Karen Clare

 Well, the last month of winter began with a freeze, This morning I woke up to a temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit. We were supposed to possibly get some snow flurries, but no flurries were spotted where I live. Today was still very cold to us Floridians. This past week was rather... crappy. Nothing major, just stressful at work and then on top of that, I woke up on Friday morning with suspicious bites on my side. Three in a line, and I was thinking, "Please, do not let this be what I think it is. Please do not let it be bed bugs." I convinced myself that it must be something else, but no. This morning I woke up with a few more bites, and I stripped my bed completely and washed everything, right down to the mattress -- dust ruffle, mattress protector, sheets, coverlet, duvet, shams, and pillow protectors. I put everything through the dryer (high heat for a full cycle will kill the bed bugs and eggs). Sure enough, I found some dead ones in the lint filter, and also some mo...

 After Christmas I do "winter" decorating -- basically, remove anything red, glittery, or chiefly Christmas and leave out greenery, candles, and blankets. So I was inspired to replace the vintage Saturday Evening Post magazines and magazine covers on the coffee table with a tray of candles and greenery.  As you might know if you read last week's post, I've resolved to stop buying unnecessary things and pay off my credit card debt. To that end, I used a tray that I already had ($12 at Shein, I think), greenery and battery-powered candles that were already in my office closet.   You don't have to buy new stuff to redecorate or refresh a room, contrary to what many social media "influencers" try to tell us. You can look around your own home, change things around, or even move furniture around. So if you want to cut back on spending, I'd suggest getting creative with items you already own.  I'm going to keep "winter" up till March, when I c...

 I can’t believe that it’s the middle of January already… feels like Christmas was just last week! Much as I adore the holidays, and as sad as I am to take down the Christmas decor, there is something so satisfying about it. After a month or so of having your home having so much extra color and decoration, it’s something of a relief to have the visual calm and space back. For post-Christmas winter, I pack away anything specifically Christmas — anything red, glittery, or that has Christmas sayings on it, but keep out plain greenery, pinecones, white candles, and blankets. Still cozy, but neutral and simpler, inviting us to rest and relax.  Maybe that’s why winter is my favorite season; it’s a season where we can slow down and enjoy being cozy. Here in Florida, the weather is really mild, and unless we’re having a cold snap, we can be outside in comfort.  Well, this weekend, we’re having a nice cold snap, so it’s a perfect time to make chili and cornbread. Super easy, delic...

After almost two years, I'm bringing this blog back under another name: Karen Clare. The focus will be on homemaking, decor, and some cooking. I've come to hate social media and the way it presents an unrealistic look at other people's lives and makes us depressed. I'm also concerned that we're becoming a society of illiterates who are drawn more and more to visual media instead of written.  I had a blog back in the late 2000s and early 2010s, and it was so much fun. I miss it. I think that, unfortunately. social media have destroyed personal blogs. So I'm doing my part to change that. 2025 was a decent year, rather uneventful. I like my job and right now everything is pretty good, thankfully.  I don't usually do New Year's resolutions. Not because I don't believe in resolutions, but because I don't think you should wait till some random date to make them. But this year my goals are financial in nature, and related: to eliminate all of my credit ...

 If you've been reading my blog, you'll know that I've started having tea on Sundays -- not at the traditional 4 pm hour, but about noon, because on weekends and any other non-work days, I like to eat dinner early.  I was inspired to address the question of how this traditional began in the first place. Having tea in pretty china had been popular with the aristocratic and high-society English since Georgian times; it was a way to show off your expensive porcelain (which became known as "china", since that's often where it was made).  The woman who is credited with starting the 4 pm afternoon tea ritual was Anna Maria Russell, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria, around 1840. To explain why, we have to look at the history of mealtimes in Britain and their evolution to what we're familiar with now. Today, most people in the developed world are used to three meals a day: breakfast, eaten in the morning; lunch, eaten around noon, an...

 This past week, I have been really tired. Not sure why. No extra stress at work, but I did tackle my office closet after work Wednesday through Friday. Emptied, decluttered, and reorganized the bins containing my seasonal and holiday decor. It was difficult, especially since having the chaos (to my mind) of stuff everywhere was giving me anxiety. I'm about 85% through, but still not completely done. I still have to go through the bin of my autumn decor and organize a few other things. But I'm taking a bit of a break on that. While I was dealing with the bins in my closet, I was also putting away my post-Christmas winter decor (I pack away anything specifically Christmas right after the 25th, but leave out wintery greenery and pinecones and white candles till March) and putting out spring. I really don't do that much for spring. Pine is replaced by (mostly blue) flowers), and I change out my sofa pillow cases. I also decorate my coffee bar and put little touches in the kitc...

For many people who live in places where they get an actual winter, with freezing temperatures, snow, and all that comes with it, the approaching spring is something to look forward to. I get it -- my parents were lifelong New Englanders till they were in their 40s, when we moved to California for my dad's job, and then moved again a few years later to Florida, where I've been ever since. I appreciate that to see foliage and flowers blooming again, to be able to open your windows again, must be lovely after months of dark dreariness and cold.  But here in the south, it's the opposite. It's too hot for most of the year to be outside much, unless you have a pool or a beach to take a dip in to cool off. It's during winter that we Floridians can actually be outside in comfort (most days) and get a break on our electric bill. We hole up in the air conditioning from April to October.  Typically, it's right about now that I pack away my winter decor and bust out stuff ...

 Yesterday was dreary, chilly, and a little rainy... it's been an El Niño winter for sure. But I got myself out of the house in the morning to take a trip to Whole Foods to return an extra power cord I'd ordered from Amazon (they own Whole Foods) for my laptop that was the wrong kind.  I had never been to Whole Foods before, and I have to admit, it's a pretty nice place. I don't typically enjoy grocery shopping, but this place has enough interesting and fun products that it doesn't really feel much like a chore.  They have ready-made pastries that you can just pop into the oven to cook, great meats that aren't much more expensive that Publix lately and look better, and a whole section of custom soaps that I enjoyed spending some time in.  I ended up getting some soaps, chicken wings, two pints of heavy cream, eggs, and toasted sesame oil. When I got home I preheated my oven to 190 F and poured both pints of heavy cream into my white casserole dish. It was about ...

 This was my first time planning a tea, and I won't lie: it was a lot more work that I had thought it would be. But it was also so much fun, more fun than I've had in a long time, and I don't know what took me so long to do it. The tea took place yesterday, Saturday, and more perfect weather for the day could not have been ordered; low 70s and sunny. I woke up early Saturday, because Friday night after work I honestly had no energy to get the head start I'd been intending. I started by getting the simple white tablecloth I wanted to use out of my closet and realizing that it badly needed an iron, something I haven't taken out in about three years, and gave it a good steaming before putting out on the patio table that I'd recently cleaned.  Then I made the deviled eggs and cucumber sandwiches (recipes at the end). Scones and cookies were store-bought, because, working full-time, I simply hadn't had the time or energy to make homemade ones in addition to the e...

 The past six months or so have felt incredibly fast. Feels like it was May, and then I was decorating for fall, then Christmas was here, and now it's almost spring again.  I am a winter girl -- I come alive in autumn, and love the "ber" months with the festive vibes and holidays. And then I love January and February, with their reprieve from the holiday hustle and slow winter coziness -- curling up on the couch with a chenille blanket with my dog with my electric fireplace going. Living in Florida as I do, however, I dread the coming heat and humidity and look forward to spring about as much as a root canal. When Christmas is over, I pack up the things that are chiefly Christmas -- the tree, ornaments, and anything red or with Christmas sayings. But I leave out plain garlands and greenery and pine cones, and replace red candles with white ones so that the house doesn't feel bare. For Valentine's Day this year, I've been inspired to host my first-ever afternoo...