ready or not

double dipping with the Clement pics because he's the only one that seems to tolerate them these days and thought you'd like to see how clean the undercarriage of our couch is ... Mom's got jokes. 

1. ... it's already December 20th. I know this year was an especially fast approach with the week between Thanksgiving and Christmas lost but this felt especially speedy. The kids are officially on break, this years adorable (bias but ... still) handmade ornaments are hung, and not everything is close to wrapped but we've got TIME. The weather is unseasonably warm and I'm soaking it up because I know the weather tends to feel colder in the interminable Jan/Feb/March months of potential gloom.

2. I finished Don't You Forget About Me and I'd give it 3/5 stars which feels generous but the ending was sweet enough to almost redeem it entirely for me. I started The Vanity Fair Diaries but after reading all of the great reviews I'm tempted to momentarily pivot my attention over to The Silent Patient despite not really being a thriller-y book type of person.

3. Simon and I watched the preview for Virgin River on Netflix and before it was even over he said, "we are never watching that" and I was pretty much sold on it - ha. I've been watching it while wrapping and addressing Christmas cards and it's pretty meh but I can't stop watching now, definitely not. Anytime Simon sees it playing he asks, "oh hows Whiskey Creek?" ha Ha HA.

4. Simon's sister very generously had us over for dinner last night and served this delicious dish and it is definitely getting put into our regular meal rotation. All of the kids loved it and it looks super simple to make. She used crumbled sausage instead of whole meatballs which I think I would prefer anyway!

5. Did you see that the contestant bios from Peter's season were released? I know any preconceived notions will go out the window on night one so I always take them with a grain of salt but it's fun to read them over! Tammy, Madison, and Jade stood out for no particular reason but they might go home night one - we'll see soon enough!

6. I don't know how I found this this magical Amazon shirt but it's going down as one of my best Amazon purchases to date. Feels a lot higher quality than the price might suggest (I would've guessed it came from LOFT), really great legging length, and so many pretty colors. Win/win/win. If you struggle with stocking stuffers - might I suggest these flashlight? Don't tell Clement he isn't getting one but my kids love to steal our one flashlight so I'm hoping these will be a huge hit (it's always the smallest presents, isn't it?)

7. I wanted to share this mock neck sweatshirt a few weeks ago but it sold out super quickly and kept giving me an error message but it's back, bb. I love it and my sister-in-law (of baked penne fame) got one and she pulls it off better that I do but my love for it still lives ON. One of our longtime favorites, Everlane, very VERY kindly with no strings attached sent Simon this sweater (the first cashmere the Camp has ever seen, we shall now be known as Camp Fancy), and me these boots and bag (I mean Simon can carry it if he'd like ...) and I'd be remiss not to thank them profusely. I'm a little worried I'm not quite hip enough to pull off the boots but Simon assures me that I am which I guess is the only vote of confidence I need!

And as a special bonus take I have to tell you that John Francis just got the go ahead to move back home to Wichita! We're so so thrilled for him and his most recent perfect biopsy results. Thank you for all of your prayers these past several months!

Such a wonderful note to end the post on.

Hope you have a good remainder of your Advent and a Merry Christmas! I hope to pop back on before 2020 so I'll resist the old, "see you next year" joke. I'll resist!!