Merry Christmas dear friends. It's been quite a few days of feeling awful but I think I'm finally on the mend.
I gathered some things from the garden and stuck them here and there and it'll do. Nothing beats nature when it comes to decorating.
I bought this really old Pendleton Blanket at an estate sale this past summer for under $5. It was in its original packaging and I don't think it had ever been opened. The packaging was so dusty, the blanket appeared brown but I got home and discovered it was black and cream with a pink stripe running through it. It matches the whole house and really ties in the Pottery Barn Washed Velvet Pillows.
Christmas 2016
Christmas 2015
Christmas 2013
Christmas 2012
Christmas 2011 (my favorite)
Merry Christmas, Janet. Your cottage looks lovely as always! I like the touches of pink and red. I agree that nature provides the best decor :)
ReplyDeletethank you lisa. merry christmas to you! x
DeleteI am glad to hear you are feeling better, Janet. I echo Lisa's thoughts on your home. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Cheers, Ardith
ReplyDeletethank you and merry christmas to you too ardith! xo
DeleteI am happy you are feeling better. Your home always looks so beautiful, calm, and peaceful. I love how you decorate with nature. I learned this from you and did the same this year- so in love with my nature filled holiday home. Have yourself a very Merry Christmas and New Year!
ReplyDeletethank you dana. i'm glad you tried it and liked it. merry christmas to you! xo
DeleteGood news that you are on the mend...I have turned the corner as well...
ReplyDeleteThe magnolia branches are so pretty...we planted two magnolias in our back garden this fall and I am so excited to see that one of them has a brown tinge to the underside of the leaves...we also planted a white camellia bush. There is a new book by Selina Lake called Botanical Style and your natural touches are in keeping with how she decorates using nature.
Merry Christmas, hope you have fun with the grandchildren!
XO
thank you leslie and glad you are well too. i will look for the book, it sounds lovely. merry christmas! xo
DeleteYour home looks perfect to me...so pretty!! Glad you're feeling better!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas!!
Renee in Northern California
Missed you...I too am doing greenery on the table. Off to the park with clippers in hand! Love looking at your photos, inspiring. Happy Christmas
Deletethank you renee and merry christmas to you also. xo
DeleteHappy you are feeling better. I really like the simple, natural look of your Christmas decor. I tried bringing in some holly that grows in front of my home. my cat tried to eat it, then threw up. so I guess I have to stick with faux. Happy Christmas!
ReplyDeleteDarby
thank you darby. oh no, regarding your cat. def faux to be safe! xo
DeleteWhat a perfectly lovely home,Janet. Love the story about the Pendleton blanket!Glad you are feeling better and here'so to a peaceful holiday time to all your familyxo
ReplyDeletethank you annette. and merry merry christmas to you! xo
DeleteHow simple and beautiful your cottage looks Janet, you are so mindful in everything you do.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas !!
thank you shilpa. merry christmas! xo
DeleteI got a kick out of revisiting your 2011 post; thanks for linking it. Glad, too, to know you're on the mend...
ReplyDeleteWeary here from life being on hold since wildfire started on Dec 4. May unpack the evac items from the cars this weekend but still feeling hesitant about it. I've decided my SoCalif has become a very unfriendly place to live, environment-wise. I'm currently sitting here on a county alert (comes to my phone) to not go outside until we get an 'all clear' because of a mountain lion(s) who've come down out of the hills and to a street two blocks from me. The poor wildlife is out of habitat/shelter, no food & no water in a burned-out moonscape, it was freezing last night and we woke up to frost even down here in the valley, plus so many of the wild things are injured from the fire - - so, I feel sad about it, and I hope they don't have to wind up shooting the poor mountain lions who are simply trying to follow their instincts down to the river where there's only a trickle of water but at least it's something. They're scared; bewildered; of course can be dangerous when they are in such a condition. Deer, coyote; the smoke even confused the birds.
I've never known of a Christmas where I need to be really quiet and still, reflecting on peace. I have, at the moment, the simplest of decorations around me inside the house and that's how it'll stay. It's so restful when I'm trying to settle my mind.
You continue to inspire me, Janet, as you have in every previous year. Especially now, with people all around me who've lost their homes to this raging beast of a natural disaster, it's made me look around my own house and try to remember what I've got stored away, wanting to get it down to keepsakes I could cart off in one suitcase; such that even more of my possessions need to be moved along to someone else now in 2018. I've been working on this for years, of course, but motivation is stronger than ever. And I look at my home and feel such gratitude that I have one, and how much I want to honor it for giving me shelter; how much I want to keep it clutter-free and clean, an oasis of comfort; welcoming; and just be respectful for what I already have in this life.
Happy Christmas, Janet, and to you and your community here, a really good 2018!
reading your comment has brought me to tears.
Deleteas the plight of beloved California has since the fire began.
one blogger said that they are asking that people put out buckets of water for the panicked wildlife who are simply trying to survive and running for their lives. so sad and frightening at the same time.
bless you dear one.
I have 6 assorted things to hold water on the hill and in the yard for whomever wants to drink. We got the all-clear on the mountain lion after three hours of waiting. I still can't discern if it was more than one lion but they said it was captured, not shot, so I'm sure it was Fish & Game who arrived to help and they'll know where or how to introduce it to a new habitat, no doubt helping it first if it's injured. He was closer to my house than I thought, just one street away, poor guy. It will be what it will be here. Somehow the animals, people and land will recover, in time.
Deletevicki whereabouts are you in california? we've been so wrapped up in the fires here. so sorry to hear about the wildlife. such a tragedy every way around. glad you are safe and your home survived. xo
DeleteHoney, I'm in Ventura County where it all started from the night of Dec 4 just after 6:30 in the evening; the Thomas Fire. Now the biggest wildfire in California history. It blow-torched its way all along the foothills right down to the beach. The number keeps growing, and I don't even have a wide circle of people in my life these days, but I can personally put name & face to 15 homes which burned to the ground, mostly in the city of Ventura, including one of my best friends who lost her house of 41 years. (I was there this afternoon; I saw it for the first time. You can't really wrap your mind around it. I found myself staring at the ceramic-tile house numbers on one standing retaining wall at her driveway because I couldn't look at anything else.)
DeleteThey've got a majority containment on the beast now, and people are already doing clean-up, putting on new roofs, making plans to rebuild or relocate, putting one foot in front of the other. Endings; beginnings. Brave people, carrying on.
Well-aware that I'm one of the very lucky ones (flames were stopped five blocks from us), I feel overwhelming gratitude; but also a determined need to just get quiet and still after so much shock and sadness. It's hard to put a finger on it, but it has something to do with respect; I can't put it into words. There's a beautiful peace in our reason for the season. I'm grabbing on to those fleeting sweet memories of holidays-past, feeling the relief of a clearer sky with stars instead of smoke, holding loved ones close; feeling uplifted with hope; and dreaming of snow & sleigh bells. Silent night; all is calm...
You always know what works, Janet. You've been teaching us about the beauty in simplicity for a long time. It's what I want for 2018 more than ever. Thank you for sharing these photos of your welcoming home; I want to dive right into that cushy white sofa with the soft, rose-velvet pillow. Maybe I could convince you to let me wrap up in the pink-striped Pendleton. As always, your home is a soft place to fall, with its cozy elegance and natural elements.
A big xo to you, too. Thank you for your thoughts. (tammy j, too)
vicki i had no idea you were in ventura. for some reason i thought you were near modesto. i wonder where i got that. omg, you have been in it haven't you?! i'm so happy your house survived. to think it was within 5 blocks, omg that has to be surreal. i'm wishing you the most peaceful christmas ever. life is hard and peace is always my solution. take care my friend. xoxo
DeleteYour simple decor is lovely. What a find - that blanket.
ReplyDeletethank you jeannine. it was a great find! merry christmas. xo
DeleteI remember when you posted the 2011 pictures (can't believe it was that long ago) and just being in awe of how lovely and simple it all was. It looks like you have a new table in the kitchen and hope you will show us more at some point. We have had illness in my home as well but are on the mend. Glad to hear you are feeling better.
ReplyDeletethank you melodee. the table is the one i used in my outside thanksgiving photos. i just love it inside my kitchen! glad you are also on the mend. merry christmas, xo
Deletedarling AJJ
ReplyDeleteyou are the past (and present) master of cozy minimalism.
it's simply exquisite. it's enough. and just right. as always.
to quote with my poor memory from one of my favorite books ... "the wind in the willows"
"what a ripping little house this is!"
love you! and so happy you're feeling better! merry Christmas! xo
oh i love that tammy, ripping little house. haha! i really wish i were more of a minimalist, i'm craving less right now! merry christmas to you dear lady. xo
DeleteMerry Christmas
ReplyDeletemerry christmas to you betty. xo
DeleteGlad you're feeling better, and I'm wishing you a lovely christmas!
ReplyDeletethank you cara and same to you! xo
DeleteSorry to hear you've been sick! I've been holding my breath (literally and figuratively) hoping I don't get sick (and we've had sickness at work!). I like your 2013 Christmas house the best, with its pops of red in the pillows and poinsettia. I like some red in the house at Christmas, and a live tree. We break from the popular trend and put colored lights on our tree. It's fun to be different. Merry Christmas, Janet.
ReplyDeleteClaudia
i think i picked up my virus at work! ugh. glad it's almost over. i love the colored lights on trees too! xo
DeleteJanet I've been thinking about you! So happy you're feeling better. Your cottage looks lovely as usual and so festive in a perfectly natural way. That blanket! What a find, it is gorgeous. It brings such a lovely texture to the room.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to you, I hope you have a lovely time and that your health fully recovers as quick as possible. XX
thank you sweet dani. merry christmas to you and your family also. xo
DeleteGlad you are on the mend Janet. It's never fun to be sick, especially at the holidays. Your home is so beautiful with the floral and greenery decorations. We were having some home renovations done and almost did not get a Christmas tree up up this year. I think I might have been okay with that. :) Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeletethanks mags. i'm so fine with no tree! merry christmas to you! xo
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