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Completely satisfied New 12 months, associates! Very long time, no “see”! I had such an amazing end-of-year break, and even took an extended break than regular. It wasn’t actually deliberate, however I felt myself winding down and shedding give attention to house-related tasks about midway via December, after which after I wrote my How Did I Do On My 2023 Dwelling Objectives? publish, it simply felt like a pure near my running a blog 12 months.
My longer break was implausible! I didn’t do even one single home-related undertaking. I didn’t even give my home-related tasks a thought. I used to be centered on different issues, and decided to carry off on consuming my thoughts with ideas of home-related issues till after the start of the brand new 12 months.
Right here’s how I spent my time over these final two weeks.
I hung out with household
I imply, that’s a given. That’s what folks do at Christmas. My household obtained collectively at my mother’s home, and we had nice meals, nice dialog, and a beautiful time collectively.
As soon as once more, similar to at Thanksgiving once we do a really non-traditional brunch, we didn’t have a standard Christmas meal. This 12 months, we selected Mexican (or in all probability extra Tex-Mex) meals. My mother made a beautiful Tex-Mex-inspired casserole, together with refried beans, Mexican rice, tortillas. However my absolute favourite was a hominy casserole that she made.
Right here is the recipe. I feel a lot of it would be best to save this because it’s fast and simple to make, and an amazing aspect dish for a crowd.
Oleo. ? That cracks me up. I all the time know that any recipe that my mother has that requires oleo virtually assuredly got here from my grandmother. ? Clearly, I’d swap that out for some actual butter. However it’s tremendous easy and so scrumptious!
One other favourite recipe from this 12 months is one which I made known as Saltine Cracker Toffee. Have y’all had this superb marvel? I went to a Christmas get together and this was one of many many desserts, and I used to be amazed at how scrumptious the toffee was. Once I requested the hostess if she made it and the way it was made, she began out with, “Effectively, first you line a pan with saltine crackers…” She’s 92 years previous, and I instantly thought, “Oh, poor factor didn’t perceive my query.” ?
Effectively, she understood simply high-quality! This toffee is made with saltine crackers! I got here dwelling and googled the recipe in order that I might make it for our Christmas meal. And it’s additionally tremendous easy to make and tastes superb. However whereas that recipe says to deliver the brown sugar to a boil for 3 minutes, I didn’t do this as a result of my buddy, the hostess of the get together I went to, mentioned that she solely heats it sufficient to soften the butter and blend the sugar and butter collectively rather well. In order that’s what I did. No boiling. And it turned out superb!
I obtained into my train routine
I made it some extent to get into an train routine throughout my break, and I obtained a lot use out of our dwelling health club! I really feel higher popping out of this vacation season than I ever have prior to now. I obtained a lot use out of my rebounder, my rower, and my kettle bell.
I’ll steadily work in the entire different stuff, however for now, at the very least I’ve a fundamental day by day routine that I can persist with. I’ve been fairly in step with it during the last couple of weeks, so simply stepping into that day by day behavior is a big step.
Not solely did I do these issues within the health club, however I additionally began strolling daily. Bear in mind how I instructed y’all final 12 months that I’d like to have a strolling monitor in our again yard? A couple of folks puzzled if that’s truly one thing I’d use, and I’m right here to let you know that I’d undoubtedly use it! I did laps usually round our again yard, and each time, I believed how a lot simpler it will be on my ft and shins if I had a stage, clean floor to stroll on.
So now that I’ve established this strolling routine, I’m rather more severe about this imaginative and prescient for our again yard that features a strolling path!
I made a ton of bijou!
My obsession with making necklaces is unquestionably slowing down. I’ve gotten most of it out of my system, however solely as a result of I’ve actually bought the entire beads that I like from JoAnn Materials, Michael’s, and Pastime Foyer, and there’s nowhere else to go on this metropolis. I’ve bought just a few issues from Fireplace Mountain Gems on-line, and I even have an order on the way in which proper now. However I feel it’s far more enjoyable to buy regionally and have the ability to see the entire beads proper there in entrance of me, and contact them, and maintain them. Shopping for on-line isn’t practically as enjoyable for me.
So by the point I began winding down, I had virtually 90 necklaces. ?
Once I solely had about 20 or 30, I used to be storing the necklaces on this drawer in our rest room, and it labored out simply high-quality.
However now that I’ve so many, there’s no method I can match all of those in a drawer. So I’ve been making an attempt to give you a storage answer that makes them straightforward to see. I feel I could make one thing utilizing a dowel rod that sits on prime of the counter like this. That method, as soon as now we have our bed room with our wall of IKEA wardrobes, I can simply switch the necklaces onto a shelf in a kind of wardrobes in order that they’re handy, however hidden behind doorways.
However I additionally moved on from doing solely necklaces to creating earrings. I began off making tremendous easy earrings like this. These have been bought as birthstone pendants, and I feel that that is the one for October. It’s not my birthstone, however I can’t move up one thing that pink and tremendous sparkly…
However I shortly moved on to tougher designs, and realized that this cluster design is my absolute favourite to make. I like how they appear on as properly, however they’re simply so enjoyable to make. I benefit from the course of a lot!
So I ended up making just a few pairs of this type. I made these with these iridescent stones. I can’t bear in mind what they’re known as.
These gold nugget cluster earrings have been the primary cluster earrings that I made.
In all I made six pairs of cluster earrings. Listed below are 5 of them.
However these are my absolute favourite. I attempted to carry them up, however Felicity was very curious.
So you’ll be able to see them right here. They’re like clusters of enjoyable and happiness on my ears! ? And there are such a lot of colours in there that they’ll go along with so many summer season outfits!
Y’all, I took some severe benefit of on-line gross sales this 12 months. I imply, I grew to become a buying fanatic. I purchased numerous footwear, pants, sweaters. I couldn’t cease! These gross sales have been calling me! ?
Since I’m not a style blogger, y’all might not now this about me. However I like footwear a lot!!! If I lacked all self-control, I’d be shopping for new footwear each single day. I LOVE SHOES! So listed here are the brand new footwear I purchased whereas benefiting from superb gross sales.
First, I purchased three new pairs of Franco Sarto footwear. Franco Sarto is considered one of my prime two favourite manufacturers of footwear. I want I might purchase all of them, however I caught to those pink (fake) patent leather-based Mary Jane flats, these tri-color lug sole loafers with tassels, and these black (fake) patent leather-based lug sole loafers.
Have I ever instructed y’all how a lot I like lug sole loafers?
And I like fairly particulars as properly, like this silver detailing on the backs of those tri-color loafers.
My second favourite model of footwear is Keds. Sure, Keds. And I purchased two pairs of Chelsea boots (that are so comfy!), and a few pairs of footwear for spring and summer season.
I like Keds as a result of they’re continually doing collaborations with Rifle Paper Firm, which produces such enjoyable, colourful patterns. The footwear within the image beneath are my all-time favourite Keds I’ve ever bought. These colourful embroidered floral footwear are from about two seasons in the past, and I nonetheless like to put on them. I must get these cleaned up and prepared for spring!
After which lastly, I obtained myself a brand new pair of brown boots with chunky heels.
I virtually by no means purchase footwear at full worth. I look forward to superb gross sales, I search and search to see who has the bottom worth, after which I pounce. ? For instance, these cute little Franco Sarto Mary Janes have been $115 on the Franco Sarto web site.
I don’t like paying over $100 for a pair of footwear if I don’t need to, so I searched and searched, and located that Belk was having an AMAZING vacation sale on footwear. So I obtained them for round $50. That’s simply how I store, y’all! ? You’ll hardly ever discover me paying full worth for something like that. I’m too low cost for that!
I additionally found a model of denims that really matches me!! I don’t know if any of you will have the identical downside I’ve, however all of my life, I’d had bother discovering denims that match me correctly.
Effectively, for some motive, the Fb algorithm began feeding me advert after advert for a model known as Judy Blue. It’s a model that isn’t bought in huge shops, evidently. So I began getting advertisements with movies of girls from varied boutique outfitters raving about their Judy Blue jeans, and these have been ladies of all sizes, which gave me hope. They’re all speaking about how superb they match, how stretchy and comfy they’re, and on and on. So I lastly gave in and purchased some.
Effectively, I can attest that they’re AMAZING!!! I like them a lot that I’m fairly certain I ended up shopping for about 10 pairs from varied on-line shops. I imply, Fb has me dialed in now, they usually feed me ALLLLL of the Judy Blue advertisements. And I like them a lot that I’m tempted to purchase all of them! This retailer, Moco Boutique, is the principle place I’ve bought them (on sale, after all!), and their descriptions are very correct so far as sizing. So for those who’re like me, and you’ve got bother discovering denims that match correctly, you would possibly strive Judy Blue! I nonetheless need to hem each pair I get as a result of I’m solely 5 ft tall, however I’m used to that. ?
And yet another factor. I found one other new-to-me on-line retailer that I can’t get sufficient of. It’s known as Quince, and I saved getting advertisements for this retailer on Instagram. They lastly wore me down, and I ordered considered one of their $50 cashmere sweaters. This black V-neck Mongolian cashmere sweater was the primary one I ordered.
I beloved it SO MUCH, that I ended up shopping for three extra! I now have this sweater in black, navy blue, cream, and crimson. I want they might make it in patterns! I’d purchase all of them! They’re so smooth and comfy to put on. They’re heat with out being too heavy, particularly for the kind of “winter” we get right here in central Texas. However since they’re not tremendous thick, they’re additionally nice for layering. You would put a shirt beneath it, and a blazer over it for those who reside in colder areas. I needs to be clear that I’ve by no means seen something at this on-line retailer go on sale, however their costs are already very cheap for the standard you get. Try their buyer opinions. On virtually each merchandise I’ve checked out, there are lots of opinions and a 4.8 or greater ranking.
I used to be so impressed with these sweaters that I branched out and obtained this one as properly. I completely LOVE it! This a a lot thicker and heavier sweater than their cashmere sweaters.
So anyway, that about wraps up my end-of-year break — time with household, nice meals, hours and hours making necklaces and earrings, method an excessive amount of on-line buying, discovering my new favourite model for jeans, and discovering a brand new favourite on-line clothes retailer.
Do you discover what’s lacking? Motion pictures. I solely watched one Christmas rom-com, thought it was silly, and determined I’d quite spend my time on different issues. ? However sufficient of all of that. Now it’s time to show my consideration again to deal with tasks and get stuff completed! I’m so enthusiastic about what this 12 months has in retailer.
Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I transform and adorn the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do nearly all of the work on the home on my own. You possibly can study extra about me right here.
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