Looking forward, reflecting back …

“It’s the period between Christmas and New Years. What day it is doesn’t matter. Existence is confusion. Time is a flat circle.”

~ @danideahl

I love this week … between Christmas and the New Year.

It’s wonderful to be cozy at home watching football, catching up on books, magazines, TV series and movies.

And enjoying the final days of Christmas decorations and lights.

I’ll have everything packed away before we clink and drink to the New Year.

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In an effort to simplify and reduce stress, I vowed not to send a holiday card this year.

And then I did.

At the last minute.

They hit the mail on Christmas Eve.

And that’s ok.

We spent the week leading up to Christmas with family at the Hotel Del Coronado.

Coronado is my happy place and The Del is extra special and magical during the holidays.

The lights, the Christmas decorations, the skating rink … and the beach.

Need I say more?

We had so much fun.

The Del had lots of holiday fun planned … in addition to ice skating beachside,

kids can visit Santa on the beach, decorate gingerbread houses,

enjoy a Victorian Tea and so much more.

Holly Jolly the Elf made a surprise visit to grand-nieces Halle and Leila.

When we visit Coronado we do a lot of walking.

So many adorable homes decked out for Christmas.

We even made time to check out some real estate.

Loved this new home’s rooftop deck.

On Christmas Eve we went to my sister and brother-in-law’s.

And had Chinese take-out.

So simple, so yummy, so fun.

At my sister’s request I brought the makings for Raspberry Kir Royale’s.

She’s a bubbles fan and gave two thumbs up to the festive addition

of Chambord and fresh raspberries.

On the way home, Jim and I drove up and down the streets of our neighborhood looking at all the beautiful Christmas lights.

Many of our neighbors go all out and we appreciate their efforts.

Christmas day was a quiet day at home.

It’s been our tradition to go to the movies on Christmas night, but the past couple of years we’ve elected to watch movies at home.

After a big Christmas dinner it was nice not to go anywhere

and cozy up in comfy clothes by the fire.

Another holiday season in the books.

And I treasure this week, not just for lounging but to get organized for the year ahead.

Here’s what I’ve accomplished so far ~

• Unwrapped my 2022 Erin Condren calendar/planner. Yes, I still use a paper planner. My sister got me hooked on Erin Condren several years ago and I look forward to choosing a new cover and interior page design each year. I’ve already transferred birthdays, anniversaries, and other important dates to the new planner … and highlighted them with colorful pens. Inevitably I’ll get a couple of dates mixed up. The errors will reveal themselves throughout the year … without fail.

• Cleaned and reorganized my closet. And made a run to the local donation site with two huge bags of clothing and shoes. Jim, if you’re reading this my denim count is down to 12. ONLY 12!!! It’s a post-Christmas miracle.

• Straightened up my bathroom vanity cabinet and drawers … tossing old products and samples I’ll never use.
• Reorganized our laundry closet in preparation for a revamp of my laundry routine. Stay tuned for this exciting content.

• Cleaned and organized the refrigerator and freezer.
• Bought a white faux cranberry wreath – half price! – to put away for next year.

• Cleared out my in-box by unsubscribing from emails and texts. A never-ending process. Are you inundated with junk email? And how the heck did they start sliding into our DM’s? Sigh.

Still to do ~

• Update my filing. Yes, I still have paper files. And begin gathering documents for our 2021 tax returns. Of all the week’s tasks, this is my very special favorite.
• Put away Christmas decorations. I’ll get this done before New Year’s Eve so I can start the new year with a fresh, clean slate.
• Speaking of New Year’s Eve, I’m looking forward to another quiet evening at home. I like to get out my journal to reflect back and look forward.

• And instead of resolutions I’ll set an intention for the year ahead. While I was writing this post an article popped into my inbox about setting intentions. For once in my life, I might be on trend.

What I’m looking forward to in the new year ~

• New Year’s Day! I’m excited for the NHL Winter Classic, this year it’s in Minnesota, and the unveiling of HGTV’s 2022 Dream Home in Vermont. I’ll have a pot of The Party’s Over Vegetable Soup (recipe at the end of the post) on the stove … the perfect accompaniment for hockey and critiquing others interior design choices. I’ve made no secret of my disappointment in recent years Dream Homes. After peeking at this year’s home … and I don’t want to get too far out over my skies, but … things may be looking up. Stay tuned … I might write a post about it. As of today you can enter daily to win (the Dream Home, a brand new SUV and $250k cash) … and I do.

• The debut of Magnolia Network on January 5^th. Who else is excited for the return of Chip, Joanna and friends?
• Weddings! 2022 is going to be a Wedding-Palooza! We have four on the calendar so far … a son, two nieces and a friend’s son … and it’s still early.
• Wedding guest dress shopping! The four weddings on our calendar range from winter formal to summer casual. No, Jim, I cannot wear the same dress to all four weddings. What do you think of this little number? For the summer casual wedding, of course. Ha!

• My annual reread of Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic. So much creative encouragement in this little book … puts me in the right frame of mind to hit the ground running in the New Year.

• Snowberry’s garden. We’re days from January and spring is just around the corner. Living in California spring comes early and I can’t wait to see our garden come to life for its second season. Last year I did a lot of experimenting … I had success with foxgloves and dahlias. So this year I’ll be adding more. Last year I purchased dahlia tubers from Jennifer at The Flowering Farmhouse and will place another order as soon as they’re available (looks like early 2022). Jen has a gorgeous blog and provides wonderful guidance on caring for dahlias. One of my raised beds is reserved for a dahlia cutting garden. Fun!

What about you?

How were your holidays?

Are you enjoying a leisurely week or are you back to business as usual?

What are you looking forward to in the year ahead?

Tell me everything … that’s what the comments are for!

If your New Year’s Eve … or day … will be less low-key than mine,

make things easy on yourself by setting up a serve-yourself beverage bar.

Check out these fun drink station ideas that your guests are sure to enjoy!

And, for the morning after …

Thank you so much for joining me here on the blog again this year.

Your encouragement and support mean the world to me.

And I wish you the happiest of Happy New Years!

Until 2022 … Cheers from Snowberry,

SHOP THE POST ~