The Adventures of Julie and Bella 2025

This past week has been a crazy busy one! 🎄✂️ Between trying to finish up my Christmas projects and getting a head start on holiday baking 🍪, I’ve been running on fumes. It’s been exciting, creative, and completely exhausting all at once.
Today, while putting the final touches on my last projects 🎁, I let the crockpot do some of the heavy lifting. I made a delicious Garlic Parmesan Chicken 🍗🧄 that filled the house with the coziest smell. The best part? I have plenty of leftovers for lunches—and maybe even a dinner or two—during the week ahead 🙌. I used Aldi’s Garlic Parmesan sauce for this recipe, but I think next time I’ll try a different brand. This one had a bit more kick than I expected and was a little too spicy for me! 🥵🔥
I’m happy to say I think I’ve finally finished all my projects 🎉✨. This year, I made about 80% of my Christmas gifts, and there’s just something so special about that ❤️. Knowing I created something with my own hands—something that can’t be found in a store—fills my heart with so much joy 🥰. For my coworkers, I made custom gifts this year. Most received personalized glass cutting boards 🧑‍🍳✨, and for the one male teacher on my list, I made a fishing-themed wind spinner 🎣 since he absolutely loves fishing!

Yesterday, on my very first day of break 😌, Bella and I spent the day baking cookies 🐾🍪. We managed to finish two kinds before we completely ran out of energy 😴. The rest will have to wait until tomorrow afternoon. Between baking and crafting, we were both wiped out, and today’s project-finishing took top priority!

Now, as the evening winds down 🌙📖, it’s finally time to relax. I’m settling in with my current book, enjoying the quiet, and soaking in the calm that comes after a full, productive weekend 💕.
Here’s to slow Sundays, warm meals, creative hearts, and well-earned rest 🕯️✨