Hello friends!
I hope you’re almost ready for the holidays! We’re headed to Seville and Granada in the south of Spain next week and I’m so excited to finally visit! The longer we live here the longer our list of places to travel grows. But I’m also very conscious of being far from our families, and I miss them a lot. It’s a strange balance, that’s for sure. We’ll be thinking of our families on Christmas and New Year’s especially, and we’ll probably be Skype-ing with them to catch up since we can’t see them in person. I hope you are able to enjoy time with your families this holiday.
We have a few traditions at our house, and one of them is to watch classic movies during the holiday break. The list changes every year, but it always includes at least a few of the following:
- It’s a Wonderful Life
- Elf (every year, without fail)
- Roman Holiday
- Desk Set
- The Philadelphia Story
- West Side Story
- Singin’ in the Rain
- Breakfast at Tiffany’s
- Mary Poppins
- The Sound of Music
- Miracle on 34th Street
- School of Rock
Can you add any films to our list? Anything we absolutely must watch? S doesn’t like anything that’s scary or has a lot of suspense, and we all prefer timeless films. Plus, I like it that she knows who Audrey Hepburn and Katherine Hepburn are. I really want to add Amelie to the list, but she’s not old enough for it yet. We’d love some suggestions!
Pinterest Picks
If you’d like to follow along on our trip to the south of Spain I’ll be posting photos to my personal Instagram account and would love to share them with you. Based on the photos I’ve seen, I’d say this trip is going to be visually stunning.
Here’s a little sewing inspiration to get you excited about New Year’s or the start of 2017. The dress on the left would be adorable for little girls and could be made easily using the Building Block Dress book. I think the outfit on the left could inspire a really festive fuzzy or quilted Butterfly Blouse and metallic Butterfly Skirt for older girls. I know someone who would love to wear this!
Completely adorable melty snowman marshmallows. And they’re so easy to make, too!
I must admit that despite my skepticism I still get sucked into the new year, new start excitement. Mostly I just look forward to cleansing my palette, setting new goals for the year, and having a little extra space to breathe. Part of that always involves a softer color palette with more neutrals and muted colors. Like these.
I have way too much hair for such pretty hair ornaments, but I can still admire them, right? And this pretty midi skirt could be easily sewn by making a couple of modifications to our Liesl + Co Girl Friday Culottes. Wouldn’t it be great to wear something like this next spring and summer? It would be both comfortable and very elegant. That’s the best combination, in my opinion.
Lastly, here’s a little New Year’s sparkle for you:
Weekend (and Holiday) Reading
- As I’m sure you know, there’s been a lot of talk in the fashion world lately about capsule wardrobes and wearing a sort of “uniform” to simplify your morning routine. Here’s a woman who’s taken the uniform idea very literally: she wears the same thing every day.
- For those of us who love fabric, this pattern library might just be the ultimate destination.
- A lesson in Xhoso, the language of clicks spoken in South Africa. (And I thought learning Spanish was hard!) Isn’t it beautiful?
- Here’s a little article about the Mercado de la Cebada, the traditional market where I do a lot of our shopping. Like much of the world, Spain is rapidly changing, and many of the markets are giving way to modern supermarkets. I’m glad our mercado is keeping pace with changes.
- Growing up, I was a huge fan of Paddington Bear. If you (or your kids) are also a fan you might enjoy this profile of Michael Bond, the author of these adorable books. He sounds just as lovely in person as I always hoped he would be. I still have the letter he sent me after I wrote to him when I was S’s age.
- Here’s a fantastic roundup of the best National Geographic photos of 2016. Entertaining, visually stunning, and very informative as well.
- I might need to make a special trip to see House Style: Five Centuries of Fashion at Chatsworth next year. The Duke of Devonshire’s jumpers are hilarious!
- And here’s a mini tartan history lesson for you. Because no holiday is complete without a bit of newly-acquired knowledge, amiright?
- This year I tried out and became a fan of the bullet journal. I’m not very strict about it, and mine is anything but pretty. But it really does work. Have you tried it?
We’ll be back tomorrow with a formal holiday greeting, but I also want to take a minute to personally wish you a wonderful end of 2016 and a very happy 2017. XO and cheers!