What is this {pretty, happy, funny, real} you speak of?
The Christmas things packed up but not put away…
The fabric beckoning…
A teatowel on clearance that I could not resist: $3 well spent — can I get an AMEN?!?
The finches love the thistle seeds.
I won't put these stockings away until I finish the last bit, which is turning down the tops to bind the unfinished seam inside. Meant to do it last year. And the year before… No way can I do it next Advent when it comes time to put them out again!
I finished the last pair. They are wonky. But it will be spring soon…
What's going on at your house? Link up and let us know!
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Anel says
Ai, Auntie Leila. Do I spy a bit of nostalgia in your photographs with everyone gone now? Take heart! Lots of us need you! Love you nice big tea-ball! Or do you use yours for herbs? 🙂
Leila says
Anel, I don’t know — it’s always a bit wistful when undecorating — and also facing getting those boxes put away without any runners other than the always diligent Bridget 🙂
The tea ball is nice and big — good for making a pot for 2 or 3 (me and Bridget 😉
anel says
Fascinating, this long Christmas celebration of Catholics. We Protestants barely make it to New Years eve! At least here… We do not even decorate that much because we’re outside in the waves or on a hike. There is always a tree of course – albeit very impressionistic at times. Some people manage a garland here and there. Yet even I was taken aback by my own dear mother’s efficiency when after an afternoon amble at along the seashore with the children, our tree was taken down (we still celebrate Christmas mostly at our parents’ homes) all the boxes put away and tea, fruit cake and ginger cookies ready to be served a mere 4 days after Christmas.
anel says
Risking over share, I must say that we do love our Christmas lights outside our houses. Even in the town my parents live in at the west coast of South Africa with not more than 150 (not a typo) permanent residents . 😉
Over and out from me…
Leila says
Haha — always interesting to hear how our “down under” friends do it! (Is South Africa “down under”??)
anel says
Haha! Geographically quite down under but I think the Australians claimed that one for themselves. Even in Afrikaans (our language) ‘doer onder’ (google translate it and listen to it!! 🙂 ).
Yes. In the evenings we sip something on the stoep/porch with a view (in that little town everyone has a view) and watch the lights. (Aaaaand there I went again..)
Anel says
And YAY to the tea towel!
Laura says
I’ve got fabric on my mind too… And I was just pinning ideas for a sewing machine cover the other night but yours looks the cutest AND the simplest! Thanks – now to find a tea towel as cute and appropriate as yours…
Yes, undecorated Christmas trees are a sad sight but it is nice to have some extra space in the living room…
Have a great week and thanks for hosting as always one of my favorite link-ups!
Leila says
Laura, you are enabling my laziness 😉 But yes, what could be simpler!
Mrs. B. says
We concluded our proper Christmas season yesterday, with the old date for the Baptism of Jesus, and have started putting things away. I will dearly miss the candlelight and all the strings of mini-light we put around the house, inside and outside (we do evangelization through Christmas lights… every bit might help, right? 😉 ) I know Leila is a big proponent of candles at every dinner, but it’s not the same: from the beginning of Advent we stop using the chandelier, and it’s so lovely! But I want to keep this special light for Advent and Christmas only, so I don’t use candles much during the rest of the year. Maybe I’m too strict on this… We are leaving a Nativity icon up until the Presentation on Feb. 2 – by then it will be almost Lent! But that’s good – I find it difficult to live well that hard wintry stretch after Christmas, and Lent will give it more purpose… This year will be especially hard: I’ve lost another baby to miscarriage, and it’s difficult to look at the year before me with joy right now. But the lovely little things we record for {PHFR} help a lot – Leila, your bit of snow is beautiful, we haven’t had any here yet… hurry up, snow, before I start longing for spring!
Leila says
Aw, Mrs. B, so sorry. It is hard. It’s hard to find the joy after that, but many prayers for you to find peace and to smile again.
I can picture the darkness of the dinner table, lit only by the Advent candles. But what about having the lights on and also lighting at least one candle at the table, even a little votive? Somehow, candlelight makes the table happier. Dinnertime is so very much the living out of family life, of the sacramental bonds between husband and wife. The candle represents all this.
My friend Therese, whom I mention every once in a while, lights the candle at the Sunday morning breakfast as well, and I’ve started doing that. It’s just more cheerful!
Mrs. B. says
Leila, thank you, you’re so dear…
As for the candles, I’ll try to remember your beautiful explanation and use candles more often – I guess I’m too afraid to spoil something special by making it too commonplace… And the children do love the ritual of lighting and blowing, and who knows, maybe there’s a study out there showing that children behave better when there’s a candle lit on the table? 😉
Mrs. B. says
Just came back to say I made your “Stuffed Braided Bred of Specialness” yesterday, to have as a Sunday breakfast (though we were all dying to try it, and we had it as Saturday dessert as well, I’m afraid!), and I made sure the candle was lit 🙂 I’m lighting it every dinner now, because the Nativity icon is right on the dinner table, and the candle just naturally belongs. As for the bread, it’s even better today, lightly toasted! The dough was wonderful to work with, and it tastes wonderful, like a brioche! But I’m so full of questions… Is it normal for a braided bread stuffed like that to fall a bit apart when taken out of the pan, or did I do something wrong? Would it be ok to brush it with melted butter instead of spreading it soft when doing the filling? I think I spread too much… Anyway, I’ll selfishly encourage you to gather some bread questions from us readers and have one big bread post with answers! Also, there are Meyer lemons at Trader Joe’s these days, and something tells me your Meyer Lemon Cake is just around my corner… And finally, Buon Viaggio to Bridget – I hope she loves Rome! She’ll have to be patient with the weather for a bit, but with early spring Rome starts showing her breathtaking colors!
Tamara says
Amen on the tea towel! It is darling!
Julie says
I’m in the midst of collecting the Christmas items that didn’t quite make it to the boxes when packing up – an assortment of books, Santa hats and Mary from our Little People nativity. One poor angel lived in my sock drawer all of last year!
Bargains? Cuteness? Of course you can’t pass it up!
Ruth says
I wish I had room in my house for a place to keep my sewing machine out all the time like that. My desk does double duty, so, when I’m not in the middle of a project that needs my sewing machine, it goes back in the box.
It isn’t like I really want a bigger house (950 sq ft for just me and my animals), but there has to be an easier way to manage the space I have. I do like the tea-towel idea though. I plan to file that away if I ever figure out a permanent place for my machine.
Mamabearjd(Michelle) says
Not sure how to send people to Instagram! I’m mcjhouse
Will need to figure that out. Always feel grounded with phfr.
Leila says
Mamabearjd — click on the “add your link” and look down towards the bottom — see the Instagram icon? Click on that…
Leila says
Also you can use the hashtag phfr on IG and see the others there 🙂
Mamabearjd(Michelle) says
Gotcha. Not sure why I’m so late to the gram!
Lisa G. says
Leila, something just clicked with me when you said “what’s going on at your house?” You are usually more particular in separating your pretty, happy, etc., and that’s what always makes me feel bound up and not able to join in. I know you say we don’t have to have a photo for each category, but… Anyway, if you just want to know what’s going on at my house – that I think I can do! Funny how these things happen….
The tea towel is very cute, and I love love LOVE the pine coney arrangement over your sink!
Leila says
Lisa, I hope you do join — you have until Sunday night for this week 🙂
Kimberlee says
Your sewing area is so sunny and cheery. My sewing machine is on the north side of the house in a frigid over-the-garage sitting room, so it’s a cold prospect to go up there in winter. I tend to stay in the sunny kitchen and stick to knitting. Congrats on all of your mittens! It’s always seems daunting to me to do multiples of things (though I did manage three red flannel petticoats for some daughters this year). What are your plans for that lovely fabric calling you? More quilts? Hurrah for super-cute tea towels and also the peek of pretty paper in your pot-cupboard!
Maurisa says
I just put away all the christmas decor today. So sad to see it go. Your stacks of fabric are so very pretty.
Woman of the House says
First of all, a big amen to that tea towel! It’s perfect! Secondly, I too feel wistful when undecorating after Christmas, but I also feel refreshed to have a simpler space again. It’s perfect for starting out a new year!