We’re back with this month’s edition of Five Things. We can’t believe it’s December.. this year flew by! As much as our to-do lists are filled and work seems to have endless deadlines, it’s all okay because the holiday season is officially here! Our trees are up and decorations are out, holiday gifts are starting to arrive, and we can feel the Christmas spirit all around us (and in LA, the festive decorations at the mall complete with fake snow falling from the sky definitely help).

Take a look below to see what we’ve been loving this month – and share your own monthly musings with us!

Credits: AdrianneXO (top left), Camille Styles (middle), My Scandinavian Home (bottom left), Half Baked Harvest (bottom right)

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING…

We've officially hopped on the Disney+ bandwagon, and it’s so much fun! From the throwback Disney Channel Original Movies to the new content, it’s been a fun new addition to our go-to streaming services. We’re also enjoying The Mandalorian – how cute is baby Yoda? Seriously our reason for watching… bravo, Disney!

Now that it’s December, it’s officially time to watch all of the new, cheesy Christmas movies that are coming out. We recently watched Holiday in the Wild with Rob Lowe & Kristin Davis (Charlotte from Sex & The City) on Netflix & it was everything you want a holiday rom-com to be. It also really made us want to travel to Africa to volunteer at an elephant sanctuary. Next stop: Lea Michele’s Same Time, Next Christmas from ABC streaming on Hulu, Vanessa Hudgens’ The Knight Before Christmas on Netflix, & all of these winners. We will of course be including our holiday movie favorites in the mix, including The Holiday & Love Actually.

WHAT WE’RE LISTENING TO & READING…

As Apple Music members, we’re thrilled that our Amazon Alexa now finally plays all of the songs on our playlists! We can officially listen to the soundtrack of A Star Is Born on our Echo Show, which will definitely be appreciated when we need a little karaoke practice (just kidding, we wish).

We got a lot of reading done on our flights to & from Kauai over Thanksgiving. Our book club is reading Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb & we are loving it so far. It explores the relationship between therapist & patient, and it reminds you that even experts need help sometimes.

WHAT WE’RE EATING & DRINKING…

It all began when one of our editors had leftover oat milk in the fridge and was reminded of White Russian cocktails. Although likely better with creamier milk, it was so easy to whip up sweetened oat milk (with maple syrup & vanilla extract) and vodka to create a vegan White Russian. This Vanilla Chai Tea White Russian recipe from Half Baked Harvest is next on our must-try list!

WHERE WE’VE BEEN…

We started off December getting back into the swing of things after a week away on the beautiful Hawaiian island of Kauai – blog post with our recs coming soon! It’s been tough adjusting to city life after embracing island time, but thankfully, we have photos to look back on whenever we’re having a stressful moment. If anyone’s interested in a gorgeous sunrise pic for their phone wallpaper background, DM us on Instagram or shoot us an email (hello@theinspiredabode.com) – it’s super calming!

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO…

We made a few Black Friday purchases this year & can’t wait for them to arrive! One of our editors took advantage of Best Buy’s savings to get a new MacBook Pro & our other editor got a new smart TV. We also got a few Abercrombie purchases (still obsessed, nothing’s changed since last month) including this coat, which was 50% off on Cyber Monday. Can’t wait to put it in the outerwear rotation!

We’re also looking forward to spending Christmas in LA – traveling is always fun, but sometimes it can just be too stressful over the holidays, so it’ll be nice to stay home & enjoy LA when the traffic dies down. We’re also going to want to try some new recipes, so please send us your holiday favorites!!

We’d love to know what you’ve enjoyed watching, listening to, eating, drinking & what you’ve been eyeing and are looking forward to. Let us know in the comments section or send us a DM on Instagram! Don’t forget to follow us on Pinterest to see what inspires us daily!

Want to read more? Be sure to check out our holiday living room design, get the look of one of our favorite home tours, and shop 10 of our favorite cozy pieces for the winter season! Oh & if you haven’t checked it out already, we recently launched our very own e-design packages! If you’re looking to revamp your bedroom, living room, kitchen, or office before or in the new year, we can help!