January at Urban Home Blog

Here are some of our plans for the renewing month of January at Urban Home Blog.

• Celebrate New Year's Eve at The Dresden Room.
• Watch Bob Eubanks' and Stephanie Edwards' final broadcast of The Rose Parade.
• Re-store holiday decor in large snap-top plastic tubs dedicated to the purpose. Wrap lights for storage, discarding any that are burned out or otherwise compromised. Keep list of each storage box's contents in home holiday file, including noting new items obtained during 2015 holiday season.
• Order pizza from the Palermo or the Delancey for holiday decor take-down day.
• Go through December's holiday cards and compare to sent list, saving special messages or images for memory keeping and clipping addresses as needed. Create preliminary 2016 holiday card list to place in December well of greeting card pocket file.
• Make Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's memory pages.
• Schedule annual medical and dental appointments and car maintenance appointments for the year.
• Plan workout regimen for 2016, including goals and plan session with a trainer to include yoga, tennis, ballet and utilizing new Fitbit.
• Enter appointments, deadlines and seasonal events onto electronic and paper calendars.
• Prepare for 2015 taxes by gathering all relevant receipts and records (including printouts from online records) into a snap-top plastic filing box that will be dedicated to the purpose both for doing the taxes and storing the records afterwards.
• Set up 2016 tax folders to file receipts and records as they are incurred.
• Print out and update contacts lists.
• Set up greeting card pocket file with 12 months worth of birthday, anniversary and other special occasion cards filed in monthly pockets, with extra birthday, get well, and blank cards in the front.
• Inventory household linens, including bed, bath, kitchen and dining, in anticipation of January white sales. Repurpose as able, including donating usable goods to human services organizations or animal shelters.
• Deep clean quilts and comforters. Replace bed pillows; wash and thoroughly dry them before using them.
• Make sachets for linen and coat closets and for storage bags.
• Place birthday coffee order with Black Coffee Roasting Company. Favorites: Vinyl, Red Room.
• Spend birthday in Solvang. Make birthday dinner reservation at The Hitching Post. Musts: Sides Hardware and Shoes, Succulent, Mandarin Touch, Solvang Toyland, Solvang Restaurant, VinHaus, Loring Tasting Room, and a leisurely drive up the Foxen wine trail.
• Make a Saturday run to Burbank to visit John's hobby shop, Dark Delicacies, and scout Ikea for any new or replacement household items.
• Be positioned squarely in front of television when The X Files returns for a limited run beginning January 24.

Reading List: Basic Training, Jon Giswold and David Morgan, The Dharma Bums, Jack Kerouac

January, 2014: Grandma's Kitchen, Homekeeper's Bookshelf, Urban Bar
January, 2013: Birthdays, Home Electronics, Winter Gardens, Urban Bar
January, 2012: Urban Bar, American Table, Cooking for One, New Year
January, 2011: Weeknight Dinner, Field Trip, Birthdays, Home Movies
January, 2010: Weeknight Dinner, Homekeeper's Library, New Year