Happy New Year! Is that still appropriate to say in February? It’s been a long road back to my blog and I’m so happy to be here, this sunny little diversion that is far from the real worries of life. How are you, friend? I hope you and those you love have been staying healthy and you are hanging in there through the pandemic and the work of living.
Here is how I’ve made it through the hardest year of my life!
This Fluffernutter and a pretty amazing friend and family group have truly kept me afloat as of late. Thank you to those of you who have reached out this year wondering why I went missing in the middle of my last One Room Challenge (which I have about a 0% success rate of finishing on time!)
Long story short, 2020 was the year of not only COVID but also Mother-Daughter cancer fighting. My beautiful sweet spitfire Mama was diagnosed with stomach cancer a year ago this month, just a few months after my diagnosis, and after a difficult few months of chemo and surgery, lost her battle in October. I talked to her on the phone or via text approximately a million times a day and we always found something to laugh about. She was the most positive and joyful person I have ever known, and she was also a tough Irish woman who grew up the ninth of ten children on a farm.
She believed in feeling your feels, and then drying your tears and getting back to work.
So – here I am!!! I’m sharing this life update, I’m typing the words and I’m taking a baby step forward without her. I’d be lying if I said this was easy but it’s what she would want.
After that long break in which I pondered not returning to blogging, in the end it’s something that I really enjoy, from the project planning to the execution, photography and writing tutorials along the way. One thing my Mom was ALL about was finding joy in everyday life, and this blog is a place of joy for me!
So let’s get back to projects big and little and make the most of everyday over here. DONNA LOVES is a weekly – biweekly? – roundup of loveliness, tips and tricks, and good things seen, heard and found recently. FYI, affiliate links are included in this post for your convenience. Read more about affiliate links here.
Let’s start with my MOM – she was the epitome of loveliness and kindness and I aspire to be like her in every way!!! I wrote a bit about my Mom and Dad in this Saint Patrick’s Day post a few years ago. Basically I hit the parent lottery!
Read | Are you trying to read more too? I used to be a voracious reader until mindless social media scrolling and reading news online slowly took over. This year I’m trying to read at least one book a month (starting this month). I looked up one of my favorite authors, Marisa de Los Santos, and discovered she has written not one but two more books in a series I’ve enjoyed named Love Walked In. The third I’ll Be Your Blue Sky came out in 2018 and the fourth is due out in May, titled I’d Give Anything. I’m looking forward to diving into this!
Watch | We watched the Justin Timberlake movie Palmer the other night on Apple TV and thought it was great. Do you have any recent recommendations?
What To Put On The Walls | I really have to do a dining update soon – you may remember I started a wall moulding project ages ago and have yet to give you the big room reveal. That’s because I’ve had some empty walls I couldn’t decide what to do with. I contemplated adding a couple of hardwired sconces, but in the end I opted for the large size of these glass wall mounted hurricanes. I’m morphing away from using toxic candles all over our house and am trying out a couple different brands. I’ll share more when I get the hurricanes installed – they are big in real life and I absolutely love them!
That’s all for now, but I’ll be back soon with an update on the state of affairs in our foyer. Thank you for your patience and kindness through this quiet season of Shine Your Light. We’re carrying on and making the most of every day! Sending you love!
