Christmas comes and goes so quickly but in Pennsylvania where I live, winter does not go as quickly. I always feel a bit bereft after taking down the Christmas tree and all of my Christmas decorations, so I decided a while ago that I wouldn’t take down all my Christmas decor at once. It is cold and, except for the sporadic snowfall, it is quite bare outside and will be for several more months. I don’t want the inside of my house to feel bare as well. I want it to feel cozy—extra cozy! Winter is a season too, after all, and I want to decorate for winter!
How I Decorate for Winter
Since I just can’t quite cope with taking away all of my Christmas and winter decor at once, I tend to leave up greenery (if you use faux you have the ability to do this); I have little trees that look wintery and instead I only take down things that are expressly Christmas-related. There is some discussion over whether to leave up decor that is glittery and my feeling is this—if you like it, leave it, and if you’re tired of it take it down. I would say by conservative standards you should take down anything glittery, but since I like glitter to brighten up winter’s darkness, I leave it. Typically, I don’t use any red in my decor throughout the year except I do add in a touch or two of red in autumn and at Christmas. So I also take down most touches of red unless I have berries in with my greenery. As I said, we still have another two or three months of snowman-making weather so the snowmen don’t have to leave yet! I also keep up certain glittery accents as well—trees, frosted evergreen accent balls, silver deer figurines, etc. I love the look of white, glitter-dusted branches. I love it when the branches outside glisten with snow and frost and I love it inside as well—faux snow and frost that is!
My rule is:If it’s true in nature, it can be true in my decor!
Keep it Cozy
Think of your home decorated for Christmas in all its cozy goodness and what do you picture? Try stripping away all the elements that are overtly Christmas-y and leave all the candles, lights, and anything else that looks super cozy to you! This is what I call decorating for winter. Maybe you decide to take down the glittery accents and trees but still want something to make your home special through winter—think cozy! Throws, pillows, and candles can really warm up and transform a space. You want your decor to appeal to all the senses and in winter I love to appeal to the eyes and the sense of touch. It has been said that we feel texture with our eyes as well as our hands, so bring in lots of different textures. Replace pristine books with worn, warmer-looking books; faux fur pillows look soft and warm; woven baskets to chase away the sterile feel of a home devoid of Christmas.
Want other touches of winter? Here’s a quick list of some of my favorite winter decorating items:
Branches—bare branches in a big vase (These can be a show stopper!)
Pinecones
Evergreen and frosted evergreen branches
Candles, candles, and more candles!
Faux fur pillows and throws
Deer sheds (antlers)
Twinkle lights
Logs in the fireplace—even if it’s not a working fireplace!
Faux sheepskin throw
Remember What You Like
Scandinavian Decor
Over the last few years Scandinavian decor style has gained popularity. This style is known for lots of white, minimalism, and crisp, clean lines. Scandinavian decor also incorporates a lot of candles and faux fur, and evokes feelings of hygge. (The closest translation to this word is coziness, but think of being snowed-in in a cabin with a warm fire while the pine trees outside are covered in snow and you’ll get the idea.) If you’ve ever been a fan of this style of decor and wanted to try it, this time of year is a great time to add a few of these elements.
I want glitter and branches and basically want my home to transform from a Christmas wonderland to a winter wonderland for the next few months. What do you like? I think winter is also a great time to add more white to your decor than usual. Also, maybe you keep a pretty traditional-style home but would like to incorporate more vintage elements into your home—why not try it now?!
Maybe you are tired of some of the colors and decor you have been using as staples in your home, take this season as a little breather and an excuse to play and have fun with your décor. I think the number one reason we get bored with anything is because we stop having fun with it. So have fun! Check out my post on “Creating a Cohesive Color Pallet” as a springboard for ideas if you have the urge to switch up some of your décor.
Purge
Christmas came and with it a few new additions to my home, so after Christmas I love to purge and reorganize. It is a great time of year to ask yourself what things have you held onto for another year and still have never used. If you haven’t used an item and it is not an heirloom—pitch it!
Likewise, I like to do an audit of my home: where are the pain points? What drawer do I continually keep telling myself that I need to sort? This year I even switched a few things around in my kitchen to help it function better!
But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today.
Deuteronomy 8:11
I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season! As we look forward to and prepare our hearts for the new year, I am reminded of the beginning of 2021 and how I choose the word enough as my focus for this past year. I was specifically reminded of this because, while my focus might have been on having enough, it was not the focus of everyone in my household—namely our boy kitty, Jester.
I hate to air this publicly but our girl kitty, Trixie, has, well, a bit of a weight problem. The doctor said she’s fat. Now getting one cat to lose weight while maintaining the weight of the other is no easy feat. We have been trying to exercise Trixie more, but we have had to cut back on how much food we are feeding them. Let me be clear—they are still getting the recommended serving size of food for cats their size each day, it is just on the smaller side of the scale.
This cut back in food has made Jester panic. (His weight has stayed steady; he has neither lost nor gained weight.) Jester wants us to be sure we know that he needs a steady supply of food, so he has a routine that he goes through. He will meow loudly to get our attention. Then he starts wrapping himself around our legs. When we acknowledge him, he runs a few steps ahead, stops, looks back at us, meows, and waits for us to follow him. When we walk towards him he repeats this routine, a few steps at a time until we arrive at the food dish. Thankfully our house isn’t that large otherwise this would be a very time consuming process!
When Jester has successfully led us to his food, he jumps up onto the space where we keep his food and looks at us expectantly. And guess what—there is almost always still food in the dish! They usually finish their food within an hour before their meal time but still—Jester wants more knowing that while there will be more to meet his needs, there may not be extra food put out day and night like there was in the good ole days of his youth. Therefore, he feels he must always be asking for more, ahead of his actual need. Jester doesn’t want enough—he wants plenty!
Have you ever done this with God?
How many times has God proved Himself in providing for our needs? He tells us in His word that He will provide for our needs. Maybe not all our wants, but all of our needs; and furthermore, He will provide for the desires of our hearts when we have hearts that are focused on Him! But, like Jester, we want to see that all of our future needs will be met ahead of time. We want to take trust out of the picture, so we ask for things way ahead of the need. We worry about things over which we have no control. It is wise to do our due diligence, to save, and to plan for the future, but how often do we do all these things and still worry? How often do we still not trust?
It is easy to say that we trust and lean on Him when we are in the years of plenty. It is in the years of plenty and the easy times that we are most likely to forget our need for Him, and to rely on ourselves.
As we start this new year, my hope and prayer is that we will fully trust in Him no matter the situation in which we find ourselves. May we remember that our God is a God of plenty, not just enough. He is even more so a God of wisdom and will provide as much of what we need, when we need it and not one moment sooner, according to what He knows will be best for us.
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Can you believe that a new year is just about here?! Ready or not, here it comes! My goal with this post is not to give you a bunch of books about how to chase big goals in the fastest, most efficient way possible, but rather to offer books that provide you with tools to help you create a life that you love while you are chasing them.
Take Back Your Time by Christy Wright
I have been a fan of Christy’s for a long time. She has a fabulous podcast (The Christy Wright Show) and this, her latest book, is a continuation of all the topics she frequently covers on her podcast. Christy’s book outlines how to manage your time, how to decide what is most important to you, and how to use that as a guide in deciding what you should or should not agree to say yes to. She also discusses that just because you may have the time to agree to something, doesn’t necessarily mean that you have the energy to agree to it.
Effortless by Greg McKeown
I was a fan of Greg’s first book, Essentialism, and his second book did not disappoint! In Effortless, Greg goes through how, even when you pare down and become an essentialist, there can still be so many energy-draining tasks that you have to do. In Effortless, he covers simple ways he has found to make these mundane but essential tasks more enjoyable. The mundane of life makes up a surprisingly large amount of our lives so let’s do what we can do make them, and in turn our lives, more enjoyable!
168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam
I have loved all of Laura’s books! 168 Hours is a compilation of lots and lots of research that Laura has done. She had many individuals track their time by keeping time logs and then used these time logs as the basis for this book. So often we tell ourselves that we simply don’t have time for the things we want to do in life, but what may actually be the case is that we don’t have time to do some of the things that we are actually doing, but not even aware that we are doing. After analyzing how many different people, in many different walks of life, spend their time, Laura then goes into creative ways of how to delegate some of the things that we are spending time on that we don’t need to. Did you know you can send your laundry out to be washed, dried, and folded for you?
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
Are you rushing around all the time, always in a hurry? In this book, John deeply delves into how rushing all the time is not only unhealthy, it is also unchristian. What effects are all the activities, commitments, and busyness having on our lives and on the relationships with those closest to us?
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Habits are what shape our lives; we all have them. I have a bedtime routine that helps me wind down for bed—my husband does not and has always struggled with falling asleep. Over this past year he has worked on developing an end-of-evening routine and has definitely seen improvement in his overall sleep. The point is habits play a bigger part in our lives than we often realize. For discussion on all-things-habits, with a focus on how to implement habits to change your life, give this book a try!
I hope this helps to inspire you for the new year! It’s always sad (at least for me) to see the holidays go, but we have a fresh new year stretching out before us. Let’s make the most of it—which may even mean not doing as much as we did in the past!
Please remember that this post contains affiliate links; that means if you click on the link, I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you. It’s a way to support my blog! I will only ever share an affiliate link if I love the product and think that you just might love it too!
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There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV
The leaves have all fallen here in Pennsylvania. The reds and oranges that burnt bright against the blue sky are now turning brown on the ground. The bright colors that blazed bright on the hillsides have now vanished and we have brown and gray where we once had yellows and reds.
I love fall but after fall comes winter. Don’t get me wrong, I like winter too, but it can be rather gray….especially when it is dragging on into March! The other thing about winter here, is that it is cold. I know it gets colder elsewhere but really who want to go for a walk or run outside when it is twenty degrees?!
I want to be out doing things, working various projects, and enjoying the sunshine- but winter is not a season to be outside working. Instead it is a season to rest. To dwell indoors and work on things inside. I marvel again at how the natural world is such a perfect mirror of the spiritual world.
There is a season for everything the Bible tells us, but in our 24/7 world we try to make all the seasons uniform when they were never intended to be. We want to push harder and make more happen, fill our days, our schedules, our homes, but why do we think this is normal? In nature the ground rests, the animals hibernate, and the colors fade into gray. Colorless. A blank space. We need that in our lives too. If God made the season for all of nature to rest why would we be exempt?
There are seasons of doing, of stepping out, of making things happen. There are also seasons for us to be introverted, to ask what God is doing on the inside of us, to ask Him to work inside of us. How many of us still follow the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy? I believe He intended for us to rest. But we don’t. He made a season devoted to it. What would our lives look like if we followed the tree’s example and focused on what’s inside, and invited God in to do some heavy duty work inside of us and took a season of rest?
Disclosure
Quick reminder that this post contains affiliate links; that means if you click on the link I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you- it’s a way to support my blog! I will only ever share an affiliate link if I love the product and think that you just might love it too!
If you are here, chances are you just might like my writing. (wink) If you Drop your email address in the box below I’ll save you time by emailing you the link every time a new post comes out!
While growing up, it never was officially Christmas until I went over to grandma and grandpa’s and found peanut brittle in grandma’s crystal trifle dish, which everyone in the family called the “Peanut Brittle Dish”. When the peanut brittle appeared in the dish and grandma hung her little decoupaged sand dollars on the china cabinets’ handles, we knew that Christmas had arrived!
Grandma wasn’t a big decorator for Christmas, but she’s always been a big baker of Christmas candy. One year she sent some peanut brittle with grandpa to his office when he was working. People loved her peanut brittle and he came home with orders. She ended up making 100 pounds of peanut brittle that year.
I learned how to make peanut brittle from her, or from the best as I like to say, and below I’m sharing our recipe. Be sure to the read the notes following the recipe instructions because the details are what make for a successful peanut-brittle making experience.
Peanut Brittle
2 cups white sugar
1 cup water
1 cup Karo
1 lb. raw peanuts (these can be the Spanish or Virginia peanut but smaller peanuts are better and they must be raw—not already roasted)
1-¼ tsp. of fresh baking soda
1 Tbsp. butter
Extra butter
A candy thermometer
Get Started
Prepare a large baking sheet by spreading it well with butter. You want the sheet to be pretty large so the peanut brittle can really spread out when you pour it and not have it get too thick. Pick a cool dry spot where you can set your peanut brittle to cool. Place a trivet there because you will be setting a very hot cookie sheet on it to cool.
In a medium or large sauce pan, bring the water, Karo, and sugar to a boil. Boil on medium high heat until the candy thermometer reached 275°*. Stir occasionally. Once it reaches 275°, add the butter and peanuts and start stirring constantly. The mixture will get very thick and hard to stir, but as it cooks it will thin out again. You really need to stir constantly and make sure that you are scraping all areas of the pan so that nothing burns.
Next comes the tricky part: as the thermometer start to reach 290°-295° quickly pull out the thermometer, remove the pan from the heat, pour in the baking soda, and quickly stir the peanut brittle—it will start to foam. As soon as it is foaming evenly throughout, pour onto the cookie sheet. You can gently push it out to the edges of the pan but you don’t want to crush too much of the foam—the foam is what makes it nice and crunchy!
Carefully pick up the cookie sheet and take to the spot you prepared to allow it to cool. It will need to cool for about 30-40 minutes depending on how cool and dry your spot is. Once it has cooled, gently twist the pan so the peanut brittle pops off in one large piece. Flip it over and, using a paper towel, wipe the butter from the back of the peanut brittle; then, with a metal spoon, whack the back of the peanut brittle and watch it crack into pieces. Continue doing this until you have gotten the pieces the size you want. Store in an airtight container and enjoy!
*This will take a while. I don’t recommend turning the heat up the whole way because you can burn the mixture. Allow it to take its time so it can thicken. This will take around 30-40 minutes depending on your stove.
When it comes to adding the baking soda, you want this to be a very quick process—as in seconds. As quickly as you can, remove the thermometer, remove the pan from the heat, add and stir the baking soda, taking no more than 30 seconds.
It is very important that you have a cool dry place to allow the peanut brittle to cool. If you don’t, it will get sticky and good luck trying to eat sticky peanut brittle! Also, once it has cooled, break into pieces and store immediately, again to avoid it from getting sticky.
Oreo Truffles
1 package of Oreo cookies
1 package of cream cheese (make sure you get the original kind)
1 bag of melting chocolate
Get Started
Crush Oreos in a food processor or put the Oreos in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. You want the Oreos to be crushed into a medium/fine consistency.
Heat the cream cheese till dry soft.
Combine Oreos and cream cheese together. Using a spoon or cookie scoop, form into to small balls—about an inch in diameter, and place on a cookie sheet.
Chill the formed balls in the fridge for about 30-45 minutes or about 20 minutes in the freezer. You want the balls to be hard to the touch but you don’t want them to actually freeze.
While the balls are setting up, start to melt the chocolate in a melting pot or double boiler. You will want to stir constantly while the chocolate is melting. If you are using a fondue pot or melting pot, I recommend not keeping the heat on high after the point when the chocolate has just melted. If you keep it on high the entire time, your chocolate will most likely burn. What does burn chocolate look like? If the chocolate is melted but you are seeing clumps form that you cannot blend out, then your chocolate has burnt. It will still taste more or less ok if this is just beginning to happen, but not if it continues.
After the balls have set and the chocolate is melted, dip the balls into the chocolate and allow to cool on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet. If you want to add sprinkles or decorations to your truffles, do this right after placing them on the wax paper, before the chocolate has time to cool.
Allow the chocolate to set and cool entirely and once it has—enjoy!
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