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!
Joe and I also did the same thing to our tree, which was up until February…so weird to see it that way, but so easy to get out of our home. Also LOVED your easy way to tidy up (have done that many times, but loved a few of your suggestions that I did NOT think of). Thank you for the gorgeous night sky cup…adore it. And please include me for the “birthday” cup as my Mom Ruth Winkler will be turning 91 this coming Friday…another big fan of yours. You truly brighten my day (and night) and, when I see your new posts, I really get excited to hear from a “friend” <3
Loved your darling and uplifting note for today. Am going to add a friend to your mailing list
Her name is Dawn Rogge, she lives in Tennessee and I know she will enjoy reading your letters as much as I and everyone else! Her name is DAWN ROGGE and her email is:
I sent her name to Sheri to see if she can sign her up for you . . . I stole her email address away just for privacy sake, but it’s safe with us!
I just pre-ordered the corgi mug! I absolutely love it!!!
Great blog post! Happy Valentine’s Day!
I’m with you, Susan! I LOVE filling the house with Christmas, but then I love emptying it in early January. BUT, I save my snowman décor for then. Plus, right on the heels of them come my b’day décor and Valentine’s Day.
How wonderful that there’s so much to celebrate in life!!
Thanks for brightening our days!!
My daughter, Alice, and I are both so excited for your new mugs that we immediately pre-ordered! She wants the moon one, I want the home one, and we decided to treat her dad to the corgi one (Alice also wants to say thank you for making the rose red- since her dad is from Lancashire!)
Have been doing the same as you….”rooting” around in closets, shelves and odd corners, trying to weed out all the unnecessary/unused things I find. Now I’ll have room in case Vanna draws my name!!! :>)
What a lovely surprise when I turned on my computer. Your blog always seems to appear when I need some inspiration and a pickup. I would love to have one of your give aways they are all wonderful. I am hoping. Marian
Oh My! I just hit the “Musica” button for the first time in all the years I have been reading your lovely Blogs. What have I missed!!! You are the Best Ever! You write, paint, draw, inspire, remind us of what matters…..and you pick the BEST “Musica” choices plus the Movie picks…..Nostalgia at its best. And this pick has tap dancing…my ultimate all time “Wish I could do That” Thank youThank you Thank you
Happy Valentine’s Day to you, Sue, Joe, and especially little furry, Jack. How can I declutter when you keep offering such beautiful china cups. Love them all but alas don’t have much space anymore. Between Emma Bridgewater and Susan Branch—my house looks like a teacup store. Could be worse, I suppose.
Cute cups! I received a cup for Christmas and I’m ready for more. You brighten my day. Happy Valentines Day to you and Joe and all the girlfriends, lovebirds all!
Dear Susan,
Your blog was just what I needed today. You have inspired me to not only clean, but clean out! Thank you.
What a perfect way to get my day started-your blog post! Thank you for
your sunshiny inspiration.
Hi Susan,
I love all the new mug designs! Thanks for all the beauty you add to the world!
Love the Blog buying a birthday cup for my best friend
Oh my! The new cups are adorable but I squealed (yes, I did) when I saw the Corgi-I’m OBSESSED with corgis.
Another great give away, thank you!
Deb
We have three sets of friends celebrating 50th wedding anniversaries this winter and spring, so love and celebrations are definitely in the air! Not all of us will make it to 50 years, but we can savor and enjoy each year no matter the number. Wouldn’t the Cotswolds be a perfect place to mark a special year?
Thank you so much for starting the Happy Readers Book Club (HRBC). What a delightful group of women! They have added life to my life! I lost my best friend of over 40 years last fall and these new friends have helped to fill the void. Amazing how much we have in common. Christie and Sharon shared many experiences and photos from your picnic last spring! I hope for the opportunity to meet you in person someday!!:)
Love to hear that Susan! Hello to all! xoxoxo
Art feeds the Soul as music feeds the Heart ~
Happy Heart Day to you, Joe and Jack 💌
Once again, thank you for brightening our days…I think most here are choosing to love one another rather than focus on our differences in this crazy world. I have so enjoyed having morning tea in my ‘Fine Romance’ cup while looking out on our snowy landscape. Thank you for inspiring us to be thankful for what we have!
Great inspiration for living your best life! Thank you.
Dear Susan….Today is VERY dreary outside! YOU just brightened my world! Thank you so much for all that you give us.
Susan –
You have the gift of joy and you share it so exquisitely! We need more people like you in this tired but beautiful old world.
Such a generous giveaway! Thank you for giving us the chance to win some of your lovely creations!
Susan – you bring such joy into so many lives! I smile every time I open my cupboard and see your beautiful cups, or when I walk by stacks of your books (artfully arranged of course) on two different coffee tables, or when I read all the cute notations on my 2019 calendar, or see my jewelry nestled in your cute little dragonfly dish. Your Twitter posts and blogs are so appreciated. You bring such love and light to our world. The seasons and celebrations of the year are enhanced by your descriptions of how you enjoy them. Thank you for sharing, and for making real-life cozier, more special, and more wondrous than it otherwise might be! I will always be thankful that my sister Paula introduced me to you and your world! Happy February!
Tidying up brings up such memories of treasures found!
I am so excited and dyin’ To hear more about the possible movie. Who would you pick to play you? Jennifer Garner? Have a wonderful day sweet lady❤️Thank
Oh, tidying up…..I’m WAY overdue for that! Thanks for the reminder that makes it actually look like fun! I promise I will get to it……soon! 😉
Love the new cups you have come up with!
such lovely gifts from a lovely heart of gold!
A treat for a beautiful, snowy day. Little ol’ Genoa, NV, got a foot of the new white stuff yesterday and a bit more today. Luckily we have great neighbors who helped us with the snow blowing! So many good tips and recipes from you. Thanks for all you do for all of us. And happy Heart Day next week. paige
More giveaways?! What a generous soul! When are you going to come out with a magazine?😉 Just kidding, kind of. I love receiving your blog in my email. I find it very relaxing and motivating at the same time. Thank you!
Susan,
Thinking lately about eliminating all the clutter and how much I would need to get rid of made me anxious. Your information about keeping what you love and getting rid of the rest is a great way of accomplishing a daunting task. With that in mind I feel ready to start!! Thank you, as always, for all your inspirational words and pictures. When the cardinals come each day, I will now think of them as “flying Valentines”. Such a nice thought. Thank you, Susan.
Susan your blog is just wonderful & am waiting for my Willard. You are always, always so refreshing with your ideas, thoughts, decorating, recipes…thank you so much. Enjoy your February & Happy Valentines Day ❤😍
Can’t wait to try the lemon pepper tea biscuits. I have never thought of combining those two flavors! Here’s to adventurous cooking! And for my book club friends who read Marie Kondo’s book together, I will most definitely share your enthusiasm and ideas for organizing and cleaning our houses. After visiting all of their homes, my home needs it the most. As a military family, it’s so hard to sort through the years and many homes my family enjoyed. Items represent people, just like your grandmother’s spoon! Love that!
Your wonderful post is inspiring!(…but that woman scares me with her “tidying-up” mission!)
Loved today’s blog. I need to reread my spark joy book and get remotivated! Your newly tidied house looks lovely and serene. You are so right about how planning a party can get you going on your house! Time for a party!
I was so glad to see your blog post today!! We’ve been visiting warmer places but have now returned to the Midwest and the cold wet blustering weather. I’ll take your tidying up tips and settle back into “home.”
Barb
I adore all of the new mugs, especially the Home Sweet Home one!
Hello from snowy (yes, a surprise in the Berkeley Hills!) California. ❄️
I am about to preorder a few of your beautiful cups.
Thanks for your wonderful Willard.
that marie sure knows how to inspire one to “tidy”. and you show us how to love our home. thanks!
Your Willard has warmed this frigid February afternoon! Many thanks!
Happy Valentine’s Day, Susan and Joe. Mom loved big band music, so do I. Love your simplified home ideas. Yours sparkles even in the pictures! ❤️ Day is a bright spot in the dreary winter we are having. We’ve had very little snow so far. Your blogs are wonderful. Can’t wait to get Willard! 🌈💖gmapat
Your posts give me joy…❤️Hugs Trace
Ps. ONE of my drawers looks just like that..I tried
I haven’t watched the program you mentioned, but I have been in a decluttering mode for the past few months. It feels wonderful to get rid of things I don’t really care for, plus it is a nice feeling to know someone else could use what you don’t want any longer. There is a saying for this: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” I don’t know who said that, but it is right. I love your blogs, Susan! They are a real treat! Thank you! Joan P.
Dear Susan… I, too, watched Tidying Up with Marie a few weeks ago. I’ve always found January and February, even when I was working, to be the best months to organize the house including the garage. While I was tidying up some cupboards, I separated everything that had to do with Valentine’s Day. I’ve now dedicated my living room with everything romantic, including many pictures of my husband and I. Lots of old red velvet, heart-shaped candy boxes, doilies, vintage poems and cards, valentine books, etc. It’s the best in making home romantic and festive! 💘❤️💖💞❣️💝
Lottery schmottery! I’d much rather win one of your cups/books/anything!
Susan,
Thank you for your blog and Willard, such bright spots on a gloomy winter day. Looking forward to Valentine’s and spring!!! Love the new cups! Thank you for the bookmarks such a fun easy piece of your art!
Thank you so much!
I look forward to your new blog posts as often as they come “) thank you for taking the time to post. I feel we are kindred spirits indeed “)
Let’s go home and decorate our rooms – I laughed out loud. Favorite thing to do growing up. Now I get to do my home. I’ve tecently retired and am so happy to again have time to putter around! Not everyone shares this love of home, but it surely brings me joy; as donyour blogs. Blessings and thanks to you for your inspiration. 💖
Your blog post was just what I needed on this cloudy, cold day. Feeling alittle blue about my Dad’s Alzheimers getting worse. But on the bright side, it’s my ‘baby’s 21st birthday! For this child I prayed! AND I have tidied up over 1500 items to donate, throw away, or recycle. God is good. <3
Love your blog post, as always. I haven’t watched Marie Condo yet, but really need to. I can be a bit of a hoarder, and feel everything I have has sentimental value to me. Getting rid of anything is hard, but I need to do it. My problem is, anytime I do get rid of something, 6 months later I need it and wish I had kept it. Sigh.
Love New cups. Winters day here, homemade chicken noodle soup and a cozy fire.
Thanks for all the helps in cleaning!
A new Susan Branch blog post always makes my day! ⚘🌻🌼🌺🥀🌹
Susan, I am going to go home and make those biscuits! Winter is not the time to diet!
Thank you for the inspiring post! I need to get busy going through cabinets, drawers, and closets. Time to donate! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thank you Susan for another fun blog, especially on this cold February day!
Love the cups , new and old!!! Have to get over to Sale to put my order in!
Perfect day for you to post…..you in the a.m. and State of the Union in the p.m. :=)
Thank you for the reminder that life really is good……and that we can create that sacred space in our own homes.
Loving your Twitter persona……preach!
I love the new mugs coming! I’m a “blue-and-white” decorating fanatic.
Happy Valentine’s Day, thanks for sharing your delightful life, blessings to you.
Hello Susan, I’ve been tidying up today too!! It’s very springlike here in Maine today, all the windows open and the smell of fresh air and waxed furniture. I filled several boxes to donate. Feels sooo good! Last night I was reading your book from a LONG time ago, the 1980’s…”The Heart of the Home”. I realized how long you have been in my life. I know you have a new one now…but I like to read all my old friends too!! Thank you Susan for being a friend for so long XX . Sara
Another great blog. Always a treat to read. Looking forward to the new Willard. Love the cups! I like your tidying up methods . They resonate with me more than any others.
Oh Susan,
You have so much talent oozing from you on so many levels! You always touch my woman’s heart ❤️! I just LOVE ❤️ all of your blogs and Willards! They speak to a special inward part of my soul! I have always had a passion about ALL things related to HOME! I am grateful to you…for keeping alive…these precious things about creating our houses into cozy, loving homes! What a choice place to be! Thank you for ALL the simple beauty you share with us ‘girlfriends’! Speaking of ‘Girlfriends”… I just tried to order your book… “Girlfriends Forever”! Unfortunately, it appears that it is no longer available! 😔. If you happen to find a few more copies, please save one for me! I would love to have one to add to my other collection of your books! Thank you for sharing ALL…of what makes life so special…in our lives as women! 💕
Happy Valentines Day, Susan!!
Hi Susan! I’m trying to be inspired to do my own tidying but it’s so cold here all I really want to do is read, so I’m reading your trio of books yet again! When I say cold, it was – 34 C this morning here in sunny southern Alberta. That is -31 F where you live. Brrr!
I’ve had your “Girlfriends” book for years. The blueberry mango salad recipe is to die for and there’s more really good ones besides. I would quite happily pass on my book to a girlfriend, keeping the personalized one for myself, of course. 😉
Hi to both Joe and Jack!
Laurie
=:3
SO right, that entire book is worth it for that recipe! Stay warm Laurie!!!
Thank you for always sending an email with your post just when it is needed. Always an inspiration. Happy Valentines’s Day.
It is always a delight to have a new post from you especially on this cold, cloudy day! Love the new cups! Happy Valentine’s Day to you and your sweetheart!
Always love your blog!
Once again you have inspired me! Headed for the nearest pile of clutter to clean! 😂 The biscuits sound wonderful-will put those on the to-do list this weekend. A quick question..what kind of oil do you use on your wooden spoons and pot handles? I have some that are desperately dry and in need of some attention. Thanks, as always for spreading good vibes! (as we say in So. Ca)
Your name in my inbox always sparks joy! 😉
Happy Valentines Day to you lovely Susan. What a fun and very motivating post this was! Now, to go do it! Much love xo
Your blog makes me so happy and puts sunshine in my heart even on the cold Chicago days! It always feels like I have a friend when I read your email – thank you for for making so many of us happy. Bless you for always sharing!
Love your new cups! Thank you for the tea biscuits recipe. Happy February! ❤️
Susan, I so love receiving your newsletter/Blog. It always cheers me. Thanks for all you do.
Your blog has inspired me to do something about my bedroom. my space in my daughter’s house. It’s pretty small and most of the space is taken up by my bed and bookcase that I brought with me. I’m a packrat so am lucky the bed has drawers underneath it would be even more cluttered. Glad to hear that the movie is still a possibility! I loved that book.
Susan,
I couldn’t agree with you more about wanting to declutter and clean up this time of year! It just feels like a good way to start the year.
I have a question, can you tell me about the pink chintz dishes in your kitchen, where you got them and how long ago? I was blessed with a set from my mother-in-law years ago and I just love them. They were her mothers, and she never used them! My MIL said they were always in a box in a closet. And it’s sad to say, but my MIL did not use them either! But she new that I would love and appreciate them, and more importantly use them, which I do, and gave them to me years ago. I have them in my china cabinet on display and I try to use them several times a year. But I have been thinking about replacing my everyday dishes with them so I can use them and enjoy them more. But honestly I’m afraid that if I do they will get broken or chipped more frequently and I’m not sure if I want that. Someday my daughter will get them and she said I should go ahead and use them daily. So I’m curious how you came to have them and use them. Thank you for any advice or encouragement in this area you can offer!
As I type this I am at my desk with your large desk calendar gracing my space. I love it, and your spirit, sweetness, joy for life, art work, why just everything you do and stand for!
Mary Jo
I think they’re really strong because I use them every day, even Jack gets to use the tiny bowls, they go in the dishwasher, and they’re fine. I really don’t think I’ve ever broken one, knock on wood. And they spark joy! You’ll love using them. I found mine in an antique store in Connecticut, we were driving through, sometime around 1992-ish. Thank you Mary Jo, what lovely things to be gifted with!
Thank you Susan! I’m going to clean my cupboards, swap them out and start enjoying them every day!
Dear Susan, I always get so excited when I see your blog has come to my email but I make myself try to wait patiently until I can set aside time for a cup of tea in a lovely quiet spot to soak and enjoy! Thank you so much.
Ahh…Susan, your blog is like a ray of sunshine on this gray, cold winter afternoon. Reading your stories is like a cup of tea, soothing and refreshing. So many good memories with your books, too. Love the new cups! Thank you!
Somehow tidying up seems more of a concept than an actuality to me.
Resigned for Willard, couldn’t bear to lose it! Love the tidying up ideas.
Love your blog glad everyone is well again. The Valentine cups are precious. Look forward to reading your blog and love your new way of getting rid of things. Will try it, and hope it works. I wrote before earlier this afternoon but didn’t see it. Do you only publish some comments and not all.
You’re right Susan. Life is good…especially when there is a new post on your blog. Thanks for the treat!
So inspiring and fun to read! I enjoyed every word (and picture)!
Thanks so much for the generous giveaway, too!
How do you get Willard?
There is a place to sign up for it in the column on the right of my blog, just scroll down and click on Willard. I think yours will come the last day!
Thank you, as always, for bringing delight into a day.
So happy to see your blog today! It’s always a bright spot in my day! I’m going to try the Lemon Pepper Tea Biscuits soon! They look yummy! And I love (and need) the tidying up ideas! Wish me luck!
Hi Susan…enjoyed this today!! I too wanted to leave Christmas up but enjoy the fresh spaces when all is returned to its storage for a year…before we turn around we will be pulling it all out again!!
Cozy fire on a wintry afternoon with hot coffee in your Love cup! Oh my then a new read from you! You made my day!❤️👌🏻Thanks 💕Marilyn
Love your sunshine on a bitter cold day !
Haha. “In Redecorating” my tired eyes read, ” cleaned our houses, had a joint”, and I fell down laughing. Of course, a second read revealed the truth…
Love the new cups! I ordered the birthday one (just celebrated mine), the moon, as I am always moonstruck, and the little house. Fun, fun, fun! I like how you have your grandmother’s spoon. I have my grandmother’s old kerosene stove that my mom put a butcher block top over the cooking part. Mom used it as an island in her kitchen. Now sadly she is gone but I have her and her mom in my house as I use it as a desk. The little chimneys show up below the wooden top and make me smile. My mom was creative to put the top on it and use it the way she did. Miss her every day. Thanks for the post! Makes me want to tidy up,
I have been tidying up, too! So much fun! love the new cups!
Very cute gifts!
Oh! Love the new cups!! Going to place my pre-order now!
I love the escape of your writings. If I won the Valentine’s drawing I would gift the Girlfriends Forever book to one of my girlfriends as I’ve been lucky enough to own it since it originally came out. Stay warm.
Thanks Susan for your sweet blog and a chance to win a cute gift. Your words always inspire me and make me happy💖.
Love the new cups. Love your blog. Love and adore your drawings and writings.
Susan, I always am so touched by your reminders to embrace the small things in our lives, to stop and pay attention to them, and to have a heart full of gratitude for when they come our way.
Thank you for that.
Janice