The only thing better than a brand new month is a brand new month that starts on a Monday, am.i.right? It’s like a clean slate/fresh start double whammy. And to make things even better, this brand new month just so happens to be December, which means we’re heading into one of the best times of the year. Woo! And because it’s a brand new month, it’s time to take a look at like as I currently know it 😀
. – . – . – .
Current book: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I’ve read this book… I wanna say twice(??)… already, but I randomly picked it up when I was in need of something to read one night, and it sucked me in all over again. I’ve already done a review on it so I won’t go into too much detail here, but I will say that if you’ve never read it, you need to change that stat.
Current music: I’m still obsessed with I See Fire by Ed Sheeran, but this time it’s a remixed version by La Belle Musique…
[youtube=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWYp1xRPH5g&w=576&h=315″]
I seriously, seriously love both versions of this song and I’ll often have it playing on repeat as background music when I’m either writing, studying, or doing things around the house. So relaxing. And it never fails to put me in a good mood. That being said, I have a feeling I’ll be switching over to Christmas music very soon…
Current guilty pleasure: Baking (and eating) lots and lots of Christmas goodies…
Current nail colour: I got tired of giving the same answer for this question (read: Sally Hansen’s Hard as Nails nail strengthener) month after month after month, so I decided to paint my nails just so I could give you a different answer. Voila!
That would be… err… just a sec because I have no idea *runs to get bottle.* Okay. That would be Vilano Vanilla by No Miss Cosmetics — a random polish I picked up from the health food store and kind of fell in love with. I love how it gives my nails a gorgeous iridescent sheen while still being subtle enough to not make chips overly noticeable. Actually, it’s been pretty good at sticking to my nails and not chipping in general. Yippee!
Current drink: Starbucks Christmas Blend with a sprinkle of cinnamon. I’ve made Starbucks a daily habit again (oops), but in my defence, coffee shops are infinitely more irresistible when it’s cold and dark outside. So cozy. And caffeine saturated.
Current food: Smoothies. And if you’re saying, “But Amanda, those count as a drink” then you obviously haven’t tried one of my smoothies. If you can slurp it up with a straw, you’re doing it wrong.
Current obsession: ALL things Christmas!!! I put up [most] of my Christmas decorations yesterday, which means we’re in full-blown Christmas mode over here.
Current wish: That my Christmas list would write itself. This is seriously my least favourite part of Christmas every year because I can never think of anything that I want… which I guess means that I have everything I need. Which I guess is a good thing. Actually…
Current need: An stylish oversized toque (read: beanie). ‘Tis the season for covering bad hair days with toques, but the only ones I have are the more sporty ones that I use for snowboarding, which don’t always go with my dressier outfits. I need a baggy knit toque. In grey. With a faux-fur pom pom. Yes.
Current triumph: Not dying on the roads… or losing my cool, for that matter. I’m not afraid of driving on icy, snowy, wintery roads, but I am afraid of other people driving on icy, snowy, wintery roads. And while I can understand their need to drive 30 kph (20 mph), please… please shuffle over to the slow lane so that those of us who don’t want to be part of a slow moving caravan of potential fender benders can get free. A little consideration… that’s all I ask for. Well, that and maybe someone to sweep the snow off my car 😆
Current bane of my existence: Green bananas. Did you know that I’ve resorted to storing my bananas by the fireplace? In a brown paper bag, as per Meghan’s suggestion? This cold is doing nothing for my 4-5 banana a day habit. I can’t get them to ripen fast enough!
Current indulgence: A Christmas vacation to the Banff Fairmont Springs with the fam…
Rather than buy each other gifts this year, we decided to take a little Christmas trip to the mountains instead. And rather than stay in our usual hotels, we decided to make it extra special by staying in the Fairmont. I’ve never actually stayed there before, so I can’t wait to see what it’s like… especially around Christmas.
Current procrastination: For once, I’m not procrastinating on packing. Yippee! This time it’s browsing for a new desktop wallpaper when I should probably be working. Oops. But I think I found one…
Current blessing: I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Life.is.good. And even the not-so-good can end up being good if you just put the right spin on it. It’s all about perspective.
Current excitement: Two upcoming trips to the mountains! I’m 98.32% sure that I’ll be headed up to do some snowboarding this weekend, and then again with the family right before Christmas. Can.not.WAIT.
Current mood: Freaking GIDDY! WOO! Also a little tired. It’s getting late.
Current link: Yeaaaaaah I’ve got nothing for this one. Besides the usual Pinterest, Bloglovin, and WordPress combo, I really haven’t been spending a lot of time online.
Your turn! Give me your current:
1) … guilty pleasure.
2) … drink.
3) … need.
4) … procrastination.
5) … mood.
More places to find me!
E-mail — [email protected]
Twitter — runwithspoons
Facebook — runningwithspoons
Pinterest — runwithspoons
Instagram — runwithspoons
Bloglovin — runningwithspoons
1) … guilty pleasure: corn chips and salsa (always)
2) … drink: water (I’m boring)
3) … need: a massage
4) … procrastination: replying to emails
5) … mood: hungry (can we count that as a mood?)
Also – I found a super cute baggy toque at Anthropologie a couple of years ago (grey with a pom pom). They probably won’t have the same one but it’s worth checking out!
My current guilty pleasure is pumpkin pie! We had leftovers from Thanksgiving and I have been eating it every night after dinner.
Love The Name of the Wind! Kyle passed the book along to me to read last year after highly recommending it and it was a fun read. And GIRL. You better believe I’ve been obsessing over Ed Sheeran lately. I play him on repeat in the car and I See Fire is one of my go-to songs. So intense and I love how it builds up slowly. I’ve never heard it with the remix, but I’ll make sure to listen to it once I get out of class (let’s just pretend I’m not reading blogs in my neurobiology lecture… 😉 ).
And don’t even get me started on Mr. Buble. His voice is like honey 😯
😆 Those were the exact words I used when I last spoke about him. And don’t worry — catching up on Bloglovin was one of my favourite in-class activities as well 😉
……Can I come for Christmas vacation? Purrty please.
So I always say if you need a spoon to drink a smoothie, you’re doing it wrong. Oops. I think I finally found our opposites. It was bound to happen one day. Guess this is it for us….. just kidding.
I’m excited for your mountain getaways. So much goodness in December….including a certain someone’s birthday, am I right? No wait, I’m fairly certain it’s early January.
Current mood: caffeinated. Yes, it’s totally a mood. Work with me.
It’s early January 😉 But I’m not sure we can continue our communication given the smoothie situation. That’s a real deal breaker…
Sounds like life is good for you right now! Sadly I have yet to get my Christmas stuff up, but that’s hopefully going to be rectified soon! Christmas music however? Not so much. I like it don’t get me wrong [unless its frosty the snowman] but I’ve got to be reallllly in the mood for it. Which means its basically got to be the week of Christmas 😉
1) … guilty pleasure… Nutcracker shaped Snickers 😉 So good!
2) … drink… Sparkling cranberry juice #lame
3) … need… I don’t think I have any needs right now – that’s a good thing 🙂
4) … procrastination… Gchat. It’s the bane of my existence.
5) … mood… Relaxed. Although I should be anxious given that I need to have all Christmas packages mailed in a few weeks!
I’m so jealous of your upcoming Christmas trip! I want so badly to have a white Christmas but all of the places around me (Yosemite and Tahoe) are outrageously expensive.
My current mood is tired. I need another vacation day! 😉
My current guilty pleasure is totally Gilmore Girls on Netflix.
That is such a good idea to go to the Banff springs with the family! It is so beautiful at Christmas time (and all the time). Make sure you go for the buffet brunch at least once while you are there – so good!
1) … guilty pleasure – GOSSIP GIRL. My fiance got me season one for my bday and we literally spent all day yesterday watching. Yes, even he’s sucked into it.
2) … drink – all the water to beat the post thanksgiving bloat. But more exciting, I tried Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea last night for the first time. Heaven.
3) … need – to pee. From drinking all the water. (TMI??)
4) … procrastination – christmas shopping for my best friend. You would think since we’ve been best friends since 3rd grade, it would be so easy to find something for her. You would be wrong 🙁
5) … mood – so, so happy. I had a fantastic Thanksgiving and birthday, and I’m in full blown Christmas mode. Life is good 🙂
Gossip Girl is one of my FAVOURITE shows! You’re seriously going to fall in love with it even more the further in you go 😀 And if only they sold Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride in Canada 😡
I FINALLY unpacked enough to locate my cute toques this weekend. Yay!
What a great way to spend Christmas with your fam. I loooove The Fairmont – it’s gorgeous 🙂
Confession: I cannot stand Michael Buble in any form. Regular music or Christmas music. shudder.
Also: you’re in the mountains this weekend?! I may come crash your hotel room.
You’re more than welcome to if you’re willing to drive to Jasper 😛
Guilty pleasure…lots of junkie Bravo TV
Food…Smoothies
Mood…A little bit of everything. Excited to go home for Christmas…Also a little lonely, but those feelings comes in waves.
Drink…Yummy red wines on cool nights
Need…Nothing right now although a nice handbag would be good! Still haven’t found anything that I love!
You reminded me that I need to dig out my Christmas album from last year that I never opened … whoops.
My current link would have to be my *self-hosted blog* 😀 I officially have a .com now! 🙂
That’s so awesome, Liz! You’re going to love it!
Yes I love that December starts on a Monday! Such a fresh start after all that Thanksgiving food…
Haha one of my old housemates was from Canada and I loved that she called hats ‘toques’. But I had no idea that was how you spell it
The first time I heard someone refer to it as a beanie, I seriously thought they were talking about Beanie Babies 😆
The show Community is my current guilty pleasure. I could seriously watch it back to back….to back! OMG the Buble xmas CD is the only one my boyfriend accepts for holiday jams!! It’s sooooooo good.
Ooh everyone needs a knit hat with a Pom Pom! I have been looking for one for ages but have yet to find a hat that suits my short hair 🙁
Current…
1) guilty pleasure – Christmas FM – yep a radio station that is non stop Christmas songs!
2) drink – yogi Christmas tea collection – especially the choco tea!
3) need – more time to enjoy Christmas! These next 24 days will go so fast!
4) procrastination – Amazon Lightning deals…!
5) mood – HAPPY and excited!
Ohhhh you are going to LOVE the Springs! Are you staying on the Gold Floor? MAKE SURE YOU VISIT THE SPA (mineral pools!)
On another note, I bought Revlon colorstay foundation as per your recommendation. So far so good! I haven’t tried drugstore foundation in years because they always make my skin look cakey and weird, but this one is great! Thanks friend!!!
Gold Floor? Aaahhhh I’m not sure? But I don’t think so. Should I be? 😯
Wow! It looks so Christmassy there (albeit extremely cold) no wonder you get excited now, even with just over 3 weeks to go!
Can’t wait until Lynne puts our tree up on Saturday. I would put it up but apparently I “do it wrong” 😉
Happy times! 😀
😆 My mom used to say that to my dad all the time, so now he just sits on the couch and “oversees” the entire operation 😉
I think I said it last year, but I seriously love your Christmas tree. Oh, and Michael Buble and Christmas go together like pb and J……only more like AB and J for you 😉
4-5 bananas PER DAY?! That’s awesome! I’m currently procrastinating a paper I have due right before finals, so better get on that 🙂
I am definitely guilty of an almost daily Starbucks habit these days. I just can’t not get all the holiday lattes!
Love it! The fam vacation looks like it will be fantastic, or at least beautiful!
Currently…
1) Guilty pleasure of Christmas treats
2) Drinking peppermint mochas.
3) Need to quit eating so many Christmas treats (my “balance” is balancing one in each hand).
4) Procrastinating running – just not feeling it these days.
5) Happy but tired. So, lazy?
Beautiful tree my dear and when are we getting that recipe? I saw those on on Instagram and was drooling.
They’ll be up in about a week 😀
Driving in the snow is one thing I do NOT miss from Utah. 😉
That family vacation you have planned sounds amazing!!! What a great idea to do that rather than gifts. I’m all about extra quality time with those you love.
The Banff Springs! That’s a great idea for Christmas. Really spending time with family is better than presents. I’ve always wanted to stay there. You for sure have to go skating.
I’m totally with you on Christmas lists. It’s like when I’m shopping I see tons of things I like but when someone asks me for a list I’m completely stumped as to what I want.
Bahhh the Fairmont in Pittsburgh is our favorite hotel!!! We stayed there again last weekend (thank you credit card points) and Joe had to drag me home kicking and screaming because I didn’t want to leave. Everything about it is just sooo nice…the people, the beds, the showers….I could happily pull an Eloise there!
guilty pleasure…biting my nails while watching the latest hobbit trailer on repeat
drink…tea
need…a date for our house closing…preferably this week
procrastination….calling my flower girls’ mom to see if we’re still going to pick out their dresses in 2.5 hours
mood…sleepy…it’s cloudy and chilly here and I just want to stay in bed reading and watching The Good Wife all day
Gah! How freaking excited are you for The Battle of the Five Armies?! December 17th can’t come soon enough!
Your tree is so pretty! I have a thing about months starting on a Monday, too. It just makes my OCD mind so happy haha. My current drink is my office coffee topped off with peppermint mocha creamer. Not super exciting, actually. I’ve been loving peppermint tea lately, though.
I haven’t made cake truffles in a while (I think that’s what your picture is?)… I love them, totally love them and even used to make them look like little cupcakes using a candy mold to shape them. So time consuming that way though. I only do it when an occasion calls for it (or if someone pays me lol).
They’re actually gingerbread cookie truffles, and these were the first I’ve made in forever. I seriously need to start making more though, because they’re freaking gooooood.
Believe it or not, I’ve never head of the Starbucks Cinnamon blend!! I must try!
Your blog is ALL Christmas, lady. Love it.
Wow!! Your Christmas tree is SO pretty! I’m jealous. Mine is not nearly as wonderful! I am now motivated to continue my decorating!!
Confession: pre-lit trees are ab absolute godsend.
Gagging at the thought of green bananas….gagging even at the thought of YELLOW bananas! I gotta have my bananas 70% brown at the least. The mushiness….UMF.
And right now I’m so Christmas-ed up that it’s getting sickening. It wasn’t even December yet and I had to watch Elf two days ago, and that means that Christmas is officially here! God, it doesn’t get any better, I swear.
I’m so spotty banana deprived… you have no idea 😥
NO! I have a yellow-spotted banana (it’s so ripe that it’s base is black) that I just threw in the fridge; I’ll cut it in half and we can share it! Don’t spend your half all on ome place though….or do….I totally understand.
I so <3 y'all Christmas trip vs Christmas gifts idea!!! I've been trying to get my mom and sis on board – but my mom hasn't budged yet! If I lived up there – I would be one of those people who drove 20mph on them icy roads – that's why those rare times when it snows or ices over here in Atlanta I stay put as in I go NOWHERE! So lame eh? 🙂
Your tree looks wonderful – love the brown and gold combo – I love how a decorated tree can just change the mood in a home! Happy Monday lady – hope your week is off to a GREAT start!
Happy Monday to you as well, Shashi! And Happy December! 😀
I really want a hot toddy right now, for unknown reasons. We put up our little baby tree and decorations this weekend and it makes me soooo happy! Although there is someone across the way from us who has epilepsy-inducing lights up, and that needs to stop…
If it makes you feel any better, they’re doing some bridge construction a few blocks from my place and they work through the night so they’ve got lights on that make it look like it’s daytime. Very hard to sleep.
Just reading your post makes me wish I was in a coffee shop. I’ve been enjoying baking, maybe a little too much! 🙂 I really need to check out that book….will do that now!
The only reason I know about the “toque” is through Lululemon, cultured as I am 🙂 but I agree! I’m going to take your book recommendation too since I need something non running and food related to read! I also agree smoothies with a spoon are where it’s at, and I’m getting really excited about holiday baking 🙂 Especially what YOU are baking!
Current procrastination: studying for finals. That I have tomorrow. oops hahaha ugh I need to come to Canada for some snow!!!
Haha imagine taking your car and adding a mound of snow all around it, and then you’ll have my digging out experience. I am not looking forward to that this year! My current need is a giant blanket scarf! I just discovered what those were a few days ago and now I have to have one – in plaid!
Oh I’ve had plenty of those car digging experiences in my time 😆 That’s why I was big on having underground parking when I was in the market for a new place!
Just reading your blog post makes me cold. That is one thing I do not miss at all from Upstate NY (let alone where you live). We have been loving Holiday goodies here (just not ones I bake because…well you know…I don’t bake).