I love to catch up on my favourite blogs and see what is new.
We've dressed up our Humble Bungalow with some new wooden blinds. Our former "old" green roll up blinds were looking shabby and the pulls had fallen off.
Mr. HB and I decided that these blinds would be our Christmas present this year.
Fortunately the installers were able to squeeze us in before they closed for Christmas holidays.
They lend an entirely different ambiance to the family room and kitchen and I love the effect.
I opened a new Diptyque candle to celebrate.
Found some new dishcloths and in the nick of time too as the old ones were in tatters.
They are stiff when dry but soften up when they get wet.
Went to my favourite little flower shop Thorn and Thistle and bought some cheery greens.
Love the shade of these...
cannot remember their name.
Chartreuse loveliness.
I place a jam jar inside this arts and crafts vessel as I was not too sure if it would leak.
We have been plagued by water marks on the quarter sawn oak furniture lately.
I've tried a few recipes for removing rings but they just minimize the damage.
If anyone has a great recipe or product that they can suggest I would really appreciate hearing from you.
Well Time's up and I need to get busy.
We've got friends coming by later today to join us for some Christmas cheer.
On the menu:
~Appies ~
Homemade tapenaude
baguette
Antipasto
crackers
assorted cheeses
marinated mushrooms
~Main ~
Glazed Ham
(Barefoot Contessa Parties)
Cranberry Fruit Conserve
(Barefoot Contessa Parties)
Spinach Salad
Sweet Potato bake with maple syrup and walnuts
Parsnips and Carrots with thyme and orange sauce
Apple curry couscous salad
Homemade dinner rolls
~ Dessert ~
Nigella's Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
whipped cream
Best wishes for a fabulous week!
Hostess
18 comments:
Entertaining and the holidays in general are so expensive. I wish we could have parties etc but not penny to spare. Enjoy and be grateful you have the resources to celebrate in such a nice way.
love that idea of a jam far inside the vase, No fuss no mess. Genius.
Dear Hostess,
Howards 'Restore a Finish' worked a treat on heat marks left by candle wax on my daughters mid century table that we used an an extra for the wedding. I nearly died when cleaning and saw the marks as I know she loves that table and only recently acquired it! I Googled and read some forums and came across Howards products (you can get online) and sure enough when I went to the antique store to purchase the product, the guy there recommended it and said thats what they use all the time instead of stripping furniture. Its amazing. Use steel wool 0000 to apply and rub with the grain. Use a lighter colour than your wood. Then rub it dry. May need to do a couple of times but it works like magic. Good luck, it sickens me when I damage something in the home. Love the blog, Tonkath
ps. I then did the whole table top (after marks came) out as it takes away other minor scratches etc and also cleaned off built up wax and gunk. I would visit an antique store with photos of the marks as I'm not sure it works on Shellac. I did read on the forums of using a hot steam iron over a folded tea towel, swiftly, over the marks. People swear by that too!! Tonkath
Your hospitality is downright astonishing!
The jam jar idea is great because I have an old brass vase of my great-grandma's that leaks. I could just put the jar inside. Happy entertaining!
Are the recipes for this main dinner all from Ina Garten? I would love to do this menu. Let me know!
If you have water marks, I have had success with the following: place a white dishtowel over the mark. Then heat a steam iron and lightly hold over the towel. Check to see if the mark is gone. If not repeat, pressing a little harder. This has worked for me every time. A pizza box left a huge mark on my dining room table and this worked. Just go lightly! You can repeat if all doesn't disappear on the first try.
Your home looks beautiful!
Your bungalow looks so warm and inviting. Love the menu. Lucky guests. Have a healthy and happy holiday and New Year! Thanks for blogging and letting us into your life.
I loving that hit of orange in the first pic. Calming and uplifting at the same time. But the orchid in that color is hard to find in my parts...
I love all of this! I have a bowl of clementines on my kitchen counter and blooming paper whites that are serving as our Christmas tree this year. I also have the Ambre candle (such a yummy scent), but I don't have your beautiful floral arrangements with that peppy pop of chartreuse. You can come down to Texas and decorate my house anytime!
When our children were young we hardly had two nickels to rub together and we entertained often. We kept it simple. We'd play board games or cards, bridge mostly and we'd share what we had in the pantry. I remember one evening having peanut butter on toast! These evening memories are near and dear to my heart.
The cats are responsible for a lot of these water marks...
I will try this and see how it works. Thank you!
The salads and sweet potato bake are not in Ina's book.
I came across them in various publications...the sweet potatoes are baked in their skins for 40 minutes at 400 degrees, cooled to the touch and then remove the skins and mash. Add 1/4 cup maple syrup and the juice of one orange then top with roasted walnuts. Heat through later.
The couscous salad base is from Mitchell's Soup Co.so I don't have a recipe.
The carrots and parsnip are in Ina's book Foolproof.
Hope this helps.
I really relate to your response above on the difference between entertaining "then" and "now". I know that we are very fortunate that we can "afford" to entertain now, but even when we were squeezing pennies, we would enjoy hosting a simple potluck dinner or just having people over for a cup of tea, possibly brightened with some homemade cookies. My grandma lived on a small pension, but she would happily "entertain" us with a simple meal or tea and cookies or slice up a loaf of her homemade bread and serve it with butter and jam. I love, now, being able to offer a more lavish meal to dinner guests, but I also miss, sometimes, the rich simplicity of that earlier hospitality and the acceptance that our guests proffered as they shared with us in real kinship. Your home evokes those simpler times in a way, while also manifesting a real graciousness. May you and your guests enjoy the fullness of the season as you share a wonderful meal in beautiful surroundings . . . Merry Christmas to you and yours, Lesley, and all the best of the season.
I am going for it. Will let you know.Sounds delis
Love your list of foods here! Yum. The blinds look great. I also adore chartreuse, so cheery! I just got some wonderful placemats in that color from Crate & Barrel on sale. I don't know what those flowers are, but love them too!
xx
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