Happy Friday! Grab a coffee, or a mug of hot chocolate if you’re living in a frosty world like we have been, and let’s chat.
I’m refusing to start decorating for Christmas before I’m ready to, even though it’s my job. It’s not that I’m not excited for Christmas, and it’s not that I’m being grumpy, it’s just that I’m enjoying this fall so much. I’ve always kind of secretly loved that time just after Halloween where there’s kind of a bit of a lull in activity. It’s no longer Halloween, it’s not pumpkin season, it’s maybe just a bit early to start with Christmas activities, and life is just a bit quieter. Of course, for the last few years since I’ve been blogging, I usually have my tree up right after Halloween, or sometimes even before so I can get that Christmas content going. This year though, I’m giving myself the luxury of going about the season at a normal pace. I honestly don’t think anyone will mind if I share pictures of my tree a few weeks later. 🙂 If you’re following along with our monthly Christmas countdown checklists, you’ll know that I’ve made plans for people like me who want to decorate a bit later in the month. I’ve been starting to gather up a few things here and there, and I’ve been planning a bit so I’ll be ready when the time comes, I’m just not actually setting anything up yet.
I have Reynauds syndrome, which is basically just bad circulation in my extremities and I’ve pretty much been cold all my life. This year I’ve decided that I’m allowed to do whatever it takes to help me to stay warm and comfortable this winter. I got a big pack of hand warmers, which I pop into my slippers every morning (hand warmers are way better than the foot warmers, FYI), I’ve stocked up on LL Bean camp socks (size up), that get paired with my wicked good slippers or Ugg boots, because that’s just the best combination I’ve found and having other socks around to distract me just results in cold feet. I’ll definitely be picking up a pair of fleece-lined tights for my walks too, once I decide which ones to go with. These look like the best I’ve found so far. (And they’re available in xxs petite!) All this maybe sounds like a lot of effort to go to, when most people are fine just turning on the furnace, but that just doesn’t cut it for me. Being warm isn’t the luxury I’ve always treated it to be, it’s essential and I’ll have a better, more productive winter because of it.
Chris installed a new shiplap ceiling in our bathroom and the lighting in our back stairwell. Well, he installed the pot lights and the wiring for the more decorative lighting, which won’t go in until we’re closer to the finish line. It was just so nice to have a moment to breathe and get a thing or two done around the house, even if it wasn’t anything particularly exciting. We’ve been trying to slow down the pace of how many shoots we book, maybe just a couple every week, so we can sort of start to find a bit of balance and maybe have a bit of time for our own projects. I’m not sure if it’s the right move business-wise, but it feels like the right move life-wise right now. We’ll probably get tired of being home so much and want to get out of the house more once Christmas is done, but right now, I’m pretty happy to lay low and spend a bit more time around the house. We’re so lucky to have that flexibility and I’m not taking it for granted.
I’m still in full-on decluttering mode over here. Usually this urge to clear the house out appears around August and goes away after a month or two once we’re back in our regular school routine, but this year I just can’t stop. It’s not so much that I’m wanting to have less stuff, I just want to remove the things that aren’t serving us and are just getting in the way, and replace them with things that do work. And I guess I’m just deciding that there are a lot of things that aren’t serving us! 🙂 We don’t have garbage pick up here, so we take our own trash and recycling to the recycling centre every Saturday. I’m allowing myself 1-2 small bags of decluttering trash a week, and trying to recycle or donate everything that I can. I don’t think anyone would have ever said that my house was disorganized before, but I’m loving my cleared-out drawers and cabinets even more now.
A daily walk is the cure for so many things. I realized about a month ago that I had literally not taken myself out for a walk in months. I guess between all the busy-ness of post-lockdown life and summer fun, it just didn’t cross my mind. I realized that the reason I was feeling old and my joints were starting to feel creaky again was probably due to the fact that humans need exercise, so I’ve been trying to get myself over to our amazing local park almost every day after dinner for a quick couple of laps around. My knees stopped hurting almost immediately, but the best side effect has been that I’ve been able to watch how the leaves change just a little bit ever day and I feel like I’ve really fully experienced fall this year, in all its different versions. Sometimes it’s warm and golden and busy in the park, and sometimes it’s dark and moody and I have the whole place to myself and I’ve just enjoyed the whole experience so much. I’m not 100% sure if I’ll be able to be so consistent when the snow falls, but I intend to try because it’s just been the best little addition to my daily routine.
NEWS AND FINDS
- How adorable is this? I feel like this is a great, affordable alternative to a bigger advent calendar like ours.
- I think I’m supposed to be in the December issue of Parents magazine sharing some laundry tips? I really need to do a better job of keeping track of these things when I do these interviews. Anyway, I try to grab a copy when I’m in a magazine so I’ll definitely need to try to find a current issue and see if my article made it in!
- My little porch table arrangement from last Christmas is being shared in the Christmas issue of Country Sampler Farmhouse Style magazine. It was kind of a last-minute after thought addition to last year’s porch, but I thought it was a cute idea, so it’s fun that they thought so too. 🙂
- My coffee table is back in stock! I have such a hard time finding my coffee table, or one that’s similar enough to link to, because they just keep selling out. I did feel like it was terribly expensive when I bought it a year ago in Canadian dollars, but I can’t get over how much less it costs on the American website.
- Have you heard of Heirloom Print Shop? They carry all kinds of historical prints that you can order to be printed in a whole bunch of different sizes. There are a lot of print shops, but I’ve been searching for a few different hard-to-find print styles and they’re the only one that seems to carry everything I’m looking for. Love this equestrian print, this dog print, and this vintage botanical print set. Anyway, if you love vintage-style prints, definitely check this shop out!
MORE RECENT POSTS
- Plant-Based Jalapeño Popper Dip
- Thrift Store Decorating: What I Always Look For
- Console Tables, Runners, and Mirror Combinations: Modern Traditional Entryway Essentials
- What to do in November to Prepare for Christmas
- Tables, Chairs, and Light Fixtures: Three Modern Traditional Eat-In Kitchen Combinations
- My Christmas Baking Wishlist for This Year
This post contains affiliate links.
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.