Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy New Year!

I want to take this opportunity to send my greetings and thanks to all my friends out in 'Blogville' that have made the past year such a fun, interesting, and exciting one. I would have never imagined when I started this new adventure that I would met so many wonderful, creative, welcoming, and supportive people ~ to each and every one of you I wish a very...

 



Wednesday, December 29, 2010

After the Deluge


I took this picture of a seating area in my north-facing side garden last week after a series of very rainy days. Rain is always welcome here, but it was nice that it cleared away for a beautiful Christmas Day. Now in the garden all of the tattered leaves have finally been washed off the trees and the annual rye grass is a brilliant green. Even though not much is blooming at Rose Arbors seeing everything look so fresh is a nice way to start the new year. And soon this little area will be filled with...



...Camellias!



Tha post has been linked to: http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/ and http://www.theshabbychiccottage.net/

Monday, December 27, 2010

Christmas Favorite

I was lucky to receive some lovely gifts for Christmas but there is one that is so adorable I just had to share it with you: This little creature by Cybis. I don't know what makes little animal figures so appealing but this little guy with his acorns is a joy. I think he will find a perfect home on a shelf in the new media/library room...don't you think?

Thank you John and Lee






This post has been linked to: http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Morning ~ Monkey Rolls





What is better on Christmas morning than Monkey Rolls...why they are named this I don't know but they have been a family tradition for many, many years. They were first introduced to me by my mother-in-law and a Christmas morning without them wouldn't seem like Christmas here at La Vie Quotidienne. These are made with any yeast sweet dough recipe. After rising the dough is divided into balls, dipped in melted butter, rolled in sugar and cinnamon ( 3/4 C sugar 1tsp cinnamon),  sprinkled with chopped walnuts and baked at 350 degrees; I bake them in loaf pans, but any size baking pan will do. Yum!








This is my last post until after Christmas, once again I wish you all a happy, joyous and wonderful Christmas Day filled with many blessings...and maybe now some Monkey Rolls!

This post is dedicated to Lola Philp: amazing, indomitable, talented and unforgettable. She is very much missed.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Happy Holidays From my House to Yours...

I wish you a very merry Christmas full of happiness, joy and blessings.

snow: curtesy of my immagination and Picnik



This post has been linked to: http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

Friday, December 17, 2010

Santa is in Town ~ Decorated Shelf

The Santas have come to town and taken up residency in one of my kitchen cabinets. Some are fat and some are lean, some ride raindeers and some are raindeers. One is even a cookie jar and one flew in. Big and little; different shapes ~ I think that they are all adorable.  Ho-ho-ho and Merry christmas!





































This post has been linked to: http://myromantichome.blogspot.com/,  http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/ and http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

The Christmas Angel

An angel of the Lord appeared to them...I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all men. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:8





This angel resides on a wall in my garden, I knew when I started my blog that it would make a lovely Christmas post ~ a reminder of the true meaning of the holiday.

This post has been linked to: http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/  Outdoor Wednesday.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

The Living Room Tree

This year I decided to try something new with the tree in the living room. At first I was just going to use all of my cranberry colored ornaments and then realized that it needed a little something more, so I combined cranberry and gold.  I used lots of cranberry colored ribbon. and this beautiful pale yellow tulle with metallic gold detail I found on a sale at JoAnnes; I just cut the fabric into long strips and tucked it in amongst the branches. I had the icicle garland and the crystal garland. The tree topper is a simple bow. Under the tree I set my rocking horse and a doll in a high chair, both gifts from Santa to my daughter years ago. And some packages of course. For the past few years I have used this smaller tree instead a big one, it is just so much easier for me to set up and I don't have to move any furniture, but who knows maybe next year I will bring back the floor to ceiling tree. In fact I am already thinking pink and pale green...





























...and As Santa said, 'ere he rode out of sight, "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night".

This post has been linked to: http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ , http://www.theshabbychiccottage.net/ and http://myromantichome.blogspot.com/

Friday, December 10, 2010

Santa's Bakery and Confectionary



Santa came to my house for Christmas and brought his bakery and confectionary



He made lots of gingerbread cookies that can also be used as tree ornaments...





...old fashion ribbon candy in red and white...




and white and green...




.and these adorable suckers with their jolly faces...







Here is Santa laden down with all of his cooking equipment and confections.




...oh! so many yummy treats...





but only for good little boys and girls...so you better be good!






I have had most of these decorations for many years including the candy garlands and the little suckers, which have become quite frayed, but I love them anyway. I made the candy canes a while back and the gingerbread garlands are from a tea shoppe. The Santa was purchased one year from Savon drug store...they simply don't make such cute ones anymore; every year I feature him somewhere in my kitchen. The wooden spoon tree topper is obvious but completes the picture I think. And the real prize this year is the metal sign in the window found at Marshalls early last month for only $12.00 - lucky me, I knew when I saw it where I would put it. Enjoy and remember...you better be good! Merry Christmas.



This post has been linked to:   http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/, http://itssoverycheri.blogspot.com/ ,  http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ , http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/ and http://www.theshabbychiccottage.net/


Wednesday, December 8, 2010

A Christmas Tale ~ The Rocking Horse




Two days before Christmas the year I was three, my parents took me to see Santa Claus at a department store in downtown Los Angeles. In the store on the way, while going through the toy department, I saw a rocking horse and was enchanted. Of course the first and only thing I asked Santa for was a rocking horse. They had already bought all the toys and a rocking horse certainly wasn’t included so that night my Father, who had just begun honing his carpentry skills, started working in the garage; making a rocking horse. On Christmas Eve my parents set their alarm clock and took turns getting up to turn the horse in front of the oven door to hasten the drying of the glue and the newly applied varnish so that Santa could bring me my my wish. And, of course he did and I was thrilled. But this story does not end here, but much later as somehow through all the clean-ups and changes in the next decades the rocking horse was something that was never discarded. He sat hidden in a corner of their barn, unseen and falling gradually into disrepair until many years later when I discovered him lying mostly in pieces, and on this Christmas as once before, the one gift I asked my parents for was my rocking horse. My Father finding most of the parts, and rebuilding those which he couldn’t, repaired the horse and on Christmas morning, for the second time in my life a rocking horse was awaiting me under their tree. Now every Christmas my horse reappears as part of my holiday decorations, often in my toy window as you see in this picture and this year under my living room tree. Throughout the rest of the year he is securely stored away waiting for the return of the holidays. My Father went on to become a master carpenter and spent many hours working with wood, he made cabinets, furniture, and built houses, and when he became ill and couldn't expend much physical effort he began making model ships. I have two of his ships in pride of place in my media/library room, but the rocking horse remains my most precious possession and every time I look at him I think of him as a gift of love, given not just once but twice over.


This post is dedicated to my Father who passed away February 2, 1997.



This post has been linked to: http://alittleofthisandthat2.blogspot.com/

Sunday, December 5, 2010

All in Knots ~ Crochet edgings

In my kitchen I have two cabinets, one a corner cabinet  is used to display crystal and a few small silver objects, and the other houses my cookbooks on the bottom and  decorative dishes on the top. They are both  backed with the same toile wallpaper as all of the other glass fronted cabinets in the room - quite nice, but missing that certain something...that special zing that makes the difference between ordinary and wow!








I realized what they needed after seeing a post a few weeks ago on, http://le-monde-de-catherine.blogspot.com/ when she featured a beautiful European style kitchen with lovely cut  paper edgings on the cabinet shelves.






I wanted something a little bit more permanent than paper and I love to crochet lace so...I got out my crochet hook, some thread, directions, and with a a bit of  time and effort came up with this...





Here is the corner cabinet with the lace edgings...I opened the door because the leaded glass obscured the picture...




...and here is the other one. Much better, don't you think. (Okay, I know that I cheated by adding these wonderful dishes when it was all bare before but I couldn't help myself and it makes a much nicer picture!)

I am very please with the results...what do you think, time well spent?