10 Things That Brought Me Joy this Week: 4

Sharing 10 things that brought me joy this past holiday week, in the hope of inspiring you to find joy & happiness in all of life’s small things as well!

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! Here today with another 10 Things post to finish out this month/year! I truly cannot believe we are DAYS away from 2020! It’s crazy to think about! Last Christmas I spent the holidays in Toronto with my fiancé’s family (which seriously feels like yesterday btw) & this Christmas I was able to spend it in Florida with my family! I arrived to Florida on the 15th, so I’ve already been here for a little while & honestly, I don’t have a return flight yet haha! But it’s been a while since my entire family (there’s 6 of us) has been together to celebrate a holiday. Christmas included! So it was such a blessing that I was able to be here with everyone, to do so!

I have to say that many things have brought me joy over this past week, & I’m not saying that to brag, but rather just speaking out of gratitude, which really is the meaning behind these 10 Things posts! Christmas & this time of year in general has always been my favorite, for as long as I can remember. Being with my family, seeing my extended family, sitting around the dinner table, seeing the Christmas decorations up…the same ones that were used to decorate when I was little…everything was just so special & really brought a lot of joy to us all.

My 10 Things

1. Holiday Baking

feel like I always talk about my love of baking, especially seasonal baking – it’s just the best! I referred to my 25 Gluten Free & Vegan Christmas Cookies post & made some delicious chewy gingerbread cookies! Gingerbread has always been my favorite Christmas cookie & although these were quite different from the original, they still were really tasty!

2. Decorating the Christmas Tree

My mom put about half of the ornaments on the tree before I arrived here in Florida, & then we put the rest up when I got here. We got some good laughs thanks to a few ornaments. Especially the first Christmas ornaments for us 4 kids – complete with a baby pic…so cute!

3. Looking at old pictures

One night we stood around the computer looking at photos of when my little brothers were babies. It was crazy seeing the date of the photos – they were all from 2007-2010! It seemed so long ago! And who doesn’t love looking at old photos?! I do have to say, there were some pretty tough ones of me…yikes haha!

4. Having dinner as a family

Growing up, we always sat down for dinner as a family. Obviously times have changed, I don’t live at home, life is a lot busier, & my other brother is often not home due to his own travels/work, so it was really nice to have a sit-down dinner as a family on both Christmas Eve & Day & just enjoy each other & the amazing food we had a chance to eat.

5. This ZARA Jumpsuit

I’ve always loved dressing up for Christmas Eve. Back in November, I had my eye on a fabulous red dress from H&M but was waiting until it went on sale for Black Friday. Unfortunately when it did, it was no longer available in my size. BUT I did end up finding this amazing pleated jumpsuit on ZARA & snagged it on their Black Friday sale & I think I ended up liking it even more than the dress that I was eyeing! Speaking of outfits? Have you check out my post detailing how to get NYE-ready?!

6. A Dry Bar Blowout

On Christmas Eve, I treated myself to a blow out at the Dry Bar! And I was so happy with my decision to do so! It was my first time going & was really pleased with how my hair turned out. Also, the environment in the Dry Bar is seriously the cutest & just was a great overall experience. I’ll definitely be back! If you’re unfamiliar, the Dry Bar specializes in blow outs & then they’ll style your hair based on a style you choose. No cuts or color – just blow drying & styling!

7. Seeing the Sunshine

After a pretty cold few months spent in New England, seeing & feeling the sunshine is SO nice.

8. CHILLN

One of my favorite parts of Florida (food wise), is a nitrogen ice cream place called CHILLN. They seriously have the best dairy free ice cream EVER! I always get the coconut milk option & I also like how it’s very easy to see what flavors are gluten free & vegan – which I can really appreciate! No guessing involved! Most recently I got peanut butter, but a few other favorites of mine are pumpkin & pistachio!

9. The Beach

My brothers & I met our extended family at the beach yesterday & it was a glorious day! The prettiest day we’ve had since I’ve been here!

10. Cozy Finds

Being cozy if one of the best feelings ever & I got quite a few goodies to help me feel just that! I got lots & lots of cozy socks, because my family knows I love a good pair of socks, especially holiday themed! My dad picked out the COZIEST Sherpa Pullover from Lululemon that I absolutely LOVE & wore all day on Christmas. And Santa picked out the coziest little pink house slippers that appeared on my 2019 Stocking Stuffer Gift Guide – so Santa must read my blog lol! 😉

Want to read more 10 things posts? You can here!

I hope this week brought you joy as well! Feel free to share in the comments below!