Sunday Prep Vol. 32

The week where we start a new year and fill out our planners.

Start with a soft reset.

Before the week begins, choose one small area to gently reset—your car, your nightstand, or your inbox. You don’t need a full overhaul. One simple reset is enough to help January feel calm, clear, and welcoming.

Something to do today:

Take 10 quiet minutes to look at the week ahead. Only write down what has to happen—appointments, school drop-offs, work deadlines. No goals, no pressure. Just get it out of your head and onto paper.

Something to do this week:

Establish one anchor habit. Choose a small, repeatable routine (a morning check-in with your Planner, a nightly reset of the kitchen, or a short walk). One steady habit will do more for a successful January than a long list of resolutions.

French Dip Sandwiches

Page 170 in The Simplified Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 lb chuck roast

• 1 1/2 cups beef broth

• 1 (2 oz) packet onion soup mix

• 1 loaf fresh French bread

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

• 8 to 12 slices provolone cheese

Directions:

1. Add chuck roast to a slow cooker and top it with beef broth and onion soup mix.

2. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 6 hours.

3. Shred meat with two forks, removing any fatty pieces.

4. Slice French bread in half horizontally and toast the halves, and then slice thickly.

5. Assemble sandwiches, placing a slice of provolone cheese on top of the meat in each one.

6. Serve with small bowls of au jus from the slow cooker for dipping.

This yummy and warm crockpot dinner seemed like a perfect meal for the first week of the year! Enjoy!

Get ahead of your week & make time for the things on your agenda!

1. One thing to look forward to this month

2. January event invitations

3. School dates for second semester

4. Time to enjoy books, shows, or hobbies

5. Schedule appointments you tend to put off

👇What else are you putting in your planner this week?

Our team is on holiday break—unplugging, disconnecting, and (hopefully) not even sure where our phones are. We’re spending this time with our favorite people, our favorite hobbies, and favorite recipes. We’ll be back in the new year with fresh book, movie, and show recommendations and a few completed creative projects we can’t wait to share. We hope you’ll take this time to enjoy what you love, too!

Each week, we're answering your real-life questions—about routines, meal ideas, work-life balance, favorite movies, and everything in between. Got a question? Leave it in the comments!

Q: “What is your word of the year for 2026?”

Emily: My word for 2026 is Steady. The past few years have been marked by high highs and some low lows. I’m aiming for more consistency in my schedule, my routines, and the way I show up in the world—choosing steadiness as a guiding force in the new year. Not in a predictable sense, but in a confidently disciplined one. In 2025, I was often at the mercy of book contracts, press schedules across multiple time zones, and major hormonal swings. Now that those chapters have settled, I’m genuinely excited for a more measured, grounded year ahead.

Brittany: For 2026, my focus is Delight. This will be our first full year in our new state and new home—the first full year to delight in having all 4 seasons to experience again. We have a wonderful yard now, and I want to spend more time delighting in watching my kids play outside together. In exploring the towns around us and the savoring the beauty of the Midwest outdoors again. To enjoy the slower pace of our life now and delight in taking the time to really notice how my kids—not so little anymore—are growing and changing and becoming their bigger selves. To appreciate my soulmate a little more each day. And to find true contentment and delight in the gifts of health, home, and harmony.

Whitney: Move—I want to walk more every day!

Dusty: Home—2026 is about home, not just a place, but a feeling. It’s a year shaped by family growth (hello, new grandbaby due in May!), embracing the rhythm of empty-nest life, and returning to hands-on, analog joys. Home represents warmth, connection, and the comfort of being exactly where you’re meant to be while intentionally creating a space that always welcomes the grown kids back.

Laura: Move—walking, dancing, stretching, lifting—I want to do these things everyday to feel and be my best.

Carly: I’m half joking yet fully serious here—my word is “delulu.” As in, the delulu is the solulu. There are so many things that are so completely out of my control, and I’m really trying to lean into some “why not me?” energy in 2026 as a balm to my anxieties. So, my dreams and goals are all rooted in a sense of blissful, optimistic delusion. Anything can happen. The world can become the dream that I’m dreaming of. The sun can shine brightly after a stormy season. I can do that thing. And everything can work out better than I ever imagined. The delulu is the solulu. ✨

Lindsey: Build—This year, my focus is on building my faith, my strength, and a life filled with meaningful experiences and time truly well spent.

Liz: Growth. We’re adding a baby girl to our family in May and our little family unit will grow in a literal sense. I will also be stretched as a mom and a woman this year, and my goal is to grow gracefully into new spaces.

🩷 Have a question for our team? Leave it in the comments and your Q might be featured next week!

We’re incredibly thankful for the flexibility to work hard in December (and all year long) so we could wrap things up and step into this break with clear minds. Finishing our tasks before resting allows us to truly unplug, recharge, and return feeling refreshed and inspired for another creative year ahead. We can’t wait to show you what we have planned for 2026!

Our favorite time of the year is HERE! Join us this month for our annual Simplicity Challenge.

Download here.

Write about the pace you want, the moments you hope to notice, and the things you want more room for in 2026.

Don’t turn them into goals or resolutions. Just describe the kind of year you’d love to live.

Get your journal for the season here.

Thanks for reading this week’s edition of Sunday Prep! We hope you have the best week! Can’t wait to chat Wednesday in our next Post! 💕