Our passports have been renewed, flights and accomodations booked and within a few short months we will be off to explore Copenhagen, Oslo, Bergen and Prague! My husband loves planning our vacations, down to the last detail. (One of the countless reasons we appreciate him so!) I have just begun making a list of the places I would like to see along the way. If you have any recommendations for must sees, or favorite places to eat, I'd love for you to share them with me.
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Jane Austen's best known and most loved novel, Pride and Prejudice, was published 200 years ago today in 1813. It's my personal favorite as well. Afterall, what girl doesn't wish for love and happiness and their own Mr. Darcy. Thankfully, I have found both. With Valentine's Day just around the corner I can't think of a better time to revisit Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy at Longbourn and Pemberley.
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I'm a big fan of Donna Hay's cookbooks. Donna is a popular Australian food stylist, author and magazine editor. I would have loved to subscribe to her magazine, but coming from Australia the cost was phenomenal. However, I was thrilled when she released her magazine for iPad. An annual subscription is less than twenty dollars and each issue is more inspiring than the next. Today I baked these yummy Gingerbread cookies from her holiday celebration issue.
The iPad edition is beautiful and filled with remarkable food photography, videos, step by step cooking instructions and charming animation. The first two issues were available for free, one being the celebration issue. Recipes are based around fresh seasonal ingredients with lots of seafood dishes to choose from.
I bundled up some of the cookies to give as gifts and the rest I'm saving to make Gingerbread Lemon Ice Cream sandwiches. (Growing up, my mom used to make gingerbread cake with a lemon pudding sauce and it's been a favorite flavor combination of mine ever since.) Enjoy your weekend and stay warm! We're expecting a bit of snow if a few hours and I'm looking forward to watching it fall.
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Our dining room chandelier dressed up for the season.
Love these mercury glass vases filled with fresh boxwood. I place the boxwood cuttings in mason jars filled with water and then place the jars into the vases.
Our deep raspberry red living room needs only a touch of fresh greens and vintage ornaments to make it festive. We have lots of windows in each room and from each one hangs a little boxwood wreath.
Stockings hung by the chimney with care. These are the original stockings I made when we were first married and when our girls were born. I've sewed burlap and linen ones for us in the past, but the girls prefer these to all the others. I've shared before that my husband designed and built our mantel that we love so much. He's actually added every piece of molding, baseboard or woodwork you see in our home. We're blessed house projects happen to be his favorite hobby.
Copper and mercury glass ornaments fill our apothecary jars.
I gave this custom subway art to my husband last Christmas as a surprise. He's from NYC and the stops are many of the ones he used on his daily commute to high school and college as well as places he liked to visit. Fresh cedar is tucked in amongst some favorite family photos.
We place our fraser fir Christmas tree in our family room each year. With the girls away at college, this is the first year my husband and I ventured out to pick out a tree without them. Thank goodness for iphones because we were taking pictures and sending them to the girls. We have the tree outside and will bring it in to decorate once the girls are home. So I'll share pictures of our family room and tree then. Thanks for stopping by and sharing in our little holiday tour. As always, if you'd like the sources for anything you've seen, just let me know.
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Years ago when my husband and I were first married, we traveled from California to Old Lyme, Connecticut to visit a favorite Aunt and cousin of mine. We had the most wonderful time visiting antique shops with my cousin David. He purchased the most beautiful vase for his charming historic home, which was previously the parsonage to a church in town.
A number of weeks ago, my daughter told me I had a very large package on our front porch. It was from David. When I opened the package, I immediately knew exactly what it was. The very same vase he purchased years ago which I loved so much. Inside the vase was a handwritten note "I believe you were with me the day I purchased this at the Elephant Trunk in Old Lyme. I think you liked it at the time and hope you still do. Love, David". This precious gift brought tears to my eyes. I can't tell you how much I will cherish it. What a heartfelt gift to one day pass on to my girls.
The vase now sits in our living room near the fireplace. For Christmas, I filled it with mercury glass and vintage ornaments. Thank you again David for your most special gift!
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This is a favorite Christmas quote of mine which I think of each year as we happily prepare our home & hearts for the holiday season. With that in mind, I wanted to let you know that one of my shops, EAB Designs, is now closed for the holiday season and will reopen in January. Thank you for all of your Christmas orders!
The Pemberley Collection will remain open during the holidays for all of your jewelry and bridal shopping. Reminder that free shipping on all domestic purchases expires this Saturday.
Use code HOLIDAY2012 upon checkout.
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The weather was beautiful today so I spent some time outdoors creating holiday swags for our front door, mailbox and gates.
I love mixing silver & mercury glass with fresh evergreens, so when I came across a photo (from Stacy Nash of Primitive Designs), showing her addition of a vintage creamer and sugar bowl to her holiday swag, I was inspired to add this whimsical touch as well. (I purchased my vintage sugar and creamer set from Sandi at Wayside Treasures on Etsy. You can visit Sandi's beautiful blog where she shares many of her wonderful French inspired creations.)
For our front door swag, I used a mix of fresh cedar, noble fir and holly. While living in California, our Christmas tree was always a beautiful noble fir. We miss being able to have a noble fir here on the east coast, so finding a few cuttings of this at a local nursery was a welcomed surprise.
Helpful Tips in Creating Evergreen Swags
Florist paddle wire is perfect for constructing and securing the greens together. I find that 24 gauge works best. Rather than cutting lengths of wire, secure the end and then hold the paddle in your hand and tighlty wrap it around the greens cutting the wire after the bunch is secured. I secure each type of evergreen together first, and then wire them into one swag. To hang the swag, I use a double piece of wire which I insert into the wrapped wires on the back of the swag and form it into a circle which can then be hung from a hook.
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During the holidays, I love filling our home with fresh greens. We have an abundance of beautiful boxwood, holly and cedar trees on our property that allow me to gather whatever I need. Since we spend a lot of time in our kitchen, it's the first room I always decorate. In the urns by the sink, I stacked some petite apples and mixed in cuttings of English boxwood.
The large oversized window, by the sink, lets in lots of light - the perfect place to force paperwhites. I just nestle the bulbs in some pebbles, with no soil, and they seem to grow by the minute. We're lucky to have a few days of warm temperatures ahead, so tomorrow I'll be outdoors adding a few white lights to our front holly bushes and creating a swag for the front door which I'll share with you then.
We kicked off the holiday season by attending an evening performance of the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own" annual holiday festival at the historic Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Constitution Hall. It was a wonderful show, as always, and here is a peek at the stage.
On our walk to DAR Hall, we passed the Old Executive Office Building, also an historical landmark. It's charming architecture was enhanced with a bit of holiday decor as well. Hope you all enjoyed a fun filled weekend!
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I'm happy to announce free domestic shipping on all purchases from the Pemberley Collection. Offer runs from now through December 8th. Be sure to enter HOLIDAY2012 upon checkout.
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The house is clean, the girls and company will be arriving today and I'm in the midst of prepping for our Thanksgiving meal. I couldn't be happier. To add to my excitement, I just took these delicious "Parker House Rolls with Sea Salt" fresh out of the oven. I know they're delicious because I couldn't help but give myself an early treat. I'm thrilled when reading a recipe and I come across the words "make it ahead". Love that! The rolls can be frozen after baking and reheated on Thanksgiving. The recipe appeared in the November Food Network magazine, but you can find it online here. Plan ahead though, after their first rising they do need to rest in the fridge for at least 8 hours before baking.
I wanted to take the time to let you know how thankful I am for all of you who visit me here and to let you know how much I truly appreciate you. Wishing you a most wonderful Thanksgiving filled with the company of family, friends and great food.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Julie
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I appreciate all things creative and am inspired by the smallest of details. Here is where I love to share projects, designs and favorite things. ~ (more)
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