#shamblinchristmas

i've been putting off writing this. well, writing in general, i suppose. and i'm not sure why. when i started this blog, i told myself i wasn't going to force it. i would let it come naturally. whenever that may be. and there are times when i feel incredibly inspired to write & share & just seem full of words & thoughts...and that is typically when i lay down around 11 to sleep--why is that??!! all of a sudden i have such clarity of thought. i thought twice the other night to get back up & start writing. then i thought, wouldn't it be awesome if i was like neurologically plugged into my mac & it would type what i was thinking. alas, i stayed in bed & sided with sleep (AS ALWAYS).  

alright, so about a week or two before christmas, my mac crashed. and i was in full blown mourning mode. the techs said it could just be a virus they would clean it & everything would be just as it was...OOORRRR it could have already wiped everything out & i would lose everything & then have to pay a couple hundreds dollars to get the hard drive replaced. dljaoidkanaordkdsmabborl!!!!! THANKFULLY, it was the former & it was no big deal! "praise hands"

christmas. it was olive's first time. she was a champ. kennedy did, indeed, get that cd walkman that she wanted & lincoln got his lsu helmet & jersey. olive made the nice list & got her rocking horse. and emma was surprised with a new bed & dresser that she's been begging me for & i kept telling her we weren't going to fool with that right now (OH THE LIES WE TELL FOR CHRISTMAS). i was glad to see christmas come just for the mere fact that i could tell no more lies. hide no more gifts. make up no more stories. IT WAS EXHAUSTING. i needed a flowchart. 

as far as decor went this year, the kids kinda went at it. and i was totally cool with that. so word to yo mommas out there with little ones who make it hard for you to do anything-more less decorate, especially for christmas-one day it will all be worth it! mind you, they took most of the decorations to each of their own rooms to decorate, but considering i was favoring an even more simplistic look this year, it all worked out. and per our agreement last year, the kids got to do the tree. and they put every. last. stinkin. ornament we own on that darn tree. every bead strand. every school-made, laminated cutout. EVERY-THING. i admit i had visions of a sparse tree decorated with found items from nature...but YOU GUYS, when it was all done...L.O.V.E. that tree was the best darn tree this side of the mississippi. and they were so proud of it. 

on christmas eve we spent the late morning hours at my grandmother's house with a billion cousins & their babies. then we travelled to my mother-in-law's where the kids dove into mounds of gifts because she loves to spoil those kids rotten. then we came home & put on our new jam jams that grandma always gets them, lit some candles & hubs read, the night before christmas & tonight you are my baby- a story told by mary of jesus' birth, per our tradition. we discussed with the kids the importance of this holy night......and then lincoln got mad at his sister for something she said & she kicked him & he screamed & accidentally hit me during his fit causing him to get yelled at by hubs leaving almost everyone crying. happy birthday jesus. and off they all scuttled off to bed with visions of angry sugar plums dancing in their heads. 

how about one of my fav things about christmas morn! this year, we hosted my mom, dad, sisters & grandma for christmas lunch. our house may be tiny but i don't care. our hearts & bellies were surely full. i loved every minute of it. even the weird glares from everyone as i walked around turning off lights & lighting candles. was the andy williams christmas record playing in the background too much?? i think not. it felt magical. 

it's not always pretty

OH! my fav gift! hubs & i said we wen't exchanging gifts this year. and honestly, if i didn't know of something that he for sure wanted, i wouldn't have got him anything. there is nothing more annoying to him than buying gifts for the sake of buying. BUT he had mentioned a few times how much he'd like to have a pair of the wicked good house shoes by l.l.bean. so i snuck around to get enough money to secretly order him a pair. i love surprises! in turn, i was also surprised (which is a very rare thing)! he got me the wallet that was on my "one day maybe dream shopping list" made by our local river city leather crew. guys, i didn't know how much i wanted a wallet until now that i have it. how did i live without it???

hoping you & yours had a peaceful holiday season full of love & hot rolls.

xo

@hellolittlenest 

#shamblinchristmas

darn you daylight savings time

since i had an evening coffee yesterday due to feeling like i should go to bed at 6:30 because of daylight savings time, i decided it was a good time to write this post... 

thanks to an emergency, and i use emergency loosely, chocolate chip frappe run at 8, i am up at 1 a.m. watching erin brockovich. that is,  until the channel it was airing on inexplicably shut off. (Lord, is that you??) however, i am now inspired to uncover all the nasty secrets of corporate america for the greater good. alas...it's november & i gots pine garland on the brain, so that crusade will just.have.to.wait. (i'll be there soon, sam walton!) 

it's november. which means christmas. i mean, thanksgiving. oh heck, we all know it means christmas. I WANT A CHRISTMAS TREE. (haters, holla) it's officially the christmas season because 1. hallmark is blasting those cheesy mcneesy movies filled with magical christmas cheer (dang i love dem, doe). 2. i have broke out the christmas book. what is the christmas book, you ask??? it's this deliciously tacky journal of sorts (AS SEEN BELOW) that i have kept since we got married (a la 2003) where i journal everyone's gifts. basically, this is how i keep track of what we have bought for who, as well as how much we are spending. every year i like to flip back through the years to look (and laugh) at some of the gifts & gasp at the amount of stuff we bought. 2005 was a good year, though. 

this year will be our 3rd year doing the gift of the magi. this was in hopes of centering our family around a now over-commercialized time of the year. it was in hopes of bringing more thankfulness, contentment & reverence to this special season. things were just getting out of control trying to one-up the christmas before. we were feeling discouraged & stressed & basically dreading the month of december. and that just will not do.

the idea mirrors that of the 3 gifts Jesus received from the magi. although we have tweaked (every time i look at that word, i think it says twerk & i hate myself for it) it a bit each year to work best for our fam. basically, each kid gets 3 gifts: a need, a want & a wish (or more accurately "the surprise"). the need is an outfit, their want is that one item they want to ask santa for & the wish or surprise is something hubs & i decide to, well, surprise them with. in the past, the surprise has typically been a trip of sorts to somewhere we haven't been before. typically a night or two stay. an adventure that we get to experience together. where we create memories & invest time...not just collect more stuff. as far as tweaking (TWERKING-ugh) it a bit, we added "read" as a 4th gift. our kids love books (and that's definitely something i feel passionate about encouraging) so they each get a new book to open on christmas morn & read while on christmas break. 

after the first year of us trying this new 3 gift idea, i won't lie...we were very worried about how the kids would respond to such a big change in christmas. i mean, it's CHRISTMAS. the most wonderful time of the year & jazz. but so far, with every passing december, i am continually surprised by those little boogers of ours. they haven't cared one bit. it just reaffirms to me that what they need is not more stuff, but time & love & togetherness. that's what they truly desire. 

ok, so, you all wanna know what each one is asking santa for this year?? i have to tell ya, it's kind of hilarious. lincoln wants an lsu football helmet (???). kennedy wants a cd walkman (hello 1994). emma wants...well, what every teen/tween wants, some sort of new smart device. (cue mom eye roll). she'll probably get socks. i know, i'm such a stick in the mud. (blog post about raising teens today coming soon, i swear). olive wants the cute little wooden moose rocker from ikea! i mean, i'm sure that's what her longing stares are saying to me. 

if you want to know more about our current christmas situation or want to look back at our christmas's of yore, follow along with our christmas story on instagram at #shamblinchristmas.

and a merry thanksgiving to you...tweak, TWERK, oh miley, where did we go wrong...

my capsule lately || a boho fall

as promised, it's october & i'm sharing some outfits i've been wearing lately from my fall capsule. now remember, it's fall here in ohio which means it's still warm most days but the air has a bit of a nip to it in the mornings & evenings. so layering is key. throw on a cardigan. layer with thin knits. and hats. hats are my fav. but you already know that.

i've put a couple of pieces on the chopping block. things i've put on & wasn't feeling. i've pulled them out of my current wardrobe & will take a second look at them when a new season starts. i also keep forgetting about my black joggers. which is so sad because they are ridiculously comfy. i think subconsciously i'm afraid i will start wearing them everyday because they are basically pajamas. that's my goal for the rest of this month & november: WEAR THE JOGGERS. i've also added a grey tee (you'll see that below) to my fall capsule since i've pulled some other shirts. i've also realized it's probably too warm for the heavier black & white cardigan i put in my capsule, so it'll probably be used better in my winter capsule. i guess i also forgot to include my jean vest in my fall capsule selection-WHOOPS. in case you were wondering, it's definitely a part of my fall wardrobe. and finally, my vans. i'm not wearing them as much as i thought i would. i was so excited for them & new outfit possibilities, but instead i've learned i'm more of a boot girl. i should have known. i've never been much of an athletic shoe person. but that's the thing about capsule wardrobes. they make you question & carefully select what it is that represents you. the items that work for you. the pieces that bring you confidence. 

there's also a few items that must be lost in the laundry that i need to find & get into the rotation. the thing about having a limited wardrobe is i never get this feeling of "i'm so tired of wearing that." which is strange because i thought i'd have the opposite problem since it's limited. my problem is, "i didn't get to wear this enough!" three month seasons just fly by-especially when you're wearing every piece of clothing in your closet. 

if you're working towards a capsule wardrobe, too, let me know how it's going! is it working for you? what's been your toughest issues?? 

good luck, friends, on your fall wardrobes! 

now go eat something pumpkin flavored while you pick apples in your chunky sweater.

xo