How to Beat the Winter Blues

Sorry for the silence on the blog this week. I just got back from a couple of amazing vacations that I can't wait to share with you. While I was gone, winter definitely crept up on me. My koi pond is icy and there is frost on the ground. No snow yet, but it's pretty darn cold.

The best way to deal with the winter is with a steaming mug of hot chocolate and a roaring fire.

Dan builds great fires

My friend Felicity told me about a log delivery service here in Harrogate that will drop off half a ton of firewood to your front door. It is pretty reasonably priced too. If you're having a hard time picturing what half a ton of wood looks like, let me help you.

This should keep us warm all winter.

The wood is stacked in our mudroom. I love this room for its practicality, but I have done absolutely nothing to decorate it. I'd love to spruce it up a bit. Does anyone have suggestions of how to warm this concrete and brick room up? I'm renting, so I can't paint the walls. But I'm thinking some art work or an outdoor rug would help bring in some life.

Thanksgiving Party Recap

As you may know, Thanksgiving is one of my all-time favorite holidays (see here and here). I love everything about it--especially the food! Last year, for our first Thanksgiving overseas, my family came to England and we had a very traditional evening. This year Dan and I were lucky enough to co-host a party with Katie and Jon for 25 of our friends.

Our menu included all of my favorites:

• Deep fried turkey
• Mashed potatoes
• Sweet potato casserole
• Stuffing
• Gravy
• Cranberry sauces (whole and jellied)
• Cornbread
• Green bean casserole
• Brussels sprouts
• Sweet potato quinoa (made by Rachel)
• Apple pie
• Pumpkin pie
• Pecan pie
• Chocolate trifle
• Pumpkin cake
  

Katie, Katie's mother-in-law, Dan and I spent most of the morning cooking away. I was impressed at how smoothly it went. It was really fun!

For the first time ever we had a deep-fried turkey. I can't believe I waited this long. It was so tasty! Jon and the boys did a great job with it.

The house looked so festive. I loved how it all turned out.

My favorite thing we did was the "Thankful Jar." I cut up strips of decorative paper and asked everyone to write what they were thankful for. Throughout the night I would read a few responses at a time. There were some really great ones. Some were thoughtful, some were romantic, and some were just plain silly. These were some of my favorites:

"Whiskey and topless women; family and friends;
I am thankful for the chance to live in the UK, the chance to travel,
and to have friends to spend Thanksgiving with."

It was such a fun night! Everyone left full and sleepy--just the way Thanksgiving should be!

So Jealous

If you know me at all, you know I am totally obsessed with bloggers extraordinaire John and Sherry Petersik of Young House Love. I have been reading their blog for years and am constantly inspired by their creativity, enthusiasm and wit. (See here, here and here for some of the projects I tackled because of them.)

They recently wrote a book that became an instant New York Times best seller, thanks to thousands of people like me who ordered it months before it was even published.

[source]

The Petersiks are on a whirlwind book tour and recently made a stop in D.C. My good friends Katie and Dani were lucky enough to meet Sherry and John. I can't wait to hear more details of the event. All I know so far is that they snagged a pretty great souvenir:

Katie, Dani, Sherry and John [source]

Non-Compensated Product Endorsement

My best friend Katie and I used to play a game in college where we would ask each other which product we love enough to endorse for free. I have a pretty long list, but at the top is Vaseline. This humble little product is my favorite thing ever. I can't go more than a few hours without it.

I use it mostly for chapped lips, but it's also great for dry skin. I carry a small tub in my purse; I have one in my nightstand and one in the bathroom. I honestly would be thrilled to lend my face, name or voice to any and all Vaseline advertisements. Is that weird? Tell me I'm not alone.

What product do you love enough to endorse it for free?

Life is Better When You Shower

Last week I had a lazy week. I still got plenty done, but I wasn't nearly as enthusiastic about it as I could have been. For instance, there were a couple days that I stayed in my sweat pants all day. And maybe there was one day (that might have stretched into two days) where I didn't shower. Am I proud of this? A little. No.

The point is though, that at the end of those lazy days, I didn't feel nearly as good as I thought I would. I didn't sleep well those nights. I wasn't feeling great about myself. And I'm sure Dan was less than impressed (though, bless him, he didn't say anything).

In contrast, today I got up, showered, worked for half a day as a substitute teacher, had lunch with a friend, ran errands in town and did some grocery shopping. I feel awesome. I know that I'll sleep well tonight because I did something with my day. I know it won't win me the Nobel peace prize, but I'm really beginning to understand the importance of showering. Obviously, it's about much more than the physical shower. It's about taking care of myself and making the most of each day. Even though I'm not working at a job these days, I'm still a contributing member of society and of my household. When I treat myself as such, I feel a lot better about my place here. It makes me happier.

As these dark days of winter approach, this is something I'll need to keep reminding myself. Wake up and start each day like it matters.

Harrogate Christmas Market

This year, for the first time ever, Harrogate hosted a Christmas market. These markets are really popular throughout Europe, and Dan and I have already been to a few (Leeds, Bruges and Brussels). Markets range in size from a few vendors to entire cities. I haven't been to a proper German market yet, but I hear those can be enormous.

Since it was Harrogate's first time hosting a market, I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I was really impressed though. The market was bigger than it looked, with 130 stalls. There were fewer food stalls that I had seen previously, but I think that had something to do with the local pubs and restaurants. I'm sure they were weary of losing business over the weekend.

There were tons of hand-made local goods like candy; wines and spirits; candles; clothes, and more. I bought a really cute pair of cuff-links that I can't share with you yet. They're a gift for someone very special :)

The market even had rides and Santa's Workshop with live reindeer! Unfortunately they didn't look too happy to be here. Poor things.

After taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the market (mulled wine and roasting chestnuts? Yes, please!), Dan and I headed to Betty's for a little treat. I had their delicious Swiss hot chocolate; Dan had more mulled wine, and we split the rarebit. Have I mentioned how much I love rarebit? Because I do. A lot.

It was the perfect way to spend a Saturday night. And, it made me feel marginally better that the sun is now setting at 3:50 p.m.

P.S. Sorry for the blurry iPhone pictures. I accidentally left my camera at home.

Fall Decorations: Burlap Leaves

I had a lot of burlap leftover after making my table runner. I love the rough texture and fall feel of the fabric, so I decided to make some additional table decorations with it. Of course I turned to my good friend Pinterest to see what I could find. I loved the simplicity of these leaves. It looked like something I could actually make.

[source]

I found some leaf templates online and printed them out. Then I traced one on to my burlap and cut it out as a tester. Good thing I did one before making all of them. The leaf began fraying immediately. You couldn't even tell what it was after a bit.

I googled some solutions and found that if I Mod Podge the edges, the burlap won't fray. I used my homemade version of half glue and half water. I covered the whole leaf rather than just the edges in a thin layer of the glue and found that it gave it great texture and movement.

After spending what felt like hours cutting out my leaves, I was ready to start painting them! I borrowed some acrylic paint from Katie and started playing.

I liked how the leaves in my inspiration photo were painted with veins and an outline, so that's what I did.

Initially I was going to make a garland out of the leaves, but I ran out of time. Instead, we used them as table decorations. I think they looked gorgeous under the candles.

The best part is that these leaves will last forever! I'm thinking I might stick them all in a big hurricane vase on the console by the front door. Or maybe I will turn them into a wreath. We'll see. All I know is that I love them and they were definitely worth the effort.