I am a little bit tempted to make this week’s Love List say “children’s Tylenol, the pediatrician, coffee, Door Dash, and Puffin Rock” and call it a day. While I have certainly been appreciating all of those things this week, this series is not about survival mode. It’s about whatever is adding joy and beauty to my life, even when it is a challenge to find those things. There is a reason I brought Love Lists back in the height of quarantine last year–I needed to cultivate the practice of identifying and naming blessings and delights, even on the toughest days. After all, I find those are the days when I need an extra dose of gratitude the most!

1. I used to have my fingernails painted alllll the time, and would redo them at least weekly to keep the polish looking its best. I fell out of the habit around when Charlie was born (I was always nervous he’d wake up and need me when my nails were wet!). Since then, I have only painted them for special occasions, or when I could squeeze in a gel manicure once or twice a year. Over the last year, I think I saw more Instagram ads for Olive & June than anything else, and my curiosity finally got the better of me right before Christmas. I ordered a set of their nontoxic nail polish to split up and gift to my mom and sisters, and, of course, to try for myself as well! Consider me a convert…their polish plus their top coat lasts for FOUR days before starting to chip. I am definitely planning to pick up their new nail primer, which apparently doubles that time to eight days.

2. After lugging my heavy DSLR camera around in my already-heavy diaper bag for the past few years, Dave and I finally invested in an actual camera bag. He found this backpack from Brevite, which has adjustable padded dividers inside so you can create space for whatever equipment you need. We’re using it for both my camera and extra lens and Dave’s dad’s old film camera, which Dave loves experimenting with.

3. This turkey sweet potato skillet used to be one of our staples, but I had kind of forgotten about it until this week, when we added it to our meal plan. It’s a simple, but tasty, one-pan dish that can easily be adapted for Whole30, so it’s a great one for January.

4. I have been looking for an affordable floor-length mirror for our master bedroom for months, so when I saw this one from the latest Studio McGee for Target collaboration ($110 and 10% off with Target Circle), I snapped it up! It arrived this week and I love it–it definitely looks like a higher-end piece, and the size is perfect for what we wanted. Their pieces sell out so quickly, but it looks like this one is available for shipping right now. Stay tuned to see it in action in my January outfit diary next week :)

5. In case you missed it, I made an Instagram reel about my daily makeup routine! I have been hesitant about reels, but had a lot of fun creating. Find it here and let me know what you think!