I’m sure in all the years I’ve been posting on ‘Coffee & Chiffon‘, I’ve talked about or at the very least mentioned in passing how busy the month of January is and has been for me for as long as I can remember. Any holiday get-togethers and gift exchanges that I couldn’t get around to before the end of the previous year typically take place in the first weeks of January, and the month is full of birthdays (including my own!) that require their own respective dinners, parties, and gatherings.
Whenever I give anyone a glimpse into my schedule or my planner, they’re always amazed at how my weekends and even some of my weeknights after work are fully booked – and 2025 has been no exception to those traditions!
Last week, after wrapping up things at my office early so that I could get a head start on my weekend, I had picked up my mother for an afternoon of shopping so we could put the final touches on gifts for relatives we were visiting for a post-Christmas meetup with my cousins just a couple of days later. Our stops included a couple of restaurants around Central Massachusetts to pick up gift cards for their baskets/boxes – with The 1761 Old Mill being one of them. I convinced my mom to pause for a late lunch break before we hit the road again, which was one of the highlights of such a busy day.
On Saturday, it was off to record with Stef during a snowstorm for the last couple of episodes of our current season of our podcast, ‘Baking to the B-Movies‘, before we take a little break until it’s time to pick things up in the Springtime again. I don’t want to spoil what the movies we discussed were, or the recipes we prepared – but I’ll be sharing Stef’s dish on here shortly because it was absolutely delicious, and was perfect for the colder, darker months.
I’m also sharing a photo of her “cat butt” coasters she had at her house – because they were incredible.
And once the season was wrapped and Stef & I solidified plans we have this coming Friday night – I hit the plowed and sanded roads one more time to head out to Acton, Massachusetts for a belated-birthday dinner and video gaming session for my BFF, Sean. After indulging in some take-out and meeting Piper the puppy for the first time (and I fell instantly in love! She’s so sweet and cuddly!) we got to work on playing Sean’s current obsession – S.C.U.M. for a few hours until I had to head back home and get ready for Sunday’s plans.
To close out the weekend, my mother and I got together with my cousins for coffee, snacks and presents – which is always such a good time. Everyone is so thoughtful and generous with their gift ideas – and I’m sure I’ll be sharing some photos of what I received during my end-of-the-month “Favorite Things” post. I was so surprised and happy!
With me working fully remote this week, I’ve got some (brief) down time to share my usual beginning-of-the-year content – like my take on the Pantone Color of the Year and my current Winter makeup obsessions – so stay tuned!
xo
Coffee & Chiffon 