Happy holidays! We closed the flower shop for a little break between Christmas and the new year. It took a few days to shush the part of my brain that whispered, “you should be at work,” but now I’m fully marinated in the R&R. (This is one of the struggles of owning a small business: you’re desperate for time off; then you spend it worrying about what you’re missing.)

It’s been a perfectly lovely holiday staycation. I deep-cleaned the house, hosted holiday dinners for our parents, took a day trip to Tampa with C — where I contemplated stealing a set of zebra-upholstered chairs — and spent a lot of time thinking about my goals for the ’20s. Now there’s a bottle [or two] of Prosecco chilling in the fridge, and I’m ready to ring in the new year in my yoga pants on the couch while catching up on the second season of Killing Eve.

Can you believe tomorrow kicks off a new decade? I keep seeing memes that say, “I still think 1990 was ten years ago,” and, “when I think about ’30 years ago’ I think 1970.” I’m glad I’m not the only one. My 20th high school reunion is in three short years, and if I think about this too much my brain might actually explode.

But 2020 marks lots of great milestones, too! Like the 15th anniversary of my first date with C; 10 years of experience in the floral industry; 8 years of small business ownership; and a decade of blogging about what I love and what I wear. (Some years more diligently than others.)

As we prepare to say adieu to the 2010s, an old-fashioned ‘taking stock‘ list feels like the perfect way to round them out!

Making : mental lists of the blog posts I want to write in the new year. Including: a reset of my low-buy from 2019; a breakdown of all the skin care products I finished this year; and a return to my real-life weekday outfit roundups.
Drinking : This vanilla cold brew concentrate mixed with oat milk. (Also a lot of wine in the last week.)
Watching : Scrubs on Hulu — I never watched it when it originally aired — and the aforementioned second season of Killing Eve. C and I just started Atlanta as well, and we’re loving it. If you’re looking for new shows to dive into, the cohosts of The Watch podcast rounded up their top 10 television series of the decade.
Reading : Ninth House by Leah Bardugo (magical, occult non-fiction that I’m just diving into) and Save Me The Plums by Ruth Reichel (a lovely memoir about Reichel’s time at the helm of Gourmet magazine). Both were recommendations from another favorite podcast, Bad On Paper, which is co-hosted by Grace at The Stripe.
Enjoying : hosting little dinner parties and get-togethers. C and I stopped having people over when we took over the flower shop — during those early years we were too exhausted and broke to entertain, lol — and then I think I turned it into a Big Stressful Thing in my head. I’ve loved cooking and sharing quality time with our parents around our tiny dining table during the holidays, and we’re setting a goal to open our cozy little home to family and friends more often.
Listening : to the Bitch Sesh archives from 2017-2018. Casey and Danielle have been excellent company during the break and I always enjoy a walk down Real Housewives memory lane.
Loving : the perfectly-petite vintage 90s Louis Vuitton ‘Speedy’ bag my mom gave me as a totally unexpected 35th birthday/Christmas gift. I’m typically not a designer bag person, but I’m totally smitten with it and know it will be a closet staple for years to come.
Smelling : our Christmas tree! Waste services won’t pick her up until next week, which is the perfect excuse to enjoy our Christmas decorations and lights for just a bit longer.
Wearing : an oversized white cotton button-down with high-waisted jeans and slip-on mules almost daily during this vacation. (I really love a uniform.)
Feeling : optimistic and excited about 2020. If I had to pick one word to sum up the last decade, it would be growth. From building our business to learning/growing/maturing personally, it’s been an amazing journey surrounded by the most supportive, wonderful people. If the ’20s are half as good, we’ll be a-okay.

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope to see you around here a lot more in 2020. 💕