Beautiful December day + winner.

Would you like to spend a December day with me? 

First we will have breakfast: freshly toasted nuts, still warm, and cereal with pomegranate seeds and chopped mango. 

(btw, what sounds like Mom of the Year is simply the consequence of forgetting over and over again to prepare fresh granola, thus having the pleasure of yet again preparing it in single portions every morning, while yet again remembering every morning: “Oh, I should really prepare some granola…tomorrow. Definitely tomorrow!”)   

Or we will go ahead and open the many parcels with beautiful contents that arrive here on a daily basis – especially now, during the time before the Holidays, they hold the most beautiful surprises: either soft and cuddly, or shiny and sparkling, or else fragrant and delicious. 

Because being a blogger means it’s Christmas almost every day ;). 

Or we will transport the kitchen to a post-atomic state by preparing a quick lunch from scratch. 

Both of these are among my core competencies, by the way: 

- quickly cooking up something nice. 

- quickly turning everything into chaos. 

I can do both really well! 

Or we will sit at the table attempting to reply to some emails, but failing to do so, as the kids repeatedly interrupt, make me laugh, or turn the music up so loud that we all have to dance. I remind my offspring for the 143^rd time that they should really be understanding of the fact that I do not possess an office to retreat to….they do understand, but they don’t care! 

Light permitting, we could take a few pictures for the blog – light permits this for about 1 hour a day at the moment, which poses a real challenge. 

This again contributes even faster to the transformation of the living room to utter chaos as well. 

Now it’s time to pay attention so that you don’t trip over anything. 

Preferably over hot drinks, piles of books, mountains of pillows or even the camera itself (I always put it down somewhere for a second, and then look for it in a panic. “Did anyone take my camera?”)

Then again, we could also make yogurt waffles with cinnamon whipped cream and hot cherries. 

Afterwards we will light candles everywhere and snuggle up beneath the Tine K. home throw made of thick velvet. 

Featuring a wintry grey-blue, it represents one of the most beautiful and classy winter throws of all times for me – together with the matching big velvet cushions in different dark color hues, all perfectly harmonizing with each other.  

We will drink some "Winter in Lov" tea, with a delicate scent of cinnamon and almonds. 

Or we will all pile into the car and stroll through a deserted museum (as everyone is visiting Christmas markets), and order hot chocolate in a café afterwards. 

The city glitters like a fairy tale – in my opinion allowing you to dress to the nines even more than usual! 

I really enjoy this, believe me…

It may happen, by the way, that while we are out and about one of my readers will stop and talk to me and give me a big hug, with the consequence that I will run around the place with a silly smile on my face for the next few hours.   

I might still write a post in the evening.  

Or get some work done.

And drink to the successful December day with hot punch and my chocolate stars. 

Or I will simply sit on the couch, doing exactly nothing and being grateful. 

I will tell you what I am most grateful for. 

Neither for the people close to me, nor my work that I love, nor the beautiful things surrounding me. 

All of this is wonderful – but it may change any day. 

I am most grateful for one single thing: 

being Joanna.

As this is truly the most beautiful privilege, the biggest adventure and the world’s best gift on earth! 

And believe me: if you spend time with me, you too will get to the point when you sit on the couch all by yourself in the evening and start crying tears of joy, because you are so happy about your existence.  

Entirely independent of whether you had a “good” or bad day. 

No matter whether the circumstances are pleasant right now or not so much. 

Whether something great happened today or whether you received bad news. 

I will make you so strong that you will automatically make others strong. 

I love you so much that everything you never were will simply fall away from you. 

First I will challenge you so much that you will be angry with me, only to feel liberated afterwards. 

(Because this is what I literally BREATHE, like a kind of virus!) 

You already heard about Kati’s wonderful landscape photographs in this post – we decided that our pictures complement each other so well that we want to go in for  something together every now and again!

I am very happy about it!  

The small tree is sitting in an old gherkin/fermenting pot, that I originally found on the flea market and prettified with white spray lacquer. 

You can often find these rustic pots in brown or beige for pennies at the stalls – keep your eyes peeled for them and don’t get deterred by their original color, as after 2-3 layers they will look very simple and elegant. 

Sources of supply:

Velvet throw: Tine K. home

Velvet cushions in various hues of blue: Tine K. home

Cups: Design Letters

Everything via Geliebtes Zuhause

Winter in Lov  tea: LOV Organic

Tea pot: LOV Organic

Candle (various scents and sizes): Dyptique

Landscapes: Liandoo 

And lastly the winner of the Inside Living

give-away! Soon to be cuddled up in the star-spangled blanket: 

Denise Malonn

Congratulations, please send me an email. 

I really enjoyed spending the day with you, by the way – let’s do it again soon, OK? 

Love,

Joanna

p.s. 

I am sitting on the couch in the evening, eating a mandarin orange, talking to Noelle. 

A piece of orange peel drops onto my new sweater. 

Noelle interrupts me indignantly and rubs the imaginary stain on the sweater: 

"Moooom!!! Would you mind being a little more careful!” 

Me: "But why...?"

Noelle: "I PLAN ON WEARING THIS SWEATER STILL!” 

Thank you to Eva Ginnell for the translation of this post!