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}
Tag: winter (page 2 of 15)
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}
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!}
🥂🍾 Happy New Year!! 🍾🥂
May this year lay an abundance of blessings, love and light at your door.
{Midnight Toast – As the clock strikes twelve to usher in the year 1951, one of Hollywood’s happiest couples, Anne Baxter and John Hodiak, are prepared for a New Year’s toast. Both are enjoying top honors in Hollywood, Miss Baxter’s newest success being her brilliant performance in the 20th Century-Fox production, “All About Eve.” | Pinned HERE}
We stand on the cusp of one year slipping away and a new one about to dawn.
So much has happened in these past 365 days. It’s somewhat bittersweet to say goodbye. But, we’re greeting this new year to come with open arms.
May this coming year hold beauty for us all.
Let the countdown begin…
{Nina Foch and dress designer Jean Louis sipping champagne at Samuel Spiegle’s New Year’s Eve party | 1949 | Peter Stackpole/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images}
And here we tread again, on this most hallowed of ground. These last few days to soak up what has been, what could have been and what is yet to come.
After the hustle and bustle and merrymaking, these quiet days of reflecting and simply being are some of my most cherished.
We move slowly and quietly, drinking it all in. Watching movies, playing games, working on the crossword puzzle together. Christmas records spin while we sit by the glow of the Christmas tree. We go for long strolls and cobble together sandwiches from the leftover turkey.
We haven’t taken for granted that our refrigerator is full of food, that we are able to put our heating on and that we wake up safe and warm with a roof over our heads, when there are many who are not in this position.
All too soon, the days will move far too quickly for me and this treasured time of being together will vanish with a snap of fingers, like Cinderella’s coach turning back into a pumpkin. The spell will be broken and we will go back to our “normal” routines. But for now, I’m holding on tightly to the pleasure of being in the moment and I’m not wishing one second away.
These “in-between” days still hold so much and so little. There is much magic in their offering and rhythm and so we are mindful of our steps as we move toward the bridge that will take us from one year into the next.
{Christmas Tree | 1960 | Troy Bradberry’s Kodachrome & Vintage Color Collection | Pinned HERE}
All is calm, all is bright and we are waiting…
{Linda Harper in a short-sleeved Acrilan sweater | Vogue | December 1, 1955 | Found HERE}
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.
💗 Happy Valentine’s Day! 💗
To me, Valentine’s Day is a celebration of L-O-V-E in all its many shapes and forms, and although it’s highlighted on this day, there are 364 other days in the year when it should be celebrated too.
May your day be filled with love in all its many shapes and forms.
{American actress, singer and dancer Debbie Reynolds, circa 1955. Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images | Pinned HERE}