Are you enjoying this first week of the year as much as I am?  It’s cold and rainy here in the Bay Area.  Perfect weather for packing up the holidays and unpacking plans for the year to come.

I’ve spent the last few days moving things from one floor to another trying to restore order here at home.  We had holiday house guests for nearly three weeks—so fun!  But that meant that every room (including our glamping tent), every dish, and every linen was pressed into service.

Also, things piled up.  Papers, mail, recycling, laundry. So the last few days have been spent sorting and savoring the season (not to mention the remaining holiday treats.)

My mother-in-law always says “a change is as good as a rest.”  Vacations—and aren’t the holidays a vacation from our everyday life?—often leave me energized and ready to tackle old projects anew. This week as I put things right I’m already scheming about new design projects. Specifically I’m ready to start feathering our new nest with furnishings more appropriate for the home’s era (contemporary) and feeling (spare but comfortable).  First up—some Pinterest planning sessions and then the hunt will begin.

But before I dive in I’m taking a moment to enjoy a few new items that found their way under the tree.

First, a Pendleton wool blanket as a winter topper for our bed. We bought one in the Yellowstone pattern for our guest bed years ago and I’ve always enjoyed the weight of it when mid-night insomnia drives me to the guest room to read.  Wanting to enjoy the same cozy sensation in my own bed I chose the graphic San Miguel pattern to enhance my winter’s sleep (and M.J.’s, of course, which is why I gifted it to him).

Next, a beautiful new pot to make winter stews. Over time I’ve gravitated to Le Crueset cookware for most all my stove top stewing and braising.  However, the LC pots I owned ranged from small to medium in size and were purchased in Cherry Red to match our old red-accented kitchen.  I was making do with some well-worn stainless steel pots for larger cooking projects but hinted that I might be ready to upgrade.  M.J. picked out this beautiful 7.5-quart model in Ocean (exclusive to Williams-Sonoma) to match our teal granite countertops.  What a luxury to make winter soups without worrying about them spilling over onto the stovetop. Eventually I may find a place to store this dreamy enameled pot, but for now I love how it commands center stage on the cooktop.

And finally, some hand carved “toaster tongs.”  This is a little kitchen tool that I bought in volume for gifts this season after picking one up while reporting on the ACCA Craft Fair here in San Francisco last summer. These may seem silly (after all, can’t we all fish our toast out of the toaster with a fork?) but these ingenious little tongs are pleasant to the touch and—due to a little magnet that keeps them attached to the toaster—always accessible.

How about you?  Were there any home gifts under your Christmas tree that you’re savoring in the hushed aftermath of the holidays?  And what plans are you cooking up for your house and garden in 2016?

Every year for Christmas my eight siblings and their spouses draw names for gift giving around a particular theme.  Some years the themes have been practical – “emergency supplies” or “favorite cooking tools,” for example. Other years we’ve shopped for entertainment items like an Oscar-winning movie from the year the recipient graduated from high school–which is how “Young Frankenstein” came into my video library.

The past few years we’ve all been traveling to family weddings as the next generation grows up and starts their own little Loosli-related families.  So this year we decided that the theme would be “Planes, Trains & Automobiles” and the gifts would be travel related. Thinking about things that make travel easier and enjoyable for me, I came up with a list of possible gift ideas for our designated recipients—my baby brother Aaron and my oldest brother Brian’s wife Karen. I’m sharing it here, in case you also have someone on your list who likes or needs to travel.

1. A Personalized Packing List. Years ago I created a few packing list spreadsheets based on how I travel.  Basically they fall into a few simple categories—hot or cool weather and weekend or weeklong travel. (Even if I’ll be on the road for multiple weeks, I’ve found a week’s worth of clothes will likely suffice with some strategic laundry maneuvers.) These lists keep me from reinventing the wheel every time I travel and get me out the door with all the essentials. Possible gift: Packing advice book wrapped in your own packing list template and/or a packing app.

2. Travel Bags. I have suitcases in 3 sizes–a true carry-on, a possible carry-on if I squish everything in really tightly and pray the zipper holds, and a larger suitcase that I know I’ll check.

My “personal item” carry on is usually a lightweight Le Sport Sac tote.  Into that tote I’ll throw one or two smaller bags with travel essentials.  The first one is a smaller multi-zipper Le Sport Sac cosmetic bag that carries an old iPod—to save my phone battery—some lipstick, lotion and hand sanitizer.  The second comes along on longer trips and includes a sleep mask, earplugs and a flashlight.  The small bags are always packed, ready to go. I’m thinking this might be a good gift for Karen who is always so organized. Possible Gift: A small colorful bag packed with in-flight essentials.

3. Paper Goods. I keep travel documents, itineraries and pertinent sections of guidebooks (I still prefer a paper copy) in transparent plastic envelopes, one per city/country, to make getting around easier if I’m a little jet-lagged or just disoriented. These folders also store paper ephemera—entrance tickets, brochures, etc.—to review when I’m back home. I also make sure I have a Moleskine notebook on hand to to capture some impressions or contact info. Possible Gift:  Clear plastic envelopes and a Moleskine notebook.

4. Travel Books. I love guidebooks and always pack relevant sections in my travel folders (see above.) But my favorite way to prep for a trip or enhance my time there is to read a novel set where I’ll be traveling.  Some of my best leads for new-to-me books have been found in the literature section of the Rough Guide travel guides. Possible gift: A specific guidebook or novel if I know where the person is traveling or an Amazon gift card with a note designating its purpose.

5. Destination Gift Certificates. As regular readers know, I tend to track down needlework shops wherever I go.  Though I travel to discover new things and places, sometimes it’s nice to drop in to a familiar setting and see how it’s different elsewhere—for example, the cheery yarn shop I visited in remote Oxapampa, Peru last January.

These gifts take a little more research.  For example, my brother Aaron owns a Cold Stone Creamery franchise.  We just spent time together in San Diego at a nephew’s wedding and I noted that he enjoyed checking out the competition at a local ice cream shop near our vacation rental. So I’m thinking a gift certificate to a top-ranked creamery in Las Vegas—our next family wedding destination–might be just the ticket.  Possible Gift: a gift certificate to a restaurant or specialty shop in a city you know your recipient will travel in the next year.

6. Cold Hard (and usually very welcome) Cash.  Years ago when our young family did a home exchange in London, my in-laws gave us a generous cash gift and told us it was to be used for any entrance fees to museums or sights so we wouldn’t forgo opportunities because we were pinching our pennies. Even though we’d saved a tremendous amount by doing a home swap, we were still stretching to afford air fare.  Their gift allowed us to happily explore London without worrying so much about the cost. Possible Gift: A fancy/humorous card and some greenbacks.

Bon Voyage!