A Good Year and Sunday Morning Coffee

The first week of the new year is behind us, and if the rest of the year continues at this pace, it’s going to be a really good year!
It’s been busy planning and organizing the year but I am so invigorated! Welcome to the first Sunday Morning Coffee of 2025, where we share, learn, explain, dream, and have fun. Come see what’s new!

Season 5 Volume 1


About Me

After spending an incredible week in Northern California celebrating the holiday with our family, we have landed in Ventura, and it’s been so beautiful. It’s sunny and clear, and our bike rides have been invigorating.
In the evenings, we celebrated with friends and cooked fun meals. We also started my yearly January quest to watch all Academy Award-nominated films. So far, we have seen Gladiator II (not my choice, by the way), Emilia Perez (not what we expected, but good), and Conclave (very good!). I know the nominations aren’t out yet, so I am using the Golden Globe nominations as an early guide.
That reminds me that the Golden Globes are on tonight if you want to watch them!

If you are wondering why I care about seeing these movies, it’s something I have done for years. Usually, it necessitates me having to watch three movies the day before the award show airs, but I love it.
Dave and I did attend the Oscars one year. It was the year Titanic was nominated and won a gazillion awards. It was an unbelievable experience, and we even ended up in People magazine as we were in the background of a photo taken!
The highlight was walking into the Shrine Theatre arm in arm with Dustin Hoffman (he grabbed my arm and escorted me through security on a whim). And yes, he was about four inches shorter than me.
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My Latest Project

There is a considerable drawback to spending the week of Christmas and the week after Christmas out of town.
Why? Because my house is still full of Christmas decorations! I dread walking into our home later today only to find seven decorated trees and a ton of holiday decor.
It’s not going to be fun putting it all away, especially since this is the year I promised myself I would go through all of my decorations and recycle some of the unused ones.

As I tackle this project, you may not hear much from me in the next few days. Ugh.


It might be fun to discuss a topic every week and get your input here! Here is today’s topic:
If you could decorate one room in your home, which would it be?
My answer is: Our powder room in our South Pasadena home. I have never shown it (it’s 25 years old and not photo-worthy), and the toile cranberry wallpaper is dated.
What’s yours?
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- Film three videos for my “How I Used What I Got” series.
- Put away the Christmas decor (see above).
- Finalize the workbook for my A Sourdough Journey 12-week series.


5 Home Trends to Ditch (and Try) in 2025 (I have three!)

These Classic Cocktail Recipes have withstood the test of time. you need to try them.

My friend Janine at Happy Happy Nester shared this Easy Mochi recipe. It looks delicious.

This is the Best All-Time Color for Living Rooms.

This Spinach Salad with Warm Maple Dressing sounds incredible!

And what a week it was!
- The Best Mother’s Day Gifts Amazon StyleIt’s less than a month until Mother’s Day, and I thought I would share some fun Amazon-style Mother’s Day gifts. I have gathered a list of our favorite gifts for Mom. I know how different moms are, so we have categorized…
- Back Porch Ideas for SpringOur back porch has been a cozy retreat for as long as I can remember. The sofa faced the fireplace, offering warmth and comfort on cool evenings. And then everything changed a few weeks ago when we filmed a commercial at…
- Creating a Grandkids RetreatA year ago, I converted our home’s old weight room/sleeping porch into a dedicated space for our grandkids. Our home has always been a place of gathering, laughter, and cherished memories. Everything we have done in our home has been for…
- My Favorite Potluck RecipesWe hosted our dinner club, and to make it easy, I served a potluck. Here are some of my favorite potluck recipes. How do you serve a potluck for a dinner party? Since most of my time was spent setting up…
- A Happy Easter, Crafting, and Sunday Morning CoffeeI wanted to take a moment to wish you all a heartfelt Happy Easter. We hope this holiday brings you joy, peace, and the opportunity to celebrate with your loved ones. I also wanted to share my love for crafting. How…
- My Favorite Lemon Vodka DrinksI love everything about lemons and have put together some of my favorite lemon vodka drinks. These are popular in our home all year long. I made lemon vodka and three cocktails: a lemon drop martini, a lemon-lime slush, and a…


Martha shared How to Create a Minimalist Kitchen—and Why You Should. Your thoughts?

Next week is all new blog posts, and I can’t wait to share them!
- Sweet and Savory Brown Sugar Bacon Recipe
- How to Choose a Winter Palette
- The Best Recipe for Smash Burgers
- The 12 Worst Stains and How to Remove Them
- How to Organize All Those Things You Never Thought to Organize
- A Calm and Cozy Refresh in the Living Room

- A Good Year – S5/V1
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This Week’s Top Sellers
We shared many of our favorite home items this week, and here are the top sellers!

My Instagram Feed This Week
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For more real-time updates, follow me on Instagram @My100YearOldHome
Leslie, as always, so much helpful information! I hear you on dealing with the Christmas decor. So much fun to decorate, and NOT fun to undo it all! I’ve always said taking down a Christmas tree is so different than putting one up.
Regarding white paint for a living room, we used Dunn Edward’s Whisper…another nice warm white and similar to BM’s Simply White.
Aw thank you Becky! Appreciate the paint color recs!
Great decorating question to start the new year. This year I’m enjoying my home and only changing decor to celebrate the seasons.
A different outlook…we were with family three weeks for holiday fun. Upon returning home, I decided to stay decorated 3 additional weeks to make up for the vacation time…love the beauty, peace and coziness… no need to rush and close the Christmas, New Year door.
Happy New Year!
That’s such a great idea! Love that you got to enjoy it and not stress about taking it all down.
I agree with you Sandra….we were gone for two weeks over the holidays, and I am in no hurry to take down Christmas. What’s the rush? Going to enjoy the beauty now that all the rushing and busyness is over!
Love that!