getting in the christmas spirit ❄️☕🎄⛸️✨☃️

Hello my sweet and dear friends. Thank you for being here and joining me in my cozy little space in the world. It feels as though autumn has departed ever so slowly as winter is settling in. Every day it's getting colder, the morning temperatures have started to drop below freezing, and I feel a part of my soul come alive when I see the puffy cloud of my breath and feel the crunch of frost under my boots. Every year at the tail end of winter I'm always so thrilled for it to be over, but now as it's beginning again I find myself questioning, is this actually possibly my favorite time of year? How is it that when the world is going to sleep, plants and trees are essentially dying, can I feel this much joy and peace and happiness? I think maybe this is what I've been waiting for. Navigating this season feels like going home to a home where the days are full of rest and good stories, twinkle lights and hot peppermint tea. A home that I'm so very glad to be back in. One that I have missed dearly. I have a secret to share with you guys. It's not really a secret, but it feels more like a magical way to unlock more happiness in the day. That's doing one thing every day that is purely for enjoyment. Usually something I tell myself that I don't have time for. That's what I need to prioritize. That's what I'm trying to fit in whenever I can. Because I think doing whatever that might be is usually my favorite part of the day. And I'm trying to prioritize things that make me happy just as much as I prioritize the things that I feel obligated to get done. I don't know if I'm making any sense. I've just been finding that I do have time. It's just up to me how I manage it. This morning I embroidered these socks that I just got. Now I just want to embroider everything in my life and I think I want to pick up needlepoint as a hobby in 2025. I think I forgot how easy and satisfying embroidery is. Good morning sweet friends. I just got back from the most glorious, beautiful sunrise walk. Recently I have been getting up with the sun and as much as I hate it every morning when it's still dark outside, I always feel so good the rest of the day after I actually get up and get going. If you struggle with the winter blues because it at least here in Rhode Island it gets dark by like 4 25 p.m. I find that getting up as early as possible and getting as much sunlight in my day as possible really helps with that. What I want to do now, I put on some Little House on the Prairie for you know the plot. It has such a good plot. Really though, I just I love the vibes. I love Little House on the Prairie. I will forever be an American girl girl, a Little House on the Prairie girl, a Brambley Hedge girl, a Jane Austin girl, a Little Women girl. I could go, I could go on and on. What I want to do now is make some, what do I call this, protein chai cocoa. It has been my go-to in the mornings because I have been trying to get 30 grams minimum of protein with my breakfast but I also love like a warm hot chocolate or tea in the morning and I found a way to combine the two and it is, I had Jared try it the other day, he said it was so good but I can't take credit for it because I use the Just Ingredients Chai Protein Powder. This is super clean. It's made with grass-fed, non-denatured whey protein and then coconut milk and there's no natural or artificial flavors and monk fruit is the sweetener so it's really healthy. It is so decadent and the chai with the chocolate is the perfect morning winter cocoa recipe. I'm gonna take you over to the stove and we're gonna make it. And on my walk this morning I am nearly, I am so nearly finished with this book. It's the second book in a duology. I forget what the duology is called but this is Two Twisted Crowns and the first book is called One Dark Window by Rachel Gillick. It's about this girl who lives in a world where there's magic but magic condemns you to death. This girl gets infected but her family hides her away and as she grows up she hears this voice in her head and she ends up calling it nightmare. In this world magic is like there's cards, like playing cards, that's how I picture them and if you have a certain card you have a certain magical ability like being able to speak to other people in their minds or the, I think it's the maiden card, it makes you extremely beautiful but there's always a price to pay when you use the card. The magic system is so unique. I love it. I read a lot of fantasy and romanticy and this, the romance, is the subplot. I'm thriving in this world and I never want it to end. This is the second one and I've heard people say that this one is how you do a second book in a series, this is how you do a duology, it's how you end a series, that it's even better than the first one and I couldn't agree with them more. The best part, the sprayed edges. If you're not a book person I'm sorry you can skip this part but I will forever be gushing over good stories. The most important thing that I learned the hard way with this recipe is to bring the milk to a point where it's almost hot, not completely hot, and then mix in the cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt, and chocolate. Then you can turn the heat back on just long enough to mix everything and once it's all combined take it off the heat and add the chai protein powder. I'll have the recipe for this down in the description box if you want to give it a try. I think I went a little too heavy-handed on the cacao powder. That's a very rich and a little too bitter for my taste. It's different every time I make it because I always just measure with my heart. This guy was just bullying his sister, he's a little cranky because he hasn't had his afternoon nap so you're in jail right now. I just love rag dolls, like look at this guy. You're the raggiest rag doll. Let's do a dangle test. Oh I'm sorry, I'm sorry for doing that to you. Do you forgive me? I'm sorry. Okay. I don't know if you can tell but this sweater unfortunately has staining all over it. I purchased it that way knowing that those were there. The price was good and I just think this is one of the most beautiful Christmas sweaters I've ever seen. It is Laura Ashley from 1993 I think. So if anyone knows how to get out what seems to be like permanent staining, let me know. That is not going to stop me from wearing it. Clothes are meant to be worn even if they, I think even if they get stains, I always just think to myself it has personality, it has lived a life and now I get to give it a second life and I just think it would be a shame to have a little bit of staining make this go to the landfill or sit in someone's closet and never to be worn again. Yeah it's actually just some muddy water in the pond right here. That's all it is. It's meant to be that way and I don't wear jeans often but I'm wearing jeans today. I'm kind of going for like a Lorelai Gilmore kind of 90s inspired look and I've heard that like the two braids is cutesy and all the cute girls, the cool girls are doing that this winter and if you tell me it looks dumb I won't listen to you because I think it is so cute. Look from behind. So cute. I decided that since I had just finished the book I was reading I now needed some Christmassy books. Every year I love decorating my TBR shelf and making it super festive but to do that first I needed the books so we started the festivities at Charter Books here in Newport, Rhode Island. The cutest little independent bookstore. Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop 12 Tales of Seasonal Suspense Set in the World's Oldest Mystery Bookstore. It's a Victorian dog's wrapping paper. Wrapping paper. Does that mean they're Victorian dogs? Like I want all my presents wrapped in this but the cat version. I need this in my life. Where's the cat version? We have just popped by a cafe. Jared ran in to grab a drink and I'm feeling a little snacky so I brought an orange and a couple chomp sticks. These are my go-to perfect snack which is just perfect because Chomps is partnering with me on this video today. I have been eating chomp sticks for at least a couple years now. They're especially perfect when I need a snack that's going to keep me full. It has zero sugar. It's with grass-fed beef. It's gluten-free and especially when I'm trying to hit my protein goals. These are great because you get between 10 to 12 grams of protein per stick. They hit every time. This is the original but I also really love their jalapeno beef flavor. I'm always throwing chomp sticks in my bag especially on days when we're filming because I don't always eat to the best on those days when I'm really busy and I'm on the go but I can always take these with me. They're ideal for on-the-go lifestyle let me tell you because they keep you full and they're just so easy to throw in your bag. I've been a lot more health conscious recently about the ingredients that I'm putting into my body and one like my favorite thing is that these are made with grass-fed and finished beef and there's no sugar. I get so hyped and excited over good quality ingredients and food. If you're looking for something to throw in your bag and take with you during your holiday shopping or thanksgiving travels definitely be sure to check out chomps. I do have a link down in the description to learn more. Let me know in the comments if you are a jalapeno lover or original. I am definitely a jalapeno girlie. Mmm they're so good. Best tasting beef sticks but like seriously I love these. It's a vase for flowers. It's a nutcracker. That's so pretty. Oh my goodness. I read this last year okay I listened to it on audio and it's all about the more dark and sinister Christmas tradition specifically Krampus which is one of my favorite Christmas traditions and when I went to order it on Amazon it was sold out or you had to get it from the UK and it was going to be expensive. I've never seen this book in a bookstore before. Surviving Krampus and Other Yuletide Monsters. I'm so excited. This was incredible. I gave this five stars because it taught me all about these other traditions that we don't traditionally celebrate at least here in the United States. This is so good. Highly recommend. Oh my gosh I'm so excited I found this. This is one of the ones I was coming here to find. I've heard such good things about this one that it's like knives out but in an English manor house during Christmas. Oh and this says it's rivals to lovers not enemies to lovers. I prefer rivals but is it really rivals? Oh no I think it's because they're rival authors that's why. Me and Jared were just having a conversation in the car about enemies to lovers nowadays not really being true enemies to lovers. I feel like this part of the video is very book heavy for any of you non-bookish people out there. I'm sorry. I've been watching a lot of Hallmark movies in the evenings. Most nights I put one on for the vibes and they're so they're just so cozy and nostalgic and make me feel so good and so warm inside. However I do think that I enjoy the Netflix and Prime video movies better. I just watched Meet Me Next Christmas and it was actually so so good. I would 10 out of 10 recommend. I watched it while making this wrapping paper chain that I want to hang up in our window but yeah if you have any recommendations let me know. Here are some of my favorites. Christmas Cupid is particularly criminally underrated. Please do yourself a favor and cozy up maybe this evening and watch it. I hope you'll enjoy it. Good morning. I have some chai tea. Oh my gosh I mean chai. I have some chai. You know I am proud for not being in my pajamas because it is chilly this morning and my pajamas are flannel and that's really where I want to be right now but I forced myself to get dressed and I want to show you the books that I got yesterday while book shopping. Let's start with Charter Books. It was the cutest little indie bookstore. I got The Christmas Tree Farm and Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Book Shop. I don't think Christmas books get any cuter or better than these covers. I love that the Christmas Crimes one kind of almost looks like it could have been a cross stitch and I think it's really cool that it's a collection of stories that the bookstore commissioned throughout the years to sell only to its readers in store and they compiled their best and most popular, most festive stories into a book that is now being sold around the world. And then I got The Christmas Tree Farm. The dedication says for anyone, what was it, for anyone who ever wished Hallmark Christmas movies were steamier, this one might do the trick. I am not like a steamy girl. I don't, that sounds weird, I'm not a steamy girl. I don't love steaminess in my books but I will absolutely read a book even if there's heavy steam if the plot is plotting. Do you know what I mean? If there's like a lot of plot and the steam feels authentic to that. I do think it gets some points for having a map and then right after the map there's a page with a playlist and the very first song is Christmas Tree Farm by Taylor Swift. It has songs like Linger by the Cranberries, A Nonsense Christmas by Sabrina Carpenter, Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. So I feel like those are some good songs and if those are gonna kind of give me a little hint as to the vibes of the book, I am already, I'm already really enjoying it. And then from Burns & Noble I got The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year which is my Patreon book club pick for December. I'm so excited to read it with all of them. This is like knives out but with a rom-com twist and it's set in a manor house in England during Christmas and then you saw how excited I was for The Fright Before Christmas by Jeff Bellinger, Surviving Krampus and other Yuletide monsters. And then from Burns & Noble I have been eyeing these slippers for weeks. I go into Burns & Noble a lot to work on my computer just because it feels more like a communal space rather than just sitting at my house and I eye these all the time and there was only one pair left today, yesterday, and I couldn't help myself, they're so cute. Look at them, look at those bows, they make me so happy. I will be wearing these every day. I'm decorating this year inspired by Jude Law's cottage in the Holiday movie, meaning gold stars, twinkling fairy lights, paper chains, mismatched patterns, and ultimately whimsy and coziness. So that's what I was going for when decorating my little TBR area I've got here. I love this vintage book trough that I thrifted this past summer. Honestly if I can find a surface I will decorate it. As a maximalist I don't believe there's ever such thing as too much, especially when it comes to Christmas. One thing I really love about winter is the moon. You get to spend more time with the moon. And also this beautiful blue hour that's about to begin. The sun has just set and the world is changing over to this beautiful, vibrant blue that I love about winter. Despite life being so hard a lot of the time, I feel so grateful in moments like these that we get to live here and experience life. There's a squirrel. It's really high up there. Hey buddy. I just wanted to thank you guys for being here and for watching and supporting me even when there are sometimes weeks that you don't see a video from me. I have such imposter syndrome just understanding and believing that you guys are here watching my videos. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Yeah. I love you guys so much. Thank you. I am going to peel my pomegranate. That was perfect. Wow. Another beautiful bit from today is that I get to have this perfect pomegranate. It's perfect. Oh my gosh. I wish I could give you some. Those are for you. There you go. I just wanted to end by saying I am so proud of you. I am so proud of you for continuing on, for not giving up, for getting out of bed every day, and pushing through when it's really hard. You are doing so well, my friend, and I'm so grateful that you are continuing to show up for yourself. I just hope you know that there is someone out there, that's someone being me, who is so proud of you. I wish I could put it more eloquently the way that my heart feels it, but I'm not very good with words. I just want you to know that it means so much to your future self that you're doing what you're doing right now. I am going to keep eating my pomegranate and watching this blue flower take over the landscape. It is so beautiful. I wish you guys could see, but my hands are covered with pomegranate juice, so I'm not going to turn the camera around. Thank you for being here. I know I've already said it, but thank you so much for being here. I cannot tell you what it means to me. I hope that I can continue to make videos that you come back for. Can I give you a hug? I am just feeling so full of love for you guys today. I want to hug you. I want to bake you cookies. I want to send cookies to your house, but I'm going to just give you a hug instead. I hope you have the most wonderful, if you're in the U.S., Thanksgiving and a kickoff to the Christmas season. I'm working on my next video for you guys, and if you want to see any sort of Christmas romanticizing, Christmas starter pack with movies, TV shows, that type of stuff, let me know. I also have a Christmas decorating video coming up that I hope you guys enjoy for the millionth time. I feel like Jude Law on the holiday when he's like, I can't believe how many times I'm saying it. I love you, and I will see you very soon in my next video. Bye, friends. P.S. You're amazing, and there's nobody like you. Keep doing what you're doing, and I'll see you very soon. Bye. Gatsby. Gatsby. Absolutely not. Don't go to your sister's. That was not nice. She was just sleeping. Are you mad because you're after me now? You seem a little cranky. This is actually the book Jared keeps picking up. I think you actually want to read this. Open to any random page, and you will be... your jaw will drop. Any page. Doesn't matter. Wait for it. Actually... Was I right? It does so well what it wants to do. Okay, that's not an answer. Like, it's like a... I was getting footage of your butt. For later. Can you see it? Barely. We make little clouds with our mouths. Can you believe that? We are magical fairies. Are you mocking me? No, I'm getting in the mood with you. That's so cool. Imagine if they didn't dissipate right away, right? Like, they'd just be floating around. Yeah, what if you got enough people together in the winter? Well, no, that wouldn't work. So I think let's start that. So let's start there. So let's start there. I feel like I'm just rambling. I don't know why I'm shy. Why do I feel shy today?