Our 2025 Advent Calendars

Posted on December 4, 2025 by mlenoach

Advent calendars are my jam. I think this will be my families fifth year participating. This year I kept it simple, but still fun.

My daughter Maxine loves all things Gabby.

My cats BB and PJ are sharing treats from Country Kitchen.

My husband and I are sharing the WSJ wine advent calendar.

Time to enjoy day 4!

Advent Calendars

Posted on December 4, 2024 by mlenoach

Tis the season for advent calendars! This year I splurged on a few.

I got my daughter a unicorn-focused one with jewelry and toys.

My cats are sharing one filled with toys.

I splurged on a whiskey one for my husband. Bonus it came with two glasses 😉.

Since I’m looking to learn how to crochet, I got myself a Wooble advent calendar, and I’ll be crocheting cute little animals 🥰.

Are you an advent calendar fan? What is yours?

Christmas Traditions – Advent Calendars

Posted on December 2, 2023 by mlenoach

I got into advent calendars the year of COVID-19. I wanted to do something special with my Mom, and since then, it has grown into a family tradition.

This year, for Maxine’s calendar, I wanted something to keep her active. The Play-Doh calendar is pretty cool. It included Play-Doh, a surface to work off, and fun tools. Her first item was a tree cutter. They came out pretty cute on her first try.

I decided to get the Wall Street Journal wine advent calendar for my husband and me. The bottle is a pretty decent size, and the wine is pretty good so far.

For the third year, the cats are sharing a Fancy Feast calendar. It’s so cute and well-designed, and my cats love it.

My parents didn’t want calendars this year, but I wanted my mom to do something with Maxine, so they are sharing a Nativity calendar.

Are you into advent calendars? Which one are you doing this year?

Advent Calendar Season

Posted on December 2, 2022 by mlenoach

For the past few years, I have been building up my holiday traditions, and one of my favorites is having an advent calendar.

This year I got a chocolate one for my parents, my husband, and me.

Since Maxine is all about CoComelon these days, I decided to get her a themed CoComelon calendar. She loves it so far!

Pro Tip: My daughter grabs everything now a days. I numbered each one on the corner to keep the order just in case.

I couldn’t forget about my two fur babies, BB and PJ. They are sharing a Fancy Feast calendar.

Who else is using an advent calendar this season? There are so many to choose from these days. Please feel to share your calendar!

So long 2021

Posted on December 31, 2021 by mlenoach

My 2021 wasn’t terrible. I became a Mom, and I celebrated and enjoyed life as much as possible. I explored and pushed myself to try new things. I got creative with ways to motivate myself, and I continue to move forward. It sucks that I’m spending the last day taking care of a sick baby, but such is life.

Below is my picture recap of the year. I choose one picture to sum up each month.

January- I became a Mom! I gave birth to Maxine Amelia on Dec 19, 2020. My first month as a mom was rough and full of learning moments, but I’m thankful every day for my munchkin.

February- My mom turned 77 this year. With the pandemic, it was tough to see her and our family. This amazing picture (of three generations) was taken at my Aunt’s house. We celebrated my Mom’s birthday, and family members finally met Maxine.

March- With a new baby, it’s hard to get out, and it was tough to have time just for my husband and me. I signed us up for a beer and cheese virtual tasting as a date night. It was a lot of fun and informative.

April- I did many fun things in April, including an oyster shucking class and a cooking class with Daniel Boulud, but nothing can beat my Dad finally coming home from rehab after fracturing his hip. December 2020, my father fractured his hip, had to have surgery, and caught covid and pneumonia in the hospital. At the beginning of the year, my father was moved to a long-term care facility in Jersey first and finally placed in a rehab facility in Queens soon after. It was a challenging situation, mainly because of covid and I couldn’t see him. He finally came home at the end of April, and he got to meet his granddaughter for the first time.

May- I decided to sign-up for a flower CSA from May to October. It was a bit pricey, if I’m going to be honest, but so worth it! I picked up flowers every week; it was very refreshing. I even tried my hand at arranging the flowers. It was fun and relaxing.

June- Andrew and I celebrated our wedding anniversary by attending a virtual magic show by Dan White. It was AMAZING and blew our minds.

July- We celebrated Dad, who turned 79! My family has a house in Long Island that we share by the beach. My dad rarely visits, but my Aunt and Uncle threw him a little party, and he enjoyed the day and area.

August- We had a family vacation in the Catskills at the end of August. We rented a house with a pool and jacuzzi; it was amazing and much needed. I don’t have many pictures of my husband smiling, so I’m taking advantage and showing his beautiful smile.

September- Self-care became tricky during the pandemic. I finally decided enough was enough with my hair and chopped it off. Quite liberating if I say so myself.

October- I turned the big 4*0* this month. We decided to head over to Crystal Springs Resort for a few days and enjoy the fall season. The resort was fantastic with great food, and I took advantage of the spa. We went apple picking, pumpkin picking, went through a corn maze, and enjoyed wine and spirit tastings in the area. It was very low-key and chill.

November- Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I appreciate the time with family and the overall idea of gratitude. I shared my journal of things I’m grateful for already in another post. My husband had to work on Thanksgiving, but I still enjoyed the day, reflected on everything I’m thankful for, and cooked a feast.

December- This month was filled with friend and family activities, but I couldn’t help picking the time decorating the gingerbread house as my picture for the month. It gets harder and harder to find activities that my parents are willing to do and be a part of. Next year, I will continue to brainstorm ideas.

It was great to reflect on the year. I hope you had some time for reflection as well.

Cheers to 2022!

Enjoying the holidays

Posted on December 31, 2021 by mlenoach

Recapping my year is a must, but first I want to share how I spent my holidays. This year looked and felt different, but I was determined to make the most of it.

Tree watching:

I kept it local and virtual. I watched the tree lightings virtually for Athens Square Park and Astoria Park.

Astoria decorations:

I honestly didn’t venture around the neighborhood as much as I wanted, but I still got to see some beautiful decorations.

Home decorations:

I didn’t do much this year. I confess I didn’t even open up my Christmas boxes. I went with simple and familiar. Each year, I do a tree of Christmas cards, and for a tree, I got a tiny one this year so that we could enjoy the stuffed toys from my daughter’s advent calendar.

Christmas parties:

I’m fortunate that I could celebrate with my groups of girls. Both parties weren’t fancy, but I had a great time, and most importantly, everyone got to meet my daughter, Maxine.

Family activities:

A big hit this year was the gingerbread houses! Two were made with my husband’s niece and nephew, and one was made with my parents.

The advent calendars were also an obvious favorite. We all enjoyed our own. Andrew had a whiskey one, Maxine had a stuffed toy one, PJ and BB shared a fancy feast one, and my parents and I had a chocolate one.

I had low-key family parties with great food, but I’m pretty proud of my Christmas Eve dishes. I went all out with a seven-fishes-themed spread. We had raw oysters, crab, salmon slices, mussels and clams in a white wine, fried shrimp, and baked fish. We also had steak, brussel sprouts, and mashed potatoes. For dessert, I made brownies.

Christmas outfits:

I was so excited to dress Maxine up this year for parties and PJs. I couldn’t help myself.

Christmas cards and gifts:

I went with both personal cards and virtual cards. I sent many of my older family members cards with personal notes and sent a virtual card with pictures to all my online family members.

I gave many food-related gifts and personal touch gifts this year. Below are some of my favorites.

Overall I had a great holiday, and I hope you did as well.

Advent Calendars 2021

Posted on November 30, 2021 by mlenoach

I didn’t know that advent calendars were a big deal. Last year, I bought a chocolate one for both my mom and me to enjoy the season. I was pregnant, about to pop, and covid restrictions were still in effect, so I thought the calendars could be something we could do together even if we weren’t in the same place. Each night, my mom and I would find time to talk and enjoy our little treat. We loved it!

The chocolate was the same each night, but the quote with it was different.

I loved it so much I kind of went advent calendar crazy this year. I got a calendar for my parents, husband, my baby, my husband’s niece, and nephew, and even the cats have one.

My mom and I love chocolate, so I got a Godiva calendar for us. Dad wanted in, too, so he has his own as well.