CTL Weekly 01.10
Hello friends, and happy new year! I hope your 2025 is off to a good start. Here, we are still in the middle of the big freeze with a new round of snow falling last night. I hope you’re warm and safe wherever you are and of course, my heart goes out to those in LA affected by the fires. I’ve followed the coverage of it so closely and still, it’s hard to comprehend the devastation. The Los Angeles Times is maintaining a list of places you can donate—everything from large non-profits to verified GoFundMe pages to animal welfare organizations. It’s a great resource if you’d like to help.
Here’s what I saved to share with you this week.
Note: Creating This Life posts sometimes contain affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
I went back through the last year’s worth of Friday newsletters and picked the home tours that especially stood out to me. Here’s the list:
An updated English Tudor in Portland, OR.
A Rhode Island beach house filled with treasures.
Josh Young’s Virginia country house.
Garden Tours:
An English gardening expert’s personal gardens.
Video Tours:
A designer’s LaJolla beach cottage.
A designer’s 1920’s Jacksonville, FL home.
Do you have a favorite?
I enjoyed this video podcast with Melissa Fetter of Beacon Hill Books, all about starting the store. I’ve posted about Beacon Hill Books several times and I was excited to get to visit last summer.
Over the holidays I read Tana French’s The Trespasser and kept remembering how much I enjoy her well-written mysteries. I’ve made a resolution to finish all her books this year.
These leopard mules from Old Navy kept catching my eye online and when I was in the store doing Christmas shopping I checked them out and snapped them up.
Speaking of Old Navy, I’ve bought several of their sweaters for Madeline and they are so sweet and soft. Two of them are on clearance right now, including this deer sweater set (it sheds a little but is worth it!) and this henley one piece (seriously, so soft).
Have you dreamed about owning a bookstore? Here’s a charming one for sale and you can live above it.
I’ve gotten some questions about the lamps on our Christmas table. They are these from Amazon. They are rechargeable – so no cords – which means you can use them almost anywhere.
Eight words to say to a friend. So simple but so impactful.
Ralph Lauren’s A Way of Living is over 40% off at Amazon right now. (The delivery date is a few weeks out, FYI.) This book is such a classic. Here’s a look inside if you’d like to see.
35 cozy dishes for cold days. How timely!
P.S. Read previous CTL Weekly newsletters.
I really enjoy your post and all the article you link us too. I appreciate the time and effort you put into your blog. thank you
Complaint dept please.
My weekly blog post isnt showing up. Please advise.
Thankyou.
Karen
Hi Karen. You aren’t missing anything…I’ve just been taking a little break. Hope to be back soon!