Hello, and welcome to the very first edition of Chad and Claire’s monthly newsletter.

It’s Claire here, behind the keyboard, and these digital letters will be a summary of our most favorite things from the entire month. Thank you so much for providing us with your email— we look forward to having you along as we build an even closer connection with our wonderful and loving community. We hope to bring you nothing but genuine joy and positivity through our content, so if monthly emails aren’t your thing, and you wish to unsubscribe from this newsletter, by all means, please do! (The unsubscribe button is at the bottom of this newsletter.)

By golly, December was a big one.

We started the month with plans to jump from Country #6 (Spain) to Country #7 (which was supposed to be Morocco), but alas, the new variant of COVID-19 caused a border closure. That sadly cut our final trip of 2021 short, but it worked out to a happy ending, because that just meant more time with family and friends. 

That trip cancellation made us realize that traveling full-time during a pandemic, with no soon end in sight, can be a bit difficult at times. Before the pandemic, it was far easier to jump from country to country and to plan experiences and accommodations last minute. We decided that we needed a place where we could plan more concise trips as we proceed forward with our 50 country goal. If you watched our final video of 2021, you already know the grand news— we bought a fixer upper house (also our first home) to renovate completely! If you haven’t yet, watch the video here!

It was about time we got a home of our own, and we plan on spending the next year being part-time world travelers and part-time home renovators. I have created a new Instagram page for the house, in which we have named @ourapricothouse, and you can follow that page for posts of the renovation journey. I will continue to post on @chadandclaire mainly, with lots of posts of our travels and a few posts of our home renovation accomplishments.

We’re home for the holidays after a month in Spain and a 38-hour nonstop travel day.

Since Country #7 got cancelled, we spent a majority of December back at our home bases. This was what our route of the month looked like:

Granada, Spain: December 1-4

Sevilla, Spain: December 4-6

Madrid, Spain: December 6-7 (layover)

Amsterdam, Netherlands: December 7 (layover)

Atlanta, GA, USA: December 7-13

Chattanooga, TN, USA: December 13-23

Atlanta, GA, USA: December 23-30

Chattanooga, TN, USA: December 30

Nashville, TN, USA: December 31

Some “foods-to-try” (Spain edition)—

Tortilla Espanola: A thick Spanish omelette made from eggs, potatoes, and onions. This is a simple and comforting dish with three ingredients that work magic together.

Gazpacho: A traditional Spanish chilled tomato soup with blended tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, olive oil, garlic, and bread. This was by far the best tomato soup I’d ever had in my entire life.

Pulpo a la Gallega: An elaborate octopus dish with paprika, salt, and olive oil and served on potato slices. Octopus doesn’t need much to taste fantastic, and this dish is a perfect example of that.

Paella Valenciana: A traditional rice dish with chicken or rabbit, saffron, runner beans, and butter beans and served in a large shallow pan. Paella, altogether, originated from Valencia, and this original recipe is one that could be deliciously served as a Thanksgiving side every single year (in my opinion).

Jamon Iberico: Remarkable cured ham from black pigs that roam freely in the countryside, dining daily on the acorns of cork and holm oak trees. Spain is the world’s #1 producer in dry cured ham, and it still uses century-old techniques in the process of curing them. We ate this cured meat on a nearly daily basis and still didn't get tired of it— truly lived out our charcuterie dreams for a whole month!

A recipe we tried in December—

In the Christmas spirit, we decided to make a cake from my childhood— the Buche de Noel. Throughout elementary school, my French class would share a Buche de Noel, and that tiny sliver of chocolate cake always had me salivating for more. This year, I introduced the childhood tradition to our marriage, and we took on the challenge of making one completely from scratch. We began by following a video recipe from Delish, but three steps in, my mom (who is a very talented baker) decided to share her very top secret rolled cake recipe with us both. Because of this generous and helpful offer, our first Buche de Noel was a big success. We sadly cannot share my mom’s top secret recipe with the world, but here is the link to the Delish recipe, which was similar to hers in many ways.

TV shows we watched—

Anne with an E: When we first started watching this show, I was like, “Oh, wow, this girl is just too dramatic,” but as we continued further into each episode, I fell head over heels in love with how simply joyful it all was. Objects and moments are so beautifully romanticized by Anne that I just couldn’t help but see the light in everything around me. This show singlehandedly changed the way I viewed the world, and it brought me back to how I saw the world as a kid— purely, in awe. I never really had a desire to fill my closet with “puff sleeves,” but gosh, this show got me treating myself to two puff sleeve dresses for the holidays hahaha.

Maid: Upon finishing Anne with an E, we began Maid, which was a stark contrast to the whimsy and old-timey feel of Anne with an E. We always watch our shows while we’re eating dinner on non-filming days, and this show was a lot to take in while eating. But, honestly, it was a very important show for us to watch, as it educated us further on a number of difficult struggles we’ve been fortunate enough to haven’t had to deal with ourselves. If you’re looking for a show that is real and raw in every sense, give Maid a try.

A movie we watched—

Little Women (2019): This movie came out two years ago on Christmas, but we just got around to watching it this holiday season. I, especially, fell in love with everything this movie had to offer, so much that I watched it three times within the last month. The Christmas living room setting remained photographed in my mind for weeks, and I found myself drying orange slices and stringing popcorn to make garlands, just as they did in the movie. In my mind, I secretly wished for little candles to adorn my future Christmas tree, and out of pure surprise and wonderful timing, Chad’s father brought me home the perfect treasure while perusing through our Maw-Maw Millie’s (Chad’s grandma’s) attic. It was a box of small, darling candles and silver holders for a holiday tree. Those little candles made me feel like a child on Christmas morning, in awe of a gift that felt just too good to be true. Another thing I held onto dearly was the warmth and the joy of the family. The energy shared amongst the sisters was one that was too familiar to me, as I had shared that same vibrant energy with my own sister back in the day. I can’t wait to someday have a family of our very own and to experience life more with our close family and friends. Anyhow, I could go on and on about how this movie inspired me and brought me genuine joy, and if you haven’t watched it already, I couldn’t recommend it enough!

A book I read—

The Little Book of Hygge (Danish Secrets to Happy Living) by Meik Wiking: This book is an easy-to-read, feel-good book that inspires you to get warm and cozy with your life. Author Meik Wiking is the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, and his job is to simply discover what makes people happy. The Danes are amongst some of the happiest people in the world, and in this book, he explains how hygge (pronounced hoo-ga) allows them to feel such joy in their lives. This book also provides some Danish recipes, lists of hygge-related activities to try, and some very darling little illustrations.

Chad’s pick— Granada.

(Written by Chad) Every city in Spain was unique in its own way, but Granada was most unlike any city I have ever experienced. Perhaps it was the ancient neighborhoods, the snow-capped mountains, the Moroccan tea houses, or the extensive history of the Alhambra, but everything together made our few days in Granada one I will remember for a lifetime. Oh, and not to mention, the cute cats that roamed the streets were an added bonus. Here is a link to the video.

Claire’s pick— San Sebastian.

If you watched our San Sebastian video, this is a very obvious answer. We were so incredibly lucky to have visited during their two days of glorious winter sunshine, and because we were blessed with such heavenly weather, we had the most wondrous time there. When the weather is pristine and the happiness and excitement is genuine, a beautiful, feel-good film is born. This video is simply just a good time, with nothing but positive reactions and energy. It’s us being us, and that’s why it’s my favorite of the month. Here is a link to the video.

Chad’s pick—

(Written by Chad) Throughout our Spain trip, we took a total of six high speed train rides. These rides were honestly some of my most memorable experiences from the trip. Claire would typically be sleeping on my lap, drooling away, while I’d be reflecting on the things we just saw in the city we left. I would also be thinking about how we’d find our way to our next Airbnb, excited about all the things known and unknown that were coming for us. Mountains, orange trees, farmlands, castles, and cows would fly by at over 230mph, creating a blur of beauty. These hours on the trains, looking out the window, formulated a collection of Spain snapshots that I feel are mine alone, which I find special and feel grateful to have.

Claire’s pick—

My most favorite moment was the night we saw our future house via Google Maps. After typing in the address, we were shown an old, patched-up house with a crackling driveway and a weed-filled yard, and all I could do was smile from ear to ear. That dingy shack was going to be ours, and fully ours, and as I do with most things, I started fantasizing and visualizing a whole fairytale of what that place could be. I was so giddy, I couldn’t sleep at all that entire night. Of course, I don’t waste my precious time, so with all that blasting energy, I edited a vlog nonstop from dusk til dawn (while simultaneously daydreaming about our new house). That was the first time in several years where I couldn’t fall asleep purely from excitement, and I felt like a kid on the night before the first day of school, all over again.

January art drop—

I have been working hard in my studio this past winter “break” to bring you all some new hand-painted goods for your home. From elegant candles, to one-of-a-kind patchwork paintings (and even a dishwasher-safe dinner plate), there are lots of things available for your winter home. A massive thank you to everyone who has supported my shop— I love connecting with you all through my works of art. You can find my January art drop items here.

Our new Patreon account—

As we were switching our old Patreon account from "per creation" payments to "per month" payments, the account crashed, and we were forced to create a new Patreon account. For those of you who don’t know what Patreon is, it’s a platform that allows audiences to financially support creators in return for goods or, simply, a closer and more personal relationship. We have recently updated our tiers and are offering exclusive posts and videos that will allow our Patrons to be up-to-date with where we are and what we’re doing far before we announce it on YouTube and Instagram. If you are interested in joining this community, we welcome you with open arms and big smiles— click here to join our Patreon.

If you’re interested—

Join our community on Patreon, where we post exclusive monthly videos and weekly updates on where we are and what we’re doing.

Support Claire’s art studio, and cheer on her small business dreams by bringing home some handmade goods.

Check out our website shop for self-designed stickers, postcards, t-shirts, photography prints, and digital downloads (including Claire’s cookbook)!

After much encouragement, we have made a little wishlist, which will allow you to choose exactly what you gift us and our home. You may also buy us a coffee (and more) here.

Interested to know what gear we use? Find our full gear list with Amazon links here.

If you haven’t yet, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow our Instagram to keep up with all that we’re doing. We’d love to have you along on the adventure.

Claire (and Chad)