I Have A Confession To Make...

I haven’t taken down our tree.

I plan to do it today, but my record is leaving it up until February….so….can we still be friends? I know most people are tired of the holidays and aim for a fresh start early in January, but I love the twinkle and the magic of sitting with a coffee by the Christmas tree.

That’s me :) And you? You have your things, too. Instead of hiding them, how about dusting them off and letting them shine?

In case you’re feeling a little shaky while everyone around you seems to be zipping ahead with all their powerful, new 2022 resolutions, here’s something to consider.

Ready?

If no one’s told you lately, please let me be the first to say … it’s the quirky things about you that are memorable and lovely.

We are not all the same.

We don’t have to do anything perfectly — we just have to do what we love.

Enjoy your Sunday, and promise me you’ll do something that gives YOU joy, and reminds you that you’re unique and worth loving just as you are now. Today. (No changes necessary!)

Love, Catherine x

PS

• New friends, hello and welcome! I want to tell you about my books because—honestly—they’re worth it and they’ll cheer you on. They’ll sit beside your bed and be the best little (quick) pick-me-up, I promise. Start with The 10 Minute Fix and then Small Steps Are Perfect. And yes, that’s my towering stack of reading beside my bed. I love reading! Books give us everything…and ask for nothing in return but to please us. xx

• How about a cute, inexpensive monogrammed necklace—to remind yourself that you’re cheering for YOU in 2022? I love this cutie!!! You need one. Just $12 to celebrate YOU.

• I got new trainers! (I have tricky feet: wide + pain from an old running injury). Youch. If you’re like me, these are amazing….they’re men’s New Balance in wide width and they’re cute and comfy.

• A poem I adore…“Housekeeping” by Natasha Tretheway, exploring domestic duties in the past.

It was a not-so-silent night...

Hi friends! How are you this beautiful Sunday? Here in Sydney it’s finally hot, hot, hot — and I’m having a thousand coffees by myself as the family sleeps in after our little Christmas party last night.

Best part? The live music! A pianist, a cellist, and a violinist all crammed in the music room singing Christmas carols. It was so much fun and reminded me of my Canadian home.

Then we stayed up until 2:30am talking with our young adult sons, just the four of us by the tree amidst the mess of plates and food and presents from friends. It felt like magic—one of those family Christmas memories.

Today I’m thinking about imperfection.

When we open our homes and hearts to people, we make beautiful things (not perfect things). Yes, there could have been cleaner baseboards, and it was so hot. I had about three seconds to get dressed for my own party because I was rushing to get the food ready. My original pianist cancelled last minute and my cellist son and his talented friends stepped in.

But friends showed up to bring the cheer.

Honestly, there are presents here today that I never even saw last night…little hostess gifts under the tree and sprinkled around the house. People sang and chatted and met new people and laughed.

In my heart, here’s what I’m thinking: people are so surprisingly lovely.

This Christmas, let people love you.

Sit for a minute and soak in your good fortune, like I did last night.

Nobody wanted us perfect, or our home to be any different, or the food better or the fun more fun. People just want to be welcomed in.

Nobody wants your worry—they want your love.

Wish you were here, and I’m sending you a heart full of peace. Breathe in, enjoy, make some magic this holiday season with whatever you’ve got in your own two hands.

Catherine xx

PS.

• Ladies, these are great holiday party shoes! Flat, cute, comfy, a little surprising. Order your regular size and sparkle a little!

• And thank you for gifting my books to women who will love them. Authors can only keep writing when readers buy books, and I appreciate you. You are the friends I treasure.

"Oh, that's not for me..."

Well, hello friends. I woke up to a beautiful sunny Sunday and I’m so excited about that. I hope there’s something peaceful and pretty for you to look at in your world right now. Is there anything prettier than sunshine or snow? Starlight, twilight, summer days or winter…I look for the beauty.

That’s why we keep our Christmas tree up for ages. We all love it (I taught the kids — ha! sorry future-partners….my boys will want the tree up for months…and by the way, would you like to inherit 12,000,000 nutcrackers???)

Yesterday it was time to take down the tree, and this is how I do it: I wrap every ornament separately in coloured tissue paper, co-ordinated with each lovely decoration, and store them in a big tub. Then when we decorate the tree next year, we “open” every ornament and often make a little surprised comment about how much we love this one or that one.

From here, I can feel you doing two things:

1. Agreeing with me — you do something similar! So fun!

2. Gritting your teeth with the entire pain-in-the-buttness of this approach.

And I am who I am.

And you are who you are.

Do we have to be the same for us to love and respect each other? No. But it seems like right now we give our opinion and give it in a way that can make people feel cancelled. That’s the new term, right? We get ‘corrected’ or get ‘cancelled.’ As an author, I get this a lot. In public. And what people say stands there forever. It’s the price of being a creative and sharing your work with the world.

I wonder if we could try this instead:

It’s such a lovely thing to say, or do. Truly it is — because it leaves some room in the world for everyone else.

Book you don’t like? That’s not for me.

Person you don’t like? She’s not for me.

Decision someone else made that you don’t like? No, that’s not for me.

I know life is not as simple as this when you look at the big issues, like justice and freedom and equality and lawfulness. I know, absolutely, that there are things in the world where we should stand up, correct others, vote, march, fight.

But I also know there are so many times where we can use kindness instead. And “That’s not for me” really is the truth.

It’s not for me, but it might be for someone else.

Hope your Christmas decorations are safely down, the room is rearranged, and there’s a little something beautiful you can find in your world today. It’s tough out there, and we need to keep our spirits up.

Love Catherine x

PS.

• Did everyone watch the inauguration? Amanda Gorman was absolutely stunning!

• If you need a little healthy-ish sweet today, for the new people here…you can try these little no-bake brownie bites. GF, DF, V.

• Hey, if you’d like to leave me a lovely review or a quick star-rating for The 10 Minute Fix on amazon…sending big hugs your way. Thank you.

If you're a woman who makes the magic...

Oh, hello tired lady.

Are you the one who makes the Christmas magic? The one who figures out who loves what, shops for it, hides it, wraps it, and places it with love under the tree?

The one who makes sure that the holiday treats are in the cupboard…the peanut butter balls, the gingerbread houses to gift, the special cookies, the chocolates you all love? Turkey, ham, cranberry sauce?

Are you the one who remembers, remembers, remembers and decorates so everything sparkles and then tries to make the magic happen in the hearts of the people you love?

My sister, Rena, did this:

Made 10,00000000000000 gingerbread cookies to give away. Her gingerbread recipe is the best — healthy, fresh, delicious.

I use it every year to make simple gingerbread houses (just so so so much better than the kits you find in the shops, or the ones you buy for $80 at the bakery.)

But oh, my friends, sometimes we get a little tired of being magic-makers.

So today I’m here to remind myself (and you) of this: the best Christmas memories are made when the magic-makers RELAX.

When I chill the crap out.

When I hug my crazy, frenzied merry-making brain and say to myself, “You’ve done enough, Catherine. It’s okay if nothing is sparkly or fun today.”

It’s okay if my people are grumpy.

It’s okay if the gift is disappointing, if the teens are not into family games night, if the turkey is dry.

When I RELAX, when I settle in to being with my family and letting things be, then the true magic happens. It gives everyone else space to step up and help. My family gets to be with the more fun version of me — the one who puts on fancy earrings and sits down on the sofa. It gives me the chance to breathe and find my own joy in this beautiful, sparkly season.

Work and then rest, my friends. Plan and then celebrate. Let’s be present as our present to the people we love.

Here’s to happy holidays!

Love Catherine x

PS.

• Rena’s gingerbread recipe is easy and the best. It’s here for you :) Enjoy….from her Canadian house to yours.