An Unplugged Thanksgiving.

This Thanksgiving holiday came and went in a reflective, quiet kind of way. No hoopla, no drama, no pressure to Black Friday shop or even put on real clothes. Yes, I wore workout gear to Thanksgiving dinner (the rest of my family was dressed so nicely, then there was me, the enormous swollen person who fits into very little at this stage in the game). There were all the mainstay dishes and a wonderful smattering of family smiles and nothing out of the ordinary at all. And you know what? Nothing out of the ordinary felt really comforting. It was really nice to have a stable, dependable kind of holiday weekend. Because externally, there is a lot stirring in my family life, and my head gets a little foggy when I think too hard about all of it. Things like, my parents are moving out of their beautiful home next weekend. The house I love. I admit I'm sad about it. And also, I am having a baby sometime in the coming month. What is he going to be like?? Am I ready for two babies?! And of course, Christmas season is upon us! May the merriment continue onward!

Can we take 12 seconds to talk about this Japanese Maple tree in my back yard? I am so in love with the fiery red goodness its shed all over the fading grass. It's losing its leaves every day and I am so glad we snapped a few more good photos of it before autumn forfeits and gives way to real winter.

Also, I won this outfit on Instagram, you guys. Enter all the giveaways! You never know what you can win! And thank you to Seraphine, who sent me this wayyyy comfy active kit. Please don't hate me for not using it to exercise, because it's just not in the cards.

My sis. Does it look like I ate the third sister? #IpromiseIdidnt #shesinflorida

Don't move don't move don't move don't move. Whew. I just needed to get that out. They're not even moving far away, you guys. Haha I just can't handle the change.

Everett got the croup over the weekend and I think I was fighting off a little bug, too. We stayed in bed and rested a lot, and I actually think we caught his early enough that it didn't manifest into a full-blown sickness situation, thank goodness. I've been using a new brand of essential oils over the past few weeks and I don't mean to be such a crazy oil lady, but I actually think diffusing so many good oils in the house could have helped both of us from getting too, too sick. Time will tell, but I can see this whole essential oils thing becoming an addiction... I've already ordered more and I am really into concocting my own recipes for the house every day. #crazyoillady

I was really kind of terrible at documenting this holiday. I didn't get any pics with Stevie's fam, even though we totally celebrated with them the day before Thanksgiving. And I didn't take any food photos, even though I actually cooked a bit more than I originally planned. And - I even decorated our dining table and it looked so snazzy but alas - no photos. I just needed a good unplug and some extended rest and this was the weekend for it. I am so grateful for this family of mine. It's really everything. And now I'm feeling more refreshed and ready for December and all it's glow.

I hope your weekend was sweet and full of family and love and quiet and yes - Gilmore Girls! Wasn't that revival something?! I have so many thoughts, but I have to re-watch everything to really process the story.

What was your favorite thing about this holiday weekend? Did you have any killer good new recipes that are must-try? Happy Monday to you, friends! xox

P.S. - I have a few Cyber Monday promo codes for you to some of my favorite stores:

At ASOS - Get 30% off every single thing! Use Code THANKFUL30. Valid 11/24 8am – 11/29 8am GMT.

At Stella & Dot - Get up to 60% off flash sale items!

Shop the Handmade gifts section of Amazon for her, for him, and for kiddos. I heart Amazon this time of year.

At Modcloth - Everything is 30% off with Code: CYBER16!

Gearing Up for Gilmore Girls.

I can't withhold my excitement any longer.

The day is coming, the one we have truly, all been waiting for. November 25 this year shall be known as Black Friday second, and Gilmore Girls Day first and foremost. There will be coffee (duh - "coffee coffee coffee!"). The will be cinnamon rolls. There will be a breakfast casserole of some kind, because I'm making it and I will need the sustenance to uphold the hyena-like hyperness in my heart. There will be my sister, there will be my mother. There will be Stevie, pretending to roll his eyes but in actuality, really engaging. Let's face it, he's a Gilmore Girl, too. When he got in a relationship with me, he committed to watching this series on the regular until he had seen it far too many times to number. Spoiler alert - he's on team Luke. Okay, that's not much of a spoiler alert. Every dude I know is team Luke.

What do you hope will happen in the reunion? Are you team Luke or team Christopher? Are you team Jess, team Dean or team Logan? Or team "Rory on her own in the big bad real world"?

My Hopes + Opinions + Predictions for the Revival:

- I don't care if you hate me for this - I'm team Logan. I'm team Logan, people! And you might think its because he's blonde and I married a blonde, but nay. I'm team Logan because those two had the healthiest kind of communication out of all her beaus and actually worked through their immature issues together (remember when she wrote that snarky article about his company launch party? And they actually had an adult heart-to-heart about how they hurt each other's feelings? Brave communication happening there, so good.)

-I predict that Rory ends up with Jess. Let's be honest, Jess is in a hit TV show this season and how did he possibly resurrect his career after 10 years without leveraging to producers the fact that he takes home the lead in the GG revival? I think it's obvious. People like her with Jess (why oh why??!), I just think he's a little whiny and too wrapped up in his own shortcomings to really bolster her in her dreams. Not that I've thought about this a lot or anything.

- I am so excited they worked it out to have Sookie back. I want to see her create all sorts of baked goodies in that kitchen of hers, preferably in copper cookware. And I want to see her and Jackson argue over the produce again. And maybe find another kind of narcotic randomly growing in their field.

- I want to see Lane and Zack engaging in family band shenanigans with their twins. But I also want Gil's hair there. So perhaps a full-on Hep Alien reunion is in order. Which is totally going to happen (I've seen the trailers).

- I want to see Paris eating the heads off of her medical school counterparts, while simultaneously contributing to The New York Times as a political consultant. Just because, you know, SHE CAN.

- KIRK. I want to see him with cats, I want to see him debating a breakfast of bagels or muffins or pancakes, I want to see him working nineteen-thousand jobs all over town. I want to see him at the next Taylor Dosey. I want to see him in a cat costume with a bow tie.

- I want to see Luke and Lorelai living in the Twickam house. Is anyone else really, really bummed that she shoo'd that opportunity away? Imagine the holiday decor on that dreamy front porch. Sigh.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN, PEOPLE??? I am so excited. So so so excited. On Black Friday at 9am EST, I will be hunkered down in my living room, Christmas tree lights aglow, with a smattering of treats all around, and pressing those fateful buttons on the Apple TV remote to enter into Gilmore Girls domain. I shall not unearth until the reunion is finished. If you want to be a part of the fun, let's meet on on Instagram Stories (@oykristen) and share our Gilmore excitement!

P.S. - If you know anything about Gilmore Girls, you know why my blog has it's name. This is a true celebration for us all!

P.P.S. - How cute is the print in the photograph? You can snag one of your own from my friend Jenny Highsmith here, she is so crazy talented. My house is full of her work.

How Do You Budget for the Holidays?

There is so much around the web this time of year addressing gift guides and spending and consumption, but very little about how to responsibly prepare for the holiday spending. I am so interested in getting better at budgeting and being a good steward of what I have, so I wrote this post partly to share what I've learned, and in hopes that you all have some great tips to share in the comments section, too!

The holidays can be a tricky time. So much life, fun, love and energy. So much family time. So many shared meals, gatherings of friends, decking of the halls, sparkling of beverages and opening of gifts. But all the celebrating can be hard on the budget. I've spent many years trying to figure out how to best manage our finances when it comes to the holidays, because in our own family (extended - on my side and Stevie's side), we have over a dozen birthdays during the holiday months. Which makes for even more celebrating - and even more spending. Being a person that really values gift giving and selfishly enjoys giving presents, I never want to skimp on gift season. I just want to figure out how to get the most bang for my buck and also give really special, quality, meaningful and unique presents to my people. It's so so SO much fun when you give your loved one something they really wanted - or even better, something that had never crossed their mind, but that they adore. I just love those moments, the glow of excitement in their eyes. I've included below 5 budget tips that I follow every year for holiday spending.

1. Create a Budget.
If you don't already follow a budget for your normal spending, I would highly recommend creating one, at least for the holiday season. It's so easy to get out of control with spending, with out necessarily feeling out of control! Stevie and I have followed a budget for years, though it has changed significantly based on our season of life (one or both of us has been a student for 7 out of the 9 years we've been married - school has a way of keeping the budget tight!) We used excel spreadsheets to keep track of our budget for many years, then we transitioned over to Mint.com and used that tool for a while. Last year we took the Dave Ramsey course Financial Peace University and switched our budget over to using an app called You Need a Budget (or YNAB, as we call it). We have continued to hone in on our budget over the past year, identifying our areas of spending and setting reasonable expectations for how we plan to spend. For the holidays in particular, this has been super helpful, because it takes a good bit of foresight to prepare in advanced for the extra expenses!

2. Make a detailed gift list and estimate your spending.
I create a separate holiday budget every year in Google Drive, using the spreadsheets tab. I can go back and look at the previous years and the record of how I spent, what I spent, and where I spent. It's super helpful to look back on the previous year and use that to guide the budget for the new year. Then I write a list of all the people I buy for - immediate family, extended family, friends, neighbors, bosses, teachers - everyone that we plan to give to. I create estimates for all those gifts, and I input the estimates into the spreadsheet. I have a range of what I spend on friend gifts, family gifts, even niece/nephew gifts. This helps build the basis of the budget, and get an idea of exactly how much cash I expect to be working with. I also include miscellaneous holiday-related expenses, and budget for "extras" like hostess gifts and larger grocery bills, Christmas trees (yes, we buy two...), and even Christmas cards. I try to include everything, though I admit, every year I seem to forget something.

Once the estimate has been made, Stevie and I have a finance meeting about the Christmas budget. Yes, we make hot chocolate and pull out our lap tops and compare spreadsheets. We are dorks, but this is the only way to actually get on the same page. This is when we agree on a dollar amount to spend for Christmas. And then we make a blood pact to stick to it. Just kidding. But seriously, we do come to an agreement before I begin the spending spree.

3. Add in a buffer.
This helps when you do the inevitable, and like me, forget to budget for something important! Like stocking stuffers or a party dress. This buffer is always discussed in our budget meeting, and included in the overall budget. I've learned that I always need a buffer, and usually, I need a bigger buffer than I allot for. But nothing is worth blowing the budget over, so I make sure to utilize the buffer only when necessary. Not like, when I see another sale at Williams Sonoma, even after I'm done with all my gift shopping :) The temptation is strong friends.

4. Sync your budget.
Stevie and I are able to sync our budget using both YNAB and our Google Drive, so we can see each others spending. This is super helpful for accountability and just making sure that we are both on the same page with our gift buying. I am the one making most of the purchases, but it's helpful to see what he's spending and where, so that it all gets filed away in our tools. It gets a little tricky when I am actually shopping for him, because I don't want him to see what I'm getting him for Christmas! But I usually create a separate Google doc so that I remember what I got him. And I just keep the totals in our synced spreadsheet. We always agree on what we will spend on each other ahead of time, so the totals aren't a problem if he sees them - I just don't want him to know what Santa is bringing!

5. Shop - and then stop!
Like I said, I am the one who does most of the purchasing in our family. And that's in all areas of our life, not just Christmas. And this year I started Christmas shopping early because I have a baby arriving sometime around this wondrous holiday, so I want everything to be ready ahead of time. I am almost done with my Christmas shopping, with the majority of gifts already wrapped, too. The great thing about shopping early is getting it done - the bad thing is the temptation of holiday promos and hello - Black Friday sales! But if it's not already budgeted for, then I really can't get sucked into the "deals". Nothing is worth blowing the budget over, because that only leads to arguments and marital drama. After doing this thing for almost 10 married years, I can attest to the fact that no sale is worth a Christmas-related blowout with my spouse. Nothing. So once I'm done shopping, I turn a blind eye to the email promos and spend more time baking, wrapping and watching Christmas movies (which includes Pride & Prejudice). It's actually really good to shift the focus off of the buying and devote energy to the traditions of this delicious season.

I hope this helps as some of you are getting prepped for your holiday spending! What tips/resources have helped you and your family with holiday budgeting? I'd love to hear from you in the comments section!

Toddler "Big Boy" Bedroom Reveal!

Oh, this is a fun one. I shared a few weeks ago that we have been slowly putting together my 2-year-old's "Big Boy" bedroom. He has been so excited with anticipation during the entire process. Before we even moved him over into the room, he would come into the room and play with his toys on the floor while I worked on hanging curtains and folding laundry. We talked in depth about how he was trading in his crib for a big boy bed, and how his crib would be going to the new baby in the family. I really wanted him to feel like he was being promoted into his new room, not kicked out of his old one. So we worked on making the space intentional and special, and a little more grown up for this seriously fast growing toddler of mine :)

I am so excited to share this space with you today, because it feels like a really special victory for our family. Everett has been sleeping and living in his new big boy bedroom room for a few weeks now, and he has adapted beautifully to the new routine and set up. I keep pinching myself that we don't find him wandering aimlessly around the house in the middle of the night - I don't think he's really aware that he has that power yet. We will keep him in the dark (no pun intended) about that one for as long as possible!

How cool is this map? It marks all the national parks in the States. I was pleasantly surprised to count on more than one hand the ones Stevie and I have visited together - of course, that was all before we started having kids. Now we have to start over and all go together! Because - BOY FAMILY. I see many a camping trip in our future.

We were given a beautiful twin trundle bed when we moved into our house last year, and I have been holding onto it with glee for the day that I could use it in Everett's room. I am excited that he will have a fun place for cousins to come over and have sleepover parties :) We also bought a few sets of these sheets to cover both of the mattresses, plus a back up, for when we really get to potty training. I'm not a huge fan of the guard rail that we put on, because it's not aesthetically the most pleasing (and because I can't properly tuck his comforter in), but safety first! We went with this universal option, since almost nothing works well with a trundle bed.

These are actually picture ledges but we layered all his favorite books on the shelves instead. He loves scooting his stool over to this area and picking out books from the top shelf. Anything that seems like a challenge, right? Also, the picture above the books is a prayer for Everett, a gift from before he was born. Good stuff.

Eventually, there will be a trailing plant growing out of that planter! I only planted it a few weeks ago.

That's Mister Fox. He guards the Honest Company goods.

I love this little picture wall - it's the life of Everett thus far! A custom name print by Jenny Highsmith, his first ultrasound photo, a gifted print from my BFF Natalie and a sweet month-by-month frame of his first year from Pottery Barn.

Stevie caught us in our bedtime routine last night, and even though the pictures are fuzzy, I really love them. Me and my big boy in his big boy room.

Everett's favorite things about his new "big boy" room":
- His "shapes" (garland - picked out in the Target party section!) that hangs above his bed.
- His toy bins. He didn't have any toys in his baby nursery, so this is a real treat.
- His bedside lamp - he loves clicking it on and off by himself. It's fun to watch him feel so powerful.
- His "babies" (stuffed animals) - he gets to pick out two to sleep with every night. Which totally turns into 4, because I'm a softie.
- He especially loves using his stool to pick out books and get into his rather high trundle bed.
- He just loves talking about his big boy bedroom. And he's very interested in other people who have "big boy/big girl" bedrooms. When we meet new people, he always asks me if they have a big boy room, too.

Sources:
1. Target Arrow Curtain Rods
2. IKEA SANELA Curtains
3. Target Crocodile Crossing Sheet Set
4. Target Yellow Stitch Comforter Set
4. Target Hanging Terracotta Planter
5. Target Fox Throw Pillow
6. Ikea Hemnes 8-Drawer Dresser
9. Target Bear Throw Pillow
10. Target Garland, found here, others are the "Spritz" brand found in the party section (I couldn't find the links online)
11. Target Pillowfort Laundry Hamper
12. Best Maps Ever Map of U.S. National Parks
13. Retro Art Prints Wooden Picture Hanger
14. Target Threshold Picture Ledge

Thanks for letting me share this special milestone for our whole family! I kid you not - Stevie said to me the other day, "I feel like Everett's bedroom is nicer than ours." I just laughed at him. It's not necessarily nicer, it's just had a lot more thought put into it. The bedrooms in our house are tiny, so I had to get intentional with how everything would flow in his small space. Especially with the large furniture we were working with. And I still wanted it to feel airy, clean and simple, while still functioning for all the different needs we have. I'm really pleased with how it's turned out, although I can't have a husband jealous of his son's bedroom - so I think some extra intention needs to go into our own bedroom next!

Any advice for decorating and streamlining the space for a toddler bedroom? How did your kids adapt to changing rooms and transitioning into a toddler/twin bed?
 

Homemade Apple Sauce, 2 Ways.

I do my best to prepare recipes that will work for my entire family. That is a tall order, since my 2-year-old currently eats like, well, a 2-year-old. He prefers grilled cheese and chicken nuggets to everything and actually tells me he doesn't like green food. How has he possibly already learned that?! Green is his favorite color!

I haven't been shy about my love of preparing large portions of recipes and freezing them (like most recently with these sweet potato muffins and these breakfast burritos) because when I find something that works, I want it in bulk. These boys of mine eat so much. One super simple autumn recipe that can be adapted a zillion ways is homemade apple sauce. I know, you're probably rolling your eyes like "duh!", but seriously - do you make your own apple sauce? Because you should! It's ridiculously easy and tastes so authentic when made at home. It can easily be stored and frozen, then defrosted or reheated. Plus, when it's served hot, it's an indulgent treat for this lady.

OXO Tot sent over a few products for me to try out with my apple sauce recipes -  the food masher and glass baby food blocks (awesome for stashing in the fridge or freezer, with no BPA!) and the feeding spoon set. They were super useful, not just in prepping the apple sauce quickly but for storage purposes, too. My method with apple sauce is prepping and cooking the apples, then dividing into two batches and seasoning each slightly different depending on who will be eating it in my family. I make my 2-year-old Everett a basic version of apple sauce, keeping the recipe free of added sugars but with lots of cinnamon (his favorite seasoning.) And I make myself and my husband a spiced version, with caramelized onions and nutmeg and allspice, served heated over pork or chicken. Yum. Apple sauce is a win for everyone in this family!

A Few Notes:
1. You can prepare these two recipes side by side in two large stockpots so to easily prep and cook both recipes at the same time.
2. I don't bother with peeling the apples, because once they cook down I don't think the skins are any kind of nuisance. I prefer my apple sauce with some texture. How you like them apples?
3. I use any and every type of apple - not picky over here. Each time the flavor is a little different, based on the type of apples used!

Apple Sauce for Toddlers                                            
Ingredients:                                                                        
- 4-6 apples, diced                                                        
- 1 cup water                                                                 
- juice of 1 lemon                                                           
- 1 tsp. cinnamon                                                           
                                                                                                                                                            
Spiced Apple Sauce for Adults:
Ingredients: 
- 2-4 apples, diced 
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 cup water
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp. each: allspice, nutmeg & cinnamon
- a dash of cloves

Method:
1. Combine all the ingredients in a large stockpot and cook over medium heat for 25 minutes.

2. Using the OXO food masher, mash the softened/cooked apples to desired consistency. I like my apple sauce a little chunky, but I mash it up extra good for Everett to enjoy.

3. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator or freezer and serve as needed.

Honestly, I would have to make, like, a quadruple batch to actually have enough to freeze, because we go through this stuff so fast. But the OXO glass baby food blocks are awesome because they are made of borosilicate glass, which is thermal shock resistant. This means they can go directly from the freezer to the oven or microwave, and there's no need to wait until the apple sauce is fully defrosted before heating it up. Which is what I like to do with it. HOT APPLES, YOU GUYS. There's nothing quite like it. :) One more thing to note - if you like your apple sauce really smooth, then you could always throw the hot apple mixture from the stockpot directly into a blender. But using the food masher is a really quick and less messy way to achieve apple sauce when your little ones are pulling on you for a fast snack.

Other fun uses for apple sauce:
- serve heated over ice cream (yes please. Please.)
- to replace eggs in baked goods
- served atop french toast/pancakes
- in oatmeal, to naturally sweeten

How do you make your apple sauce? Any wild ingredients I should try to mix things up a bit? Let me know if you try out these recipes, because I would love to hear what you think!

P.S. - Other apple recipes that I obsess over - my roasted pumpkin & apple butter, this blueberry-apple baked oatmeal, and this apple & spinach green juice.

Many thanks to OXO Tot for sending me free products to include in this post. All opinions expressed are my own. And many thanks to you for reading and supporting brands that continue to make this blog possible!