š Happy St. Patrickās Day! š
May your day be fair and full of green. And may all the golden luck, rainbows and good wishes be with you today! š
{Promotional studio portrait of British actress Joan Collins wearing a printed scarf | 1955 | Photo by Getty Images | Pinned HERE}
Hello, March. Weāve already started moving into āspring cleaningā mode and dusting away the cobwebs of winter and that shall continue as this month progresses. I find it extremely satisfying to deep clean and reorganise a space, itās a freeing experience for the mind and soul. You are mentally and physically decluttering.Ā
Weāre ready for Lady Spring to begin to fully come into her own this month. Nature’s signs are all around us that spring’s pending arrival is upon us. Weāve already spotted snowdrops and purple and egg yolk hued crocuses dotted around on our strolls.Ā Frogspawn has filled a favourite pond almost to the brim and we look forward to the hundred of tadpoles that will soon be swarming in amongst the lily pads.Ā
Weāre ready for more sunshine filled days with a frosty crispness in the air. Weāre ready for the start of Lent and the season of reflection that walks in tandem with it.
Weāre still chilly here and will be for awhile yet, so we look forward to eveningtide where we sit over a hot cup of tea with lemon and honey and share a few cookies between us while jibber jabbering away.Ā
Weāre ready to keep the records spinning and dance in the kitchen while we make dinner. Weāre ready for St. Patrickās day and the āWearinā ‘O the greenā and my Nanaās Irish soda bread flecked with juicy golden raisins and caraway seeds that will grace our table.Ā
Weāre ready to continue to embrace the seasons, enjoying the riches that each gives us. Welcome, March, we stand ready with open arms for all that you bring.Ā
{Vera Mouse forming an “M” | Marjolein Bastin | HERE}
Hello February, weāre very excited for your coming. For you bring along with you St. Valentineās Day and a winter break from school which feels luxurious this time of year. It gives way to the opportunity to move more fully to our own beat even if only for a short time.
Weāre ready for our long winter evenings to continue marching on for a while yet. Weāre savouring nightfall with our eventide rituals of drinking tea enriched with lemon and honey or hot chocolates studded with marshmallows and watching cozy movies while snuggled under blankets.
Weāre ready for more ābreakfast for dinnerā nights in which we feast on scrambled eggs, bacon and biscuits or pancakes dotted with blueberries or waffles with lashings of butter and syrup.
Weāre ready to continue to enjoy winter. Slowly and surely the earth is awakening. I see bulbs shooting up with their green heads from the soil and the smell of damp earth permeates the air. But, Iām not quite ready for Spring yet, Iāll enjoy her when she arrives, but I like each season to have its due.
Weāre still keeping our fingers crossed for one snow day in there, where school is closed and we get to stay home reading books and chatting while lingering over a second cup coffee and stopping mid sentence to watch the snow fall and breathe it all in.
Weāre ready for quiet weekends mixed in with long London strolls seeing where our feet take us, stopping for coffee and pastries when we need a break to warm up again. Weāre ready for all that you bring in this last month of Winter. Welcome, February! We greet you with arms open wide.
{Walt Disney “Once Upon a December” poster, 1954 | Found HERE | Pinned HERE}
May this New Year lay an abundance of love, light and blessings upon your door. x
{October 1950: American model Joan Vohs poses for a new year greetings card. | Photo by Keystone/Getty Images | Pinned HERE}
Here we stand on the cusp of a New Year. So much has happened in these past 365 days and also so little. But it’s bittersweet to say goodbye to one year. However, we stand ready and waiting for what this next year has in store.Ā
May this coming year hold beauty for us all. Wishing you love and light as we kiss this past year goodbye and open our arms in greeting to the new one about to dawn.
{Hollywood New Year’s Party | “That’s the Tarzan of that day, Lex Barker, with his wife, actress Arlene Dahl” | 1952 | Pinned HERE}
And now we walk in the hallowed ground of the āin-between” days. The space between Christmas and New Yearās Eve. The merrymaking of Christmas has gone by in a flash and now we move with a a slower pace. Visiting with family and friends, watching Christmas movies by the glow of twinkle lights, cobbling together sandwiches from leftovers, while playing board games and going on long strolls with hot chocolates in hand.
The days are quieter, less hustle and bustle, but oh, so vital to our souls. There is a rhythm and a pace to this space that is all its own.
These days are special, they are our last days of the year as our slow meandering brings us to the bridge we will cross over into a New Year in just a few days. They are a time to be still, to reflect on what has been and to hope for what could be in the future. It is a sacred time, as we wait for what is to come and relish in what has been.
These days hold a magic all of their own, they hold so little and yet, they hold so very much. We must endeavour to drink them in with full hearts as we mindfully move forward before the flame of this year is snuffed out.
{Retro Christmas tree decorations including popcorn strings | 1979 | “Popcorn is probably the most traditionally American decoration because itās the only indigenous one”, says Mrs. Henry Lochte, production chairman of the annual Christmas tree exhibit at the Cheekwood Fine Arts Center in Nashville, Tennessee | Found HERE | Pinned HERE}
šā¤ļø Merry Christmas! ā¤ļøš
May this day fill your heart, home and table with love, light and peace.
{Full-length promotional portrait of American actor Mitzi Gaynor posing as she decorates a Christmas tree with silver tinsel and ornaments. | 1955 | Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images | Pinned HERE}
The stockings are hung, the presents are wrapped, cookies have been set out and we are waiting…
{Macy’s Wrapping Department at Christmas time, 1948 | Nina Leen for LIFE magazine | Pinned HERE}
Hello, December. We’re ready for frosty mornings and quiet evenings where we sit by the glow of the Christmas tree and listen to Patrick Stewart reading from “A Christmas Carol”, with hot chocolates in our hands.
We’re ready for the hustle and bustle this season brings and the moments of stillness as well, which are so very important for body and soul. We’re ready for our first chance to wish someone a “Merry Christmas!”, two of my most favourite words. The thrill that gives me to offer those heartfelt wishes, as there is only a finite amount of time in which to do it in.
We’re ready for weekend rambles and visiting a few Christmas markets. We’re ready to delight in frosted sugar cookies and gingerbread men with currant eyes and buttons. We’re ready for the excitement of peeling back the windows each day of our German Advent calendar to see what awaits us behind our little paper door.
We’re ready to relish in this season as well as this time for reflection of what the year has been and where the New Year may go. We welcome you with open arms, December and await all the delights and blessings that you will bring.
{The Nightcap | Will Bullas | Found HERE | Pinned HERE}
š¦š„§ Gobble! Gobble! š„§š¦
Happy Thanksgiving!! I hope this year finds your table bountiful and the seats around it filled with those that you cherish.
Love, light and peace. x
{Ann Blyth offering ‘Thanksgiving Greetings To All’ | Universal portrait |1951 | Everett Collection | Pinned HERE}