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!”
Thank you Susan. Your blog, your books, art, quotes, sentiments and your store are where I turn when I need some positivity in my life. In this climate, it’s more often than not. I appreciate all the joy, light and warmth you send out into the world! All the best for a beautiful holiday season.❤️
Have yourself a merry little Christmas.🌲
Everything looks lovely and I know you will enjoy your new faux fireplace! Merry Christmas and Happiness in the New Yesr!
Merry Christmas! I loved your art work in the 90s and I’ve absolutely loved finding it again some years ago. Reading your books brought so much joy and inspiration and reignited all that I initially fell in love with. Thank you for sharing your gifts!
You have the cutest Santa face on your products.
Merry Christmas to you and Joe, and Kitty! Your zest for beauty and JOY are always an inspiration.
Merry Christmas Susan and Joe.
I think your fireplace is lovely, and perfect for all the beautiful treasures that make Christmas feel Special!
As they say, where ever you go, there you are – and YOU are magical and I am grateful. Your creativity feeds my creativity and oh, that’s the best gift of all!
And…just so you know, I commute by train to the city a few days a week now and bring all my little things of comfort (notebook and pen to make lists..next on list is fireplace mantle LOL)….again thankyou for the inspiration.
ps. i wish I could buy your house on MV….
I am so happy to have found you here! How I have loved your red Christmas book through the years. I’m going to look for copies of your other books here, especially the Martha’s Vineyard (love the Vineyard!) and the Cotswolds book (going this summer). Your talent is joyous!
Merry Christmas to you and Joe. This is my favorite blog in the whole wide world!
Such a cosy newsletter, full of news, inspiration and a reminder that magic can happen. Your new fireplace is lovely and I can just picture how sweet it will look in each season. I am lucky to have a fireplace with a mantel clock standing proudly in the centre throughout the year. Tomorrow I shall be adding lots of candles and greenery. The fire isn’t lit often but the logs are ready and waiting and will definitely be alight at Christmas when my lovely family will all be staying.
Your giveaway has such wonderful treats and there will be some very lucky friends who receive them!
Merry Christmas Susan!
Love the new fireplace. Joe is so talented and you are very lucky to have him! Hope you both have a Merry Christmas 🎄 and a fabulous New Year!
Thank you for your ever enlightening blogs and generosity throughout the years🥰 Girlfriends Forever😍
Merry Christmas to you and Joe!!! Have always loved following you! Donna
Love a Susan Branch” magic of Christmas” post to warm my evening!!! Love all the Joy that can be found around , if we search for it!! Merry Christmas! 🎄🎁
Your fireplace mantle is perfect! I am so happy it came to be made a permanent fixture, you will be thankful many times down the road, if not everyday. Joe is quite talented! I wanted to tell you also hiw much your little Christmas book with your family Christmas story was nostalgic for me. So many things just made the memories flood….I must pick it up soon and reread in these next couple weeks! Just keep on doing what you do, you do it so well! Thank you!
Thank you for always reminding your followers to seek out simple beauty, make your house a home, and to embrace the joy of living. You are a gift, Susan. Thank you for your creativity and inspiration. Merry Christmas!8
Thank you for your holiday whimsy! ❤️
I love your books – cook books and life story books and everything about them. I enjoy reading your Willard letters too. I’m so glad to have found you. You add a special pleasantness to my world that I wouldn’t have without you and your talents and outlook on life. I hope you and Joe have a Merry Christmas, which I’m sure you will have, since I know you find Joy in everything.
Love having your books out during the holidays!! Love reading about all your childhood memories. ❤️
That fireplace is the best fake thing I have ever seen! It changes everything about that room. Good work Joe.
I love reading each Willard but this one is especially good right before Christmas!!! Keep em coming!
I just love all your art. Every year, for quite a few now, I buy two smaller calendars, one for my mom and one for me. My mom is 101 years old, every month we turn the page and I hand her the calendar to read all the quotes and see all the adorable drawings, she looks at all the details and enjoys every minute of it! Only one month at a time though so the surprise is there for the next month! Merry Christmas!
101, and you still have your mom! So lucky! Giver her a hug for ME!!💞
Love so much reading your blog..such a gift..Merry Christmas!
Always LOVE reading your blog!!! Have a Blessed Christmas & a Happy New Year.
Merry Christmas Susan and Joe!
Not gonna pretend that I didn’t jump straight over here from FB to enter this amazing drawing lol… I promise I’ll read your blog post asap, and, of course, love it ❤️ Love ya, Susan!
Ha Ha!😂❌⭕️
Merry Christmas Susan to you and yours. Hope you have a blessed and Happy New Year! Love, Amy
I have followed your blog from the start, and I have all of your books. Thank you for all these years of girlfriend fun.
Thank you for your wonderful positivity, inspiration, and hope for humanity. The world is a much better place because you are in it!
What a great collection of Beatrix Potter books!
Merry Christmas! I have loved your artwork for almost 30 years. I know that because my son’s baby book is a Susan Branch favorite! Hope you enjoy a beautiful holiday with those you love! 🎄🎁❤️💚🎁🎄
I love all things Susan Branch! Would love to win all the goodies!
This would mean so much to me. I have been following you for over 20 years! My Christmas Memories book means so much to me! You have been an inspiration to many and I would love to be able to own some of your work. Merry Christmas to you and especially Jack! Much love!
Thank you for the lovely Christmas Willard. Merry Christmas to you, Joe, and that sweet Jack!
God bless the moon and God bless me and God bless the somebody I’d like to see!
Today I wrapped up a copy of Home for Christmas for a friend from California who has lived for decades on the East Coast. The perfect gift! I’ve given it to others as well.
The new fireplace mantel is just what you needed. May your holidays be merry and bright.
I’m always so inspired by the many ways you make a house into a home. I’ve enjoyed reading your blog as you’ve returned home to California. Merry Christmas! Luke 2:1-20
Glad you are back in California because I so enjoyed your store in the Village…love your books, my girlfriends and I have sent your books to each other for years, and am still using all the lovelies I purchased in the Village store. Merry Christmas!!🎄
You are always so positive about EVERYTHING! So please pick me because I’m feeling awful. I can’t find my copy of your little Christmas book! I must’ve misplaced it when we remodeled and everything got packed up. It’s driving me a bit mad! It’s been foggy here for the third week so far. All the leaves are falling in the yard. My tree is gorgeous this year! Happy Christmas,
Barbara in Lodi
Feel better Barbara! Think, soon the days will be getting longer! You’ll have more time in the day. The fog will lift, and soon it will even be spring!♥️
Merry Merry Christmas Susan, Joe and Jack,
I love the story of how your Fire place mantle came about. I think a fireplace really cozy’s
Up a room. I love to sit around it at Christmas time and roast chestnuts a tradition carried down by my husband‘s family that we now share with our grandchildren❤️
Merry Merry Christmas to you and Joe and all your families and sweet cats! I love all that you do! The world is smiling at you cause you make the world a better place for all of us. Joy!!!
Such an inspiration to all! Happy New Year too!!!
I love your mantle and it brought to mind that when I was little (and I’m about your age) my Nanny had a “fake” fireplace in her sitting room. What fun it was to watch the flames although they weren’t really warm. We had plenty of real fireplaces in the house, but I liked that one best.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
Peggy in Minnesota
What a wonderful way to end my day…reading your delightful post with all of the beautiful photos & illustrations, and enjoying the creation of your mantle! Yes, indeed – the “hubby, can you make this for me?” mantra is alive and well in this house! ☺️ It may take a while, but the resulting item is nearly always as good as I could ever have hoped for. Thank you for the opportunity to participate in your giveaway, such fun items! And that Santa mug is 😍. Merry Christmas! 🎄
Merry Christmas!! Loving the fireplace! You make magic!
As always, thank you for the lovely message. I so appreciate your love for a little bunny and his friends. Every time I look at my collection of figurines, it takes me back to the Lake District and I start planning a hopeful future trip. Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year.
What a clever idea! You always inspire good things. Have a very blessed Christmas.
Merry Christmas, Susan and Joe! I enjoy your Willards so much. Love your new mantle! Way to go, Joe! I ask for your wall calendar for Christmas every year and I always get it. 🙂 I have been following you for decades. My favorite Christmas recipe from your Christmas book is the Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons. (Sometimes we leave off the chocolate.) Sooooo good. Thank you for the chance to be in your giveaway. Happy New Year! Marsha
Dear Susan,
I look forward to all of your letters to us…..THANK YOU!
Just thought I would also let you know that I make the Christmas Jam every year…from the beginning! Don’t make the sauce first, just go straight into the jam recipe and then put it in jars and gift them to friends and neighbors.
Also made some this season especially for our church Christmas market.
The comments I receive should really go to you. Thank you for the inspiration.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Oooo, I know they love it! How good of you to make it for them!
I so look forward to getting an email saying a new Willard is up! It’s always a bright spot of sunshine in my life, and I’m so encouraged by your words. Merry Christmas!
I have been following you since the 80’s…I got to meet you at an OC quilt guild a while back and you were so gracious to sign a large tote bag full of your books I had been collecting and also at Vromans book store when you were on one of your book tours…you are every bit as nice and friendly as you are on IG❣️
That’s good to hear!😃 xoxo
Name correction…😊
Love your Willards! So creative!!
The mantel looks perfect. Joe did great!
I love your Willards so much!! What a lovely post and such a lovely giveaway! Merry Christmas to you Susan, and a Happy New Year!!!
Hi! This is my first time reading one of your lovely blogs, but I have been buying your calendars for years! They are such a wonderful part of my day (: I would greatly appreciate being entered into your giveaway!!
Would love this little Christmas book! It’s the only one I don’t have!
Hoping not too late to make a comment! One can make any house a home,as I write this from my cozy San Francisco apartment! Have a fake gas fireplace,happy cute terrier dog and handy hubby on couch snoozing on this cold winter evening. Just made eggnog cookies and love that you moved to my state. Happy Holidays from up North .
Thank you for putting that moon bookmark in your blog! I needed that! I really enjoy reading your blogs. They are entertaining, inspiring and actually very calming and peaceful as well! I appreciate you. 😊💚🤗
I love receiving mail from you!
Your CA home looks just perfect with your Christmas touches! You are such an inspiration. Your Santa Claus art is my most-favorite Santa Claus of all-time! I do have your Christmas book and was gifted (a hand-me-down) your Santa dish towel!
I found the cutest little lady in northern Illinois, she reminds me soooo much of you and I kinda thought i found her thru you, but no. You should look up Sandy Dossey Vrewer on FB or on InstaGram = sweetteayankeefarm. You two could be twins (not physically, spiritually)!!
Here in SoCal, I too miss the snow, but not enough to brave temps in the 20’s and 30’s! So glad you got your mantle so you can decorate and celebrate to your heart’s content! ❤️
Merry Christmas to you and Joe🎄🏡
So glad you got your mantle so you can decorate and celebrate to your heart’s content! ❤️
Merry Christmas to you and Joe🎄🏡
Thank you for sharing your “mantle” project with us. Have enjoyed reading all about Joe creating and putting it together. Merry Christmas to both of you.
Merry Christmas to you and Joe.
Love your new mantle! Joe is so talented!
Merry Christmas to you both!
Love your mantle (actually, Joe’s mantle). Merry Christmas!
Hi Susan, thanks for allowing us into your comforting and interesting world! Whether you’re on the East Coast (where I live) or the West, your blog is full of things that make life special! I hope I’m not replying too late, as I went to the older posts and mist have missed this spot! 🙁
Merry Christmas to you and Joe
Susan, thank you so much for the fireplace without the fire. We have a small house and it’s a GREAT idea! Merry Christmas to you and Joe! And Happy New Year too!
Love Beatrix. Thank you for sharing Beauty.
Merry Christmas 🎁
Merry Christmas Sue! I just love your new mantle, and I think Joe did an amazing custom job making it for you! Your home is looking beautiful, and so cozy! I miss being there in person, so thank you for sharing all the wonderful pictures of what you’re doing to it to make it HOME! ♥️ 🏠
I love the Beatrix Potter books you’re sharing as well. I have a friend here named Julie, and she’s a new Peter Rabbit fan. I’ve introduced her to you, and all the happy things you do to bring us all joy! 🤩🤗😍♥️
We wish you and Joe a very Merry Christmas, and a beautiful New Year too!
Love you…. 😘 xoxo. Bonnie, and Tom too! ♥️♥️
Merry Christmas, Susan! Love the mantle!
Merry Christmas to you and yours! I just love your work❤️
Merry Christmas Susan to you and Joe. I LOVE your mantle and the story of how it came to be. It is so great that Joe made it. He is so creative and artistic I have always loved your wonderful old house in MV but you have made your AG home just as cozy. I am sure you miss your fireplace but how cool that you have the mantle which is fine for the Central Coast. I always enjoy reading your Willards. And also enjoyed reading your interview with the Beatrix Potter Society and all the info on her books and photos that were part of your Willard.
I still have my little Mrs. Tiggy Winkle book that is 60+ years old!
My 2026 SB calendar is just waiting for Jan. 1.
I just love your art, calendars and have several books you have written. Thank you for being so upbeat and cheerful too. Have a Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Susan and Joe. Love the fireplace. It is perfect!
Hello Susan! Your new mantle is just lovely, both for decorating and for creating cozy feels and spaces for things like your pretty tree! Wishing you a merry, joyous Christmas and a new year full of new adventures both brief and more epic! ❤️🎄
I have your Christmas from the heart of home book I picked up ! Currently pregnant with my second baby boy and am loving learning new recipes at the moment and adore the style of the book ! I’m due Christmas Eve so I have all of the holiday feelings and hoping he comes early LOL so I can make all these treats without wobbling around the house haha
Have a wonderful family Christmas Alex, and many congratulations to you all!♥️♥️♥️
What a lovely and generous give-away Susan! ❤️ I would love to win of course, but if not I’m very happy to have the darling Moon bookmark, especially as I have bought a neighbour and myself copies of a Stargazing book that is a month-by-month guide to the night sky. I have printed us both a bookmark that we can use in our books – perfect!! 🌜🌚🌛 Due to my illness I haven’t actually ‘seen’ my neighbour for quite a while, but we message most days about the foxes we feed, the stars and the Moon. We both look up at the same sky and are instantly connected. I always wonder how many other people are staring up at the moon at that moment too. Christmases come and go, along with friends, family and pets, and the Moon watches us from on high, uniting us over the years. “I see the Moon, the Moon sees me. God bless the Moon and God bless me and Thee!”. Happy Christmas Susan – I’ll be looking up for ‘the Star’ on Christmas Eve and praying for a better world for us all in 2026. Love @Fluffydebbs xxx
I will be right there with you!💞
My friend and I saw you speak in Salt Lake City and bought your quote books as gifts. I wrapped mine in your desktop calendar pages. So fun! You add such charm to every day living…
I do that same thing, old blotter calendars are perfect wrapping paper!😃
Susan, Joe and Jack,
Merry merry daze!!! Happy, happy 2026!!!
Love Diane
Magical Christmas wishes for gatherings around that splendid mantle and hearty purrs to Jack.
Merry Christmas! I am so grateful for your posts. You bring so much joy and positivity with your words and art♥️ Enjoy your California Christmas and your cozy new mantle🎄
This blog was extra ordinarily full of loveless. Thank you for bringing beauty and joy to all of us
Merry Cozy Little Christmas to you!❤️🎄❤️
Joe has given you a precious gift of not only his time, but helping you feather your cozy nest even more. Thank you for the gift you give us so generously of your time, talent and uplifting spirit when it’s just what we need right now.
Happy holidays to all our fellow Beatrice Potter kindred spirits!🐰🐰🐰🥰
Your new mantelpiece is perfect. I also love a good mantelpiece to decorate!
Thank you for showing us how we can make the space we have into a cozy, lovely home. For showing us that we don’t need to have something that compares to what someone else has. Merry Christmas!!!
Happiest Christmas Susan!🎄
What a lovely christmas Willard and what a stunning piece of workmanship Joe made you. It looks amazing!
Thank you Susan for continuing to bring us the joy we all deserve! Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Your books are the first ones I pull off the shelf with the seasonal changes. The stories make me smile (The Raft, Road Trip), the art lifts my spirits and inspires me! Thank you for sharing your talent!❤️
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours, from Pearland, Texas. I have a mantel that a Santa mug would look lovely on!!! Thanks for sharing your world!
I love reading your blog! I always discover something I need to know about🙂 Your artwork is magical!
Luv your mantle idea. I’m going to have to drop hints to my handy hubby.
Joy to you, Joe and Jack this holiday season.🌲
That wreath above the mantle is perfection!
Fresh at Trader Joe’s, then I added things, stars, apples . . .💞
Every year I cannot wait to get your calendar and be transported month by month to a world I dream of. Thank you for your beautiful work. It inspires me daily. I often go back to other year calendars to look at your artwork, collect ‘sayings’ and recipes. May the joy you bring to others through your writing and art comeback 10-fold to you! Blessed Christmas!
Merry Christmas and best wishes for a new year filled with peace, love and joy.
Your home and new mantel looks wonderful. Enjoy decorating it for all the seasons!
Thank you for letting me enter the giveaway! Your stationary is lovely oh and the Christmas mug
❤️🎅🏻
Great idea! If you don’t have a fireplace, build one!
You bring joy to all of us! Merry Christmas🤶🏻🎄