Hello all, Welcome! I hope you all got your WILLARD (if you didn’t, don’t worry, you will, it’s going out today but it takes three days for them all to go). I wanted to have everything ready for you when you got here, so yes, in the vernacular of the day, I’ve been “tidying up!” I have lots to show you, but let’s start with the little things that make life sweet with background MUSICA perfect to energize us for the job ahead . . . 
I love this time of year! Time has slowed down, a lovely long January is gone . . . our Island outside my window is cold blue sky, leafless trees, old houses, quiet and colorless (except for the cardinals, our flying Valentines), and in complete healing-mode from the Summer onslaught. No cars going by, no one on our walk in the morning but us. 😁
If you read my last post, you’ll see my sideboard looks very different than it did over Christmas! I’ve been putting my house back together. It was fun decorating with all the holiday stuff 🎄, I was a little sad to see it go, but then felt huge relief to have it all gone! It’s usually around the 5th of 
January, when suddenly all the sparkly, pine-needly things I LOVED in December, begin to drive me crazy. The wreaths on the kitchen doors block the light and drop needles every time we go in or out, then leave a Hansel and Gretel pine-needle trail from the kitchen to the studio. Time to say goodbye to the old year, and hello to the new. The tree came down (we don’t drag it through the house because then vacuuming takes forever ~ Joe takes the branches off to keep the mess confined, and tosses everything out the window!), ornaments were boxed up, bows and ribbons are back in the attic, dusty mistletoe is gone from the doorways, my house is peaceful and quiet with only the sound of wood falling to ash in the fireplace, joy is sparked to the nth degree! 
So, in case you can’t tell, we’ve been watching Tidying Up with Marie Condo. Have you seen it? It’s about a woman who loves to organize, she wrote a book about it, I think more than one, and now has a show on Netflix where she comes to people’s homes and teaches them how to de-clutter their things. Watching someone else clean is inspiring ~ and it’s catching! It makes you want to jump up and get organized ! My eyes suddenly see the chaos around us. How can we live this way!!! If you need help getting going I highly recommend it. Even Joe’s gotten into it and that’s saying something!
She has all sorts of tips ~ she teaches people how to fold things into tiny packages (something I will never do because I choose speed over neatness), and file them on their sides in boxes in drawers to make them more visible. Which was thrilling to see, because it meant I was doing something right!! I’ve always done Joe’s shirts that way (except for the tiny-package folding!) . . .
. . . filed them in a row so he can see the logos and know what he’s getting into without unfolding. It’s not perfect or tiny, but Joe loves it!
I don’t know if it was Marie, or if it was because it was January, but as I was cleaning up the Christmas things, suddenly I couldn’t stand to see boxes or bags parked conveniently next to a wall, did not care for piles of books anywhere but in the bookcases, didn’t want to see folded market bags piled on my little red kitchen chair, or any little bits and pieces dropped here and there that added up to clutter. 🚫 I needed clean walls I could walk up to like a starving man needs a ham sandwich. I couldn’t even work until I got this house under control!
I did it! Everything’s in its place (well, not everything!) with sunshiny face . . . now it’s February (rabbit-rabbit💛) and I’m back to work! Of course, now my studio is a complete mess because as you know creating is not neat, but the rest of the house is heaven. All my best intentions fulfilled, lightheartedness returned!
Most of my table tops have barely anything on them! It won’t last long, but right now I see this and go “Ommmmmm.”
Candlesticks & votives, glass, wood and brass, are sorted and put away, Christmas 
books are back in the hutch, tablecloth and napkins are starched and ironed, on hangers, in the front closet, floors are swept and vacuumed, we’re dusted and ready for the next event. I think of my house sort of like a movie set . . . once Christmas is put away, everything is organized, I leave it smooth and plainly cozy until the next season or event, then I change the throw pillows, add flowers, bunnies, bunting, garden books, and voila! It’s spring!
There’s a big difference between clutter, and decorated. I do not see these shelves as cluttered! I think it’s because everything up there gets used on a fairly regular basis. I could never be a minimalist and hide everything away. Serious minimalism looks heartless to me. Life is too short not 
to set out my Beatrix Potter figurines, hang my teacups on hooks, fold cute dishtowels over the handles of my stove, or put a paper calendar on the wall in my kitchen. Real life is not going to allow me to hide away our family photos, or baskets of rosy apples, or old quilts just for some crazy fashion that will change in an hour anyway!
I wrote about it in my Girlfriends Book. How when I was 11 or 12 I would try and get my girlfriends to play, “Let’s go home and decorate our bedrooms.” A game I mostly ended up playing all by myself! I still redecorate the way I wrote about here . . . and put back one “joy bringer” at a time.
Marie suggested that as we sort, we shouldn’t be looking for things we want to throw out, instead we should look for things we want to keep! It does make it easier! Gather everything into a pile, keep just the things you love and get rid of the rest! She sees organizing as a spiritual endeavor … believing there’s a divine spirit in everything. It feels like that to me. A sort of gratitude for all we’ve been given. It reminds me of a quote I put in my Autumn book by Joe Friday (respected elder of the Alaskan Yup’ik Eskimos) . . . who’s gone now but should should be remembered for this lovely thing:
So glad to the wood. Everything is related. Touch one thing, you touch it all. I say thank you as I oil my wooden cutting board, imagining the people who made it, remembering all that chopping for all those dinner parties, as I oil the wooden handles on my old pots and pans,
and my wooden cooking spoons (my dad made the one with my name on it 💞 ). I want them to last forever. I starch and iron my curtains, shine my windows, make my stove sparkle with plain hot water, refold my old quilts, and dust my bookcases. Because things we use every day have character. Makes me happy.
These things aren’t just merchandise, part of a throw-away world. They’re gifts. When my Grandma died, the only thing I asked for, since I had always gotten her very best when she was alive, was the old wooden spoon she used to scramble her eggs and mix her cookie dough. Because that spoon had her in it. That spoon and my grandma had cross-pollinated their DNA, while alone in the kitchen, beating brown sugar, butter, and walnuts, a long time ago.
It’s why I love old things and that includes this old house of creativity filled with kindly ghosts of the past. As I was tidying up, it was easy to know which of our things “sparked joy” as Marie says, and which ones made me sing out, 🎵 Yaaaard Saaaale 🎶 as I packed up boxes to go. Our busy lives and this modern world do not naturally provide us with the peace and sustenance we need to grow, space for creating, a gentleness for our families. But we can make it for ourselves. We have all the power. As the Chinese proverb says, “Outside noisy, inside empty.”
One more thing, in case you find yourself in a cleaning-emergency on a day when deep tidying and tiny folding is not going to be possible, with possibly just ten minutes to clean your house for guests, here’s what you do:
So, in-between the tidying up, what have I been doing in my studio? Lots. I guess I should say, “we.” We’ve been busy!
Here’s the other half of “we,” my partner-in-crime who plunks his righteous self down in the middle of my art table any time he wants and gives me this look. Like, “What?” Requires belly rub, many kisses. Petty pet of my dreams.
I made a soft little embroidered doll of Jack. Put his heart on the outside. Gave him a little quilt all his own. He’s only 6″ tall (extremely gentle, for children) ~ he and his quilt will come in a sewing/embroidery kit. We’ll have the kit in the web store soon, so some little child out there, maybe yours, can put Jack to bed someday. ♥️
And a quick update, for all of you who pre-ordered and are waiting patiently for your little vases, butter dishes, tea bag holders, and all the others, we are being told to expect them soon. I keep asking, when, when, when, they keep saying soon, soon, soon 😜 . . . so have faith and know the SECOND they arrive, yours will be first to go!! We won’t forget! Soothing MUSICA to make you forget. 🎵 And this:
And, despite kitty distraction in the Studio, new cups are on the way! At the end of the last post I asked everyone what cups they’d like to see and did the best I could to make you happy! So here we go: Four new cups, Fine Bone China, made in England, coming late March! This one, the large 16 oz, is “Bella Luna!” For all you moon-watchers like me! 💛
Every time you use it you can wish on a shooting star! I never painted a shooting star before!
The moon and constellations in a sea of stars . . .
And here is brand new Cup #Two, “Home Sweet Home” . . . this is for you who love the smaller, 11 oz. size, a bunting-draped celebration of . . .
Here’s the side, says it all.
Here is the other side…. a little house of my own . . .
And here is the cute handle! These are only paper mockups, I promise the real things will look much better!
And #3, You all asked, so Yes! A great big 16 oz. Birthday Cup! Because everyone has a birthday and what would be a better celebration than “Having your cake and eating it too?”
There is singing . . .
. . . balloons, a hat, and suggestions for fun!
And another perky handle! Happy Birthday Girlfriends! 🎈
And one more large, 16 oz. cup, due to popular demand, it’s the “English Corgi” cup . . .
With the perfect T.S. Eliot quote surrounded by blue forget-me-nots:
An empire of imagination!
And the side . . . complete with Union Jacks, lamb and castle.
And would not be complete without an English rose on the handle.🌹
And, extra exciting news, guess what? For the first time, the actual BBC website is going to carry one of my cups, this one! For their print catalog and web store! And also my book, A Fine Romance, Falling in Love with the English Countryside! So honored! Secretly extra-thrilled as it is one step closer in my diabolical plan to get to the National Trust. Would love for them to carry my book someday. At least now we’re in the same neighborhood! 🇬🇧 👍
They’re already in production in England, and up for Pre-sale now… as you know, I try to make sure there’s enough for everyone, it helps so much when you pre-order, that way, when I give the factory final numbers, I’m fairly sure everyone who wants one will get one! I usually add on some extra for those who forget, but sooner or later they’re gone. So if you have a special birthday coming in September, be sure to think about it now!
Movie News: I keep promising you an update on the “movie” ~ the project in the works to get my book Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams onto the big (or even little) screen … and every time I think I will just blab what I know, the person working to make it happen sweetly warns me not to!!! 🎬 Grrrr. So all I can say is that it’s still a possibility. Which is better than saying it isn’t! Seems so easy! Movie about starting over, woman and three cats in darling cottage in woods? What could be better? Just say Yes!
Okay, back to the drawing board, 🎨 but before I go . . . I was thinking, what would be a really special giveaway for today? I thought of the perfect thing, then another idea popped up, then another, I didn’t know which to do! I finally gave up and decided to do all three! It’s almost Valentine’s Day! 💖 All you have to do to enter is leave a comment at the bottom of this post (click at the tiny word “comment”), and you’ll be automatically entered for all three gifts! In a few days, Vanna, our resident “Random Number Generator” will draw the names of three lucky winners and I’ll announce them here. So, here’s giveaway number one, very rare . . .
A brand new copy of Girlfriends Forever! When I find out the winner’s name, I’ll personalize it before I send it. They’ve been out of print for a long time, but during my “Tidying Up” phase, I found a small pile of these books in the back of a closet! Buried treasure! And timely, because what could be better for a Girlfriend’s Valentine than a book about best friends! You may have one, but perhaps a special Valentine girlfriend of yours doesn’t! So anyway, this one’s for YOU, and Sheri put the others in our web store for however long they last!
And then I was walking by my newly decorated stove shelf, and was suddenly reminded of this timeless Valentine . . . charming old words I found carved on a stone on a dovecote in England.
Here’s a closer view! Giveaway #2, Love Stays!
And, last but not least, this luv-lee 16 oz, fine bone china cup that asks, “Have I told you lately that I love you?” Is there a better Valentine Message? This one will be going out to some lucky winner in honor of our Girlfriend Dee Lamphear and her husband Brad 💞, to celebrate their forever love and happy marriage.💖
This is the back . . . it says it all, cup-wise, winter-wise and love-wise.
So don’t forget to leave a comment! Remember, you have much better chance of winning here than if you played the lottery!💖
Last but not least, here’s a delicious recipe to help keep your house warm . . . I wish I could send out smells from my computer, so when you opened my page on a freezing cold morning you’d find the cozy smell of baking biscuits. That’s how you would know it’s me. I wish someone would invent that. Unfortunately, under the circumstances, you’ll have to make them for yourself!
Make them in heart-shaped pans and they’re the perfect Valentine gift.
Cut them in half, toast them, add orange marmalade or yummy Christmas Jam and bring them to a lucky Valentine near you. For more Valentine’s ideas, plus a link to get a Valentine Bookmark, go HERE.
If you haven’t signed up to receive my Blog in your mailbox, and you’d like that, or you’d like to surprise your mom, sister, grandma, or best friend, please go HERE.
Winter is king of intimate delights, Enjoy the quiet, light the candles, make a fire, pull on toasty socks, feed the birds, eat hot biscuits. Life is good. Have a wonderful day Girlfriends, kindred spirits. Bake and stay warm! More surprises in the next blog!
The new cup designs are just gorgeous! Congrats on snagging the BBC, too!
Love that moon cup!!!! “Zoon, zoon, cuddle and croon” from Moon Song by Mildred Plew Meigs. Was one of my favorites poems growing up (loved the illustration, too) in The Golden Book of Poetry. While i’m writing this, I’m listening to “Clare de Lune”. Isn’t the moon just the most wondrous thing???
Loved this post, Susan! Just delightful, warm and cozy. Thanks for the chance to win the fun giveaways!
Hi Susan!
I was so thrilled to see anew post! I can’t wait for the new mugs to be made! They look amazing!!!
Whew! I’m breathing again…Your directions were spot on but will admit I held my breath while walking through the steps. Did not want to miss anything! You’ve come a long way and I so very much appreciate the time you share with us. May the love you shine return to you and yours. Thank you.
Thank you for bringing a warm smile to my face and my heart via your blog! And, I’m so into reducing clutter this time of year – makes for a fresh start!
Sweet Susan,
Your creations spark my JOY!!!!
Love, Diane
Congratulations on the BBC – How exciting!
dear susan, i enjoy your blog so much, it brightens my day, I’ve read all your books, i’m currently rereading isle of dreams for 3rd time. you were so brave to leave california and make a beautiful new life for yourself and i do hope they make a movie about it, you are so inspiring, i’m anxiously awaiting your new book thank you so much for your beautiful artwork, i do have your calender hanging in my kitchen.
Your art has made me so happy for years! It continues to bring me such joy! When life’s problems start to squeeze in and try and rob my “happy”, I click on your blog and refill my “happy bank.” 🙂 I ADORE your new cups and dishes and cherish each in my collection! I have all of your books and use them. Thank you for the joy you bring to my cottage!
Thank you Susan for another wonderful and inspiring blog post. I do love a good de-clutter and have been doing that in my kitchen since it was re-painted last month. Downsizing my kitchen equipment has been very therapeutic.
I was very disappointed to learn that NurseryThyme will not be offering any more of your beautiful mugs as I had been hoping to order Spring and Summer to go with my Autumn and Winter ones. I really appreciate all your efforts to make them available in the UK but it is so frustrating knowing that your lovely creations are made just down the road and yet I can’t buy them on this side of the pond. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the Nat Trust not only stocked your books but your mugs as well and I am certain their discerning customers would be enchanted with them. All I know about dreaming BIG I have learned from you Susan, so my dream for this year is that the National Trust will stock your books and your mugs.
With love and blessings to you and Joe from Ann in Chester xx
Isn’t it crazy? It has to do with the troublesome VAT. Became so complicated. With you on our side Ann, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the NT didn’t show up one of these days! xoxo
I always enjoy your blog… I also have been tidying up! New year generally makes me want to get things done. I am looking forward to information about your next trip to the English countryside. You make everyone happy with your inspirations and wonderful art!
Susan!!!!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! the new CUPS!!!!! I really need one or two or all of them!
I just love reading your blog, it makes me smile!
Hugs!
Linda in PA
Love the new lunar cup!
I have been one of your fans forever. I love everything you do but most of all I love how you share your talents with all of your thousands of fans.
Marie’s system can blow your mind. I like her method of folding and am amazed at how little space my stuff takes up. Good luck with your purging.
Your blog just warms my heart!! And you are so right, your pretty cupboard filled with much loved and very neatly arranged items is anything but cluttered – it’s cozy, warm, and inviting!
Winning these treasures would be better than the lottery. I enjoy your blog so much. Thanks for the biscuit recipe.
Thanks for the lovely post. Loved the reference to the Cardinals. Their one of my favorite birds. Have a wonderful year. Happy Valentine’s.
Love your blog! Don’t ever stop writing and painting.
Dear Susan,
I always look forward to reading- and lots of times re-reading your posts!
Happy New Year to you, and I wish you a lovely Valentines Day also!
This is retirement year for my husband and myself. I look forward to the daily walks and doing more together as I see you and Joe do.
We have an old 1932 Plymouth* hot rod, and drive many places together. This summer we are going to Vancouver Island, from So. CAL.
I was reminded of your trips. I’m excited for new experiences that come with this new part of our lives.
Thank you for your inspiration and sharing your outlook on life.
Road trip!!!
I still have my Girlfriends Forever book! It brings me joy!
Ahhhhh, I’ve missed you. Thanks for your lovely blog, it made my day.
Love the new mugs and have to pre-order the Home Sweet Home one because it says it all about how I feel about my house too. I would have a very hard time purging things because everything in my house reminds me of our parents or places we’ve been and things we’ve done. I know sooner or later it will have to be done but for now I can’t let go. Besides our kitty, Pooh, doesn’t like it when I move things. hehehe
I used to have a kitty named Pooh!
Pooh has a twin brother, Tigger, but sadly we lost him because of horrible medical issues. So sad because he was a sweetie too.
I love reading your blogs. It gets me motivated to start clearing out the holiday clutter and get ready for springtime in the Rockies. Being in Montana with all the snow, I’m definitely ready for spring! Love your new cups💕
My mom moved in with us almost two years ago, and I’ve been trying to dig through everything in her basement. So tidying up is first and foremost around here. So much treasure and so much junk! Haha!
Inspiring as always. Thanks for such a motivating post, Susan.
I have been “considering” tidying-up and still hope to do so. LOL
My favorite season is Valentine’s Day! Red & pink & lacy white makes me feel happy. Remember cinnamon heart candies on frothy pink iced sugar cookies? Yum. I enjoy telling and showing those I love with paper cards and baked treats. I am now teaching our 4 year-old and 2 year-old grandchildren how to cut-glue-fold their first paper valentines.
I very much look forward to your Willard newsletter! Thank you so much!
I love all the new cup designs! Can’t decide which one I like best, so I guess I’ll just have to order all four! 😉
I will not tell you how long it took me to find the sign up for the email/blog. Too embarrassed! I adore the new mugs, especially the little cottages. Please tell me this will be a series of four with more darling cottages on each? Perhaps in the different seasons?
I like winter months for those same reasons, tidying up and organizing..not much else doing with three feet of snow here anyway..love your little Jack and his cute mustache.
Have a wonderful Valentines Day!
Tidying up in February is kind of like inviting in Spring Fever, and since the ground hog says Spring will be on time this year, what could be better? Thinking all the Girlfriends will be ready!
I think your new cup designs are charming!
I enjoyed this wonderful, warm and cozy blog post :).
I love your version of tidying up and cleaning out. It does feel good to do that after the holidays!
Your words shine light on all your readers, Susan, and bring beauty and joy to us all! I am nearly giddy when I spy a new post or the latest Willard edition and always wait until I can sit quietly and unhurriedly with a cup of coffee or tea, depending on the time of day, and savor every reading moment. Though you write to many, I feel as though I’m opening my very own letter from you! Thank you!
Thank you back Kim!
Loved and enjoyed your comfort and warmth on this rainy day after the Arctic Vortex. You certainly brightened my life.
Even my daughter is ‘tidying up’…that’s a miracle! Thanks for the beautiful newsletter, I’m reading it by the fire on a cold Utah day!
I think tidying up is in the air lately! I have been embracing it too, and feeling great simplifying. I am like you, Susan, in that I have my special things that give me a cozy feeling that I love. However, the “things” that I don’t love have been easier to part with. Valentine Blessings:)
I will be forever grateful to my special girlfriend, Katha Chamberlain, for giving my my very first Susan Branch book, “Heart of the Home” so many, many years ago! I feel so blessed that we are friends, that our families are friends and that the world is much brighter because you, Katha, are in it! Love to you and yours always, Dear Friend… from Connie
Your thoughts and drawings are so inspiring! Such a blessing … Your blog is my escape-from-the-world place. I hope you’ll write a DIY watercolor guide sometime.
Susan,
I am so glad I found your blog. I found your site after reading about Gladys Taber. She is one of my favorite authors . You remind me so much of her with the books you have written. I checked out most of them at our local library. Once I started to read could not “put them down” I started out with Martha’s Vineyard Ilse of Dreams., A Fine Romance, and then Fairy Tale Girl I can not wait until your new book is out. Love your blog. Karen Rossa
So pleased to hear all of your news! And yes, I have been tidying up as well….it is a good use for these long winter evenings. Time to start dinner, and make a fire. Hope you are doing the same this evening.
Congratulations on all your successes – especially with your book and mug going across the pond! xo
Happy Valentine’s day to you Susan 💗 I look forward to your uplifting blog. Thank you your beautiful positivity and love of life.🐹
Hello Susan,
You are such an inspiration to me! A kindred spirit for sure! The day is always brighter reading your blogs. I have the 16 oz apple crisp cup and I love it, the size, the shape, the exquisite art work and the classiness of fine bone china. I make my black tea and add an herbal spice chai tea bag as well and it’s wonderful.
I would love to be the receiver of your give away. You would hear the howls of excitement from your sister island.
Thank you for everything!
You ‘almost’ have me inspired to do some decluttering. It might be hard though, I love my stuff! Maybe I’ll need to watch the Netflix show to get me off the couch and moving!
Susan, I so enjoyed this inspiring post! I, too, have watched all of “Tidying Up,” and have been seeing my surroundings with new eyes, ready to keep only the things I love, that spark joy. We’ve been undergoing a major home remodel since the first week of October, and I haven’t had an oven since October 7 (!), so I’m chomping at the bit for my kitchen to be completed, sometime in March. My old stove was a lovely avocado green G.E. push-button cooktop, fifty years old, and never had a service call. I hated to give the girl up, but we decided to update the appliances, while keeping the coziness of our former kitchen. So I’m day-dreaming about how things will be in a month or so, and I actually get a kitchen to work in. For six months I’ve been cooking good home-cooked dinners in our garage next door, on our old counter-top which we placed atop my hubby’s workbench. We have a double portable burner, a wok, crock pot, electric frying pan and a microwave, and it’s been an adventure creating special dinners for half a year, but that’s exactly what we’ve done. We’ll always remember having our dinners in the “Bunkhouse,” our cozy loft above our garage, and carrying our dinners up the stairs on trays to watch the evening news or a movie while we ate. It’s been really serendipitous and wonderful! But…I miss an oven! Thanks again for the wonderful post, Susan. It truly made my day!
Hey, Barbzie, I feel your pain. We live in a 1952 beach cottage with a formerly galley kitchen we remodeled in 2013. My husband set up a camp kitchen in our back playroom with just the electric appliances you mentioned, but I missed my oven, too. Courage, dear heart!!! It will all be worth it!
Susan Daffodiltealady
I love the sound of that biscuit recipe! I will definitely be trying it out. Thank you.
Thanks for the fun blog post! I’m so excited for the new mugs 💗. As far as the movie goes, I agree, who wouldn’t love it! Yes!!
Sitting here with a cup of tea and reading your post. So beautiful and relaxing. Can’t wait to see the kitty/quilt kits. Love the transition of your beautiful artwork into items we can use and enjoy it every day
I am a “home body” and enjoy your enthusiasm for your home. Homemade is how we’ve been eating and living for 52 years, and it warms my heart that home sweet home is being celebrated and passed on to the next generation.
Love this post! I have been cleaning out too! Makes your heart happy! On a different note… have you seen the Peter Rabbit items at Williams Sonoma? Oh my! Will make your heart skip a beat! Thank you for all you do!
I have two scrapers 😁 with Peter Rabbit on them!
Lovely cups, Susan! Loving the birthday cup!
I love all the new cup designs!! So beautiful!
Thank You for each and every post! I pour over every word and each beautiful drawing and design. I consider everything you do as a gift and love how you include us in your daily life. Just the BEST!
Thank you for your blog and Willard. They are a comforting Godsend to brighten up this chilly, blustery winter in Iowa!
Another great blog post.
Good afternoon Susan:
Im so thankful for the heart felt love that you share with us .Since I was a little girl I have always loved keeping a home starting with my bedroom.It brings me comfort and joy to have all the things that I treasure around me.There is no way that I could be a minimalist.I also love things that have been loved by others.Thankfully my dear husband enjoys our home also. I would absolutely love to win any treasure that came from you.
Be well
Aaah, there’s nothing like a de-cluttered surface. Your newly edited sideboard looks gorgeous — eye goes to the lovely dresser scarf and the carved mirror, whose wood looks so rich against the new pink walls. Thanks for the inspiration!
Another great blog!
Putting away Christmas has always inspired me to stroll through my house and see what else I can live without and clean. I seems to do it every year. Baking lemon bars today, just a touch of springtime in my kitchen.
What a treasure you are!!! I just love your blog, Susan, and seeing all your creativity come to life. Thank You!
Hi Susan, I love your blog and all the fun girly things you do! I’m from the San Fernando Valley and went to Sylmar High. Since we are the same age we were probably at the same football games. We are almost old friends!
I was in the drill team at Reseda! Big old-fashioned blue-felt full skirts, calf length, with huge crinolines under them and saddle shoes. Our teacher started the team in the 50s and never changed the outfits!
Yes, I was also on the drill team – Go Spartans! LOL. We have definitely shared half time at a few football games. I now live in Texas, a long way from The Valley in a lot of ways.
I’m sure we did. Those funny nights under the bright lights in the Valley.
I have to tell you……! I was looking through my Instagram and I came across a photo of an Instagram friend’s cottage….on her table were a bunch of your books. I had never left her a comment before but when I saw your books I knew I had to! We bonded over all your books and I told her she must get A Fine Romance and she said she had been meaning to and now she was going to! I am so excited that maybe your book Isle of Dreams might be a movie!!! Love that book! Keep writing!!!!
After 3 hectic days of work, I finally got the chance to catch up on the blog. My husband walked by as I was reading and said, “Tell Susan I said hi.” So, Susan, Mike says “hi!”. The cleaning bug has hit here too, Mike’s been busy washing windows over these past few mild days. Tomorrow we’re heading to Cleveland to the Great Big Home and Garden Show to get some more inspiration! This year’s theme is Fairy Gardens. Can’t wait! I’ll think of you when I smell all those luv-lee hyacinths.
Hi Mike! Yum on the hyacinths!
So excited for you to have your cup and book being promoted across the pond!
Tidying up is seriously needed here.
Love, Love , Love your uplifting blog!! You have inspired me to get back to my after Christmas before Spring cleaning!!
Hi Susan,
I have been tidying up for almost a month now. Just taking my time at it. It is amazing how one can get the itch by reading a book or watching someone give pointers on TV. But once I get going there in no stopping. But remember I am going in slow mode. HA!
Love the cups and I do hope that the will make the movie that you are hoping for. I am hoping for it and will keep my eye open and ears ready to hear about it. Crossing my fingers for you.
Have a Beautiful Valentine’s Day You are your Hubby.
A movie…..fingers crossed!!
Susan, I so appreciate your blog, it’s the very first blog I ever started to follow! When ever you post a new one I can’t wait to read it and listen to the music and explore all the extra sidebars, so fun. I have several of your books and assorted other items, even little tiny letter stamps -so cute. I would be thrilled to add to my collection. please enter me into the drawing.
Thanks, Denise
Oh, can we please be BFFs???
We kinda already are!
Happy Valentines from Texas. Our bulbs and some shrubs, Jasmine and Violets are blooming in East Texas.
Always inspired by your posts. I too watched the tidying up series and for about a day I was ready to give away all of my treasures. Once I put Christmas away ( keeping only the things I love), I just had to transition to Valentine’s. Nope, not ready to empty the cupboards yet…thanks again for taking time to share your thoughts and talents with us.
Oh my Susan!
I just love your new mug designs! I adore the small Home sweet Home mug and may have to pre-order, and that Luna mug for my Love! Paul has been out with his telescope in the freezing cold taking the most beautiful pictures of the moon and Orion. Hobbies are his middle name and one of the spices of Life. Sounds like you are enjoying your winter as we are too. I just decluttered my (office/Library/creativity room)fresh paint, new rug and I am feeling so cozy about it! Must be a New England event in January. Sending happy thoughts to you, Joe and Jack for a wonderful February.
XO Wendy-Louise
Thank you for a bright spot on this Winter Day.
Hilda : )
What great inspiration for getting ready for spring cleaning. Housework is a pleasure with everything you need in its place. Your new cups are lovely. Especially the “corgi” cup!
Susan, I hope that you and Joe had a wonderful day of celebration!!! I’m always so happy to see that you have posted a new blog. Love the new cups.
Thanks for sharing the info about the “organization” lady, I have already looked up some of her ideas. I really like the way you have folded Joe’s shirts. I’m going to try that for my own tees.
Hope you found a few treasures today. I love to find a little something that will remind me of a special day. 💜 to Jack. Bridget
Love Everything! Just out of curiosity, does the real Vanna know about the Vanna random generator?
LOL, I don’t think so!
Susan I have been a fan of yours for more years than I can count!!. Have bought all your books and calendars for myself and my best friend every year for as long as you have been drawing them. She also has given me your England books for birthday gifts. Those books are stacked right next to my side of the bed!!! Every time I need a gift for someone I buy a Susan Branch!!!! Keep drawing and blogging! Your spirit is enriching!!! Luv yu! Pat M.
Oh Susan!! Thank you for this sunshine on a cold, dark and rainy day! God bless you!!
Oh, how I LOVED reading your blog today — it is a joy-sparking, breath of fresh air! Xoxo
I really enjoy seeing all the new things you’ve got going! Thank you so much for the chance to win some lovelies. 🙂
Dear Susan, I can’t tell you how long I’ve been a fan of yours, collecting all of your books and such. I was thrilled to see the new 16 oz birthday cup. I’m placing my pre order now. I get ticked pink when I see the email of your blog and Willard. I love Willard. Did I mention I love Jack and Joe too. Someday I hope to make it to the island to experience all the loveliness there. For right now I’ll just close my eyes and imagine I smell the crisp air and feel the pine needles on my skin. Please don’t stop creating. Linda Callipari
Love, love love your tidying up inspiration!
Love the new cups, Susan! It was great to see a new blog post. As always, your post is a breath of fresh air in the midst of all the craziness in the world. I am anxiously awaiting my new Willard. Alas, I must be in the last group to mail out. Would also love to win the giveaway. Vanna, pick me! Pick me!
As I recover from a fall resulting in a broken shoulder, I’ve enjoyed many cups of tea. Of course from my/your “Autumn” cup. I’d love to win one of the three gifts!!
I always loved the girlfriend book!
Love-lee post!! Gave me such a cozy, comfy feeling. I always love seeing your oiled wooden spoons. You have such a great collection! Not all wooden spoons are alike. Would LOVE to win your give-away. I have a very special girlfriend. We’ve been friends for over 40 years. Would so love to give her your book and tea cup. Every time we visit we ALWAYS share tea together. Very special memories. Stay warm! Anne
As always your blog delights my day!
I just love the corgi cup!🐾I have two of these little cute pups at home. I would love to win but am ordering the corgi cup too. Love love your blog.
Love love the new cups!!!! Going to have to place an order ASAP!!!!
Always good to hear from you.
I love LOVE the birthday mug! I have a friend of 60 years with a birthday the end of August and know this is the perfect gift. Thank you and hugs from Hanford, Ca.eE
Thank you for the chance!
Your posts make me smile, you’re such a clever girl. Thank you for sharing your amazing talents with the world!
Love spending time with you via your blog!
Love a good Yaaard Saaale ! Loving my hot beverages in my Winter mug & Castle Cottage my favorite ! Ordered my Swedish Hearts banner I ❤️You Happy ❤️alentines Day ❣️
My sister gave me “A Fine Romance” for my 60th birthday because I am an Anglophile!! Now, I am in love with everything “Susan Branch”, I loved your artwork for years but your (memoir) books just really touched me! I have read your trilogy , I read it in backwards order but, that had it’s advantages!! I will comment more on what an impact your books made on me later after I get my thoughts together! I just ordered some mugs, ( WHOA, I collect mugs!!!). I was so disappointed when I finished the last book, I hope “Enchanted” is a book from your diaries! I guess I will have to get my fix from your blog! XXOO
Oh yes, Enchanted is a diary!