Caroline TeSelle

my life shared. your dreams encouraged.

  • Blog
  • Witty Links

My 2015 Top Ten Favorite Things

December 14, 2015 By Caroline TeSelle

friends1. Family & friends near and far ~

Obviously, this is a no-brainer. My family & friends, near & far are my support system. Family has to put up with me, but friends who also share the good, bad & ugly? I’m completely blown away by their love & generosity. There are more photos that could fill the collage above but I think you get the idea. I am so blessed.

Screen Shot 2015-03-30 at 1.44.31 PM2. Kendra’s granola

I’m not joking when I say that I have survived on this granola! My friend Kendra makes the claim that once you’ve tasted this granola, no other granola will compare. She is not joking! Every morning for breakfast includes a bowl of Rice Chex topped with this delicious granola. Pick up the ingredients at your grocery store & make a batch or two. Plus, your house will smell amazing while it’s baking.

stress away3. Stress Away Young Living Essential Oil Blend

I have been pretty quiet about my love for essential oils because I wanted to try them for a while before I started to share my love for them. I’ve been a member of Young Living for a year now. I use several oils on a daily basis but my absolute favorite is the Stress Away blend.

good books of 20154. Good books I read in 2015 that I could not put down until I finished them:

  • All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
  • Girl Meets Change by Kristen Strong
  • Where’d You Go Bernadette? by Maria Semple
  • Lizzy & Jane by Katherine Reay
  • Simply Tuesday by Emily P. Freeman
  • The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
  • Choosing Rest by Sally Breedlove
  • Anne of Green Gables {again, this time with my daughter Eden} by L.M. Montgomery
  • For the Love by Jen Hatmaker
  • The Lake House by Kate Morton
  • Wild in the Hallow by Amber C. Haines
  • The Passion of Mary Margaret by Lisa Samson
  • What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
  • The Bookman’s Tale by Charlie Lovett

joy busy curious5. Soon to be released books in 2016:

I was privileged to receive an advanced copy of each of these recently & you should purchase them today to give a gift to your future self!

  • Choose Joy by Sara Frankl & Mary Carver {release date 1/5/16}
  • Breaking Busy by Alli Worthington {1/26/16}
  • Curious Faith by Logan Wolfram {release date 3/1/16}

smoothie6. My No Moo Survival Smoothie

I’m somewhat limited in my food choices because of some recent dietary restrictions, so I came up with this “No Moo Survival Smoothie” recipe back in the spring. I love it & it’s so simple to make! Put the following items in your blender until it’s the consistency that you enjoy:

  • 4-5 slices frozen banana
  • one Enjoy Life Foods dark chocolate square
  • heaping spoonful of Natural Skippy peanut butter
  • 1 cup Almond Milk
  • 1 cup of ice

Pour into your favorite glass, plop in your favorite wide straw & sip away. Yum. #dairyfree #glutenfree

coconut hibiscus7. Coconut & Hibiscus Hold & Shine Daily Moisture Mist

Having naturally curly hair, it goes through seasons of the products that it embraces. 2015 has been the season of this product. It smells amazing & I even got my oldest son hooked on it when he let his hair grow out some this year.

coloring books8. Adult coloring books

These coloring books have been around for a while, but I finally purchased a few of my own this year and they are addicting & a huge stress reliever. It’s putting-a-puzzle-together-relaxing. You can find them at any bookstore and I’ve even seen some at Wal-mart and Target. A few of my favorites are The Secret Garden by Johanna Basford & Tropical World by Millie Marotta.

IMG_90189. Quiet Christmas decorations

A 3 foot table top tree is all we wanted this year. In the quiet corner of our cozy living room. We love it and I sit and stare at it just as much as I have done in the past with larger trees. Her presence in the room isn’t overwhelming, she’s just right.

IMG_8899Another option for quiet decor is this Laurel Bay Leaf Crest Wreath from  Kelly of Style Box. I had so much fun finding various places in my house to hang her stunning wreath! And I may leave it up after Christmas too!

If you want to learn from someone who is smart in all things cozy & who came up with the idea to “quiet a room” to help you create your own style, you should check out Myquillyn’s Cozy Minimalist Online Coaching Program. I took this 4 week course in the Spring & it really helped our family figure out the style that works best for us right now. Quiet & cozy with a side of quirky.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

podcasts10. Podcasts

Podcasts. For carpool lanes. For endless mounds of laundry to fold. My podcast list includes simple, hilarious, pop culture, edge of your seat investigative stories & faith building teaching that sometimes knocks the air out of the way you’ve been living your life.

The Popcast ~ hosted by Knox McCoy & Jamie Golden is all about pop culture, with their own creative twist that sometimes make me laugh out loud.

The Simple Show ~ hosted by Tsh Oxenrider who is super smart about all things simple & encourages you with interviews of her favorite people. The topics of discussion range from travel to books to whatever they’re passionate about, all with the idea in mind of “…living holistically with your life’s purpose.”

The Lazy Sisters ~ hosted by Kendra {the same Kendra with the amazing granola!} & her sister Hannah. You can listen to archived episodes now but new ones start in January 2016! AND starting in Spring 2016, The Lazy Genius Podcast! I’ll be subscribing to that one too.

North Coast Church ~ the teaching team of Larry Osborne & Chris Brown. If we lived in Southern California, we would attend North Coast. Thankfully, their incredible teaching is available online.

Serial ~ hosted by Sara Koenig Season 2 just came out on Thursday. I’m already hooked into the story after 45 minutes.

*affiliate links used in this post – thank you!*

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: encourage, friends, quiet, what I learned

Comments

  1. Kristen Strong says

    December 14, 2015 at 9:27 am

    I totally just googled that moisture mist and saw it’s available at Target!? I’m going to check that out pronto. I have naturally curly hair and have the hardest time finding a product that will tame my hot mess of hair. Thanks for the recommend!

    Also, thanks for your kind inclusion of GMC here. Your good opinion means the world, Caroline.

    xoxo

    • Caroline TeSelle says

      December 14, 2015 at 9:32 am

      It is available at Target! They have an entire line of products but I’ve only tried this mist.

  2. The Popcast says

    December 14, 2015 at 7:54 pm

    Making your list did not hurt our feelings. In the least.

    • Caroline TeSelle says

      December 15, 2015 at 7:48 am

      Oh my gosh! So glad I didn’t hurt your feelings! 😉

  3. Paula says

    December 16, 2015 at 1:17 pm

    Podcasts are my new “fringe” thing (thanks to Elise! so I have her podcast too) – they make that waiting or mindless doing time mindful. I also love No Such Thing As A Fish (from the QI researchers), God Centered Mom. I have an android phone so I use Podcast Addict to follow as it can take from iTunes and RSS feeds. And it’s the right price (free).

  4. Courtney Laib says

    December 17, 2015 at 10:15 am

    Stress Away is my favorite EO scent too! I used my little bottle up a while ago:( Need to try the roll-on!
    Courtney Laib recently posted..Staying connected to the vine

    • Caroline TeSelle says

      December 18, 2015 at 11:33 am

      the roll on is great! & lasts a long time.

  5. Kelli McKnight says

    January 1, 2016 at 11:23 am

    Hello, fellow Hope Writer! Enjoyed looking around your lovely blog. Excellence all around and love your 2015 favs. Blessings on your 2016!

    • Caroline TeSelle says

      January 11, 2016 at 6:43 am

      Hi Kelli! Thanks for stopping by 🙂 I love being a part of hope*writers! I know it’s going to be an incredible year because of that community that is being built.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Hi! My name is Caroline TeSelle and I'm currently doing life with my husband & 4 kids in our little corner of the world. Read more.

carolineteselle

Caroline TeSelle
S I X T E E N. Happy Birthday, Eden! We love you S I X T E E N.

Happy Birthday, Eden! We love you 🥰
E I G H T E E N. I’m speechless. We love you so E I G H T E E N.

I’m speechless. We love you so much, Stone! Happy Birthday! 🎈#tesellelife

📸: @mollyhebdaphotography
Goodbye, 2022. We’re ready to embrace 2023. #tes Goodbye, 2022. We’re ready to embrace 2023. #tesellelife
An evening to remember. Some meeting for the first An evening to remember. Some meeting for the first time, some with years of memories. Love surrounding us all.

We missed you, @mo.k3lli @demturan & Bennett! 😚
Merry Christmas from the TeSelles and a Mahaffey! Merry Christmas from the TeSelles and a Mahaffey! p.s. can you spot the Christmas miracle? 😘🎄
The tradition started years ago when Eden was two The tradition started years ago when Eden was two years old and had hip surgery, our friend @leannemc417 brought Dilly Bars from Dairy Queen to ease the pain & cheer us up. ⁣
⁣
And so, as the years went on, whenever we’ve had a surgery or a broken bone (or bones! 🤕) she’d drop off Dilly Bars. ⁣
⁣
We hate to call it a tradition but we’ve had quite a few broken bones and surgeries in our family through the years. ⁣
⁣
Today, we’re passing on the tradition to my dad who broke a bone for the first time in his 84 years of life! Praying his wrist will heal quickly and having a Dilly Bar definitely helps! ⁣
⁣
Thank you, Leanne for starting this tradition for us! 😘
The laughter, the questions, the listening, the li The laughter, the questions, the listening, the light, the fog, the sun, the rain, the history, the art, the lobster rolls, the salted caramel gelato…so much from this trip will continue to bring life long after. 

Thankful to travel with these friends—we don’t deserve you! Until next year @thenester @chadsmithis @emilypfreeman @freemanjohn
The last #TeSellfie for a while with all six of us The last #TeSellfie for a while with all six of us.🥺⁣
⁣
After three years of sticking close to home so he could help our family travel through some significant health issues (during a pandemic nonetheless!), Gunnar is off on his next life adventure. He’ll call Asheville, North Carolina home now. ⁣
⁣
We couldn’t be happier for him and sadder for us. ⁣
⁣
We can’t wait to see what’s next for you @gunnarteselle. We love you and we will see you soon!
Bucket list item ✔️ So much fun!🐐🥰 #goa Bucket list item ✔️ So much fun!🐐🥰

#goatyoga @natures_trail_yoga
See More... Follow on Instagram

search:

Privacy Policy

© 2023 Caroline TeSelle · All Rights Reserved