Happy Friday! We’re busy packing and getting ready to head out of town for the holiday, but before I go I wanted to share some links because it’s been a while!

Some Things I’m Loving Lately:

• My new planner—last year I got a smaller Day Designer for Blue Sky with a page for each day but this year I went with the larger size and a page for each week. I like seeing the whole week with one view.

• My Allbirds Loungers—I wear these things so often and I love that you can just throw them in the wash.

• Leslie Odom Jr.’s Christmas album on Spotify. I mean, come on.

• What a Child Can Teach You About Life and Love—this piece brought tears to my eyes.

• This holiday Google ad made me smile.

Last-Minute Gift Ideas:

• 23and Me is on Amazon Prime (I saw some at Target this week as well!)

• Anything from this lovely website—you won’t get it in time for Christmas but check it out if you’re doing a gift exchange later or just know someone who might appreciate a simple, personalized gift. I got a necklace with an S on it for Mother’s Day this year and have my eye on the birthstone rings as well—so pretty.

• I wrote a few cookbooks—just sayin’.

Current Wish List:

• Spanx Faux Leather Leggings—talk to me. Does anyone have these? Are they as amazing as they seem?

• I’ve been a little obsessed with these boots for too long—it might be time to pull the trigger in 2019.

• Sponsored: do any of you use a Waterpik? I never have but my idol/BFF Jonathan Van Ness swears by them and now I wonder if I need one.

Tomorrow night we’re having some friends over for snacks, cocktails, and a holiday movie and then on Sunday we’re off to Arizona to celebrate Christmas with Rob’s family! Safe travels to everyone on the road this weekend!

This post contains affiliate links.

A couple weeks ago I was invited to a holiday dinner event in Sausalito with Whole Foods, and while going to events like that on my own is usually way out of my comfort zone, I was so excited to meet some new people and enjoy a glass of wine or two with a waterfront view of San Francisco—I mean how bad could that be? And it really was as dreamy as I imagined it would be.

We usually just drive right through Sausalito on our way to Sonoma, so it was nice to stop and walk around a little on my way to Casa Madrona, the hotel and spa where the event was being held. I don’t get very much alone time these days so I really enjoyed every minute of the journey from my house to the hotel—it took about an hour so I made a latte before I left and spent my drive finishing up a couple half-listened-to episodes of Pod Save America and The Dream (is anyone else listening to The Dream? Holy cow—but I guess that’s a whole other blog post).

The party took place on a gorgeous terrace on one of the upper levels of the hotel, with hors d’oeuvre stations scattered throughout and a couple beautiful tables outside styled with truly lovely place settings. I was given a name tag, a glass of sparkling wine, and a little plate with an assortment of caviar upon walking through the door, and I was officially in relaxation mode. Cheese, oysters, persimmon toast, and that view! What more could you ask for on a Sunday evening in December?

When I lived in Charlotte I got to go to a lot of events with food and lifestyle bloggers, and it was always so nice to feel like I was part of that world. The Bay Area is so much bigger—it took me a long time to feel like I had a place here, and sometimes I’m still looking for it, so it really meant a lot to get to experience a fun media night with a bunch of other food-obsessed writers and photographers. I’m definitely an introvert, but sometimes I crave that sense of community. (Michelle from Nom Nom Paleo was there and I fangirled so hard I basically just ignored her all night. Maybe next time.)

The food was so good.

Dinner consisted of prime rib with horseradish cream, roasted acorn squash with maple and hazelnuts, potato gratin with truffles, cumin-spiced carrots, and some of the best flaky rolls I’ve ever had. I was too full for pie but snagged a cranberry white chocolate brown butter cookie before I left, which was so good (I also found a second one in my swag bag which didn’t last very long). Everything was so special and decadent that I almost forgot that I could re-create everything (or just buy those COOKIES!) from my local Whole Foods.

They also served a really interesting red wine at dinner that I actually plan to get for our own Christmas celebrations next week (I think it’s the Sean Thackrey Pleiades Red Blend but I’m going to double check to be sure—I think another taste is in order).

All in all, it was a pretty special night. I hadn’t really planned to write a full blog post about the event but these photos were just too beautiful not to share! And I really love the idea of beef for Christmas—if you’re celebrating the holiday, what’s on your menu for next week?

Thank you Facebook Marketplace for sponsoring this post. There’s something for everyone!

If you’ve been reading my blog for some time now, you might know that I’m constantly on a quest to simplify my life by simplifying our home. That started in my closet by getting rid of the clothes I no longer wear and only keeping the things I really love. (I haven’t started adding anything to my smaller wardrobe, though, which means most of the time you can find me in one of two or three sweaters.)

After I tackled my wardrobe, I moved on to our bedroom and got rid of all the clutter that was laying around on our dressers and bathroom counters. I found bags, watches, and other little knick knacks that were still in great condition, but I never wore or used anymore, so I started taking stock of it so I could sell it. I don’t know about you, but when I say “sell it,” I mean put it in a garbage bag and stick it in the corner for months until I can’t stand to look at it anymore, and then I drive it to a donation center because I never got around to listing any of it anywhere.

Luckily this summer, my friend Tina mentioned that she was getting hooked on browsing Facebook Marketplace listings and finding things she loved for their house and growing family, so when I got back home from a trip to visit her, I decided to finally check it out. Not only was there a ton of great stuff for sale, but I had finally found a platform that was easy to use to sell my own items that had been taking up space in my home and mind.

I’m a big advocate of trying to find stuff used before buying it new, especially when it comes to baby gear--we bought Sophie’s crib from a family who didn’t need it anymore, and my sweet aunt who has a collection of swaddles always let us borrow hers until we figured out what exactly worked for us. And while it’s not exactly a baby item, I was able to list and sell our old coffee table on Facebook Marketplace just a couple of days after I realized it wasn’t exactly conducive to a mobile baby who was excited to pull up onto everything (we knew we wanted to get a coffee table ottoman so she wouldn’t bump her head on it if she fell, but we were stalling because we didn’t know what to do with our current table).

It was seriously so easy to snap a few photos on my phone, upload them to Facebook Marketplace (without having to create a new account or anything, you can just use your existing profile), and start getting messages of inquiry from people whose profiles I could screen before responding. I met an interested buyer at a pizza place we frequent and she paid for the table and left with it--it was awesome.

Now I joke that nothing in our house is safe--I’ve already sold a watch to someone else and there are a couple more bags hanging out on my desk that I hope to get rid of soon. I was able to put the money I made on the coffee table towards a new, more kid-friendly piece of furniture, and we (me, Rob, Sophie, even Ender) really couldn’t be happier with it!

What will you find (or sell!) this holiday season?