My Monthly Recap – November 2020

It’s time for another monthly recap. Take a peek at previous recaps here!

highlights

I can’t believe we’re already in the last month of 2020! At times it feels like I blinked and this year flew by and other times it feels like it dragged on. We spent a lot of time outside this month because the weather was so nice. North Carolina in the fall is my absolute favorite. The weather is usually mid-60s (give or take!), we get beautiful fall foliage and everything starts feeling a bit more festive around this time every year.

We spent Thanksgiving at home this year and while it was tough to not be with family, we wanted to keep our own family safe, so we made the best of it! Last year we had ordered a pre-cooked Turkey from a local catering shop here and ended up still being raw (aka no turkey on Thanksgiving!). This year we were bound and determined to make up for last year! We successfully made a delicious, giant turkey and all of our favorite sides and had a great time! Thanksgiving is Nick’s favorite holiday and we both love cooking, so it was fun to spend the day in the kitchen. We even timed everything perfectly so that it was all ready at once, which is no easy feat ha!

baby Noah

Noah turned four months old on the 21st and I truly can’t believe how quickly these last four months have gone by! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home and now we have a good routine down and we’re really settling in. He’s almost 14 pounds and is doing so, so well! Everyday is such a joy with him and it’s amazing to see him discovering new things and develop right in front of our eyes. He is laughing and smiling non-stop these days, which makes everything way more fun! There is truly nothing better than baby giggles. He is rolling over from back to belly and back again. He’s still really enjoying tummy time (and loves his lovevery mat), loves watching Avett play around the living room, and is back to sleeping through the night. We celebrated his first Thanksgiving this year and although it wasn’t how we envisioned it, it was still really special. It’s crazy to think that last year we found out we were expecting on Black Friday (November 29th!) and now we have a 4 month old baby with us this year. He is most definitely what we are most thankful for this year.

home

One of our fall goals was to build an outdoor fire pit and we finally got around to it a few weekends ago! We had our first fire pit night and it was a success! I know we will definitely be using it quite a bit while the weather is still nice. It’s a great way to spend some time outdoors even when it’s cold.

We also decorated for Christmas this month! I used to decorate after Thanksgiving, but over the past few years I have really enjoyed decorating early. It’s such a hassle to pull everything out and decorate that I like to enjoy it as long as we can! We ordered these personalized fair isle stockings this year and it makes me so happy to see all three of our names hanging by the fireplace.

books I read this month

This month I officially completed my reading goal of reading 75 books this year! In years past I have had a reading goal of 100 books, but I knew with Noah arriving in July that I wouldn’t have as much time to read, so I made a goal of 75, which felt a bit more realistic. I read five really random books this month and of those I really enjoyed Roomies (steamy!) and Don’t Look for Me (suspense!).

what I purchased

–fair isle stockings | I love the classic look of these & how they look on our mantle.
–this pair of jeans | I really like the relaxed look of these jeans! A nice in-between of skinny and boyfriend jeans!
–a striped turtleneck | you can never go wrong with stripes & these make great layering pieces too.

favorite blog posts on Life with Emily

–Newborn favorites 0-3 months | these are all the items we have loved so far for Noah. A lot of these make great gifts too!
–Gifts for Her under $50 | need gift ideas? All of these are under $50 and work for mom, sister or friend!
–Gifts for Men under $100 | men are hard to buy for, but hopefully this list helps cross them off the list!

favorite posts I read this month

–Quarantine Made Me Do It | I loved reading all the things Jess has done during quarantine! We’ve all had to get creative during this time.
–25 Days of Netflix Christmas Movies | My bestie Jenn came up with a great list of holiday movie to watch this month!
–6 Months as a First Time Mom | Noah and Miles are only a few months apart, so I love keeping up with Cathy’s motherhood content!

current favorites on repeat

• BEAUTY | I have been using Skinceuticals C E Ferulic serum and although the smell is truly awful (I equate it to hot dog water haha!) it’s great for my skin!
• CLOTHING | I have basically been living in these sweatpants lately. They’re warm and I don’t feel frumpy when I wear these around the house!
• TV SHOWS | We watched The Undoing this month (didn’t everyone?!?) and really loved it! We also started The Queen’s Gambit and I am OBSESSED. Such a good show! In December we’re going to try to watch all of our favorite holiday movies!
• AUDIOBIOOK | I’m currently listening to Boyfriend Material via Libro.FM and it’s cute so far! I have heard a lot of good things from friends about this book, so I’m glad I started listening to it.
• CURRENTLY READING | I’m reading Crazy Stupid Bromance, the third book in the Bromance series right now! I’ve been reading “light” book lately as those are the easiest for me to quickly pick up and put back down!