What I did on my 2025 Christmas Vacation

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones, and a restful time during the (generally) quiet week between Christmas and New Year’s. My Christmas vacation, like many things in life, was a mixed bag. While I wasn’t sharing online, I still spent a lot of time working – planning for 2026, working […]
Christmas Break 2025

When I first started posting on this blog in 2009, I posted every single day. I enjoyed it and was excited to share, but I also saw this blog as a commitment. I wanted to take it seriously. I posted when I was sick, when I traveled, when I had surgery, when I worked at […]
Christmas Kitchen 2025

I’m squeezing in the last room decorated for Christmas just before Christmas Eve. When I started sharing Christmas content in November, it felt really early, but now I remember why I do! I end up crunched for time in the last week and don’t have the time to share everything I had planned. Sadly, I […]
Christmas dining room 2025

I wasn’t sure I’d get my dining room decorated before Christmas this year, but I took some time Friday morning to finish it up and photograph it. Until then, the tree was up, but I was using the table and corners for incoming packages, storing bins of decor as I worked on other rooms, and […]
four things | fifty-six

I cannot believe we are a week away from Christmas! When I was a kid, I felt like December would last forever. It was torturously long. As a middle-aged adult, it flies by. I blinked, and over half of it is gone. Such is life, though. The hours are long and the years are short. […]
straddling creative fences | creative business

In my creative work, I’ve often straddled fences. One foot in refinishing furniture and another in writing a book. One foot in managing a paint brand, while the other is in freelance articles and photography. I have always enjoyed the flexibility and stimulation that comes with hopping from one side of the fence to the […]
Christmas 2025 Living Room

If you missed it, I shared the details about our 2025 Christmas tree HERE. In this post, I’m sharing how the rest of the living room looks dressed for Christmas this year. Here is the view through the doorway from the kitchen… curtain rod | curtains | rug | pillows | sconces | paint color […]
Our 2025 Christmas Tree

I used to put up our Christmas tree, string the lights, and decorate it all in one day, but I’ve learned I enjoy it more if I do it in stages. When I’m not pushing to get it all done, I feel more freedom to experiment and play if I want to. The funny thing […]