Saturday Meanderings
Is anyone else having trouble figuring out what day it is? Friday, this week feels like a Monday and with all the holiday hoopla, I am putting off my New Year focus until this coming Monday, the 6th. My son and daughter flew back to their respective out-of-state homes last Sunday. We are so thankful they took vacation time to spend the holidays with us. Life has been a whirlwind since and I am so happy to have a few moments and share all the good things that happened this week in my Saturday Meanderings post. As always, thank you SO much for joining me each week.
New Year’s Eve
For many years now, I prefer to celebrate New Year’s Eve before the ball drops in New York City (our time 9:00 p.m.), get to bed early and wake up fresh and rested to start the New Year. The days of partying late into the evening are long gone and honestly, I so prefer how we greet the new year now.
Changing from Christmas to NYE
We decide to have our New Year’s Eve party on the back terrace and start making festive changes. The log centerpiece on our outdoor dining table needs to look less Christmas-y and more sparkly for New Year’s.
I remove the red geraniums and holly berries and find a few new gold picks at Michaels at 50% off. From my collection I add sprigs of gold berries, gold pinecones and 3 gold doves.
The tablecloth is one I made for our Dinner in the Library table scape, which also happens to be reversible (darker brown on one side).
Simple white dishes with a gold rim from Pottery Barn (no longer available; see similar here) are centered on a brushed gold charger. Napkins edged in gold are tied with a satin ribbon and bell. I cannot tell you how much I love the rechargeable cordless gold lamps that provide just the right ambiance of light at the table.
An easy way to make a table feel festive, is to add balloons with long ribbons over the table. It was less expensive for me to buy one of the portable small helium tanks and fill up gold and white balloons than it was to have Michaels inflate them.
The Food
Appetizers include chilled prawns with cocktail sauce and individual portions of potato chips, popcorn, and nuts. I love this food cone display which I recently used at another holiday gathering. Champagne is also served.
For dinner, I make meat lasagna and a vegetarian one, garlic bread and salad from the greens in the garden. The lasagna recipe from The Kitchn is a winner using both a bolognese and a béchamel sauce (instead of ricotta). It is so delicious and I would definitely make it again.
Dessert is a Spiced Eggnog Bundt cake from Southern Living and is a perfect ending to a delicious meal. After, we venture out to the chilly night and play with sparklers and a few fireworks. A perfect and early way to end 2024.
Annual Cooking Competition
For the fifth year, we host the annual cooking competition between my son and 3 of his oldest and dearest friends. This year it is a chili cookoff and we invite 10 judges to help crown the winner.
The categories include appearance, aroma and flavor. Overall, it is hard to pick a winner as all 3 dishes are superb. In keeping with tradition, the 3 competitors and 1 moderator have a photo taken on the front hall stairs, announcing their winning places. We await to hear what next year’s competition will bring!
My Christmas Painting for next year?
With every intention of completing a Christmas painting in time for this holiday, I fell a bit short on meeting that deadline. Just this week, I think I finished it. I am at that stage where I do not want to paint anymore because I fear over noodling it.
It is my largest holiday painting at 37″ wide x 31″ tall because I want it to fit into an old vintage frame that was sitting in the garage. I think I like it. Here it is hanging outside the front door. What do you think?
Enjoying the Post-Holiday decorations
I know many people have already removed their holiday decorations. Since we do not put ours up until after Thanksgiving, and our tree is still smelling so fresh, I always take this time of year to fully enjoy them. My mother always left everything in place until January 6th, the Epiphany and we do the same.
This is a rare and cherished time of year—a quiet pause after the whirlwind of Christmas and New Year’s. The house settles into a peaceful stillness, and I can finally sit back and soak in the magic of it all. Memories of the children being home, the warmth of entertaining friends and family, and the echoes of laughter and love fill my heart as I take it all in. The holiday décor still graces the spaces, untouched by the rush to pack it away, offering me a little more time to savor the beauty and joy it brings.
Does anyone else experience this?
New Year’s Morning from my phone
Early on January 1st, Finn and I did a morning walkabout the yard. It was so quiet and still, very chilly but a beautiful way to start a new year. Here are a few photos from my phone.
The light is perfect and the simplest things look ethereal. Photos are unedited.
The balloons from the night before managed to find their way around the yard (not sure how that happens), but Finn spots his first balloon~and is surprised when it pops.
Thoughts on a New Year
Turning the calendar to a new year is a chance for new beginnings. We are ready to get back to eating healthier, now that all the treats and sweets from the holiday are gone. I’ve had a few injuries that are lingering, so being mindful about healing is necessary in the next few months.
My key goal is sorting and organizing. I am a “a place for everything and everything in its place” person, so clutter is distracting and bothersome for me. Yet, I’ve let a few things go and it’s time to go room to room and get it back into shape. Also, I have too many things in the garage to refinish or rejuvenate but these projects will make great future blog posts!
Have you made any resolutions you want to share?
While I ease into 2025, I wish for a safer, more loving world. Sometimes it feels a bit untethered, doesn’t it? Let’s do our part and rise above the fray by being hopeful, happy and compassionate. As my mother used to say, if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. Remember, be safe out there.
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Happy New Year Mary! I love your painting, it is stunning! great job.
Mary, I am a newcomer to your blog, and I find it so uplifting and REAL! I love your posts about your home, community, and family. I love your determined Santa striding through the snowy woods. Don’t give it up, please. Thank you for what you share with us!
Your posts are my favorites!!! I look forward to your Saturday Meanderings with ideas galore. The painting is so beautiful and perfect for such a time as this where prayers are always needed for peace, more love and happiness in this world. Family is everything to me and your posts reflect the same. Thank you and have a blessed New Year 2025.
Greetings. It is an amazing painting, a touchstone of hope in this currently pre-apocalyptic world. Why? Because it depicts an old-time Santa, strong and determined, carrying his large bag of gifts into a burned out area of the forest. The distant trees are very thin, like burned trees. This seems like the burned forests of California to me. So he represents hopefulness determinedly striding into a desolate area.
Very powerful, thank you.
❤️ your painting!!! How fortunate are you to have this talent…I so wished I could (my daughter does.)
Here’s “CHEERS to the YEARS!!”
franki
Mrs.Mary, Happy New Year! Such a beautiful painting! It makes me feel like I am right along in the beautiful wonderland. We ring in the new year, tell our children we love them and then retire for the night. We feel so sluggish in the morning, maybe next year we will try your way and not be tired in the new year. We are cleaning one room at a time so I can have a huge garage sale. There is really no need for us to keep so much stuff, but it is hard to let go. Hopefully the rest of the year will see peace. We finally heard from a dear friend of ours after the tragic event in New Orleans, he is safe and well!! Finn is growing like a weed, those long legs, haha, he is cute as ever.
Love your Christmas painting!!
I look forward to your posts & what you share. My first quarter project is organizing pictures when I’m not working. My new habit is to eat my vegetables at breakfast & lunch since my work hours keep me out until 8pm. I’m not a smoothie person so I will be eating them. I’m starting today!
Your painting is spectacular!, Everything you do and your amazing surroundings is inspirational. Always enjoy the differences in the weather from Az to Co. Sometimes would love to do a switch!
Enjoy 2025. Sorting, cleaning, organizing, and getting rid of extra accumulated stuff is one of my annual evaluations of living with intention.
Cheers!
Mary, thank you for another year of inspirational blog posts. You have so many creative ideas and suggestions. I rarely entertain but have applied your ideas to gatherings with friends and family. Your tablescapes are absolutely stunning! The Santa painting is so beautiful….love your creative style. Spending the holidays with family fills our hearts with joy. So nice to have all of your family home this year. Love the photos, especially the sunset (or maybe sunrise). I could go on and on but thank you for providing relevance and inspiration to your readers!
Happy New Year!
Melody, thank you so much for your sweet feedback! It makes me happy that you find relevance in my posts. Wishing you and Sam a fabulous 2025. Maybe we can find a time where our paths will cross? Sending big hugs to you!
Happy New Year Mary!
What a lovely holiday and so much fun! Your Santa painting is really nice in your frame. I enjoy that you don’t rush and have magic till Epiphany…I like doing that too. Your sunset picture is so beautiful and the pictures of your pool are like what one might see in a movie, so pretty. Glad you keep us posted with Finn, he’s growing so fast! Well, we too are ready for some calm and healthy meals and restoring better health.
Thank you for all the lovely things you share with us throughout the year, I always look forward to your posts.
All the best wishes to you and yours in 2025.
Sue, Happy New Year to you. Having Christmas and New Year mid-week seems to have extended the holiday for us long after Jan. 1. Stricter healthy eating will start on Monday, the 6th and hopefully continue until the end of month and maybe into February. Thank you for taking the time to write such sweet words. I so appreciate it and will look forward to your feedback in the new year.
Those photos of your beautiful property in the early morning are gorgeous! I love the one of the poolhouse tree. Your painting is spectacular! I love the composition and the feeling tone of it! You are so talented.
My mother left our decorations up until Jan 6, and I adored that as a kid. As an adult, they turn into hazardous waste in my mind on Dec 26, and by New Year’s Day, I’m packing everything away. I keep telling myself to leave them alone and enjoy them after the frantic pace of the holidays.
Your blog brings grace, beauty, and kindness into the world in tangible ways. Every time I read your email, I feel refreshed and encouraged. Thank you for what you bring to all of us!!
xoxo,
Barb
Barbara, it’s funny you said that you can’t wait to take everything down. I read and see photos of immaculately clean homes right after Christmas and sometimes I am tempted to do so, so I get it! Thank you for your thoughtful and kind comments. Wishing you a fabulous new year and I’m excited about you writing another book in the Guiding Emily series! Glad to hear you spent your holidays with your family in your stunning home. Looking forward to new adventures in 2025.