For those who celebrate... when does Christmas arrive in your home ? As for we of This Old House, the day after Thanksgiving and all through that weekend, the tree and all the stuff settles in. I absolutely love this holiday - for the joy those little lights and the old fashioned bulbs and the Christmas baking bring to the atmosphere, the fond memories rekindled of those big Italian Christmas gatherings at my Aunt's house with all the cousins and aunts and uncles, and memories of the beautiful decor in my grandmother's warm home (there were even red bows on the picture frames!) I have a few ornaments from my mom's tree, a cherished addition on our tree year after year. I also love gifting people. That held true back in the day when I didn't have a pot to you-know-what in... and today as I find ways to be creative in the gift giving. The beauty of that is, creative gift giving doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg - and sometimes it's even free, the gift of your efforts and time. It is truly the thought that counts.
So about that timing thing. My neighbor across the road doesn't put her tree and decorations up till Christmas Eve. Heck, we're almost done by then. Her tree twinkles in the living room window until far into February, while ours is cleared out at the first of the year. For me, once Christmas is over, it's over. As the new year comes in, I want a fresh clean approach, including inside the house.
This year I noticed the decor after operation Christmas clean-up felt a little stale, so I decided to take down some window treatments, move some wall hangings, clear some of the decor clutter, change up the mantels on the fireplaces, and try real hard, and believe me the struggle is real, to not drag out and display MORE decor clutter in the process. It just feels good to simplify.
With the first of the year came the never ending and never quite accomplished resolution to eat healthier, lose the extra weight and add more exercise. So, I've kick started that goal yet again, broken-record message or not. It's never too late to get going, keep going... Onward. After some research I decided to stick with what will probably work in the long haul, using the WW points system via phone app to monitor carb intake. Diets like KETO just aren't sustainable for a person like me, anyway. That one in particular involves too much meat consumption, and while I know it gets results, I doubt it's great long-term for anyone's arteries.
Wishing you all good things in the new year - thank you for stopping by.
Wishing you all good things in the new year - thank you for stopping by.
Your home always looks beautiful, Karen. You have the design technique down pat! Not much in the decorating here this Christmas, as I'm sure you know why. So, in that vein very little to put away. :)
ReplyDeleteI've gained some weight, even before the fudge and cookies. There was a time when it worried me, but now not so much.
Happy New Year to you and the family with prayers for good health, and happy days.
Until this year, we have spent every Christmas with my husband's family in Belgium, and so we would take down our tree before leaving--yes, we took it down before Christmas! But when we had a real tree it was a must, because we couldn't leave a fire hazard while we were gone.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, though, that the lead-up to Christmas is nice with the decorations, and that after it's over, it's the new year, new stuff, move on.
As for decorating, whether it's for the holidays or not, I'm of the mind that each item should have meaning. No stuff for stuff's sake. Something can be incredibly beautiful and have meaning for its aesthetics. It can be sentimental. It can resonate with with your values. It can be useful. It can be a trophy--a souvenir of a trip or experience. But I cannot fathom decorations selected based on some kind of "shop the post" or some retailer's sales roundup or trying to imitate an Instagram photo. Not imitate--that involves creativity--it's simply copying.
Your home is cozy and interesting. It isn't cold, bare minimalist nor is it cluttered. And I am so jealous of that amazing huge window.
I may be right with you on the WW plan.
ReplyDeleteEverything is back to normal now!
ReplyDeleteI am also trying to change it up a bit. I don’t know where this thought came from but what happened to the pretty doll house you were making?
ReplyDeleteSadly, the dollhouse was completed and then put out in the shed while we figured out where to keep it, and it has sat there ever since, dusty.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the others, your home is always lovely. Classic and cozy and you just want to curl up on the sofa and read or grab a throw and nap. That light from the window...heaven. You know I'm all about" the simplify" I'm into it hard core post Christmas. Half the holiday I put up is now for sale.
ReplyDeleteFacing the studio apt/ 1 bedroom issue coming up fast. I am currently doing the "put it for sale, take it back, put it back out "while smacking myself in the head. Wish me luck hehe
I'm the same, the big tree goes up day after Thanksgiving, and comes down after Jan 6th....at which point I'm more than ready for serene decor for a while!
ReplyDeletegood for you.....start again.........and good to kick that keto diet to the curb.....totally not normal.
ReplyDeleteLovely home . . .
ReplyDeleteThe many paned window, in what looks like a
scrumptious comfy living space, is beyond wonderful.
I lost count after twenty four panes.
Looks like it goes up another floor.
And your tree . . . oh the stories it could tell.
Yes indeed, back with routine, weight watching, exercise plans . . .
seems like it is always a new year mantra
This year I was ready for sorting out, put away, clean up of Christmas
things as soon as the final family gathering came to a close.
The weather played a role, still pretty much green around here.
Happy Twenty Nineteen Karen Ann.
Wishing you a great New Year!
Everything about your post is making me smile big, Karen! I'm a Thanksgiving weekend girl, too and I love the lights, smells, music, colors -- the whole thing. And the giving. In fact, I like the giving far more than the getting, which may come part and parcel with being older and knowing that the things you really need aren't going to go on a Christmas list because a new fridge isn't exactly the easiest thing to stick under a tree on many counts! Unless I really know a person well and what they want or would use specially, I try to go with consumable, use-upable, an experience, that sort of thing. Or something I've made. One friend and I often do donations to a meaningful organization to the other. True, there are those with whom we swap books or art supplies or themed gifts or even gift cards but it's less than it used to be and that feels good.
ReplyDeleteBut I digress. What I started out to stay is that your home is so beautiful and cozy and just the kind of place I'd like to come home to after a long day. I adore more than I can say that painting or print of the sleigh. Your mantle is lovely and it just tells me how warm and lovely you are.
Oh, and taking down? Mine is down except for two trees I leave up a bit longer because they have wintry things on them, not Christmas. Put away? Nope. That's today's job and I'm dreading it!
When I was a kid we always cut and put our tree up on my birthday, Dec 12th. However, once I had my own home the tree and all the trimmings went up the minute Thanksgiving day was over. I usually keep things up through that first week after Christmas and then it is stored and packed away. I will say that i have the things lumped downstairs and not yet packed away. Bad me--between working full time again and kids/grands I don't seem to get much done at home. I suppose I could be doing that now instead of being here, huh? lol
ReplyDeleteKaren, your home is always lovely, warm and welcoming. I have always found great pleasure in seeing what you are up to and I especially love Stella!
Have a great week! xo Diana