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!
What goes into oiling your wooden handles and spoons? What kind of oil do you use?
HERE you go, all about caring for your wood kitchen things.
Your sweet column goes a long way in warming wintry days! I’ve tried to follow Marie Kondo but have a problem because I’m loving everything I touch, which defeats her purpose. Too many things give me joy, which is a huge blessing but also a challenge. Thank you for the recipe and the recommendation on how to share. ‘Tis the season.
Susan, I luv the new corgi cup just pre ordered. Happy Valentine’s Day
I hope your grandmother’s molasses cookies recipe is in one of your cookbooks. That’s what my grandmother made, and I’m not sure I have the recipe. They just sounded good on a wintry – 26 degree wind-chill-day.
It’s in the Autumn Book!
Oh, dear, I can’t decide which I would rather have — the Girlfriends book, or the “Have I Told You” mug. Guess I’ll just wait ‘til Vanna chooses, and if it’s not me, I’ll order both!
Susan,
Your cups runneth over with Joy, Creativity & Love!
Being one of eight children & growing up during the same time, I can identify so easily with so many of your life experiences. You continually jog my memory of so many good times & special moments!
Recently, your collection of wood spoons did just that—my two Grams & my mom had them & used them often-not always for cooking! Sometimes it was the handy “correctional ” tool of choice! No real harm done except to one’s pride!
I am a “wooden spoon survivor “! My mom has asked to be buried with her favorite wood spoon & says God & my dad wouldn’t recognize her without it!
I have followed you on your journey since your very first book & continue to use your wall calendars as a diary of mine! Thank you for knowing how to make time stand still with precious memories & how to move us forward to explore new ideas!
Thanks for the biscuit recipe Susan! It sounds yummy and I’ll be making it soon. I love your new mugs. I wish I could get them in Canada.
LOVED opening your blog today. Some joy for sure. I love the simplicity of January but this month I have been sick for over 2 weeks!! We have beautiful weather here in North Carolina but I am on the sofa looking out the window. It will pass and there are better days ahead. Love all your cups and dishware. Your kitchen cabinet is not clutter but Perfect!
I bought two of the books Girlfiends Forever years ago. I still have my copy & love it!
Love the newest cups – my order is in!
Hoping to be watching your real life movie soon and know I will love it as much as I have loved reading your books and your blogs and Willard!
I loved cleaning and decorating my room and any friends room growing up too. I would just be amazed at how cluttered their rooms were and I would beg “please let me clean your room, please!”, and this was before age ten. Now 50 some years later I still like putting things in order and donating things for others to find in our cat shelter’s thrift store (all proceeds go to the shelter). I could never be a minimalist either, just everything in it’s place and uncluttered is good enough for me!
Even with the Christmas decorations removed, your home is so very charming. It must be because you’ve placed everything with such love – and that all who reside there (including the four-legged family members) are also in love.
I’m so glad you travel with me! It was such a delight to read this blog from sunny central Florida where it’s 80 degrees and I’ve been sitting by the pool! (probably not missing the NE weather thought). So you’re with us now! I love that hutch you have in your home and it looks just as good now as it did at Christmas. Love the new mugs, and will have to pre-order at least one, maybe two…..or more! Can’t wait to hear more about the movie….until then I’ll be patient as much as I can! So Happy Galentines Day dear Susan, and thank you for this beautiful, newsy blog!
This post brightened my day!
I love to decorate for the holidays but feel so good when I can put it all away again. And now, on to Valentine’s Day!
I’m afraid to say, my way of cleaning is to move stuff from one room to another!
Really need to make a stab at actually getting rid of stuff. My biggest problem: THE PAPER BLOB! Lord, please stop me from collecting another recipe!!
Hope this warm weather stays awhile.
Love the picture of your side-kick, Jack!
You are so brave at doing this uncluttering… I’m terrible at it! And I love all your decoration pieces, each having a special meaning to you! It must be hard to figure what has to go and what gets to stay…
I’m looking forward to your new projects. I think I’ll get your Fairytale Girl book for my birthday this weekend, as I suggested it to DH and I saw an Amazon box coming in on Monday. It would complete the series (I already have the 2 other books)… I’d love to add Girlfriends forever as well, so I’m quite interested into entering your giveways… Thank you for treating us like this! I love reading your blog and Willard, it is always a delight!
Keep warm and safe. It must be pretty cold out on the island, this winter!
Lovely thoughts! I had just put my red and white cloth on the table and created my yearly vignette of framed vintage Valentines before reading ❤️
Comment
All sounds wonderful. Can’t wait to try new lemon, pepper bescuits. We have a Myers lemon tree with sooo many lemon this year. We have had to give a lot to neighbors and friends. Thank you so much, love all your writing and things.
Love your new giveaway, Susan! Someone will be a very lucky winner!!!
Hi Susan,
Wonderful post, as usual! Thought I would let you know your first cookbooks are featured in our Little Free Library. They make people smile!
Blessings
Patricia on Robin Road in Fair Oaks California
Hi Susan, (also my BFF’s name)
I have collected your books for over twenty years, love your blog, am a fellow ‘Anglophile’ (especially now that my son and his family live there), binged on Marie Kondo over Christmas break and I was born in the New England Berkshires. Just a few details we gave in common. If we ever met each other I’m sure we’d never stop talking.
You have brought warmth, joy and goodness into my days.
What a treat to read your blog this afternoon as it’s raining cats and dogs in CALIFORNIA! The new mugs are darling.
Can’t wait to make the Lemon Pepper Tea Biscuits! You are the best!
I adore your books. They make me happy.
I love your art, words, and sentiments. Thank you!
Oh, Susan, every time I see your new blog posting in my email, it is such a breath of fresh air! I just feel happier after reading it, and seeing all the pretty photos and artwork. You are wonderful!
And I love your new cups! Especially the Corgi, – and the moon and stars, – well, and the Birthday one, oh dear. Better be saving up! 😉
Thank you, once again, for YOU.
I enjoy your blog. Cannot wait for the next book and the movie.
Love the updates of what is happening
Thanks for the he chance to win
Your post always brightens my day!
I love the home mug! And the Lemon Pepper Tea Biscuits look delicious!
Susan
I do need to tidy up and hopefully your words and pictures will help inspire me.
Looking forward to finding Willard in my email! And a very Happy Valentine’s Day to you and Joe. Will definitely try the tea sandwiches.
Susan your blog brings me joy! I was especially touched by the story of your Grandma’s spoon. When my dear Mom passed away my oldest daughter said she wanted just one thing…the tray my Mom always served her delicious home made cakes on. I get happy and teary eyed every time she uses it! Thank you for brightening my days!
You raised her right! xoxo
Susan you have calmed me and encouraged me, just what I needed. This Sat. is my mother’s 95th birthday. We are cleaning, throwing things into the closet and preparing for out of town family to be here. Every room in our home will be in use. I had heard about the Tidying UP show on Netflix but I am so glad you reminded me. Our home is over 80 years old and has been in our family for 70 of those years. So much has accumlated through the generations. I need inspiration to declutter and keep “only what is useful or what I think is beautiful.
Happy Birthday to your MOM! xoxo
Perfect timing! I’ve been doing Gretchen Rubin’s 21-day clutter challenge and watching Marie Kondo’s netflix series! Thanks for another push in the right direction, Susan!
Hi Susan,
I love the photo of your sideboard; so pretty. I have one of those bird vases, but mine is green.
I’m confused about Willard. I thought you turned it into the blog. They are still two different things? I never received a Willard, but read your older ones. Can I sign up for a Willard?
Years ago, back in the 90s, Willard came to everyone at home via snail mail. Then came the computer, and I was able to send it through the Internet. Which I’ve been doing now for years . . . if you scroll down the column on the right on the blog, you can click on WILLARD and see all the old issues there. But after a while, the blog and the willard became so alike I decided to roll them together. Willard was always delivered via email, if you sign up, the Blog posts will come that way too. There’s a link to do that at the bottom of this blog post. Hope this helps!
Love the stories of your family treasures – what joy to bake with your grandmother’s wooden spoon. Marie Kondo would surely approve of such simple pleasures.
Beautiful teacups!
I love the new cups! Especially, the 11 oz. Little House “house of my own” cup. I’ve always loved that verse and your sweet cottage illustration.
~Cheers~
Samantha
Your cups are my way of telling special friends just how special they are to me, when I give them as gifts.
Just what I hoped for, something special that isn’t everywhere! xo
The whole time I was reading today’s blog I kept thinking of this new word I learned … I think you’ll like it!
Scurryfunge
(Verb) Old English; to rush around cleaning when company is on their way over.
Usage: I scurryfunge when I see my mother-in-law coming over.
LOL that’s just perfect!
Thank you Susan for contributing to my happy February day! I was out doing errands and encountered a lovely and helpful cashier at the CVS Drug Store and then the manager at The Dollar Store opened up another lane when the other three were so busy with lines….just one blessing after another! Icing on the cake to come home and find your blog in my email. And, PS not too long ago I “found” and quickly purchased in our public library Second Hand Prose bookstore: The Black Dog Summer On the Vineyard Cookbook with photos of your Joe!
I just watched an episode today! Yay! Now I want to bless our home and then get to work on it! Your home is sooooooo sweet and loved. I am blessed as you are, to have a husband who puts just as much love into the home.
I just stumbled across your website and what a delight for the senses this is. Have ordered some of your books! Thanks for sharing! I love your blogs.
I love all your cups but Bella Luna is the best. Thank you for sharing your lovely talent with all of us!
I’m re-reading all three of your autobiographical books, so this Willard was perfect timing! I think I love winter as much as you do.
I love the new cups, I have your calendars, and books
Ahh… your blog…a respite from the wind and rains. Just like a good cup of PG Tips by a fire in the fireplace. You help calm the soul and remind me to be grateful for 1,000(& counting) things in our everyday! Thanks for your reminders to be positive and continue on with the good in life.
I admire your artwork. I was even inspired to buy some watercolor paints and brushes but have not been brave enough to try it yet. I know I can’t reach your level, but maybe I can manage to paint some hearts for Valentines Day?
I have no doubt!!!
Happy Valentine’s Day…I hope, hope, hope, for a movie to come all about you. Enjoy February!
We are having a snowy day here and the recipe for the biscuits just made my mouth water. Tucked up here enjoying the blog and Willard under a cozy blanket with hot chocolate. And I can do it guilt free because thanks to your inspiration on cleaning/decluttering I took a break and got my kitchen mopped and bathrooms cleaned! When I retired last summer I went through drawers and cupboards and cleaned out and organized and it felt soooo good. But I found I now have more time to find treasures at antique and thrift shops so it is a constant battle. (but a fun one).
Beautiful new items! I’m really looking forward to the possibility of your book on film – what could be better? I had to start over when my husband died 13 years ago; it wasn’t easy, but I’ve reached a place of contentment in my life. Inner peace and contentment are the greatest gifts one can give to one’s self.
Beautifully said Martha. xoxo
Congrats on having your merch on the BBC website…so exciting!
I love the corgi, and I am so happy to have a fellow tidy upper. It is all such an art this thing called HouseKeeping! I love it, always have, always will. Thank you for showing the beauty of it all!
Susan,
This is going to be a very hard Valentine’s Day for me. My best friend has just passed, and my heart will forever ache. She was joy and gave joy to everyone she met. I grabbed her joy which was contagious. I hope I win something in honor of her.
Love
I’m so sad for you Elena . . . a terrible loss. Sending a big hug. xoxoxo
Susan,
Another treat reading your newest post. I was just looking at your shopping list the other day. I must order, even though my little shelf above the sink is filled with your cups, I will just rotate them. I have been trying to “let go” of so much stuff. It is hard, but each time I try, a little bit more goes out the door so someone else can enjoy something “new”.
Thank you for all your inspirations-words and deeds.
It feels like spring which makes the cleaning easier.
Bunny hugs
Shirley
I always LOVE your blog. I tend to save it to read when I can relax and just ENJOY! Thanks for always bringing a smile to my face and homey, cozy ideas to my mind. You’re the best!
I love your new moon cup and always look forward to your posts. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Hello dear Susan, it’s so lovely to see a new installment from you! Thank you for the update on the little vases. I preordered the set, and can’t wait for them to arrive. I’ll try to be patient, though. And, I hope to get my first Willard! Trying to be patient for that, as well. I feel so much like you regarding minimalism. It’s fine for other people but seems too boring to me. I love receiving special items that belonged to family members. My mom just gifted me a lovely red glass bowl that had been my Grandma’s. She used to bring cranberry salad to family gatherings in it. I’m so blessed to have it!
The new cups are beautiful…. loving the Bella Luna! Tidying up to create a clean palate for the new year is exactly what I’ve been doing, too. I have found myself humming as I do it, but hadn’t really put thought to how much I was really enjoying it. I appreciate your reminder that it’s a positive thing.
How lovely your beautiful new cups are!
Thank you sir sharing your tidying up ideas…..of course it made me want to start cleaning out rooms!
You are so very special!
Have a very blessed day!
I too like to clean out and tidy up in the month of January and if I am on a roll I continue into February.
Your cups are lovely.
Happy Valentine’s Day Susan!
Dear, dear Susan,
How I enjoy your lovely, loving blogs. You are such a treasure and so is your art. THANK YOU, SO MUCH!
Love, Fran
Loved reading this blog on a wintery day!
Oh such a nice warm post to read with tea on this rainy So Calif day! Thank you Susan for reply talking about how we can tidy up and keep those things around we love.
I have always thought St. Valentine’s Day was for sisters and girlfriends too.
Well if Susan Branch says so it must be true.
You are our Valentine and we are so lucky to have you.
I love how clean and bright the house looks after boxing up Christmas. It’s like a fresh breath of fresh air for the new year. Love your blog.
An Isle of Dreams movie??!! Love it! I read Isle of Dreams every winter and it never gets old. Love all your books but this one is my favorite because it takes the reader back to when you first began to create your charmed life. You are an inspiration. Thank you!
Hi Susan, I love reading your blogs. You inspire me and make me wish I had your talent. Guess I need to use the talents God gave me and not be envious of yours. I’ve been hearing a lot lately about Marie Condo and think I should really, really check it out. Your tidying up still looks beautiful and warm and lived in without being cluttered. Just what I need. Like I said, you are an inspiration.
I simply love the new cups, already preordered two of the birthday cups. Thank you for your inspiration and lovely words.
>>Oh, to be in England
Now that April’s there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England – now!<<
~ Robert Browning
I will be in Stratford-upon-Avon come September!!
I wish I was better about tidying up, but I hate throwing things out. I might need it someday – it is the bane of my husband’s existence ! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Cannot wait to use the new mugs! Planning on the Luna one on full moon nights!! They are all SO pretty😍Thanks for your talents. Happy Valentines day💗
Thanks for the updates on everything Susan! The new cup designs look great! Congrats on the BBC Website score, hope the National Trust is next! I may have to preorder either the corgi cup or the home sweet home cup, can’t decide yet! Regards again to you and yours.
Such cute, cute cups! I think I need the whole set 😁 and all of your tidying up inspires me to get busy with the same. “Decide what to keep” does seem like a better angle to think from….
Hi Susan, Look so forward to your blog, haven’t got the Willard yet but I know it is coming. Loved all your info in eliminating clutter, I have done much the same this month and feel great about it. Love your new mugs and will pre order atleast 2. Thank you so much for making me feel alive and happy with life!!!!
*LOVE* the corgi mug!!! I read Tidying Up several years ago– just a little word of caution– my daughter-in-love really regrets many of the decisions she made about what to get rid of. I am focusing on decluttering my heart, in the hopes that it will spill out into my life. I have loved the Fly-Lady’s gentle approach which allows for a person to fall off the wagon with domestic life, (which is just a part of life), then get back on– no guilt! Domestic life is an art, and all of us have different gifts and talents that we bring to our homes. Clutter definitely is a weight, but I don’t think there is a one size fits all solution to that.
You are too generous in your giveaways — and I hope I win!
But I digress! Love the new mugs and heading over to pre-order so I don’t get shut out (still dying for A Fine Romance mug! Drat!) I can’t decide between them so I think I’m in for at least two. Probably three because how does one choose?
Sometimes I think Marie is a bit over the top but her folding method rocks and when you really look at it as what you want to KEEP, it does make a difference. Unless, of course, you want to keep EVERYTHING because if you didn’t love it in the first place, why would you have it. Therein lies the problem, but like you I am working on it. And making progress. Must be an epidemic! Oh, and the Quick Clean is a godsend! Cheers and here’s to a lovely February!
~Happy Valentine’s Day~
Thank you for the appreciated heaping helping of assorted “everything’s,” and for the inspiration. Pantingly drug 1 huge black garbage bag all the way to the alley trash bin. The list of begats goes on…
cleaning the kitchen, attacking the ever perpetual & growing “stacks “of papers throughout the house, the small things done added up to a big result.
!Thank you again!
Dearest Sue, I cannot believe you are also ‘tidying up!’ I just got Marie’s book yesterday, and I’m bound and determined to tidy up my house… You have given me inspiration! Your new cups are absolutely gorgeous! I can’t wait to get them…thank you for always bringing a breath of fresh air into my workday with your blog! I keep reading ‘Fairy Tale Girl,’ ‘Isle of Dreams’ and ‘A Fine Romance’ over and over, wishing I was there with you in Martha’s Vineyard! One day I’ll get back over to the island…Thank you once again for being such a lovely inspiration and guide!
I have missed you, so happy everyone is feeling better.
Your post always brightens my days 😘
I’m re-re-reading your memoir books as a form of motivation to get my research completed for a June conference. One page of California-girl-trying-to-talk-to-New England-clerk story, one page of Texas settlers. One page of touring-English-garden story, one page of 1900 census. Like that. Sewing pillows and making Valentine care packages for a break. Thanks for the help, Susan Bee!
So fun! I love to de-clutter! It’s like a fresh start! Love the new mugs too!
I love winter it is such a cozy time of year in your home, feeling bless.
Lovely post as always. It has snowed all day here in Minneapolis. Just reading your words warmed me. Smiles.
Dear Susan,
Thank you for sharing the book on Tidying Up, truly one that would be perfect for me. Even though I really enjoy organizing, I get overwhelmed by my own accumulation. The moon child in me is overjoyed with the Bella Luna mug. I ordered the Bluebird of Happiness mugs and had them sent to my twin sister in advance of my visit a couple years ago, I think I’ll order these to enjoy when she comes to visit me! That carved sentiment “Love stays” – beautiful!
Love & blessings to you, Sandy
Love to read your blog and Willards! I hope your book gets made into a movie!!!!!
Maybe you will have a CAMEO appearance!
Erin
Just what I needed on this dreary wet day, you’ve made the sunshine in this house of mine.
Thank you,
Kindred Spirit
Rebecca Clark
Can’t wait to make Lemon Pepper Biscuits, yum!
I love your posts! Glad you are continuing Willard as blog posts.
I’m going to try your scone recipe. It sounds delicious. I’m very curious about the sprinkling of black pepper on top. Thank you for your generous give a way. It would be fun to win,
Beautiful new cups! Cups like these are the best part of my afternoon tea. Will you be doing matching tea towels? Was it warm there today like it was in New York?
Gorgeous! Walked out to the water just for the sun of it!
My husband and I moved last fall to be nearer our grandchildren. We are slowly making this house our home . It is a huge change for us to move to a big city area after 40 years in our home in a small city. Pictures of your pretty home inspire me with cozy ideas for our new space.
You bring such beauty into this world Susan. Your blog and photos that you post are always so heartwarming. I love to make myself a cup of tea while I devour what you have written. I also have a Tuxedo cat so the photos of your Jack always bring a smile to my face. As I am writing this, my kitty just jumped into my lap and is looking at me as if he knows I am talking about him. I also am a collector of all things Peter Rabbit. The figurine I purchased from you is one of my most treasured Beatrix Potter items. Thank you for making this world a more lovely and peaceful place to be. You are appreciated so very much. Blessings to you and your family ❤️
I love your books and art and Jack and everything! Thank you for al you do… and please pick me to win! 🙂
I am absolutely giddy over your new set of mugs. My order is in and can’t wait until April.
Those cups are absolutely stunning. You do such amazing work!
Love, love, love the new mugs!
Love the new mugs. My mug rack is full. I guess I’ll just have to get another one – oh well. Thanks for saying that you can have stuff on counters and shelves that aren’t clutter. My kitchen counters aren’t empty but what is on them gets used daily. I see kitchen pictures in magazines with empty counters and wonder “do they get the coffee maker out every time they want coffee?” I guess the bottom line is we all keep our house the way we like it and the way we like it may or may not suit anyone else. I love the pictures of your house – it always seems so homey and welcoming to me.
I always love reading about your activities around the house, I can go from a certain degree of being a clutter lover to the opposite and back again…but there is wisdom in following Marie Kondo’s only keep what you love mantra. I often think of the saying of William Morris, that goes something like, Have only in your house what you believe to be beautiful or know to be useful. In the end, we are all different, and each of us is not always the same in every season of her or his life. Everyone’s home should make them happy.