are to whip up, and how GOOD! I doubled the recipe and have a batch in the freezer that I can’t wait to pull out when we get our Christmas tree.
  • Triple Chocolate Layer Cake – for a very special birthday gal (and it was an excellent chocolate cake that I will 1000% be making again)

things made

things ate

  • Trader Joe’s Sweet, Savory & Tart Trek Mix – I try to withstand the urge to buy every single kind of nut and trail mix when I’m in Trader Joe’s because they’re typically not the healthiest. However, this month I indulged on the guise that eating trail mix is surely better than a handful of straight M&M’s. And this one totally fit the bill for me! Plenty of chocolate to satisfy the mid-day sweet tooth and plenty of nuts and raisins to make it feel a bit less indulgent. A winning combo.
  • Tony’s Chocolonely came out with a few new flavors and I could not resist when I saw them in Whole Foods. I’ve been snacking away on the Milk Chocolate Wafer Cookie for the last few weeks, and even though I’m not ordinarily a milk chocolate gal, I’ve been loving this one.

things drank

  • many, many beers during the GYC closing week (we are SO sad about this!)
  • Three Trees Organic Unsweetened Vanilla Bean Almondmilk – ever on the quest for the best milk substitute and this one has fit the bill lately. It adds a little flavor without the sweetness and it is SO thick. I frothed this one morning and it was basically like having coffee with full on whipped cream on top (sans the sugar.) Seriously the creamiest almond milk I’ve ever had. Don’t underestimate this one!

things done

  • Wedding Dress – CHECK! ✅ And let me just tell you, my mom was the MVP ❤️
  • A Day in Beacon, NY – had the loveliest fall day update with the girls! We took the train from Grand Central, snacked on tapas all day long, did a bit of shopping, lots of walking and sipped quite a few cocktails. A day well spent.
  • Alllllll the Christmas shopping – really took advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year and knocked out a bunch of Christmas presents
  • Pierogi Day 2021 – complete with 3 flavors and over 160 handmade pierogi. Don’t ask me to roll out another disc of dough until next year. And also don’t ask me how many I ate in the process.

things celebrated

  • Krystle’s Bridal Shower – finally got to celebrate this gal’s beautiful bridal shower!
  • Our 9 Year Anniversary – doughnuts for breakfast, cosmos and french fries at LI Bar, spaghetti al limone at Supper and ice cream for dessert. An absolutely perfect way to celebrate my favorite day of the year with my favorite guy. Can’t believe next year we’ll be celebrating a new anniversary!
  • Thanksgiving – the very first holiday with everytone back together in two years and the chaos felt GOOD. We made our rounds, ate way way (way) too much and counted our blessings more than ever.

And that’s a wrap on November. Wishing you guys the happiest and healthiest holiday season with your loved ones. Soak it all in and don’t take it for granted for a single second 😘

See you back here in 2022!!!!

with love, jak