I can’t believe it’s the 5th of January. Are your kiddos back to school today? My senior wasn’t exactly thrilled to head off this morning. Hard to fathom we are in the home stretch. How was your New Year’s? I hope you rang in the new year with the people you love most. Here is a recap of life lately with our Monday Morning Wrap Up.
STAYCATION
Since the kids were very little, we’ve tried to sneak away one night during December. It used to be that we would get all of the shopping done and be ready to go and so we would fit in a quick overnight at a local hotel. Now that the kids are older (and home from college) we didn’t want to miss any of the time with them before Christmas so we went after. I can’t recommend this enough.
The Joseph is a lovely hotel. We were able to use points which was wonderful. It’s not right on Broadway so it’s a bit quieter but you can still walk almost everywhere. It’s just so nice to decompress and spend uninterrupted time with your spouse. Now that we are almost empty nesters we are very thankful we’ve always poured into our relationship. We love this tradition and are grateful for it. We happened to pick the night that was 30° so bundling up was required!
ABA RESTAURANT
When we do a night away like this, we love to try new restaurants and bounce around. We don’t make a dinner reservation anywhere. Instead we head out early and have an appetizer or split a dish at 2-3 places. It’s so much fun and allows us to check out the new spots we’ve been anxious to see. If you are local, Aba is a MUST. It takes your breath away.
Look at this beautiful bar area! There is also a more intimate bar and seating area upstairs. The food is phenomenal and so was the service. Highly recommend.
EVERY DETAIL
Even the bathroom was gorgeous. That light fixture!! These plaid pants have been so much fun to wear and I always get asked about them (size up). The black top is from Amazon and I wear it all the time.
TWELVE THIRTY CLUB
We also went to Pastis (a wonderful French spot) and Twelve Thirty Club. You can always count on The Supper Club upstairs to have a great band. The music was so good and we couldn’t resist sharing the salted butterscotch angel cake. Incredible. These dishes are so pretty, too!
PUZZLING OVER HERE
We spent a lot of time pouring over puzzles. Every time I looked over at the island, one of our family members was working on it. Such a great choice over screen time. And the sense of accomplishment is so much fun. And thank you to my dear friend, Jenn, for passing this puzzle along to us. It’s the best when you can swap puzzles with friends.
PLENTY OF HIKES
The beautiful weather allowed for a handful of hikes which was great. If you ever need a mood boost, hit the pavement. The time walking and in nature feels like medicine. Just so good.
FIRE CIDER
Ryan found this at the Franklin Farmers’ Market. If you ever come across Fire Cider, give it a try. It’s SO GOOD. A bit of a kick and great health benefits. Especially during cold and flu season. You just have a little shot a day.
CLEAN SLATE
It felt really nice to pack away the Christmas decor until next year. We were ready and I am enjoying the clean slate. And you better believe I whipped out my Tineco to mop the floors. I seriously love that thing! And the floors really needed it after the holiday break.
CLEAN SWEETS
Made these last night to kick off the week. These chocolate covered dates are just so good. I don’t have a huge sweet tooth, but when I want something sweet I prefer something with clean ingredients. These are a piece of cake to make and everyone loves them. Don’t skimp on the sea salt! You can grab the recipe here. And if you are more of a brownie girl, these are gluten/dairy free and the best brownies I’ve had. No joke. Ryan loves them, too.
BEAUTIFUL PIECE
Looking for a beautiful console table? This is stunning with incredible reviews. It’s far less than the designer version and is really pretty. It would be so fun to style this through the seasons.
LAST DAY OF THE SALE
I shared this on stories but wanted to let you know that the Lumebox is 45% off through today with my link. We use it every single day (both Ryan and myself). Red light therapy is fantastic for bringing down inflammation, recovery, wound healing, pain, fevers, headaches, acne and collagen production. It’s the first thing we grab for any type of pain. If you have gut issues, using it once a day on your gut can do wonders. I speak from experience. It’s a pricey tool but one that paid for itself quite quickly with the amount of times we reach for it. Happy to answer any questions you might have.
Looking forward to sending out this week’s Newsletter (I had taken a break over the holidays). I came across something really valuable for approaching the new year. I’m so grateful I did and will be passing it along. If you would like to receive my newsletter, you can sign up here. I would love to have you join us.
If you missed Saturday Shopping, you can catch it here. Make it a great Monday, my friend.
Can you tell me the source for your jigsaw puzzle? I gave my sister ‘Weekends in a Small Town’ from Momibooks for Christmas and she loved it. She is a puzzle maniac and doing puzzles is terrific for your brain. Thank you, friend.
Hi Elle!! That sounds darling. They really are so good for you. I’ll email you the link to the one we did. It was challenging but really fun.
Hi Courtney! How old were your kiddos when you started your overnight tradition with your husband? My husband wants to do something similar, but it feels so hard to leave my 2 year old!
Hi! I think G was about 2! I’m going to shoot you an email.
I just ordered the Lumebox. Can’t wait to get it to start using it. Thanks for the recommendation. I have been using a red light therapy device for my knee issue and it has worked wonders but I wanted a device that was bigger in size. Hopefully I’ll see good results with the Lumebox too. Thanks again
Oh wonderful. I hope you love it as much as we do. I have used it twice today. Please keep me posted.