It's always hard to say goodbye- to people and places loved, to leisure time away from the office, to a season that was suddenly over when it feels like it only just began- and even to a calendar year that may have presented some personal challenges. Admittingly as I type this post, we still have the bulbs and ornaments hung on the tree and the lights still strewn about the eaves. This year, it all came and went so fast and I have had a hard time parting with the pleasures of the holiday season.
So just as I always try to plan another vacation when one is ending, I decided to follow suit and pick out a couple of holiday habits worth hanging on to in the coming year.
I've never really been a napper. I'm not a late sleeper and taking a break in the busiest part of the day always felt like a waste. Leisure time really brings about some new perspective and I found that a short break to watch a favorite movie on the couch by the fire didn't necessarily slow me down after all. It felt good to let my mind wander a bit with the scroll of channels on the remote and my feet up on the ottoman. With all the focus on clean eating and exercise in the New Year, it's a little curious that one of my resolutions is to sleep and lounge. But part of being healthy is also learning to respond to queues from your tired body and taking time to rest and recharge. It will not happen everyday, but instead of running on empty each weekend and dreading the workweek to come, I am looking forward catching up on some Netflix under a warm blanket in 2015.
I've talked about my renewed interest in fresh house floral recently here on the blog and plans to re-incorporate this habit into my weekly routine. Over the holiday, I again spent some time at the flower mart and played with colorful arrangements set against dark wood or clothed backdrops. It was fun to hone my skills and challenge myself a bit to create something modern and fresh for our holiday tables. There was a time when I'd shop every Saturday for flowers to display around the house and I'm not sure why I ever stopped. It may have been time or money but in 2015, I decided to make room in both my budget and routine for flowers once again.
I spent the better part of the last 8 weeks huddled over my kitchen counter and I have the dishpan hands to prove it. Among my voyage back to seemingly self discovery during the holidays came a renewed interest in cooking and baking (but definitely not dishwashing). We are a two-person household with different tastes and dinner interests and quite often we "make food" -not a formal meal. It's just been easier on our budget (and my nerves) to approach dinner this way. Eating out is always the easiest solution. But I had a bit of an a-ha moment over the holiday that helped me find my way back to something I love. It may not always translate into a "meal", but I decided to challenge myself to experiment with creating something in the kitchen a couple of times each week - be it a loaf of bread, a much loved family recipe or even a cocktail.
As such, the coming year will likely feature more posts on food and flower arrangements here on the blog, in addition to dishing daily on design. I've already got a few projects in the early planning stages so stay tuned for continued work here on Holtwood House as well.
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