touches of holiday cheer in my kitchen ~ and letting go of the thief of comparison

Hello there, friends! Thank you for all your kind comments on my last post about my living room. The blogging world and social media in general can be both a blessing and a curse. It's easy to get sucked into the comparative trap, especially this time of year with all the holiday house tours. I took a look at a few of them and yes, the houses were stunning. Huge, perfect houses with perfect decor. And therein lies the problem: perfection. Social media presenting the facade. Don't get me wrong ~ I love me some decor eye candy. Some of this "perfect" decor can even be inspiring. We just can't let it be the thief of our own joy. Let's sit on the front porch in the sunshine with our coffee, thinking about all that for awhile. 😉 For real though, is is sunny and 52 degrees F here in Illinois today, which is rare for December. It feels more like a spring day. I'm taking full advantage of it today as rain and snow move in starting tomorrow. Yucky, cold, depressing weather.

 

I digress. Back to Christmas decor...

You won't see my house on any Big Blogger house tours. I'm fine with that. I love my small, cozy house; even the outdated kitchen. I know my cabinets need updating and that we need a backsplash and new countertops. The faux wood trim around the window has to go. Recessed lighting would be a bonus. That will all happen in due time. In the meantime, this room is the hub of our home. It's the place where good, nourishing food is made and served; board games are played; and intimate conversations over tea and coffee are had with friends.

I keep my kitchen table decor simple since the table is small. It's easy to remove the placemats and runner and push the centerpiece to the side if we want to play backgammon, Scrabble, Yahtzee or Double Shut the Box. 

Here's another view of my kitchen. I like having a large enough kitchen to have a small table and chairs; however, this is our only dining space. We don't have a separate dining room.

Now for the small personal touches of Christmas:

Christmas mugs hang on the mug rack...

The china cabinet on the outside...

and looking inside.

I picked up this little pine tree at Trader Joe's the other day. I guess you can tell I rather fancy that store, seeing their hand soap and tea are on the cake plate, as well. The ornaments on the tree were passed down to me from an elderly woman who is a long-time family friend. There's an entire bag of these tiny wooden ornaments ~ soldiers and snowmen and angels and rocking horses. I believe she said they originally came with a small tree that she decorated every year. The milk glass cake plate belonged to my great-aunt who passed away years ago.

Santa mugs on top of the stove; Christmas glasses and a Marshall Field's cookie container tin the nook above the microwave. All items were thrifted years ago.

I love anything Marshall Field's. The store is near and dear to my heart. I have fond memories of shopping at one of the suburban locations with my maternal grandma. It was always considered one of the classiest, customer-service driven stores with high quality merchandise. The flagship store was on State Street in Chicago, though I only visited that location a handful of times. I ended up working at the suburban location when I was a teenager. I have never stepped foot into a Macy's store since they took over Field's in 2006. It's just not the same.

Vintage nesting Santas are on top of the fridge. There's two more of them, but three were enough for this space.

Decor on the shelf by the table. As most decor items in my house, everything here was thrifted over the years. 

I purchased these handmade wooden votive holders yesterday from a local artisan. She delivered them to my doorstep. Aren't they beautiful? I love supporting local, independent artists when I can. What I really like about these is that they're not too Christmas-y. I can use them all winter. They're on the ledge of the opening that's between my kitchen and living room.

Our homes, our decor, are personal. It doesn't matter if we follow the latest trends or have the most up-to-date furniture and decor. What matters is that we decorate with what we love; what brings a smile to our faces and a sense of peace and welcoming when we walk through the door.

Be safe, be well, do more of what makes you happy. 

💓

christmas in my living room

Hello friends, hope you all are well and doing the best you can during this pandemic. Just about every day I hear about someone else I know that's Covid positive. Even for those of us who are (thankfully) not ~ and I know that could change on a dime ~ sometimes the stress and anxiety of living through this tough time can get unnerving. 

Thanksgiving this year was just the two of us at home. We found a stuffed turkey tenderloin at Trader Joe's, and then I made mashed potatoes, bourbon corn casserole, Brussels sprouts with pecans, and cranberry-orange relish. After that delicious meal, we went for a quick walk, then came back home to have a Zoom meeting with extended family. It was lovely, but different. 

The day after Thanksgiving, Brian brought up the couple of boxes of Christmas decor from the basement and I laid most of it out on the coffee table. The next few days were spent putting touches of decor around the house; mainly in the living room and kitchen. Nothing fancy with my Christmas decor. I like to keep it as simple as possible. To be honest, the first couple of days, I was ready to throw my hands up and say forget it. Between removing regular decor and bringing it all down to the basement (lots of trips), and playing around with where to put all the Christmas decor in the house, I was getting frustrated. Some people find this relaxing and enjoyable, I know. The funny thing is, I usually love puttering with decor. But this year...I just wasn't feeling it.

Now that it's done, I am enjoying it, so it's all good. Thought I'd show you the simple touches around my small living room. This is the "entryway" when you come in through the front door. We've been putting up a table top tree for the past 11 years instead of a regular sized tree. In the past, we put the tree on top of the buffet in our living room. But we got rid of the buffet this year and now the only place we had room for even a tabletop tree was the bench in the entryway.

The teardrop shelf you see on the wall to the left holds a vintage Christmas postcard.

I love these vintage wooden Santa bells that I found last year in an antique shop.

Brian's coworker gifted him with this pretty cardinal lantern that lights up and has sparkly glitter floating around.

Just one Christmas pillow on the sofa this year. Oh ~ I moved the sofa from its original diagonal position to under the opening where the old sofa used to be. It works much better for the room this way. That ugly IKEA chair you see poking out will hopefully soon be relinquished to the basement. I've been looking everywhere online (including FB Marketplace) for a blue velvet armchair. No luck so far. The few chairs I found that I did like were overpriced.

The corner stand is new. I ordered it online from Target.

This is one of the Christmas decorations that truly means something to me and gets displayed every year. I got it at a craft fair back in the early 90's.

Sorry for the angled photos of the fireplace, but our living room is so small, that if I backed up enough to take a straight-on photo, I'd crash into the coffee table. Even if I moved the coffee table, there's the couch. Though I suppose that would result in a softer landing. I shouldn't even joke about that. I've tripped over things and fallen three times within the past couple of months. I'm notoriously klutzy and all three times, I wasn't being mindful. Trying to do several things at one time and not paying attention to the task at hand. No worries, I'm fine. 

 I kept the mantel simple with bottle brush trees and angels on one side of the mirror.

Wish the fairy lights were brighter for my daytime photos, but it's been sunny here the past few days so the lights don't show up. That's OK ~ I'll take the sunshine any day!

The table beside the couch holds a vintage sleigh and ornaments...

while the shelving unit above the table gets a little bit of adornment.

I'll be back soon with photos of Christmas decor in my kitchen. Thanks for stopping by! 
Be well and safe. 💓

not just yet

I've seen Christmas decor all over social media since the beginning of November. I've always been one of those who don't decorate until after Thanksgiving. One holiday at a time. Growing up, I never knew anyone to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving. Who can eat a turkey dinner and celebrate thankfulness for our food, family and friends with a Christmas tree twinkling in the background? It's just "bassackwards". Reminds me of the Sesame Street song that goes, "one of these things is not like the others; one of these things just doesn't belong." I think the onslaught of social media has pushed people to decorate earlier every year; a competition to be one step ahead.

But this year is different. There is no "normal". I hear people on Instagram saying that they need the cheer; that the bright lights and pretty Christmas tree make them happy. I totally understand that. Go with whatever makes you happy, especially this year. Christmas decorating isn't something that sparks joy in me: it's just another chore. So I'm waiting until I feel that Christmas spirit.

In the meantime, I do enjoy browsing the Christmas decor in independent stores. It's lovely and inspiring and I didn't have to do any of the work! One of my favorite local shops had just finished setting up their Christmas displays, so I went to take a peek last week.

I couldn't leave empty-handed and I'm a sucker for bottle brush trees, so these two came home with me. Mary, the shop owner, uses vintage materials to craft these trees. The red base on the white tree was part of a vintage chandelier from a restaurant in Chicago that closed. Mary said she had the chandelier for sale in her shop for a long time. It never sold. She took it apart and re-purposed the parts.

I received early Christmas cheer in the mail a couple of days ago, too. Kris from Junk Chic Cottage had a giveaway and I was one of the winners of these two wine bottle ornaments. Her note said no judgement from her if the wine didn't make it until Christmas. 😉

Back to Thanksgiving, what are you all doing this year? It'll be just the two of us here this year; we're staying home as we have some high-risk family members. I don't like turkey but Brian does, so we purchased a small frozen turkey breast at Trader Joe's. It has stuffing in the middle and is wrapped in phyllo dough. For sides, I'm making mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts with pecans, cranberry relish, and bourbon corn casserole. For dessert, I'll make a pumpkin pie. I know it sounds like a lot of food for the two of us, but we love Thanksgiving leftovers.

 

Whatever you choose to do for Thanksgiving, I wish you a safe and blessed one.

💓

weird halloween ~ let's bake!

I woke to a sea of green leaves in our side yard and patio this morning. 

A hard frost overnight stripped the trees almost completely bare.

Last year on Halloween, we had a freak snowstorm that dumped several inches of snow on us. Trick-or-treating was cancelled. This year, it's 57 degrees with a brilliant, blue sky.

And a blue moon. And a pandemic.

Spooky for real.

I don't do much baking these days, but my hubby likes an occasional sweet treat. And we both love pumpkin. This pumpkin bread recipe is different in that it's made with whole wheat flour and uses olive oil instead of butter. It's also heavy on the spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves...which make the house smell warm and cozy and fall-like.

The recipe is from the book, "Eat This Poem" ~ which is fabulous. It's filled with poems and short stories with each recipe, which emphasize the love and importance of nourishing ourselves and our family and friends. 

OLIVE OIL PUMPKIN BREAD

1-3/4 cups whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup turbinado sugar (I used coconut sugar)

1 T pumpkin spice mix (recipe follows)

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup water

1 cup pumpkin puree (from a can is fine, preferably organic)

2 large eggs

2 T pumpkin seeds

Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare a loaf pan by buttering or lining with parchment paper. Stir the flour, brown and turbinado sugars, pumpkin spice mix, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Pour the olive oil and water into another bowl, then whisk in the pumpkin puree and eggs. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently incorporate with a wooden spoon, stirring just until no traces of flour remain. Scrape the batter into the loaf pan; sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds. Bake for 50 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn the loaf onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Pumpkin Spice Mix

(Use the extra to add to oatmeal or pancake batter!)

2 T ground cinnamon

2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground allspice

**********

I hope that you do give this bread a try ~ it goes perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.

Happy Halloween ~ be safe and well.

💓

pleasant diversions

Our world is pretty darn stressful right now with the pandemic (or dampanic, as Susan Branch calls it), our (USA) current administration and out-of-control wildfires. Add personal stressors on top of it, and it's enough to make anyone run for the hills. Don't forget your mask. And better hope the hill isn't on fire.

Here in far northeast Illinois, we've hit another surge of COVID cases and deaths. Most restaurants are now closed again for indoor dining. I'd been taking Clementine inside the vet's office for her twice weekly subcutaneous fluids and starting today, just like back in the late spring, we have to stay in the car and the vet tech comes out to get her.

While we're all (mostly) stuck inside, sometimes it feels good to just snuggle up on the couch or in the bed and immerse yourself in a good book, lose yourself in some beautiful music, or watch an engaging movie or TV show. I thought it'd be fun to share what we're reading, what music we're listening to, and what movies or TV shows we're watching. Sometimes it's too easy to stick with the same types of books or music, so maybe we'll discover something new to read, listen to or watch. 

As an introvert and avid reader, I've always been surrounded by books and have my nose stuck in one. I just tried reading four fiction books and couldn't get into any of them. So I'm back to reading my usual non-fiction. I'm currently reading David Kessler's newest book, Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief. If you're not familiar with Kessler, he's written many books on death and grieving, including two co-written with psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. We're all probably familiar with the five stage of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Even though Kessler was a grief "expert", when his 21-year old son died of an accidental overdose, his life, of course, was upended and writing this book was a way to work through all the stages of grief - including this new stage he came up with - and to honor his son. As most of you know, my oldest son, Philip passed away 11 years ago ~ also at age 21 and from an accidental drug overdose. This book is insightful for anyone who has lost a loved one and is on the healing end of their grief journey.

 

Simple Abundance is a book I read year-round, as it's divided into months. And every day of the month has an short essay. Even if you miss a few days ~ or weeks, it's easy to pick up this book and just start where you left off. This book first came out in 1995 but the new edition (which I have below) came out in November 2019. This book is all about women's spirituality and following your own true path.

I didn't start truly listening to music until I was a pre-teen. Back then in the early 70's, I rode my bike around the neighborhood with my transistor radio in the basket on the front of my bike. And on Saturdays when I got my allowance, I couldn't wait to walk to K-Mart and pick out the newest "45". One record I remember playing over and over ~ even taking it to my friend's house and playing it on her record player, too ~ was Radar Love by Golden Earring. Now I just have a few CDs that I still haven't parted with (I do listen to them in my car) and my Spotify playlist.

 I played the piano and flute growing up, but I didn't choose to play the piano. It was something my mother said I was going to do. Back in those days, we just said OK and did it. Did I enjoy it? Only the casual playing part. I hated the lessons and the 30-minute per day practicing. I did choose to play the flute when I was in junior high ~ and that continued through high school.

 My favorite genre of music is classic rock ~ that's probably from being a teen in the 70's ~ but I also like alternative rock, folk music, bluegrass, jazz, disco, Motown, Indie, instrumental (piano or guitar), some classical, and vocal swing. I love discovering new artists, so share away! I hope you enjoy a couple of my picks.

Billie Eilish is only 18 years old but wow, what a beautiful, sultry voice!

It's no surprise that Kurt Vile paired up with John Prine on this song: Kurt was influenced by Prine in his early music career. This song was recorded just four months before Prine's death in April 2020.

As for TV and movies, I'm not much into either. I've just now turned the boob tube back on after having it off the entire summer, except for a cooking show here and there. I'm more likely to have my nose stuck in a book or be on my laptop writing emails or researching something. My blogging friend, Dewena recently recommended that I watch Angela, aka "The Parisienne Farmgirl" and Shaye at "The Elliott Homestead" on YouTube. I follow both of them on Instagram but haven't watched their videos yet. 

So I'm probably late to the game, but we're just now watching Schitt's Creek. We watched the first two episodes when it first came out, but couldn't get into it. Last month we decided to try one more time, this time saying we'd give it four episodes. It worked. We are hooked. It's light-hearted and hilarious ~ something we need these days.

I read about this movie on the Greater Good website and it piqued my interest, though I haven't watched it yet. On my to-watch list!

"Driveways studies how learning to cope with the loss of relationships can help create new, meaningful ones. Because the fulfillment of this essential psychological need is so strong, these ties can be forged between people who are seemingly very different from each other. Everyone must carry something heavy, from time and time—and Driveways highlights how leaning on each other can lighten our burdens." (Maryam Abdullah, Greater Good)

My son is very much into movies, especially ones with deep meaning that leave you thinking and guessing. He watched this one recently and recommended it, so it's another that's on my to-watch list.

"When I got to the end of Charlie Kaufman’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things, I had to ask myself: What the heck was that about? After I watched it a second time, I came to understand a few things about this beautiful, unsettling, complex, melancholy film.

To begin, I don’t believe it’s a spoiler to reveal that the movie is a character study, and that it takes place entirely inside that one achingly lonely mind. But what’s the story about? In my view, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is really about goodness, but what makes this story a tragedy is that the goodness goes unseen and unappreciated by others.

At one point, his girlfriend (Jessie Buckley) praises Jake (Jesse Plemons) for taking care of his dying mother. “I’m glad to hear you say that,” he says. “That makes me feel better. Sometimes, it feels like no one sees the good things you do. You’re just alone.” She whispers to him, “I see it.”

However, this wonderful girlfriend doesn’t exist outside of his head, and the tragedy is that Jake needed to invent someone to see his very real goodness. She is variously named Lucy, Louisa, Lucia, and Ames; she’s sometimes a physicist, sometimes a painter; once a poet, again a film critic. When Jake’s elderly parents need their pain recognized, she becomes a gerontologist.

Throughout all these metamorphoses, she stays smart, grounded, and funny. She’s not a doormat or a manic pixie dream girl, as we might expect from decades of Hollywood movies. She’s something new to cinema: the imaginary woman who is wiser and realer than the shadow of a man who imagines her. She becomes what Jake could have been, if he’d been luckier. The movie left me wondering what goodness I might be missing, in the people I encounter. I could be missing a lot of bad, too; I’m Thinking of Ending Things doesn’t shy away from how much social invisibility hurts Jake. He’s not a bad man, but he is a damaged one.

By the end, we can see him whole, good and bad. It’s confusing, that karmic mixture, because we like to see clear-cut heroes and villains in our stories. When we don’t, it’s ourselves we begin to see, good and bad." (Jeremy Adam Smith, Greater Good)

What are you reading, listening to and watching? Or what do you recommend? Please share in the comments!

May you be well, peaceful, healthy and safe.
💓

new sofa and clementine

Hello from moody, windy Illinois. Today's view of the maple tree across the street...

There are so many fallen leaves right now. Brian's already cleaned out our gutters twice. He'll have to do it two or three more times before the trees are stripped bare. Today looks like it'll be the last warm day for a loong time. The extended forecast shows temps dropping into the low 50's and even one day where it will only be a high of 48F. And lots of rain. Cue the sobbing. And the start of Seasonal Affective Disorder. 

After waiting six weeks for our Crate and Barrel Willow sofa to be made and delivered to us...it's finally here! We love it. It is comfortable and cozy, perfect for lounging, yet firm enough to have good support. We are super impressed with the quality of the sofa itself and the slipcover, which is washable.

I decided to put the new sofa on an angle instead of up against the wall under the opening where the old sofa was. More photos coming up, but first let me tell you that getting this new sofa and putting it in a new spot got the snowball effect rolling. The black ladder bookshelf and floor lamp do not look good behind the sofa. My cousin, who is a designer, told me I need a higher bookshelf, that the proportions are off. I agree. I might try a tall corner bookshelf. We also need an arc floor lamp so it comes over the couch for reading. And, of course, we need artwork for the walls.

This "cheap" IKEA chair you see to the side will also eventually be replaced with something a little nicer. And my grandma's coffee table, which I love but is too big and angular for the room, will be going into the downstairs family room. I'll be looking for a smaller round or oval coffee table, probably with a glass top to make the room look more open and airy. No hurry on any of these things though. I am taking my time looking on Facebook Marketplace plus online sales.

This is the view across from the sofa. The sofa now faces the fireplace, which is on a diagonal. And we moved the TV from Brian's office into the living room. Neither of us ever watched TV in Brian's office so it was useless in there. And yet another thing I'm looking for: a console TV stand, preferably one with shelves or glass-front cabinets so I can display some books and my vintage pottery.

Thank you for all the kind and helpful comments in my last post about Clementine and her receiving subcutaneous fluids. She received her first treatment this past Monday. The two young, sweet, caring vet techs let me in the room with her so I was able to pet her and talk to her while she was receiving her treatment. She did flinch and let out a little meow when the needle first went in, but then she immediately settled down and was fine the entire time. Watching the tech do the procedure convinced me I cannot do this on my own. 

The techs told me that the vet wants Clementine to have these treatments twice/week for at least three weeks. We then might be able to go down to once/week. How they will determine that, I have no idea. I'm going to ask again tomorrow when I take her in again. 

They also told me (and I was aware from reading online ahead of time) that the fluid doesn't get absorbed all at once, that it can take hours for the body to do so. The fluid accumulates under the skin and forms a "bubble" and can travel down to the torso. You can see the fluid bubble at the bottom of her tummy, near her leg. You can also see where she chews her skin...see how her fur is ragged on the left leg and there's a pink spot? She's been excessively barbering for a couple of years now. Long story short, she sees a vet dermatologist for this and they have done tests and tried four different meds and changing her diet and nothing works. Her regular vet and I agree: it's most likely anxiety. The thing is, she can't be on any anti-anxiety medication because it would affect her kidneys. 

One small blessing that came our way Monday at the vet...when I was checking out, the amount I was charged was 40% less than what I was originally quoted over email. So the cost of bringing Clementine in for these fluids is not as terrible as we had feared.

Have a wonderful week and stay safe.

💓