Ralph Lauren Christmas is a brand, consuming and creating a certain type of content to be perceived by others. Little Women Winter feels more like a lifestyle, and yet, it’s a trend too. Where our lives are dictated by what the algorithm feeds us. Perhaps we’re being too hard on ourselves. It’s in our nature to want to know what others are doing. 

I like the anti-consumerist mindset floating around this year and embracing a frugal way of celebrating a time of year notorious for overspending. Making consumable gifts and decor like dried oranges helps us slow down and enjoy what can be such a busy month. Tradition over commercialism can ground us in what matters.

There’s a special nostalgia to digging out the Christmas box from the depths of the closet and putting out the same decorations. The joy in going through all the ornaments one-by-one to exclaim “I forgot about this one” or “I love this one” as we hang them on the tree. I look forward to our charcuterie board New Year’s Eve tradition.

I try to make something new each year—whether it’s a craft or recipe. Two years ago I made our embroidered stocking tags and last year I was firmly in my sourdough era. This year I made embroidered ornaments with leftover felt from the stocking tags.

I also made paper chains this year from my great grandmother’s vintage wrapping paper sets.

Little Women Winter is a New England cottagecore aesthetic that romanticizes a simpler time. I recently watched the 1994 film version of Little Women and couldn’t stop thinking about the soft parts of winter. The sisters in their homemade knits, clinging tightly to each other as they walk arm and arm down snow dusted paths. Because it really is a winter film despite it taking place throughout the year. The joy of giving, not just gifts but your time and skills and sharing it with family, friends, and neighbors is what Christmastime should be about.

I made quite a few gifts this year including a quilted toiletry bag, a jar cover and sourdough starter with a copy of my sourdough zine, quilted coasters, quilted double oven mitts, clay plant markets, magnetic pin dishes, and a lino cut print with ‘his and hers’ mocha pots. It was fun to craft and try new things and, of course, make a couple of things for myself in the process.

In a way, Little Women Christmas is helping me define my personal home style. One that is handmade, layered, and feminine with folk art and heirloom pieces. I allow myself to buy one new Christmas decoration each year and I opted for an advent wreath ring for the kitchen table which felt very on trend yet timeless. A purchase that will remind me of this year when I unearth it from the box next November.

With the traditional Christmastime season over now that it’s a week into January, I hope you created some cherished memories this holiday season. I plan to cherish this winter like the sisters in Little Women by appreciating life’s simple pleasures, adapting to early nights, and looking forward to warmer weather while not wishing it away too soon.

Happy New Year-

It’s the small moments of appreciation that make gardening magical. It’s turning yourself outward towards nature, instead of focusing on the mundane worries of modern day life. Appreciating the little things is as easy as a glance out the window to check in on something that you are cultivating. In a world that doesn’t seem to care, taking time and attention to care for a garden makes having one that much more important. 

My partner and I moved into the bottom floor of a row house in January and have been working to improve our postage stamp of a backyard and patio into a something we can be proud of. Some of the benefits of gardening are pretty obvious. Improved physical health with all the raking, weeding, and trimming. Improved mental health with the mood boost from sunlight exposure and the sense of wonder that comes from a seed sprouting. 

The other benefits are less obvious. I’m new to Bethlehem but having a garden has given me a better sense of community. Even if it’s just my partner and I walking around and pointing out the other vegetable gardens we see and commenting on how their plants are doing. In the Pink Apartment, I did some weeding and maintaining but never any real gardening or planting. This time, we plan to stay and that makes the work seem worth it. Although, I think if we weren’t staying, now I know the benefits outweigh the potential temporary-ness.

We created an environment we wanted to be in. Surrounded by the fruits (sometimes literally!) of our labors, there is immense pride in sitting outside knowing how much work you put into something to make it beautiful. It beacons us to be outside over and over. When we nurture nature, we nurture ourselves. 

My mom and my grandmothers have instilled in me a love of gardening and are experts in canning and preserving.  Lee is amazing at pickling while I’m amazing at freezing things. And all those empty jars used over the winter months? They make perfect little greenhouses for sprouting seeds and keeping the squirrels from digging up their young growth. This is a trick I discovered late but will definitely be using next year.

Gardening our own produce means we were eating healthier. We had many, many meals with tomatoes and/or cucumbers. My body craves the fresh, juicy vegetables when the sun is hot overhead. Eating in tune with the seasons is inherently sustainable too. By having a garden, we cut down on trips to the grocery store and reduced the amount of packaging we’re bringing home. The plants and hedges provide homes for pollinators and their friends, boosting the eco system even in a suburban area. By composting, we eliminated produce from going to the landfill and will have rich soil for whatever we grow next year.

My cottagecore self is happy to be practicing homesteading roots, things that women have been practicing for centuries. It has expanded to other areas of my home too as I make pizza from scratch and go thrifting over buying something new. Gardening and creating homemade goods has eased me back into the low waste practices I started when I launched this blog. It’s another reminder to slow down.

As I bring in the hanging planter and cactus inside after a summer spent luxuriating in the summer sun, I feel more in tune with the change of seasons and have an appreciation for the rest and reflection period that winter provides. Even as this garden season comes to a close, we are already planning what we will do for our garden next year. And maybe that’s part of the magic—dreaming of what will come, imagining the sunshine as the cold wind swells around hibernating roots and chills you to your bones. 

Happy Gardening-

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Entry

The awkward space here is thanks to a long hall closet, but a bench handmade by a family member makes it the perfect place for putting on shoes and leaving your hat, tote, and coat.

Living Room & Bedroom

The tall ceilings and large, original windows give these spaces its character. My vintage furniture only enhances its charm!

Kitchen & Dining

The kitchen is the room that I transformed the most. Two simple changes upgraded this dated kitchen to a boho and chic dream. I put peal and stick tile over the existing subway tile and added black knobs to all the cabinets and drawers. Leaning into the pink and adding a bold pattern made it the focal point of the room.

Laundry & Bathroom

The west facing windows in these two rooms means my plants got to take center stage in these utilitarian spaces.

I hope you enjoyed seeing the Pink Apartment and got some inspiration for your own space. This apartment was very sentimental to me. Besides the fact that it was the first place I ever lived alone, it was my best friend’s grandmother’s house. She lived her for over thirty years and I remember spending time with my best friend here while her nana watched us. She watches over us still as the both of us settle into our new homes.

The apartment that my partner and I moved into is funnily enough very similar to this place. With all my furniture and decorations, the new apartment feels instantly like home. Of course, sharing it with someone you love makes it all the more special and sentimental. I can’t wait to share that one with you next!

Happy Day-

I am very proud of my $20 second-hand tree from Facebook Marketplace. The carbon-footprint on a fake tree is…questionable. But this fake tree is at least ten years old (according to the box) and I plan to keep it for another ten years at least.

My best friend and I have been gifting each other an ornament every Christmas for the past ten years in anticipation of this moment. Both of us now have our own trees to decorate! I’m so grateful she started this tradition as I look at my tree I see memories from the last ten years and most of them remind me of her.

Dried Orange Decoration

In theme with my ‘budget friendly Christmas’ I created my own dried orange garland. Well, I never got the chance to string them into a garland but they made a beautiful, natural statement to my homemade mantle anyway and smelled divine.

Homemade Wreath and Window Sash

My mom is the queen of wreath making! She had me and my brother’s girlfriend over for a wreath making night. My mom made four wreaths (two for the family house and two for her work). I made my wreath with dried hydrangeas, some velvet ribbon, and little ornaments. I also made a couple of window sashes with red ribbon for my front windows and my mailbox.

New Year’s

I spent another holiday in quarantine having tested positive days before New Year’s Eve. My partner and I indulged in a charcuterie board and toasted 2022 outside on my porch by live-streaming the ball drop on my laptop and eating twelve grapes at midnight.

By the end of the season, I finally got a tree skirt to match the stockings. I also got a loveseat from Facebook marketplace that matches my other sofa perfectly. It fits in the nook right next to my bookshelf.

I’m not sure if I’ll be in this apartment next year, but I can’t wait to decorate in 2022. Fall and winter have such a special place in my heart and I love being able to embrace what each season has to offer. Especially the holiday season with so much to celebrate, so much to be grateful for, especially this year.

Happy Holiday Season-

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I moved! Out of my parents house and into an apartment of my own. There shouldn’t be shame around the fact that I lived with my parents but there is a little bit. When I first moved back home after being abroad in Spain, I didn’t think I would be there for three years. I am lucky to have such a support system and privileged to have had a safe place to live. Living at home allowed me time to figure things out and be financially ready to start renting again.

In the beginning of 2020, I was browsing through Craig’s list and calling landlords for places to rent. But then the pandemic hit and I was forever grateful that I didn’t have to be alone. During quarantine, I think everyone reflected on home a little bit more. We were all stuck in place and so we wanted to make our homes reflect us and work for us. (I repainted and redecorated my childhood bedroom last year to make it feel like a light and airy retreat!)

As I settle into my new place, which I am lovingly referring to as the Pink Apartment (it has pink carpets and pink counters and it used to have pink walls), I’m considering what it means to create a home. I truly believe that home can be a person or a state of mind. You can have home in someone or in just a few belongings that you take from place to place. I mean, I’m a romance writer. Of course I love the troupe when the hero/heroine confesses that they could be anywhere are long as they are with their lover because they are home.

But there is no denying that residing in a physical place is home. Home that makes us feel connected to our roots.

Minimalism, Maximalism, and Cottagecore

I want to live sustainably. I began this blog as a journey to document navigating an eco-friendly lifestyle. And now that is expanding past beauty recipes and crafts to decor. I’ve created a new category on my blog, living, where I’ll be documenting my transformation of my Pink Apartment and continuing to reflect on what it means to reside. Reside in a place and on earth. 

When one thinks of sustainable living, minimalism is the word that comes to mind. Minimalism is only bringing items into your life and your home that serve you and have purpose. This fights consumerism which is an important part of living sustainably. The problem is that minimalism has become an aesthetic itself with very minimal decor, neutral colors, and sleek furniture. Which is the opposite of my style!

Maximalism is filling your space with objects that bring you joy. Objects don’t have to have a ‘use’. Bringing in trinkets and decorations that show your personality, can be a form of creative expression. Just like minimalism has become an aesthetic, I think maximalism already is an aesthetic. But healthy maximalism fights overconsumption and celebrates vibrant and unique spaces.

With both minimalism and maximalism, there is a connotation that they are ‘expensive’. People with minimalist spaces invest in pricey furniture because they don’t buy much. Maximalism looks like a big house filled with things. All of these preconceived notions make me want to distance myself from these terms.

I wouldn’t consider myself a minimalist OR a maximalist but I do hope to use the ideas of both in my apartment. I want to bring things that are necessary. And if something brings me joy, that I consider necessary too. I want to combine the mindset of minimalism with mindset of maximalism.

That’s why I love the emergence of cottagecore. Cottage living inspires the idea of living slowly and connecting with the land. It’s an aesthetic and a lifestyle. It’s about cozy, warm, inviting spaces and a return to traditional home-making skills like baking, gardening, and sewing your own clothes. It’s no surprise that after political turmoil, COVID, natural disasters, and the climate crisis that we are searching for something simpler.

For excluded or marginalized communities, cottagecore offers sanctuary and softness with warm, open arms. It’s something that can be for everyone and fight against formally segregated spaces. As a woman, I can reclaim domestic femininity without feeling like it makes me a bad feminist. The word itself offers a us a way to be seen. And I think that is what home is—a place to be ourselves.

An Invitation

So welcome. Please come on in. I want to welcome everyone into my space and into my life. I’m taking you along as I transform each space with before and after pictures. I hope they can inspire you or give you ideas for your own home.

It’s the Pink Apartment because it is full of pink—carpets, counter tops, cushions, paint, and more carpets. All the walls have been given a fresh coat of white paint (by me, my mom, and my partner— y’all are exceptional) and it has transformed the space into something bright and welcoming. It’s a blank slate.

The apartment is the bottom half of an old 1930’s twin house. The ceiling are tall, the rooms quirky, the floors different in every room, but it’s mine and feeling more and more like me every day. I adore it’s eccentric charm and am filling it with antiques. Okay so it’s not actually Victorian, but I am decorating it like a Victorian cottage.

I’m only bringing in things that give me joy and fit into what I want my space to be—a light, warm, cozy, restful place for nurturing and creating.

Another beautiful thing about cottagecore is that it is inherently sustainable. We can swap plastic objects for wooden and glass to fit the aesthetic. It fights against the idea that you need new and makes owning old cool. The transformation of my space won’t happen in a week. There is a gentler more graceful period of cultivating space instead of transforming. I’m shopping vintage and thrifted which takes time and is climate conscious. Cottage living is about just that… living. Slowing down and romanticizing the everyday moments.

Each piece of furniture has a history just like the apartment. I’m putting my story into the fabric of this place just as I continue to craft my own stories for this blog and my creative writing projects. 

I’m excited and I already feel the transformative power of having my own space—to create, live, love. An extension of my place on earth where we can tend to one another.

Happy Day-