Family Photos: Our Holiday Staycation

One of the things I love about working from home is the flexibility when it comes to vacation time. Of course, that’s not to say that I take time off willy-nilly, but I do appreciate having the freedom to coordinate my schedule with my mom’s work schedule.

Take last week, for example. My mom was on winter break, so I decided to take the entire week off. As crazy as it sounds, this wasn’t a decision I made lightly; after all, this was the first time in seven years that I was taking that long of a break from anything blog-related, so needless to say, I was a bit unsure at first.

What would I do with my time? Would I get bored after one day and find myself climbing the walls in a furious fit of despair? Could I even resist the siren song of my laptop?

So. Many. Questions.

But! As is typical with me, I worried myself into a tizzy over nothing, and before I knew it, there I was, rolling down the metaphorical expressway to Relaxationville! Oh, what a glorious and relaxation-filled week it was. I really felt like I was able to fully slow down and turn off my mind and all that pressure I seem to put on myself the other months of the year.

We enjoyed a quiet Christmas morning, complete with a box of chocolates and wrapping paper strewn all over the living room floor.

Stella even wanted a court-side seat to all the exciting action!

As the week went on, I noticed a few themes emerge as far as activities go…

1. We watched A LOT of television: And by a lot, I mean, well, maybe a bit too much sometimes. I kicked off the week by watching a Lifetime movie. How did I end the week? By watching another, equally cheesy, Lifetime movie. We also found ourselves taking two-hour lunches and binge-watching episodes of Hart of Dixie, which is such a fun show — not sure why I didn’t watch it while it was on.


2. We enjoyed lots of good food: Never mind the wonders of a Christmas feast, which in itself was quite the sight to behold, but my mom cooked some delicious desserts throughout the vacation.

My favorites were her seven-layer bars — the kind that oozed gooey chocolate and were topped with flakes of coconut.

We also enjoyed our pumpkin pie on a family heirloom: My grandmother’s famed Santa Claus plates. As the story goes, my grandparents bought them when my mom was a kid and would only use them for special occasions — think holidays and Sunday dinner. When we took those plates out this year, it felt like a piece of our family history was alive and sitting right there next to us — it’s those kinds of memories that are really important, you know?

And, thankfully, we finally had some snow that stuck to the ground! This Midwest winter has been crazy, with the weather all over the place, so it was nice to at least get a little taste of winter, if only for a day!

As we all know, however, all good things must eventually come to an end. Last Sunday night was a pretty rude awakening, as we all wondered where our fun, precious, relaxing time had gone. The week’s breakfasts and lunches never looked so ominous, and when my mom woke up so early on Monday morning, even the cats were confused!


Still, you can never underestimate the value of a good staycation. It’s restorative. It’s good for the soul. And, like I always say, you can never watch too much soapy, sudsy TV. What did you do over the holidays, friends??? I’d love to hear all about your adventures — or staycation! — in the comments!! LOVE YOU!!!! xoxo