Purples for a Winter Wedding

I was so glad to be able to do Jacqui's wedding. We had a lot of fun! The color scheme was purples, blue & black. I went to the SF Flower Mart for my first time. It was so neat!

Fiddlehead ferns were the best find!

I used Hydrangeas, mini Calla Lillies, Carations, Football Mums, privet berries...

Roses, Dendrobiums, Delphiums, Euculyptus..

I didn't make the cake, but I got to decorate it with flowers!

Wedding Preview

The House at Christmas

I just finished Moira's stocking yesterday. Each time I make a new one, I make it easier than the one before. My favorite part about this one was a mistake! I was sewing the crochet trim around the top & when I sewed the end down, I thought I was on the backside. Oops. Not. There was a big fat seam down the front. BUT, I happened to have 3 white pearly buttons in my button jar. Hooray!

Moira was checking out the newly hung stockings. She seemed to like the decorations pretty well.
We went with the piano idea. Thanks Nicolle!

I love the stockings I made for Scott & I, crazy quilted out of vintage fabrics. They took forever. When I made them, I didn't have any little ones running around, and I was confined to bed rest. So, it was a fitting project for that time. I don't think I'll make anymore like that, though!

Speaking of Husbands

and speaking of food. My husband has fond memories of a childhood meal called cube steak. Have you heard of it? I never had, before he mentioned it. What? What is cube steak? Apparently it is pre-tenderized beef. He told me it is a simple & affordable meal that his mom would make often. That is the way we ate, as I grew up. But, we never ate cube steak. The other day he told me that he very much would like to eat it again some day. So, I finally bought some at the store today. Then I Googled for a recipe. This is the sort of stuff that kept coming up.

CUBE STEAK AND GRAVY
Cube steak
1 c. flour 1 c. Crisco 1 tsp. salt 4 tbsp. flour
(for gravy)1 tsp. pepper 1 can evaporated milk
Roll cube steak in flour; set aside. Melt Crisco and put steak in frying pan. Fry until brown, turning meat over to avoid overcooking. Remove meat; pour flour in pan and brown constantly stirring. Add salt and pepper. In a bowl, mix 1/2 can with milk with 1/2 can water. Pour into flour mixture. Add steak. Stir until desired thickness. Pour up and enjoy a delicious meal.

Really Honey? Are you sure? Are you positive?
I am delaying. I am making pizza tonight instead.

Seasons Change

My gorgeous Snowball Viburnum, given & grown with love by my husband, is a fabulous yellow in the winter. Funny that the "snowballs" don't come 'til Spring.

Front Porch

In December

Red Again

My current Christmas table.

Made with Love

Scott & I watched Julie & Julia this weekend. Julia was such a marvelous character, moving me tears on a number of occasions. I have known that they are many, many Julia fans out in the world. A few years ago, Scott & I were at Copia, in Napa, for her birthday celebration. I had a hard time comprehending peoples high, crazy admiration for her. I didn't really know anything about her, before that day. Her friends & fans at the museum that day, taught me some neat stuff about her. The movie has done more to help me understand her. I am starting to get it. I think I want to read "My Life in France". And, I now feel the need to own Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Even though, I don't think I particularly enjoy French food. I mean, aspic, pate, fois gras? Gah!! Julia really showed people the JOY of cooking. (Even though she wasn't the author of that book.) I love that.
We should live with passion. And joy. God made us for His glory & for His pleasure! We are made in His image & He made us to enjoy good things. I am so grateful for that. I am so grateful for good food.
Cooking is a way that I love to show tangible love. When you create something for someone, you are giving them a real part of you. I was facebook chatting with my friend Laura about this today. She called cooking a love language. How brilliant. God gave us so many beautiful, good things to show His love. How wonderful to be able to love others in the same way.
What do you like to give to your love ones, that is "part" of you? Something sewn, grown, written, cooked, baked, painted, drawn, crafted?

Advent Activities

The kids are really liking the advent calendar & ask often if they can pick a tag. Peyton, who loves to vacuum, throws the paper tag on the floor after we read it & vacuums it up. He loves the hissing sound. I need to empty the vacuum canister...

They loved the activity yesterday of making Christmas cards. I like the way they turned out. I cut out from old wrapping paper scraps & they used glitter glue to decorate the trees.

Today we plan to try out this fun experiment. They look really cool!

Red & Silver

There is zero sunshine here. So, me being no photographer expert, can't manage to get a good photo. But, here are the arrangements going to the PRC auction tonight. If you are local, make sure to go. It's at 7 pm, in Scotts Valley.

Preview

of some Christmas flowers.

Smart Play

If you have any shopping left to do, for your kiddos, or other people's kiddos, may I suggest you check out Fat Brain Toys? It is a great online store. The toys are spectacular. Fun, imaginative, durable. They have a list of made in the USA toys. We got some Quadrilla through this store. Dado cubes - how cool! Twig blocks? Clever.
These Home planner things are cool. Reminds me of one of my favorite things to do when I was younger. Any of you girls remember our home designs?
These people are seriously into playtime. I like that.

25 Days of Christmas

We have started getting ready Christmas. December is here! My sister sent me this website with great advent ideas. Check it out!

I have 2 tags in each drawer. One is an activity to pull out in the morning & the other is the devotional verse to pull out in the evening.

Our daily activities are super simple. This morning it was getting a treat at the bakery & walking to library to look for Christmas books. The pumpkin whoopie pies were just baked, so that is what we choose. So good!

You Should be Careful

Yesterday was Scott's birthday. As I was frosting the cake, I was asking Scott if he wanted all 34 candles, or not. He said having that many would be a ridiculous & when you get old like that, is is a dangerous fire hazard to put all the candles on the cake. Gillian gave us a serious warning, "You have to be very ceerful (careful) of old." Okay. We'll be careful about getting old.

When I lit the candles she started singing the birthday song all by herself. Then, she stopped short, in order to get to blow the candles out before dad did it. She got them all, in only a few tries. (All 12, not 34!)

Peyton took a few of the candles and set them up in his own slice & sang the birthday song again. He kept singing for quite a while, before deciding to have any of his cake.

Gillian is a lover of white food. She likes butter, sour cream, ranch, whipping cream, frosting, etc. (generally the fat food category). She just calls all these thing "white". As she was eating her frosting off of all her cake, she asks, "Why is this white so hungy for me?!" I guess it knows you need it? I don't know? Good question.

Quadrilla Man

My husband has turned into a Quadrilla man. He is totally into it. He likes to play it almost every evening. And, the kids like it pretty well, too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just Because...

...I thought the colors were fabulous.

Here's the local tree the persimmons came from.

Gifts

These are little gifts for a couple of friends. I hope they last a good while. The only "fresh" flower item is the Kangaroo Paw. But, those are extremely hardy. So, hopefully it will power past Thanksgiving.

Whites at Highland

This wedding at Highland Park in Ben Lomond, Ca was full of white Hydrangeas.

Bride Cristina & Groom Clay look pretty happy!




I loved the ceremony pieces.

Corsages & a boutonniere

Bridal bouquet - Hydrangeas & Cymbidiums

Sweetheart's table - Hydrangeas, Lisianthus, Phaleanopsis.

I love these guest tables.

Before I left, I got to try some of the great wedding food done by Kimberly's Catering. WOW! Yummy ribs & soup. And those were only appetizers.

That was Full

I picked up flowers for Saturday's wedding this morning. The curly willow was 5 feet tall! It was a challenge to fit it all in my Yukon XL. I was quite proud of my achievement. I put the 3 kids back in the car.
Then I realized I had a double stroller that now needed to fit in the car, too, Without damaging the flowers. AH!
I am so glad our Maclaren Twin Triumph is so compact! I got it under the kids' feet. Barely.

My little guy got pretty worn out from the whole ordeal.