Nine Things I Learned This Fall
This month, I’m linking up with Emily P Freeman to round up lessons I’ve learned over the past 3 months. I love what Emily has to say: “For years I’ve been engaging in a practice of looking back before moving ahead…We are doing our best around here, setting the intention to engage in reflection while also realizing we are all, in a way, relearning how to be people in the midst of countless transitions, questions, and reconsiderations. This is the place once per quarter where I share my in-process considerations, not necessarily fully worked out narratives. You’re invited in on the journey. I reserve the right to change my mind.” Here are my lessons from September through November 2020:
- The more you try to control, the less you actually can.
- Change points us in the direction of our priorities. I heard this in a radio commercial recently and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. There has been no shortage of change in 2020 and I feel like my purpose and my goals have continued to stand out to me.
- There is power in just doing the next right thing. You don’t have to get to the end goal today, you just have to take one small action step toward it.
- It is safe to trust that God knows better than you do.
- Documenting life is a good way to cultivate gratitude. As I flip back through my journal from 2020, I’ve found this to be more true than ever. Things have looked different but I’ve almost become more thankful for all of the good people, experiences, and things that surround me.
- Simplicity is key.
- You have to do the work. This year, I’ve been reading a lot of books on leadership, minimalism, habits, and goal setting but at the end of the day you’ve got to put in the work to implement these practices. Without doing that, there is no growth.
- Fall still isn’t my favorite, but there’s still always something to enjoy. Honestly, I love the idea of fall but when it’s actually fall, I’m just reminded of winter right around the corner. And at least winter has Christmas and snow to redeem it. I think the pictures above are proof enough, though, that there are plenty of things about this season to enjoy.
- It won’t always be this way. We won’t always have our nights and weekends free. We won’t always have time for a walk around the block with the pups. We won’t always have an hour to cook dinner. We won’t always have the ability to work from home. Allow this to be our deep breath and our pause.
Currently | December 2020
B A K I N G
I’m not huge into baking, but anytime I do bake, it’s always chocolate chip banana muffins. I’ve been making them the same way for years, and the recipe is fantastic (no thanks to me, I found it online). I’ve also been wanting to make beer bread and scones ever since Sarah made them for us in October.
D E C O R A T I N G
We started decorating the house much earlier this year than we ever have. With being at home more, it just seemed like it made sense. In general, I would say that we lean towards “essentialism” in most things and that includes Christmas decor. I love the lights, the vibe, the cozy, all of it and am definitely tempted to completely go crazy throughout the entire house. I bought a few things this year to add to our collection – a faux fur table runner, two small wreaths, and a macrame tree. I’m loving the absolutely everything about it.
G I F T I N G
I mentioned this a few times before, but we’re trying to do as much shopping as possible at small businesses (and bonus points if they are local)! I wrote this list of small businesses that we love and have been super thankful to get to help support many of them already this holiday season. We still have a few gifts to wrap up, but for the most part we do a majority of our shopping on Black Friday and the few days that follow.
H O P I N G
I’m hoping for more hugs, more family time, more in-person connecting, and a whole lot less COVID in 2021. Fingers crossed.
S E N D I N G
Tomorrow my Christmas cards arrive!!! I absolutely cannot wait to see how they turned out and send them to our family and friends. For the first time since our wedding, Kevin and I had professional photos taken and I just cannot stop looking at them. I am going to be making it a point to get them done every year from now on. (I also plan to share them here, too!)
December Goals
November was a whirlwind of stress and COVID spikes, so I’m not going to even try to pretend that I came close to getting much done in the way of goals. At the end of the day, my number one thing was to keep up the exercise routine. And I definitely did that. I cannot say enough how much of a game changer that has been for my mental and physical health this year. It’s ranged from Orange Theory work outs to walks around the block with the dogs and so many different things in between. I’m excited to build on this habit in 2021.
November Monthly Goals
- Paint Built in Book Shelves – I had really good intentions (I even have the paint!) but it didn’t get done, so I’m taking it off my list for the time being.
- Read 4 Books – I read 6!
- Replace Blinds – This fell down on the priority list, and didn’t get done in November. I’m not 100% on when it will, so I’m putting it on pause for now.
- Complete my Real Estate Courses – womp womp. Extended until the end of December. Let’s hope I can wrap this thing up!
- Show Small and Local for Christmas – We have loved shopping local this season. I did a fun little round up here of our favorite places.
- Vote on November 3rd! – Yep!
November Weekly Goals
- Two Orange Theory Fitness Classes – check, check but I’ve frozen my account for the time being due to COVID.
- Weigh In – done!
- Budget – done and done, proud of our progress this month!
- Weekly Sabbath – I practiced a Sabbath every week but one, we’ll call that a win.
November Daily Goals
- Exercise – got most days in November.
- Read the Word / Prayer – honestly, I could have done better with this one.
- Take Vitamins – high five!
- Journal – Yep!
November Highlights
- We voted!
- Taylor and Todd got engaged!
- Kevin attempted the 10,000 calorie challenge with Andrew.
- We tried HelloFresh (yum!)
- We decorated a little earlier than normal for Christmas.
- We did Thanksgiving, just the two of us.
November Favorites
Food: Hello Fresh Bulgogi Pork (we even did a vlog about it)
Book: The Next Right Thing by Emily P. Freeman
Purchase: Cricut (Merry Christmas to me!)
Song: This. You’re Welcome.
This month, I feel like I’m getting back down to the roots of my goals by only including things that will move the needle in one of these two areas:
Goal 1: Prioritize my health – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, environmental, and social.
Goal 2: Allow open to be an invitation to live intentionally.
It feels good to get back to the basics. Each year, by December, I notice that little side goals, or things that I just want to tick off start finding their way into my monthly list and that’s not really the point of completing Powersheets for me, personally.
December Monthly Goals
- Send Christmas cards – I love doing this each year and think it’s an awesome way to connect, especially in a year where I haven’t gotten to see my family as much as I’d like.
- Take a week off work! – I need this. Looking forward to taking some time off after Christmas.
- Set phone hours – The scrolling numbers are creeping up. I’m trying to work on intentionality, so here we are setting some boundaries for what that looks like.
December Weekly Goals
- Sabbath – New month, same goal. Love this practice and look forward to it every week.
- Meal Prep – This one helps the next one, and it just makes my days feel so much easier.
- Weigh In – Really proud of my progress both on and off the scale but this one just helps to keep me accountable.
- Budget – Ready to finish out strong.
December Daily Goals
- Meditate
- Track Food
- Exercise
- Bible Study
What are your December goals?
Family Photos
Christmas Wishlist – Small Business Faves
Big Dreams Daily Joys | Let’s Make Art Subscription |1 Canoe 2 Journals | Epiphanie Camera Bags | Magnolia Journal Subscription | Powersheets | One Little Word eCourse | Victoria Emerson Apple Watch Bands| Growth Book
As someone who’s #1 love language is gift giving (any one else?), Christmas is like the ultimate treat. I love spoiling my people with gifts and experiences that I think they will absolutely love. I’m also the type of person who keeps a running list all year long in case I see the perfect gift or someone mentions something specific that they’d like to have. I’m normally pretty prepared, but I also love to check out gift guides online and see what other people are digging to get ideas for family members or to add to my wish list.
This year, more than ever, we’ve seen the importance of buying from small and local businesses. At the beginning of Coronavirus, Kevin and I made a point to grab takeout from our local favorites and in seeing some local businesses struggle through this tough year, I’m realizing just how incredibly important it is to support them (especially the ones we love). For this reason, I’m committed to both shopping local and asking for gifts from local and small businesses as well going into the holidays, so I thought I’d share some of the things on my wishlist as well as other local and small businesses that would be fun to consider shopping at this holiday season.
It’s perfect for me that Christmas is right before the new year, because I love to ask for planners and workshops that are in a yearly format for the following year. For this year, I’m asking specifically for the Powersheets Goal Setting Planner (this is my fourth year asking for this!), the One Little Word eCourse for 2021, and the Growth Book which is a faith journal/workbook that spans a year. The 1 Canoe 2 journals aren’t necessarily in a yearly format, but I always think it’s awesome to start things like that in the beginning of the year if I can. In addition to these, I’m asking for a few accessories I wouldn’t buy myself – an apple watch band and a camera bag. Lastly, the gifts that keep on giving: two subscriptions. I have been reading Magnolia journal since it’s inception and I’m obsessed with Let’s Make Art’s art journaling box.
To get more than just my small business faves, I asked my Instagram followers for their input, too! Here’s what they suggested:
Amazing Missouri-Based Businesses
- Etch.Life – This is a cute store based in Liberty, MO that retails faith-based gifts, clothing, home decor, and care packages.
- Plume – A quaint little shop in south Columbia, MO that is home to over 90 local artisans and vintage connoisseurs, including cupcakes.
- Kelly Fields – A Columbia, MO boutique that flaunts all the latest clothing trends, accessories, and gifts.
- Two Pink Elephants – A boutique in O’Fallon, MO that is super reasonable and has lots of cute accessories.
- Go Po – Gourmet Popcorn based out of Fulton, MO.
- The Candy Factory – The name says it all – you just have to go there. Located in downtown Columbia, MO.
- RF Home – Located in Kirkwood, MO, this shop has all the amazing home things, clothing, DIY Classes, and they do renovations.
- CycleX – A bike shop in Columbia, MO that I will most likely be shopping at for Kev this holiday season.
- Treats Unleashed – This pet store is based out of St. Louis, MO and has a shop in Columbia. Our pups will definitely be enjoying treats from Treats Unleashed on Christmas morning.
- 1 Canoe 2 – Based in Fulton, MO this paper goods and stationary shop has hands down the cutest and best designed items.
- Stitch 22 – A former coworker of mine makes the most amazing warm weather accessories and gifts (the scrunchies are my fave).
- Ansgar Leather Co. – Amazing leather goods made in St. Louis, MO. (Always swooning over the journal covers.)
- Helmi’s Gardens – If you have a plant lover in your life (or are one yourself…let’s be honest), this is your stop.
- May Wynn – All the stunning artisan made hand crafted home goods. I could fill my house with things from this store.
- Let’s Make Art – All the art goodies paired with subscriptions options and tutorials.
Other Small Businesses I Love
- Soul Mantras – I buy a little token with my one little word from this shop every year. She has some beautiful pieces and is located in WA.
- Get to Work Book – I’ve been following Elise (who is out of CA) for the longest time. I’m a huge fan of her minimalistic planner and rad motivation.
- Illustrated Faith – An online shop filled with anything you could ever need for bible journaling, including workshops and printables.
- Cloth and Paper – All the ring and disc bound planner goodies you could ever need to build your own or add to your current planner setup.
- North Fork Chai Co. – A friend gifted me chai for my birthday, and let me tell you, you need this in your life.
- Epiphanie – Lots of lovely camera goodies and accessories.
- Magnolia – Chip and Joanna’s brand of all things lovely.
- Cultivate What Matters – This is the shop where the Powersheets goal setting planner I use is from! Highly recommend.
- Ali Edwards Shop – Ali is based out of OR and is a memory keeper and creator with the best products and classes. She teaches the One Little Word class that I’ve been enjoying since 2013.
- Victoria Emerson – This shop has amazing bracelets that give you the stacked look without all the work. I’m specifically eyeing the Apple Watch bands this year.
- Growth Roots Co – Creator of the Growth Book, this faith-based company designs and sells a journal that focuses on growth over the course of a year.
- Blenders – A sunglasses company that has some pretty rad and polarized sunnies for very reasonable prices.
Where are you shopping this year? Are there any small businesses that I missed?
About
Hi, I'm Jacqueline - believer, learner, and all around hobby enthusiast. I'm married to my highschool sweetheart, Kevin, and we live in the midwest with our sweet pup.
On this blog I share all kinds of things about my life - from my faith journey to the garden in my neighbors backyard. I've been blogging for almost eight years and use this space as a way to document my daily life.
Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the internet.