Read on for this year’s Favorite Things giveaway and how to enter to win these amazing prizes!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year….

Favorite Things is here!

Annual favorite things giveaway!

I’ve been doing this type of giveaway for years now as a way to share gratitude with you all. You make this little corner of the internet the amazing space it’s become and I’m so grateful for all of your support and connection.

I created this blog when I was feeling extremely alone. We’d just moved to Valdosta, I was a new military wife, and I hadn’t yet met any local friends. I would have never guessed that it would turn into what it is today, and this little blog has enabled me to support our family while staying home with the kids (this is huge because of the Pilot’s travel schedule and unpredictable hours), chatting with you all about wellness and health things. I feel like I *know* so many of you after all of these years! I wake up every day excited to write and connect with you all, and I hope you know that I never take it for granted.

Every click, comment, follow, product purchase, and page view directly helps our family and I am beyond thankful to you all.

Let’s celebrate with a little giveaway, shall we??

Here are the prizes that are up for grabs:

1 grand prize winner will receive the following prizes:

– A HigherDOSE red light face mask, sauna blanket, or PEMF Go Mat

– A Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis test and coaching call

– Organifi goodies

– A OneSkin holiday gift set

– A Cleary Filtered pitcher

– 30 days of Lifewave X39 patches

– A Canopy humidifier and

Sharing some ideas for healthy Christmas side dishes if you’re planning for the festivities!

Hi friends! How are you? I hope you had a wonderful weekend! We had our Fighter Group Christmas party, I taught a barre class, and saw Wicked for the third time. I will probably see it at least once more in theaters – I think the Pilot needs to see it! The girls and I also started the holiday baking party and made peppermint bark and peanut butter blossoms.

I’m starting to plan our our holiday menus and was trying to brainstorm side dish ideas. Of course, my favorite part of the holidays is being with family, but the delicious food comes in 2nd 😉 The main dishes always take center stage, along with the desserts, but the side dishes are an easy way to add some color and nourishment. I like side dishes that are simple to prepare or can be made in advance, and these options check all the boxes!

Here’s our holiday menu for this year:

Brunch:

Nana’s egg casserole

Cinnamon rolls

Breakfast potatoes

Fruit salad

Coffee, mimosas, desserts

Dinner:

Giant cheese board

Caviar tray

Beef tenderloin with horseradish sauce

Mashed sweet potatoes

Green salad

Roasted balsamic veggies

Smoked turkey

Mulled wine and champagne

Dessert tray – Christmas cookies, yule log

*Worth noting here that we get our meat from ButcherBox (<— this link gets you free ground beef for life!) and I order the yule log from a local gf bakery

Hi friends! Happy Friday! How was the week? I hope it’s been a great one! Today we’re all getting haircuts, and then tonight I’m seeing Wicked for the third time with Liv and some friends. Have you seen it?! It’s everything. I had zero expectations because I didn’t want to be disappointed and it’s beyond anything I could have every wished for. I wasn’t an Ariana Grande fan until now; all of the casting was perfection.

Along with Wicked, we have a Christmas party, and I’m teaching a barre class. I hope you have a lovely, fun, and festive weekend ahead!

(Dress for last night’s Christmas party with Liv’s dance team family! Got it from Nuuly)

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party. This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

11.22 Friday Faves

Fashion + beauty + random:

Top Gift Guide picks! Thank you so so much to those of you who have shopped through my gift guides this year.

Here’s a recap of all of them so far:

– For Her

– For Him

– For Teens

– For the Kids

– Stocking Stuffers, Favorite Things, and Under $50 Finds

– Black Friday / Cyber Monday deals (many of these are still happening!)

Here are the top items from this year’s gift guides so far:

I’m SO happy so many of you have bought this dre

Sharing my thoughts on how to stay in shape during the holidays. This blog post was titled for The Man aka search purposes, so please read on for my full thoughts 😉 

Hi friends! How are you? I hope that you’re having a lovely week! I have a couple of meetings this morning, and am looking forward to putting up our Christmas tree tonight!

For today’s post, I wanted to chat about maintaining fitness and “staying in shape” during the holidays.

The holiday season is a magical time filled with joy, gatherings, and celebrations. With everything going on, it can be easy to let healthy habits fall to the backseat a bit. Today, I wanted to share some realistic tips to help you maintain your fitness routine and stay motivated during this busy and festive season.

How To Stay In Shape During The Holidays

Instead of thinking about “staying in shape,” think about staying healthy, fit, energized, and centered. Focus on the habits that make you feel GOOD so you can get through the busy season feeling happy, vibrant, and peaceful. A deeper goal than vanity-based goals will help motivate you when things feel hard. 

Here are some of the things I like to emphasize during the holidays or busier seasons of life.

1. Plan Ahead

Look at your holiday schedule and carve out time for physical activity. Every workout, even short workouts, are still worth it. It can be a huge stress reliever and chance to move your body, which feels good when you’re bombarded with extra to-dos!

Every Saturday, I sit down and plan my workouts for the upcoming week. If it’s scheduled, I’m more likely to make it happen. On the days that are packed, I make sure that I can at least do some steps on my walking pad or take Maisey for a walk.

2. Take a Moment for Yourself

Make self-care a priority, even though it can be tricky. A quick 20-minute workout or walking or running session can be your moment of peace amidst the chaos.

Incorporate relaxation techniques like yoga or meditation to reduce stress. I love the short Peloton yoga and meditation classes, and the Calm app is also a great resource for meditation. During this season, I tend to get overstimulated easily – it’s a lot of people-ing- and taking at least 10 minutes to breathe or meditate makes a huge difference.

3. Be Realistic

Even though it can be tempting to try and make drastic changes before the New Year, I think that December is best spent focusing on maintaining instead of adding in a bunch of new wellness goals. Instead of trying to hit personal records, focus on consistency.

I also think consistency is more valuable than intensity, so feel free to modify your routine based on your schedule and energy.

4. Prioritize Sleep

Sleep is so important for mood, metabolism, performance, memory, immune system function, hair, skin, so many things. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep to support recovery and stay motivated during the day. If you have t

Sharing a review of the Lifewave X39 patches and if I think they’re worth it. 

Hi friends! I hope that your day is going well and that you had a wonderful weekend. I’m looking forward to a hot yoga class today and have a fun NCL meeting tonight.

For today’s post, I wanted to chat about the Lifewave X39 patches. This has easily become one of the best things I’ve added to my wellness routine and I’m so pumped to share it with you. When a friend first told me about the patches, it kind of sounded too good to be true, but like the good guinea pig that I am, I decided to give them a try.

They have 1000000% changed my life.

Here’s more about them and how they work:

Imagine waking up every day with the energy and vitality you had years ago. Picture your body working at its peak, your cells rejuvenated, and inflammation under control. That’s how I feel right now.

I’ve come a long way in my healing journey over the past few years (major eye issues, autoimmune symptoms and positive ANA and anti-dsDNA results, and fully recovering) but was still dealing with a bit of brain fog and low productivity. I just felt burned out and kind of out of it. Adding these patches have been an amazing step in my healing, and I can’t believe how much steady my energy is from when I wake up, until I go to bed. That’s despite working and chasing the kids around to all of their activities!

All of this from a handy lil patch.

LifeWave phototherapy patches combine cutting-edge science with your body’s natural healing power. They can reactivate dormant stem cells, boosting a powerful peptide (GHK-Cu), and resetting over 4,000 genes to their younger, healthier state. These patches deliver impressive results—all without chemicals, drugs, or invasive procedures.

Here’s a bit more about the how and why behind this amazing technology.

What Are LifeWave Patches?

LifeWave patches harness phototherapy—light therapy technology—to stimulate specific biological responses. When placed on the skin, they use your body’s infrared heat to reflect specific wavelengths of light.

This simple process triggers powerful cellular activity:

Stem Cell Activation: Your body’s natural healing and regeneration system kickstarts.

Gene Resetting: Over 4,000 genes recalibrate to a youthful, healthy state.

Peptide Boost: GHK-Cu (a potent peptide) enhances cellular function and protein synthesis.

Read more about how they work here, including videos and testimonials.

Are Lifewave patches a scam?

I thought these were a scam for at least a year. I saw them online and thought they were ridiculous and brushed it off. I thought to myself, “There’s no way you can get this from a patch that doesn’t transmit anything through the skin. These people are crazy.”

One of my good friends has been using them, and I love her and absolutely trust her, so I