Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Dismanteling and the post-holiday blues

I was all set to sit down and write a post about taking down the Christmas clutter and clearing out my house for January- about how great it feels to take it all down and freshen things up... but I just couldn't seem to get excited about January.


January, my least favorite month.  Cold, but no Christmas.  The decorations are put away, we've said goodbye to family, and its back to "the grind."  Thankfully, for the past few years, "the grind" for me has been staying home with my kid(s).  But while I am beyond grateful to be living out my dream job, part of me still longs for the excitement and magic, the twinkling lights, and extra time with my hubby home from work.  

Once the suitcases were unpacked, the laundry was clean and put away, and the decorations bins were hauled up to the attic, I set to work dismanteling and art-nooking.  We have this art nook next to our fireplace, which has always somewhat baffled me, but I usually keep it filled with a vase and some kind of floral-y branch-y arrangement.  Once the greenery and berries were gone, things were looking a little empty.









Umm... sad is the word that comes to mind.  Which really doesn't help when you're already suffering from a slight case of the post holiday-blues... so I decided to get a little whimsical (crazy?) and pulled a string of lights back out...









 Really, is this crazy?  Or fun?  I'm kind of wondering why I did not think of this earlier, or why I don't do this every year... not sure how long it will stay up, but its like a little warm happy place now instead of lonely and empty... am I crazy to think of my house in those kinds of terms, haha?  I think I may have just learned a lesson in decorating for myself and my family, not anyone else.

And seriously, twinkle lights make messes so much prettier! :)

Do you do anything different to your house after Christmas?
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6 comments:

Teri Dufilho said...

bethany, you are so fun!......and you've brought fun and light to your home and i love it..... last year, i put that string of clear tiny lights in my fake palm plant in the den and it stays on almost all the time.... i remember saying i'm doing it because "i love light and why shouldn't i have it all year round?.....it looks cozy and makes me happy"......well, i love your lights because they make me feel the same way!

Bethany said...

thanks! and I love those twinkle lights in your plant! I agree, so cozy and homey.

meganlagoy.blogspot.com said...

I think it's happy. Go with it!

Robin said...

I'm sorry? You're Christmas stuff is already back in the attic? I am still working on it - we've only been home 5 days!

Bethany said...

Robin- I have the amount of Christmas decorations that take an afternoon to put away. :)

Lacey said...

You are so cute. I love that you took a strand of lights back out. Whatever makes you feel good I say go for it. :)