Friday Five

Wow. Already we're a week into 2011 ... where did the time go? It just keeps slipping away from me!

We traveled back to Hamilton late Sunday night, but I felt I still needed a bit of a break. So I've been ignoring my laptop, snuggling up with Pat, a mug of hot chocolate or tea & a good book (right now I'm reading The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo). A few things have started cropping up though where I've thought "I should blog about that..." so I think it's about time to get back into the swing of things. I figured a Friday Five would be the easiest way to ease my way into it.

If I kept this list to what I've been up to this week as I usually do, it would look something like this:

1. Read.
2. Sleep.
3. Eat. And eat some more.
4. Clean up a little.
5. Repeat steps 1 to 3.

Exciting? Not so much. But very relaxing.

Instead, here's a list of 5 things I've been wanting to show off or talk about:

1. I took down my tree & most of my Christmas decorations. I still have a few more boxes to find & fill - plus a trip to storage to clear out the apartment. It makes me sad to put it all away after enjoying it for a few short weeks, but it's ready to go. I really want to clean up & de-clutter this weekend, start off the new year on the right foot.
2. I received some fabulous vintage dishes this year that I want to use & display to their best advantage. I love dishes! My favourite are these three Jadeite pieces from my mom:She also gave me this lovely tea set:And a platter that used to belong to my great-grandmother:My grandma also passed along this gorgeous plate:It was a wedding gift from a friend. My aunt also gave me her set of Christmas dishes, but I didn't unpack those. I'll just have to wait until next year to use them!
3. I also added some Christmas pieces to my salt & pepper shaker collection. These adorable ornaments were in my stocking:And these presents were from my sister-in-law:Too cute!
4. My mom also fueled my obsession with garlic. These two pieces were my santa gift:A garlic baker & a garlic keeper!Now I'll be using garlic in everything (lucky Pat!)!
5. The weather has been alternatively snowy & warm. I captured a snowy moment last night:

I hope everyone has had a great start to the new year - here's to keeping those resolutions!