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!
Thanks for brightening up my day and for a chance to win some treasures!!
It made me so,so happy to “hear”from you! Hope your Valentines Day is perfect!
I too took Marie Kondo’s systems to heart and sorted a drawer (yes, only one, so far). The idea of keeping what you love makes decisions much easier.
Your new mugs are lovely, as always. I can’t wait for your next book.
I love all your books. I received my first one as a wedding shower gift from an old friend. She noted in the book that even if I never made any of the recipes (by the way, I’ve made plenty) that I would enjoy just reading it. Boy, was she right! I love reading through your books. I was happy to read that you did some “tidying up.” It made me feel good since I was on a Marie binge lately, too!
I absolutely LOVE the moon mug and can’t wait to get mine!
Always a great day when I get the email your blog post is up!! ❤️❤️❤️
Love, love, love the new cups, they are on my must have list. 😊
So happy to have this in my email when I checked today. Always adds some extra happy to the day and what a gorgeous day we had today. Was like spring had arrived!! Anyway love the new cups especially the moon and stars. Thanks for a picture of Jack, always a day brightner.
Susan, thank you so much for brightening my day. I look forward to your “Willard” and read every word!!! I have been cleaning my home since Christmas. My main project is my art studio. I’ve often commented my friends and family need to drop bread crumbs to find their way out once they got in there!!! Now, I can see the light of day and the carpet on the floor! It’s looking good. I’m planning on visiting that room quite frequently!!!
Have a lovely evening.
Sharon Hermens
I want to tidy up and declutter, too! My problem is that so many things bring me joy!
Me too, glad to know I’m not alone.
Once again I enjoyed reading about your activities. Your “Tidying Up” has motivated me to begin doing the same. During the Polar Vortex we survived, I realized I had many “extra” things… time to clean, sort, and get rid of items with little or no special meaning.
Ok all of you who have gotten over the bug to de-clutter, could you all please sent it over to the PNW!! I sure could use a “push”!!! Ha…….just can not seem to get going on this. Love all the new mugs.
I am always so amazed how you must be divinely guided in finding the perfect ‘musica’. I have always liked a tidy home and now easier since downsizing. Hardest decision was which books to ‘pass on’. I so appreciate reading the comments which are ALWAYS positive beautiful expressions of lovin’ filled words that make me smile at the joy your talents bring to so many. Blessings, Susan, Joe and so cute, Jack.
I have been trying to de-clutter for some time now, but don’t seem to get very far. Some days I feel almost overwhelmed, but your post inspires me to keep trying. Since my lovely husband died last year, I feel as if I am drowning in paperwork, but tell myself it will reduce before too long. Thank you for the pleasure you give via your blog posts.
Although I am signed up to receive your blog entries on email, quite a few of them haven’t been getting through. They are not in spam. Is there anything I can do to make sure I get them?
Sign up again, try that, I’m not sure why if you are checking spam! I’m so sorry about the loss of your husband, and then all the paperwork. I read that part out loud to Joe as a warning! He is paperwork central. xoxoxo
So fun! Love reading your blogs! Three chances to win awesome gifts —- yikes! Thanks for the opportunity!! Happy Valentine’s Day!
I love that you refer to cardinals as “our flying Valentines”. I will forever think of them that way! 💜💜💜
Thank you for another delightful blog post! Love your decluttering ideas- what great inspiration to get me busy tidying my own home. Your home looks lovely!
I love, love, love the new cups!!! Will be ordering!
Thank you so much for your beautiful artwork! Always so uplifting. My cardinals will now be looked at from my window as flying valentines 😊 And more than likely I will be watching the movie suggestion tonight!!! Not that I need to!!! (Cough…..cough!)
Love the Corgi mug! So cute.. I’ve been decluttering and going through closets, cupboards, etc. I have been donating loads of stuff to thrift stores in the area. So nice to have organized closets. Hoping they stay that way. Lol
enjoyed your blog post with my hot chai tea! Thank you. From sunny (and sometimes rainy lately) Southern California!
What a lovely “read” on a cold chilly day!
Love ❤️ Everything about you Susan!!!!
I just love the way you think. It makes me feel justified in the way I decorate and love a cozy home. None of this minimalism nonsense!
Bor-ing!🎵
Love, love, love the Birthday Cup. Crossing my fingers to win.
Funny….we’ve not been watching that show, nor have we heard anything about it. However, I’ve been in the “clearing out” mood myself! Yes! What we surround ourselves with should “spark joy!” This fantastic giveaway will definitely do that for some lucky winners!
New cups! How exciting! We are blessed by your creativity!
Does MV have a resident groundhog? Did he see his shadow?
Happy February!
We go off the one in Pennsylvania, and he didn’t see his shadow, so we’re going with that! xoxo Love to you Nellie!
Dearest Susan, your blog is filled with Love, Love, Love!!! You’ve given us Hope for so many things: clean and tidy homes, china mugs for a warm cup of tea, tasty biscuits fresh from the oven, a Susan Branch movie!!! I always feel so hopeful and inspired after reading your blogs – – – what a treasured gift you give me each and every time! And precious Jack . . . I always, always look for the kitty pictures! I wish you happy days in your studio, painting and writing and chatting with Jack (and Joe, too, when he pops in!). My hopes will be fulfilled in about one month, when my precious first grandbaby – a little boy – is born! So much to look forward to . . . bright and happy days ahead! xoxoxo
Thrilled for you Patti! A new baby boy to love!
Susan, you are the best! Your blog always leaves me feeling cozy, contented and with more joie de vivre than I had before! Thank you.
Life is good, Susan, and it is always made better by your cheerful and loving blog. Thank you for always seeing the rosy side of life!
Love the new cups. What perfect gifts you are giving just in time for Valentines Day.
Much ❤️ to you, Joe and, of course, to beautiful Jack!
Always such a joy to open your “love letter” to the world. You give us such beauty and a piece of your heart each time. God bless you and everyone who reads your pearls of wisdom, beauty and peace, and understands that the small, quiet things are the most important after all.
I have some wooden spoons from Grandma I use but have never oiled them. What kind of oil?
Look HERE!
Are your beautiful cups available in Canadian retail shops ?
There are only a few retail stores carrying them here in the states, either 11 or 12, and then in my web store and that’s it. We do ship to Canada, you can ask [email protected]/~susanbs3/susanbranch/.
I confess….I got distracted while cleaning my office with old photos!! But I am working on it. One garbage bag of trash – so far. Determined not to leave my kids with a huge mess like my mom did…60 years of stuff!!
Your blogs are always a delight! Yes, combining with Willard is a good idea.
Happy February….expecting an ice storm in Michigan tomorrow. UGH
What is it about January that makes one want to clean house, it looks perfect for a while then one day you look around and it’s all cluttered again. I think one of the other months need to step up to be the inspiration mid year. I love thinking about cardinals as flying Valentines. We have them all over our yard, there will be babies soon.
Love the new cups especially the Lunar one. And I’m so happy to hear that you found the “Girlfriends Forever “ books in the back of a closet. Going to start looking in my closets for some surprises.
Love the new cups. I too have been cleaning and sorting through “stuff.”
Great give always just in time for Valentines Day!
Happy February. We have butter cups coming up (not blooming yet). Also saw Forsetha blooming today – spring isn’t far away for us!
Jack is purrfect
KIS! Keep it simple! I applaud your decision to combine Willard and the blog!
What wonderful giveaways!!! I am still working 40 plus a week and each night after dinner I clean something or bake something. Baking calms my jangled nerves. I love being home tucked in. A close friend knit me warm cozy socks just right for these very cold winter nights.
Your blogs are always such a joy! Love all your ideas and pictures.
I decorate very similarly with cottage styles, crisp linens, rosy fabric and antiques!!!
Originally from Rehoboth MA (Go figure!)
I’ve been checking and checking to see when we’d hear from you again! The new mugs look so inviting.
Thank you so much for brightening the day!
Hi Susan and Joe and Jack, thank you once again for a lovely post full of delightful things that make me happy just to read. Please give Jack a pet from me. You are all so lucky to have each other.
Barb
Thank you for sharing so much of yourself through your books and blogs. It is wonderful to share the value of a clean and ordered home. Some of my children think I am a clean freak, but I think it is because they don’t want to put in the effort. It is easier to treat those of us who do as the weird ones. 😉 Happy Valentine’s Day to you both! The nesting days of winter will be gone soon enough.
Love all your little contest’s. Thanks for the chance to enter. Happy Valentines day Susan! <3
A luv-lee long post – I’ve been missing them! Can’t wait to read my Willard when it comes, and I don’t understand what Hollywood is doing out there if they haven’t jumped on the chance to tell your story…
Your home looks so fresh and calm now. I too could never be a minimalist but right at this moment my whole library is packed up and so is part of my kitchen to do some much needed painting of walls….I never think I have much ‘stuff’ until I see it all packed up in boxes and then the clearing bug takes hold. There is such a fine balance between ‘warm and inviting’ and ‘cluttered’. I love your redecorating game…..very wise words even way back then!
Hail and rain in Arroyo Grande – keeping warm inside with your blog.
Lovely! Lovely!
My heart runneth over with comfort and joy when I look at the whimsical, colorful art you create, Susan. Love it all!
Lovely post and those heart biscuits look wonderful! I always look forward to a new blog post and now on to read my new Willard! Happy Valentine’s Day, Susan & Joe. & Jack!💖
I always look forward to your blogs! Thanks so much for writing them!
Susan, I always love your blog, but especially loved this one because of all the Valentine things. It’s my favorite holiday ! I already have one of your Valentine love birds mugs and use it every day ! 💕
I always feel like cleaning after watching any shows like Marie’s. The thought of putting every one of my books in one place is scary. It does make sense to decide by if the thing “sparks joy” and not keeping it because we feel we have to. I love your house with all your loved items out where they show. That too is encouraging.
I knew I was missing something and then your Blog pops up..Yup! …You are my Sunshine on this Cloudy day!…You always leave me greatly motivated…Time to make a few Pretties sparkle again <3
I so enjoy your posts Susan!! Looking forward to Willard!
Susan, I always love your blog, but especially loved this one because of all the Valentine things. It’s my favorite holiday ! I already have one of your Valentine love birds mugs and love it ! ❤❤❤❤
I can’t wait for the movie, I so hope it happens. After the movie, my girlfriends and I plan on having tea at the historic Holly Hotel in Holly, MI.
I love the new mugs, and a fun giveaway. ❤️
Always a treat to read your blog before I leave work at the end of the day. Nice transition. Would love to win any of your gifts, but the Girlfriend book especially.
What to say that has already been stated. Choice of cups is too difficult. Guess I’ll have to buy all the cups thereby making my choice complete.
You are inspiring! Love the new mug designs! Now I must go clean/organize/declutter my house……..
Enjoy your blog. Looking forward to the movie.
Thank you for sharing all your lovely ideas, tips and inspirations ! Love the Valentine cup ❤️
Thanks for the chance to win, Susan!
Love the new mugs Susan thanks for giving me some joy.🙋♀️❤❤
Thank you for sharing your art and bookmarks which I love. Is there a possibility of a CD of musica? That would be a joy!
I actually have a copy of “Girlfriends Forever”, a first edition. It was given to me in 2000 by a dear friend when I moved hundreds of miles away. She added stickers and little personal notes throughout, which made it an extra precious treasure as she moved even further, to heaven, several years ago. “Miss you tons Vicky! God bless and butterflies!”
Hi! Susan love the new mugs ❤❤. Thanks for the joy.
Hi Susan! LOVE the new mugs! I am already thinking about which one I will buy next for my daughter in law! She loves “all things Susan Branch”, too! Thanks for your lovely ongoing creativity!!
I have all your books, but can’t wait for the movie! They had better not disappoint your bajillion fans!
Susan,
I love the idea of the Bella Luna mug: having tea inside the night sky.
Wonderful!
Jann
Susan, you are such an inspiration! Sooooo love your blog and everything you do!
Hi Susan,
Just love following you on your blog. I have been a long time follower and have most of your books.
This is an especially hard time for me with a very ill daughter. Thank you, as always, for letting us into your life and reminding everyone of the little joys around us all the time.
I’m saying a prayer for you right now. Blessings on you and your family Gina. xoxoxoxoxo
just found/have to share please…
Susan Branch picnic 2018 photos-
the one of you and your sweetheart kissing is the best!
To see this all really made my day-
PS) thank you so much to: cathy-morningmusings.blogspot.com
cathy-morningmusings.blogspot.com/2018/06/susan-branch-picnic-at-castle-cottage.html
I hadn’t seen this! Thank you!
Your Blog made me hungry…..I have some Biscotti in the freezer—i’ll dunk them into one of favorite Susan Branch mugs–yum—I’d love to be surprised by wining a new mug!
I would love to have this book. My birthday is also two days after Valentines Day so this would be great!
Susan, your newsletter is always a joy read! ❤️❤️❤️
It’s always so fun and inspiring to see what new things you have to say! And LOVE comes through it all. . . straight from you, Susan!!!❤️
Makes me very happy to hear that, Diana! Thank you!
I am still enjoying my memories of our picnic at Beatrix Potter’s and seeing
you and Joe at Dove Cottage. I relive many UK moments as I drink my morning coffee in my Fine Romance cup. Thank you for gifting your special talents to us all.
I do the very same thing, Cathy!
Susan, I read Marie’s book several years ago and gave it to a friend as well. My friend moved across the state so one afternoon we got on our cell phones and cleaned out one drawer in our closets then another and another! Almost three years later and I still have neat drawers and only clothes that make me happy!!! We still talk about that day!! So much fun to share”
I always feel my best when my nest is clean and organized. No one will ever call me a minimalist though!! I was born in the sign of Cancer and I love my old stuff. Happy nesting to us all.
Love getting you Willard it’s like getting a letter in the mail! I have enjoyed many of your books can’t wait for your new one to come out. I have also watched some of the Marie Kondo’s shows and am trying to take some of it to heart. We are getting ready for a kitchen remodel and am putting the system of letting go to heart.
Great reading in early February. Thanks for cheering us up.
How thrilling to have Isle of Dreams into a movie!
I’m sure you have an idea Who you would like
play you in the movie??? HINT please???
Love all the new mugs and would dearly like to
WIN one! I have two, Martha’s Vineyard and the
Bluebird mug. Great for tea or cocoa!
Thanks for cheering us up on this February day.
I would enjoy getting your book. My birthday is also this month.
Cleaning out means spring is on its way! Time to make everything clean and new! Thank you for the inspiration!
I squeal with joy when I open my e-mail and see your name,I run to make a cuppa and then I sip and read while listening to the wonderful musica…pure happiness!! thank you!!!
Jack is such a handsome boy! If he were in my house, I’d get NO work done at all. Smoosh him up for me. 🙂
♥️ Well, my little sunshiney dumpling ~ this Willard was just the Bees Knees 🐝💨♥️ !
Love all the new mugs, hard to decide which one I would like. But I know I have to decide quickly❤️
I am always so happy to see a post in my inbox from SB! Thanks for the lovely visit to your home sweet home.
Hi Susan, I always love your message of listening to the still small voice within – thank you for that lovely reminder.
And yes, it does feel good to tidy, I’ve been on a tear myself, throwing things out no longer useful. Spent the last several months cleaning out my parents house, fifty years of stuff – that will inspire tidiness!
Just got back from seeing a wonderful food film at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, “Quanto Basta,” “As Needed” (in English.) So good! A funny, heartwarming movie that takes place in Tuscany about a young chef at a cooking contest and his tough guy chef-mentor. Plus a love story. Recommended for the girlfriends.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Susan! 💕
Tidying up is a way of life. Running our mountain home as a scaled down B&B requires that I give the house daily attention, even though we usually only have guests on weekends, in the nicest Master Bedroom suite which we call the Chamonix room. We have had a cold and snowy winter in the California mountains this year. I love the cosy feel of it, but must admit that on occasion, I get cabin fever.
Hot chocolate or a cup of freshly brewed cofe au lait is a pick me upper. I baked homemade bread today and a couple of days ago I made chocolate chip oatmeal bars. I can never seem to save many for the guests, so I wind up hiding an assortment away to have on hand for last minute bookings.
I see the snow blowing horizontally and it is very wintry. Time to draw the curtains and light a few candles, and see what is in our pantry for tea. The French onion soup was polished off yesterday. I am almost considering a bowl of oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar, but guess I will wait until morning. Perhaps a pot of tea and some toast with jam might do the trick.
We needed the rain and the snow which has fallen on the dry earth here in California. I hope that there are no mud slides on the coast………….seems like Santa Barbara and Malibu have had their share of Mother Nature’s handiwork. I sort of look forward to the daffodils popping up under the birch tree, and later in the spring we will enjoy lilacs. I know as a California girl, you can relate the back east green and beauty as something rare and wonderful. But we do have the sunshine and the wonderful Pacific Ocean to embrace. I guess we all have to learn to bloom where we are planted.
I hope that movie deal works out for you. I know I look forward to seeing it when it appears on the scene.
Enjoy the Island Life and the quiet. The balance you are fortunate to experience is something never to lose sight of.
Susan, Love your blog of warmth and goodness. Love your China cups. Love your recipes. I might even love to organize and de-clutter very soon!!!
Lovin’ my new February calendar page in the kitchen!
I have a precious kitty cat who would make a perfect
wife for Jack…she looks amazingly like him too! They
would have adorable kitties! 🙂 You can tell him her
name is Veezy and that she would so love to meet him!
Lookin’ forward to the new Willard….Yay!
Just made your yummy biscuits…oh my goodness are they good! Thank you for another new family favorite on this cold California evening.
Your blog is a breath of warm air to the cold dreary winter we are having here in the South.
I read it from start to finish — thank you for helping me have perspective!
I adore all your items! I would love to win any of them!
Donna
Good evening. Thanks for sharing your house cleaning! I am going through stacks of old files and keeping very little. I’m hoping to feel lighter!