Home and Gardening With Liz: December 2011

December 24, 2011

December 20, 2011

Poinsettias and Christmas

Feliz Navidad!

I was curious about why the Poinsettia

has become so customary to have at

Christmas time (at least in the U.S. it is).

I don't know what other countries

do for their holiday decorating but the

Poinsettia is definitely a favorite around

Christmas here in the U.S.

This year I picked out three small

plants and put them in the basket so

it would look like one larger one!

This one is called Jingle Bells-

a particular favorite of mine!

As I said before I was curious about the

reason for the poinsettia becoming a

tradition and so I looked it up and

this is what I found:

"The holiday's connection to the poinsettia originated with a Mexican legend. With nothing to give to the Christ Child, a youngster picked a bouquet of weeds as an offering. As the gift was presented, the weeds transformed into brilliant red blooms. Since then, the plant is known in Mexico as Flores de Noche Buena (Flowers of the Holy Night), or just nochebuena for short. The poinsettia's red "flowers" aren't actual flowers. They're bracts (modified leaves), and the little yellow centers are the flowers."

They don't like to get too cold and

they are definitely not hardy to the

freezing temperatures.

I'm pleased to show you that my

Amaryllis really grew and it looks

like I am going to have a bloom

for Christmas!

The other identical one has leaves but

no flower coming yet. I guess that

will be a couple more weeks away!

My Christmas Cactus has just finished

blooming but there are a new set

of buds coming on it so I'm pleased

to see that!

I'll have to read up on this again.

It seems to me that sometime next

fall I have to put it in a cool, dark room

for a while so it will promote it

to bloom again? Something like that.

Well everybody I hope you're not

getting stir crazy already! It's hard

to go from being outdoors in the garden

and doing yard work to being indoors so

much of the time.

I'll bet you are all plotting your

next dig in the spring!!

Take care and have a

Very Merry Christmas!

Peace, Love, and Joy to All!

Felize Navidad and Poinsettias

Felize Navidad
which means

Happy Christmas
or as we say
Merry Christmas!

Since the Poinsettia was the focal point of my tablescape I got to wondering how the Poinsettia became attached to the Christmas holiday. This is what I learned-

"The holiday's connection to the poinsettia originated with a Mexican legend. With nothing to give to the Christ Child, a youngster picked a bouquet of weeds as an offering. As the gift was presented, the weeds transformed into brilliant red blooms. Since then, the plant is known in Mexico as Flores de Noche Buena (Flowers of the Holy Night), or just nochebuena for short. The poinsettia's red "flowers" aren't actual flowers. They're bracts (modified leaves), and the little yellow centers are the flowers."

I'm featuring my poinsettias both in a

live plant and in my dishes.

While I was preparing this table my radio was playing

"I'll Be Home For Christmas"

which I thought was

quite poignant since I will be

doing just that

(heading to my Mom's)

and I was feeling sentimental about wishing my kids were going to be home for Christmas.

I've added music to the blog with the song today so you can
listen and share my feelings as I was preparing this table.

(just click the large button to pause if you don't want to listen or mute your own sound)

This Santa boots are for candles but they ended up being salt and pepper shaker holders! After I stared at them a while I realized the shape of the S & P Shakers

remind me of an old fashioned Christmas bulb!

These poinsettia plates had to be a

part of this table setting.

I wrapped the napkin and fork with a piece of wired ribbon- a little flair but easy to remove too!

I loved the sparkles on these napkins and had to have them!

I love sparkly things and red! (Can you tell?)

Chirp wanted to be included too!

I added a few ornaments to the basket to jazz it up a bit!

We do have some snow out there,

not much, but enough to make it feel like Christmas.

I loved those red spiral glasses the minute

I saw them- I got the wine glasses too!

Thank-you for joining me.

I hope your tables will be full of food
and lots of love to go around- Cheers!

Wishing you all a very

Merry Christmas!

Sentimentally yours,

Liz

Featured items on the table:

Poinsettia dishes by Maxcera called Honey Poinsettia (Home Goods)

Striped dishes from Pier 1 Imports

Red striped glasses from Younkers (Bon Ton )

Red coffee cups are from Dillards by Noble Excellence, called Candy Apple Red

Flatware from Neiman Marcus or Horchow called Sophia

Napkins from Pier 1 Imports

White Boots from Pier 1 Imports

Glitter candle holders from a gift shop

Red and white votive candles from Pier 1 Imports- Called Peppermint Creme

Holiday Wrap Up!

Are you all about done yet?

I just need to wrap some gifts.

I thought I'd put together a walk through

the house with some pictures you've

seen and maybe some you haven't.

My kitchen tree with cupcakes, ice cream cones, candy canes, milk shakes, mini kitchen tools and more!

My three chefs are there to

make sure I'm doing

things right!

I swear I heard them singing

the other night too!

I put three small poinsettias in this basket

which made for a nice centerpiece

for everyday.

My kitchen table chandelier.

I have a wreath mounted upside

down with ornaments and ribbon

added for decoration.

My chest of drawers with

some small village pieces.

This little battery operated cutie

turned out to be a surprise!

It constantly changes the colors

inside the houses !

This is a neat piece too! The

tree turns and there are carolers

and a nativity scene. Soft

lights make it cozy like a

silent night.

Just to the left of the door

is my burlap covered round

table dressed up with my

Santos Cage Doll and the

three white dove finials

that were a gift by a friend

last year!

My pencil tree fits in

nicely!

This tree is set up with

a woodland theme with

birds and berries

Directly behind is my dining table.

It sets in the area that used to be

our living room before we added

on in 1996

And just to the right of this table

is the living room.

This wood top is a transition

area to the living room. On one

side are built in cabinets for the

stereo and surround sound equipment.

And on to the living room fireplace

mantel. It is the focal point when

you enter the home or are viewing

from the kitchen or dining areas.

My Italianate styled mantel

The reason for the season

My 2nd pencil tree, this one

is 9 ft. tall. I don't have much room

to spare and this fit in real nice!

Oversized mercury glass ornament and

candle votives with a scarf

wrapping it up!

Another oversized ornament

on the coffee table surrounded

with a wreath

On a table sets an arrangement

I put together with an angel

I've had for several years

(remember Bombay- she came from there)

There are two glass angels

sitting in front but the light

reflection makes it hard

to see them.

Another Bombay piece my

nutcracker musical piece.

You wind the red base and they

go by slowly like a carousel

while the music plays.

This sets just behind my sofa

and next to that is another wood

top of more built in cabinets.

This a big lantern that is outfitted

with a tree, some birds and a

Santa ornament.

Last year I had Dan outfit it with a

light. Here is last year's link

to the post I did about it.

The large red ball has battery

operated lights inside it.

(I'm a geek, I like gadgets!

I love to peak in- like I'm out

on a street looking in a store window!

Inside are a pair of cardinals

sitting amongst some snow!

I decorated this with a lot more detail

last year as seen in this link

I kept some things a lot simpler this year.

From my home to yours!

Have yourself a

Merry Christmas

Relax and share some love!

Liz

Linking up with Marty
@ A Stroll Thru Life
for Tablescape Tuesdays
and
with The Nesting Place
for 2011 Christmas Tour of Homes

December 13, 2011

Ruby Reds and Golds

Even though my dining table won't actually be used for dining this season I decided to go ahead and dress it up so I could finish my vision. Don't worry- we'll be sharing great food and visiting with family but at a different home this year!

I got my inspiration and vision for this tablescape a while back when I saw a picture posted from a tour at
Mary Carol's home (Nell Hill's)
(posted by Lynne's Gifts From The Heart)

My main draw was how they mixed up the centerpiece with varying candle holders and the tall vases with the
evergreens.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the table as it sits daily

This is the table finished and ready for dining! I created the height with the hurricanes and artificial florals and I brought in different candle holders to create a mix of heights and interesting things to look at.

I am a traditionalist at heart and I went goo goo over these simple but elegant dishes by Macy's from their Charter Club group collection. As I've learned they

have different designed pieces they offer at different times of the year for mixing with these.

That's practical, affordable and

smart in my book!

I selected the red-rimmed dinner plates, gold edged salad plates and red-rimmed soup bowls. They also had a set with a traditional holiday design on them but I elected to keep it simple. The chargers are from Michaels

My Wallace, Euro Beads gold flatware got used once again!

I was tickled to find these champagne flutes with the

gold rim and fleur-de-lis design.

Since fleur-de-lis was on my mind I brought out these napkins with the fleur-de-lis embroidered on them.

The tablecloth is from T.J. Maxx

A simple ivory design with gold threaded detail

I still have visions from my childhood when Mom would set up the formal dining table for special events. I guess I got my love for pretty tables a long

time ago!