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We Need A Little Twinkle & Glow

Although, I find setting goals both personally and professionally, important. I feel that this is the time of year where it is equally important to simply be. To let things wash over you, to move with the season. Winter in the natural world is a time of rest, a season that supports rebirth in the spring.

Our current working culture does not allow for this to easily happen. It’s head first, jump in and just keep swimming. It’s not a straightforward road to walk, to find the balance between “being” and “doing”.

This is a season where we need to consciously make time to rest, to move a little slower, to breathe. And so, we shall continue to have the glow of our twinkle lights for awhile longer and linger at the table after dinner while a record spins and take opportunities as they present themselves to simply be still. Because we are now within the darkest part of the year, the part where we need the most light, the most twinkle and glow; where we need to be cozy, where we need to relish in the season that we are in and look forward to the season that is yet to come.

Last Tuesday, I had to walk past my first dumped Christmas tree of winter. I thought my heart was going to break, I know there will be more to come as I’ve already witnessed it. After all the warmth and twinkling lights, it’s so sad to see nothing but darkened windows. So for a little while longer, I’m going to share a few more moments of sparkle and glow before all of that disappears with the yule log ashes.

{A quick snap of an adorable snowman on top of one of the Christmas trees at Lamb House. | This year the theme was a 1970s Christmas based on the time period that Rumer Godden lived within those walls. It was a delicious step back in time!}

HELLO, December

Hello, December! You’ve arrived with a nip to the air and Jack Frost on your heels. There are rumours of snow for next week and I’m relishing the thought.  

We’re ready for hot chocolate walks while we look at Christmas lights glowing. We’re ready to stay up late watching old movies and eating buttery popcorn. We’re ready to keep our Christmas albums spinning while we eat dinner by the glow of the Christmas tree. 

We’re ready for the adventures we have planned this month and the school break that allows us to soak up everything in this most resplendent of seasons. And the opportunity that the school holiday brings, to be able to breathe and drink in the world around us at our own pace. 

We’re ready for our holiday baking to begin and the house to be filled with the smell of sugar cookies, gingerbread, cinnamon and peppermint. We’re ready to linger over the breakfast table working on the crossword together with hot cups of coffee in hand. 

We’re ready for the reflective moments and the collective calm this season brings amongst the sparkle and glitter and glow. 

We’re ready for this most holy of seasons and pray that peace, light and love continue to shine through the darkness. 

Welcome, December, fill our hearts with good cheer. 

{Vintage East European Matchbox | Pinned HERE | Found HERE}

HELLO, November

Hello, November. We’re ready for the days to fully turn cooler as we move into late autumn. We’re ready for long walks with mugs filled with hot apple cider. We’re ready to continue playing our board games late into a Saturday night, or a quiet afternoon spent working on a puzzle. 

We’re ready for Bonfire Night that you will bring this weekend and making our first apple crumble of the season with a generous scoop of homemade ice cream on top. 

We’re ready to settle into this season of coziness and candlelight and the build up to Thanksgiving. We’re ready to feast on leftover turkey sandwiches and decorate for Christmas near the end of this month. 

We’re ready for the smell of woodsmoke in the air on a crisp night, mixed with the scent of a stew simmering on the stove, while fresh bread bakes in the oven. 

We’re ready to soak up this season and to find peace in the quiet moments, for the world right now is far too loud. We welcome you, November with open arms. 

{Vintage Turkey Illustration found HERE via The Biodiversity Heritage Library | Pinned HERE}

HELLO, October

Hello, October. Even though you are apparently bringing a mini heatwave with you, we’re ready for more of a shift toward fall. We have noticed that the light is changing along with the shadows which are lengthening day by day. We’re ready for crunchy apples and crispy leaves underfoot. We’re ready for cauldrons and Halloween candy and witch’s hats and things that go bump in the night. 

We’re ready for the first cold snap of the season and the smell of woodsmoke dancing in the air while on an evening stroll. We’re ready for Friday nights spent watching some of our favourite Halloween movies while munching on marshmallow popcorn balls. 

We’re ready for clear skies and breezes that give a snap to the air. As well as moody days that lend themselves perfectly to tea drinking and book reading. We’re ready to watch Autumn be crowned in all her golden, bronze and copper glory. 

We’re ready to bake pies and work on our jigsaw puzzles and spend lazy Saturday mornings over a cup of coffee and the crossword. We’re ready to make a fresh batch of apple butter for the fall and try our hand at a new chutney recipe I’ve been holding on to. We’re ready for soups and stews and jack-o-lanterns peeking out from windows and mums dotted about in flower pots. 

We’re ready for the school fall break that you will bring and the adventures that are planned. We’re ready for you October in all your pumpkin orange, candy corn, black cats, witches flying across the moon, leaves turning golden hues and candlelit filled nights glory. Welcome, October! 

{P is for Pumpkin, Ella Ginn | Pinned HERE}

HELLO, September

Hello, September. I’m not sure I was ready for you and the back to school day that you will bring. We were busy having too much fun in August; spending days surrounded by those that we love so dearly. My heart was full and my cup runneth over in those lazy, hazy days of late July and August. 

But, ready or not, here you come and we’re going to be ready for the shifting light and shadows that you will bring. We’re ready for the days that feel more autumnal and the chance to soak up a few more drops of that golden summer glow before it vanishes completely. 

We’re ready for our house to be more back in order after coming home from traveling and some around the house projects being completed. We’re ready for those cozy, quiet, cooler weekends spent working on puzzles and listening to music. We’re ready to munch on apples and grilled cheese sandwiches for Saturday lunches while we linger over the crossword at the kitchen table. 

We’re sorry to see this summer go in particular, but we’re ready for you September. We’re not wishing away our time, but we can feel this seasonal shift upon us. As the metronome to our daily rhythm picks up pace with the start of this new school year and we find that beat that works best for us. 

Welcome, September, we can’t wait to see what you have over the horizon for us. 

{“Apples, Pumpkins, and Friends for the Picking” from A Classy Girl Wears Pearls | Pinned HERE}

HELLO, August

Hello, August! We’re ready to keep enjoying the lazy hazy days of summer. We’re ready to keep eating our weight in fruit and vegetables from the local farmer’s market. Gobbling up blueberries still warm from being picked on the way home. 

We’re ready to keep enjoying time with family and friends that we have not had the pleasure of being with in many, many moons. 

We’re ready to work on puzzles on the sunporch while the breeze drifts by. We’re ready for early morning swims and evening runs to get ice cream after dinner. 

We’re ready to stay up late eating popcorn while we watch old movies. We’re ready to soak up all that you have to offer and we’re grateful for this time off from school and the chance to appreciate being within the moment and making every second count. We’re going to drink up each day until the last drop. 

{Austrian actress Mara Lane lounging by the pool in a red and white striped bathing costume at the Sands Hotel, Las Vegas, 1954. | Photo by Slim Aarons | Hulton Archive | Getty Images}

HELLO, June

HELLO, June. We’re ready for our table to be heaped with heirloom tomatoes and fresh corn on the cob. We’re ready for evening to crawl in a little later, while we eat ice cream and watch the waves roll in from the shore. 

We’re ready for early morning beach strolls, hunting for shells amongst the rocks. We’re ready to stretch out on our bed, with the windows wide and read books with a bowl of popcorn between us. 

We’re ready to make fresh shortcakes, heaped high with strawberries that are nestled in pillows of whipped vanilla cream. We’re ready to listen to more Carolina beach music and dance in the kitchen while dinner is cooking. 

We’re ready for all that you bring this month as we move more fully into summer and the opportunities to drink it all in. 

{Oh, Shucks! by Paige Spearin | Pinned HERE}

HELLO, May

Hello, May. We’re ready for you to continue to lengthen our days and bring us more of a taste of the summer yet to come. We’re ready for more adventures with friends, with weekends spent exploring and laughing together till our sides hurt. 

We’re ready for opportunities to breakfast on the beach, hoping to spot a seal in between bites of breakfast sandwiches and crossword puzzling. 

We’re ready for the three luxuriously long weekends you bring this month and the chance to soak those days up in each other’s company. 

We’re ready for more fruits and vegetables to appear at our greengrocers as our table spreads to include more spring greens tossed in pasta, salads, risotto and everything in between. 

We’re ready for all that you hold as we continue to appreciate the little things in each day and making the most of the season of spring. 

{Audrey Hepburn in dress from Givenchy Boutique at her home ‘La Paisible’ in Switzerland, taken by Henry Clarke for Vogue, 1971 | Pinned HERE}

A Clean Slate

All the little nisse have been tucked away until next Christmas. Every space has been dusted, swept up and mopped and there is now a bareness to our home. But that has been softened by greenery and twinkle lights still peeking out here and there. 

To me, we have now moved into the darkest time of winter and we need all the warmth and magic that we can bring to a space. 

But there is a beauty to sparseness, a beauty to stripping something back to the bone and enjoying it in its simplicity. There is a certain magic to this time of year not to let go unappreciated. Each season holds its own enchantment.