Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has enjoyed a wonderful holiday week. We have just returned from our annual trip out West for a little skiing. It was blissful! We returned to brilliant blue skies and Spring-like weather here in the South, perfect conditions to get a jump start on some of our New Year's house and home resolutions!

Do you actually set resolutions and write them down?

Every day in my prayers I express my most fundamental wish for everyday and that is that I be the best Mother, Wife, Daughter, and Friend that I can be. I think a lot about what would make me a better me but have never written it down. This year, I plan to write it down and open it next year on New Year's Day to see how well I have done.

{My Southern New Year's Lunch - Hoppin' John}

As long as I can remember, I have welcomed the New Year with a heaping plate full of collard greens, black eyed peas, rice and salsa otherwise known throughout the South as Hoppin' John.

 Eating Hoppin' John on New Year's Day is thought to bring a prosperous year filled with luck. The peas are symbolic of pennies or coins as they are thought to resemble coins as they shimmer and shine when added to the pot. Collard greens are often served along with this dish and are symbolic of money and are thought to bring wealth in the year to come.

I wonder why I don't make Hoppin' John throughout the year. It is really quite delicious. Just in case you would like to start this popular Southern tradition in your own home here is a link to an old Charleston recipe from John Martin Taylor and Hoppin' John's Lowcountry Cooking and several interesting variations for collard greens.

{Suzanne Kasler's Office from Atlanta Homes Magazine}

As for those resolutions, one of the things on the top of my "house and home" list is to spend some quality time refreshing the interiors of our home.This resolution will include cleaning, organizing, donating, painting and decorating. In order to write this goal down, I think I will need to take a close look at what I have and set manageable (specific) goals for what we can afford in the coming year.

2012 House and Home Goal Number One:

Refresh Interiors

I love the interiors created by designer Phoebe Howard. They have a certain "Je ne sais quoi" or intangible quality about them that I adore. The first time I visited her store in Atlanta, I was speechless. A Phoebe Howard room exudes warmth, serenity and order - the qualities I crave for my home.

{from Merci in Paris}

2012 House and Home Goal Number Two:

Create a family vegetable garden in my backyard.

I grew up with a vegetable garden and creating a family garden of my own has been a goal of mine for many years. It's a goal that has not been realized in the past because I have not taken the time to put in the infrastructure to make it successful. I guess the true end-goal would be to work together as a family to create something wonderful and prepare our daily meals with things we have grown. To me, there is nothing more gratifying than to watch your garden grow and make a meal with vine ripened veggies.

I have selected a sunny spot and begun to enrich the soil. I plan to build raised beds that will make gardening more manageable and add irrigation. I can only hope that it will be as chic as the garden above from Merci in Paris.

In addition to these goals for House and Home, I have also set goals in other areas that, if achieved, would make me a better me. I have categorised my resolutions and set goals for each:

Spiritual Growth, Family, Health and Happiness. House and Home, Creativity and Knowledge

{A Sneak Peek: My new family den and office - a blog post for the New Year}

One of my goals for "Creativity and Knowledge" is to enhance the quality of my blog posts and make them more interesting, better researched, unique and personal with lots of product links, recipes and resources. I would like to read, at minimum, 12 books a year and hope to share some of my favorites. Creative expression is at the core of my being and brings me great Joy.

Happy New Year!

May your year be filled with happiness, prosperity, good luck and joy!

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