Why beat around the bush: I am not a fan of January. It's long, cold and typically involves the one two punch of a chest cold and/or driving in snow. So no, first month of the year, we are not on friendly terms.

But (because there's always that margin of error with the things you detest), I'm learning to make peace with January. There's been some moderate successes. I finished sewing the Tova Shirt from Wiksten and am in love. Clearly written, full of wonderful details, it's a delightful pattern, one I'm planning to make again and again. There's a new season of Downton Abbey (Edith, you go girl). I'm also working up some embroidery ideas for a download in the future. And because driving to Québec in January just isn't feasible, I made Tarte au Sucre this weekend. Because until you've eaten a pie that's made up of two cups of brown sugar, you haven't lived.