O CHRISTMAS TREE!

The party's just keep going on and on. This is Honey's party for Christmas Trees. You can visit her and all the ladies participating at her blog, 2805. If you missed my post on Holiday Dining, just scroll down. These are all part of the Christmas Bloggers Block Party and I am having fun!

Here we have our monster tree, Douglas Firbanks, Jr. He was much smaller at the nursery, I think he might have grown overnight tied to my car roof.
Here are a few of my favorite ornaments. After my father passed away last year, my sisters and I picked out a few special things before his house was put up for sale. I really wanted some Christmas ornaments, ones that I grew up with. They hold a special place in my heart. You can also see the little sheet music ornaments I made last week, they are simple and fun.
I have a few of these 'popcorn balls' that are actually made out of Styrofoam pieces used for packing boxes. Aren't they cool? And next to that is an embroidered Santa I made years ago {when my children were little and I had time!!}
I love this one, it's very sweet.
I found this guy on clearance at Target last year. Look at those eyes. Awww...
If you have been with me since I started blogging, you may remember me showing you this ornament. It's a mini shopping bag from what once was my favorite store in Chicago. It's now Macy's, but I still call it "Field's"
I did my best taking a picture of the tree at night. I think it turned out okay. This is the best tree we've had, even if it is on the large size for my living room. Now I just hope that if I feed and water it everyday, it will live until January.
And finally, look what arrived today! I can't believe I have been waiting for this island since October. The kitchen is now COMPLETE! Don't you love it? I am so ready to bake cakes and pies and cookies!

Now I'm off to see some Christmas trees done up by some talented ladies. Pop over to Honey's and you can see some, too! Happy Holidays! :-)

HOLIDAY TABLESCAPE

The Christmas Blogger's Block Party is in full swing and today I am doing a post on Holiday Dining, hosted by Sherry of No Minimalist Here Visit her blog and see all the ladies that have joined this party. It's a wonderful way to pick up some tips on setting your table for the holidays!
I took these pictures on Thanksgiving as this was the table setting we were using for our dinner. I was able to get these dishes on sale after Christmas last year and since we are going away for Christmas this year, I used them for Thanksgiving and we are using them for the month of December. They are from the Winterberry Collection by Pfaltzgraff.

I decorated the table in a holly theme and used a lot of mercury glass and silver as well. I found the little gold sparkly candles at Target. My centerpiece is a fresh rosemary plant wrapped in simple Kraft paper.
I didn't want everything to match perfectly so I found napkins with holly on them at Kohls. The rings are monogrammed and I got them at Grandin Road awhile back
I had a lot of candles burning...it was quite gloomy outside. The tastefully tarnished candlesticks were found at an antique shop years ago and my mismatched silver is from everywhere. My neighbor, Susie, from the lake gave me the little ornaments that hold tea lights. Aren't they darling? I hope she doesn't see this and want them back!

In the first picture you can see the wine glasses and tumblers that are also part of the Winterberry collection. I forgot to put them out and remembered to after I had blown out the candles. I was too lazy to light all the candles again! lol!
Now I have to thank BJ at Sweet Nothings for having her tea towel giveaway, which I won. I got to pick two and these are what I chose...
They are very nice and big. The husband loves this last one since he is French and wants to frame it! It could be very nice stretched on canvas...hey, that's an idea! If you are interested in any of these towels, there is a large selection a All Tea Towels. I dare you to pick just one!

Now I am off to finish decorating the tree. I've been busy wrapping presents and I mailed my Christmas cards today. Friday we leave for our anniversary trip, but I hope to squeeze in one more party. 'Tis the season to be jolly...' :-)

HOLIDAY MANTEL PARTY

I'm happy to say that everything is up and decorated and I am on time for the holiday parties. Yay! Today I am joining Kristin of My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia for the Holiday Bloggers Block Party. Today the party is about mantels and I have finally completed mine and can share it with you.
One thing I haven't changed is that I use real fruit amongst some live greenery...apples, oranges pears and pomegrantes.
Then I just decorate around this with whatever I have that I want to see on the mantel.
There are mercury glass bottles on a galvanized metal stand, mercury glass candle holders in the middle, some candles, ornaments and an Old World Santa {I collect these}.
As you can see, I finally got my tree up! Douglas Firbanks, Jr. turned out to be quite a monster once we brought him in. I still have another bin of ornaments to put on him, so don't look too close!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks Kristin for hosting this fun party! :-)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I think the holidays are officially here. People are putting up lights on their homes and I see Christmas trees dotting the windows as I walk by. I think this time is the best part of Christmas in a way, before the pressure to get things done on time, before the crowds of shoppers start to get annoying. When you still have hope to get that wrapping done and the cookies baked. You wake up every day with that little thrill...it's Christmastime!
Last night we went to get the tree and wreaths. This is the nursery that I go to for flowers in the summer and pumpkins in the fall. I always get my tree here, too. There used to be elves working here, but I didn't spot one. They would have been helpful playing mediators between The Husband and I as we debated over the best tree.
I love coming here at night with all the bright lights and the smell of evergreen. I think we were the only ones here. I hope I am not getting my tree too early.
I busied myself picking out boughs for the mantel while The Husband walked up and down the aisles trying to find the perfect tree. I of course, let him do this although I had already found one. When we finally narrowed it down to a few, mine was it. The key is to let them think THEY found it.
And here he is, Douglas Firbanks, Jr. I say it every year, but I think this is the best tree we've had. Afterward, we tried a new restaurant for barbecued ribs. It was the perfect ending to a fun evening.
Here is Douglas strapped to my car this morning. The Husband is ready to take it off and get it in some water. It rained all night, I hope that helped it stay fresh.

So this was a quick post to let you know what I have been up to, since it will be awhile before I get the tree and decorations finished up. I'd really love to join some of the great parties going on and see what all of you guys have. I am almost done shopping but the wrapping is lagging behind. I haven't baked much since Thanksgiving and I hope to have some time this week to play around making and decorating sugar cookies. Just for fun.

Hope you have had a lovely weekend. Hopefully I'll bump into you at a party! :-)

A LITTLE OF THIS THAT AND THE OTHER

It's a very blustery day in Chicago, hang on to your hat. It's not cold though, in the 40's and there are rumors of snow. We shall see. I'm hunkered down with my coffee and laptop and thought I'd do a quick post.

First up, I received the most wonderful gift in the mail yesterday from Maggie of Normandy Life. Many of you know her and I am one of the lucky ones. She did a post on making chutney a few weeks ago, and I commented that I had no idea where to start and had never tasted it before. She kindly emailed me and asked if I would like her to send me a jar from her homemade stash. Of course! So it winged it's way from France to here and I am the lucky recipient of not only a jar of Spicy Apple Chutney, but she included a sweet card, a little tote bag and a box of deliciously fragrant soaps that she bought in Paris! Is she not the best? I can't wait to try the chutney. She advised me that it is good along side cold cuts and meats and also cheeses, some of which she recommended. I am so touched and thankful to have such a sweet and generous person like Maggie in my life.
Time marches on and I have no tree as of yet. The Husband said he would take it under advisement. What was I thinking...that I could put up a live tree prior to December 1st and it would live to see the holiday? So I have been busying myself with other holiday duties...er, fun, such as writing out my Christmas cards and doing a little {lot} shopping. I have to say that I am 60% finished and I am going to start wrapping gifts today. I didn't go out on Black Friday, but I did take advantage of Cyber Monday. When there is free shipping, you just can't beat shopping online. I know this makes me sound like an efficient little elf, but believe me, after a week or two of the boxes arriving, begging to be wrestled open and wrapped, I start to lag behind and I'm up on Christmas Eve to all hours wrapping. All my ideas for handmade gift tags and stamped paper fly right out the window.
Our wedding anniversary is December 14th...25 years. Wow, I have been with The Husband longer than I have been without. We have a little trip planned to celebrate. Next weekend we are off to St. Joesph, Michigan to stay 2 nights at The Belvedere Inn and Bistro. It's right on Lake Michigan and this harbor town is known for it's quaint shopping and dining. I couldn't download any better pictures than this, as the site had one of those pesky little slide shows. I'm really excited and I promise to take lots of pictures.

So that's about all I have going on now. I'm late but I am joining Marty from A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday and Honey at 2805 for Potpourri Friday. Thanks so much for hosting ladies. And to everyone...have a wonderful week! :-)

THANKSGIVING MEMORIES

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Today I couldn't do anything but lie on the couch and watch Hallmark Christmas movies! I think I ate the house yesterday! And I feel so tired from all of the cooking and cleaning and shopping and getting things ready. Drained. But it was all so worth it and we really had a lot of fun!

This was my centerpiece. I found a rosemary plant last minute and thought it would be perfect. Believe it or not, the tray it sits on was something I have had for years and don't remember where I bought it. When I cleaned my kitchen out for the remodel, I was going to put it in the box with things I wanted to give away. I'm happy I didn't because it goes with my holiday dishes perfectly.
Yes, I know it's supposed to be Thanksgiving and this looks like Christmas, but I really wanted to use these Winterberry dishes and since we will be having Christmas away, I did the whole table like Christmas. But this is all I am showing as I want to be in some of the upcoming holiday parties {see my sidebar if you haven't heard}. My family thought I was nuts, but they do all the time, so I was just a happy little elf playing with my Christmas things.

Emily and Mikey were in charge of appetizers, little finger sandwiches, some with chicken salad and some with shrimp...they were quite good. Emily also made the mashed potatoes with sour and cream cheeses. Everything was delicious...the turkey, sweet potatoes, corn, asparagus tips and rolls. After we ate, I took a little catnap before company came for dessert.
We had our annual best dessert contest and the hands down winners were my nieces who made these little turkey guys. The body is cake dipped in chocolate and decorated with candy. They were darling. Runners up were my nieces, Liz and Grace. Congratulations, girls.
I made shortbread cookies with a chocolate center and chocolate cupcakes filled with a cream cheese mixture. I found this three tiered stand at a thrift shop last summer for $3.00.
Of course the dogs knew it was a special day...Layla likes to lie in front of the hot oven to keep warm and smell the food. We found her curled up in this pie plate that missed the garbage can. It looks like a pretty dandy dog bed in the perfect spot.
After company left, I found Milo sacked out on the couch. Yes, we dress them up on holidays! He, Layla and I went to bed shortly after.

I was going to take my fall things down today but I only got as far as getting out the big box and some tissue paper. So that HAS to be done tomorrow when I am a little more refreshed {and not near the TV and Christmas movies!}. The Husband hit the Black Friday sale at Macy's today so I am hoping we can go together to get the tree tomorrow.

Now I am back to visiting some blogs and then I am going to get a good nights sleep. Christmas is in 30 days and I want to start dreaming about it. Have you started shopping yet? ;-D

HOLIDAY DREAMING

I had a very quiet day at home and decided to do a little baking. Nothing for the holidays yet, just some goodies for taste testing. Only the best makes it to the holiday table. And I have some seasoned judges. Tomorrow I am going to start to bake and freeze. First up are some heavenly chocolate cookies that get help from a brownie mix. I got this recipe from Cass at That Old House. Give her a visit, she has a lovely blog and such a great sense of humor...you will love her. Anyway, she wrote about a cookie she likes to make and all you do is take a regular brownie mix, add 2 eggs and 1/4 cup of oil and mix. She added chocolate chips, I added walnut pieces, and your good to go. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. They taste like brownies! And oh! So easy!
I made chocolate chip cookies from a recipe I've had forever. I am sure you have your favorite. These are chewy and full of flavor. And simple. Love that.
I keep waiting for the cold {brrrrrr} weather and yet it has been in the 50's here all week. I want to whip out that new parka and North Face boots {okay, I can be a label bragger}, but the weather is not cooperating. I was looking at scarfs the other day at Target...yum, all the patterns and colors. Here in the Midwest, the cold brings out the fashionista in all of us. Why not look good while your lips are turning blue?
Thanksgiving plans are underway. I am breaking away from tradition. Who? Blondie? ;-D. After a long search for Christmas dishes to buy and have as a yearly tradition, I finally decided on the Winterberry collection by Phaltzgraff. I have had them in the box since last January when they went on sale. Well...we are not having Christmas dinner here, so I decided I am going to showcase those babies on Thanksgiving. It's going to look a lot like Christmas! There are no Christmas trees or snowmen on them...just some lovely holly and berries. And last week I ordered and received some matching wine and water glasses. I picked out some napkins with holly in a bit of a contrasting pattern from Kohls and I will mix these up with white ones. I am still working on the centerpiece but I know I am going to add some white pumpkins and branches lest we forget it's Thanksgiving.
This is my Thanksgiving and Christmas plate that we serve our turkey on. I've had it since we were married. I love the subtle color and how it works for both holidays. Isn't that turkey darling?
I have a favorite website, Terry's Village, that I find a lot of cool stuff at. I'm not much for whimsy when it comes to holidays. At Christmas I love to collect Old World Santa's and I have a thing for snowmen as long as they are not screaming red, black and green. This site has a little of everything and for the 3 months before Christmas, I place an order every once in awhile for a few favorite things. It all has added up over the years of course, and I have more spread out throughout the house. Give their website a peek, the prices are wonderful.

So, I have shopping and baking next week, cleaning and fluffing. We have 8 coming for dinner and then we are hosting dessert for about 30. Everyone brings a dessert and as we did last year for the kiddies and the young at heart, we have a contest for the most original and tastiest dessert. Somehow, those little munchkins always win! ;-D

So, that's it for my holiday countdown and a lot of rambling. For all of you that posted on my kitchen reveal, thank you so much for your kind compliments. I am loving it. It truly is the heart of my home. Have a great week! :-)