IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS...CHRISTMAS HOME TOUR PART 2

Well, we're getting down to the wire, my friends, aren't we?  I'm done obsessing, finished stressing.  You have to give it up at some point. Que the music, "Let it go..."  I've had fun creating some vignettes for my home and I'm going to share some of those.  I relied on a lot of spruce from my local nursery and then I just pawed through my bins for berries and ribbon and such.  I love the simplicity of this jar with a few stem of blue spruce.  

I have this festive little enamel bowl on my coffee table.  I've been tucking the Christmas cards in around the edges so everyone can have a peek at them. 

I am still in the candle making groove, and always looking for ideas for Mason jars.  This time I used a layer of rock salt, or ice cream salt which you can find at your grocery store.  Another layer of fresh cranberries and a tea light candle.  Thanks, Jody, from Rooted In Thyme, for the rock salt idea.

You saw a few peeks of the stockings I had going on this year.  I wanted to include my kid's partners, I love them all.  The stockings were made by Southouse Designs.  Their handiwork is incredible.  These are not massed produced stockings and I chose different fabric, trim and buttons for each one.  They are all lined so beautifully.  The little cedar rounds were an idea from KariAnne at Thistlewood Farm.  I had The Husband drill the holes, and attached them to the stockings with twine.  Everyone loves them!  When the kids were little, I would fill their stockings with donuts, juice boxes and oranges...that was breakfast Christmas morning!

Some different views of the tree.  This was the year I tried ribbon, a burlap with gold wire on the edges.  Emily gave me detailed instructions thankfully.  I used floral wire at intervals (about every ten inches). The spacing and consistent "poufing" can drive a perfectionist like me crazy but I think I'll get better with each year.  And the type and color of ribbon is so endless.  Very fun!

My precious pups.  We also have ornaments like this for Shadow and Edmund.  Sniff.  I would take the kids to the church/school bazaar when it was held every  December, I don't think we missed a year until Abby moved on to high school.  The crafts were very much  like these ornaments, as well as a lot of knitting and cross stitch, crocheted baby blankets,,,and we always bought lots of fudge and chocolate/caramel turtles (some call them pixies). Remember these events?  Seems like it was another lifetime for me.

Remember when Emily and I hit up the vintage goods at a woman's house a few weeks ago?  She advertises on Facebook.  You can read about it here.  This is an old wooden wagon I picked up for a song, Emily and I nearly arm wrestled over it.  She then found an old wooden rocking horse and was content.  I like it festive like this and I think I'll have fun with it year round.

I found this rusty old scale, too.  I've always wanted one.  Sorry about these pictures...I'm using my phone.  Major problems with my camera right now.  I would have blurred out that darn toaster and the rest of the clutter if I could have!  But focus on the scale.  LOVE!

Also on the island in the kitchen I have a cute Charlie Brown tree I found at the garden center/grocery store at the lake.  It's adorned with simple little painted glass pinecones.   Hello, lone banana in the back. :)

I saw a garland made with these little tags (and I forgot the source).  I decided to do something different.  

Lest you think I do nothing but fiddle with Christmas decorating, I made wonderful homemade pot pies last week.  It is a  fantastic dinner to make as you can use ingredients you might have on hand, especially leftover turkey (for an after-Christmas leftover meal), or chicken, even a rotisserie chicken from the store.  Very simply:

Shred 2 cups of cooked turkey or chicken.  Set aside.  In a large saucepan saute 2 cloves of garlic and 1 small onion, finely chopped, in 2 T of butter.  When onions are softened, about two minutes, add 1 1/2 cups of frozen peas and carrots, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.  Sprinkle in 1/3 cup of flour, gently stirring for about a minute.  Add 1 cup of chicken broth, 3/4 c milk or heavy cream (I used half milk, half cream) slowly, whisking as you go along.  As it thickens add 1 T each dried thyme and tarragon and salt and pepper to taste.  Add your cooked turkey or chicken and let simmer 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and cover.  Gently roll out 1 sheet of puff pastry, extending about an inch on all sides.  Slice the sheet in four pieces.  Spray 4 ramekins, I used these soup bowls, with oil.  Ladle in the hot chicken/veggie mixture.  Top with puff pastry, pressing sides down around the edges of the ramekin.  Brush lightly with a beaten egg.  In a preheated oven at 375 degrees, bake for 30-35 minutes, watching so tops don't brown too much.  Serves 4.

I think the spices I used were absolutely on the money.  The proportions of flour to liquid made for a very rich creamy sauce.  You can make the filling ahead of time, I'm sure, and put it all together in about 5 minutes (heat up the filling a bit first).  Keep this on file for an after Christmas treat. :)

I had another sheet of puff pastry left over.  So tonight  I took a round of brie cheese and topped it with about 5 thin slices of apple.  I dotted it with butter (about 1 1/2 T) and laid it on a sheet of pastry.

Now, fold up the corners to make a little pouch.  Brush with an egg wash and bake on a baking sheet for 1 hour.  Serve with crackers or thin slices of toasted bread.  Where is my picture of the finished creation?  Son Jeff came over and dived in along with Abby and The Husband.  A big thumbs up from all.  Simple and tasty. :)

When I last posted I told you that Milo had a respiratory infection.  Well, little Layla was at the vet the next day with the same thing.  Does she not look "sick as a dog"?  It's been 5 days and they are both still coughing.  They have a few more doses of the antibiotics but if they aren't better on Monday I am going to get them into the vet again.  To hear them go into coughing fits is very scary.  And I wonder how available the doctor's will be come Christmas.  

I have wrapping to do and baking and that is very calming and happy to me, a really relaxing and indulgent activity during the last few days before Christmas.  I went to the mall on Friday and finished everything up.  My son, Jeff, expressed surprise that I wasn't shopping online.  Although I have a lot in the past I told him that in the past few years I've found that I have the Christmas spirit a lot more if I actually get out there.  I know, it goes against our grain...the commercialism, the crowds, the people who turn into Grinches.  For myself, I just can't give up on the human race.  We need to get out there, smile at others, spread some cheer.  I know, I'm being Pollyanish again, but I have done the online shopping quite a bit and Christmas shopping seemed to turn into a desk job with a To Do list for buying gifts.  Sorry, I love the music, the bright colors everywhere, the inspiration I get seeing items I can touch, and the  feeling of  that light bulb going off when I know a gift is perfect for someone.     And really, the store people are very sweet and helpful.  On Friday I was in a shop and I was weighted down with bags in both hands.  A salesgirl actually insisted on taking my bags while I searched for some candles for my girls.  In another store, I couldn't reach a shirt hung up high along a wall.  I looked around frantically, spotted a teenage boy (very tall) and asked if he could help me.  He smiled and blushed a little and came over to help me.  It's a warm feeling when we do for others (or they do for us), and share the joy of the holidays, put the frustrations behind.  Anyway, that's my little message today. :)

I'll be back after Christmas with some pictures of our family celebrations, some of the pretty tablescapes I'm sure I'll see, and a little bit about the brunch (with a recipe or two) I'm having here with The Husband and our huge family of ten.  Life is good.

Merry Christmas and love to all of you, my dear friends.

Jane xx

MY 2014 CHRISTMAS HOME TOUR PART 1 (?)

I promised myself a simple and pretty look for Christmas and I think I held true to that.  The problem is it seems, it takes more time to pick and choose what I want from the many bins I have,  and then that little voice in my head chanting, "Too much?  Too little?" lol!  So I did my best.  This poor little poinsettia nearly didn't make the show.  I picked her up at a garden nursery where we found our tree.  Afterwards we went out for a light dinner and brought the leftovers home in brown bags.  Yep, you guessed it, she was stored in the fridge alongside the hamburgers and pasta!  A little shriveled at first but I think we're okay.  Next to my survivor are a few vintage ornaments from my childhood days.  Thank you, Dad.  Hope you're smiling on us from heaven.

I guess I have a thing for old chippy windows and they look so perfect on a mantel.  This is the one I found a few weeks ago.  It's just perfect surrounded by some fresh greenery and a real boxwood wreath.  Funny, the only place I have artificial greens is outside on my porch!  Ha!

I really am rocking the pillows this year and so many were recently found at Homegoods.  You just can't find a better deal.  This is my favorite...maybe!

This is the natural wood and grapevine "window" I found at L.L. Bean.  I can't wait to see it when there is some snow outside.  So far it has missed us.  Very odd compared to last year.  Parts of Northern Illinois have gotten it, not us.

I don't like using a bad picture but you probably can't give a Christmas tour without the tree and it was just so foggy and gloomy today.  I couldn't get the camera to focus, thus there was a bit of wiggle.  I'll post another next time.  We put the monster of a tree in the corner of the room because it basically was the only space it could fit in.  And since it's a beast, my hearth seems to look like an appendage of it!  Still, it's a beautiful tree and I loved decorating it.  I did some ribbon on it...next post will be close up shots.  I used a thin type of burlap with a gold trim on the edges.  Just perfect with the variety of ornaments I have,  You know, paint stamps of the kids hands, "Babies First Christmas", terrible things I've tried to craft over the years!  It's all there.  I have stockings for all 4 kids and their partners, I'll get a close up of those for you next time, too.  

If you click on the picture to see it larger, you can see the mantel better.  I seemed to gravitate to a 'tree' theme without knowing it.  I found the woolly trees last year at Windsor, and then this year I found the candles on the right at Crate & Barrel and I thought they were so sweet together.  At the garden nursery I came upon these mini cypress trees, and voila, a little winter wonderland with just some greenery and candles.  A little more than the 'simple" I wanted but I to have that candlelight! :)

You had a peek at my family room in my last post.  This is the opposite side of the room.  I love draping garland, especially the textured sort  everywhere I can. 

The sofa.  Ugh...those wires are now glaring at me.  We have Surround Sound in here (although it doesn't help me, but boy, when a boom or bomb goes off on TV, the house shakes. ;-)  

The coffee table is a bit of colorful whimsy.  I love my choir girls but I really miss that 5th one who's head broke off.  Santa, bring me a few more!

The sofa divides the room and here you have my office.  Seriously!  My laptop and notebooks, pens and scraps of paper are hidden on the seat of that chair towards the back.  I love this space as I can see outside and our backyard is always alive with everything blooming in the summer, the squirrels acting wacko in the fall, and of course the falling snow on a white carpet in the winter.  Yes, we actually have an office but I like this better.  I'm not a big fan of tablecloths but I tried one out this year.  Like?

The year of the ribbon.  I'm having a ball with it, and getting pretty good.  Now can anyone teach me how to tie a simple bow?

Little touches in the master bedroom, home of my never ending insomnia.  I actually ordered two red standard size ticking stripe shams from Pottery Barn and they sent me one standard and one European.  Waiting on the standard (which went on sale by the way ;-)  More little sweet treasures around,,,just too gloomy to give them justice, but I will.  :)

A little greenery in the bathroom.  I used to keep magazines in this basket but they would get warped and shrivel from the steam!  Ha!

In the bathroom, I  used one of those Mason jar candles I made awhile ago, you can see how here.  Some red ticking hand towels and some Christmasy soaps and that's it for the shelves.  :)

At our farmer's market/nursery/grocery store at the lake this weekend, I saw this outside and I just loved !!  I know some of you that have the deer chomping on your veggies and fruit trees may not like this to attract the gentle giants, but I just thought it was so cool!

And yes, this was a bittersweet time at the lake at the memorial for my friend Bob.  Thank you for your prayers.  It was held at his and Sharon's home and thank goodness their house is large...there were tons of people.  Food and sweets and wine, a party Bob would have loved.  Still..so sad that I will never see him again, he was such a huge part of my life at the lake.  Rest in peace, dear man, and love and prayers to your precious family.

Sunday was a wonderful 50 degrees in most of the upper Midwest and on my lake.  I pulled up a chair on the patio and sipped a big mug of tea to keep me warm.  Layla rolled in the grass and Milo ran all over our property in search of new smells that will most likely disappear once we get really cold.  

It wasn't all that fantastic yesterday when I realized the intermittent coughing Milo was having had gotten worse over the weekend.  I didn't even know dogs could cough and I'm a dog lover/owner from way back.  Then my son, Jeff, who leaves his hound Tulo with me for days on end, told me Tulo had a respiratory infection.  Yes, they can be passed on from pet to pet.  I got Milo in to the vet on an emergency basis and sure enough, he was wheezing and had a high fever.  So he's on meds and from this picture I took last night, he got some relief and passed out cold on my bed, little Layla watching over.  She hides under the bed when Tulo is here so I guess she escaped the germs!

Lastly, I want you to hop over to my friend Elaine's blog.  She is having a great giveaway. And...read how she met Matthew Mead!  Yikes! We have been friends for a long time and she writes about life in Boston and the New England area.  Sigh...such a beautiful part of our country.  Visit her at Cafe Chatelaine.

I'll leave you with a little vignette of mine and in my next post I will have more.  Hope you are having a lot of Merry these days as we enjoy "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!"

Joining these Christmas Home Tours:

Shabby Story (Thank You, Lynn)

&

The Nester (Thank You Myquilyn) 

&

Rooted In Thyme (Thank You Stan And Jody!)

\Jane xx 

A LITTLE HOLIDAYNESS

I love that my family room lacks color, er...is so neutral.  I can go crazy with holiday colors come Christmas time.  I'm giving you just a little peek because this is only how far I've come! lol!  I am just poking along even though I brought all of my decorations up Sunday night.  What a mess that is.

As you can see it's slow going, I took this snap last night and it's all still sitting there.  I think this holiday season will go down as The Year Of Procrastination.  I was actually worried that all of you would be worried if I disappeared off the radar, but I wanted to make a dent in this before I posted.  No dent in sight!  I know, it's only December 11th.  I think with seeing some of the blogs with Christmas decorations and trees up already, I just feel like I'm lagging behind.  And I also think we want to get the hectic time over with so we can sit back with our cocoa and a Hallmark movie and chill for a few weeks.  Well, I certainly know that life is not a Hallmark movie, don't you?  Have you ever heard the phrase, "Hurry up and wait"?  I think that's how I've been living since Thanksgiving.  And now I'm tired.  I'm going to move at a snail's pace and not think twice about it.

Oh, can you see that the top third of the tree is not lit?  The Husband and Abby were stringing the lights last night and a string went "poof",  I have to make a run for lights and attempt that although I've never strung them before, The Husband has a ritual of doing this with one of the children (which always leaves them in tears, if you know what I mean).  I think I can manage if I want to get the ornaments on any time soon.  Wish me luck.  This is a beast of a tree.  We have to move it into the corner instead of in front of the window as it juts out so far.  As usual we overestimated the size of our living room.  Sigh.

Some family time.  These are my four girls at daughter in law, Mary Clare's baby shower last Saturday (the one given by her side of the family).  From left to right; son Jeff's fiance, Deirdre, daughter Emily, Mary Clare, and daughter Abigail.  The shower was held at a nice restaurant not too far from here.  I've always loved the food there and I was equally impressed with the way they host events.  We had several waiters walking around with bottles of wine refilling our glasses.  They served the food so efficiently and swiped the dishes away without us having to take a pause in conversation.  I just loved it and Mary Clare received so many sweet gifts.  She looks beautiful.  2 more months to go!

On the wedding front (Jeff and Dierdre), they drove the 5 hours up north to Traverse City, Michigan, and chose a place to have their wedding...a vineyard that is just a stone's throw away from this beautiful harbor's downtown area.  The date is August 15.  My mind keeps jumping from one logistic to the other as this is sort of a "Destination Wedding" in my experience.  The other day in a conversation with Emily and Abby about the wedding, I advised them that we would need to make appointments to get our hair done in this town, that we couldn't manage just going up there with nothing but a flat iron.  Abby sat up, apparently on her last nerve and said, "Jeez, Mom, it's not like we're going to Africa!"  Emily and I nearly wet out pants!  I am getting old and cranky.

So I seem to be having my granddog, Tulo, here for days on end as the happy couple go here and there,  Can you believe he is only eight months old?  He clearly decided that if Milo can get on the furniture, he can.  Like a typical grandchild, he's not allowed in the kitchen, upstairs or even on an area rug in Jeff's house, but here...no limits.  I just love the big moose.  

I finally found a few hours to get out for groceries the other day after not having gone since before Thanksgiving.  That's a world record but other than fresh fruit and veggies, we had been doing well.  For some reason I had a craving for clam chowder, which I have never made from scratch.  I was amazed at how quickly it came together and I want to share it with you.

Clam Chowder

Heat 2 T of butter in a large pot over medium/low heat.  Add 1 medium sized onion, finely diced, as well as a 2 stalks of chopped celery. Saute until softened, about 3-5 minutes.  Stir in 3 T. of flour and 2 c. chicken or vegetable stock.  Whisk well, and then add the juice of 2 10 oz. cans of minced clams.  I actually could only find the six ounce cans so I used three for a total of 18 oz.  Just fiddle with this a bit.  Reserve the clams until later.  Add 1 c. of heavy cream, 2 bay leaves and 1 pound (about 3 large) Idaho potatoes, chopped in small cubes.  Bring to a simmer while stirring, it will thicken, then reduce to medium low and cook another 20 minutes until potatoes are tender.  Add the clams and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cook another 2 minutes and serve.  This recipe makes approximately 6 servings.  I also lightly broiled slices of a baguette that I brushed with a combination of melted butter, olive oil and dry Italian herbs.  Croutons work well also.  Enjoy!

As I said earlier in this post, life is not a Hallmark movie and when we lose someone we love during the holiday season, it's a sharp jab in the heart that cruelly takes us away from the joy we are expecting.  We lost our dear friend, Bob, Tuesday morning.  I wrote about him at the end of September (this is the link if you want to read my post).  He was diagnosed with inoperable cancer and with what I am sure, was immeasurable courage, carried on for 3 short months.  It's hard to put my feelings into words.  He was the man that built my house at the lake with just his own two hands.  When I first met him I was a bit intimidated...big and gruff, he turned out to be a sweet, humble man that I so enjoyed being around.  He loved his quiet lake life, returning home on weekends after driving a semi truck all week.  He loved to play the piano at the many cocktail parties he and his wife, Sharon held.  He would lift my kids in the air and scare them to pieces, he showed The Husband all the ropes at our home and gave him tips on lake living.  And for me, well, I'll always remember his bright blue eyes lighting up, twinkling when he saw me, arms stretched out for a hug, "Good to see you, Blondie."  Love you, Bob.  We will be up at the lake for the memorial Saturday.  Say a prayer for his family and friends if you can.

I'm going to focus on the joy as best I can and tackle this mess I have here.  I hope to be back soon.

Jane xx

A LITTLE VINTAGE NEVER HURT ANYONE

Emily and I have a place we go to in the Southwest suburbs.  It's sort of funny... we leave the city, hop on an expressway, and within 15 minutes we start to see open fields and farmland.  I really love it.  And then you have some towns pop up, and a bit of new construction, and that's all good, too,  Secretly I'd love to live out this way, away from it all, so to speak.  But I think I would ultimately choose the quaint old house in the downtown area of the old towns, not a new construction.  City Mouse?  A little bit always, maybe.

Anyway, this couple in this little neighborhood sell their vintage finds from their home (front porch and garage) and Emily has the goods on their advertisements.  So it was the second time for us and we had a ball as usual.  I love seeing bloggers have, those who collect vintage pieces.  I personally love a little bit of old and chippy, but I lean toward the rustic as opposed to vintage.  Well, sometimes you just have something speak to you and you just don't care if it's a part of your repertoire, it's the beauty of feeling something in your heart and soul.  I'll share a few items later...the lady was quite negotiable and we were pleasantly surprised with our loot for the amount we paid.  We each got one of these windows for ten buckaroos.  And me, vowing to never get another window!  They are just so fun to dress up for the seasons and holidays.

This vintage scale was what actually  brought us here.  See the stork?  Oh my, is this not 50's or 60's retro love?!  Emily didn't believe me but I actually thought I was delivered to my family by a stork!  Those images were everywhere in my baby days.  So, we are having a baby shower for my daughter in law, Mary Clare, in early January and once we saw the stork scale, the wheels turned and we decided to do a retro theme.  Neither of us have any "retro" or "vintage" decor, but don't let that stop Blondie or her creative little dreamer/designer daughter!

Horrible picture (and I hope Kelli doesn't mind), but I searched Etsy for "Vintage Baby Shower Storks" and up came Kelli's shop.  This is now our official theme.  Isn't this little tag adorable?  I have the invites coming in this design and font and a few little decorations (I want to keep it all a secret for the big day and I'll share right after).

I'll also give links (in care any of you are expecting the stork). 

We are planning a small party (25-30 ladies) here in my home.  Since space is at a minimum. we are not having a sit-down luncheon...more like a finger food/cocktail party.  Some savory and sweet offerings; some bought, some make by moi.  A signature drink or punch and a bit of wine.  Coffee and tea.    Just intimate and fun.  I'll definitely keep you posted.  And yes, in addition to Christmas, my mind is reeling in a few directions.  But I have to be used to this by now. 

 

 After our visit to the lady with all the vintage things, we went on to a relative of Emily's husband.  M had recently lost her father sadly, and had an abundance of furniture and belongings from the home he shared with her late mother.  She had given Emily several items recently and had more.  What a neat lady!  I took a few snaps of her outdoor Christmas decorations.  Aqua is her signature color this year.  I love this cute "take" on the vintage bike  she dresses up seasonally.

M is a self taught fashion stylist, one of the many "hats" she wears, and works at a consignment shop in her little downtown area.  She helps the ladies dress stylishly with the clothes offered...many of them looking or wanting to dress nicely for employment.  If you look closely at this picture or enlarge it...all of the boxes are from Marshall Fields, that iconic Chicago mainstay until about 10 years ago.  In fact, the square box in the lower right corner held her late mother's wedding dress.  Yes, it was a vintage day and gave me a whole new perspective on the treasures we can find from the past.  

Back to the present...I was so tired of looking at those messy plastic bags and containers of Thanksgiving leftovers,  I  actually took everything out on Saturday and re-bagged it all so it looked neater (my OCD problem rears it's ugly head again).  I searched Pinterest ideas for leftovers and many were quite good;  I love the idea of using puff pastry to make a tart with leftover turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce.  Next year, I was fresh out of puff pastry.

Turkey Teterazinni has never been very appealing to me.  I've made it and found it really tasteless. Sort of bland and dry.   However, on Monday night I was especially wanting to get rid of those ugly plastic bags and I have a huge conscious about wasting perfectly good food.  I searched and found a recipe at Daily Waffle and I'm sharing the link.  But...you have to jazz this dish up or it tastes like...well, tasteless.  Here's my take in addition to the recipe:

Dot the first layer of noodles with butter and a lot of salt.  A tablespoon of herbs won't hurt.  You choose.  

Salt the next layer of shredded turkey (use half dark meat, it's the juiciest and even if you don't like the dark meat, you'll never notice).  Give that a few dots of butter.    

I layered a few handfuls of fresh baby spinach on the next layer, it adds color and makes you feel like this is a healthier dish. lol!! 

 You will make a white sauce to pour over.  Be liberal with the herbs of your choice.  And a traditional white sauce has nutmeg...this recipe forgot that.  Don't you.

After you top the whole thing with bread crumbs and Parmesan (and be liberal, don't measure), dot with butter again.  

Salt, salt, salt and more salt...or a substitute.  The worst thing about this dish is that it is dull.  I think my tips will take it to the next level.  My family loved it.  You may just find yourself going out for one of those rotisserie chickens.  Face it, you only make this meal when you have leftover cooked meat, and this rarely happens.  There might never be another occasion, and before I gave you these swift ideas, you never wanted one. 

I still haven't packed up my fall stuff, I bet that will only take about two trips downstairs but it looms.  Instead I started a new novel after not picking up more than a magazine over the past few weeks.  I'm enjoying this one (I'll put it on my sidebar soon).  Set in Australia, a wife/mother/everyday (sigh, for lack of better words) woman goes on a tangent and rather than writing her generic, always cheerful holiday letter, which she sends out to over 100 family and friends every December 1st, she instead lets it all pour out.  Her trials and tribulations (personal and financial) and the stark truth of her feelings about her family members and life in general.  In a terrible twist, the letter (or should I have said email) accidentally gets sent out.  Oh, my.  This sets the stage for a page turning story.  In my mind, and I wish I had more time to elaborate...have you ever wanted to write a post, email or letter and say exactly how it is?  What is frustrating to you?  How the people around you disappoint or aggravate you?  How life is SO not a bowl of cherries?  This book makes you think.  

 The Husband deposited the "Christmas Funds" for me to get started on shopping.  Remember the Christmas Club (was there another word for it?) your bank had 40 years ago?  You made a deposit of about $5.00 a month and lo and behold, in December you had your Christmas funds!  I loved that.  And how precious that you could do it within that amount!  My ever frugal guy sets a budget and I find it a challenge to stay within it (I have very little budgeting talents at all and I'm grateful, not resentful, that The Husband takes charge of this...lest I seem to sound pathetic)  And Ooh la la, if I stay under, guess who benefits?!! :)  Hope you are off to a good start with your gift shopping and if you are finished and sitting in front of a roaring fire with your favorite beverage in hand...don't tell me. ;-D

An update on the happily engaged couple, son Jeff and fiancee, Deirdre.  They have made plans to get married this August.  Tell me how I'll survive with a new granddaughter coming in February and a wedding for 400, yes 400 guests in 8 1/2 months?  But as my daughter, Abigail, pointed out, it's not about me.  I hate this younger generation,  they have quite a way with words.  So, full steam ahead with trying to lose the weight, dress fittings,  wedding showers and dinners, travel arrangements (yes, they chose a place 5 hours away in a harbor town along Lake Michigan).  I keep chanting. "Glass half full, glass half full."

I'm setting the alarm for early, getting some shopping and wrapping done, bringing up some decorations, and maybe at least getting the mantel pretty.  Glass half full...glass half full.  :)

Jane xx

THANKSGIVING TABLE AND RECIPES

We've had a few days to digest the "white" food and carbs so I feel it just might be okay to talk about food...mainly, the delicious dishes we had at our Thanksgiving celebration.  I'm not so good at photographing food; you faithful longtime readers know that, so I'll keep those pictures at a minimum.  I decided to start with something pretty and that's the table I did that was just a bit different than the one I did for "practice" a few posts ago.  I had to make room for more guests so I just made a few changes.  The salad plates were removed at the last minute to become dessert plates.  I'm sneaky like that.  The napkins were on the plates.  Still pretty...just more practical.

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I changed the centerpiece out so we could see one another (Ha!).  I lit the candles early, too, (not seen here) so it was more comfortable when they burned lower,  I was able to get my hands on a big bouquet of flowers for $11 the day before and made several bouquets with them. I forgot to take pictures of the others.  :(

 I knew my silver was bad, but I kept plugging along with the idea that it was the patina that mattered,  I got wise, asked for advice and finally did the old soak in aluminum foil and baking soda.  Oh yes, a few splashes of white vinegar helps.  And then I polished each and every piece, all 80 of them, with Wright's Silver Polish (thank you, Mary).  You can see the difference from the top picture to the bottom.  I was just so happy, but boy, my hands were not happy at all.  I'm foolish.   I was just going to do enough for my place settings, then I thought it was crazy not to do it all since I was soaking them in big pans.  Well, whatever, I've recovered somewhat.  :)

I made the ever elusive apple pie (for me), and it turned out scrumptious.  Just not so pretty.  I think I'm going to move on to cakes.  If you turn your head to the right, that's a little heart I cut out.  :}

 

I absolutely adored this recipe.  Not too many people like Brussels sprouts but I do and it wasn't until recently that I learned of all the ways you can prepare them.  This recipe seems involved but don't let the steps fool you.  Bits of panchetta, Gruyere cheese, all melted in a smooth white sauce and poured over blanched Brussels sprouts.  Seconds anyone? Here's the link...keep this in mind for a Christmas side dish.  We loved it!

I went last minute shopping at a new grocery store that has a great cheese and wine department.  I decided to choose a few cheeses, some I've never tried.  This is a goat cheese with  Bosc pears in the center.  Heavenly!  It really is cool for me when my family tries new things.  And they did!  In addition, my son's fiancee, Deirdre brought a plate of cheese stuffed dates wrapped in bacon...seriously delicious!!  Just neat to try different foods.  

I had a nice variety of cheeses...Wisconsin Farmhouse Cheddar, Provolone, Blue cheese...and a few more.  An assortment  of crackers and some fruit; pears, apples and red grapes.  I really loved how our guests stood around the island and tried different combinations.  It made me happy that something so simple and easy made them smile. :)

This is a recipe that I have to share...it really was a great hit and so simple. You can do it ahead and it makes a pretty presentation.

1)  Cook 7 pieces of bacon.  Drain and set aside.

2)  Drain off all but 1 T. of drippings and saute 2 T chopped garlic cloves for one minute.

 3)  Beat 2 8 oz. cream cheese (softened) until smooth.  4)  Beat in 1/3 c Half & Half.

Stir in bacon, 1 t garlic, 4 oz. blue cheese, and 2 T chopped chives.

5)  Spoon into a small baking dish and bake at 350 for 15 minutes (you can refrigerate and do this prior to serving).    Sprinkle the top with 2 T chopped walnuts before serving with crackers and/or fruit.

It never ceases to amaze me  when I win a giveaway.  In my six years of blogging, I've been so fortunate to win so many.  And I recently won this bounty after joining in at Top This Top That blog.  Sponsored by Mary Kay Cosmetics and BlogHer, I won a bunch of Mary Kay products, from make up brushes to lipsticks.  And the big one was a $100 Visa card.  I am beyond belief!!  How did I get so lucky?  I love the cosmetics of course, and it's going to take me awhile to figure out how to use the card.  Thank you so much, Laura!!

The last time I posted I mentioned a blogger whose photography I so much admire.  And I also admire so many of you ladies that love the photography/writing connection...I think you know who you are.   Sylvia not only takes the most stunning photos, her writing is outstanding and I totally get "lost" in her posts.  I am absolutely mesmerized by the way she weaves within her photos... her stories.  Please pay her a visit.  And have a look at her cards, all graced with her beautiful, rustic pictures.  I recently won a giveaway from her, five of her holiday cards  Do me a favor...visit Sylvia, it would mean the world to me.

And that's all I have.  Tomorrow I'm helping my daughter Emily get some of her Christmas decorations up, and on Monday she will help me.  I'm just doing a bit at a time...our "live" tree won't come until the second week of December...that's when I get in the festive mood!

I'll get back to you on the bathroom and office reveal...The Husband is slow going on getting the office in order and I haven't had time to take photos of the bath.  Much sleep needed here! :)

Jane xx