Welcome to the last few days of January, friends! I hope this month has been filled with all the dreams and anticipation that a new year brings. Or if this month has simply been one to come up for air after the holidays, I hope you are beginning to catch your breath.
This post is the first in a new monthly series for us at Basil + Tate that we’re calling The Good List. While it can be easy to get caught up in the social media scroll — staring at houses and lives that always seem to be bigger and better than our own — I wanted to create a series that focuses more on the important stuff in life.
Yes, it’s true that we love pretty houses, but pretty houses are what we do. They aren’t just who we are. The stuff that happens within those walls will always be more important than what is on those walls. That’s why each month, I want to show up here — between the posts about the latest home accessories, how-to design ideas, and project reveals — with The Good List.
So while we may occasionally post about our new favorite kicks or the latest hair product we are loving — we’re mostly focusing on the good stuff in life — the things that fill our cups and help us connect more with ourselves and the people we love. It’s just one more way we are trying to #spreadgoodness here at Basil + Tate. So here goes…
The Good List
one | new year’s eve
We’re suckers for tradition at our house. I love that once you find some good ones, you don’t feel like you need to reinvent the wheel every year. Our New Year’s Eve tradition for the past many years has been to do a fondue dinner. We. Love. Cheese.
The meal itself has evolved a bit over the years. I used to think dinner needed to consist of something more than just cheese and chocolate, but I’ve since given up on that ridiculous notion. Dinner should ONLY be cheese and chocolate. Am I right?!
And I used to think we needed to have a large assortment of dippers to make it feel like a well-rounded meal. I gave up on that, too. Bread needs cheese. Bananas need chocolate. Period. Okay… we’ve slid a few more dippers in than that, but the bread and bananas have my whole heart.
TWO | 10th birthday celebration
My baby girl turned ten this month. TEN.10. T-E-N. Double digits.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around this. I’ve gone through all of the emotions. They range from ‘Hallelujah! Only eight more years and she’ll be on her own!’ to full-blown panic attacks and uncontrollable sobs wailing ‘OMG. I only have eight more years until she is on her own!’ I’ve never experienced so many extremes until I became a mother.
Cheers to 10 years of riding the emotional rollercoaster called motherhood… and a bigger cheers to my baby girl becoming a tween! We had so much fun celebrating her — check it out here.
THREE | YOU CAN’T MAKE OLD FRIENDS
Some of you may have seen me on IG waxing poetic about SkinnyTaste’s Meal Prep Cookbook. I am not one to buy a lot of things, but cookbooks are a weak spot for me, so I’m pretty picky about which ones I have.
Whenever possible, I check them out from the library first to decide if it’s worthy enough to replace an old one — ‘one in, one out’ — always. That’s what I had done with the Meal Prep cookbook, and I confessed on IG that I hadn’t purchased it yet… I was just testing our ‘no late fees’ library policy by having it for over three months. #facepalm
A few days later, an Amazon box showed up with a SkinnyTaste cookbook and a ‘Happy Cooking’ message from a high school friend I rarely get the chance to connect with these days. How cute is that?! It totally made my day and reminded me of Ben Rector’s song ‘You Can’t Make Old Friends.’ I’m so grateful for the friends and memories I made through my childhood — some of those bonds just can’t be broken. Thank you for the reminder, Katy!
Let me also note that after that post, I received a copy of the SkinnyTaste Meal Prep cookbook from another friend. Maybe the real moral of this story is: ‘Post your wishlist on social media… and you shall receive!’ Ha — totally kidding! But I am super excited about both cookbooks and highly recommend!
four | RESOLUTIONS
My husband, Nick, is huge on New Year’s Resolutions. I’m medium. I really like the idea, but I hate that it feels like I’m usually adding to my already full plate — and that feels overwhelming.
Over the years, I’ve just learned to lower my expectations. Maybe those aren’t the right words… maybe I’ve learned to be better about setting reasonable expectations. Yes, that’s it.
One of the things that I failed at last year was journaling. I love the idea of a journal, but it always felt too big. However, I was IG ~influenced~ and bought Jenna Kutcher’s How Are You, Really? journal, and I’ve already journaled more in these first few weeks of the year than I have in my entire lifetime.
The concept is super simple — rate how you are feeling on a scale of 1-10 each day, write 3 things you need to get done and/or 3 things you are grateful for, and then write a few sentences. It literally takes me 5 minutes each morning before I start working and gives me a chance to check in with myself. So far, the simplicity of it is working for me and I’m really enjoying it.
FIVE | CRESTED BUTTE, CO
I must confess. I had this post written before we took off for Crested Butte and it was all about how much I love the outdoors but hate skiing. However, I had to rewrite this section because I actually enjoyed skiing this year! The boys love to ski, but my daughter Kate and I only agree to go once a year because it’s usually a fairly miserable experience for the two of us.
This year may have been a game-changer though. Kate is getting better… which changes her attitude… which changes my attitude. She claimed this year, “I love skiing!” and I about fell over. While I don’t know that I’m claiming to ‘love’ skiing, I really did enjoy it. It is a lot of work though — the trip to the mountain, hauling all of the gear, getting to and from the lift walking in ski boots — yuck. But when I’m actually on the mountain, I kinda like it and the scenery is just so pretty.
This was our first time to Crested Butte, and that lil’ ski town did not disappoint. The snow and icicles hanging from the cute buildings was about as picturesque as it gets. It was the wintery-est town I’ve ever visited — we were just waiting for Elsa and Anna to join us. :) We ate at yummy restaurants, wandered through the shops, and hung out in the lobby of the hotel and played games as a family. I love this stage of parenting we’re in. The kids are big enough to make traveling fun, and they still love hanging out with us. These kinds of weekends are what I live for.
Thanks for reading this month’s Good List — Until next time,
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