I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas, if that is a holiday you celebrate. Ours was spectacular and I am so grateful we had a chance to all be together during this special time. It’s good to be almost back to normal, though. Our son Ahren leaves to go back home to Ireland today and it is going to be wrenching to say goodbye.
The photo above is Sara opening the quilt I made for her. She seemed to like it, and I hope it will give her joy for years to come.
Prior to Christmas, Ahren and I went for a visit to see my sister Kate and her husband, and were enlisted into helping her pack her famous holiday cookie tins. Kate is known for her awesome baking skills, and those in her inner circle are lucky to receive tins of her homemade cookies each Christmas. She starts baking in November, using tons of butter and sugar, and all the things that make her cookies amazing. It was fun to be on the front line, helping her get them ready to present to the family and friends. And let me tell you, our tin is almost empty already, and every single cookie was exquisite!
I’ve got loads to do to get organized for the New Year, get Christmas put away, and start up my new journals for 2026. I want that to be my “word” for the New Year: Organized. This will be a busy week, but I hope to have a few posts for you along the way!
30 Responses
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, All the Things!! Grateful for your husband’s ever improving health, and your son’s visit. My mantra for this year will have to be taking one day at a time. And hopefully doing some serious purging in with the stitching and reading. Have a wonderful New Year Nicole and family.
Happy New Year Nancy! Yes to taking one day at a time and yes to purging all the unused things we seem to surround ourselves with. As soon as my guys hit the road to head for the airport, I plan to start dismantling Christmas. It will be a process that will take a few days, but I need to start somewhere.
Happy New Year Nicole!!! Thanks for all of your posts throughout the year….I always enjoy peeking into your life.
Good-bye Christmas, it was wonderful! Hello 2026, may you be kind as we make our way through. Blessings to you and yours Nicole and all of your blog followers. As my little grands like to do…..Cheers!!
Dear Kim, Cheers to a Happy New Year to you too! 2025 was a year of recovery and readjustment for us. I look forward to 2026 as a year of new beginnings and continued friendship with all my readers.
Lovely quilt. Happy New Year to you all
Happy New Year Kerry.
I’m so happy things are back to nearly normal and that dear Ahren was home for these weeks. Too short a time, of course, and hope the memories of the good weeks just past will help with you’re back to long distance.
Sara’s quilt is beautiful!
Happy New Year to you and your family and may we all see positive changes for this nation!
Hugs!
I’m so sad to see him go, but I am keen to get the house put back to rights! Can’t wait to put all the holiday decor away. Happy New Year!!
Beautiful quilt, Sara is one lucky lady! The cookie tins sound wonderful. The holidays were delightful here, I love seeing them through the eyes of the little ones. Wishing you all the best in 2026!
I miss having a little tot on hand to enjoy the magic of Christmas. Eva isn’t precisely a jaded teenager, but her enthusiasm is more restrained than when she was little. Hope Sara loves the quilt. It was actually rather difficult to make and assemble. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! What fun to catch a glimpse of my friend and your sister Kate! Enjoy getting organized…a great feeling.
She’s still making those amazing cookies! Happy New Year Dona.
So glad you had a wonderful Christmas and with your family. I love the everything about the quilt you gave Sara! I’m tempted to buy the pattern.
Safe travels to Ahren and happy new year to you and your family!
Hope your holiday was lovely as well. That quilt was quite a process to put together!
Happy New Year Kerry.
LOVE Sara’s quilt— it would have been hard for me to see that leave my house, but I’m sure you can visit it anytime. So bittersweet for the holidays to end, but I’m sure your sewing room will be glad of a visit!
Happy New Year!
Yes, truly, as soon as all the clutter is cleared away I will be happy to get back to my sewing room. The Halloween and Christmas UFOs on the design wall are a bit depressing, but maybe I can get them done and make room on the wall for something new and exciting. Happy New Year to you too Carol.
Nicole,
Happy New Year! I hope you and all of your readers had a wonderful Christmas. For me they always go way too quickly! I look forward to seeing all of your projects for the new year and will be sewing along with you here in So Cal on, hopefully, lots of my own new projects!
Happy New Year! I am absolutely looking forward to some new and exciting projects to start on!
The New Year is coming our way quickly, ready or not! I love seeing the photo of Sara with her quilt! And the one of his auntie looks like she’s watching Ahren pack a tin to make sure he does it ‘just right.’ Those cookies look fabulous!
Happy New Year Jan! Thanks for all your great comments all year long! Looking forward to hearing more from you in the New Year.
The cookies sure look scrumptious! Would she be willing to share the recipes? Love the quilt! It’s depressing to me to put away the decorations, I tend to wait till in January 🤭😻
Happy New Year Pamela! No, I doubt Kate will share her recipes. She makes dozens and dozens of cookies from numerous family favorite recipes, which are a closely guarded secret.
I dived into the task of putting things away today and it is only noon and I am exhausted. This is going to take a few days I think!
Happy New Year Nicole! I so enjoy your blog posts and have missed them, although I know you were enjoying the time with your son. I’ve decided the time between Christmas and New Years is “me” time. I work very hard to prepare all the food for Christmas Eve and Day and it’s so much work. I’m finishing up a Fig Tree BOTM and other unfinished projects! I go back to work on the 5th and will start putting Christmas away, it’s a lot of work and I want to be finished in a few days! Thanks again for the wonderful posts!
Happy New Year Twyla! Yes, I will be back to a regular posting schedule now that my son has gone home to Ireland. I worked for a few hours today putting away a lot of the Christmas decor and I am exhausted! I told my husband it is Chinese take out for us tonight.
Happy Holidays! I enjoy reading your post and love Sara’s quilt. Wow, that is some cookie baking going on. The holidays were great here and looking forward to the new year. Happy New Year to you and your family.
I always look forward to a fresh start every New Year, even though we never know what the year will bring. 2025 was pretty good to us, with our health issues stabilized and improved. Hope the trend continues! Happy New Year Chris.
Happy New Year Nicole! We had a varied up and down holiday. My step-sister made a wonderful, homey dinner. My sister in Texas had several mishaps that meant she couldn’t come. Our friend had a bone marrow transplant and is doing well. And, most important to us- we had a lovely dinner with my son and his family. The boys are precious and we don’t see them often. I finished a quilt for each of them and that was too much stress at once. But they were pleased so it’s all good. Keep writing when you can. I enjoy your blog.
Thanks Sue! The best part of the holidays is spending time with our loved ones. My family seems to be getting farther apart in distance, making it more difficult to get together. We have to appreciate the chance to do so when we can. Happy New Year!
I can’t imagine how long it took to make all of those cookies! safe journey home, ahren. safe journey home.
Hope your Christmas and New Years was fantastic. Thanks so much for your friendship!