Life Lately + Weekend Links

Whoo. Hi. Happy December. How is it December? And how is it December 8th? Are you ready for the holidays? I am most certainly not. Chris and I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Oregon to visit my brother and before that, I was in LA for a team offsite for work. Traveling between Thanksgiving and Christmas always makes this time go by so much faster, don't you think? Add to that apartment hunting, more work, and the general business of everyday lives... and yeah... so not ready for this holiday stuff. But this weekend we're cat sitting for our friends in Portland (Maine... the original!) so I'm hoping to find some cute holiday cards to send out (definitely did no get our shit together to order photo cards this year) and maybe even a gift or two if I'm lucky. I hear there's a pretty rad craft fair happening at Thompson's Point (Picnic... anyone been?) and I'm planning on a trip to Becky's, too.

Truth be told, I've been feeling a bit off kilter the past month or so and last week's trip to LA and Oregon felt like the reset I needed. As much as I love it here, I'm also a creature of habit and the sudden shakeup of my routine affected me more than I would have expected. no longer being down the street from my gym... no longer living down the street from one of my best friends... and the realities of living back home again, however temporary... and living in the WOODS... it's been tough on body and mind. I miss having my own space and I miss having radical and inspiring friends around me. I always feel as though I need to follow these missives up with "But we love it! And we knew what we were getting into!" – the fact of the matter is, every decision is multi-sided. I know we made the right decision in coming back to Maine because I no longer wake with with crushing longing to be in a beautiful place – I now fall asleep with the moon and stars in full view, and walk Buster the golden retriever in the woods in the morning – but there were sacrifices made as well. Anyway... that's what things have looked like lately. In other news, we're expecting our first semi-serious snowfall tomorrow and I can't wait. Here's a few things that caught my eye this week:

This vintage kimono pajamas set would be an incredible gift for someone you really, really love.

I saw this cardigan on Mara and fell deeply in love (with the cardigan... Mara's cool too). Those sleeves! Too good.

In balancing work, freelance and other projects (along with being fairly high strung), I take stress management very, very seriously. I found this article to be a unique perspective on making stress work for you.

On my wishlist for December: a great velvet party dress, a par of rad well-treaded boots (these are my secret weapon for cool winter boots), and a classic car coat

Cup of Jo was one of the first blogs I started reading waaaay back in 2009 - So I loved reading this profile on Joanna

Speaking of velvet, this dress would be gorgeous for a holiday party

Worth reading in this climate: Running While Female (Related and important: Why women are morbid)

Unexpectedly fell in love with this perfume... it smells so clean and elegant, even my mom likes it, and she's not a perfume lady

I'm sure you've seen this already, but... welcome to hell

Love the color of this faux-fur jacket so much (and it's 40% off right now) ... this sweater too

How lovely is this gorgeous handmade pourover? I've been doing a lot of pourover coffee lately with my reusable filter and love it.