I have a sweet Christmas story for you that I reminisce about every single year. I thought this year I would share this story along with a review of my new Saranac Blanket from Woolx since cozy blankets and reading at two of my favorite things. Woolx sent this blanket along as a gift for me to share with you guys, and I have got to tell you that it’s absolutely lovely.
Thank you for shopping with me this holiday season. Your purchases through my affiliate links help me do what I love and it means so much that you would take them time to read my blog posts….truly!
The Saranac Throw is absolutely a dream of a blanket and it’s the perfect size. It’s soft and cozy, but still thick and substantial. It’s lightweight, but also has a slightly-nubby snuggle-worthy texture that just makes you want to curl-up and take a nap! It definitely reminds me of a handmade blanket knitted by your grandma, yet it’s neat as a pin and you can just feel the quality every time you touch it. Because it is 100% Australian Wool, it’s almost like it has a warmth of its own, while still being perfectly breathable. I’m telling you, this blanket is the epitome of all things wool and magical!
My ten year old son keeps trying to take MY throw and the fact that it is pink has not stopped him (the Light Rose is a beautiful blush pink, almost a peach color. It also comes in Cream, and Light Grey. I love the vintage colors).
He and I love to cuddle up on the couch with a good book and a blanket, so we will just have to share this gorgeous Saranac Throw. It’s generously sized at 54″ x 60″ so that shouldn’t be a problem. Check out the rest of the features!
- Luxuriously soft
- Breathable for all day comfort
- Use year round
- Warmth without the bulk
- Perfect Size for comfort (54″ x 60″)
- Beautiful knit
- Gorgeous color selection
- Extremely warm and cozy
Did you know that Woolx makes another blanket as well? They also have the Tahoe Merino Throw, which I haven’t seen in person yet. It is lighter than the Saranac and looks amazingly soft and luxurious! If you have either of these blankets, please let me know in the comments!
Now, on to my sentimental Christmas story.
Reading is a very important legacy in our family. Both my husband and I grew up as very enthusiastic readers and not just by accident. Both of my parents made reading a very high priority for me and my siblings and it has been a lifelong passion. I’m so grateful that I learned to love reading as a child and passing that love on to my own children was one of my most fervent hopes.
The story I’m going to tell today happened when my twin girls were only 2 years old. I’m not going to lie, at that phase of parenting I was exhausted beyond belief. Truly, I cannot even tell you how tiring it was to parent twin toddlers, as sweet and precious as the work was. I cherished every minute of it, but I was also just praying my way through, if you know what I mean!
With that background, I will say that my girls loved to read from babyhood and another thing the three of us really loved to do together, was to shop. For some reason, they were usually really patient at the stores and enjoyed looking around at all the sights. One day, we were shopping at Sam’s Club. I remember that I especially loved going there, because they were one of the only stores that had grocery carts with double baby seats in the front! I’m telling you, it was such a help to be able to put both of them in the front of the cart, so I would often go just to browse without even making a purchase. So, on this day, we were just shopping around and my girls were each looking at a musical Silent Night board book from the book section. They were happily pushing the buttons and listening to the soft music and definitely on their sweetest twin behavior.
We got a lot of attention at stores (for better or for worse) because the girls were simply adorable. (Sorry if I sound braggy, but it’s just true.) People were constantly coming up to us to talk to them or ask me endless questions about being a twin mom. On this particular day, a woman I would guess was in her 50’s came up to us and talked to us for a few minutes. We had a pretty long conversation, in fact. She was really lovely and sweet and asked if we were buying two identical books. I told her, “No, the girls are just looking at these while we are shopping, but we will be putting them back before we go through the checkout.” I am sure I laughed and said they were used to window shopping! What I didn’t tell her was that our budget was extremely tight back then, and we were very frugal. I would never purchase brand new books spontaneously at that point in our family’s financial journey. Most of our books came from the library or my favorite thrift store where I could fill a bag for $1.50.
She complimented all of us again and we said good bye and Merry Christmas to one another. About twenty minutes later I was in the checkout line and the lady came up to me again and gave me $25 in cash and asked that I purchase the two books for my babies! I was absolutely stunned. I tried to decline, because I just couldn’t believe a stranger would do something like that. But she firmly insisted and I was so incredibly touched. Every single year ever since, we pull those books out and I remember this story. My girls are 16 now but that surprise encounter with a stranger still sticks with me.
Find our Silent Night Board Book here.
I am not overstating it to say that that unexpected blessing was something I will never forget! I think about it every time I hear the song Silent Night, every time I shop at Sam’s and, of course, every time we pull out our holiday book collection at Christmas time. I often think about the incredible impact that even a stranger could make through giving an unexpected blessing. And I think about making a similar impact on another family someday. Maybe one day I will troll Sam’s looking for young moms who are tired and pinching pennies and need to be cheered up at Christmas time! You never know how a small act of kindness might just become a part of a family’s holiday tradition, just as this story has become part of ours.
Super excited to share with you a gorgeous brand that I have recently discovered: 
Wool capes are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Julahas, but I wanted to share this Wool Daria Ishikari with you today since it is Small Business Saturday! I’ll definitely been styling this Cape in future posts and hope to share more Julahas with you soon.
Day 7 is the Bella Tunic Top and 
Day 8: 
I bought them in black, Lava Smoke, and Olive Tree so I have tried all three colors. Like Wednesday Adams, I love my black the best, but all three are fabulous and for this price you just can’t go wrong! They aren’t on sale, but I have to mention that they are available this season in 
Woolx said they spent a year developing this design and I totally believe it! Somehow they nailed an over-sized yet feminine cut of this “masculine” style and made it cute, comfy, and functional. The pockets, also, are pocket perfection, almost invisible from the front yet generous and warm.
Like I said, in the Deep South, layering is a must and cardigans or jackets get a lot more wear in my wardrobe than true coats. All that to say, I owned no wool blend cardigans at all so 
I decided to try it with a basic jeans and patterned blouse outfit, along with some Dansko clogs. It was a great way to add a little warmth and elegance to a casual outfit!
Note: I didn’t include photos, but the Cypress also comes with a belt making it easy to use as a bathrobe or for different styles and looks. I think it’s a great idea and I know a lot of people say this cardigan is perfect for travel. It’s just another multi-use item that could fill a bunch of different holes in your wardrobe!
I think this cardigan would be perfect for office-wear, and I will 100% be wearing it into work when I have the opportunity. (I work remote and go into the office occasionally for meetings or events). It will work almost like a blazer for me.