Merry, Merry!

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace
Hail the Son of Righteousness


Light and life to all he brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings


Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die


Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth


Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King!

Giving Thanks

Hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving!





Photos: via Style Me Pretty, Southern Accents, via Brunch at Saks, Everyday Occasions, David A. Land for Better Homes & Gardens.

Dark

A little charcoal grey is about as spooky as I get.





Happy Halloween!

Photos: House & Home, Pinterest, via Wit and Delight, via Preppie Bettie, m. elle design.

Christmas at Our House

I kept Christmas pretty low-key at our house this year. For some reason, I was fixated on the trouble it is to unstring the lights from a real tree, and I just couldn't get excited about doing so just days from my due date. When I spotted three-foot-tall Frasier Firs at Whole Foods, I was sold.


I've admired tabletop trees for a couple of years (last year, and the year before) so this was a great chance to try it in our house. I think it was quite adorable! And it only required one string of lights and two small boxes of ornaments.


I intended to make my own wreaths and garland again (see it from last year here), but after three trips to Lowe's and Home Depot and only a handful of free tree scraps, I broke down and bought 30 feet of White Pine garland for just $10 (at Home Depot), and then another 20 feet for $6 (at Lowe's).


I kind of missed the big, fluffy fir garland over the door, but this was cute too with the big, old-fashioned lights.


My glitter trees (the only decorations I own that aren't lights or ornaments!) went in the dining room with some tree scraps and my pewter bowl full of pinecones.

Christmas over all was pretty low-key actually, but it was also the best one in recent memory. There is just so much to be thankful for and to look forward to that fussy decorations and spending a fortune on gifts seemed silly. Not to mention we actually had a white Christmas! In Alabama! Unbelievable!

And now, we wait ...

Alternative Christmas Greenery

Christmas trees are great, but I think I love a pretty wreath or a long string of garland just as much. And the fresher, the better! I usually stick with traditional firs and pines, but how pretty are these seeded eucalyptus wreaths and garlands from MyHomeIdeas?


Locally, my wholesale florist usually has seeded eucalyptus (you should probably call ahead for this much). As a bonus, it looks great as it dries and smells fantastic. You can find directions for the garland here.


And directions for the wreath, here.

Photos by Jean Allsopp.

Busy, Busy Bees

To say that the past few weeks have flown by would be an understatement. It has been a non-stop parade of meals, parties, traveling adventures and house projects. Here is a sample of what we have been up to.


We celebrated one Thanksgiving at the lake, and then one on the farm. I definitely take up more space in the kayak 8 months pregnant!


Don't worry, had I fallen in, this girl would have pulled me to safety.


We took at little road trip to Western North Carolina. We saw the Biltmore all decked out for Christmas (I counted 32 trees!) and ate in as many restaurants in Asheville as we could.


Once home, we continued wrapping up little projects all over the house, like in our bedroom, which has finally come together.


And of course, there has been much to do as we count down to Baby Bonds' arrival (give or take five weeks!). We've painted furniture.


And hung light fixtures.


And sorted tiny and precious baby things (and perhaps done a little daydreaming about who will be wearing them soon). Today I'm determined to finish decorating for Christmas - more on that to come!

PS. We also watched Auburn beat Alabama and rout South Carolina to earn a trip to the BCS National Championship Game. WAR EAGLE!

Lakeside Thanksgiving Table

Wes's family is getting together this weekend at my family's lake cabin to celebrate Thanksgiving. Which makes me kind of the hostess? Everyone's pitching in on the food, and though it will be very low-key, I'd still like to make it special. (Photo via Southern Exposure)


I haven't quite worked out the table yet, but it will be very rustic and simple. I'm taking my fairytale pumpkin, a couple of baby boos, and am going to gather pine cones, leaves, and acorns when we get there.


I originally hoped to carve the pumpkin and use it as a vase as Eddie did at an event in Philadelphia (photos via High Street Market), but that just isn't happening.


To add to the natural elements, I've got burlap, copper, pewter and linen. Now here's to hoping that the dishwasher will be working and we won't have to ruin the whole thing with paper plates!

And by the way, this holiday hostess business is no joke. Remind me to thank my aunts and grandmothers next time I see them ...

Octoberfest!

It's October! One of my favorite months of the year! I'm going to celebrate by ...

Making pumpkin bread. And pumpkin waffles. And probably pumpkin bread pudding. Thank goodness the pumpkin shortage is over!


Picking some goldenrod. I did last year and it was so pretty and cheerful, lasted quite a while, and to my surprise, didn't shed or make me sneeze.


Eating bowls of steaming hot soup. I could use a few new recipes for this season; what soup do you love to make?


Picking out a pretty pumpkin (or two).


Making homemade apple cider doughnuts. I wanted to do this last year, but never did. Perhaps if I start thinking about it this month it will actually happen before Christmas.

Hm, three of the five involve food. Interesting. What are you going to do this month?

Top three photos are mine. Pumpkins are from The Martha Blog. Doughnuts are from Smitten Kitchen.

Late Summer Lovelies

Mother Nature is doing some serious teasing lately with cool(er) mornings interspersed between hot, hot afternoons.


It kind of makes me want to do like Lauren did, and spruce up the house a little to reflect the coming change.


I started last night by burning my favorite fall candle -- for $5 for the big jar, I can afford to burn it 24/7 until Christmas (Mulled Cider at Wal-Mart).


Not that I'm rushing out to buy pumpkins or anything, but you know ... some dalhias or sunflowers for the table sure wouldn't hurt.

Photos: Antonella Arismedni, Pure Style Home, Jodi Miller Photography, Saipua.

Day 959's Valentine's treat recipe

Chocolate-covered strawberries are a pretty cliche thing to eat on Valentine's Day, but the combination is pretty irresistible. Instead, I decided to make chocolate cupcakes with my favorite strawberry icing.


The dark chocolate cupcake recipe* is Ina Garten's (and that peanut butter icing is delicious too, by the way) and the stawberry icing is supposedly the recipe from Sprinkles (I think I found it on Smitten Kitchen last year). It's so delicious I could eat it with a spoon. I used a Ziploc bag as a stand-in for a pastry bag and topped them with a light dusting of red decorating sugar.


Strawberry Icing
1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
pinch of course salt
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor, and process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed and slowly add sugar. Beat until combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree** (I add it to taste) and mix until just blended. Do not overmix; the consistency should be dense and creamy -- like ice cream.

Ice your cupcakes and enjoy!

* The recipe says it makes 14-15, but I got 2 dozen. The icing covered all but four, which I put in the freezer. It also says to bake for 22 minutes, but I checked them at 20 and they were done. 19 minutes probably would have worked, too so keep an eye on them.
** I also added a bit of red food coloring to get a brighter pink.

Day 921: back to normal

I was a little sad to take our Christmas decorations down, but I suppose it's nice to have the house back to normal. I picked up these pretty tulips for a birthday party for my mom (she and my dad and my dad's mom are all New Year's babies) and they are sitting one of the pewter julep cups my father-in-law gave me for Christmas. Can you tell he reads the blog?! Thanks, Ed!


I think I cooked breakfast almost every morning we were home. It's a nice treat, but not-so-great for the waistline.


I finally packed everything up on the second. I'll miss my ornaments while they're tucked safely away.


These are some of my favorite Christmas things.


This corner of the dining room looks kind of bare now, and I miss having this chair in the living room. But, it is nice to get back to normal I suppose. Which reminds me, I'd better get ready for work!