• Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Collaborate
  • Blog
  • Parties
    • Children’s Parties Ideas
    • Holiday Parties
    • Adult Party Ideas
  • Holiday Ideas
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Fourth of July
    • Spring
    • Thanksgiving
    • Valentine’s Day
  • Seasons
    • Winter
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Autumn
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Beverages
    • Desserts
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups
  • Project Gallery
    • Crafts
    • Decorating
    • DIY
    • Good Ideas
    • Tutorials
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

  • Book
  • Speaking
  • Meet Vanessa
    • Featured

December 11, 2015

A Simple Hot Cocoa Station

When my kids were really little, the days spent at home with them were mostly awesome. I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. But they were also exhausting. Really, really exhausting.

Being home alone with young children day in and day out can be both very fulfilling and very isolating.

hot cocoa station with skis

 

So by the time the weekends rolled around, I couldn’t wait to get out and enjoy family activities together. I was always on the lookout for the latest happenings and we had so many fun adventures!

This was particularly true during the holiday season. We would pack the weekends with every kind of festivity we could find. Watching Santa arrive by train at Riverfront Park. Driving around to every light display. Zoo lights. Christmas parades. You name it, we’ve done it!

hot cocoa station details atthepicketfence.com

But life is different these days. Really different.

These days, as our kids are getting older, we feel as though we are getting less and less time with them. The long days spent at home together have been replaced with shuttling them to and fro and feeling like sometimes the only one on one time we get with them is when we are helping them with homework. And we all know how super fun that is! 😉

winter cabinet decor

Lately, we just crave being home. We crave downtime together with nothing on the agenda except maybe a nap.

And we’re finding this to be especially true during the Christmas season.

Suddenly, we’ve found ourselves longing to create different kinds of memories. Ones that are a little bit more relaxed, more simple.

cinnamon sticks in a jar

And the cherished moments seem to be happening in less contrived, less ‘planned out’ ways. Like when my daughter begged to help me make the banner to hang over the hot cocoa station. She stood there in her PJ’s and fuzzy, bed head hair and all I could think about was how quickly time was passing and how thankful I was that I said ‘yes’ to her request.

daughter helping with craft

Especially since she added her own little special touch to the banner.

simple pennant hot cocoa banner

They say that when you are raising children, the days are long but the years are short. And in those early years of motherhood I didn’t really understand that because frankly, those days just felt SO LONG!

But, now I get it. I get how quickly those years fly by.

And I get that they are only going to fly by faster and faster.

Christmas tabletop display vignette atthepicketfence.com

So I’m embracing a Christmas where the treasured moments are quieter, less overt.

Where something as simple as doing a puzzle together feels almost sacred.

vintage scale with pine tree on top atthepicketfence.com

 

Oh, we’ll still go driving around looking at light displays and join in some of our favorite activities here and there.

But, we’re being more selective, more protective of this precious time together. And we’re realizing that even without the lights and the activities and the parades, Christmas will still come.

And we will welcome it not with exhaustion and whatever energy remains, but with joy and reverence.

Cottage style Christmas decor atthepicketfence.com

And a cup of hot cocoa! 🙂

Vanessa signature

 

I’m so thrilled to be joining my fellow bHome friends this week as we share some of our favorite Christmas ideas and inspiration!

bhome tour pic

GIVEAWAY

All the bloggers you will see on this tour are on the bHome App and we are honored to be partnering with D. Lawless Hardware to offer a $150.00 Gift Card to one lucky winner. To enter just download our bHome App by clicking HERE. Our app is available to both iPhone and Android users. If you have already downloaded bHome, you will automatically get a message to TAP to enter. D. Lawless offers international shipping so this giveaway is open to anyone. Winner will be notified on or around December 14, 2015.

bHome Christmas Event | Day 1

DAY 1

Garden Therapy | Cedar Hill Farmhouse | Bright, Bold & Beautiful | Cupcakes and Crinoline

Southern Hospitality | Little Farmstead | Shabby Art Boutique

bHome Christmas Event | Day 2

DAY 2

Redhead Can Decorate | Jennifer Rizzo | Our Southern Home | Maison de Pax | Rooms for Rent

Cherished Bliss | Homemade by Carmona | Everyday Enchanting | My Soulful Home

 bHome Christmas Event 2015 | Day 3

DAY 3

Savvy Southern Style | Shabbyfufu | Housepitality Designs

Debbiedoo’s | StoneGable | Love of Home | Setting for Four | On Sutton Place

 bHome Christmas Event 2015

DAY 4

Buckets of Burlap | Cynthia Weber Design | Edith & Evelyn | Lilacs & Longhorns

Confessions of a Serial Do-It-Yourselfer | At The Picket Fence | Duke Manor Farm

5 Comments Filed Under: Christmas, Decorating, Good Ideas, Holiday Parties, Holidays, Kids Tagged With: Christmas, Christmas decor, Christmas decorating

Subscribe

Get the latest goodness straight to your inbox!

Previous Post: « Paper Angels and Pretty Trees
Next Post: Grandma’s Box »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shirley@Housepitality Designs says

    December 11, 2015 at 5:32 AM

    What a great idea to place that cocoa station in that cabinet!…Love the banner and treasure the moments when your children want to help with projects…as they get older, you know where their focus will be…and it won’t be helping us with these sort of things….She will be hanging out with her friends at the mall!…:)
    The banner is adorable!….Have fun with the kiddos…they grow up way too fast! Have a great weekend Vanessa!

    Reply
  2. christy @ Confessions of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer says

    December 11, 2015 at 5:38 AM

    Wow I am feeling the same way these days! My oldest is 13 and I can feel our precious moments together starting to slip away as he didn’t want to go help pick out an ornament to make with me this year like we always do. So yes, enjoy every precious moment you do have with them! Beautifully written, and your daughter did a great job on the banner! Merry Christmas! XO

    Reply
  3. Cindy says

    December 11, 2015 at 2:50 PM

    The cocoa station is absolutely precious! Love it set up in that cabinet! You’re absolutely right about the kiddos growing up so fast, my three are all out of the house now, and oh how I wish I could turn back the clock. Cherish each moment with them. The banner is perfect!

    Reply
  4. Kerryanne @ Shabby Art Boutique says

    December 11, 2015 at 10:23 PM

    Enjoy these precious moments and memory making days Vanessa, because the years do disappear all too quickly. My baby is leaving for university in 3 weeks and we’ll be empty nesters. Where did those years go?
    Such a sweet cocoa station. Merry Christmas!!

    Reply
  5. Heather says

    December 13, 2015 at 4:36 PM

    Wish I could come over for a hot cocoa and a visit and see all of your gorgeous holiday decor in person Vanessa! Happy Holidays friend! 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search This Blog

Take the Quiz

Stay updated!

Get all the latest goodness straight to your inbox!

Get the book!

Invite Vanessa to speak at your event!

Must Reads

Recent Posts

  • Open Now December 17, 2020
  • Tradition and a Christmas Home Tour December 9, 2020
  • Tabletop Hot Cocoa Station November 29, 2020
  • A New Front Door November 10, 2020
  • Gaining Perspective October 26, 2020

Get all the latest straight to your inbox

Footer

Instagram

I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 y I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 years now and every year I ohhhh and ahhhh over the blossoms like it's the first time I've ever seen them. I gush and I take photos (that look exactly like the ones I took the year before and the year before that) and I make my family come outside and look at them with me which you know they just LOVE to do. 😉 I think that is one of the main reasons why I love spring so much. On the one hand, it's predictable and yet, on the other hand, it still feels like such a surprise after the long months of barren branches.

And yesterday, as I was staring at the gorgeous blossoms for the umpteenth time, I couldn't help but think that I hope this is how I feel when our lives return to some semblance of normalcy.

I hope that the predictable feels special and that the typical feels anything but. I hope that I ohhh and ahhh over the simple things I've realized I've taken for granted. And, most of all, I hope that feeling doesn't go away for a very, very long time! 💗
Are you living with great expectation friends? Bec Are you living with great expectation friends? Because He is risen!

Happy Easter from my home to yours!
Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to be a different kind of Easter for sure but some things don’t change. Have you been baking and getting ready for tomorrow? What’s one thing on your menu that you have to have every year?
If this is Good Friday, why doesn’t it feel so “good”? It all seems backward doesn’t it?

What could be good about the unspeakable pain he suffered? What could be good about the shame and betrayal?

Easter Sunday is so joyful, bright and cheery. Shouldn’t that be the day we call “good”? It just feels so much better!

But, I don’t know how to rejoice over His resurrection, unless I have felt the pain of His death. I have realized that in life the sweetest victories are the ones which were realized after a pain-filled journey.

And, so it is with Good Friday. I know there will be victory over death, but I can’t skip ahead in the story.

Jesus knew what was coming. He knew what he would experience. And he knew why he would go through it. He did it for me. He did it for you.

Do you know that? Have you felt it down in the very core of your soul? 
Sometimes it makes me squirm a bit. Why would anyone do that for me?

Well, because, I can’t do it for myself!

There is nothing I can do to earn that kind of love and mercy.

That is why it is called GRACE.

His grace is freely given. We don’t have to pay for it. He paid the price for us already.

Do you remember that movie from years ago called “Ransom”? A couple’s young son was kidnapped and the parents went to hell and back trying to find him and pay the “ransom” demanded by the kidnappers.

Well, Jesus is our “ransom”. (1 Timothy 2:6) His life was the payment.

Why is it called “Good Friday”? Because that wasn’t the end of the story….
.
…It was just the beginning!
Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house that’s become the landing zone for ALL THE THINGS! 🙋🏻‍♀️🤪 I’ve never been more thankful for our rarely used dining room table as it’s become command central for school books and laptops and games.

Where are things collecting in your house right now?
“Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every si “Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every single one of these emotions has made their way through our home in recent days and, my guess is, they have in your home too.

I SO needed this reminder today from the new book ‘Adore’ by @sarahagertywrites.

Adoration isn’t just sitting at His feet gazing longingly with stars in my eyes. It’s bringing my fears and my sorrows and gray roots in my hair that desperately needs to be colored and my messy house and all of the things that threaten to send me over the edge right now and laying them down before Him, soaking up His word and His presence so that when I stand back up, I am changed for having spent the time adoring the ONE who is... Healer, comforter, peace-giver, deliverer, redeemer.

What do you need to bring to Him today? I’ll share mine in the comments and I’d love to hear from you too!
I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole lockdown thing began, I’ve come to appreciate this time of day even more.

It feels the most...normal. Daytime is strange and foreign right now. My husband has taken over our home office, I’m suddenly taking over the responsibility of managing my kids’ distance learning and let me just say that teaching 7th grade algebra to my daughter is hugely ironic since I struggled with math all the way through school. I’m trying to do my own work but it feels utterly futile with the constant interruptions which take precedence right now. In the daytime, I’m constantly reminded of how upside down life feels.

But, in the evening, I cook dinner like I’ve always done and we gather around the table like we’ve always done and we laugh and tell stories and then clean up and play games or go on a walk or watch a show. And that feels SO gloriously normal.

So now I love evenings even more than I ever did before and I’m so grateful for this little chunk of time where the rhythms we established years ago are helping to sustain us now when so much of life feels outside of our control.

What feels ‘normal’ to you right now? Whatever it is, keep doing it. 🌿
When I was in college I would frequently call home When I was in college I would frequently call home and pour my heart out to my mom, sharing with her all that was happening in my life in that completely unfiltered way that you can talk with the person who potty trained you. These phone calls usually took place at night and my mom would patiently listen as I vented frustrations about professors, roommates, boyfriends and the food in the cafeteria. And, inevitably, they would end with my mom saying, “Everything seems worse when you’re tired. Try not to overthink things or make any major decisions tonight, especially when you are feeling emotional.” Dear friends, may I pass along this advice to you today?

If you don’t absolutely HAVE to make a decision right now, I want to encourage you to wait until life gets back to normal. If you are finding yourself over-analyzing relationships and family dynamics, I want to encourage you to remember that everything seems more dramatic when looked at under a microscope. And, let’s face it, being homebound with our loved ones non-stop makes us all feel like lab rats in an experiment.

If you are tempted to quit a job, start a business, start homeschooling permanently, stop homeschooling permanently, move to a new city, buy a farm, quit pursuing your dream, join a commune or make any other major life decision just…wait. Because, if it is in fact the right decision, it will be made even clearer once our lives return to their ‘regularly scheduled programming’. Instead, in this strange season, let’s all just take a deep, collective breath and let it out slowly, releasing the anxiety that threatens to overtake us. Let’s help each other maintain some perspective and not slip into a posture of over-thinking every little thing in our lives. Let’s remember that the enemy of our souls would love nothing more than to use this time when things feel dark to manipulate us into thinking that aspects of our lives are worse than they actually are.

My prayer for you in these days is that you will have the clarity to know what is true and that you will be filled with peace even while we live in this season of so many unknowns.
Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking thes Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking these days! 🙋🏻‍♀️ I’m trying to avoid gaining the #corona15 but my daughter and I LOVE baking together and it does help to pass the time plus it counts as a science lesson right?

If you’re able to find flour in the stores (for the love people please stop overbuying!) and you’re doing more baking at your house too you need to add this apricot bread to your list of new recipes to try!

Normally I’d point you to my blog for the directions but I’m going to do you a solid and leave the full recipe in the comments.

What have you baked so far during this time of social distancing? I’d love some new ideas!
There are a LOT of people out walking in our neigh There are a LOT of people out walking in our neighborhood right now (but still social distancing!) and she decided that she wanted to bring them some joy and put a smile on their face when they pass by our house. Also, the square with ‘say no to coronavirus’ is priceless. 😂 I just love her so much!
Follow
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: API requests are being delayed for this account. New posts will not be retrieved.

Log in as an administrator and view the Instagram Feed settings page for more details.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2021 At The Picket Fence