Happy 2013!

From Solstice to New Year, happy wishes to you!

My heart is swelling with possibility and my head swirling with ideas and projects for the year to come. Words dance a million, and gratitude expands as I reflect on the year past.

2012 was rich, rich, rich. Blissful, heartbreaking, enlightening, it was full.

2013 promises to be just as rich, with a trip to Paris and London on the horizon (oh yeah!), plans to find a house we can call our own, and the gentle beauty that comes with every day living.

I've many blog posts forming themselves as I type, but none ready quite yet. For now, following the rhythm of the recent holidays, I am allowing the space for words to come together, slowly.

In the meantime, I wish you a 2013 filled with all that makes your heart sing, and leave you with a few favourite snapshots that capture the holidays at their best...

candlelight, early Solstice morn

a Solstice breakfast outing at our favourite diner

it was storming outside, but perfectly cozy inside

Cassie, resting up before the clan joins us for Christmas dinner the next day

the holiday table, ready for feast and clan

(note Cindy Lou Who at the piano!)

I went back to the art table for the first time in two months. It felt good.

D. and I spent a quiet New Year's Eve with a sumptuous meal for two.

I wish you could smell the beefy, red wine, shalloty goodness that was simmering.

The highlight of my holidays, no doubt: the gift of a trip to Paris, from D.

It's a dream come true.

NEW Holiday/Winter Cards in the Shop!

They're heeeeeeere, new greeting cards to celebrate the season!

Send them out for the December holidays, or pop them in the mail in the new year, to surprise someone with a mid-winter treat. Snail mail in February is the best, isn't it?

These are what I've dubbed the winter trio, based on three of my favourite seasonal original pieces: Bundled Up, December Moon, and Holly (click on the photo, or the title below the photo, to purchase).

Bundled Up

December Moon

Holly

Then I played around a little with a different style, based on some of my original photography, and had a lot of fun! Introducing Red Car Holidays and Swingin' Santa...

Red Car Holidays

Swingin' Santa

That's it for now. Stay tuned for another holiday happening, coming soon...

Creating Intentional Holidays Part II: What Do You Want?

This is the second part of a two-part post in which I invite you to give some thought to how you want to spend your holidays this year, and what deliberate choices you could consider now, to make it happen.

In Part I of Creating Intentional Holidays I talked about approaching the holidays with choice, from an intentional space rather than a solely reactive one.

In this second part, I offer a series of prompts to help you bring your preferences for this year's holidays to light.

The prompts are offered not to highlight what's lacking, but in the spirit of leading you to what's possible. You never know, you might even discover holiday wishes you never even knew you had!

There are no right or wrong answers, and nobody needs to see them. Just you.

They are yours to explore...

~~~

If you could choose to spend the holidays anywhere in the world this year, where would that be? Why?

Who would you like to spend your holidays with? Why?

Which holiday traditions are important to you? Which ones aren't? Why?

Without giving it too much thought, list the first five words that come to mind when you envision your ideal holidays this year. GO!

Describe your ideal holidays in vivid images. Where are you? What does it look like? Who's there? What are you doing? How do you feel?

What practices could you put in place to increase your chance of feeling the way you just described above? Daily quiet time? Home-cooked meals? Take-out? Hire a cleaning service?

If the ideal holidays in their entirety aren't in the cards for you this year, what bits or aspects could you make happen? It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

What conversations could you have now, to move closer to your ideal holidays this year? With whom?

~~~

"The holiday season, like anything else, is what we make it.

It can be friend or foe..."

~ Janet Luhrs, The Simple Living Guide

Creating Intentional Holidays Part I: We Can Choose

This is the first of a two-part post in which I invite you to give some thought to how you want to spend your holidays this year, and what deliberate choices you could consider now, to make it happen.

The Gift (acrylics, 9 1/2" x 12" on mat board)

Often we go into the holidays with predetermined activities, meals and traditions in tow, whether they still fit who we've become or not. Some of these make our holidays, while others may leave us feeling less than merry.

Thankfully, we can choose how we spend our holidays.

I can hear some of you saying "Nope! [Insert family relation here] would have a fit if we didn't have dinner at their place!", to which I respond: you can still choose.

Some of us may choose to put our own needs aside to avoid conflict and keep the familial peace, because that's our priority right now. Others may choose to veer from the norm, because circumstances or needs (financial, physical, spiritual...) call for it this year. We may choose the status quo because it fulfills us perfectly as is, or, we may choose to just let it all unfold and go with the flow.

Either way, all are deliberate choices.

CHOOSING IS NOT ALWAYS EASY

Just so I'm clear, I don't pretend that all of this blissful choosing is easy.

Choosing deliberately takes courage, especially when you're going against the current. It may ruffle feathers or create a stir. Choosing to go along with the current when it's not your preference also takes courage, in the form of acceptance and letting go.

The good news is, once you become aware of a gap, if there is one, you may be able to integrate a few minor changes or coping practices to make it easier.

THIS YEAR'S CHOICES DO NOT DICTATE NEXT YEAR'S

This is important to remember: Just because you feel a need for something this year doesn't mean you'll be in the same headspace come November next year.

Takes some of the pressure off, doesn't it?

Maybe 2012 was a tough one, and you would prefer a quick visit to Grandma's instead of the requisite overnight stay. Or, maybe your energy levels are through the roof this year, and you feel like opening up your home to the entire clan!

Choosing something different this year doesn't mean you can't go back.

CHOOSE, TWEAK, THEN LET GO

However you choose to spend the holidays, giving a bit of thought to them ahead of time allows you to go in with eyes - and heart - wide open.

Spend time thinking about what's important to you and your family, envision your ideal holidays, and see what you could do to achieve them. If ideal isn't achievable, there may be small tweaks you can make to bring you closer to where you want to be given the circumstances.

Set the intention, do what you can, then, because there will always be things that are out of your control, let it go.

That third part may actually be the hardest, but it'll make it more fun for everyone involved - including you.

~~~

In Part II, I will offer a series of prompts to help you bring your preferences for this year's holidays to light, so you can create your holidays from an intentional space instead of a solely reactive one. Stay tuned...

Choose Love Today

An affirmation for you on this Valentine's Day, and every day...

Choose Love. You can't go wrong.