Christmas Traditions

Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. It's filled with traditions, some old and carried on, and some completely new. One of the wonderful things about starting your own family is that you get to share traditions from when you grew up, and you get to tweak them and make new ones. 

I wanted to share a few of ours, and maybe inspire you to add a few to yours. 

The first is my Surprise Balls....

When I was little, occasionally, we got this wonderful ball to unwrap. As you unrolled the colorful crepe paper, toy surprises and jokes were revealed. 

They were so much fun, even if you just got a bad joke and a cheap plastic ring. 

 Now I make my own for my kids. I buy rolls of colorful crepe paper streamers from the party section at the grocery store. I print off Shakespeare quotes and bad Christmas jokes from the internet, and one good prize for the center. The wrappings work best with small flattish prizes like fake mustaches and chocolate coins. I then sit in front of the TV, one night after the kids have gone to bed, and get rolling. I'm sure you can still buy these somewhere, but it's much more fun to personalize them, and easy to make your own, so why bother with searching for them.

The kids love them and open them with a frenzy. We then spend time wrapping each other up like mummies and taking photos. 

Next is The Count Down....

Now this tends to cause me some anxiety every time I look at it, but the kids love it and get so excited. It's an idea I got off of Pintrest. It's just an old frame that I use a dry erase marker on. 

 I have three boys, so we have two advent calendars that are going. The first is a Playmobil calendar that has little boxes that you open each day and then the characters get placed in a winter scene. I have bought 4 or 5 of then and carefully save them for the next year. Now I rotate them instead of purchasing more. I'm thinking I will carry this tradition on even when I have grandchildren someday. The second is a garland made of little knitted hats and gloves. I believe I bought it from the Sundance catalog. I buy chocolate truffles and fill these. The boys then rotate who gets to do what, with one of them taking the day off. 

Then the stockings hung by the chimney with care..... 

When I made these, I did not know how to knit or crochet. I just had an idea from my mom trying to teach me when I was little. They are wonky and out of proportion, but that's what makes them charming. I made one for each of my boys. One is crocheted, one is knitted, and one is sewn. There is no pattern, sorry, and I couldn't even begin to recreate them, but I encourage you to try your own. Now a days you can look up a tutorial on the internet, but when I made these I wasn't internet savvy. 

I now know how to crochet very well, thanks to the internet, and have made Christmas pillows. 

( Feeling rather clever now. )

I also have a thing for terrariums. 

This is my Christmas scene in a vase. Kosher salt for snow, a tree from holiday decor in a craft store, and one of my sons toy animals. 

And then there's the food....

Sushi Christmas Eve

(there's a story behind this one)

Fondue

(cheese and chocolate for desert)

Crepes Christmas morning

and 

Stunning deserts!

 and always Christmas Crackers...

If you haven't tried these, pick up a set. They are an after Christmas or New Years dinner treat with a paper crown, a joke, and a trinket. Two people take hold of an end and pull. It has a small firework that makes a loud pop or "crack" sound. Sometimes you can find one's with Christmas games or nicer trinkets. It really depends on how much you pay for them and where you shop for them. I thought of stuffing my own, but I haven't run across a kit. These I bought at Pier One Imports, but I have seen them at Williams Sonoma and other specialty stores. 

 Happy Tradition making!

The Nest

I love collecting objects of art from nature. Seashells, pine cones, and nests of all sorts. I dream of finding one of those huge wasp nests, unoccupied, and bringing it home. Did you ever stop to ponder how these things are created and the labor that goes into them?

I have quite a large bird nest collection. It shifts around the house depending on the season and what inspires me. They actually are difficult for me to display. They are made of dried mud and grasses, bits of paper and twigs. I even have one that has a strip of ace bandage or something. They are delicate and are constantly shedding bits when I move them. I really should have a permanent display, but unfortunately don't have the space for one. 

At Christmas time, I decorate my house with a nature theme and a few of the nests make the Christmas tree. Just looking at them blows my mind how much labor went into making them. A bird has no hands, everything has to be carried by mouth. All that mud! They represent so much love from a primal place. They truly are works of art.  

This time of year we focus on our own nests and making them warm, welcoming, and beautiful for our loved one's. We spend hours decorating and planing out holiday meals. We open our homes and hearts to others. Despite all the terrible things we do to each other in this world, we also have such wonderful, inspiring hearts. 

Happy Nesting!

Cocktails Anyone?

I'd like to share my Cocktail Cabinet with you. 

Lets open it up...

We bought this cabinet when my first child was very small. Originally it was intended as a TV cabinet. It's very large, and the TV was high enough so little fingers wouldn't be tempted to explore. It has four large drawers, big enough for all our Cd's and movies. Well times changed and so did our furniture, and this was emptied and moved to our great room. It was ignored for awhile, until I got the brilliant idea to turn it into a bar for my husband for father's day. 

The first thing I did, was to by a cheap $5 roll of wall paper from the sale bin at the local Fred Meyer. The inside was painted black and needed lightening up. (I like that it says Rose-buds as that's one of my nick names.) I then carefully measured and ordered a mirror for the back and two 1/2" thick glass shelves from my local glass shop. (Measure carefully, and then remeasure twice after that.) I drilled a hole in the top for a power cord and then one through the back of the cabinet. This is for the blender. 

You can buy rolls of cork that are fairly inexpensive, so I corked the top. I figured this would be a non skid surface and look cool. 

I bought a halogen light for the inside top of the cabinet, and ran the power cord through the roof and down the backside of the cabinet. There's a switch on the cord to turn it on and off. It sounds impressive, but it was really quite easy.

It lights it all up beautifully!

It's has been so fun filling it up with accessories. 

This is a leather flask holder handmade and tooled by my grandfather David Seyler. It holds an old bottle of Bourbon from 1944 and is some of the smoothest I've ever tasted. 

The large thimble reads "Only A Thimble Full". (a gift from my Grandmother who was a quilter)

The top drawer holds the essentials.

The next drawer holds soda cans. 

And somethings don't change, because the bottom two drawers still hold hundreds of Cd's. 

The whole thing then closes up, waiting for the next time a cocktail is needed. 

Cocktails anyone?

Falling into Fall

It's one of those lovely fall days in the Pacific Northwest. The wind is whipping about, tossing leaves up into the sky. It's about 60 degrees out, which makes me want to put on a cozy sweater, grab the hand of my sweetheart, and go for a walk and a coffee. 

After I get over the end of summer and stop moaning about it, I throw myself into this colorful time of year. There is so much to enjoy in autumn, it really is a feast for the senses. There's soups and stews to be made, and all sorts of Halloween activities around my house. 

Lentil Latte: Lentil soup with Whipped Cream Foam and a Rosemary stirrer. 

With three creative boys in the house, we make every costume and pretty much every decoration. Every year it's different, which keeps the excitement rolling. 

Charlie picking his pumpkin

This photo is a few years old, but one of my favorites of my littlest Pumpkin.

I'm quite the Harry Potter Fan. Every year I decorate with that magical story in mind. I even have been perfecting my recipe on how to make Pumpkin Juice to my taste testers delight. 

Pumpkin Juice

• 1-2 cans of Pumpkin puree unsweetened 
• Apple cider
• pinapple juice
• apricot juice
• honey to sweeten (add to taste)
• Add to taste ground cloves, cinnamon, and ginger (only if needed since we are using Apple cider).

Mix ingredients, stain to get any unwanted bits out, and chill. HINT (you have to start with the apple juice and add other juices until you like the flavor, this is where my tasters come into action) 

My bird nest collection fits right in. 

A little sculpture from New Orleans that my oldest bought for me.

Putting my pharmacy bottles to use. 

Made from Clip Art on line and strung on black ribbon. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Last days of Summer

It's the time of year that we feel those first bites of fall in the air, and we desperately try to squeeze as much as we can out of our dwindling summer. Chilly at night with brisk mornings and then gorgeous days, where we can still where flip flops and shorts. 

There is a hush over the garden as it slows down its growth and settles down

 to get ready for the upcoming season.

 The plants have developed a brownish hue,

 the flowers and leaves not quit as bright as they once were.

The tomato vines are heavy with green tomatoes,

 which happily means another batch of Green Tomato Chutney to be made. 

We have been picking blackberries and enjoying the late summer fruits to our hearts content.

 It always makes me a bit sad. 

I hate to say goodbye to it for another year. 

Until then...