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!”
Your mantle was a fantastic brainstorm! It is so perfect and something I would love to have as well! I like the fact that you have downsized and yet continue to still give us great decorating tips – both inside your house and out! Many of us are TRYING to do the same thing. Thank you
What a great Willard! And I haven’t read it all yet. I had to look up the fireplace with mantle because now I want one. Have loved your art, writing, and products for years. Thank you!
Have a holly, jolly one!
Just love, love, love the fireplace mantle! Merry Christmas and all the best in 2026!
Dear Susan,
I love the fireplace mantle and you made the room so much cozier. Jack looks a little grumpy. Is he adjusting to life in California? Can’t wait for you to make your way up to the San Francisco Bay Area some day. Would love to meet you! Happy Holidays and enjoy your Winter Solstice dinner!
Merry Christmas Susan! I love the mantel! Looks like it’s always been there!
Another fabulous Willard! Thanks so much. Absolutely adore the fireplace! Joe did a fantastic job with it. Merry Christmas. ❤️🎄🎁
That’s the most fabulous mantle idea ever! Kudos to you and Joe and thanks for sharing it with us! Love seeing Jack and your Christmas spirit! (Also love hearing about all your California flowers and the yard!)
I love Joe’s fireplace mantle!
Christmas is such a busy time but also a nostalgic time and I loved all your memories and Beatrix Potter information–I am going the read the Beatrix Society blog and follow them on Instagram.
Have a very Merry Christmas and a happy and Healthy 2026!
Hugs,
Pat
PS: Can you believe the Colorado Front range will be in the high 60s all this week? If we do not get snow for Christmas it will be the first time in the 13 years I’ve lived here.
That’s not a very good sign is it Pat? Fingers crossed it comes for you! ❌⭕️
Your Willard issues always bring so much joy! Thank you for the love and inspiration you share so freely.
I found your first edition Christmas 🎄 book at a thrift store and took it as a sign from my mother. She loved a great hospitality and decor book. It’s my first Christmas without her and my first with a new granddaughter. I can’t possibly live up to her talents, but I hope I can show Lily just a bit of what her great grandmother was to all of us, especially at Christmas. Thank you for all your inspirations. You really know how to touch our hearts.❤️
So sorry for your loss Rachel, I can tell you are missing your mom! Love your thoughts about giving your mom to your grandchild! xoxoxo
And thanks for the “heads up” on the two Beatrix Potter books. Even though your copies sold out, I was able to find!!!!!! Thank you!!
👏👏👏
happy christmas to you and Joe – and of course Jack! and isn’t there another cat now?! anyway, wishing you all the best for a happy new year too – got all my calendars ready to be hung up, and put in my bag 🙂 We’re having a very cold December – with some snow, back here in Maine! Jacqueline
Merry Christmas Susan
Oh happy day! It was a joy from start to finish. To partake of your CA Christmas preparations right down to that wonderful mantel. Joe. What a guy! Then as I am happily reading more, poof! There is our Jack looking so stunning. He is awaiting Christmas when he might receive a new packet of hair bands for being a good kitty. What a wonderful gift: a Willard from Susan. Blessings Susan, Joe, Jack and all the Girlfriends.
Thank you, Susan, for the inspiring December blog. Everyone needs to look forward to reading something with joy, light, and love in our world. Merry Christmas and waiting for the new year with all your insights and love.
Such a sweet Christmas Story! When my husband and I downsized to a 1300sq.ft home, I so wanted a fireplace and didn’t care if it was fake as long as it had character! He found us a lovely Edwardian mantle at a thrift store that only needed a coat of paint. We love decorating it and it adds so much coziness to the room. Thank you for all your artwork and inspiration and gratitude. I love your Willards every month. Merry Christmas to you abd Joe!
They just don’t take up any space! Easy, and CLEAN!💝💝💝 Good for you Pauline!
Your property is so lush. What a wonderful setting you created. Love the mantel!
Love the mantle! We had one in our previous home. I loved to decorate it for each holiday and the seasons. Now, we have a real fireplace and mantle. I take many ideas from you. Your homes are so cozy, and I strive to emulate that feeling in our home, too. Your blog brings joy to my heart! ❤️ Thank you for sharing your simple beauty with the rest of us. Merry Christmas! 🎄
I had major surgery a year ago, no cancer thankfully, and when rereading “A Fine Romance”, during recovery, I would read the blog posts and comments that go along with each chapter. That’s the way I’ve done it on every read. When I finished the 3 books in the series, I went back and started reading from the beginning of the blog intending to read the Willards when they appear in the same sequence. I’ve been reading all the comments, except when there is a give away and the comments are in the thousands. One problem, the links to the Willards are broken from January 2008 to November 2019. I didn’t want to tell you before since you were working so hard on the 30th edition, gardening and then mailing all the books out. I love mine. I’m up to December 2015, so I don’t have far to go before the Willards work again. Glad to see your faux snow drifts of sweet alyssum, your pleasure in your one floor house, the new fireplace and caught a glimpse of Joe’s tractor. Can’t wait to see all who win the giveaways and hope they comment their excitement in the blog.
OH Thank you for telling me! I just let Kellee know, hopefully she can put those links back again!! Love hearing your thoughts! XOXOXO Thank you “Lost…”♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Your place looks Adorable and Festive! Have a Great Christmas 🌲🌲🌲
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas Susan and Joe,
Love the fireplace. It is nice having a handyman husband that can build and fix.
Cold and snowy in PA. 11 degrees this morning. Even our dog made his business quick.
Be well and stay safe.
It is always such a joy to see one of your Willards! I saved mine in the inbox until I had time to sit and savor it by the fireplace. There have been a lot of troubling things in the news the last two days. Your Willard lifted my spirits and put me in a better frame of mind. Merry Christmas to you and Joe! Enjoy your California Christmas (and the new precious fireplace)!
It has become a tradition to put one of your bookmarks in my grandson’s stocking each year. Of course, there is one for me too. Thank you for the gift.
I absolutely love your idea for the fireplace. My mind says I want one for my little apartment, as I downsized about the same time you did.
Hello and Merry Christmas! Just LOVE your faux fireplace — I think every home should have one. And for us asthma sufferers, NO SMOKE to deal with! Love the Beatrix Potter information, she was truly extraordinary. Wishing all Peace on Earth.
Even a better reason!!! Not just useful, and pretty, but healthy too! Also, less carbon footprint! Total win-win!🎁
Merry blessed Christmas, Susan. Your new home is warm and cosy. I bought your first Christmas book decades ago and fell in love with your artistry. May you and Joe enjoy many years in your new old home!❤️
Dear Susan, it’s always so good to have a new Willard to read! I was hoping you’d tell us more about the mantle. Your Joe is so magical! My husband can’t build things or cook but he’s magical in his own way. 😊 I think you were smart to move back to California for your golden years. We moved to Alabama to be close to our daughter’s family. I truly don’t miss snow anymore! Have a wonderful Christmas!
I think if we find we need a snow fix, a visit to the Island will fulfill the need, then back home for a walk on the beach!!!😘
Thank you Susan for the full moon bookmark! I appreciate your sharing each year! Seeing the bookmark each month brings me a smile as I anticipate the full moon’s arrival. Joe did a marvelous job building your mantle! You have your Joe, and I have my Shane…isn’t it glorious having a Joe and a Shane in our lives…we’re lucky girls! 🙂 Merry Christmas and well wishes for a happy, healthy 2026!
All love to you, Susan&Joe. I have loved your work &inspiration for many years &love your books, including the Christmas book which I’m using all the time right now. Don’t stop; we really need your love&light especially now. May you &yours be blessed &all the love you send out come back to you ten-fold.
I do feel it Barbara . . . this lifetime of connection to my “Girlfriends” ~ from the very first book, has been the gift of my lifetime. I’ve loved every moment!❌⭕️❌⭕️
Wondering where I can put a mantle in my bedroom!
Love your blog! So glad you sent a Willard before Christmas. Loved seeing how you’ve decorated for Christmas. Wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Hi Susan, We recently downsized and found a Christmas tree that fits a similar space to yours. It is 6.5ft tall but only 2.5ft wide. It’s not a super skinny pencil tree but it doesn’t stick out and block any walkways. We decorated it today and I am so thrilled to still have a “real” tree with all my favorite ornaments on it. I’m not sure if I can get a link to work but it is the “National Tree Company 6.5ft Pre-lit Kingswood Fir Slim Artificial Christmas Tree, 250 Multi Color Lights, 719 tips” on Amazon. We did add some additional lights but it’s really lovely and I highly recommend it for anyone needing a thinner tree without it looking like a stick. Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Susan and Joe and Jack!
Love the Mantle! Great job Joe. The Willard is always a welcome read, especially these days. I use the saying “This too shall pass” when I’m feeling over whelmed with the world. Take care.
Hi Susan, The mantle is very nice. Joe did an excellent job. My son made our mantle for our fireplace when we moved into our home 28 years ago. And my husband built our house himself…took him five years! We have snow here on the Cape….our first snow of the season.
Wishing you a blessed Christmas.
And now, after 28 years, it’s infused with your history and your celebrations, and someday long from now, when you hand it to the next person, the gift of your loving years there will be part of it. ❌⭕️
I love reading your blog. I became a fan over 25 years ago ago when we vacationed in Martha’s Vineyard for the first time and a copy of your Summer Cookbook was on the counter in the kitchen. My sister and I fell in love with it and upon arriving back home from vacation, we bought a copy, which I leave on my counter in the summer! I have made practically everything in it and the stories I still love to read! I also joined the Gladys Taber Society and have several of her books which I love! And, every year, I look so forward to printing your full moon bookmark (I just printed the 2026 one) which I use for my bookclub books! Merry Christmas Susan.
We have a history don’t we Debra! So nice to hear from you!🎄
It’s such a gift to read your musings in this newsletter. Thank you for sharing yourself with the world! I’m excited to give the Summer cookbook to my daughter for Christmas… she is going to love it! Blessings to you and yours this Christmas!
xoxo
So beautiful! You can do anything if you try (and ask your honey to help). Marry Christmas!! 🎄
So beautiful! You can do anything if you try (and ask your honey to help). Marry Christmas!! 🎄
What a way to end a day of “getting things done” for Christmas…treat myself to totally enjoy your latest edition of (for me) joy, simplicity, meaningful words and a feast for the eyes in color and style. As always, I can almost join you in your kitchen etc…today, I was definitely in on fireplace construction. Having a place to read a story, strikes home (Having taught first grade for 27 years…) the value of a place to read is priceless… You always seem to promote reading…hooray.
Thank you for taking me away to visit your home and share your joy. May
your holiday be filled with joy, hope, peace and love.
Dear Susan,
I don’t have a beautiful fireplace like you, but I do keep warm with my woodstove, especially when we get the extremely low temps. It is so cozy while sitting in an easy chair, sipping hot tea or hot cocoa and perusing through Christmas books and magazines.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your husband!
I love your Willard’s! I still have a book of them I got years back. I must have ordered it or got it at your Arroyo Grande shop? Please keep writing them! Have a blessed Christmas in your new paradise you have created.🎄🥰😘
It’s been awhile since I took the time to read one of your Willard letters. I’m so glad I did! I really enjoyed this Christmas edition! Love the new mantle!
Your Willards provide charm, optimism, delight, engagement, virtual friendship, generosity, encouragement, sweetness, hope, connection, humor and more. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you for seasons greetings right when I needed them most!
Warm, beautiful and OH, SO COZY! How fun & wonderful! Merry Christmas Susan & Joe in your newly personalized, ever-evolving, charming home! 💖 ~linda
Your blogpost are monthly gifts I always look forward to. Mele Kalikimaka
Your blogpost are monthly gifts I always look forward to. Mele Kalikimaka
Dear susan just a short and quick hi, and merry Christmas from Yunnan provincie in China! It feels like spring here, so hard to think it’s Christmas soon…merry Christmas from Gabri and Nicoline xxxxxx
Hi Nicoline!!! So fun to hear from you so far away!!! Merry Christmas! ❌⭕️
🎄🎄🎄♥️ I love Joe’s fireplace the best ! It’s really quite lovely. 🎄🎄🎄♥️ I adore your home, Susan. 💖
Merry Christmas to you and yours! Thank you for the good cheer, always love reading the Willard and your mantle is just gorgJoeous, enjoy! 🙌🎄❤️✨
Thank you for the bookmark and the glimpse into your garden and home improvements. Always an inspiration. Very Merry Wishes to you and Joe.
Merry Christmas Susan and Joe and your wonderful helpers /sisterhood who have brought us a little peek into your little corner of the world. I sooooo enjoy the Willard.
Hi Susan,
I am a mantle kind of girl too and love what you and Joe have created for your new home! Sending lots of good wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I love seeing the transformation of your new home, as you put your personality into it! Greetings from the snowy North!
Merry Christmas from sunny but cold Florida! It was 45f here for the high yesterday in north Florida. We enjoy receiving your Willard’s so much! I read them to my patient at a care facility. She thinks of you as a personal friend from all the details in your letters. They often bring back fond memories for her as well. Wishing you a wonderful & blessed holiday season.🎄
Love that you have a mantle now! Such joy it brings! Go Joe 🙂 the holiday season truly is the best time of the year!
I wanted to tell you I found your 1990 edition of “Christmas from the Heart of the Home” at an antique mall a couple weeks ago, and I was just so thrilled to buy it! I plan to make the coconut chocolate dipped macaroons for a cookie exchange with some girlfriends this weekend! 🙂
Merry Christmas Susan!
Merry Christmas, Susan!
I just wanted to drop in and thank you for making & posting your
Full Moon 2026 bookmark! My husband, Paul, loves them every year!
So thrilled that you are back in California again and lovin’ life with Joe.
There’s no place like home. xoxo
Such a lovely post! I always look forward to reading your updates!
You are just simply magical! Merry Christmas ❤️
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year♥️💚🎉 Your writing and artwork has brought joy and inspiration into my life for several years. It has been a blessing to be on the receiving end of your God-given gifts! Thank you for sharing it with all of us.♥️
Dearest– you and Joe are BOTH MAGIC!! You could make a cardboard box feel like Christmas! Big hugs to both of you! I’m heading to the fish market, then back to my hut in the woods to decorate!
HA! Back to your Hut in the Woods! xoxoxo
Dear Susan! Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thank you for spreading joy.
Happy Christmas
Merry Christmas! Love the new mantle.
You have brought SO MUCH JOY to my heart since I took your first cookbook with me to college in 1989! My mom had received Heart of the Home as a gift and it “accidently” got packed up with and taken with me on my new life adventure❤️
It has been wonderful reading about and observing your own life adventures from afar, and your heartfelt creations and stories have brought me a tremendous amount of comfort over the years. Thank you, thank you -from the bottom of my heart✨️💛✨️ You are a treasure Susan. Truly.
Wishing both a VERY Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, Joe, and Jack❤️🎄❤️
Merry Christmas! Have loved your inspiration for years! Love your new mantel! Fits right in!
Wishing you nothing but good in the coming year!
Merry Christmas Susan! What a beautiful post♥️
I love the mantle! When I first saw the picture on Threads(?), I thought it was two-sided because I didn’t know about the mirrors! 😆
Much love to Jack! And a Merry Christmas to you and Joe!
I had a friend, who’s even BEEN here, think it was free-standing! That’s why I explained about the mirrored wall … so confusing!!💝
I am a huge fan but have never conveyed that before. Love your beautiful art, have all the books and get a calendar every year for my wall. I also rescue your books from thrift stores and garage sales. I share them with my friends. Yes, I am geeking out and would love to win this drawing.
Thank you for the rescues!!!😂❌⭕️❌⭕️
Merry Christmas. Have a blessed holidays
Merry Christmas🎄you r books bring so much joy to my life!
Commenting here in honor of my dear friend, Phyllis, who passed away two months ago. She introduced me to you, Susan! I have many treasured books of yours, note cards, and a sweet scrapbook from my wedding (that she decorated) with your darling stickers. Last week I found a copy of your JOY Christmas book at an antique store we loved to shop at together and snatched it up! Your illustrations remind me of her and are comforting to me as I miss her this Christmas! Thank you for the 2026 bookmark – Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! xoxo
Ohhhh so sad to lose a close friend! Sweet of you to include her in this post. Blessings on you BOTH! 💞💞💞💞💞
I’ve been a fan for many years. I follow you on instagram but I did not know you had a blog! What a treasure to find! Signed up for updates! Merry Christmas! It’s been a year of grief for me but I’m looking for beauty each day and finding your blog is a pure delight for my soul!
Yes, for a long time. And links to all my past posts are in the column on the right side of the page. At the top, are icons you can click on for different subjects! Welcome Deborah! Nice to see you here!💞
What a fabulous fireplace Joe made for you!
Susan, everything you put out into the world brings Pure Joy! Thank you for sharing your many talents with us. Merry Christmas to you and Joe.
Merry Christmas and peace and contentment to you in the new year. Thank you so much for offering this giveaway. That’s so sweet of you! I would absolutely love to be the winner a I adore all you do. It’s all so enchanting.
I am so beyond overjoyed to have discovered your books and beautiful creations recently. I have gone done such a lovely path of reading Isle of Dreams (currently reading it for a second time) and falling in love with every bit you shared, as a 36 year old woman going through her own ups and downs, to then thrifting more books by sheer luck, finding your website and instagram and feeling so inspired all the way along. I thank you so much for all your heart shares and the magic you’ve given this world because of it. Lots of love to you Susan 🙂
-Erika
Isn’t it fun to realize how YOUNG you are? You’re just out of your baby years, heading for the best! Wishing you every good thing Erika! ♥️
I love getting the full moon bookmark every year. Merry Chtistmas to you and Joe!
Just received my two 2026 calenders! Love them! Thank you!
Dear Susan,
❌⭕️🫶🏼❌⭕️
Thank you for the joy throughout the years.
You always bring so much joy to all of us! Sending best wishes to you for a very Merry Christmas!!!
Merry Christmas! I love your posts and the Willards!
Merry Christmas!
I absolutely love all your books! Merry Christmas from Texas🎄
Merry Christmas, Susan and everyone!
I wanted to say thank you for the inspiration and joy I get from everything that you write. I found your books 34 years ago today when I started Baby Love for our first born son. Thank you for all the years of beauty, calm and creativity!
Merry Christmas. I am setting up a new, combined household this year and loving all your tips and tricks to make it perfect! Thank you!
I love your blog, Susan! The new mantle is beautiful! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, photos, quotes with us. Merry Christmas to you and Joe.
Merry Christmas from Minnesota!
Y’all have done an amazing job with both the property and the house. I love the new mantle. Glad to have you back in California and hope to see you and Joe again sometime. Happy Christmas
Such a delight to see all your lovely posts..I have all your books and you are the inspiration for my dive into watercolor..I just love everything you do..you do it with all your heart..I can tell❤️ Merry Christmas✨
Susan, I have followed you for as long as I can remember! I have a lot of your items as well as all your books! Everything you do is amazing and so special! I’m thrilled that you are back in California and hope you and Joe have a wonderful, special Christmas holiday!❤️🎅🏻
Wonderful giveaway! Merry Christmas Susan & Joe! Love the masterpiece mantel!
Your Christmas bok will always be out for the holidays and I love looking at it year after year
Always love your newsy letters – it’s like receiving a letter from an old friend with all the updates and good news. And a photo of Jack always makes me smile.
Merry Christmas from sunny but cold North Carolina. Love what you and Joe are doing to your cozy California home. I’ve always adored New England style and incorporated it in every home in every state I’ve lived. Thanks for bringing us along in this next chapter of your lives.
You two make sweetness and beauty everywhere you are! I’ve been following you since your first book came out. You bring so much light and cheer and laughter into the world. 🥰 Thank you.
I love the mantle that Joe made and how pretty you have made your home.
Merry Christmas!
Absolutely love the mantel, and the adornments. Everything is coming along! A whole new palette in which to work, and be creative. I have been inspired by you, since the Country Living days, and always look forward to Willard, and latest updates. Wishing g you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Long time friends Amy! Nice to see you here! Merry Christmas to you and yours! xoxoxo
Susan! Merry Christmas to you and Joe and Jack too, of course! As usual you delight us with your vignettes and Christmas of old of-the-heart scrumptiousness! I too use small joys to brighten up this holiday season – I made some Cinnamon Rock Candy as a treat for myself and threw in some homemade ginger molasses cookies too! Turn on the Christmas music and it IS heartwarming and all Christmas!