Letter From TeriLyn – December 2025

Hi friends! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season! We spent the last few days in Boone and it’s always so relaxing to be there. We were supposed to have a family party with all of Tommy’s family, but his sister’s family and one of his brothers got the flu, so we had a smaller Christmas, which was still sweet and fun.

The boys played with their new toys, ate way too much sugar, watched way too much TV, and it was also such a magical Christmas. They are at such sweet ages (Thomas is 5 and Charles is 2), and it’s breaking my heart how quickly they are growing (especially Thomas, who is just getting so grown up). He has the biggest heart and the sweetest personality, and his imagination has been so fun lately. Charles is wild and hilarious and intense — everything a two-year-old should be.

When I think back on 2026, it was a year of many transitions. Hannah went on maternity leave and decided not to return to work after 6 years with me. Bree started nursing school, and that dramatically changed our childcare situation. Then the new nanny we hired quit unexpectedly. Thomas changed schools. I hired multiple new people. We bought a different house in Boone.

All of the changes were good things but change is always hard (to some degree), even when it’s good change. So I’m trying to think of 2025 as a year of transition and hoping 2026 is a year of growth.

Life

There were a lot of transitions happening with my parents, particularly my dad’s health. Without going into details (since I don’t think my parents would like that shared online), it’s been hard and sad and it’s even harder being so far away and not being able to see my dad or help my mom as often as I’d like. Aging parents is never easy, but I feel like it’s extra hard because I also have young kids. I hadn’t thought much about it until our pastor pointed out how uncommon it is to have young kids while also navigating aging parents (my dad is 84). Usually, people in that season are empty nesters or have kids in high school or college.

It’s hard that I can’t just pick up and go to Utah whenever I want. But thankfully, I was able to go home for a super quick visit a few weeks ago. I’m so thankful that Bree was willing to come with me — on the first few days of her Christmas break, no less — to help with Charles.

We’re also working with Heather on a family trip! We haven’t been anywhere with just the four of us for a true vacation. We love visiting family in Utah and Boone, of course, but that’s not quite the same. She’s already sent us some great options, so we’re narrowing it down. And one of my big goals in 2026 is to have quality 1:1 time with everyone in the family – more dates with Tommy, mom-Thomas dates and solo time with Charles. I haven’t made New Year’s resolutions in years (mostly because if I want to improve something, I just do it, regardless of the calendar), but I might make them this year to be more intentional about things.

Work

I have big work goals in 2026, but I’m realizing that I’m spending too much of my limited work time on things I could have someone else handle. So I’m looking to restructure some things in 2026 to better align tasks and skill sets across my team. I need to spend more time on strategy and less time on execution. It’ll take time to train others on the tasks I’ve been doing, but I know, in the long run, it will be worth it. I’m excited to see how things look and operate (hopefully more smoothly) in a few months!

November and December were both super busy with lots of small campaigns, a couple big ones, and tons of holiday content. Here are some of my favorite partnerships I had:

• Negative – These waffle pants are the softest, coziest thing ever
• J.Crew – Honestly, really impressed by their pieces lately, especially this scarf coat
• Spanx – This wide-leg pant set was the #1 best seller in Q4!
• Natura Bissé – I love their Vitamin C and thankfully, it’s lasted a long time because it’s pricey!
• Nordstrom Beauty – I’ve been using this blowout kit nonstop.
• AYR – Found the most comfortable, most flattering jeans ever.
• Varley – I’m in love with this puffer jacket and this cardigan.
• Smathers & Branson – Tommy loves their needlepoint belts. They gave Thomas the cutest hat too.
• Anthropologie – Hot take: their home stuff is better than their clothing.
• Mejuri — my most-worn earrings: classic diamond huggies.
• Abercrombie – These jeans are SO good and affordable.
• APL – Absolutely obsessed with these sneakers. I gave a pair to Bree for Christmas too!
• Paige – This jacket was one of my favorite purchases this year!
• Loft – You know I love a Fair Isle sweater.
• OneSkin – Their lip mask deserves an award.

Here are some of the bigger campaigns I had.

• Petite Studio – this is a new-to-me brand for petites! It was so refreshing to find pieces literally designed for my petite frame. My full review is here!
• Perelel – this is a repeat partnership, which I love since I truly love their products. Their protein powder is the best ever. I also take their multivitamin, iron and Omega 3.
• RMS Beauty – I already love their concealer and foundation, so it was fun when they reached out, Here’s the content. 🙂

Health

I’ve still been enjoying Burn Bootcamp, but I think I need to decrease how often I’m going. I’m starting to feel puffy and inflamed, almost the same way that I do when I run too much. I think my body does best with lower-intensity, lower-impact workouts. I really love the community aspect and really appreciate the childcare, but I may try to swap one Burn day to solo workouts at the gym (which I also love!).

I also don’t love how Burn takes so much time out of my day… it’s 45 minute class + 10-15 drive time each way (vs. the normal gym I used to go that’s 3 min away). I’m not sure if I’ll continue after my 6-month membership is up, but we’ll see. I think if I can consistently attend the 6:30 am class, that will help somewhat, since the 8:30 or 9:30 class times just eat into my workday too much.

My joints have been so much better lately, and I think my current combo of supplements is working well. When my joint pain or achiness flares, the Lumebox (which I recently got) helps a lot — and fast. I was shocked by how much it helped the first time I used it! (Full Lumebox review here.)

Alright, on that note, I need to get dressed and decide what workout I’m doing this morning! I hope you have a wonderful rest of your year and that your holiday season has been joyful and that you avoided the flu that is everywhere this year. (Knock on wood that we continue to avoid it too!!)