I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and, if you were able to take a break around all of the holidays, an enjoyable, rejuvenating downtime. While I took time off from posting on this blog, I spent a lot of time painting, writing, planning, thinking, and a bit of organizing. But, I also slept in, made Bavarian pretzels and Rosa’s fruit salad, watched movies, went on walks, and took the days at a gentle pace. I was also, at times, a human cat bed. I am coming out of this break feeling rested and excited about what this year holds.
The days were full and busy heading into Christmas, as they always are, but as soon as I took off the blue velvet blazer I wore for the Christmas Eve service and got in my jammies to watch a movie, I could take a deep breath. The presents were wrapped, the Christmas brunch was prepped and it was time to enjoy the Christmas Hunker. Even as an adult, I love Christmas and get excited about opening presents. My boys have never been the wake-you-up-at-four-am types. We’ve had to wake them up most years. Where have I gone wrong!? So, we kicked things off about 9:30 am with my parents coming over for presents and ham biscuits.
We usually do cinnamon rolls or pastries on Christmas morning, but none of us are really into sweet things, so I decided to mix it up. I made Red Lobster cheddar biscuit mix and popped in some spiral-cut ham. It was simple and a winner. Everyone said we should repeat it next year.
Once the flurry of gifting activity was completed, I went about cooking for Christmas brunch. We’ve had the same meal on Christmas Day for years, decades, so it usually goes smoothly. This year, though, it felt like I was making everything for the first time. I don’t know what happened, but I missed adding ingredients to both the cheese grits and Rosa’s fruit salad. The pie dough I made the day before for the apple galettes felt heavy and wasn’t coming together well. The hashbrowns were taking an eternity to brown and the dough for the rolls wasn’t rising. I felt flustered and like Christmas brunch was going to be a failure.
Despite my fretting, everything made it to the table (with the exception of the rolls that took three tries and weren’t finished until that evening) and it all tasted great. I think the fruit salad, which can vary year to year depending on the quality of the citrus fruit, was some of the best ever. The grits were fine despite my inadvertent adjustments to the recipe, and everything else tasted great. Even the galettes, which were a bit of an experiment (I have made cherry galettes, but not with apples), were delicious. It was a good reminder to me that worrying about missteps over things that aren’t very important at the end of the day, is counterproductive.
It was a good Christmas Day and I made a few notes so that (hopefully) next year will feel a little less harried.
Throughout the remainder of the break, I set out a goal to paint and/or draw daily. I want to have more original art sales this year, complete more commissions, and say yes to more partnerships related to art and design. Producing more work and practicing daily is a good place to start! So, I spent the better part of a day priming and toning almost fifty panels…
I buy THESE raw wood panels in bulk, prime them with two thin coats of Liquitex Professional Gesso, and then tone them with a wash of Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, and Gamsol. THIS is my drying rack if you’re interested.
I did lots of reading and studying, too. I would grab a stack of two or three books, curl up in a chair, and take notes.
I learned after our move to MN that going into our third year in a new house seems to be the year I feel ready to dial in the organizing. A lot of the big projects are done, we know pretty well how we use the house and our furniture, and I can make better decisions about where to put things and what to get rid of. Especially since I’ve been losing weight and changing sizes, my clothes were a mess, so I took time to organize and clean out my wardrobe. I was ruthless with my socks and only kept my very favorite socks. The majority of them are Bombas or Smart Wool.
I got rid of clothes that don’t fit properly, that I don’t love, or rarely wear. It felt good to get things tidy.
For New Year’s Day, I made our traditional Bavarian Pretzels. You can find the recipe and tips HERE. I wasn’t awesome with doughs this holiday baking season and I kept that streak alive with the pretels! They ended up being more like pretzel rolls, but they still tasted great.
My planner pages are ready, I already turned my tax paperwork for 2024 into my accountant, I have several blog post drafts in the hopper, and a nice stack of paintings ready for my next sale. I’m ready to get back into the rhythm of school and work, but I will have to wait at least one more day. We live in Washington County, Maryland, and school is closed today because of a snowstorm. A little gift from January to gently ease back into work…
Would love your Christmas recipes. Have you shared them on the blog? Happy 2025! Love your content 😍
I shared Rosa’s Fruit Salad recipe, but I’ll put together all of the recipes in one place for those who are interested.
Your kitty under the tree has this look on her face like, “This is awesome!!!” I hope your kitties had a present from Santa. I wish I had the ambition you have to accomplish all those things. 2025 will be a great year !
My son was visiting his brother in Hartford, CT and on the flight home last night it went to Baltimore, MD, and then to Nashville. He had several delays and then only one pilot showed up and he got delayed again for an hour. He flew out of Baltimore at midnight just as the snowstorm hit. It was a bumpy, rough take off but he said once above the clouds it was non-eventful. We were on pins and needles in Nashville waiting on him, though. He said he’d never seen that much snow in his life! ha! He landed in Nashville late due to air traffic and we finally got home at 2 am! Whew!
Thank you for sharing a peek into how your family spent the Christmas holiday together! I enjoyed hearing how you spent the break, but a little jealous of the pile of kitties in your lap. Here’s to all the best for you in your family in the new year!
Hi! Sounds very peaceful! You always motivate me to do more. Been trying to do some artwork everyday as well bc of you. Would love the links to your supplies but they all took me to Rosa’s fruit salad. If you could share the links with me for your painting boards and your drying rack, I would be grateful! I will come back to check if I don’t hear anything. 😀. Thank you!
I have no idea how I did that! 😂 I just fixed the links so you should be able to find everything.
My daughter makes apple gallettes and puts rosemary in hers – it is SO good, if you’ve never tried adding it.
Highly recommend getting powdered rosemary to save all the grinding. It works fine too – t hough she uses freshly dried.
It sounds so interesting! Maybe I’ll give it a try next year.
How is your random happened-while-you-slept foot injury? I missed any news of that!
It resolved after about 10 days. It was so strange. Maybe a tendonitis thing or something.
As a retiree, I love the days after Christmas where you have no real agenda just lounging, watching movies, reading and getting the house back in order from the holidays or whatever else we do to relax and re-group. I gave my sister a nice cookware set for Christmas (something my mom said she desperately needed) and she had been making all kinds of soups lately. It makes me happy she loves it so much and has already used it so much. I got lots of gift cards for Christmas so as soon as the weather breaks, I will go shopping!
Happy New Year! I have followed you for years since your boys were little. Time sure does fly by while you’re living life!
I’ve appreciated, throughout the years, that you’ve had beautiful, creative, and inspirational things to share. My heart is always drawn to the charming.
This is the year I want to be more intentional about painting! I watch my grandbabe, now a toddler, 4 days a week….which I absolutely love, but can be blessed exhaustion. By the time I maintain my home, spend time with my husband, invest in others, and exercise….all things that I do everyday, there isn’t much time or energy left! If I’m not making space for creating, like painting, it feels like a big void.
How long do you spend each day on a creative pursuit? Do you have a set time of day or week? Any thoughts would be welcome. Thank you!