Christmas Dinner Party is Divine!

I was excited to go to Laurell's for a holiday gathering last night and took my camera for many photo opportunities. As I went to shoot my first shot of her exquisite cocktail, I realized I had left my camera battery in the charger at home. So I apologize for the picture quality as I had to use my phone camera. First a yummy cranberry margarita - perfectly shaved ice in an antique martini glass, rimmed in pink sugar and garnished with fresh cranberries- to die for! Laurell's table was set with new silver chargers from Romancing the Home and her collection of antique crystal and china. For the centerpiece, she used a snow fairy captured under a cloche and little satellite vases of fresh greens and roses. It was gorgeous. And overlooking the table was a beautiful Christmas tree that she had placed upon an urn to get height in the corner of the room. It was an enchanted room filled with Christmas spirit. The dinner served was a beautiful salad of artisinal lettuces, pecan and cranberries, Christy's Veal ( from our cookbook), Fettuccine Alfredo, and then for dessert, Laurell's Cherry Berry on a Cloud dessert ( cherry compote on a meringue shell ,) just gorgeous to look at and tasted wonderful. The veal was moist and tender and had an aromatic coating of capers and lemon and was the best veal dish that I have ever eaten. It was a wonderful dinner party with my favorite people in the world - my girls!

Savvy City Farmer Christmas

A warm inviting home- notice the chandelier over the stairs- so adorable!






Birch logs and greenery in a vintage cabinet by the front door.





Tablescape of greenery and garden elements.


A display on the side porch- cute vintage whisk brooms adorn a tree for the holidays.







I loved this- antlers fit perfectly into the boxwood wreath.


so many inspirational touches in this kitchen.
The vintage loving cup- a 1928 Ice Derby trophy from Lake Forest.



Love this menu board attached to the cabinet door.

Joy removed her cabinet doors to have easy access to her dinnerware.

Glittered vintage soft balls under glass.

clever idea- toile scene inserted in the panels on an old cabinet.
Cute filing drawers with an awesome new paint finish by Joy.

Chandelier embellished with vintage garland and gold Italian fragments.

Sometimes you are charmed and inspired beyond belief- as was the case for me when I visited Savvy City Farmer - Joy's home on Thursday night. The detail that she embellished upon her vintage home was charming, from the menu on the cabinet doors, to the warm grey color on the walls. I can see why this home was featured in Romantic Prairie Style and in a recent issue of Jeanne D'Arc Living. Joy had a Christmas gathering and had some vintage items for sale. You can be sure that the 1928 Lake Forest loving cup went home with me! I enjoyed the evening and was very happy with my new treasures that I purchased that evening.

French Macaroons for Christmas

Last night, Linda DG and I attended SavvyCityFarmers Holiday gathering at her beautiful home. Christmas was in the air and I was so enchanted with the magical setting. I also met her beautiful daughter, Angela, also known as The Parisienne Farmgirl. Angela had baked the most gorgeous macar0ons (or macarons in the French spelling) in Christmas flavors - mint, cinnamon and fleur de sel caramel and sprinkled them with a dusting of shimmery sugar. Filled with delightful fillings, they were divine. I was lucky enough to be able to purchase a few dozen to share with friends. They colors were so pretty- I almost wish I could shellac them for Christmas ornaments! I can certainly understand why Angela was on the cover of "Where Women Cook"!

Christmas Berry Compote

Collecting millinery and sewing strawberries for many years, I love to display them all together. Sometimes displayed in an apothecary jar, this year I placed them in a silver square compote. Glass, velvet, chenille, and resin berries look so pretty all together. The little velvet ones were used to sharpen sewing needles, and some were just made for decoration. Millinery berries were hand made and embellished with little seed pearls to mimic the seeds of the berry. All of the colors and different textures blend together to give my sitting room a little Holiday spirit!

Christmas Floral by Twigs

Another little beauty by Twigs - our local Lake Bluff florist. I found silver champagne goblets at the flea market and took one to Twigs to fill with a petite Christmas bouquet for last weeks home tour. The vivid red berries and white ranuculus were a fabulous combination. I love the contrast of this colorful little arrangement sitting in front of the old chocolate advertising sign. It is amazing that this little bouquet was made last Thursday and still looks just as fresh today. We are so lucky that they opened their quaint store in our small town.

Beauty and the Beast- The Angel and the Lion

One of our best customers asked me to embellish a very pretty angel that we sold at the store. She wanted it to go from pretty to gorgeous! She had also purchased an antique lion toy during our Christmas Open House that she wanted me to decorate as a Christmas display for her husband's office ( who just happens to be a Leo!) Yesterday afternoon, I finally had the time to get out my trusty glue gun and my stash of embellishments. The angel acquired feather and rhinestone wings, a crushed velvet wrap and a crown. The crown was made by gluing a metallic braid to a curtain ring and adding the front detail from an old dress. Rhinestones were inset into the bodice, along with a beautiful pin and ribbon at the base.

Leo, the lion, got a new saddle for Christmas, made from a zebra fabric scrap, metallic fringe and more decorative details from an old dress. He also was crowned for the season! A Mark Roberts animal inspired Santa will ride him through the Holiday Season.

Christmas Shoes

For the Lake Bluff Christmas Home tour, I went to our local florist, Twigs, to create a fantasy shoe for display in my foyer. And they over achieved once again. White roses, rhinestone pins, and maiden hair fern made an exquisite combination in the wire shoe. It is displayed with a collage of vintage frames, statues and evening bags by a silver tree. Thanks Twigs for making the magic come alive!