Belle Brita Blog

If I had to do it all over again, I would still choose you.

Cheers to 12 years and counting! 🥂

1) San Antonio, 3/22/14
2) Greenwood, SC, 4/5/14
3) Findlay, OH, 4/26/14

As I celebrate my first Tet (Lunar New Year) in Vietnam, it feels like the right time to recap 2025... Again. Here's hoping IG doesn't screw this up a second time!

2025 was a year with many amazing highs, some challenging lows, and several big changes.

The biggest high was the birth of my new nephew, who we're currently visiting in Ho Chi Minh City.

The single greatest moment I witnessed was Baby J meeting Mickey in Disneyland, which is why those photos are out of order. Everything else is chronological.

Our family traveled a lot more last year. Weddings, Chattanooga, Ohio, California. We spent a lot of quality time with family and friends.

I continued to deal with health problems related to my Crohn's, but I changed medications, and I ended the year in a better place.

Baby J started daycare in July, after almost two years with his nanny next door.

Dan took multiple long business trips, including several internationally.

All of this together culminated in the hard decision to leave my job to be a SAHM at the end of October. I need to prioritize my health and my family, and it got to a point when I couldn't do that while working a corporate job with a commute.

2024 was a really hard year for me, but I'm glad I got through it so I could enjoy everything 2025 brought.

Here's to the Year of the Horse!

P.S. A lot in the world was/is pretty awful. F*ck f@schists.

Now that it is *checks notes* almost the end of January, it feels like a good time to recap 2025.

Overall, 2025 was very good for me and my immediate family on a small, personal level. If I just ignore the constant growing dread about the world around me, 2025 was a better year for *me* than 2024, which was one of the hardest years of my adult life.

The single greatest moment of 2025 was watching Baby J meet Mickey for the first time, so I started my photos with two Disneyland shots from November. All other photos are chronological.

In general, our increased travel was a big highlight of last year.

Feb: I took a solo trip to Orlando to celebrate Bethany during her bridal shower weekend

March: Dan and I had our first weekend away from Baby J to celebrate our anniversary in Helen, GA

May: We went to Virginia for Bethany's wedding weekend, and I survived a solo parenting drive back home

May: I went to a fantasy cosplay event with my friend Leah

July: We spent a long weekend in Chattanooga

August: We went to Cedar Point with Dan's family and then spent a few days with friends in Cincinnati

October: I took a solo trip to Charleston for my friend Margot's wedding, and my amazing in-laws visited to watch Baby J since Dan had a last-minute work trip

October: We all went to Philadelphia for my cousin Daniel's wedding (and we got to hang out with my best friend Noah, who met Baby J for the first time!)

December: We celebrated the holidays in Ohio

Other good parts were me officially joining my church, spending lots of time with friends and family in SC, and getting a new nephew in November!

But the year was also hard. (continued in comments)

The biggest thing I did in 2025 was quit my corporate job to be a SAHM. It was a really hard decision, but I've felt such peace with this change ever since I finally decided to pause my career.

Everyone keeps asking me how it's going, but I honestly haven't had a routine week yet. Check back in with me in a month!

I honestly don't know what 2026 will bring, but I'm content to keep taking things one day at a time.

I don't need to be busy to be happy.
I don't need to be productive to have value.

I just need to love God, my family, and my community.
I just need to take care of myself and lean into rest.

Today that looks like taking an afternoon nap with my son.

Yesterday we played in the snow. The day before, we snuggled while watching a Mickey movie.

Every day together is a gift. I'm so blessed to have this time with him.

Dan and I celebrated Christmas early this year with a mini vacation in Cincinnati for three nights. My in-laws watched Baby J so we could enjoy some time to ourselves.

We indulged at multiple happy hours, explored two museums, and binged the entire first season of The Good Place (again), but the highlight of our trip was a night at King's Island for Winterfest.

Neither words nor photos can adequately express how much fun we had. It truly felt like stepping into a Hallmark movie. Snow still covered the ground, but the temperature was only moderately cold. The entertainment left me giddy with joy.

And I laughed at all the holiday re-theming of rides and shops. Flight of Fear? Oh, no, Flight of Cheer! (We rode it three times.)

Crowds were low since we went on 1) a weeknight 2) before school let out for winter break. We waited no longer than five minutes for anything.

It was so nice to spend quality time together, but we were happy to get back to Baby J at the end. Three nights is the longest I've been away from him, and I think it's my limit at this stage!

Finally, y'all know I have to share how old all my clothes are 🤪

Boots: 2011
Jacket: 2016
Scarf: I won a Christmas giveaway by in my early blogging days, around 2015/2016
Mittens: A gift around 2016/2017 from another blogging friend,
Jeans: 2022
Sweater: 2017ish
Hoodie: My big Disneyland purchase last month
Purse: Loungefly 2022

I don't need AI to sparkle at Christmas. All I need is a thrifted sweater and some light photo-editing.

If you're looking ahead to 2026, a good New Year's resolution would be to stop creating and stop supporting AI slop.

And yeah, your weird AF photos with oversized candy count as AI slop.

Happy holidays!

Monday morning started a lot like most Mondays this year.

Baby J woke me up too early, asking for milk. I nursed him, changed his diaper, got him dressed, and tried to keep him out of trouble while I got myself ready. Then I fixed us breakfast and took him to daycare.

But it was also different.

I nursed him until he was done, instead of worrying about the time.

I sat on the floor with him while he picked out his own socks to wear.

We ate bananas and oatmeal together at the table, instead of me handing him a protein waffle while he watched Mickey or Ms. Rachel.

At 9am, I dropped him off at daycare instead of calling into my recurring Monday meeting.

And when I got home, I started a load of laundry before sitting down to do a daily devotion and write a to-do list.

The difference is that Monday was my first day in more than three years of not working as a writer in marketing at my corporate job.

November is my month of transition into becoming a SAHM. We're keeping Baby J in daycare this month so I have time to organize the house, create systems, and settle into a new rhythm.

(Although, with our trip to Anaheim next week, and Thanksgiving at the end of the month, I only have 12 weekdays with Baby J in daycare.)

I'm a huge mess of emotions about this change, but the biggest feeling is peace, because I believe this is what God is calling me to do.

I plan on resuming my own writing, primarily on my Christian website and not my general blog. I have to be intentional with my time, and I want to use my writing to encourage Christians to love God and our neighbors.

If you want to follow along, I'm starting by writing on Threads on 💜

And if you're the praying sort, I would appreciate prayers for this big transition in our lives.

"Both sides" are not always equal.

Should Holocaust deniers receive equal attention and consideration as Holocaust survivors?

Hopefully that's an easy hypothetical, although sadly, it's becoming less of a hypothetical.

Most of life isn't so black and white. That's when we need to remember there's more to any story than two sides. That's when we need to be discerning about how many sides we hear, and how much weight we give to each of them.

The whole story contains so much more than my own perspective 📖

Nothing happens in a vacuum. When sitting with oppression, tragedy, or injustice, we discover that the story is so much more than the event itself. It holds history, context, power, etc… and the way those things interact with & influence each other.

With all of the overlapping & integrating parts, it’s no surprise that our responses vary. Our individual perspectives can only hold so much. Yet, the whole story can rarely be told through the false equivalency of “both sides.” There are sides of issues that are rooted in harm & dehumanization. There are viewpoints that are unjust & do not deserve equal weight. And even with our best efforts, parts of the story get left out.

I’m learning to uncover the whole story by remembering what is true. Facts, lived experiences, context, history, power, and even the unknown, all work together to paint a fuller picture. The whole story can hold a wide range of emotions. In pursuing what’s right, I don’t have to weigh every viewpoint. I only need to weigh what’s true…

And the truth isn’t always tunnel vision. Truth can be like a tapestry.

After a year of recapping my office outfits, I'm finally ending this creative project. It's been fun keeping track of my outfits and challenging myself to try new arrangements of old clothes.

To celebrate Pride, I wore rainbows all month long!

1) Thrifted sundress, thrifted button-up, old white sandals

2) Work tee, FF skirt from 2022, hand-me-down cardigan

3) Thrifted blazer, FF dress from 2021, SAS sandals from 2022

4) FF dress from before 2020

5) Thrifted sundress, work button-up, Hill House cardigan from 2022, sneakers from ???

6) Frugi nursing dress from 2023

As always, I wore glasses!

Stay tuned to discover what I learned from tracking my work outfits for an entire year.

Which look is your favorite?

Everything I wore to the office in May! Which outfit is your favorite?

Anything marked as "old" was bought before 2020. Some things date back 10+ years!

I change my bracelets, but they're all from the same group that includes handmade pieces and pieces 10+ years old.

Glasses are all

1) Thrifted cardigan, thrifted dress, old bralette, old boots

2) Old blazer, thrifted button-up, tank (2022), FF jeans 2022, old boots

3) cardigan and dress (2022), old sandals

4) Work tee (2025), thrifted cardigan, old FF skirt, sandals (2022)

5) Thrifted cardigan, thrifted skirt, collared shirt (2022) and old flats

6) Thrifted cardigan, work tee (2022), pants (2022), shoes (2024)

I've been doing my work outfits for almost a year. I hope they encourage you to wear what you already own!

Sunday was a fairytale 🧚🏻‍♀️

One of my requests for Mother's Day this year was to attend the Fairy Frolic at in Helen, GA.

I absolutely loved it, and I'm excited to return for the main event this weekend with a friend!

Unfortunately, Baby J was scared of the dragon, and he never really got over it. He ended up clinging to Dan and me the whole time when I thought he'd enjoy exploring the grounds.

If you're thinking about Fairy Frolic for your family, here are my thoughts!

1) If your kids are more timid, don't go near the dragon. He's centrally located atop a tower, but I don't think he would have scared Baby J as much if we hadn't gone near it.

2) Wear costumes! Dan and I felt underdressed compared to most of the other guests. Accessories make a big difference.

3) Check the forecast and dress accordingly. It was supposed to rain, so I wore boots, and we packed rain jackets.

4) Bring money for vendors. I bought the lantern I'm holding in the first photo. They also had face painting and art projects for kids.

5) If you have older kids, take the castle tour! We skipped this because we took a long tour back in March.

Overall, it was definitely worth the ticket price, especially if your kiddos are a little older. Baby J just turned 21 months, so he was a little young.

Let me know if you have any questions about Fairy Frolic, and I'll try to answer them!