TV-Free January — Day 1

I did it! I made it to midnight yesterday — happy 2018! 🍾🎉 After sleeping in a bit and drinking some tea, today has been about making a pile ‘o muffins and celebrating the first day of a TV-free January by reading on the couch.

These gingerbread muffins are my favorite and I make them all year! The website that I found the original recipe from doesn’t exist anymore, but this recipe is very similar. Soooo good!!!

I love to cook and bake in our small kitchen, but quickly found that the only way to make the tight space work was to reduce the amount of things in it. The funny thing is that we don’t seem to mind the absence of a few items (like a toaster) and just get a little creative when we need a tool that don’t have. For muffins, we only have one 12-cup muffin pan and don’t own liners or a cupcake storage tote to save space. For transporting, other items like a 9×13 baking dish or a serving plate work perfectly!

Would love to hear how you’re jump-starting your 2018 goals this month! Feel free to drop a comment below.

Also, follow me on Instagram (@lightandminimal) for more TV-free January updates!

Simply, Becky

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A Slow Christmas and Zero-Waste Wrapping

The post-Christmas letdown is real! … mainly talking about sugar withdrawals… whew. Diet starts Monday. But seriously, the anticipation of reacclimating to routine after an enjoyable weekend with family makes me want to pull the covers back over my head and go back to sleep.

Our weekend in Vermont with family was so enjoyable and SO snowy — which isn’t ideal for traveling, but lovely for watching from under a pile of blankets. It’s our long-time joke that it always snows when entering Westford and this year was no exception. Snowy, snowy, snowy! It’s pure magic when the pine branches bend under the weight of the snow. Surely, a taste of heaven.

Along with relaxing and catching up with friends and family, I had a couple creative wins this weekend!

Tape-free Wrapping

A major win this year was figuring out how to wrap presents without tape, a zero waste trick that I’ve been meaning to try. It required a little creativity to finagle the paper into place while tying the twine, but overall it wasn’t a hassle. My dog-nephew immediately sniffed out the unwrapped bone and gulped it down while we were opening gifts. Note to this dog-auntie to get something a little more substantial next year.

Packing with Gifts

To prevent a massive influx of things, my family swapped wish lists and gave simple gifts. My creative sister gave us a series of prepaid dates for 2018 — such a thoughtful way of treating us to experiences! And my parents gave me gifts with a zero-waste/minimalism theme like a wood dish scrubber, metal scrubber, shampoo bar (which I discuss here), and annual addition to my tiny pewter nativity scene. Their intentionality! I love them so much!

To ease some packing stress I shipped a few Amazon gifts to my parents home and fit the rest in our carry-ons. With the exception of bringing bulky winter clothes, we packed lightly so the majority of room could be used for gifts.

After getting caught in the exhausting holiday airport shuffle on our way back to Minneapolis yesterday, I’m happy that my TV-free January challenge is a couple days away. Today, I’m definitely curling up and watching a movie while the snow falls. TV diet (and maybe a post-Christmas sugar fast) starts Monday!

What about you?! What was the most memorable part of your Christmas weekend?

Simply, Becky