Wednesday, December 19, 2012

The Cat in the Hat!

I've got a new hat (I'll show you later in this post)
which I wore when we went to see the Christmas lights at Butchart Gardens.
If you have never been to the Gardens it is a must see if you ever get to visit our fair city.


Butchart Gardens Christmas display December 2012
(picture courtesy of lovely daughter using her "fancy pants" camera)


(lovely daughter's image)
~ ~ ~
the rest of the pictures are mine
~ ~ ~
the lights are spectacular
there is also a carousel
and 
an ice skating rink


thousands of lights are wound around the trees
I particularly like the white ones


they look so crisp silhouetted against the dark night sky


The Twelve Days of Christmas are on display
here are the "Three French Hens"
you can see the Eiffel Tower in the back!



The Gardens have been open since the 1920's
please visit at any time of year you won't be disappointed 
there is a fabulous restaurant
The Blue Poppy
which has amazing high teas and delicious dinners.


It was a chilly weeknight evening 
but there was not a breath of wind and there was no rain so it was a perfect time to wander about
I wore my Lands End down coat, leather boots, leggings and my black Lands End cashmere sweater
I wore wool gloves and a new hat.

The hat has a feline flair...
it's an animal print
snow leopard perhaps?
in
soft wool and angora
cozy and warm
can you say MEOW?

The Cat is in The Hat!



Wearing my new hat 
with my 
wear them everyday 
diamond studs.


I embrace our festive Christmas traditions 
and am always on the look out for more meaningful ways to mark the holidays
with family and friends.

What are your Christmas or Holiday traditions?
Have they been passed on for generations or did they become tradition in recent years?

What is the silliest tradition that you have?

~ ~ ~
Hope that you are keeping your cool this season
there are tempers flaring at every turn 
as evidenced by erratic drivers
cranky pushy people in line up
and
rude comments made by the stressed and impatient shoppers.

Let's try and be calm and collected shall we?
There is nothing attractive when losing one's manners in public!

If you need to vent...
try singing Christmas carols in the shower at the top of your lungs!

~ ~ ~

Hostess



13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fabulous chapeau! I look awful in hats - specs and a hat looks so frumpy together, if I could wear one it would look just like that.

I want to postpone Christmas, soon it will be over and everything will be normal again, I'd like to extend the magic for one more week.

Pondside said...

The hat is adorable!
We have tickets for Butchart Gardens sitting in the kitchen (a gift from Lillypad) but we're waiting for another calm, dry evening. I enjoyed the little preview here!

the gardener's cottage said...

what a great tour of butchart gardens. what i would give to visit and wear a warm leopard hat! lovely as always leslie. xo janet

Kristien62 said...

Spectacular display and love your hat. I can't think of any actual traditions that we have. The celebration evolved through our married life and always included my brother in-law, his wife and kids. Our family is small, but the Chrismas Eve party together was always joyous and a bit raucous. Now it will change as the children build families and forge their own traditions. This year I have asked each of my children to take home with them an ornament from our tree that has meaning for them. That way, they will have a small part of our Christmas memories with them.

LPC said...

Love those lights, and the hat is perfect hostess insouciance. I'm making new traditions as we speak:). Buying a real tree with white lights for the kids, a fake one with colored balls for Significant Other.

La Vie Quotidienne said...

I have been to the gardens and I can only imagine how incredibly amazing the light show must be. Your hat is pretty special too.

mette said...

I must say, that the bit of hat I see, looks cute on you.
The traditions? The only one I´d like to keep, is going to the stable late on Christmas Eve and read the story of " The Stable´s Christmas ", as we so often have.
I´m not a Christmas-person at all, sigh..
Btw., great pictures from your town!

KSL said...

Wow - so beautiful and festive. Love your hat. It looks great on you, and also warm and cozy.

Lorrie said...

Our family Christmas celebration is on Christmas Eve this year, so my husband and I will be alone on Christmas Day while the kids visit their various in-laws. Other family live on the mainland. So, husband and I have decided to treat ourselves to a walk through Butchart Gardens on Christmas Day (can I wish for snow?) and then dinner at the Blue Poppy restaurant. Maybe we'll even go ice skating!

Judith said...

You wear your hat with panache.Ida

jessica said...

I adore Butchard Gardens. Have only been up there to visit 3 times but must go to the gardens when we are there. The first time we visited was 1980 when we drove (I rode on back) our 1970 750 Honda motorcycle from Colorado. St. Helens had erupted the month before. It was my first time to Vancouver. We took the ferry over. The gardens were lovely during the day and we went back that evening for a show they put on. Later they had a light show by the water pond. Victoria was so pretty with the hanging flower baskets. So thank you for the photos of the light display. Your hat is charming on you.

Duchesse said...

Your hat is making me smile- and forget the falling slushballs here. Merry Christmas, hostess!

Share my Garden said...

Love the hat, Hostess! Merry Christmas!