Summary:
One of our favorite parts of the holiday season is thinking back on the year! Reflection is a crucial part to growth, celebration, and goal setting. We hope you take time to talk with those you love about all you’ve learned and experienced this year!
Mentioned This Episode:
-Check out this guide for reflection and goal setting:
-Elle’s word for the year was “patience”. She learned about engaging with the slow process of growth!
-Laura’s word for the year was “appreciation”. She felt a deeper desire and willingness to love and serve her husband.
-Looking forward to 2020, Laura is hoping for intentionality with her family and Elle is hoping for rhythm and routine.
Is there anything more magical than Christmas music playing while it snows outside and you hang Christmas lights? If you’re looking to update your Christmas selection, look no further!
Top Christmas Albums
12. Cee Lo’s Magic Moment
11. Michael Smith’s Christmastime
10. Penny and Sparrow’s Christmas Songs
9. Mannheim Steamroller’s Christmas Album (Check out this amazing light show at 913 E Evergreen Street in Wheaton, IL. They’re raising money for Muscular Dystrophy!)
8. John Legend’s A Legendary Christmas
7. Dave Barnes’ A Very Merry Christmas Dave's Funny Christmas Video
6. Bing Crosby’s The Best of Christmas
5. Glee’s The Christmas Album
4. Michael Buble’s Christmas
3. Justin Bieber’s Under the Mistletoe Taylor Flash Mob
2. Charlie Brown Christmas, Vince Guaraldi Trio
1. Amy Grant’s A Christmas Album
Summary:
Who doesn’t love a good Christmas movie?! Don’t miss out on this full list of movies we love!
Mentioned This Episode:
Movies We Love: The Grinch, Family Stone, Four Christmases, The Holiday, The Christmas Calendar, The Princess Switch.
Coming Soon: Last Christmas, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Frozen 2, The Knight Before Christmas,
Listener Faves: Home Alone, Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life, Die Hard, Santa Clause, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Sleepless in Seattle, Little Women, The Muppets, Rudolph, Polar Express, Christmas Vacation.
Happy movie watching!
Summary:
Everyone is telling you what to buy--we thought we’d tell you what NOT to buy! Listen in to get helpful do’s and don’t’s!
Mentioned This Episode:
-Gift ideas: subscriptions (cheese of the month?! Magazines), meaningful maps or menus framed!
-DON’T: Unmentionables, squatty potties, specific decorations.
-DO: Get rid of annoying pets, chocolate, fruit of the month, gift cards to great stores, a night of babysitting for a friend.
Summary:
While the holidays bring lots of cheer, sometimes the difficult parts of life feel magnified in these moments. The pain of losing a loved one, the tricky feelings of comparison, or even the struggle of family dynamics all play a role in the holiday season. Elle and Laura encourage listeners to engage with these difficult topics and to be the type of friend that allows for both joy and pain.
Praying you all have a meaningful Thanksgivings and feel deep gratitude for who God was, is, and has been to you.
And of course, We're grateful for YOU! Thanks for listening each week.
Summary:
There’s no time like the holidays to lean in to tradition! Whether it’s pumpkin pies with homemade whipped cream, new holiday ornaments each year, or a fresh pair of Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve, we think cultivating traditions in with your family and friends is an important part of the season. Elle and Laura talk about their own experiences with tradition,what color Christmas lights they use, favorite Christmas cookies, and everything in between!
Let's Be Honest:
Sometimes you need conversation starters around the Holidays! We highly recommend diving into the Enneagram with your relatives. It will make for lively conversation that will hopefully help you get to know each other better! We recommend checking out The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron or The Sacred Enneagram by Chris Heuertz. And seriously-someone print out a test for all their relatives and let us know how it goes.
Mentioned This Episode:
Favorite Christmas Traditions:
Laura-Chinese food on Christmas or Christmas Eve!
Elle-Buying her kids classic novels every year with a letter on the inside of the book cover.
Favorite Thanksgiving Food:
Elle-Homemade noodles (ask Elle if you need a recipe!)
Laura-Stuffing and Rolls!
Favorite Thanksgiving Tradition:
Laura: The Armstrongs cook their turkey a different way every year. This year they’re trying a sous vide approach!
Elle: Playing the “thankful game” or using corn kernels to think of what everyone around the table is thankful for.
Favorite Christmas Cookie:
Elle: Hershey’s kiss peanut butter cookies and her mom’s delicious seven layer Christmas bars!
Laura: Gingersnaps, Snickerdoodles, sugar cookies with Christmas decorations!
Favorite Christmas Tradition:
Elle: Christmas Eve drive followed by opening presents!
Laura: Picking out Christmas ornaments for her boys.
Summary:
It's the holiday season! And with the seasons comes all sorts of opportunities and challenges. This week, Elle and Laura talk about gratitude. The often talked about but rarely practiced word that constantly circles the holidays. They talk about the peace and contentment practicing gratitude brings, along with the feelings of greed, envy, and arrogance that undermine gratitude. They suggest different ways to practice gratitude like setting reminders on your phone, speaking it outloud rather than keeping it in your head, and looking at people as image bearers of Jesus. This episode is a must as you enter your seasons of giving thanks!
Let's Be Honest:
The wonderful, but slightly crazy, Laura just finished Whole30, and here's her advice. Don't do Whole 30! BUT, if you do, break the 30 days with a delicious Ghiradelli chocolate square. She recommends mint, and Elle recommends raspberry! Here's to a season of eating!
Mentioned This Episode:
Happy 5th of November. Elle and Laura talk about the famous phrase from the movie V for Vendetta. Turns out the phrase is from a famous poem called (believe it or not) "The Fifth of November" which refers to Guy Fawkes' now infamous plan to blow up London's Houses of Parliament on November 5th, 1605. Now ya know!
Two verses Elle and Laura reference are Psalm107:8-9 and Colossians 3:17.
Living Honestly:
Check out The Honestly Podcast instagram this week for gratitude prompts! Take time to think each day about what makes you grateful!
Summary:
Waiting is an inescapable part of life. Laura and Elle talk about the disappointments we face in the midst of waiting. Whether you’re waiting for that perfect job, a best friend, or answers to life’s toughest questions—God speaks to your waiting. Elle and Laura talk about their own seasons of waiting and how God met them time and time again.
Let’s Be Honest:
-If you’re not watching The Great British Baking Show, get on board!! It’s the least competitive baking competition that makes you feel happy, hungry, and will almost definitely make you talk in a British accent.
Mentioned This Episode:
-Laura is doing Whole30. Just saying.
-The Craig Groeschel podcast. This is a MUST listen. In this episode he interviews Rich Froning Jr. (an incredible CrossFit athlete) about what it takes to be the best in your field. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/63-q-a-with-crossfit-champion-rich-froning/id1070649025?i=1000453782002
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Summary:
This week Elle and Laura welcomed on their favorite people in the world: their husbands! Mark Wilkerson and Grant Armstrong graced the podcast with lots of wisdom and even more laughter. You won’t want to miss this episode where both couples share honestly about difficult seasons in their own marriages, expectations they brought in to marriage, and how they’ve grown to love and appreciate each other’s quirks and giftings.
Let’s Be Honest:
Grant and Mark poke fun at the large amount of time this wonderful podcast takes! They tease Elle and Laura about being off on their expectations of time requirements, but also encourage listeners to make space for their significant others to pursue things that matter to them.
Summary:
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! FALL! Join Elle and Laura as they talk all things fall: from cozy sweaters to apple picking and all the fall things in between! Listen in to get inspired and excited about this beautiful season of change and beauty!
Mentioned This Episode:
“The life starts all over when it gets crisp in the fall”.
Fall must do’s:
-Chicago residents check out Edwards Orchard https://edwardsappleorchard.business.site
-Pumpkin Pasta: https://www.blessthismessplease.com/sausage-and-pumpkin-pasta/
-Gratitude List
-Cider competition
-Get your pictures taken (with Laura if you’re smart! lauraarmstrongphotography.com)
Must dont’s:
-Stay away from the creepy things.
-Bonfire candle by Nature Wick
Let’s Be Honest:
Elle and Laura love the book The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn! It’s a great psychological thriller.
Living Honestly:
-Write out some things you’ve been grateful for this fall so far. Going forward, make this a season of gratitude. Be intentional about thanking God for all he’s given you.
Summary:
Organizing life is the never-ending, often overwhelming task of trying to make life doable! Listen in as Laura and Elle talk about their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to organization and share their experiences with making life work!
Mentioned This Episode:
-Look into the Meyers Briggs test! personalityhacker.com is an amazing resource!
-Elle can’t live without her Plum Paper calendar! https://www.plumpaper.com/shop/category/personalized-planners
-Try using the daily five for kids! Trace their hand and write five things they accomplish each morning before getting their vitamins!
-Laura swears by the Marie Kondo method for folding clothes! Her book is a must: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
-Emily Ley’s book, A Simplified Life, provides extremely practical tips and tricks for organizing your life. She focuses on simplifying rather than just organizing and making more space in your life for what matters.
-Come up with simple solutions for cluttered spaces: make bins or baskets for different items. The bins can be less tidy, but they’ll clean up quickly!
Let’s Be Honest:
-The weather is getting colder and it’s time to cozy up the house with an amazing Hearth&Hand fall candle line! Can’t get much better than Joanna Gaines bringing life and delicious scents to your home! (Sold at Target!)
Listener Tips:
-ShopShop is an amazing app that lets you make multiple lists at multiple stores but house them all in one place!
-Try the bullet journal. Keep a running list of things to do daily, both big tasks and small. Use it to take notes and jot down memorable things about your day.
-Keep your cleaning products where you actually need them! It makes you more willing to clean when tools are on hand!
-Set up reminders on your phone! Do it instantaneously so you won’t forget later!
-Come up with certain days for certain events! This family has Friday fun days! It gives everyone something to look forward to.
-Go through a certain room of your house or a certain category on a monthly basis. See what you actually use and love, and if you’re done with it let it go! You can sell items online, donate to good will, or give them to a friend!
Summary:
Three times a day, we’re forced to think about meals! Getting food on the table can truly become a mundane task. Elle and Laura talk about their own struggles and strengths within cooking and remind listeners of the sacred nature of food. You want to miss the tips and tricks to making mealtime less maddening and Elle and Laura’s own hilarious mealtime routines.
Mentioned This Episode:
Ree Drummond cookbooks taught Laura how to cook! https://thepioneerwoman.com/my_cookbook/
Nothing better than the Magnolia Cookbook! https://shop.magnolia.com/products/magnolia-table-cookbook
Ina Garten cookbooks http://barefootcontessa.com/cookbooks
Breakfast Hacks: Try making a routine for different days. The Wilkersons always have cinnamon rolls on Tuesday mornings! Make breakfast casseroles for delicious meals all week!
Lunch Hacks: Laura uses Uber Eats as her lunch hack! Buy the same thing for lunch every day!
Snack Hacks: Banana, peanut butter, and a chocolate chip on top! Use coffee filters for snack cups. Try the Boom-Chicka-Pop kettle corn.
Dinner Hacks: Make different categories for different nights: Italian on Monday, Mexican on Wednesdays, homemade pizza on Fridays!
Let’s Be Honest:
Enjoy the last days of summer by going on a bike ride with your friends and family! Elle got a new bike this year and it was a game changer. Check out these cute bikes! https://www.sixthreezero.com
Listener Tips:
-Store leftovers in individual sized containers!
-Do meal prep in the morning or other times when you’re more fresh. Chip away at the meals throughout the week so you’re more prepared when dinner time rolls around.
-Buy time savers! Try pre-grated cheese, rotisserie chicken, packaged cornbread mix! (Check out themommymentor.net for an amazing blogpost of mealtime prep!)
-Label your fridge! It make the fridge less chaotic, gets everyone in the house same page about where food goes back and eliminate food waste!
-Try making chia seed pudding! Start with chia seed, add almond milk, and let soak. Dress it up with fruit, coconut flakes, and honey!
-Do food prep during nap time!
-Chicken curry tacos! Throw chicken, onions, carrots, potatoes, and coconut curry in a crockpot. Shred the chicken and throw it with hummus and spinach on tortillas!
-Have your kids play restaurant! It gets everyone involved in a fun way and lets mom have the night off!
-Grill all your vegetables and chicken with olive oil!
-Try making grilled cheese with mayo!
Summary:
One of the “messier” tasks in life is taking care of our bodies! Today Elle and Laura talk about not only tips and tricks when it comes to skin care, hair care, and beyond, but they also remind listeners of the unique and beautiful and specific ways that God made each of us! Once again, listeners submit incredibly helpful tips that you won’t want to miss!
Mentioned This Episode:
Elle’s first make up book that taught her everything she knows: https://www.amazon.com/Bobbi-Brown-Teenage-Beauty-Everything/dp/0060957247
Laura’s go to skin care routine: http://www.jamiebgolden.com/2019/05/10-step-skincare-routine.html
Don’t laugh….but check out the Tinkle Razor! https://www.tinkleyourface.com/
Elle’s go to product: Bobbi Brown illuminating bronzer!
Laura’s go to product: Eyebrow pencils! Her fave is Benefit Goof Proof Brow
Body Wash: Love, Beauty, and Planet bar soap. Try Lavender!
Lotion: Sleepy by Lush
FaceWash: Milky Jelly by Glossier, Skinny Coconut Oil for make up remover, Micellar Water Eye Remover
Make up Product: Nars concealer, Tarte mascara
Hair Products: Kristin Ess Dry Scalp Exfoliator, DryBar Dry Shampoo
Perfume: Glossier, Ariana Grande
Let’s Be Honest:
Save the date for the new Stars Wars movie! The Rise of Starwalker comes out December 20!
Listener Tips:
Use African Shea Butter (order in bulk off Amazon) as a moisturizer!
Put concealer under your eyes and over your eyelids to make it look natural and still light and bright!
Use a wooden hairbrush-it grabs the oil at the roots and adds a nice shine to your hair without any unnatural products!
Heat up your eyelash curler when curling your eyelashes!
Use coconut oil instead of lotion-nothing fancy needed!
Everyday we make a million choices around our homes. Do I pick up those clothes or just leave them there for a few more hours? Should I start laundry or wait until I have a free five hours to complete the whole process? Tidy up the junk drawer or let it live in it’s junky glory? Taking care of your home is one of the biggest areas of “mundane” in our lives. Elle and Laura help listeners think through the meaning and purpose behind these simple tasks and give tons of helpful tips from listeners about making the mundane a little less brutal!
Playground Study: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O8hHYIMHu0
Hygge (defined as a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality!) If you don’t know about “hygge” yet read The Little Book of Hygge. https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Hygge-Danish-Secrets/dp/0062658808
Best Vacuum Ever: https://www.amazon.com/Miele-Dynamic-Upright-Vacuum-Lotus/dp/B00S1AGLY0
Laura swears by OxiClean! Get your whites whiter and keep your colors colorful! https://www.oxiclean.com/en
Throw white vinegar in with a load laundry if you’re worried about smells!
Emily Ley’s expert tip is to do a load of laundry every morning. Makes everything shorter and hopefully sweeter.
Try out gloves when you do dishes!
Elle tries to live by the phase: “A place for everything. Everything in its place.”
Let’s Be Honest:
Check out Grove Collective! Elle tried it one month and got wonderfully, insane discounts the first time you try it! Try it for a month and keep it going OR cancel your subscription! Such fun and cute products for an outrageously awesome price. https://www.grove.co/home
Keep a handheld vacuum underneath your kitchen sink for quick access to kitchen crumbs (especially for the stovetop!).
Immediately dump fresh laundry on your bed, so you have to put it away before bed that night.
Never do more laundry in a day then you’re willing to put away. Keeps the laundry process to under a day!
Make your bed!
Buy a legit garage can with bags that fit and get new bags delivered from Amazon regularly! Bags in the can are a game changer.
Use a razor on furniture and bed sheets. Run it across the fabric to get off pills without tearing or scratching the fabric!
Go through different rooms of your house regularly and purge items that you don’t use or need. Do small area of your home every month, so it’s never overwhelming!
Dr. Bronner’s pure castille soap is an amazing, chemical-free cleaner. It’s affordable and goes a long way! Use it in bathrooms, kitchen, and floors!
Make laundry into a game-pick fun music and enjoy the activity more!
Everyone’s days are determined by many conscious and subconscious habits. Why do hit the alarm seven times before waking up? Why do we skip breakfast again in hopes hitting up the Starbucks drive through again? Why can’t we seem to get a handle of those little habits that nag us? Elle and Laura dive into the courageous task of changing your habits. Habits often go hand in hand with our identity, and making time and space to make and break habits is a process that requires determination. Listen as Elle and Laura dive into tips on changing your habits, share their own strengths and weaknesses, and encourage listeners to lean into habits that will make life more joy filled!
Laura shares her latest love of reusable straws! Help save the environment one super cute straw at a time. http://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-reusable-straws.html
Try out the two minute trick! Start tomorrow by implementing a habit that will only take two minutes. Do 10 sit ups. Drink a cup of water. Lay in bed for two minutes before looking at your phone. Make a call instead of sending a text. Make two minutes of space in your day tomorrow to start something new!
Atomic Habits by James Clear. We couldn’t recommend this book more highly!
The Magnolia Journal manifesto: “We believe in home, that it should restore us from today and ready us for tomorrow.”
Summary:
Elle and Laura dive into the wonderful world of mentorship! They reminisce about their own experiences with mentoring, think through what makes a great mentor, and encourage listeners to find a balance of receiving and giving.
Let's Be Honest:
Get yourself some overalls for a truly cute and comfortable life. Try out this pair Elle's been rockin all summer: https://www.urbanoutfitters.com/shop/levis-vintage-denim-shortall-overall-short-and-sweet?category=overalls-for-women&color=092&type=REGULAR
Living Honestly:
Find time in the next couple weeks to spend time with someone in a different life stage than you. Make space to give and receive with this person.
Resources:
Try this amazing enchilada recipe at your next dinner party! https://www.pinterest.com/pin/17240411061656775/
Here are some questions to take your conversation deeper:
1. Have you ever had a season of waiting?
2. What was it like to wait? Did you feel angry? sad? disengaged?
3. How will you wait differently in your next season of waiting?