December beginnings

And just like that, it's December, and the start of Advent. We've been making our home cozy, and I've especially enjoyed figuring out how to decorate our new space. Little pops of Christmas cheer, wherever we can.

Other happy little things in these days of anticipating Christmas:

His and hers slippers

Christmas twinkle lights at our coffee brewing station

happy Christmas socks, newly cast on. I'm holding a nearly white sock yarn (leftovers from stash) together with a self-patterning sock yarn. So fun so far!

cauliflower soup, simmering on the stove (I eat a bowl of it topped with 1/2 an avocado)

A Christmas puzzle, picked up for advent puzzling

a fresh haircut(!) First one since October 2019.

a toddler fascinated with lights

And fascinated with batteries (don't worry, he was never unsupervised with them ;)

almond shortbread drizzle cookies (my recipe, here) topped with Swedish pearl sugar, stored in a Christmas tin.

marveling at our first snow on the ground, all while having snuggles with breakfast prep

The post office has the prettiest stamps right now. It was difficult to choose.

Cooper wants to be helpful every chance he can. (and honestly, he's surprisingly good at dusting and wiping down his high chair tray, all without prompting). He will push a kitchen chair over to the counter in an effort to try to climb up and help me. The sweetest.

A new loveseat for Nicholas' office! We love it. The perfect cozy spot for me to sit and knit in the evenings.

A photo of the three of us.

And a photo of me, mid dinner prep, wearing an apron and a cowl, holding a bowl of paleo biscuit dough. Christmas tree in the background, and an open kitchen cabinet door. Mundane and happy, all at once.

A new-to-me book to peruse during advent, picked up from the library today.

The sweetest face I ever did see, in my totally biased opinion, of course.