Simplifying for the holidays

it's official...

I've become one of those women
that the younger me didn't understand

	the one who finds happiness in a tiny tree the one with an attachment to 3 fragile old glittered ornaments (vintage Pier One) who finds comfort with less who wants & needs everything to be easier to put up & to take down I feel so content about this
	3 evenings last week I sat & watched old movies while haphazardly cutting lengths of saved fabric scraps & tying them around a wire frame no plan, really, where to put it so I hung it over the driftwood plank Handsome thought more was needed, & brought home the little ornaments I tied them in... he was right :-)
	what remains of the aqua check is turning into a little strand of garland to drape here use your imagination... you can see it, can't you? there's a pale blue wooden candlestick just out of view & a large blue clock just above I'm going to cross pollinate, a tiny bit of pink near the flake tree if it looks right (those tiny paper flowers are in the big pot... not in the stocking!)
	Handsome needed more color he added a little pop of it on the back patio... the blue outdoor sheers turn purple in the glow compromise is good, it's fair our home's not just about me & the pops of color will prevent me from going so pale that I begin to tire of it
	a white starfish looked gentler, but I opted for this an explanation, or a declaration? maybe a little of both there are shells & such sitting here & there already (okay... yes, they're everywhere)

This has been coming for awhile now. It's been a few years since we did a big tree. Coming down with the flu or bronchitis the past few Decembers might have even been the jump-start of my personal attitude adjustment about material things. The first year it bothered me, not using our holiday decorations. (Handsome's spare time was spent caring for me.) I was sad. The second year I realized how much I didn't miss them. I was relieved.

I don't normally do decorating posts, but it seems appropriate to share this little peek... to show that simplifying for my sanity isn't just a bunch of yaddah yaddah. There's a bit more holiday decor in the house, but honestly, not much. Not vignettes really, just an old Santa here & there... I'm tempted to paint the red ones pink, or fade them somehow. And I'm cutting paper birds from the vintage papers of a tattered old love story. I might hang them on the dead hibiscus I plopped in a jar. It's currently adorned with a few of those little aqua balls, tied on with the fabric strips. Or I might give the birdies away.

Next year, perhaps, I'll do the doggies' little trees. (They don't seem to mind that I didn't open the box that holds handmade Yorkie & Maltese ornies.) Next year, perhaps, a few lights on the front porch. Then again, if I continue down this road, maybe I'll do less. If indeed I do a bit more it will all be simpler than before... bringing out only the most special, the most loved material memories, parting ways with what's left. Retired Radkos might make nice gifts for my friends who enjoy snazzier holiday decorating, eh?

Craving simplicity doesn't prevent me from enjoying the abundance of others' displays... wonderful creativity, amazing tabletops, heartwarming traditions. I admit, I'm most drawn to the simpler ones. I've just come to a point in my life where I'm satisfied with less. I need less. I want less. Whether most of my holiday things being tucked away is cause or effect doesn't matter.

If When we get that little cottage near the sea, I won't have room for them anyway. As you can see, emotionally, I'm already there...

Wherever you are... mentally, geographically... I hope you're decorating & celebrating in ways that bring you personal comfort.
And of course... joy :-)

.