Something new

I've talked before (more than a little) of my love of Jord Wooden Watches. Not only do I love the incredibly beautiful watches, but I love the company as well.

We have two of the watches and they look identical to the day they arrived in the mail. Honesty, they hold up SO WELL.

Now, I've got some SUPER exciting news. Jord is now releasing a Superhide cork-infused vegan leather product line! That's right. Sustainably. ethically sourced vegan leather wallets, clutches, bags and more! The material is water and scratch-resistant, flame retardant, and easy to clean with soap and water. 

These vegan accessories are an excellent choice for anyone looking for a high-quality (and beautiful!) handbag or wallet. I think they would make the perfect gift as well-they even come in a lovely box wrapped in ribbon, so you wouldn't even need to wrap it!

If you are scrolling past this post, then STOP. There is something in this for you! Are you ready to get excited? 

Jord would love to hear feedback on their new line, and with that in mind, I'm going to ask you to take a quick survey. At the completion of the survey, you will immediately a $30 credit to any Jord product-SITEWIDE! Honestly, what's there to lose?

I have the Peacoat Blue and Gold wallet and I love it. It fits a ton of stuff and super elegant looking. I simply toss it in my regular bag and pull it out when I run into stores. Plus, having kiddos, I love the fact that it's so easy to clean!

Click here to take the survey and then come back and let me which accessories are your favorites!

daily life

Happy Monday! I've been taking a step back from blogging lately to focus more on work and family life. It's been pretty great and a lot of pressure has been lifted off of me. 

If you are still a faithful blog reader and are missing updates then make sure you are following me on Instagram, since I'm still posting regularly on there! 

Okay. So what have we been up to lately? The weather was unseasonably warm last week and I went for a run almost every day, which was great! I took the kiddos a couple of times and we walked through the park on our way back, and even spotted some signs of Spring! 

We've been reading lots of books, making lots of good food (nothing new there) and spending a lot of time together, which has been great. 

Basically, these days have been all about taking things easy and embracing these short, gloomy Winter days.  And to be honest, it's been pretty wonderful. 

Below are just a bunch of random photos from our past week/weekend. Consider it a throwback post to the days before "influencing" when everyone just posted whatever they wanted and didn't worry about "curated content"(remember those days?) ;)

after the weekend: warm weather!

Hello, hello! I feel like I've been slacking in the blogging department lately. To be honest, it's just that things have really slowed up after the holidays, and we are kinda in a slump over here. 

We've pretty much just been dreaming about warm weather, sunlight, and swimming over here. 

We had a little glimpse of that this past weekend with temps of nearly 60 degrees and it was wonderful. We spent as much time outside as we could and it was the best! 

The bad news is that we are headed towards some chilly weather and possibly snow next week (I guess that's January for you...).

We've been taking things easy, reading lots of books, watching movies, and playing games. Oh, and lots of art projects! 

I'm off to clean my house and throw a load of laundry in to wash. 

Happy Tuesday! 

My Lack of New Year's Resolutions

I am still having a hard time believing that we are already in 2020. While I was looking forward to the New Year with excitement, I also hate changes. And a new year is a big change.

Now that we are well on our way into January, I see a lot of talking about "words of the year" and resolutions. And, I've been asked a few times if I have any resolutions that I made for 2020.

The short answer is "No."

The long answer is (of course) not so short. I don't really make resolutions, but in past years I have set "goals" for myself. Things that I wish to accomplish in the new year.

This year I do have goals, but they are not, perhaps, what most people would think that they would be, or what they have been in the past. My goals are simple things. Such as taking more walks and drinking more water. Spending more time reading and less time on my phone. Doing more things that I enjoy, and fewer things that I think I "should" be doing.

I want to take this year to really relax and enjoy myself and my family. In many ways, the past two years have been lived in "survival mode." It was all about planning, packing, moving, and moving again. There were a lot of unknowns and unforeseen futures.

So, the long answer is that while I don't have any resolutions to make, I do plan on embracing this year and everything that it has. To finally, for what seems like a very long time, take the time to press "pause."

I feel that in today's society, and with the open-door of social media, many people feel pressure to be DOING something. Whether it's making a plan having or having set a goal. I know that in the past I have.

 But I also believe in the value of taking time to reset. And that's what I'm doing. Taking time to not do anything other than enjoy 2020. And I'm just fine with that. 

taking stock (winter edition)

Currently...

Reading: old anthologies of Helen Aardsmas Mother's Companion (my mom had them, and I swiped them from my dad's to read). While I don't agree with everything that she wrote, much of it is so inspiring. I'm also reading this.
We have been reading a new Bible storybook for our morning readings, and it's this one that the girls were gifted for Christmas. It's really good, and easy for them to follow.

Watching: the latest season of Anne with an "E". You can read my thoughts on the show here. Oh, and I'm missing "Baby Yoda" and Friends, big time!

Outside my window: there is a wintery mix coming down (the children were all excited that it might turn into real snow), and it's chilly out there. I'm staying snuggled inside with my coffee.

Playing: we play games pretty much every day. This one is our current favorite (we got it at the thrift store over the weekend in new condition!), and it's perfect for Star Wars fans! We also got this new floor puzzle, and the girls love it.

Around the house: I've been on a cleaning and decluttering binge. That always happens around this time of the year, when we have been cooped up for a while and have been sick. I always feel like everything needs a good deep cleaning and decluttering.

In my kitchen: I'm currently eating a big salad for lunch (while Adri has nachos) and we are going to have fresh salmon for dinner. I'll probably add rice, veggies, and salad on the side.

The pet situation: over the weekend all of Adam's dreams came true, and we added a Bearded Dragon to our pet babies. His name is Bean, and he is really sweet. He's already bonding with us and the kiddos love him.

Plans: tomorrow is sister Julia's birthday, and we girls are all celebrating by going to the theater (with my kiddos) to see Frozen 2. Piper and Adri don't know yet, and they are going to be SO excited when they find out that we are going!

Making: we haven't been too crafty lately, but I am planning on making some windows stars either today or tomorrow to brighten my windows up.

I'm off to do some school with Adri, and once Piper wakes, we are going to make strawberry milkshakes.

Have a lovely Monday! 

I watched Greta Gerwig's Little Women. And here are my thoughts.

A week or so ago, I went to the theater with some of my siblings to watch the latest version of Little Women. There is a reason that over the years there have been so many film adaptations (not even counting Little Men) and printings of the famous book. Little Women truly is a classic, a timeless tale of joy, sadness, growing up, finding and losing love. I personally think the book is so popular because the story has a universal theme that spans decades; a mother, her daughters, and their struggles and successes in life.

I was a little skeptical when I heard that Greta Gerwig was undertaking to direct yet another version of Little Women. While I did love Lady Bird, I was sure that this version of Little Women, like so many others, would fall flat compared to the 1994 version (with Winona Rider). Yes, I, along with half of the American female population, am a die-hard fan of the 1994 version of Little Women.

I'm happy to report that I LOVED the new movie. I feel that it's the first one that does the Laurie/Amy story justice, telling it in a way that makes it plausible. One of the other things that I really liked was that it tells the story in flashbacks, keeping with the book and its two parts (Little Women and Good Wives).

As for the cast,  I thought everyone was wonderful. Although I would have perhaps preferred a different actress was cast for Beth (I've always struggled with her character in general and have never liked anyone cast as her), everyone else was perfect.

The filming, the costumes, all were drool-worthy and dreamy. Perfect in every way.

Will I always have a special place in my heart for the 1994 version? Yes. Do I think this movie is a more accurate film adaptation of the book? Absolutely.

Overall, I love the movie and can't wait to watch it again (and will probably buy it to add to our home library).

If you haven't seen it yet, I recommend that you don't wait for it to come out on DVD and go see it in theaters. I promise that you will be pleasantly surprised and happy that you did. 

2019 In Review

Every year I tell myself that I'm not going to have time to write my yearly review post, and then, somehow, I always do.

So, I've got to be honest here. This year was, in some ways, even harder than last year. As anyone who knows me, or has been a reader here for longer than a year, you know that my mom passed away unexpectedly in May 20018. It was tragic, devastating and changed our lives irrevocably.
In many ways, I anticipated this year (2019) to improve, but things seem to have only gotten worse.

There has been a ton of stress, and it's been overwhelming. Not only has it been emotionally, physically, and mentally draining. But we have moved twice, currently have a much smaller place, with two storage units of stuff (one in CT, the other still back in NY).
We have spent $1000's of dollars on moving, down payments on apartments, and the latest event, needing a new engine for our vehicle.

It has been a lot. A lot for our family, for Adam's and my relationship, and for my two kiddos, since we all know how even ONE move is a big deal for small children.

A lot of this I don't share on social media. I figure that life is hard for everyone, and we all have stuff going on. I try to share positive things here and leave it at that.

However, please know that on the other side of the screen, things are not always as good as they may seem.

So, that said. Here's our crazy, crazy year. It's been a long and hard one, and many of the personal details I'm leaving out, but there also have been a lot of bright moments, and support and kindness from friends and family. And that does make all the difference.

Okay. I'm out of words and just leaving this here.

JANUARY 

January was cold and snowy. We got snowed in, visited our friends Julie and Chad (while we were house hunting in preparation for our move to Vermont), read lots of books, and the girls and I made a lot of trips to CT.

FEBRUARY 

I didn't post a lot in February, mainly because we were preparing for our move to Vermont, and things were crazy.  There was a lot of packing and downsizing. We were still neck-deep in snow, and I wrote some book reviews. 

At the end of the month, we moved and started settling in. 

MARCH

March started warming up, and we went to the playground a lot, made trips to CT, explored our new town, settled in at home, and saw a lot of our friends, Julie and Chad. 

Oh, and Adri got Lyme Disease! 

APRIL

I wrote about downsizing our home (little did I know that we would be moving to an even smaller place by the end of the year!), we explored, celebrated Easter, and did a lot of cooking. 

MAY

In May, I shared our Spring Bucket list, we went exploring, visited the playground, went to CT a lot, and basically soaked up all the warm weather. 

JUNE

June was a big month because my firstborn turned FOUR. She had a fantastic party, and then we celebrated again with her grandparents, and they took her to the zoo (where she got to hold a baby kangaroo!). 

We also went to the Summer Pops, celebrated Father's Day at the beach, went to a Cow Parade, and I wrote about how we meal plan. 

The highlight of the month was going with sister Julia to a Josh Groban concert. It was SO much fun and something that has been on my bucket list forever!

JULY

In July, we explored NH and went hiking, went to a Family Reunion (on my dad's side), Adam went fishing, and we visited CT some more. 

I also wrote a book review (one of the top five that I read this year!), we swam a lot, and we made the decision to move to CT.

AUGUST

August was another busy month. Before moving to CT, we visited Adam's hometown in Northern VT (where he lived until he was 14). We then packed up everything and moved in with my dad (putting our stuff in storage) until we had found a place, and Adam had found work. 

It was a busy month, and it was hot. We went swimming a lot, and Adri hung out with her cousins a lot. We also visited OSV, and sister Sophia came and stayed with us most of the month and helped us to pack. 

SEPTEMBER 

In September, we were still living at my dad's. We went to the fair, I made lots of food, we went crabbing (the girls and Adam's first time!), and we celebrated Piper's 2nd birthday and Labor Day. 

Oh, and we went to the aquarium with Adam's parents and to the Medieval Faire! 

OCTOBER 

In October, we finally moved into our new place. Adam settled at the job that he's at now (he was at another job temporally when we moved down. It paid well, but he was on the road and gone a lot). 

We settled in, celebrated birthdays, and Halloween. 

We found time for hiking and some Fall Crafts. 

I even wrote a Day in the Life post! 

We also had our first Wild+Free Meetup that month, and it was fun! 

NOVEMBER 

We celebrated Thanksgiving, I talked about house plant care, and we got hit with some bad sickness. 

I also shared a ton of photos from Halloween and our family hike here. 

DECEMBER 

We got busy and ready for Christmas there. We got our tree up, celebrated my work Christmas party, and went to Medieval Times! 

I also shared my favorite read of 2019. 

We went to NY to celebrate Christmas with Adam's family. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm looking forward to a new year and starting over fresh. As I said, these past two years have been tough ones for us. And I'm ready for a change, and for things to be just a little easier. 

Here's looking at 2020! 

Happy New Year!

Past Years: 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Link to my top 10 most visited posts here on Rosie's Ramblings in 2019