Has it been as crazy at your house as it has at mine for the past couple months really?
Whew!
It’s almost like we need a international holiday or something so we can have some down time and rest a little 😴
Someone should look into that.
Give me a minute to grab a fresh cup of coffee and maybe a cookie or three to go with my coffee!
That needs to stop….as soon as I finish this last batch of homemade cookies 🤫
I wanted to take a few minutes while the kids are eating and playing somewhat peacefully to have a little chat with y’all about a couple things. First of all, some of you may have noticed that Emily and I didn’t post French Vintage Friday last week and we’re hoping that didn’t throw off your entire week if you’ve been setting your calendar by it 😄
We promise to be back again next year. Isn’t it fun this time of year to be able to say things like that? 🤣
Now on a more serious note 🎵 , the presents have all disappeared from under the tree, the wrapping paper has all but been cleaned up, except maybe from under the sofa cushions. The kids are already bored with a couple of their new toys and most of the leftovers have been eaten. You are worn out from all the work and stress of preparing everything for everyone for Christmas but at the same time you can’t seem to just sit still and rest. In fact you’re actually feeling kind of bored and restless.
Am I close?
That’s where I’m at anyways.
I’m gonna be honest – winters in general are hard for me. I grew up with idyllic Hallmark Christmases with beautiful fluffy snow and lots of bright sunshine and no end of things to do in the stunning outdoors. Christmas itself was filled with lots of family and traditions from the food we ate to the activities we did.
Then I grew up and more importantly I moved. Away from my beautiful snow and sunshine. To dark, foggy, dreary winters that seem to drag on and on. We get a little snow but usually not until January so most of the time it’s not white for Christmas. We get very little sunshine for most of the winter, lots of rain and loads of fog and gray.
I struggle with that. I struggle with my energy level and my mood and I really struggle with making the whole Christmas and winter season memorable for my kids who know nothing of what Christmas was like for me or could be like any other way.
I don’t want to put a damper on any of the festivities but it’s a constant effort to try and create as much of a cozy, bright and sunny, cheerful environment as I can inside since it isn’t going on outside.
The light and bright colors inside my home help a lot compared to what it was like when I moved into this house. I’m planning to address some of the lighting this year for those dark and dreary days when all my big windows do absolutely nothing to help us realize it is NOT in fact the middle of the night 🤪
As you’ve already seen from my Christmas Home Tour for 2019, I don’t do a whole lot of strictly Christmas decor anyways. A lot of it is more just cozy and wintery. That said, when Christmas is over I don’t have a ton of changes that need to be made to de-Christmas the house. It’s not a huge task. One I’ve already begun, in fact.
Obviously I will be changing some things that don’t need changing in terms of whether or not they are appropriate for the month but just because a few things, like my mantel, have been primarily the same for about 6 weeks or more. That’s a really long time for me. I get bored easily.
I hope you’ll check back often so I can share the fun with you and maybe inspire some great projects and DIYs at your home too. If you’ve compared any of my 2018 Home Tours with my 2019 Home Tours, you’ll see that a lot of things have changed this year and I have some wonderful plans for even more changes this coming year!
If I turn away from the windows and squint just a little and keep sipping on this nice warm coffee, I can almost forget about the dark, dreary weeks and months ahead while I plan out all these fun projects!
Until next time…
