Vacation is so much fun. But there is also nothing like coming home after being away! I suppose the older I get the more the old home sweet home means to me. I love to travel and see new things and all that, but just as much I love to be in my home. It is absolutely inspiring and invigorating to be surrounded by sights and experiences that aren’t familiar to the every day, but there is something so….settling about routine and being surrounded by all the familiar things.

I love unfamiliar things like new coffee shops and quaint towns and hotels, but I really love familiar things like my own bed and my kitchen and my couch + throw pillows to snuggle up to in the morning with a cup of tea and my Bible.

Ben and I were away for the past two weeks, and we managed to squeeze a whole lot of different things into our time in the south. We were with my family for Thanksgiving, which was a total blast. We had Thanksgiving with one side of the family on Wednesday and with the other side on Thursday, so our holiday was full of lots of good food and catching up and relaxing. Best kind of holiday!

After Thanksgiving in South Carolina, we spent a few days in Franklin, Tennessee together as a sort of marriage retreat/getaway/vacation. One of our yearly goals is to make a time for marriage input at either a conference or retreat or some such thing, and there were a few actual conferences we would have loved to attend but weren’t able to due to schedule conflict, location, cost, etc. So we took a few days and booked a room at the darlingest Airbnb home in Franklin and created our own marriage getaway. We had a ton of conversation and did a lot of reading (this book…we cannot recommend it enough) and a lot of coffee drinking and exploring. It was the best time and I came away feeling so refreshed and inspired and more in love with my husband than ever.

After our marriage focus weekend, we spent a few days with Ben’s brother + family in Tennessee. We’ve missed hanging out with them since their move last winter, so it was fun to have some time with them again in their new home. Then we headed back down to South Carolina for a night out to celebrate my sister’s twenty-first birthday + a Christmas dinner for Ben’s work + my old roommates wedding. So much fun stuff!

It was a super great two weeks of family + vacation, but like I said, it was so good to walk in the door to my home.

What about you: do you find yourself ready for the routine of home after a while on vacation?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I have a hard time picking an absolute favorite month of the year….there are so many good ones.

April is a fun month since it holds my birthday and our anniversary (and next year the birth of our little one!!!), and it’s the beginning of spring and new life and warmth peaking through. But then June and July are great too because it’s summer and sunshine and being outdoors and vacations. I always love October because by the time it rolls around each year I feel so ready for the crunchy leaves and cool weather and boots and sweaters and hot apple cider and all things spiced and fall. November is Thanksgiving and the beginning of the holidays….but December? I just feel like probably December is my favorite one of all.

I am not ashamed to admit that I love-love-love Christmas, and if you are one of those bah-humbug types when it comes to this season of the year, I just don’t understand you at all.

Christmas is such a joy to me, for a variety of reasons. Sure I understand the over commercialized aspect of this season and how it’s lost its real and sacred meaning in this generation. But that certainly doesn’t mean that any of us have to fall prey to the way culture has twisted this special time of year. Christmas is about Christ and celebration and family. Is there much more meaningful than that in this life?

Sure, there’s the gifts (and i do love those!), but the gifts aren’t merely gifts for materialism’s sake. They are a way to express to those we love that we love them and we notice them and we want them to feel appreciated. Some people chose to forgo the gifts, and I completely respect that. I know people who chose to spend the money on giving to those in need, and I think that is really neat. But for me, I would have a hard time giving up the gift-giving to the ones I love, because it means a lot to me.

I am almost done with my Christmas shopping list, and it’s been so fun again to make that list and check it twice, and watch the pile of gifts for family and friends grow.

We spent our Thanksgiving with my family in the south, and it was a great time catching up with my aunts and uncles and cousins. Plus, the warmer weather was a nice perk. Thanksgiving meal is my favorite, and I think I ate enough sweet potato soufflé to last me at least until next year. I had my annual slice of french rhubarb pie as well. I’m not a big pie person, but french rhubarb pie is my weakness and my mom has made it on Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember.

We put up our tree and a few other decorations before we left for the south. Normally I’m fairly hard up on not putting out Christmas things until after Thanksgiving, but since we wouldn’t be home for the first part of December, I decided I wanted it to be festive and Christmas-y when we got back home. I feel like a Christmas tree has the ability to instantly make a home so uber-cozy, and it’s always a little sad to pack it up at the end of the holiday.

The rest of this month will fly by, as December always does. Holiday parties and dinners and shopping and lots of hot drinks and warm blankets…there is so much to love and celebrate.

What about you: what are your favorite things about December?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!