My 2015 Top Ten Favorite Things

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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}

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

Another 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.

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10. 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!*