It was time to take down my holiday decorations and trees. I didn’t do a lot (for me) this year, mostly trees, pinecones, and lots of lights.
The warm white lights had brought me a lot of joy this season. The first thing I did every single morning after letting the puppy out to potty was to flip all of the power strips on to get that cozy glow going. Molly wakes up way too early and everything is still pitch black and feels very wintery. She is desperate to go tinkle and doesn’t care if I am half awake, she is ready to go.
When she comes back in, I take a few moments to snuggle with her before making coffee and getting on with my day. Typically, I am not an early riser, but we enjoy our quiet mornings together with the lights sparkling in the darkened rooms.
January itself is too stark to go from a house full of festivity to none at all. So the lights above the windows are staying for a while.
Along with our hot tea and cocoa station. It got de-Christmassed, and we have rules about no cocoa parties unless they are near a Christmas tree.
But we have been known to still sip a cup of hot chocolate now and then…
The mercury glass stayed out too. It fit nicely with the holiday, but I think it will also be pretty for the rest of the winter. Anything that is reflective adds light to the dark months.
The Christmas trees had been decorated mostly in pinecones and twinkle lights in honor of a happy day that Ryan and I had together gathering pinecones last year.
After plucking them out of the branches and packing the trees away, I decided to keep the pinecones out for a while. I stuffed newspapers into the matt white pottery and a few mercury glass candle holders, then topped that with the pinecones. Some rosebuds, dried from an arrangement that came after Ryan’s death were put under glass for a hint of faded color.
Swans from Lesa Daily’s A Snowbird’s Song class are on top of the kid’s game and book cabinet. I like their silhouettes in the mirror.
The hutch previously had lots of mini, battery operated LEDs on its shelves. I took them down, but kind of miss them. I might bring a strand back out. 
The mantle didn’t get much of a changearoo. I took out the pink shiny brites and left the garland stuffed with hydrangeas and pinecones.
For now, these changes feel right. I have some natural elements from outdoors and mostly neutral, low-color tones with a hint of sparkle throughout. Plus warm throws and lots of extra pillows, for us and the dogs. It always hurts to put the Christmas clutter away, but streamlined, serene surroundings aren’t bad either. I’m spending so much time indoors, it is nice to have the calm decor around me, along with the warmth of the lights that I left in place.