HOLIDAY STYLE + WINTER TO-DO LIST

With Halloween behind us and a couple little trips lined up, I’ve naturally been spending a lot of time looking at my calendar and planning out my multitasking strategy to manage: blog, life, wife and dog-mom duties ..the list goes on.. when I found myself counting down to Christmas! It always seems so far away but the holidays always go so quick. This year I really want to slow down, be prepared, present and enjoy every moment with our families. I’m normally running on low, rushing around, half-assing it all, around this time of year (hello burnout), but this past year I’ve taken so much better care of myself and I think it’s also helped me become a more organized person in general. Instead of leaving everything until last minute I’m planning ahead. Simple, but not always easy.

One of my favourite things about the holiday season is dressing the part. Before you know it the calendar will quickly fill with holiday cocktail parties, work functions and holiday gatherings and there’s NOTHING more frustrating than having nothing to wear for the occasion. I especially loved pulling this look together because it layers so nicely for winter and allows to be styled a couple different ways helping your dollar go further.

This past weekend we had a storm roll through bringing with it an ‘arctic front‘, which can only be described as it sounds – ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE. However, this wool blend coat came to the rescue so I could look at least a little more together on the outside than I was on the inside! Scroll down for 10 things on my Winter To-Do List:

Oatmeal Wrap Coat | Quilt Chain Backpack | Ribbed Knit | Tweed Skirt | OTK Boots, not available online. Available in-store at Ever New | Pom Pom Beanie

10 things I’m looking forward to this winter:

1. Our first Christmas with Xavi! It’ll be so fun having him around through the holidays this year. He’s the ultimate movie snuggle buddy.
2. Upcoming trips: we’ve got a couple little getaways planned over the next few months which we’re really looking forward to — more to come on that.
3. Getting our tree: it’s tradition to visit the Christmas tree farm every year & pick out a real tree. Hopefully we can teach Xavi that this tree is not for grabbing sticks from, but only for decoration, wish us luck!
4. Decorate for Christmas: I love to give our space a bit of a re-fresh through the seasons, so I spent last weekend packing up all our Halloween decor/decorations for storage and brought out our Christmas decorations to put up.
5. Stanley Park Bright Lights: every year we visit the Bright Lights display in Stanley Park. Which, if you didn’t know is the most magical light display in the city. Over three million little twinkling lights are strung through Vancouver’s Stanley Park for Christmas. There’s hot cocoa, apple cider, sugar donuts and roasted chestnuts. All the traditions of Christmas rolled into one magical evening.
6. German Christmas Market: another one of our holiday favourites in Vancouver is the German Christmas Market at Jack Poole Plaza. Being of German heritage, I love visiting the Christmas Market, another good one to get into the spirit.
7. Quality time: the holidays are without a doubt my favourite because we get to slow down and spend quality time with our favourite people.
8. Holiday baking: I haven’t done much baking myself but it’s something I love to do for Christmas and something I really want to do more of this year. Already pinning and planning the recipes I want to try. I’m over on Pinterest here!
9. Cyber weekend sales: hoping to score some major deals on some things I need for our home + upcoming trips. Currently adding to my list, but I’ll share my tips on shopping the Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales in the next couple weeks.
10. Keeping active: I’ve outfitted my wardrobe with cold-weather workout options, so there are no excuses! But seriously, I’m excited to finish off the year strong by continuing with regular physical activity through the holidays (and not just starting on Jan 1st). I work hard to make sure I’m feeling good, and what I’ve learned about myself is that that starts in the gym. All the outer things fall into place for me when I’m focused on how I’m feeling and actively working towards my goals. Starting my days in the gym just helps centre my mood, lift my spirits, increase my energy, encourages more water + clean eating for the week ahead etc. I find I’m more alert, sharp, focused and on my game when I take the time to take care of ME! Didn’t mean to write a novel on #10, it’s just a topic I’m passionate about. Thanks for reading!

This post is in collaboration with Ever New Canada. As always, all opinions are my own.