Hello dear ones! I feel like I blinked the week before Thanksgiving, and now we're galloping towards Christmas. What happened?

Well one thing that happened was I won NaNoWriMo! It was my first time making it to the finish line, and I feel so good about completing a (very) rough draft of a fictional work for the first time. The plot holes are a mile wide, but that's what revision is for, right!?

I just rounded up some hygge holiday links and a mini-gift guide for my newsletter subscribers (are you on the list?), but since I haven’t had a chance to post here in a while, I thought I would share it in this space as well. First up is a short list of 5 cozy holiday favorites, including cookie baking tips, gorgeous Christmas lights, cozy bookish art freebies and a very hygge Pinterest board. Scroll a bit further down & I’ve also shared an assortment of highly giftable goodies for all of the people on your list. Enjoy!

1. The Biltmore at Christmas looks magical.

2. My recent writings on Houzz: 15 essentials for bakers; 24 simple pleasures + treats for your holiday countdown; 10 times to hire an architect.

3. The secrets to easier cookie baking. (Smitten Kitchen)

4. Freebie alert! Super cozy bookish art + bookmark printable. (The House That Lars Built)

5. Latest Pinterest board: Winter Hygge, oh yessss....

Mini-Gift Guide 2018

• For the ladies: Sweet woodsy necklace, $16.02 (Etsy)

• For the hostess: Handmade Japanese tea towel, $9.62 (Etsy)

• For the #bookstagrammer: A new bookish mug, $18, from a favorite illustrator (The Ideal Bookshelf)

• For getting hygge: All of Emma Bridgewater's mugs are highly covetable & some can be personalized. Add tea and local honey.

• For grownup readers: pair the new translation of The Odyssey with a copy of Circe.

• Also love these editions of classics.

• For young readers: we love the Percy Jackson box set, The Last Kids on Earth, and anything by Kate DiCamillo.

• To hold up all of those books: Platform 9 3/4 bookends! $39 (Etsy)

• For guys: a super sleek and simple commuter backpack, $80. (Everlane)

• For earthy garden types: a worm bin composter, $80 (Etsy) or this Yay Farms! Yay food! tee, $28. (Taproot)

• For the stockings: Mexican hot chocolate, $3.29, a funny mini cat calendar, $7.99, and tins of book darts, $7.84.

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed sharing it! 
xo Laura