Happy Monday and welcome to Christmas week 2020! Hard to believe, right?? For a year that had its definite slow points, these last couple months flew right by. How are you holding up as we head into the end of the year? Ready to celebrate this week and next? I know it’s going to look different.

It’s nice to have a little more time at home while families are busy celebrating…and I’m going to need / soak in the downtime as we head into the new year because soon enough everyone will be calling and emailing about help with decluttering. Actually, that’s already happening, but as we near January 1 the inquiries come in rapidly. And I’m happy about that! Love the new families we meet…And I’m particularly excited about 2021 because there’s so much MORE happening. I’ll share a little more about that below. Anyway, with the quieter days I’m for sure coming in here to blog more!

One of the highlights of my weekend? Getting out on a long hike with these 2…

These 2. Make me so happy! I miss our Charlie every single day and have dreams of a new cat coming into our life soon, but these dogs are pretty sweet.

Managed to get quite a bit of shopping done last week and this weekend. Was surprised how quiet our downtown shopping areas have been. On Wednesday night there was no one around…I could walk into any store without a wait. Our county is back under a partial lockdown with only 20% capacity allowed in stores. I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of lines so it was actually pretty nice! Wanted to share a few things I found – this was the first thing I spotted when walking in Nordstrom…

( shirt )

Seems appropriate for 2020…and EVERY year. The message resonates with me no matter what, of course.

While holiday gift buying at Lululemon, and with several birthday gift cards I had yet to spend (bday was in May – lol!), I branched out from my usual plain black leggings to grab a few different….black leggings – ha! I am IN LOVE with this special edition…

( legging )

It’s the Align with a crushed velvet stripe down both legs. Really cute and soft! Feels a little more holiday.

Also picked up a long sleeve white work shirt and a pair of compression leggings…because hello mid-40s thighs…

( shirt | leggings )

And hello dusty mirror. Better take care of that during my downtime too.

Despite Covid and our current lockdown, the elves safely made it back this year! Up to the usual antics and sharing a few of their ideas. Maybe your elves are doing the same or need some tips?? One day they delivered the most adorable gingerbread and sugar cookies!…

Those little masks!!

This morning they brought warm PJ bottoms for the kids…

Perfect timing – it’s SO cold here…

( similar throw )

Spent a fair amount of the weekend wrapping gifts. I love organizing the tags, ribbons and paper each year….

While doing client returns last week I found cute paper at Container Store. My favorite is the blush / gold foil wrap and the cable sweater wrap…

Love the neutrals.

Don’t think I’ve shared the front porch yet. ??

Kept it simple this year, much as I wanted to go all out. Good news, clean up will be easy! Ha!

Work has continued at a steady pace. Loving all the projects and hands-on time with clients – with a mask, of course. Last week I installed 2 closets. More on these soon…

And I unpacked and organized this home which was already shared last week on the blog…

There’s many projects in design phase right now. One is an awesome new garage…

My 2 favorite garage cabinet finishes – birch or gray. Other than white, these are stunning classics!

Truly excited about upcoming projects for 2021!

Speaking of SO | Home 2021…a few big things. I’m extending offer letters to a couple new organizing assistants. Really really excited about these candidates. My assistant, Tara, and I did a great job finding candidates and working through pre-screening / interviews. This is all new territory for me so I had no idea what I was doing, to be honest. And it’s tough for me because this is my baby…but we need more hands on deck. More hands to help move projects along smoothly. Really excited to share more about these gals…but they have to accept first. Sending offer letters today!!!

AND it appears I’ll be writing a book in 2021. I almost cringe typing that…because I haven’t signed anything yet and we’re still working through the pre-contract details. But it’s basically a go…if I want to do it. And I do!

A couple weekends ago I opened up about some initial feelings on IG Stories…received some incredibly supportive feedback. Just general comments and DMs that were positive – love that community over there!! But I also added a poll because I was curious to know if anyone was even interested in a book. The results…

That answered the question.

I’ll share more soon about my feelings on writing a book…the good and the bad. It’s exciting FOR SURE but there’s definitely a LOT to consider and I wonder what comes from it during AND after. Writing a book is also going to dramatically alter the plans I had for 2021 with the business…not that I can’t continue with that plan. It’s just going to mean really ramping up these new organizers pretty quickly.

Hoping to be back a few more times this week! Let me know what you’re all up to. I’d love to hear from you guys!

xo,

Sam