Thought I’d share a little bit of what’s going on around our house lately (aka pictures that I didn’t post on Instagram.)

MAKING: We’re in chili mode over here. Once the temperature drops to 50 degrees or below, it seems to be on repeat at least every other week.

Chili and then the once a year Biscuits & Gravy made their return this Thanksgiving. I make homemade biscuits & gravy for Thanksgiving, and holy smokes. Every year, I wonder why I don’t make them more. Here is the BISCUIT recipe, and here is the GRAVY recipe.

WEARING: I’m still running around in my yoga pants all day, every day.

I did add this cozy LL Bean quarter zip to my wardrobe recently. I’m wearing an XS. Fits TTS.

And this super warm but not bulky Patagonia from the Nordstrom sale has turned out to be perfection. I ordered one size up from my normal – so I ordered a small. Patagonia always seems to fit snug, and I wanted some extra room for sweaters under my coat.

LOVING: Harrison really seems to be understanding some of the magic of Christmas this year. The excitement that Santa is going to come visit him on Christmas Eve. His Elf on a Shelf buddy is visiting him from the North Pole. There is NOTHING better than the magic of Christmas through your kids’ eyes.

USING: We use our Amazon Echo Show pretty much daily around here. It keeps track of my grocery list, my Costco list, and Target list. It reminds me to give Harrison and Jonathan their medicine. It’s my timer for everything we’re cooking in the kitchen. But especially this time of year, it’s on constantly playing Christmas music.

Our birds are also loving having their heated bird bath set up on our patio. It keeps the water above freezing, so they always have a place that they can come and get a drink when temperatures are dropping and water is harder to find.

I ordered our smaller version of THIS one at our local Wild Birds Unlimited store.

DRINKING: Nathan’s been perfecting his Old Fashioned recipe. Let me revise that statement. Nathan HAS perfected his Old Fashioned recipe…..and it’s just really hard to quick a “kids are in bed” cocktail. 😊

ENJOYING: I’m trying to soak in every last minute of family time. I’m in my final month of maternity leave. I know I’m incredibly blessed to have such a long maternity leave (5 whole months to adjust to life with a new little one!), but I start getting sad about missing out on all the goodness of babyhood these final weeks.

I’m also enjoying and loving the quietness and coziness of the Christmas tree lights.