I have a good little, very short, Christmas Story for you! (In a minute!) But first, sweet old MUSICA! I’m looking around and it seems like these days, finding and living a fairy tale of your own making gets put on the back-burner way too much. It’s hard! We hurt for the discombooberation of the world. But it’s Christmas time. Magic time, when we remember ANYTHING is possible. The perfect time of year to renew our vows! 
💝 Giving ourselves and our beloveds that happiness at home, reminding ourselves of the faith and beauty that lives in us all, and doing all we can to lift the spirts of those around us. Reminding myself how that is done . . . all the little things, delicious food and kitchen smells from childhood, anything that sparkles, cozy blankies, socks, old movies, flannel jammies toasty-warm from the dryer, singing, extra hugs, walks in nature, quiet mornings and cups of tea. Long night’s rest . . . under the Long Night’s Moon . . .
But first, speaking of Long Night’s Moon, which we 
JUST had, and signifies, yes, the end of these short dark days!👏👏👏 On the Solstice, coming SOON, December 21st, we’re having a dinner party to celebrate the sun setting on the shortest day of the year! GOODBYE! Every day after that will get a little LONGER!! More light! What a wonderful Christmas gift!💝 And so, we segue to my traditional stocking-stuffer to help you remember to dance to the light of the moon in 2026!🎶🎵🎶
It’s 
my full-moon Bookmark, Bellisma Lunisima 💞 (“a hole in the sky, a supernatural nightlight” … 🎵 Jason Mraz), with the dates and the great Native American names for each of the full moons next year. Just click on the link, print it out, have it laminated at a UPS Store (or not), and voila!
I also have a special personal gift for one lucky person🎁 . . . we’re having a drawing! Just leave a comment at the bottom and you’ll automatically be entered into a giveaway that includes all the goodies you see below: There’s a set of two holiday notepads, a box of brass-plated Angel Chimes with candles, a signed copy of my little Home For Christmas book, two designs of my Christmas Cards, and two sets of the cards I love to use for thank you cards… because they have recipes on them!♥️ There’s a Santa dishtowel, a “Home Cooking” tea-pot plate for cookies (or to hang on your wall), and some darling Santa stickers for your cards and gifts! From me to you with LOVE!💝
I’m going to announce the winning name next week! So you get this before Christmas! It’s a lot, but we have so many good things in stock right now, I couldn’t just choose one!! In ADDITION, four more of you, my girlfriends, will receive a copy of my Home For Christmas read-aloud book, and of course, I will sign it however you like! So you can keep it, OR you can give it to a friend! 💝
And one more surprise, just ONE lucky person . . .
will receive one of the very last of our wonderful SANTA CUPS!!! For a merry merry Christmas with love from me to you!♥️
Don’t forget to leave a comment! (At the bottom of this post, you’ll see a line of tiny words and right toward the end you’ll see “Comments” … they hide it for some reason!❌⭕️)
Also, another wonderful thing . . . I am SO honored to have been recently interviewed for the new Beatrix Potter Society Blog . . . where they ask artists how they 
were inspired by the art and life of Beatrix Potter … such a good question for me.💞 I loved answering it. Hope you enjoy it too, just click the link above . . . I’m always especially happy bringing people together, to perhaps help new people to get to know Beatrix better! If you haven’t joined the Society yet, you would love it. I follow them on Instagram too. Good influences, people who have done wonderful things in their lifetimes, need to be kept alive ~ and there are a LOT of good people giving their time to keep that happening ~ the legacy of Beatrix Potter is one of them!!♥️ There is so much more to learn about Beatrix, and everything is so much more accessible these days!💝
As you know, I’ve collected lots of books about Beatrix, and read them all, and am always looking, when out and about, in used bookstores or flea markets to find my out-of-print or hard-to-find favorites to share with you in my web store!
This year’s crop includes the charming Peter Rabbit Natural Foods Cookbook Illustrated by Beatrix Potter!
I have to show you my copy, a gift, inscribed to me by a very young Girlfriend, Anna Baker.
Adorable, and a pure keeper! And the perfect example of young magic-making in a new generation ~ and I have to say, Good job MOM!💝 Beatrix AND cooking.💞 A win-win for a lifetime of giving, and receiving.
Here’s the cover . . . we have just a few of these in our web store, including the one that this one replaced! Another sweet Christmas gift.♥️
And this! Have you seen this?
It was a complete surprise when I found this large scrapbook filled with copies of Beatrix Potter’s original letters, photos, and journal entries;
showing her watercolors, her family, her books, her story, her paint box, written in her handwriting, if she had made a scrapbook, this is exactly what it would have, should have, looked like!💗 Someone did a WONDERFUL job with this.
I particularly loved how real it felt with all the three-dimensional items, her first Christmas card designs that open, a basket that you can lift the lid, an envelope containing that famous illustrated letter, for you to open, touch, unfold, and read, even a small photo book with pages to turn ~ all set in the English Countryside. It must have cost a fortune to publish this book. I would LOVE to know who DOES things like this these days!!! It’s really so beautiful.
And the secret part, the coup de grace . . . the most amazing thing, on the inside back of the cover is a hidden door that opens, easy to miss and a complete surprise. Waiting inside is a copy of her first book! So in case you find this book in a store, look closely, before you buy it, be sure to see if the little book is still there. (All my copies in our web store DO have the little books, just in cases!) It is HERE!
We also have a few copies of this totally charming old book . . .
. . . the first, most wonderful biography I read about Beatrix, that led me to so much more, when I discovered she was truly
I’ve shown you this book before ~ it has several of Beatrix’s line drawings in it, printed from the illustrated letter she wrote for the child of a friend . . .
I turned the page to this and I heard my book say, “It’s okay, you can paint in me” . . . which of course I did . . . Like a little coloring book! How fun to paint that little blue jacket!!!
All three of these books are in our web store!💝 If you love them, be your own Santa, and put one under the tree for YOU. We also have some of her wonderful figurines . . . AND our jigsaw puzzle! Back in stock just for this Christmas!
This is my stack of her little bunny books, waiting to be packed up to be brought to their new home in California, where they have been very happy on my “Heroes” shelf, where they sit imparting inspirational DNA while I do my 2027 calendars and update my Christmas Book with new art and recipes!♥️
So here is my little Christmas Fairy Tale . . .
As you know last year we moved across the country into a very old 1970s double-wide. It isn’t nearly as large as our old house, but we’d been wanting to downsize, and it was perfect for that! It had an open plan with lots of windows, and oddly, one entire WALL of mirrors, which 
normally I might not have liked, but it brought in a TON of light from the wall of windows on the other side of the room, which in turn brought in the garden, so it didn’t take long before I learned to love it a lot. Below, you can see the mirrored wall, it’s in the dining room part of the open room . . . you can see me there, reflected, and across the room behind me, you can see two lamps and tall windows in the living area, but it’s dark outside, so they are black. Sort of get it? Part of the kitchen is also reflected in the mirror. There’s a doorway to the hall on the right.↘️
I have to admit, making magic in a very old, untouched and un-updated double-wide is more of a challenge than making magic in a 150-year-old Captain’s House (on Martha’s Vineyard, which put us way ahead on the scale of magic from the get-go). Things like plaster walls, thick decorative trim around heavy wooden doors with antique brass knobs and fittings, with a shelf over the front door for pumpkins in the fall. . . these things do 
not exist in a double-wide. If you want them, you have to figure out how to get them! But if ever a challenge is worth it, this is the one. Being that this double-wide lives in the middle of an English garden that we accidentally planted here in 2004 with no expectation of ever living here ourselves! So it’s a double-wide in tree, hedge, bird-bath, hummingbird, and blue-sky heaven. So on we go, building our world, just like we did the first time. But isn’t making a home just the most wonderful thing? Most creative job in the world!👏👏💗 Never forget:
After a lifetime of dreaming, I know this to be true.♥️
So here is another shot of that mirrored wall … because really, if you don’t know it’s there, it can get a little invisible, and what I’m about to show you can be confusing! Call this the “Before” shot.
Of course we were spoiled, our old house came with an old fireplace, all full of ancient whispers, which we loved to decorate at Christmas . . .
. . . we NEEDED a fireplace back there, for our cold and snowy New England winters. But we realized, that due to the mild weather in California, 
we didn’t need or even want a fireplace ~ it would require space! What I actually REALLY wanted, was a mantle! This came to light last Christmas, when I looked around and said, “I have no mantle to decorate! What we need is a FAKE fireplace ~ and we could put it on that mirrored wall in our “dining room! It would reflect candlelight!🕯️ It would be so cozy!” And I gently mentioned it to my darling husband, saying simply, I need a fake fireplace on yonder mirrored wall kind sir, and him replying, something to the effect of, “your wish is my command.” Anyway that’s how I remember it.💞
And so it was. He found a mantle, he found some appropriate pieces to go with it, he made other appropriate pieces, we looked at pictures of other mantles and surrounds, we looked at our old one…
Joe began cutting, glueing, and drilling . . . I never knew his drill has a flashlight in it! How handy! And just like Michelangelo cutting his masterpieces from the marble, just like THAT, our mantle started taking shape.♥️
We just guessed what height to make it ~ the side boards for the surround, are leaning against the mirror to give us some idea of what it would be like… I really loved the fireplace I saw in one of the rooms of Jane Austen’s house in Chawton in the UK . . . narrow, tallish, simple, plain. All it needs is boughs of holly!
This is it, it’s in a tiny room.
But maybe ours would have more substantial mantle, with a sort of back splash like the one on the Vineyard. But tall and narrow… Joe put it on the floor so we could see what it looked like. I laid the sides a wee bit crooked, he straightened them and started putting it together. Pretty soon he leaned the sides against the mirror and balanced the mantle on top. I decorated it, lit the candles, went mad with delight, then undecorated it so he could he take it down. He added an apron, put it back up, balanced it again, I decorated it again, went mad, he took it down, added a tiny shelf at bottom of the apron … etc, three times . . . until we had it all! He glued and screwed it together, and stapled a piece of black velvet on the back. And once again, I decorated it!
And voila! here it is! It’s screwed to the wall ~ now permanent, staying forever ~ here Joe is doing the 
last bits, adding a hook for the other stocking, wearing appropriate head gear. “This is ridiculous,” I exclaimed, laughing out loud every time I looked at it.
I continued laughing while taking a thousand photos, so adorable. I could barely believe the transformation!
I had a mantle! I couldn’t wait to show it to you!!
It takes up no space, is 56″ tall to the top of the back splash; the mantle is 48″ wide and 9″ deep ~ and it changed everything. It even created a sort of natural space on the left where we could tuck in a tree. I’d already purchased a small one because I thought it might have to go on the table (it’s up on a plant stand now), but next year, it’s clear there’s space to have a full-height (but skinny) Christmas tree in the corner!! This fireplace is rocking my world! I love it so much.💫💫💫
Voila, the “after” picture! And now I have this little corner I can decorate for the seasons ~ there’s a place for pumpkins, candles, bunnies and chicks for Easter, for photos, flowers, books, banners, a lamp, or even a birthday cake! We get to have dinner parties in front of the fireplace!♥️ See that little card on the apron of the fireplace? Joe added a tiny narrow shelf (like we had on Martha’s Vineyard). I can PUT things there! And I now have a place where, if I want, I could have fireside chats on Instagram! Or read a story! That is why I would have to call this a Fairy Tale. Because like my mother told me, you can have anything you want, as long as you make it yourself can get your husband to make it for you! Proof positive:
PS, an addendum. After Joe finished his brilliant masterpiece, I went looking on line to see if perhaps others had had this same idea, a fireplace with no fire… a faux fireplace to add extra coziness and charm to a small room. In case my Girlfriends were thinking how fun this would be but have no Joe, I wondered if maybe it would be possible to BUY one that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. Because you know, if you dream it you can make it so! I was surprised, shocked maybe, there are so many choices! Little ones, big ones, simple and fancy, whatever your heart desires!♥️ Mas MUSICA? Oui!
Look at this one, clean, elegant, free-standing, and only $150, voila! If I only knew! Ha! well, there you go! I’m so used to asking Joe, I forget that there are other ways to go about this! I love his best of course!♥️ This mantle is even a half-inch deeper than mine… there are photos of it in a living room scene when you go to their site. . . but if this isn’t your cup of tea, there of tons of other ones to choose from ~ some of them are electric and even include the fire!🔥 This world!💝
Speaking of this enchanted world, this wonderful magical outrageously beautiful world that we, the human race, positively do not deserve but are unendingly grateful for, I thought you would like to see what a California Christmas looks like!
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Yup, no snow. And I do miss that thrilling first snow of the season! But the only white you see here are the drifts of sweet alyssum that springs up everywhere in the cool weather.
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The breeze you’re hearing comes down our valley from the Pacific ocean, alyssum fragrance floats in the air, the sun comes out almost every day, shining golden light and long shadows on my daily walk, and the silk trees flower in pink! A total blessing for light deprived person, I put my face up to drink in the sunshine.
But we absolutely DO have winter, it’s freezing at night (40s!!!), sweater weather, for sure ~ even fingerless gloves sometimes ~ and flannel jammies of course, it’s even cold enough for me to put my grandma’s nap blanket on the bed! Extremely cozy! It just probably won’t snow.🤭
Instead, check this out!
It’s a jasmine vine that found this chair on our front deck and is making a home there! I know I’m going to be sorry I let it go! It’ll probably take hours to get it all out! But it’s actually so pretty, and . . . think . . .
. . . what it’s going to feel like to sit in this chair loaded with light pink jasmine, and just rock and smell the flowers!🌸🌸🌸 So, for a possible future moment’s pure delight, here I am waiting for it to bloom, as each day the vine gets more deeply entrenched. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Jack is sending you all his kitty LOVE!😻 So, off we go, onward and upward.Company coming today! Going to Farmer’s Market tomorrow. Need some local honey🍯, and definitely want to see what the farmers are doing for Christmas!🪴 Merry, Merry darling people. Get out into nature if you can, take lots of deep breaths, and stay hydrated!♥️
Don’t forget to leave a comment for the drawing! You can sit in front of your fireplace and read everyone a story of Christmas long ago! “Home for Christmas!”
Merry Christmas Susan & Joe! Loved Willard as I always do…it arrived the same day your wall calendar arrived so I am ready for the new year!! You & I are the same age & we have so many things in common…it is always interesting to see what is happening in your world!
Susan, your Willard warmed my soul today! So appreciate you. And Joe. And Jack! Thank you for sharing your lovelies with us. Good health, happiness, peace and love sent your way. 💜
Oh, Susan, I have followed you for years and have all your books. You add a twinkle and sparkle to my life that I never realized I needed! How I enjoy reading the Willards and keeping up with your and Joe’s lives. The “fireplace” is complete and utter brilliance! And I love how you’ve decorated it. It’s been a joy to me that you share what’s going on in your world, no matter where that may be. It keeps me inspired in my own neck of the woods! Blessings this Christmastide!
Dear Susan,
I love your Willard newsletters and your beautiful artwork on everything, especially the Full Moon bookmark!
I hope some day to visit Beatrice Potter’s cottage like you.
Wishing you a Happy Christmas!
You and Joe are so creative!!! Hi Jack ( I love to see his pictures)!
Your home looks so festive and beautiful! Really enjoyed this Willard!❤️🌲❤️
Dear Susan, What a lovely post you’ve given us! I love your mantle. Since i have no fireplace, I use my piano to display cherished Christmas items; and since I can’t hang sticking from it, I hang them going up the stairs. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Merry Merry Christmas to you and Joe!
Merry Christmas, from South Carolina! Thank you for the adorable bookmark and inspiring news. Your “fireplace fix” is genius!
I might be a little late to the party but I’m here now with hopes of getting lucky and being chosen to win a present from the most generous person Mrs Susan Branch! I have enjoyed this blog and spent countless hours being entertained thanks for the opportunity!
Merry Christmas to your precious self, Susan. You make Christmas sing!
I love your “fireplace” want to have one!
Thank you for the bookmark! Merry Christmas to you!
Love your fireplace so much! It really cozied up your space looks amazing. Joe did a great job. You guys are such a sweet couple. Also, I love the green wreath above your mantle. Did you make it?
Thank you for your California Christmas greeting! I love the fireless fireplace mantel. It will be such fun to decorate for every season. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!🎄
Dear Susan,
I’ve been a “girlfriend” for MANY years, I even still have a few original old “snail mail” Willard’s! Love your stories, blog, cookbooks and above all-the enthusiasm and optimism you send to us.❤️
Denise L
😘
When I think of my mom reading to me as a child, the first thing I hear in my mind is “It was a blue jacket”…. LOL! And if I dig around, I just might actually find the book she read from.
Merry Christmas!
This Willard has been a bright light in my day. Thank you so much
Susan, Always love your Willards! So cute and informative, the mantle Joe made is just perfect for your home. Once years ago I was sitting in my chair and said to Gerry “this fire place needs a mantle”, well, he left the room and I went on about my day when I heard a lot of racket coming from the living room. I walked down the hall to see Gerry holding a mantle and looking over his shoulder and asked “is this what you had in mind”? “Oh yes” I said, so it has been in place for years, getting dressed for every holiday. Currently the mantle has a Nativity set, all painted white by my sister inlaw Sherry in 1986. We have tiny white lights that go on the mantle first then white sheer fabric, along with some straw for the baby Jesus. It is truly beautiful day or night. “Merry Christmas” to you and Joe, and Jack as well.
I’m in the mood to do more decorating now! 😂
I am so thankful for your inspiration. I have been using your calendars for many years. You are a positive force in this world and a kindred spirit🌲
Loving a mug of tea and an afternoon doing Zentangle art! Your thoughts inspire me on a cold winter day…thank you, Patty
Susan,
I missed my fireplace I had in Oregon so when I had turned 80 and had to move to SoCal to be near family, my sis got me a small white portable fireplace that would fit in my very small apartment. There is just something about the ambiance of a fireplace so I understand your “need”. Though I don’t have a mantle I decorate my kitchen bar above the fireplace! I have several of your books and have followed you for years. Don’t know if we are related but my maiden name is Orr which I remember is a name associated with your family! How fun it is to think we might be related. We are in ways of common interests aesthetics❣️ I really would love a gift from you for Christmas. Just sayin 🎁😍
Karen Riley
Karen
Merry Christmas Susan and Joe,
May your Memories be bright
and your Days be Joy ~
You give so much, and I do enjoy 🎁
You have a kind heart that’s easy to see
And I Thank you for sharing with delight 🎄
I have followed you since 1980, surprised to find
your family pictures, and mine so alike!!
Wishing you many more blessings and Happy New Year 🎆
Wishing you a joyous holiday season! The mantle is wonderful and now the mirrored wall helps me understand what I was looking at in previous iterations on Instagram! 🎄
What a lovely Willard! I, too, have always been a fan of Beatrix Potter and have that beautiful scrapbook. But now I have to go see if the book is in the back. I can’t remember!! Merry Christmas!!
Love, love, love your mantle and tree!! It’s the perfect touch in your ‘new’ home!
So many memories come flooding in at the sight of the angel chimes…we had one growing up, so lovely to see they still exist and still enchant the young and old. Thank you for your uplifting letters of cheer, optimism, ideas, beauty and creativity. You really are the whole package! Merry Christmas!!
😘
Thank you Susan for your cheery blog posts. I always enjoy reading them.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS! Love the fireplace! Thank you for always bringing us joy!
Susan, you are a positive force in these tumultuous times….thank you for sharing your creativity with us! I always look forward to your Willard. So happy you are back in California Your annual calendar always makes me smile when I fill in our appointments! You can always enjoy California snow in the mountains! Merry Christmas to you and Joe! ❤️❤️
How lovely of a post! The fireplace is much better than anything you would have bought! It is beautiful. You are making your house a home! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas! I always enjoy reading your blog.
Susan, your post makes me smile and brings joy to my heart. Thank you for sharing your life with others.
how interesting. I just bought a mantle for my living room, but it is just the shelf. It gave me a place to put those favorite things. Gave me a treat to read about yours. I am a widow but I have found a nice man that put it up for me. Life is Good.
Merry Christmas !
Merry Christmas and Happy Solstice to you and Joe! It is lovely to see greenery and flowers at this time of year. We have snow here in Wisconsin, and I confess that I wouldn’t have it any other way 🙂 Enjoy your magical fireplace!
It’s always a great day when there is a new Willard in my inbox! And a Christmas themed one is even better. Thank you for all you share with us, Susan. Wishing you and Joe a delight-filled Christmas!
I love what you’ve done with your new home.
I love what you’ve done with your new home. It’s very cozy. I, too, love Beatrix Potter and have many books by her and about her. Merry Christmas!
Merry, merry…happy, happy….thanks for adding to the joy of the season…Be well.
You are too cute Susan! I love that you have a mantel to decorate for all occasions and doing watercolors to use in your books. So inspiring! I love to paint too! Happy Holidays!
Now I want a mantle!!
Joe is a wizard of the first order. It seems like there’s nothing he can’t turn his hand to and create something lovely. Well done! I’ve lived in a double wide. And I’ve seen some with interiors transformed into magical country cottages. If mine had been in the middle of an English garden, I think it would have been lovely.
Wishing you a very merry Christmas! x
Love Willard! Merry Christmas!
Susan
The mantle is perfect! What a wonderful idea! I love all of your things, especially the Santa mug. Thank you for spreading happiness!
Merry Christmas 💕🎄
PAB
Many thanks for your Willard posts throughout the year. It’s delightful to follow another person’s day to day life…..especially a happy person!! Have a lovely Christmas and a happy and healthy new year in 2026.
Love your new fireplace! So cozy looking! Enjoy your Christmas holiday!
Love your new fireplace! So cozy looking! Enjoy your Christmas holiday! I do enjoy your books and recipes and all your artwork. You are so talented.
Have a holly, jolly Christmas! ~♥~ It’s the best time of the year! Oh, good golly have a holly, jolly Christmas this year! (this is my ear worm for December!)
Thank you for that wonderful visit and your thoughts on Christmas in California!
I guess you have that in your memories, being a CA girl from your childhood, but your years in New England must have changed your perspective!
But the thought of sunshine and warmth in December is just so astounding to someone who lives in the upper Midwest, and I love hearing about the alyssum scent coming into your yard on the ocean breezes! Lovely!!
Thank you for sharing with us all!
Ellie Jacobson
Milwaukee, WI
Yes, a happy grateful perspective!!!👏❌⭕️
Thank you, Susan, for sharing your home decorating adventures with us. Enjoy your beautiful mantle and Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas! I love the whimsy you bring to life and all the spaces you touch.
I always relish your new blog posts as well as re-reading past posts. Not only ‘girlfriends’ find blissful enjoyment here! As Dolly said, ‘The magic is inside you. There ain’t no crystal ball.’ Thank you for sharing your magic with us and making days a bit brighter and the air a bit sweeter. Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year!
HONORARY Girlfriend! Thank you Stephen! ❌⭕️❌⭕️
Thanks for sharing your beautiful art and kind words… such a lovely break from the daily news that leaves one feeling sad and angry!!
Hope your holidays are filled with joy and love.
Look forward every month to your newsletter. Enjoy your calendars and give them as gifts. Was so thrilled to know you’re a fan/member of Gladys Taber’s fan club. I read her columns in Woman’s Day back in the 50s. Over the years I’ve collected her books usually when I’ve been in Door County and visited the used book store in Fish Creek. Also a huge fan of Beatrix Potter. But I’m in my eliminate clutter and don’t buy anymore stuff as I enjoy my 80th decade.
There really is no place like home! I always enjoy seeing how you decorate, not just for the holidays, but for every day too.
You’re so generous having such a special giveaway. Please put my name in the hat as I would love to be the lucky winner!
Love the smug picture of Jack. 🙂
Your perspective and encouragement in the joy we can create and share each day is inspiring and an antidote for all in the world that we have no control over. Thank you, Susan. Christmas Blessings to you and Joe and Jack. Lynn
This is my first email since I signed up. So glad I did. I love your content!!! My favorite book tube provider introduced me to your books. I ordered “A Fine Romance” It arrived late yesterday. I know I’m going to love this book. 🙂 I’m in book heaven right now. 🙂
Susan, only you! Your mantel is a prompt to look for (and make) magic. As always, I’m inspired by what you share with us!
If you figure out who publishes books like Beatrix Potter’s Journal, please be the next to create such a book!
I love that you have been able to find ways to make beautiful and cozy magic in your CA home. Now all you need to do is find a way for Joe to reliably import some snow! You’re welcome to the heaps were already buried under in Cleveland. Merry Christmas and all the best for a peaceful and happy New Year!
Susan, your Willards are a special treat I reserve to read for “me” time. I especially liked your opening musica and will be sharing with my mother in law this afternoon as she is in skilled nursing. My FIL has been sharing memories of Christmases growing up while he lives with us, and this time of year truly is a time of sharing and family and love as the Lord has loved us. Happy holidays Susan! Enjoy the sun, friends, sweet allysum and decorating that awesome mantle! 💞
Thank you for your inspiring blog. I always love your full moon bookmark, and copy some to hand out to friends that I meet with over the holidays. It is fun to watch you create a new home for you, Joe and Jack. Happy and cozy holidays! 🎄
So grateful for the chance to win
Happy holiday season 🎄
Thanks for the chance to win
Happy holiday season 🎄
Susan, as always, your Willards put a smile in my heart, in so many ways! A great big THANK YOU for sharing your visions with us!
Finally was able to sit down and read your Christmas Wilbur, cup of tea next to me and I am listening to your Mills Brother’s song! The Mills Brothers were one of my favorites way back when. Oh the memories of my grandparents house and the beautiful music of Bing Crosby, Mills Brothers, Andrew Sisters, Doris Day and many many more. ( let’s not forget the swing bands ) I guess you could say you’ve taken me down memory lane this afternoon. Thank you so much for all your love to all of us through the years. My goodness, Joe did a beautiful job on the fireplace! Isn’t it wonderful when an idea comes to life. There are times I think I need new and then an idea comes, invent something from your own idea, not something that comes off the shelf. You’ll be enjoying his work forever. Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.
Merry Christmas! Love your Willard!
What a brilliant idea to just put a mantle up! And how lucky you have Joe to make it. Happy Holidays Susan, Joe and Jack!
Thanks for all the “sparkle” you bring into our lives.
Wishing you, Joe and sweet Jack a Merry Christmas !
Happy Christmas! The word on the street is that Susan and Joe made the very best pitcher of lemonade from the mirrored wall. The ‘fireplace’ mantle is adorable and with the extra sweet shelf makes more room for us to see even more of your sweet treasures. Yes indeedy I’ll have another glass please. My daughter and I are looking forward to finding out what city we will be traveling to for your book signing this Spring. I will be wearing a hat for sure.
Lovely lovely Willard, thank you Susan. Of course I’d love my name to go into the draw for any of those delightful gifts, but I know it’s outrageously expensive to ship anything to Canada. Sigh! I just wanted to say think you for showing me that when one must leave their beloved home of many years, it’s still possible, with courage, determination and a lot of work, to make a new home – no matter how old we are. I will keep telling myself, “If Susan can do it so can I”.
Thank you for your blog. Have A Merry Christmas!
Happy Christmas! The word on the street is that Susan and Joe made the very best pitcher of lemonade from the mirrored wall. The ‘fireplace’ mantle is adorable and with the extra sweet shelf makes more room for us to see even more of your sweet treasures. Yes indeedy I’ll have another glass please. My daughter and I are looking forward to finding out what city we will be traveling to for your book signing this Spring. I will be wearing a hat for sure.
Thank you so much for sharing the making of your fireplace! It is so perfect for your room!
A great mantle to decorate the changing seasons. I love it!
Merry Christmas!
Thank you for your blog, Willlards, and lovely books. Such a joy to read and view these.
Your new mantle on the mirrored wall is beautiful! So creative! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
How clever to build a fireplace to add coziness and charm to your home. I love how you brought some of your east coast home to the west coast!
Loved the 12 yr old’s letter to you. 😂🩵
GUESS WHAT???? She is here in the comments! She saw her letter in her book in my Willard, and WROTE me and she is 22 now!!! Isn’t that just wonderful!!! You just never know!!♥️
This happy, hopeful post is a complete antidote for the discombooberation we are currently finding ourselves in! It’s my word of the day…spell check keeps trying to correct it for me, but I like your version! Merry, merry week before Christmas to you and Joe and Jack. I’m truly thankful for you❤️✨
Merry Christmas!
Per usual, a delightful new Willard to read. Thank you for sharing your creativity and JOY! Like you, I recently moved from the NE to a very different climate…Florida. Making a new nest in the midst of palm trees and flamingos is a whole different vibe. Happiest of Holidays!
Best Wishes for a lovely Christmas in your new home where you are bringing your treasured traditions into a new light!! I too enjoy highlighting my favorite things on the mantel, the piano , the buffet. And kitchen island but the mantel is always the feature at Christmas. I wish you well being in the new year too
When a Willard arrives, I stop , sit, sip and enjoy ! Makes me smile!
Printing out a few copies of the moon bookmark too! Thank you!
Merry blessed holy season to you and yours.🎄
You make me smile! Love Christmas in California!! Not so nice here in PA. White Christmas
Keep making me 🙂
Such a beautiful mantle! what a great husband you have.
Dear Susan, I think you must be a special person who keeps Christmas in her heart all year long! Loved seeing the “side-by-side” picture of you and Beatrix Potter and reading how she inspired you. Merry Christmas to you, Joe and Jack!
Merry Christmas ! (Yep, that’ it. What more need I say?)
Merry Christmas to all of you! You certainly put me in the Christmas spirit! I’d love to win one of your amazing drawings!
What an adorable mantle/fireplace❣️ May it bring you many hours of enjoyment as it changes with the seasons.
Thank you ever so much for the Willards. I do so look forward to them. I get my warm shawl from Scotland and make a cup of tea and light a candle in my library and then savor each word and picture. I wish I were in CA too. I live in Upton, MA and it’s too cold. I just want to be in my garden.
The interview with Beatrix Potter society was lovely.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
My husband always waits for December 21st for the same reason. I think I will follow suit and have a special dinner that night as well.
Peace.
HOPE I win the gifts.
My best,
Karen from Upton, MA
Love your newsletters and your cheerful beautiful art! Thanks for the Beatrix potter update!
Your Willards are like a ray of sunshine each time they arrive in my inbox! My husband and I are just moving into a new home — I have window sills for my Beatrix Potter figurines to sit on now. Yay! I just have to find the moving box they are in! That may take awhile. Haha
Merry Christmas to you and Joe and Jack!
Ha Ha, we are still looking for and finding things!!!❌⭕️
Your blog is always a delight Susan. You and your Joe have made a beautiful new home and garden on the coast of California. Merriest of Christmases!
JoanS
It is always a joyful occasion to see a new Willard pop onto the inbox. Thank you for the pleasurable moments of escape.
Dear Susan,
Love your new mantle. You’ve made my day with the latest Williard. Just what I needed.
Gloria
What a beautiful addition to your home! Memories of days of yore when families gathered around their fireplace for warmth, cooking and all aspects of daily living. It’s the simple things in life that give us great joy. Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas!
I have a copy of the Beatrix Potter journal! It’s lovely to look through! Thank you so much for all of the cozy holiday feels.
Always love your Willard! Thank you for sharing with all of us girlfriends near and far. We left snowy New England to downsize down in South Carolina. We got one snowfall last winter that delighted both children who’d never seen snow and their grandparents who thought they’d seen enough but were wrong! I have a “Joe” who’s retired from his carpentry life due to a stroke. We admire all your Joe is doing with your great ideas!! Merry Christmas!!
I enjoy reading Willard! But most of all, I can’t wait to see Jack! He’s is so adorable! Merry Christmas to you, Joe and especially Jack from North Carolina! ❄️🎄🤶🏻❤️
When I get an email from you that there’s a new Willard I don’t read it straight away. I read it in bed. A lovely treat. I love your fireplace! The more places to decorate the better. Wishing you all a lovely Christmas from across the pond.
So happy to see you (Joe and Jack too, of course) settling into your new adventure: Merry Christmas and Happy 2026! Thank you for the full moon bookmarker too; my husband and I refer to it regularly each year. 🌛💛