Our Week 1 prompt is Something that feels calm.

Granted, not the best photo, and I took it after we had already dug into our dinner, but making a warm dinner with my fiancé on a cold winter evening, and having the house fill with delicious smells – that’s a very calm and cozy feeling!

This is a Ground Turkey and Sweet Potato Bake (with rice and topped with cheese). It was tasty and filling, and we will have a ton of leftovers!

Week 1, Day 2: Morning light through a window

I like these patterned, sheer curtains in the living room. My pine tree, Sport, loves all the light.

The lesson of the day is … I don’t know where exposure compensation is on this new camera. A Google search and YouTube video later, and I now have one of my dials set to adjust this on the fly! There is a learning curve to entering a new camera ecosystem, but I’m excited to get to know my Alpha better!

Week 1, Day 3: A favorite mug or cup

This is a bit difficult, since I have a lot of mugs that I really like! However, this one is special because my fiancé, Donald, took me to St. Thomas for my birthday one year. It was our first US Territory together! We will have to return and make the trip to the National Park there, but we had a lot of fun driving on all the steep and winding roads in our rental Jeep and looking at the beautiful water!

Week 1, Day 4: Cozy layers

Nothing is cozier than freshly laundered bed linens! It was my idea to look into the Scandinavian (?) method of having separate duvets/duvet covers per person. I figured that it would help with any cover-hogging situations. And, so far, it’s been nice and works for us. I especially love to snuggle into bed right after a wash day, when the bedding still smells like detergent. Sure, it’s work to remake the bed and wrestle with the fitted sheets and duvets, but it’s a nice little gift to yourself at bed time!