This week in New & Notable Mentions 1/7/23…
Ideas For Winter Decorating
The blog Eleanor Rose Home has ideas for winter decorating.
A century home featured on HGTV Canada’s gets a gut job with an earthy palette
Decorative Winter Entry
Thistle Key Lane is decorating for winter as well. This is her winter entry table with natural decorating elements. She also shows you how she decorates with pine cones.
10 sugar-free drinks to keep you warm this season
Ivy A Few Years Ago
When I was going through photos I ran across this one where I decorated for winter a few years ago. And Ivy just could not leave the decor alone! She looks a tad skinnier than she is now, doesn’t she?
The best, safest, and least wasteful way to declutter your expired home items
Simple DIY Soap Dish
Deb & Danelle shows you how to make a cute DIY soap dish using a candle stick. Those two sure come up with good ideas!
Make chicken noodle soup with rotisserie chicken for a cold winter meal.
A Valentine’s Day Craft
Finding Lovely shows you how to make Valentine’s Day crafts. I wasn’t familiar with this blog until I just ran across it. I’m going to go back and scroll through it some more.
Here’s a roundup of pretty winter decorating ideas for your home.
White Chicken Chili
This white chicken chili looks like a great meal during these cold days of winter.
What this career woman learned from quitting her corporate job to work at a bakery
Slow Cooker Cabbage
The Slow Cooker Gourmet cooked cabbage in her slow cooker. I might have to try this one. I haven’t had cooked cabbage in ages.
7 Items in your home a professional organizer would throw away
Ginger Peach Crisp
Gimme Some Oven created this Ginger Peach Crisp dessert recipe and it looks absolutely delicious.
5 mistakes to avoid when moving to a new home
Sam
A Jenna Book Club pick
“There is a girl, and her name is Sam.” So begins Allegra Goodman’s moving and wise new novel.
Sam is seven years old and living in Beverley, Massachusetts. She adores her father, though he isn’t around much. Her mother struggles to make ends meet, and never fails to remind Sam that if she studies hard and acts responsibly, adulthood will be easier—more secure and comfortable.
But comfort and security are of little interest to Sam. She doesn’t fit in at school, where the other girls have the right shade of blue jeans and don’t question the rules. She doesn’t care about jeans or rules. All she wants to climb. Hanging from the highest limbs of the tallest trees, scaling the side of a building, Sam feels free.
As a teenager, Sam begins to doubt herself. She yearns to be noticed, even as she wants to disappear. When her climbing coach takes an interest in her, his attention is more complicated than she anticipated.
She resents her father’s erratic behavior, but she grieves after he’s gone. And she resists her mother’s attempts to plan for her future, even as that future draws closer.
Without A Trace
What would happen if you were given a chance to walk away from everything in your life and start over with a blank slate, and you had a split second to decide?
Charles Vincent seems to have it all—a beautiful wife, two successful children, and a well-paying career. Yet happiness remains out of reach. He is trapped in a loveless marriage and his job is simply a paycheck.
But his life changes forever one night as he drives along the Normandy coast, heading to their lavish château for the weekend. In one terrifying moment, Charles falls asleep at the wheel and veers off the road, plunging thirty feet down the face of a rocky cliff.
Miraculously, Charles survives. After gathering the courage to climb to safety, he starts to walk—bruised, bloody, and desperate for help. In the dark of night, he happens upon a cabin where he meets the kind and beautiful Aude Saint-Martin.
They have an instant connection, and as she nurses him back to health, Charles begins to discover the passion he’s been missing for so many years.
In the aftermath of the crash, Charles has a startling realization: He doesn’t have to go back. He could simply choose to disappear, to walk away from his old life.
When his car is discovered, he’ll be presumed dead, washed away at sea. If he stays with Aude, he has a chance at a fuller, happier life that he didn’t know was possible. It all seems too good to resist.
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Lots of interesting things here to check out. I think I better start with the post on 7 items to throw away!
That picture of Ivy is so pretty! It really shows off her fur pattern. She is so beautiful! The book, Without a Trace sounds interesting. It does make you wonder what someone might do, given that opportunity. I liked the article about the things a professional organizer said you could get rid of right away. I’m definately guilty of the leftover storage bins, too many glasses, and expired makeup. Maybe I’ll work on some of that this week. I liked the quote. I love any inspirational quote. I like to stay positive, and inspirational quotes is a good way to remind me of that, and to always be thankful. Brenda, this is totally off subject, but can you do a post with advice about potty training and house training puppies? Did you have to do that with any of your dogs or did you get them already trained?
I reluctantly started taking down and packing away the Christmas decorations yesterday. The tree is still up, I’ll begin taking the ornaments off today and trying to keep things organized and correctly labeled so I can find what I’m looking for next Christmas. I’m reluctant to let the holidays go. I’ve been pondering post-Christmas decor and spend time looking online to see what other people do, so I always appreciate links. I’m not a minimalist, especially in the cold Wisconsin winters when I add layer on top of layer of color and textures over black/cream/white basics. I used red accents out this year, so I’ll keep them out and add a few more, plus switch up the framed “art” to less Christmas-y subjects.
I just found this Saturday blog on another email of mine! I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it. Have taken note of the two books mentioned here. There is so much of interest I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it. Love the picture of Ivy.
A few years back, I came across an article about Japanese “jouhatsu”. “That’s the Japanese word for ‘evaporation’, but it also refers to people who vanish on purpose into thin air, and continue to conceal their whereabouts – potentially for years, even decades.” I’ve read several accounts of people who chose to escape their lives, and why. It’s beyond fascinating. In Japan, there is an entire industry that helps people escape their lives, and become someone else. I wonder if Danielle Steele found inspiration from the accounts of these people’s lives?
I’ve noticed a lot of winter decorating is just all neutrals. I like neutrals, but not when an entire house is done that way. Too bland and boring for me. I need pops of cheerful color, especially in winter.
I love cabbage, but I can’t eat too much of it at one time (causes digestion problems for me). It’s good for you. So is sauerkraut, which I also like.
The Daniel Steele book sounds great. Happy Weekend.
So many wonderful and beautiful ideas!
I love your book reviews, Brenda. This week I’ve been forcing myself to read a handful of pages from a book and trying to embrace a past love – the love of reading. I’m determined because I’ve been missing it more and more. Keep those reviews coming! 🙂
Lots of variety here…much enjoyed it. Interesting that story of the woman who quit her job to become a baker. Life can hold some very unexpected happiness. One job I had part-time when my kids were at home, was in fabrics dept of the old Payless (a defunct company now). Must say I REALLY had fun with a lot of parts of that job and actually sometimes looked forward to going to work!!
Mmmm, the recipes sound good. I like the quote at the end.
Thank you for the great and varied links to explore. I’ve been enjoying your book reviews. It’s nice to have new to me authors to read.
Great post today. Enjoyed it very much. Thanks for sharing Brenda.
From urban bore to kitsch….