Ten on Ten: December 2011

Joining in on Rebekah's monthly Ten on Ten project.

One Photo Every Hour - for Ten Consecutive Hours - on the Tenth of the Month.

Adding my own personal challenge to look for all things White and Wonderful because...

"I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas"
(are you singing along in your head with me)






















Hope you are having a wonderful December so far.

Gratitude Project: November 2011

The Fall Season, Thanksgiving, November all seem a distant memory. What a whirlwind month for us.

It is only the first few days of December - right? We are already into full Christmas Mode at our house. Holiday music playing - trees up and being decorated a little bit every day.

I wanted to share our final recap of the many things we are Grateful for - our November Gratitude Project.



I hit a few bumps - and didn't manage to get something posted EACH day - but 26/30 isn't bad.




Photography




1. The Skills and Talents of my Mother, 2. The Crazy Carpool Schedule, 3. Collaboration, 4. Fall Temperatures, 5. Helping Hands, 6. The View from my Kitchen Window, 7. List Making, 8. Time With Friends, 9. Breakfast, 10. Healthy Eating, 11. Time with Family, 12. Entertaining, 13. The Colors of Fall, 14. Amazing Teachers, 15. Modern Medicine, 16. Great Neighborhood, 17. Friends and Friendships, 18. Indoor Sports, 19. Being The Passenger, 20. Our Family of Three, 21. Flannel Sheets, 22. Dedication, 23. Silent Phone, 24. Family

(click on the links to read more about each day)




Bokeh

I hope you all had a wonderful November.

Fall Harvest Party

I wish I could share some photos from the Fall Harvest Party with all the tables and linens in place and the food stations filled - but there is just never enough time to get everything prepped AND take pictures.



It was a glorious day (and evening). The rains cleared up and all the Fall Leaves were in full color.



You will just have to imagine that everything looked beautiful and tasted even better. (You can see some of the food prep going on here).



THE MENU

Appetizers:

Fresh Veggie Bar (similar to this)
Soy Aioli & Garlic Creme' Fraiche Dipping Sauces
Roasted Red Pepper Dip with Pita Chips
Tomato Basil Bruschetta (I love the one from Trader Joes)


Main Course:

Italian Stuffed Mushrooms (recipe)
Tropical BBQ Meatballs
Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce
Shrimp Cocktail
Roasted Apple, Onion & Squash Tart
Individual Potato Gratins (adapted from this recipe)
Tortellini Skewers
Spam Musabi


Dessert:

Pumpkin Roll (recipe)
Apple Caramel Trifle (recipe)
Pecan Tassies
Chocolate Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bites
Mini Cheesecakes (recipe)

I had each course set up in a different part of the house:

Appetizers at the Breakfast Bar
Main Course in the Dining Room
Desserts and Coffee in the Office
Cocktails were served at the Bar in the Family Room
Beer, Wine, Water and Punch were set up on the Deck outside the Kitchen

This set up helped traffic flowed throughout the evening, so not everyone was clumped in one area.


I used an old cheese box to hold colorful paper napkins.



I love the patina of the old wood - especially against the burlap table runners.



The cheese box inspired me to make something similar for the Buffet Table Centerpiece. I've been keeping some old fence boards from when we had some repairs done.



I knew I'd find something to make out of them. Because they were pretty weathered (and not very sturdy), I attached them to a solid 1 X 8 pine board base to create a long trough like box.



Then I filled it to the rim with moss and twigs.



I couldn't resist adding some mushrooms.



Pumpkins of all sizes, and gourds and berries.



I did buy a set of handles, but other than that, everything was from my "collection" of scraps.



Candles of all different sizes tucked in between the harvest goodies made everything glow.



It looked so pretty......until the FIRE.

Yep - we had a little Fire. The Candles caught some of the mossy twigs alight.

Open Flame + Dried Wood + Moss.....I guess I should have seen that one coming?



This isn't the first time something like this has happened - it seems to be an unfortunate tradition at our dinner parties.

Luckily no damage was done and no one got hurt.

Everyone had a wonderful time. It was great to spend some personal time with my husbands Staff and their Families.





Everything Fall is now packed away and we're in full swing decorating for Christmas.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Ten on Ten: November 2011

This is not a very interesting Ten on Ten. Sorry about that.

I'm deep into Party Prep so today was all about cooking. Yep - 10 hours in the kitchen. That's pretty much all I did today.





















I'll catch up with you all after the weekend.