We’re in that time of year where food is everywhere! There are holiday lunches, Christmas parties, and special treat deliveries. It can be a lot of fun, but also a little overwhelming if you’re trying not to pack on the holiday weight. My survival method for the season is eat only what I truly enjoy, eat…
There’s nothing like the feeling of finding the perfect gift for someone and few things as frustrating as trying to think of something special and coming up empty. So today I am stepping into the mindset of the receiver and thinking about those gifts I’ve received that were particularly memorable—as inspiration for giving better gifts. Personal/personalized…
Happy Friday! We continue to celebrate life’s little pleasures at the Hawkes Home. I hope you are too. I thought I better show you the tree now that she’s complete with her skirt and train. Next come the presents! The same day the tree went up, I got to have lunch with these guys. That’s…
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. ~Howard Thurman It’s a new month and that means a new guidepost from Brené Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection. This month’s focus is cultivating meaningful work—work that results…
It’s December! Thanksgiving is over, Christmas music is playing, and there is snow on the ground. At our house, it is officially the Christmas season. This week’s Friday Favorites is all about season firsts. First holiday nails –Winter Wonderland! Seven-year-old Piper says the silver accent nail looks like a jingle bell in the snow. I…
When my children were young, I cooked a lot; nothing fancy, but pretty much every night. Now the kids are grown, and my husband, who works from home, is kind enough to prepare dinner most nights. This allows me to put in a full day’s work, work out, and still have dinner at a reasonable…
I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving. If you are reading this, I assume you are coming out of your food coma–at least enough to work that mobile device or computer. Our Thanksgiving was not at all what we planned, but thanks to family and friends, we did get two delicious meals! Many of you…
I was going to forego the usual Thanksgiving “Things I’m Grateful For” post, considering Friday Favorites are kind of a weekly thank you list, but then I felt a strange tugging to do it. Maybe it’s all the whining I’ve done lately. I feel the need to do public penance and acknowledge the many blessings…
Can you believe it’s almost Thanksgiving? This week gave me some pretty great things for which to be thankful. Thank you Mother Nature for another gorgeous fall day. It’s unreal to be eating lunch outside–and actually sweating a little–in mid-November. The wrinkles on my forehead aren’t just old age; I’m actually squinting into the bright November…
It’s been a while since I read a book that I like enough to recommend to you. Recently I’ve read two, Lincoln’s Melancholy (which I’ll review in a future post) and the one I want to share today, The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood. This is the story of an unusual young boy bringing people together,…
