The Life On Purpose Movement

Declutter your life to make room for JOY

What I’m into – December Edition

this and that / by

what i'm into

  • I can’t stop thinking about this article. I want to be mentally strong and raise children who are resilient.
  • I recently bought this top in asphalt heather. Paired with leggings, it is the perfect mom uniform. Easy wear for busy days. (I bet I’d also love this pullover in black.)
  • We bought a living Christmas tree this year. It’s small, but the best part is that after Christmas we’ll plant it on the hillside near our building. We’ve managed this complex for five years, and when we eventually leave, we look forward to being able to drive back by in the years to come to see how our tree is growing. (Fingers crossed it doesn’t die in the first six months!)
  • I’m mildly obsessed with this multigrain bread recipe. It makes the perfect breakfast—toasted and smeared with creamed honey—on a chilly morning.
  • Speaking of chilly, here in the Bay area we’re having the cold apocalypse! Highs in the low 50s? Real, live FROST on windshields? This is not the California I know and love! If we go to Utah for Christmas, I make no guarantees that I will leave the house at any point…or the fireplace. 🙂
  • For Thanksgiving weekend we drove up to Portland for my cousin’s wedding. It was SO fun to celebrate with cousins, aunts and uncles, parents, grandparents, and SISTERS (as pictured below). Also, I’d like a homemade photo booth at all future events that I attend.

wedding crazies

  • If you still need a gift idea for a fun-loving man in your life, I highly suggest a two-handed kite (like this one). My husband has one, and we take it out all the time and have so much fun with our boys. It’s not your average kite. It’s enough of a challenge to keep a grown man interested. 🙂 
  • I would not be a good friend if I didn’t introduce you to this blog. As Shana says, it is a “fashion and lifestyle blog for moms who know motherhood is the coolest job out there and who like to look and feel their best doing it.” Not only is her writing hilarious, but it’s so focused on normal moms. Moms with little pooches from having babies, moms who nurse, etc. AND this girl has overcome cancer in the last year and still stays so positive. It’s inspiring.

Have a great week, everyone! I enjoyed linking up (for my first time) with Leigh Kramer’s What I’m Into! If you have a second, tell me one thing you’ve been into lately!

Tweet
Pin
Share
0 Shares

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Leigh W.

    We got our first living Christmas tree this year, too! I had never had one before. We went to a mountainside, picked it out, and then the people working there cut it down and strapped it to the top of our car. What an adventure!

    I loved the outfit you wore to the wedding. The shoes made it! Glad it was such a fun time with family.

  4. Rachel T.

    I’m in love with those photo booth pictures of us! And how fun that you have a real Christmas tree and are going to plant it.

    I wish I was in to more in my life right now other than packing/moving. Blah. I can’t wait for it all to be over and to start feeling like Christmas! (after this weekend…)

  5. Alison

    I am totally excited to try the multigrain bread recipe! It looks so tasty. I might have to triple it though! And it is so cool that you bought a live tree!

    • Erica - Let Why Lead

      Yeah – we go through the single loaf in a sitting! So I always want to double it too, but my kitchenaid mixer isn’t big enough. (Do you have something bigger?) Btw, the boys and I shared a hazelnut steamer today from Starbucks, and I definitely think I want to make them at home, as you described. I can see what you mean about how they make everything better. 🙂 Agreed! Thanks for that tip!

    • Erica - Let Why Lead

      Thanks, Susan! I liked her white outfits too. Totally classes but still fun! And the bread is a definite keeper. It’s pretty easy but so good warm. There’s no sugar in it (as I remember), so sometimes I add a couple of tablespoons of honey to the dough, but I don’t think I can actually tell a difference, because in the end, I eat it with honey drizzled on top anyway. 🙂

      Hope you’re enjoying the season, Susan!

  7. Emily Smith // The Best of this Life

    I need a top like that, looks so comfy! I like thumb cut-outs 🙂 The wedding photo booth is so sweet and such a great idea for events. Lately….I’m into Almond Roca (I’ve made 3 batches), baby girl – everything, doing crafts with my Little Man, and sleep. 🙂

  9. Leigh Kramer

    Love that you’re planting your Christmas tree! That’s such a fantastic idea. I’m going to try that bread recipe soon.

    I had to chuckle about your Bay area weather woes, as it is currently 20 degrees here in Nashville. Unseasonably cold for us. Want to trade? 😉

    • Erica - Let Why Lead

      Hi Leigh! Sorry I’ve been slow responding to you comment, but I wanted to say thank you! I have a good friend who moved to Nashville a couple of years ago, and it has definitely piqued my interest in your city. She loves it, and it seems like a fantastic place to live. (MINUS the 20-degree cold front you’ve been enduring!)

      Hope it warms up for you SOON! Have a great 2014!