Design books are not what I typically read, but House + Love = Home by Jenny Marrs was so much more than that. It’s an encouragement to live life intentionally, focusing on your family’s values and priorities. Not wasting time on things outside of those. 

We are in the midst of a bathroom overhaul (two leaks caused some major floor/ subfloor/ joist damage), and I also got some great design ideas from this book. 

House + Love = Home is a great read for anyone renovating or re-organizing a house!

I especially loved the essay on Resting. I read this book during the busyness of the Christmas season, so this really struck home for me. This year I tried to finish all Christmas present shopping before Thanksgiving, and I am so thankful I did. Even with that out of the way, the season still felt busy and overloaded at times. I’m definitely aiming to do this again in 2024!

We started a couple of other Christmas traditions this year that we loved!

We did a LEGO creator Winter Village build together- the 2023 building was a ski lodge complete with a light-up fireplace, an ice rink, and an outhouse 😂

I had also bought a Christmas DUPLO set for our daughter, which she liked, but she actually ended up being really good at regular LEGOs too. We just finished the ski lodge this past weekend!

The other new tradition was a family Advent study by Lifeway. It was wonderful! Easy prep, but impactful.

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