Hello dear friends. Is your cup of cocoa ready? Or perhaps your hot cider? I just got back from the grocery store and stopped at Caribou on the way home, so I’m all set to snuggle in and write to you.

It’s already dark outside my windows. Rusty’s lying in front of the space heater, cocooned in his big blue and white sweater. We just bought him his very own plush bathrobe and hopefully it arrives soon – he would live in mine if I let him so we thought, he’s almost 7, he deserves his own. :) And then Paul’s on his way home, riding the bus and avoiding the traffic. After 10 years, I’m still always excited knowing I’m about to see him. 

I can’t type with the TV on or music with words playing the background, so instrumental Christmas music is serenading me as I write. I tried to hold back with the Christmas music but it makes me so happy and doesn’t seem to be ruining my Thanksgiving spirit, so I’d say I’m safe and can listen to my heart’s content. 

I have some fun updates to share with you! If you already follow me on Instagram, then you probably already know most of them, but just in case, hang out with me for just a little longer. :)

First, MY CALENDAR IS BEING SOLD IN A STORE!!! :) :) If you’re ever in the adorable lakeside town of Waconia, just 20 minutes West of Eden Prairie, go stop into Main St. Floral! Visit with Jennifer and buy yourself some fresh flowers and a calendar. ;) That whole town holds a special place in my heart; it’s right next to where our first home was and it was actually the first place we looked for houses. I love everything about Waconia, especially the downtown area; there’s plenty of lovely antique shops, my favorite is Waconia Trading Company which is where half our house is from, there’s an adorable coffee shop, ice-cream shop, a lighthouse-esque lakeside dining restaurant, a brewery, a small-town movie theater…the place has everything. Downtown Waconia is romantic and quaint no matter what season it is. So again, if you’re ever in the area, take an hour or so to enjoy the small-town charm of that beautiful area. And of course, go visit Main St. Floral (tell them I sent you!)

Second, the holidays are just around the corner, so I thought I would offer a helpful add-on to your calendar purchase. Now if you go to order a calendar on my shop, you have the option to add gift-wrapping for only $1. There are six different wrapping paper options, they’re all super cute with simple, clean patterns. Click here to visit the shop and get some Christmas gifts done early! ;)

Third, I’ve been working hard on the 2020 regular calendar (not the children’s yet), and I am loving it. It’s a tiny bit different from the 2019 calendar – the months are my hand-writing instead of watercolor letters, which I think makes it look more clean and uniform, and overall the illustrations seem a bit cleaner and less ‘busy’. Here an example below, inspired by our trip to Costa Rica last month – I hope you like it as much as I do. :)

What do you think?? The theme for the 2020 calendar is ‘Travel’ and I’ve already got the cover designed in my head – stay tuned, friends!!

And lastly, since it’s the holiday season and since you’ve all been with me since the dawn of time, I have a little gift for you. If you noticed the pop-up on your screen when you first arrived at my blog, then you’ll know you can sign up for my mailing list to receive a free download and discount for my shop! If you exited out of it without knowing exactly what it was and would like to sign up, no worries! Just delete your cookies in your internet settings and reload the page (if you exit the pop-up I don’t want to be annoying and keep on asking, which is why it will no longer pop-up in your face when you come to the blog), or you can simply comment with your email address saying you’d like to sign up and I’ll manually add you to my mailing list. I won’t send you spam and daily emails – I think that’s a bit overwhelming, don’t you? I’ll only email you when there’s new products in my store, when I’m offering a special limited discount, or there’s something else exciting on this side of the screen.

To make it even more difficult (just kidding, I hope), there’s also a place for you to subscribe strictly to see new blog posts. It’s on the right side of your screen and it says ‘Don’t Miss A Blog Post!’ You can simply enter your email underneath and hit ‘Sign Me Up’ and you’ll always get an email whenever I post a new post.

I added these two features because I don’t want to depend on social media to get the word out to you about my business. What happens if Facebook is even more difficult with their algorithms and only 5 people see my posts? Did you know I pay to have my posts advertised so you can see them on Facebook? It’s frustrating, but it’s the only way I get enough of you to see my posts and hopefully come on over here to the blog. The same goes with Instagram – there’s no guarantee you’ll see I’ve blogged unless Instagram’s algorithms allow it. If you sign up on the sidebar for blog posts, you’ll always hear from me without depending on Facebook or Instagram. If you sign up on the pop-up for announcements, you’ll never miss discounts or freebies or new calendars, etc. So, food for thought for those that are interested in staying in touch. :)

Okay, enough preaching! Want to see the free download you’ll get for signing up?? Look below. :) It’s my pumpkin pie recipe and place card templates for your Thanksgiving dinner, or really any dinner during the fall season. :) I’ve already got mine made for next week – we’re hosting Thanksgiving for the very first time and I’m so excited and terrified! We only need to get cranberries at the store and then I think we’ll be stocked. So nerve-wracking!! In a good way, of course. :)

Okay friends, it’s time to go cuddle with Paul, Rusty, and my diary. If I don’t blog next week, I hope you and yours have a fabulous Thanksgiving week! Try not to get trampled in the stores and, if you’re like me, enjoy decorating for Christmas as soon as Thanksgiving ends!! :) :) xoxoxoxo