In a world that often feels uncertain, it’s nice to have things you can rely on. It might sound cheesy, but perhaps Jessie Frederick, the singer and composer responsible for the Full House theme song, said it best when he asked, “Whatever happened to predictability?” Bella Grace readers know that I’m a creature of habit, so it’s probably no surprise that I love holidays because I love traditions.

Each year, the holiday season starts with my birthday, which is usually right around Thanksgiving. I know going into it that I can count on lunch at the same place with one of my closest friends, as well as a bottle of luxurious hand lotion she always gives me. It’s something I look forward to every year, as I know it gives us a chance to catch up and chat about how excited we are for the holidays to arrive.

This is a time of year filled with things I do annually. Not because I feel obligated to, but because I truly enjoy them. Some of these traditions date back to my childhood and even generations before me, while others have been established in recent years. Most might not feel significant or meaningful to anyone else, but they’ve grown more important to me over the years and help keep me present in the season, even when I might be feeling a little lost or overwhelmed.

My Favorite Holiday Traditions:

• Snacking on the turkey-shaped cheese ball my aunt makes every year and joking with my family about how little it actually looks like a bird.
• Browsing the Black Friday ads after enjoying our Thanksgiving dinner, making a list of all I want to buy, and ultimately purchasing nothing.
• Going to the mall just to surround myself with the festive atmosphere.
• Taking far too long to pick out a Christmas tree and figuring out how to best hide its “ugly” side.
• Having a gift-wrapping party with friends so we can spend time together despite the ever-growing to-do list that comes with this time of year.
• That first viewing of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and reciting our favorite lines.
• Vowing to make something new for Christmas breakfast but never actually steering away from our beloved egg and sausage casserole.
• A coffee-fueled stroll around our neighborhood to look at Christmas lights with friends before enjoying a dinner filled with good cheer and food.
• Christmas Eve spent in pajamas.
• Guessing how much Grandma’s Christmas lasagna weighs.
• Standing around my best friend’s kitchen island each New Year’s Eve, talking and laughing while making more dumplings than we’ll ever be able to consume.

What traditions are you looking forward to this year?

Explore more ways to enjoy the holiday season to its fullest in our newly released Bella Grace Issue 42.

The post Holiday Traditions I’m Most Looking Forward To first appeared on Bella Grace Magazine.

Imagine waking up to a world where the day unfolds gently, and you have the time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast, savoring each bite and the aroma of your coffee. Instead of rushing through your morning routine, slow living is to be fully present and appreciate the textures, tastes, and sensations that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Within the pages of Bella Grace and Field Guide To Everyday Magic, you can find a treasury of quotes, prompts, and stories that celebrate the exquisite beauty of slow living. This blog compiles such excerpts for you to enjoy – so let it be your reminder to pause, breathe, and embrace the magic woven into life’s unhurried moments.

20 Simple Steps to Slow Living

1. Go for a nature walk daily
2. Have a routine for your day
3. Give yourself fully to each task
4. Journal
5. Cook
6. Set aside some reading time
7. Connect to your surroundings
8. Stop multitasking
9. Try a no-tech evening
10. Remember what’s really important to you
11. Don’t compare yourself to others
12. Be grateful
13. Engage fully with people
14. Sit in silence for one minute
15. Delight in the simple things
16. Stop spending mindlessly
17. Buy from and support ethical small brands
18. Start a small garden
19. Try out a capsule wardrobe
20. Go to your local farmers market

We all know how important it is to slow down our lives a little, yet we rarely do it. What are three things you can think of that will help you live a slower life?

Photo by Demetr White | Prompt from The Cozy Issue Volume 4

Slow Living Prompts

• Life can get so busy sometimes that we forget to pause every now and then to take note of certain sights and sounds that bring us joy. What always makes you pause?
• While the act of reading is wonderful in itself, it’s even more enjoyable to make an experience out of it. You can turn on music in the background, pour yourself some coffee, and sink into your favorite space. What’s your ideal reading experience?

Prompts from Field Guide To Everyday Magic Issue 11

• You are given the choice between spending a week in a beach house or in a cottage on a lake. Which one would you choose, and how would you spend your time there?
• The older we get, the quicker life seems to go by. The past year has forced us to slow down, which was a good thing for many people. In what ways has your life slowed down for the better?
• Store-bought isn’t always better. There are so many foods, home comforts, and clothes that are often much more charming when they’re made by hand. What homemade items make your heart happy?

Photo by Sonya Knegay from Bella Grace Issue 28 | Prompts from Field Guide To Everyday Magic Issue 8

• What are some of the times when you’ve been stopped in your tracks, surprised by the beauty of a seemingly ordinary moment?
• There are probably very few of us who enjoy waiting in line for something. Today, think of all those lines you wait in and write about why you’re happy to be waiting in them.

Prompts from Field Guide To Everyday Magic Issue 2

As you can see, Bella Grace and Field Guide To Everyday Magic are not publications you simply flip through. Our magazines invite you to linger and relish the beauty of the present moment. Click here and step into a realm where every page encourages you to embrace life’s rhythms, find solace in stillness, and cherish the subtleties that often escape our notice.

The post Navigating Life Through Slow Living first appeared on Bella Grace Magazine.

I’ve never been one to make serious resolutions when a new year arrives and instead take two different approaches. I think of the things I will not be doing in the coming year (my “unresolutions”) and I think of what I want more of in my life. You know, those little things that when you do them, they bring you so much joy that you wonder why you don’t do them more often.

It was an uncharacteristically stormy, dark winter in Southern California — something I had never experienced in my lifetime of living here and one I just wanted to pass as quickly as possible. I had completely abandoned all those whimsical things I had vowed to add to my life in favor of just getting through what seemed like months of endless rain.

I missed the sunny days we seem to take for granted here as well as the ability to spend time outdoors whenever I wanted. I missed the delicate flowers that bloom every February in my neighbor’s yard that couldn’t survive the heavy downpours this winter. I missed weekly trips to the farmers market that’s a few blocks from my house, an event that was cancelled more often than not.

Many people think of spring as a time of rebirth, a time when we can put the dark, gloomy days of winter behind us and look forward to happier, brighter times. This year I decided to be one of these people and use the new season as a chance to start anew and recommit to adding more of the little things that bring me joy to my life.

This spring, I’m embracing joy and delight by …

1.  … moving any clothing with a bright color or cheerful pattern to the front of my closet.
2.  … wearing sundresses with my cute new pair of white sneakers, much like I did when I was a little girl.
3.  … eating all things lemon-flavored.
4.  … sprinkling wildflowers seeds in our flower box and seeing what grows.
5.  … opening up the windows as I start my day and closing them as I’m going to bed.
6.  … rearranging the backyard to set up a reading space to enjoy before summer comes and it’s too warm to sit out there.
7.  … writing notes to strangers inside books before putting them in the Little Free Libraries around my neighborhood.
8.  … meeting friends for a scoop of ice cream or a sundae.
9.  … playing soft music while I prepare meals filled with my favorite springtime produce.
10.  … keeping my fingernails painted in pastel shades.
11.  … taking walks through my neighborhood to watch as the yards fill with blooms.
12.  … buying flower bouquets from the grocery store and scattering them around my tiny house.
13.  … enjoying my meals outside whenever I can.
14.  … sitting on the porch and blowing bubbles for my dogs to chase.
15.  … adding my “fluffiest” novels to the front of my “to be read” shelf.

How will you be embracing joy and delight this spring?

Christen Hammons is the editor-in-chief of Bella Grace magazine. She lives in Orange County with her husband and their two rescue dogs.

The post 15 Ways to Embrace Joy & Delight This Spring first appeared on Bella Grace Magazine.