We're in that weird in-between week when Christmas decorations are still up but the red cups at Starbucks are gone. It seems that half the world is on vacation while the other half is furiously finishing projects before year's end. At our house, Christmas chaos still litters the halls and the bickering of overly-tired children is causing my ears to twitch. We are in play mode and rest mode and clean-up mode all at once.

We had a really special December; full of the best kind of memory making. We started each morning with a candlelight breakfast and advent story, and ended each night with lots and lots (and lots) of Christmas books. There was gingerbread house decorating and cookie making, and a few memorable homegroup dinners. There was a "very scary" visit to Santa at Westmont, several Christmas performances by the kids, the first annual Friends Navidad game night, a girls' outing to Ojai for Christmas wreath making, a family snow night at the mall with dear friends, and a boat parade date night. The month felt full in all the right ways, even if someone was sick for every single week of the month.

I suppose you can see why, despite my best efforts, it's been a slow blog year for me. I continue to battle for pockets of time to chase my writing/entrepreneurial dreams while also being present in the equally important career of child raising. Some months prove easier than others when it comes to how these two passions collide or co-exist. In related news, why do children barf so frequently?

And yet, despite my slower blogging habits, I'd be remiss if I didn't complete my annual "Best of" list, which is is a little shorter than past years. I hope you'll still enjoy some of my favorite links, finds, and memories from 2015, and I wish you lots of love and peace as we welcome 2016.

Best Books of 2015: The Girl on the Train (Fiction) and For the Love: Fighting for Grace in a World Full of Impossible Standards (Non-fiction). My full 2015 reading list is here. (Also: Bringing Up Bebe and Raising Your Spirited Child were my two favorite parenting books this last year, and I think are two of my favorites of all time.)

Best Movie of 2015: The Martian (Because it was a date night, and MATT DAMON, and I can't remember what else I saw in theaters this year.)

Best Song of 2015: Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars. (Because, hearing a two year old sing Uptown Funk is hilarious, and because we had an epic moment on the dance floor in Jackson, Mississippi during Matt and Elizabeth's wedding.) My 2015 Spotify playlist.

Best TV of 2015: Did I mention that I don't really like television anymore? Nashville and Scandal are too depressing, The Americans is a good show but a little bit slow for my taste, and Modern Family is funny but doesn't have me hooked. Ideas?

Best Podcast of 2015: Kat Lee's Inspired to Action, especially this episode with Sarah Mae. (Also: currently listening to Serial, Season 2. It's fine, but not nearly as great as last year.)

Best Blog Post of 2015: I Wish Someone Would Have Warned Me About These BIG FEELINGS by Jen Hatmaker

Best Article of 2015: Should Christians Be Encouraged to Arm Themselves? by John Piper

Best Recipe of 2015: Avocado Egg Rolls! (Is there anything better than healthy fats and unhealthy fats mixed into a flavorful explosion in your mouth? I think not.)

What Worked For Me in 2015:

Jumping into leadership roles at MOPS and church, which has led to meeting some really wonderful, fun, hilarious and God loving people.
Sending Owen to "preschool" (aka: daycare, two mornings a week.) I'm a better mom when I have a few mornings to pursue non-mom related tasks.
Family bike rides, beach strolls and a LOT of amazing sunsets. (We set a 2015 goal to watch the sunset at least once a week. It didn't happen during the late evening summer months, but it did happen way more than I thought it would over the last 12 months.)
Moving to a new blog space
Joining the Coffee + Crumbs writer team AND flying to Chicago for the Redbud conference. There is nothing better than writing in the community of other passionate, lovely women.

Best Moments of 2015:

Stuffing our faces with cookies at Sarah & Michael's wedding in San Diego last January. Happy (almost) 1 year, newlyweds!
Walking the beach with my love, on my 33rd birthday.
The food at Matt & Elizabeth's southern wedding in Jackson. The final Miller sibling is married off, and we're so happy for them!
Debuting my dad's 60th birthday video at his June bash.
Watching my grandpa open his Fitbit for his 90th birthday in Catalina.
Beach days at Padaro, an epic Labor Day weekend dance party at Jalama Canon Ranch, and regular Saturday donut store dates (despite my hatred for donuts.)
Every single sunset during our 10th anniversary trip to Hawaii. Also: poke.
The day Owen stopped crying when I dropped him off at preschool.
Making hats with my girlfriends in Colorado.
Seeing a heartbeat at our 8 week ultrasound. Baby (Boy) Miller, debuting in June 2016!
Half Marathon Relay with some of the hardest working mamas in Santa Barbara.
Mammoth with my family, and teaching Anna to ski, which is also on my least favorite list for 2015. Funny how that works.

A Few of My Own Favorite Articles in 2015:

The Hardest Baby Ever

When Your Career Status is a Flexible Arrangement

The Not-So-Perfect Engagement Ring

3 Tips for Making Friendship Work

Adieu, 2015. You were so good to us!

I tried something new in October. It's called LE TOTE, and it's a clothing rental company that works similarly to Stitch Fix. A friend recommended the site, and gave me a promo code so the first box was only $25. I figured, for $25, why not?

Here's how LE TOTE works:

Create a quick account (and if you use my promo code, you'll get your first box for $25 too.)
Browse LE TOTE's clothing collections, and favorite at least 40 items. (This part is not hard! Their clothes are really cute—everything from trendy ponchos to jeans, handbags to necklaces, blouses to dresses.) When you like an item, you're not committing to renting it, you're simply letting your stylist know that it MIGHT be something you'd enjoy trying.
Soon—within 24 hours—you'll get an email with five items you'll be receiving. If there's anything in the box you don't like, you can swap before the box ships. In my first box, LE TOTE didn't have some of the items I really liked so they threw in an extra item for free. You'll receive three clothing pieces and two accessories in each box.
Once you get the box, keep it for an entire month or send it back after a few days and get another shipment. (Unlimited shipping is included in your monthly fee and they give you a bag for easy returns.) You can receive as many boxes as you want within the month, all for one set charge. I didn't understand this at first so I kept my items the full 30 days, but I could have probably swapped at least two more times, trying up to 15 items! If you love an item, you can purchase it for half off the retail price.

In my first box, I received three items that I requested, and two I did not. (See above.) They gave me the red shirt as a freebie item since some of my favorite items weren't available. I didn't love the red shirt and never wore it, but I appreciated the sentiment of a free tiem. In fact, I had some problems putting my box on hold in November and their customer service was always fast to respond.

Once the month is up, you have to decide if you like the service or not. If you don't—call and cancel—but if you do, you'll keep receiving boxes each month with items from your virtual closet. You can put your membership on hold here and there if you don't want a box every month.

I think LE TOTE is super fun, especially for people like me who tend to buy basics. For instance, I loved the sweater poncho in my box (aka: the sweater blanket—it was so long and cozy!) but I probably wouldn't buy an item like this because it's bold and can't be worn much in warm Santa Barbara. I took it to Colorado for my girls' weekend and enjoyed having something "new" to wear in colder weather.

LE TOTE is especially great for months you're traveling. Whenever I travel I usually want a few new pieces to take with me but I can't usually justify the expense of buying five new items.

And, another great excuse for a LE TOTE subscription is pregnancy. The service has an entire maternity division! Can you imagine how fun it would be to receive "new" clothes throughout your pregnancy, especially in those final months when you're tired of the four shirts and two pairs of pants you keep rotating through?

I'd love to hear from you! Would you try something like this service? Let me know if you do! At $25 for your first box, it's certainly a fun way to mix up your holiday wardrobe.

Best of 2015

Would you rent clothing? I did!