Mother Love

Favorites. We all have them, right? I have a favorite coffee mug, a favorite spot to curl up with a book or journal, favorite clothes, favorite things to eat or drink, favorite nail color, etc.

I’ve been thinking about how easy it is for me to save my favorite or special things for “later.” Whether it’s a special cut of meat that I paid a little extra for or a favorite piece of clothing or the dark chocolate in the pantry or even a favorite scented candle, I can easily save it for later. But then sometimes later doesn’t come for a very long time. I find myself waiting for that perfect moment for that special or favorite thing, always saving, always looking ahead to the perfect moment.

What I’m learning is that now is perfect. Right now is a good enough day and moment to do or have my favorite things. Maybe not all at once or even all in one day, but I’m done with always saving them for later.

So today, I wore one of my favorite outfits (dark denim, striped shirt, mustard cardigan), had a piece of my favorite dark chocolate, and even lit my favorite candle. Because today is perfect and special enough.

What about you: what is a favorite of yours that you can do/have today?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

One of my absolute favorite things about cold weather is the drinks and food that I find myself wanting because of the season and temperature. Warm breakfasts, hot drinks and soups, cheesy panini’s, and lots of the seasonal spices and flavors. Many of these things are not that tempting during the summer months when I just want something cool and light and fresh.

I love having oatmeal for breakfast, and have put it back in the rotation with the cooler weather we’re having. Usually I just use the regular rolled oats and cook on the stove, but I want to try this and see how it works. I would probably add some chopped apples and a ton of cinnamon to the mix as well. It’s hard to ever add too much cinnamon, in my opinion (I usually almost double the amounts of cinnamon a recipe calls for).

Soup is another thing that I can hardly get enough of during these months. I love making a big pot of it and having leftovers for lunch for the whole week. I’ve got some turkey broth simmering in my crock pot (thanks to this sweet lady who gave me some leftover turkey bones from our church Thanksgiving dinner last night) and I plan on making some soup for dinner tonight by in throwing some chicken, veggies, and grains. I rarely follow a recipe for soups and basically just throw whatever sounds good into the pot, season it up, and throw on some cheese and/or croutons to finish it off. And if I’d only have my bread making skills up to par, I could serve some crusty bread on the side…

Check out this and this for some helpful soup crafting tips!

What about you: what do you find yourself craving when the weather is cold?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!