A Winter PostCard

Normally I spend all winter long grumbling about the cold, but this year things are a bit different. I'm really enjoying this season. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I've found a way to get outside (though xc-skiing) instead of feeling like I'm stuck indoors. Maybe it's simply because I've upped my hot cocoa intake. Who knows! 

I always dress to fit my mode OR my surroundings. With this Anthro PostCard Tee, I'm doing a bit of both. I'm loving how perfect this tee is with its snow-capped mountains and evergreen trees. That's my real life right now! The colors are vibrant, but still muted…just like winter. 

Cardigan: J Crew Factory// Tee: Anthropologie // Beanie: Chiara Mente// 

Leather Pants: Ann Taylor// Mittens: Anthropologie//

Booties: Sam Edelman// Necklace: Rebecca Minkoff

Even if you aren't a fan of this cold and windy season, it's here to stay so we may as well have a little fun with it. 

Follow along for more from Making Restorations 

Bloglovin//Instagram//Facebook//Pinterest 

Linking up wednesdaywearables//thepleatedpoppy

winter weekending

This past weekend, a massive blizzard to hit the East Coast…

it was the kind of blizzard that shuts entire cities down

but here in Boston, it was simply an ordinary winter weekend 

{FRIDAY} 
Lots of people were snowed in, but Boston got just the right amount of snow….more than usual, but not enough to become a nuisance. It doesn't hurt that the snow plows were going around the clock. 

 Most of our time this weekend was spent XC-skiing. We go most weekday nights and weekend days to make the most of this winter weather. Speaking of winter weather…here's to getting caught in the snow 

After our night time ski session, I treated myself to a hot bath with my snow angel bath melt. My sore muscles were loving the hot water and my dried out skin {winter cold} was loving the moisturizing bath melt. Also, my baths are always accompanied by wine!  

{SATURDAY} 
A winter Saturday freshly blanketed in snow, it was all too easy to decide what to do with the day. 

After spending the morning XC skiing, we ran a few errands. The roads weren't horrible, but they weren't great either. I would have thought that less people would be out and about, but I was wrong. Costco was an absolute zoo. We only needed a few things, but it took us almost 2 hours to get out of there. We definitely earned the lunch at Chipotle that we had after. 

We had been missing our Chipotle since this fiasco started shutting down all the Boston locations. As you can see, we're glad they are open again. After Chipotle, Tom and PJ took a nap and I had to snap a few photos because they are the cutest cuddled up together. This is literally how they sleep together every time.  

Meanwhile I did a Target run and made dinner…baked chicken & roasted red potatoes

After dinner, we had a little time to kill. It had been snowing pretty heavily all day at this point so we were doing our happy dance. We strapped on our skis and grabbed PJ and XC-skied down the sidewalk to a clearing we know in front a building. I don't think PJ liked our skis, but he did enjoy running in the snow. 

Then we went to see Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2. Glad we finally got to see it and even better, we had the best theater all to ourselves. You would think that we had never been to the movies before, the way were in there snapping so many selfies. 

But they had the best leather chairs with a button to recline your head and feet. Plus, we had the theater to ourselves. When does that happen? It was like watching a movie at home, except better because the chairs were nicer than the ones in our living room! This is probably what it's like to have a home theater? 

{SUNDAY} 
Can you guess what we did? Yep, more XC skiing! 
We are working on becoming more technical, so we decided to take a lesson. With XC skiing being one of the best full-body workouts you can get, we were exhausted after our two hour lesson. My thighs are still burning, but we learned so much and had a ton of fun! 

We also spent a good chunk or our morning replanting the succulents from our wedding. 

Then, the rest of the day was spent doing more chores around the apartment, like finally taking down our Christmas tree {I still cannot believe that it lived this long}, doing laundry, and baking muffins to have for breakfasts during the week. 

///

Even with a Blizzard happening outside our door, we made sure to get out and get moving. This is pretty much what every winter weekend looks like for us…

What is your typical weekend include? 

Follow along for more from Making Restorations 

Bloglovin//Instagram//Facebook//Pinterest 

Linking up with BLovedBoston

succulents & sundays

If you are following along, then you already know the significance of this photo. Tom and I are just a few days shy of of celebrating 8 amazing years together. Having met just out of high school, I feel like we have literally grown up together. With a long term relationship, it can be all too easy to take things for granted. Leave it to simplest sunday task to help put things into perspective.  

These succulents were guests at our wedding. They made up my bouquet, husband's boutonnière, and the flowers at the alter. After the I do's were said and the celebrations were over, these were planted. We spent the last two years fostering their growth as we have fostered our relationship and they are thriving. With these lovelies bursting out of their clay pot, we were happy to spend a good part of our sunday replanting those succulents so that they may continue to prosper. Sundays like today are the best for their simplicity. I wouldn't have expected such a simple task to lead to such reflection, but I'm thankful for our renewed appreciation for each other. 

Here's to Sundays filled with Succulent blooms  

Follow along for more from Making Restorations 

Bloglovin//Instagram//Facebook//Pinterest 

The Holiday Detox

I'm still recovering from the holidays. I am a total Christmas fanatic and we do things big around here. We did a lot leading up to Christmas and then spent a week driving from state to state to visit with family. Completely worth it! Now that it's over, we are exhausted and wanting for things to settle down. We are realizing that December was a month full of hemorrhaging money, eating all the {delicious} calories, and not getting enough sleep. 
Well that stops now. 

via

I have a few goals set for January, all of which are meant to help us detox from the holidays! 

{Be Active}
 It's getting to be a cold dark winter here in Boston, making it easy to want to sit inside and be sedentary. But I want to get both of us moving at least 3x a week this month. If you saw what I got for Christmas, then you already know that I have a new pair of skis waiting to be used, plus we have a local ski pass. I'm hoping this gets us moving. 

{More Water}
The old adage of 8 glasses a day doesn't apply to everyone, but I know I'm not drinking enough. For months, I had gone without drinking carbonated beverages. But lately, it has been lots of juice, soda, and cocktails over the holidays, which has meant drinking less water. Time to get back on track. 

{A No-Buy Month Challenge}
We had a budget set for the holidays. Thankfully, we stayed on track with it. But over the course of December, we became accustomed to spending more than usual. Thus, we are doing a no-buy month challenge. If you aren't familiar with this, it is exactly as it sounds. Other than paying for the essentials like bills or buying groceries, you cut out any unnecessary expenses. We are a few days into this and it has been fun to tackle, but hard. It should be interesting to share the results at the end of the month. 

{80/20}
 I don't believe in diets and cheat days make absolutely no sense. They both set you up for failure. But something has to be done about the calorie intake from indulging in all the holiday foods. If 80% of our meals can be healthy this month, I will be happy.

Follow along for more from Making Restorations 

Bloglovin//Instagram//Facebook//Pinterest 

Linking up for monthly goals 

What I Got for Christmas 2015

Are you guys just sick of hearing about the holidays? No…ok good. Because after sharing what we gave for Christmas, it seemed only fitting that I squeeze in one last holiday post and share what I got for Christmas. So here we are.

I saw so many wish lists floating around, but I didn't ask Santa for anything. I didn't have anything I really wanted. Well nothing tangible anyway. So I was genuinely surprised by everything I received. That's the best part about gifts though. The surprise of it all. Not necessarily being surprised by the gift itself. Being surprised by how well my family and friends know me. They know me better than I know myself because they managed to give me all the things I didn't even know that I wanted…like these pretties. 

And I am excited that my little sister picked out this book for me. It's beyond perfect. Can't wait to settle in to read it with a cup of coffee in my new Starbucks travel mug. 
XOXO

I'm not sure what it says about me that people give me alcohol as a gift, but I'm more than ok with it. I love love love mini bottles of champagne. Anything in miniature is pretty adorable, but these are perfect because you don't have to worry about sharing. Also, how cute is the holiday koozie on the microbrew? 

Pairing up a few of my favorite things…champagne and stationary. This succulent calendar is my favorite. Succulents were the flowers at our wedding and they are scattered throughout our place. Plus, this note pad with the best quote. I'm smitten. 

\\\\

The clothes I received this year involved lots of fitness gear, which was needed. I've wanted this exact jacket for years. It feels as a warm as a down coat, but is as light as a cardigan. I didn't know it was available in this color…Ox Blood. Husband refers to it simply as "one of those colors you like". I love every color, but apparently my closet is dominated by the colors I like most…turquoise, coral, and ox blood. 

 Maybe I am kind of predictable. I've never met a bright color or an over-the-top pattern that I didn't like. Thankfully these running pants are really warm which is good because it's freezing out right now. And these shoes are the lightest weight things ever.  

 More clothing goodies…the cutest J Crew Ikat socks (turquoise and ox blood), a workout pullover, and the most adorable holiday leggings. 

 I love that I got these packing cubes for Christmas. Trust me, they will be much used. Leg warmers and lots of gift cards to J Crew and Starbucks. Plus a few missing from the pic, a restaurant gift card we already used plus a few visa gift cards I'm hoarding away for trips. 

I didn't receive my last gift until we came back to New England. And this one involved some very sneaky elves. My in-laws shipped a pair of cross-country skis and boots here. Then Husband intercepted them and stored them in his office. They were all in kahoots! 
This is the best gift and we have already gotten our season passes for our local ski course. 

Minus all the candy that I already devoured, this is everything I received for Christmas. Even with this being so popular, I really debated whether or not I should share what I got for Christmas. My biggest fear was that I would come off as bragging, but then I realized that anyone who knows me well and follows along here wouldn't think that. I was also worried about encouraging comparisons. But every situation is unique and there is no way to compare. I feel incredibly blessed for everything I received, especially because I didn't expect any of it. I hope everyone had a merry christmas.

Follow along for more from Making Restorations 

Bloglovin//Instagram//Facebook//Pinterest   

Ringing in 2016: New Years Resolutions

As I definitely learned in 2015, you can make all the plans your little heart desires but still have very little control over how things will go. Even still…more than anything I feel an urge to set some resolutions for myself...guide lines for how I want my year to go. I realize that my path may change throughout the course of this year and some things may become less relevant. But for now, I know what I want. I have been thinking on these for a while now. So here goes 2016...

>>organize and back-up my photos: I am the worst ever. Husband and I go on these amazing adventures where we take high quality photos with our DSLR. Then we come home and take the time to edit them in photoshop. While many go up on our walls or get shared here, I haven't been backing up my photos. In the past, I never felt a need to. But in the past year, we experienced some life changing adventures and I would be devastated if I lost those. 

>>Vote: With 2016 being a presidential election year, I hope that this is on everyone's to do list

>>Return to regular devotionals

>>Establish a night time routine…I have insomnia so the fact that I don't have an established routine is unacceptable. Winding down and getting to sleep will be a lot simpler for me if I get this done. 

>>Brush up on my Spanish…this is a hint of things to come 

>>Get moving 3x a week: I know that this one is a cliche but I think this is doable for me. I made a similar resolution for 2015 and I lost 20.2 pounds last year. While I wouldn't mind trimming a few more pounds off my waistline, my goals for getting moving are much more motivated on living a healthy lifestyle. 

>>Step away….from my phone. This is a big pet peeve of mine with others, but sometimes I'm guilty of this too. I want to put my phone down and focus on being present. 

>>Never give up a chance to try something new 

>>Adventure often

>>Be more honest: It's not that I'm going around lying to people non-stop. More so that I'm keeping a lot of things to myself. This year I want to make an effort to be more outward with what I'm thinking. It may be uncomfortable, but I'm tired of keeping things inside simply because I'm afraid.

Follow along for more from Making Restorations 

Bloglovin//Instagram//Facebook//Pinterest