Puttery Treats For A Lovely New Year

I do believe it would be best to drift into the midst of January on a wave of thoroughly scrumptious inspiration, agreed? And so my Sweets, please find below a list of my lovely puttery treats, especially devised today to help you spark domestic bliss, get you out of bed in the cold mornings and feel good about your house and your self now that the decorations are down…
* Get focused: write a list as long as your arm of all those things you want to achieve/see/buy/eradicate this year, then print it out and pop it inside your journal so you can review it regularly. It helps to have a lots of little dreams doesn’t it?
* Cure miserable snotty nose problems by mixing hot water with a spoonful of honey, another of apple cider, lemon juice to taste and a dash of cayenne pepper. Sip throughout the day to ease symptoms…
* Print out this darling little reminder that you are amazing…
* Remember that you don’t have to keep all the gifts you, or your children received. Stash them for re-gifting, offer them to a more grateful home, or drive them straight to the charity shop. Only keep what you know to be beautiful or believe to be useful…
* Decant cleanser, toner and moisturizer into vintage glass bottles and resolve to make this the year you truly commit to a proper, all grown up skincare routine. The clock is ticking Sweetie…
* Start a project: knit four or five lonnnnnnng scarves and then stitch them together for a quick and easy oh so snuggly blanket..
* Plant lemon balm seeds in small plant pots, cups or containers a for a revitalizing houseplant that will start to grow in days and infuse the air with an early hint of spring on your desk top…
* Forget the Flylady lace ups. Find the most glamorous, pretty high heels you own and bring them downstairs. Now whenever you feel rubbish, you simply shove your tootsies into them and trot around the house. Trust me: a girl can take on the world in stilettos.
* Revive Wintery, hibernating spirits by burning Bergamot in the sitting room. This calming, sedative oil, though deeply soothing is also renowned for relieving exhaustion and making you feel alive, on even the coldest, most windy of days…
* Declare one night a week “Salad Night!” and resolve to work your way through as many, cosy Winter salads as you can find.
* Spend an hour or three organizing your jewelry box in search of the girl you used to be. Find her in a row of pearls. A pair of hoop earrings, or that ring with the ruby, and see if by putting whatever it is on again, you can capture her spirit all over again…
* Top jars in the kitchen with brown paper and string for an understated, rustic makeover…
* Write a letter to yourself today explaining who it is you want to be in 2014 and pop it under your mattress with instructions on the envelope to “not be opened before New Years Eve, 2014″…
* Go straight to your wardrobe (do not pass go) and find the one item you resort to when there is simply nothing else to wear. The one item you know full well you look a fright in. Now march it to the bin and breathe a sigh of relief: never again will you look quite so atrocious.
* Start a darling vintage fabric collage like this one…
* Set a timer on your phone marked as your “gratitude moment”. Have it repeat daily and when it bleeps, pause for just a moment and remember all that is wonderful about your world…
* Go tea shopping and start the search for the one adventurous cuppa that truly slows you down and has you sighing ahhhhhh. Schedule an ah moment into everyday…
* Give the kids bedtime drawing books and a pencil in the color of their choice. Ask them to do a quick sketch of their day before they go to sleep as part of their winter bedtime routine…
* Buy a plain tea-cozy and spend January evenings embroidering it with a charming little cottage scene…
*  Throw away your scales and treat yourself to a really pretty tape measure instead: if you are committed to losing weight this is more rewarding method of measuring success. Hang it in the bathroom and spend an hour or two on the computer creating a chart on which to write down those ever decreasing vital statistics…
* Start a story button jar: pull buttons from kids clothes headed for the dustbin and use them to remember who you and your children were…
* Seek out a few new to-you digital magazines and see style curated from a certain point of view. Search e-mag on Pinterest and you are sure to find something to lift your domestic literary spirit… 
* Make January the month you seek out healthy alternatives to all your favorite Winter comfort foods: start with this Lentil, Kale and Garlic Potato Shepherds Pie…