Little girl sitting at a table, holding a piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream on her nose.

1. I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! What was the best thing you ate?! These were our kids’ favorites:

Joseph – Cheesy Creamed Corn Casserole

Dominic – Turkey (took me by surprise this year!)

Isabelle – Pumpkin Pie 😂

2. The weekend before Thanksgiving, Dominic had a birthday party and he got to bowl for the first time (he loved it!)…

Little boy throwing an orange bowling ball, bright green and blue lights in background.

3. Then the next day, we had a family birthday party and there was a magic show for all of the kids. Joseph and Isabelle were eager volunteers and they all had so much fun.

Side by side photos of a boy and a girl volunteering at a kids magic show.

4. Have you started (or maybe finished) Christmas shopping? I feel like shopping starts earlier and earlier every year! I got a big chunk done on Monday, but still have stuff left to do. If you are still shopping (or haven’t started yet!), I have updated all of my gift guides with tons of great ideas:

5. Though the wording doesn’t quite feel like “me”, I really like the premise of this, and there are so many other wonderful ideas in the comments section >> The Best Thing to Text a Friend

6. I read this in a recent James Clear newsletter and it reminded me so much of my dad… he would wake up around 4:30/5:00, walk on the treadmill, read scripture over coffee, have breakfast, etc. It seemed like he lived a whole day before he even got to work, and the thought of it still inspires me…

“The secret to waking up is to wake up way earlier than you have to. When you have 1-2 hours where you can just sit there calmly, drinking coffee, and not be rushed, you feel ten times better. Later on, you can work on being productive in the morning too, if you please.”

7. And in that same vein, I love the idea of the Ivy Lee method to be more productive. I am guilty of making insanely long task lists and randomly checking off items; shorter, prioritized lists for the win.

8. I kid you not, I have heard “Leather and Lace” on the radio approximately six times in the last four days. I’ve heard it before, but after hearing it over and over, and really listening to it, I’m in love with it. I keep trying to find a video of Don Henley and Stevie Nicks performing it together, but I can only find a short snippet.

9. Let’s talk TV! We watched a great series recently, Payback (Amazon Prime / BritBox), and are waiting for the second half of season 6 of The Crown to drop before we do a big binge on that!

10. TGIF! Got that freshly groomed vibe going 💙

Golden Retriever lying on the floor staring at the camera.