Holiday – Page 2

It’s The New Year Holiday

January 10, 2023 by Jodi

It's The New Year!

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It’s time to ring in the New Year!

It’s That Time of Year Again!

Sorry for the long delay in making a new blog post! Life happens and puts things to a halt sometimes. You have to deal with that first because it’s the most important priority in your life at the moment. It’s important to prioritize your life. When challenges get in your way, don’t let them stop you from doing things in life. Now that the New Year has started, I need the inspiration to start writing more blog posts, on a more regular basis. Send some prayers to help me get inspired to tackle this blog regularly!

It is the new year and I want to make some new resolutions. Do you ever make new years resolutions? Me, I usually don’t make New Year’s resolutions. Now, come back to me during Lent, and I will tell you that I do make Lenten promises and lately in the last several years have been keeping those promises.

This past year, I did a lot of thinking. Now, it is the new year and I want to make a lot of solid changes. Right after Christmas, I called my mother-in-law to thank her for my lovely new Christmas gifts and she asked me this question “Do you have any new years resolutions?” It’s so cute because she will ask this same question every single year. I could not think of one simple thing when I was on the phone with her. I told her, that I wanted to get back to her on that one. Today, I decided to make a blog post on this topic. Her question got me to do some thinking. I think, sometimes after Christmas, we all get so tired from the holidays that we find ourselves in this lull of dullness. January is a boring month for me. Although this year, California has been hit with many storms in January, so it takes away from the boring weather pattern we have had in years past. After doing some thinking, I came up with some ideas that might help you choose a new years resolution and stick to it. What are your New Years’ resolutions? Here are some questions to ask yourself:

What things this year would you like to change about yourself?

What are you struggling with the most? What bothers you to the core? For the last ten-plus years, I have felt so disorganized in many different areas of my life. This year, I decided to clean up my act. Thinking about my younger years when I was super organized, I am reminded of the simplistic life I had. Back then, I could keep my small bedroom organized. My schoolwork was always organized and done on time. I was very good at saving money as well. This year, I want to change so many things in my life that I feel are keeping me from accomplishing some of my goals. I want to change my spending habits and the way I shop. I want to keep my space neat and make sure my calendar is organized whatever plans I have that day. There are so many little things, I want to get done this year. I want to ring in the new year, with a new plan.

Do you have any goals you would like to accomplish?

When it comes to goals, I believe in starting with one small goal. Make it a realistic goal and one that over time can be accomplished. Setting too many goals at once can be so overwhelming, so I don’t recommend doing that. My goal is to grow this blog and I hope this year I can make that dream a reality. I have to start small! Today, I was just inspired to get at least one blog post finished for the week. If you are struggling in this area, just set yourself up with one small goal. It could be as simple as wanting to relearn how to ride a bike. That is another goal on my list. If you are reading this, feel free to subscribe and find me on all social media sites. Also, share my blogs with others. I want to see this blog grow and morph into something special.

What is something you want to do more of?

I am a Catholic and this year, I want to continue on my path to getting closer to God. I also am doing a lot more writing this year. I highly recommend a gratitude journal. I have been writing in mine daily. I also was given the best advice once on vacation. I was taking an exercise class at Trinity Alps Resort. In the class, the owner of the resort who teaches the class was explaining how to be present. She said when she gets on her horse, all she focuses on is riding her horse. She was in class explaining all the different benefits that being present can help you. It can help you to focus throughout your day. Lately, I have been reminding myself to be present. When I exercise, my focus is on exercising. As I write this blog post, my focus is on this blog post. When I am at a party, my focus is on socializing and enjoying the party I am attending. When I am with family, my focus is on my family. It’s so wonderful to be present in life. You start to notice the things around you. All other things, like our cell phones, become less present in our life when we are focused on what we are doing at that moment. Practice staying present!

What things do you wish you could have done in the past and would like to change now?

Growing up, I was an organized person. I loved to plan for stuff. I still to this day, enjoy planning and organizing my plans. I want to change the way I plan for events because sometimes I find myself planning things at the last minute. I want to be organized in advance when I plan. When I am hosting a party, I want to prepare food in advance or make sure I got all my party decorations done ahead of time. I want to make sure that when I am Christmas shopping, all my shopping is done way in advance. For instance, this year, I wrapped all my Christmas gifts in one day several days before Christmas. That took the stress off me because I was not rushing at the last minute to wrap gifts. Next year, I want to wrap my gifts even earlier than I did this year. My best friend will have gifts bought several months in advance and wrapped way earlier than expected. She inspires me to want to get things done in advance.

Is there anything else you want to add to your New Year’s Resolution?

This year for Christmas, my best friend got me some very useful gifts that I love. One of the gifts she bought me was a gratitude journal. When life gets so stressful and we are not present, we forget to be grateful for all the goodness that is present around us. Have you ever heard the saying “Stop and smell the roses?” When were not present in life, we forget to stop and smell the roses. This year, I want to stop and smell those roses. Every day, I write in my gratitude journal. It is very healthy for our brains to train ourselves to think positively. Our day goes smoother. We get better sleep at night. We just overall are enjoyable people to be around. When I am present with God, my day just feels amazing. When I am not in tune with God, all things tend to go wrong in my life. This year, I am not going to let my thought process go off track. Receiving this gratitude journal has made a difference in my life so far. It holds me accountable for my writing each day. I am hoping that it will inspire me to write more blog posts each week for A Handmade Story. My goal would be to try and put out two posts per week, so I can grow this blog. I would love it if you supported this blog. Prayers are appreciated and if got any creative ideas, send them my way! I would love to hear your thoughts.

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Here is the book my best friend bought me for Christmas: Gratitude One Line A Day

#itsthenewyear #newyear #resolutions #newyearsresolutions #ahandmadestory #gratitudeonelineaday #write #goals

Goals For The New Year Holiday

February 28, 2022 by Jodi

Goals for the New Year

January has come and gone and now it’s that time of year where everyone makes New Year’s resolutions. How many of us have made resolutions and found ourselves never sticking with it? Well, I think it is safe to say that we have all been there… including me.

Every year I come up with goals that I never always seem to finish. This year, I decided to try a new approach to setting goals. One great advice that was given to me by my best friend was to not make a long list of goals. She said that will just drive you nuts. Instead, make one goal to work on. While, watching the news one day, I heard another piece of advice. Set smaller goals throughout the year. Setting smaller goals are a lot easier to accomplish. You are more likely to complete that goal, rather than a goal that is too enormous.

Why I love to set goals:

I am someone who likes to be organized but struggles with staying organized. I like setting goals because they help me to be accountable for things. I feel more organized when I have a particular goal in mind. It also gives me something to look forward too. Goals can also teach you something.

I am the type of person who has always had to work hard in life. I have a learning disability so things like learning in school were always difficult for me. I always had to write stuff down. When I took notes in school, I would write down every little detail the teacher was explaining. In math, I wrote down every single step that the teacher explained to the class.

I set goals because it helps my brain. Writing things down on paper keep me accountable for the some of the simplest every day task.

Every year during the Easter season we have Lent in the Catholic Church. Lent is a great time of year to make a goal and stick with it. Lent, last only a month during the Easter season. If you can survive one month of not eating chocolate, then I think you are okay. My grandma used to give up chocolate during lent. Lent is actually a great time of year to set a goal, stick with it and see if you can continue the rest of the year with that Lenten promise. A few years ago, I made a promise during lent that I actually stuck with. Today, I still think about that promise and how I view lent.

How to set goals and stick with them:

Make realistic goals.
Set smaller goals instead of larger ones.
Set your goals throughout the year.
Use the beginning of the year or lent as your starting point (if you are religious).
Write your goals down on paper or in your electronic device.
View your goals the following year to see if you completed the ones from the previous year.
Have faith!

Don’t let goals weight you down. It’s easy during the yew year, to feel as if you must accomplish every new goal you set. Goals help you to stay organized. Goals don’t have to be so serious either. Sometimes, setting a fun goal for yourself can be just as rewarding. It’s okay if you realistically don’t meet all your goals.

Christmas Time Is Here!

December 20, 2021 by Jodi

Christmas Time Is Here!

It’s that time of year again! Christmas is approaching, and the month of December is a wonderful time to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas. It’s a joyous time of year. Christmas isn’t about just buying gifts or putting up a Christmas tree, while at the same time, you’re sending out perfect Christmas cards. Christmas is more than just that. It’s about celebrating the birth of Christ. If you are religious, then you will appreciate Christmas even more on a spiritual level. Christmas doesn’t technically start until December 24th. In this crazy world, we live in, Christmas tends to start in October. These days, everyone is on the Christmas bandwagon. Many bloggers, DIYers, YouTubers, and people, in general, all seem to be decorating for Christmas way early. For me, the majority of the decorating starts once my husband and I get a Christmas tree. My husband and I both love a real Christmas tree but don’t always love the price that comes with a tree each year. We always manage to get a tree that is within budget when we do a little research. To us, it is the perfect tree, and being able to sit by it when watching television or listening to music on our vinyl record player. I love to exercise right by the tree. It feels cozy when I am working out to have the tree next to me with the lights on. We get a real tree because we also love the smell of it. Plus, we don’t have room to store an artificial tree anyways. Someday, when real trees skyrocket in price, will consider a fake one. That will be a sad day if that does happen.

When I think of Christmas, I always appreciate our creator God. I feel blessed in so many ways to have him in my life. Christmas is a time when we can reflect on so many wonderful things. It’s a great time to reflect on our birth or if you have children, the birth of your child. Christmas is also a time to appreciate life in general. The greatest gift of all is the miracle of birth. There are so many people in this world who might not get to experience such wonderful things this time of year.

During December, I love listening to Christmas music. Some people, hate it. Others will listen to Christmas music in July. For some reason, we now have the idea that we can sell Christmas gifts in July and play Christmas music in July. I will not forget when my family and I were in our truck coming back from vacation looking for music on the radio when we heard Christmas music in July. We were so shocked and were not interested in listening to it when it was super hot outside. I have a big love for music. I have been to a lot of concerts in my life. My husband is a musician himself and he plays different instruments. He was in a former band back in his younger days. He sometimes gets concert tickets through his job. My love for music isn’t about what’s popular on the radio. I can listen to every genre of music. I love listening to artists who write their music, tell a story through song, and sing from their hearts. I love when they also play instruments and have a musically talented band. Music feeds my soul.

In December, I love listening to Christmas music because it gets me in the spirit of the holiday. For instance, I love listening to 50’s Christmas music. I picture a home where the family is listening to the radio or they’re watching television on a box with about three stations. I see falling snowflakes in the background and family getting together during Christmas. I vision a simple Christmas tree. I picture what my grandparent’s and parent’s generation was like. I also am reminded of my simple childhood that I am so lucky to have experienced. I remember as a child one time, getting so excited for Christmas morning. It was the night before Christmas in the first house we ever lived in, and my parents had music on their stereos. All of us kids were in bed. I assume my parents were maybe wrapping presents. I will never forget that memory. Just hearing the music as I went to went bed made me super excited for Santa Claus to come the next day.

In honor of Christmas arriving soon, here is a list of some Christmas songs I love.

#MerryChristmas #Christmas #music Christmasmusic #favoritechristmassongs #holiday #ahandmadestory #www.ahandmadestory.com

How To Transition Halloween Decor To Fall Decor

December 20, 2021 by Jodi

How to Transition Halloween Decor to Fall Decor

For every holiday, I love to decorate. Growing up, I would always decorate my parent’s home for each holiday. I enjoyed it when my dad would pull out the Halloween decorations that we had for many years. Now that Halloween has ended, I thought I would show you how to transition your Halloween decor into fall and thanksgiving decor. When I think of Halloween, I think of skulls, the color orange, and black, spiders, bugs, rats, black cats, scarecrows, pumpkins, and more.

This year, I happened to be in my favorite store, Target and I came across some pumpkins in the dollar spot at the store. I fell in love with them because they came in many beautiful fall colors covered in lovely fabric. They weren’t your typical styrofoam pumpkin either. I also bought some pretty pumpkins made from natural material at Target as well. I love pumpkins and when you buy them in the store you sometimes find the traditional orange pumpkin. This year, I chose pumpkins that were more fall-like and ones that were made with natural materials because I wanted something I would put every single year and enjoy. I wanted pumpkins that I knew would last for years to come. I am not someone who buys holiday decor every single year. For some reason, these pumpkins made me happy and I knew that I would love having them in my home. This year, I chose to decorate the top of my hutch after being inspired by doing this last Christmas. I have been having fun decorating the hutch. This was a hutch that my parents bought when they were first married. The hutch was purchased from someone my parents knew in the 1970s. It’s a hutch that has a lot of meaning to me. Its been in our family for as long as my parents have been married. On top of that, you would never know that this hutch was bought second-hand. Last year for Christmas I decided to decorate the hutch for the holidays. Something, I had not done before. I love decorating the hutch now. I wanted to show you how you could do this too if you own a hutch, a tabletop, or even a shelf.

When trying to transition you’re decorating from Halloween to fall and thanksgiving, stick with decor that has fall colors, natural materials, or stuff that doesn’t scream “it’s strictly for one holiday”. Fall colors and natural materials are very popular right now and I am not mad about that at all. Choose fabrics that look lush, and find things that will elevate your decorating. Get creative and add a little bit of love into your space. There are so many different ways to decorate your space. There are different materials I love decorating with. I love burlap, wood, china, silver, linen fabrics, candles made from natural materials instead of artificial chemicals, and so much more. I like decorating with these materials because I know that they will last forever. The key is to make investments in your home so you aren’t constantly buying new stuff every single year.

When I was at another favorite store of mine, I came across some real mini pumpkins and gourds. With the mini pumpkins, you can eat them later as a vegetable. Trader Joe’s has the best prices on mini pumpkins and gourds. They are lovely to decorate with because you get several uses out of them. I use them for food photography when I am not decorating with them or the fall season has ended.

Last year at Trader Joe’s I came across this wool potholder. I love it! The colors are a lovely fall color which is what drew me to this potholder. I love to decorate with this potholder and use it in my food photography as well. I also bought Trader Joe’s Broom cinnamon broomsticks. Trader Jo’s is the only store that carries this particular item every single year and I love it. I love the way my house smells. You have to buy them at the beginning of the October season because they sell out fast. They can be used for the fall for sure. Why not have a broomstick in your Thanksgiving decor. In my case, I might keep it up for Christmas too. It smells so good. Maybe, I will decorate it with a Christmas bow. With these broomsticks, I was told you could get them wet the following year to help them smell again. You can keep these broomsticks year-round. They will smell for a very long time.

Another piece of decor that I purchased one year at a Christmas craft fair was this pumpkin picture I bought. I love it because it again can be used not only for Halloween but for fall decor as well. If you know how to paint, you could easily make this sort of a project.

When it comes to decorating my biggest tip is to shop around your house first. Look for things that you can reuse over and over again. Look for decor that is in fall colors. You might find a bowl that would look pretty displayed on the table with some pumpkins in it. Don’t be afraid to shop around your house or use last year’s decorations. I do this all the time when I am decorating. You will be so surprised how much stuff you might find around your home that would look lovely during the fall season.

On top of my hutch, you will see three cake stands, one cookie stand that I bought from a craft fair, and a two-layered cake stand that I got online from a company in Ireland. I love decorating with these items because of their height. I can get creative with my cake stands which I love. I placed my pumpkins on my cake stand as you will see in the photos.

Another decorating tip is to invest in a cute little fall kitchen towel. One year, I was in a small little boutique store and I found a cute little kitchen towel. Every single year, I pull out this towel and I hang it up in the kitchen. It just makes me so happy.

When I was at the dollar store, I bought this cute little scarecrow. It is the perfect Halloween and Thanksgiving decor piece. Again, it is something that makes me happy. I can’t wait to decorate with it next year.

I also decided to change out my china in my hutch. I don’t have a lot of fancy china or room store anything in this condo. I decided this year, to change out the china I had in my hutch. I originally had china that belonged to my dad’s side of the family. I decided that I wanted to put it away in the hutch and revisit it during the springtime. The floral pattern reminds me so much of spring. In springtime, I will for sure be bringing out the floral china and doing a more spring-themed style for the hutch. This year, I got creative with my hutch and pulled out all my pottery. I have a love for handmade pottery. For many years, the pottery sat in my hutch. The only time I would use it was for a party. I don’t buy much pottery because I just don’t have the storage space in my place to store it. What little I own in my hutch is stuff that I collected over the years of being married. The plates you see in my hutch used to belong to my parents. My mom no longer wanted this set of dinner plates. I gravitated towards them. They were perfect for decorating the inside of the hutch. The dinner plates are very neutral so they go great with all the pottery I have in my hutch. Making, that small change inside my hutch has made me happy. I love the way the hutch turned out. It does make my home feel very fall-like without doing drastic changes or buying all new stuff. I love keeping it simple when I try to decorate sometimes. Christmas is the only holiday I do the most decorating. I enjoy decorating even though I am not a designer. One tip I always have to remember is that when you are decorating, keep things simple. Don’t feel like you have to purchase new stuff because the store you walked into told you to do so. Have fun decorating, using what you have. Make it something you enjoy when walking into your home. For me, it’s the little things in life that make me happy. This year, my fall decorating has made me happy. Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

For fall this year, I took down all the Halloween decor except for the pumpkins. They make great fall decor. They serve as double decor for two seasons. I also removed the Halloween place mats. Now, Unforgettably, I don’t have pictures of what the hutch looked like after I took out some of the Halloween decor. I forgot to photograph the hutch after I was done revamping it for Fall. Now. I did change out my china in the hutch for some handmade pottery I owned. Shop around your home and you will discover that you have so much stuff you can use to decorate with, if you use your creative imagination. I never seem to think to change out my hutch pieces. This was the first year I decided to decorate the inside of the hutch for fall. I love it!!! I will try to share some pictures of the hutch soon. I decorated for the next holiday. This happens to be a late post. I just wanted to share it. I hope to post more often once I have a regular routine going. I am still learning all about blogging. Its taken me awhile to sit down and formulate post like this. Enjoy! I hope you had a great fall season!!!

My favorite things to decorate this year were with the pumpkins I got from Target and the real pumpkins I bought at Trader Joe’s I also love the broom from Trader Joe’s as well. I can’t wait to decorate next year for fall with some new ideas with the stuff I already own. Happy Fall and enjoy the next holidays to come!

#HappyHalloween #Halloween #halloweendecor #Target #TraderJoe’s #simpledecorating #reusingwhatIown #transitioningdecor #transitionghalloweendecortofalldecor #mindfullshopping #thinkoutsidethebox #decorating #updatemyhome

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