Welcome to Sarah Ban Breathnach’s

Simple Abundance Online 2026

January Joys

 

“It is winter proper; the cold weather, such as it is, has come to stay. 
I bloom indoors in the winter like a forced forsythia;
I come in to come out.  At night, I read and write, and the things
I have never understood become clear;
I reap the harvest of the rest of the year’s planting.

 Annie Dillard
American author

 

Welcome to the New Year of 2026. Believe it or not, we’ve lived through the first quarter of an unfolding century marked by sudden detours, challenges, chaos, and crises, all of which are part of Divine Change. 

If you’ve landed here, I suspect you’re a kindred spirit who longs for, and dreams of, our shared (and maybe secret) passion—the pursuit of domestic bliss—a truth far deeper than finding the perfect paint chip or fabric swatch. Although finding both has been known to make me swoon with delight.

I remain unconvinced by Pantone’s absurd choice of Cloud Dancer as the color of the year, described as a flowing “ethereal white hue, symbolizing calming influence in a chaotic society.” White walls?

Yes, white walls can be soothing, especially if your inner world feels chaotic and claustrophobic. Last January, my elderly cat, Charlie, and I unexpectedly stayed in a FEMA motel for over a month, grateful for the shelter because of the Eaton Fire in Pasadena, California. That experience marked the start of my renewed appreciation for Gratitude, the first Grace on the Simple Abundance path.

For weeks, I pondered the meaning of home in my heart. More specifically, I reflected on the Celtic expression “The House of Belonging”—an ancient Celtic metaphor for the body as the earthly home for our souls, and for the deep peace and sense of safety, joy, and contentment found in intimate connection with people, places, and houses. The Irish poet and mystic John O’Donohue tells us that “the most ancient word for home in every language is the word for God.”

However, the story of my heart began with a tiny English stone cottage, paid for with royalties from a book that nobody in America wanted to publish. But that’s now “Once upon a time…”

Like many hopeful romantics, I have spent half a lifetime in a restless, relentless search for an elusive presence. Anaïs Nin believed that “we travel, some of us forever, to seek other lives, other souls.” Most of the time, we think this “other” we so desperately seek is our soul mate—the person we’d instantly recognize and feel utterly comfortable with if our paths crossed.

For decades, I thought I could not become complete without such a union. I was right. But sacred partnerships arrive in our lives in many forms. Sometimes they’re of wood and stone rather than flesh and bone. “Everyone longs for intimacy and dreams of a nest of belonging in which one is embraced, seen, and loved,” John O’Donohue tells us. “Something within each of us cries out for belonging. We can have all the world has to offer in terms of status, achievement, and possessions, yet without a sense of belonging, it all seems empty and pointless.”

In recent years, I've learned that while a carefully planned life is desirable, it isn't always feasible, especially in a world where you need a Go Bag by the door. Last year, I lost the life I had envisioned as Starting Over, while the life I truly dreamed of and had made come true—the one I built, created, nurtured, nourished, and turned into my passion—faded from view. This was the restoration of Sir Isaac Newton’s private chapel in England, a project I dedicated years to, which vanished like the mists of Avalon, leaving it to “Once Upon a Time…” Yet I held onto what little of that dream remained.

But I am here now, and so are you. We must begin again and search for the life that’s now waiting. This will require, besides an investment of time, creative energy, and emotion, a sense of adventure and much faith. As I write, I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. Maybe you feel the same way. But my new Gratitude Journal for 2026 declares, “For I know the Plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11). I’m taking Heaven’s word for it. 

I believe with all my heart that the pursuit of domestic bliss is a spiritual path, a sacred endeavor, and, really, the road less traveled. I sense you do too. That’s why Simple Abundance Online is undergoing the change I’ve also dreamed about for years. Each month, we’ll serve up contentment fare and vintage flair, part meditation, part how-to, and part memoir. I have so many stories to tell that weren’t included in my books! I’ve also gathered adventure tales from other women, many of whom you might not know. We’ve got Women with a Past, Girls Old Enough to Know Better, the “It” Girls, and Swell Dames.

It will be my absolute pleasure to introduce you. Let me tell you about the Swell Dames.

In the twenties, thirties, and forties, when the good life was portrayed on the silver screen in glorious black and white, the highest compliment you could pay a woman was to call her “a swell dame.” It was an accolade not easily bestowed; beauty, glamour, money, fame, or social position couldn’t guarantee being considered swell.

Gee, you’re swell…

A swell dame lit up every room she entered because of her irresistible lightness of being, which is why Life always seemed like a romantic comedy, even when it wasn’t. Think Myrna Loy’s arched eyebrow wit in the Thin Man movies, Constance Bennett’s insouciant supernatural naughtiness in Topper, or Carole Lombard’s sophisticated screwball sexiness in My Man Godfrey.

You’re cordially invited to join our official Swell Dames Club.

We’ll share words of encouragement and wisdom from the trailblazers who came before. Trust me, Babe. They knew a thing or two that might prove handy today.

Here’s the plan. How about a little private tutorial? Along with me, be willing to learn one fascinating thing each month that intrigues you. Something you’ve wanted to learn but never got around to. Something that sounds so much fun you can’t wait to nail it. Something that makes you stand a little taller, smile a little broader, laugh a little louder, and relax a whole lot more because you’re a confident woman who can rise to any occasion with great style and Spirit. With a Swell Dame’s insider knowledge, the world becomes your oyster; what’s more, you won’t look idiotic eating it. As for those little pearls of wisdom, let’s just say you’ve never looked better. That’s because nothing in the world is as irresistible as a woman who keeps them guessing.

Once again, Simple Abundance is dedicated to Home Comforts, Earthly Delights, The Thrill of Thrift, Vintage Bliss, Swell Dames, Spiritual Moxie, and Everyday Grace. Now there’s a masthead I’ll look forward to writing, and hopefully you’ll enjoy perusing. The revamped Simple Abundance Online is for anyone who has ever wanted to reimagine her life and the space where she lives it. As the 19th-century artist and philosopher William Morris, who founded the English Arts and Crafts movement, confessed, “My work is the embodiment of dreams.”

So too, it seems is mine. Dream along with me.

Sending blessings and dearest love,

Sarah Ban Breathnach

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