Boxing Day

 I always think of Boxing Day as the day to begin putting away the Christmas things, even though that is not the original meaning of the day.

  In Canada the idea of the Christmas Box given to servants or employees was never a practice as it historically was in Britain, but the after-Christmas sales have always been a popular concept!

I guess I'll stick to my own personal meaning, as much as I love Christmas I try to box away the majority of the decorations before the New Year.

Yesterday we woke up to a big fresh snowfall, it was a classic Christmas morning:

 We opened the presents, which is always hilarious:

Ole Rascal

 Every Christmas I buy a panettone, an Italian Christmas cake, for The Rascals.  It's a treat for them and a childhood tradition but it's also really easy for me.  I only have to dust it with the icing sugar packet it comes with and put it on the table.  I put together a cherry compote this year too, topped with toasted sliced almonds:

Breakfast treats.
That's my little Christmas cake on the right.

 We went for a big morning walk to the park so we could enjoy the fresh snow.  It was such a lovely morning.  Our big meal was mid-day, after which Poppa had to head home.

Middle Rascal in the park.

Then it was time to watch Home Alone, have lots of snacks, and we ended the day playing the board game Ole Rascal bought the family: another tradition we have.

I hope your day was a good one too.
What do you get up to on Boxing Day?
xoxDani

Christmas Eve Calm

 We had the most stunning snowfall yesterday that left the trees and houses iced in that perfect glittering layer of snow reminiscent of a Christmas card.
I took these photos from our porch when we arrived home from our family lunch.

 Today is a day for tucking in and preparing meals in the kitchen, a bit of a puttering day really.  My Rascals are all home so it's prime time to delegate.  We'll be cooking and cleaning and listening to Christmas music, and taking a walk around the neighbourhood- which couldn't really look prettier.

 I hope your day finds you in a calm place.  The holidays are like a truth serum for families and they can be difficult for some people.  If you've suffered a recent loss or have had a division in your family, this is the time when the truth is laid bare.
This is our second Christmas without my mother-in-law who was the centre of so much that is good in our family.  Once again she will be missed.

I often think of her, and of my two grandmothers, when I'm planning a family event large or small.  They were all strong women who all possessed great spirit and love for their families: love, loyalty and care.  They showed me how it was done!
What a gift.

You can be sure I'll be thinking of Joan, Jean and Pearl today, and raising a glass to them as well.
Wishing you a Calm and Bright Christmas Eve!
xoxDani

Mop Philosophy Monday

 Just when you think you're ready for Christmas, you wake up and there's only a week to go and still a long list swirling around your head.
First step is to write down the list, I should have done this at 3am but instead I was awake thinking about it for a couple of hours.  Which is probably just as well because I think I have my menus sorted now for next weekend.
We'll be doing a dinner on Christmas Eve and a big midday meal on Christmas Day (this will allow Poppa to head back home on Christmas Day before it gets dark).
My Rascals will all be home too (!) so the key is not just to plan the big meals but to have lots and lots of provisions on hand for breakfast, lunches, snacks and regular dinners.

 I definitely need to go to the Happy Store (liquor store) today.  Lots of wine is needed as well as some more Cassis, which is a very delicious and easy dessert poured over vanilla ice cream.  (Incidentally, I've found a non-dairy ice cream called Coconut Bliss that is divine, I'll try to find some today so I can show you the label.)

 It's a good time of year for Hot Toddies too, does anyone have a favourite recipe?  They seem to be made with either bourbon, rum or whiskey, (added to a honey and lemon base) but which is the best?

 For dinners we're definitely going to have some more roasted sweet potatoes.
I've been craving them since I made them for our dinner on Friday, and so many vitamins to sneak into The Rascals!

So easy too.
How's your Monday shaping up?  Still have a long list to tick off before Christmas?  Do you have your menus sorted?
Have a really good one and enjoy the process,
xoxDani

Saint Nicholas Day

 On the first Saint Nicholas Day I lived with my husband he woke me up in the morning to tell me that he had heard "something" in the house during the night.  Always one to panic of course I asked him what kind of "something"?
"A slamming door! And footsteps running! Little clunky footsteps!"
But of course he was also laughing so I just stared at him, trick-playing is very out of character for him.
By this time we were in the foyer of the house and I could see that the boots and shoes were scattered everywhere, and one shoe for each of us was filled with treats, books and either fruit or... potatoes?

If you've received an orange you've been very good and Saint Nicholas wants you to know you will have a splendid Christmas.  

If you've received a potato you've been middling good, really you should pull your socks up before Christmas!

Saint Nicholas always leaves the most interesting treats and books.  This year I've received a book on the Queen, full of facts and oddities.  Just in time for the season two premiere of The Crown this Friday! I also received a box of Turkish delight, a favourite.  Lil' Rascal received a humorous book about ridiculous answers students have left on exams, good for a laugh for our high school student who might be a bit anxious about her grades.  She also received some chocolates along with that red potato.

Saint Nicholas Day is celebrated in Austria, parts of Germany and Switzerland as far as I know.
Such a fun start to Christmas!
Hope your Saint Nicholas Day is a splendid one too, I bet if he visited you it's two oranges!
xoxDani

Mop Philosophy Monday

 Christmas is three weeks away!
It was a beautiful mild day here yesterday and my friend Berna joined me for my walk with Scout.  She likes to track things so now I know that particular walk takes 7500 steps to do.
Do you track your steps and whatnot?

 I baked some bread yesterday afternoon, there's pretty much nothing nicer to see in the kitchen:

 Finally my Christmas tea towels arrived from Williams Sonoma.  Some people might think that theming the kitchen towels goes Too Far but not me.

I think it adds just the right amount of festive to the kitchen.

I'm hoping to do some baking today but I don't yet have a plan so we'll see.  I do have to go to the dreaded shopping mall to pick up the last couple of presents on my list, I hope it's not chaos.  I'm hoping the fact that it's Monday will lend the place a bit of calm!
Have a wonderful day out there,
xoxDani

A Good Monday

 I have to start in on my Christmas decorating in a very subtle way so that no one notices I am a raving lunatic.  The truth is I really love Christmas, the hype, the lights, the shopping, the wrapping, the eating and the drinking.  I mean, what's not to love?
So I've taken out some ribbon, and of course my Christmas dishes, and I've switched over to red and green in the kitchen:

 This year I ordered a box of greenery from Costco and that thing was a bargain! My gosh, it arrived stuffed to the brim with fresh holly, magnolia and cedar branches.

The holly is getting a little dry-looking already though:

 We've had a really busy weekend which I'm so appreciating this Monday morning.  The last few months have been a bit difficult with one of our best friends struggling through a serious illness.  She's so much better now and she even hosted a dinner last night.  We were so happy just to sit around at a table with her.

 I've started to organize the Christmas bar:

 This year I'm hosting a Christmas party for the entire block.  I know, that's crazy.  But I've realized that if I want to know my neighbours these types of events are key.  There are some really nice people on our street and three new couples... I have two weeks to get my house ready!

On Friday evening we went to L and T's house for a plant-based dinner that was SO delicious.  We had this Ceasar salad recipe that was seriously good.  L sent me the recipe this morning and here it is.

Today I have to work for a couple of hours, do about seven loads of laundry, sort the fridge, tidy the main floor and organize snacks and wine for my Serious Book Club tonight, which I'm hosting.
A Good Monday!
Hope yours is organized and fruitful,
xoxDani

Santa's Workshop

 We spent the weekend setting up the house for Christmas even though it's not even December yet.  We've never sourced our greenery and tree so early but this year I really think we need a long festive season.  I won't be sorry to say goodbye to 2016 and I'd like to see it out properly.

 We bought this little Norfolk pine, is it not cute?  I wanted to find a smaller tree to decorate with  these painted eggs we bought in Prague in 2008.  I added some glittery red stars because red and glitter just looks like Santa.

Christmas Cactus

Hanukkah pillow.

 Our tree is a fir that is predicted to last 35 days, we'll see.  It's a bit risky to bring one into the heated house so early but hopefully if I keep it hydrated it won't look too sad by the 25th.

 I started some Christmas baking this weekend with Nigella's vanilla cake cooked in a bundt tin.  I've been looking for one simple cake recipe that smells and tastes delicious and is easy to whip up with ingredients found in the pantry.

Nigella's Spruced-Up Vanilla Cake

 This one seems to be a winner, it's a pound cake really, the link to the recipe is just above.
The only change I made was to substitute baking powder for the baking soda.

I hope your week is off to a brilliant start.  I'll be wrapping gifts and baking cookies like mad.  Any tips for Christmas music?  The only thing missing from my Santa's Workshop is the soundtrack.
xoxDani

Green Christmas

 We've been waiting for the temperatures to go below zero and the picturesque snow to fall so we can have some good photo opportunities while picking out our Christmas tree, but I don't think it's going to happen.  We'll be navigating the mud as we pick out the perfect tree this weekend.  Do you have your tree up?

Doing your best to eat your vegetables?

 Me too, but I also wanted to show you this antique paisley tablecloth which I bought from Ellie's Shop.

Antique paisley tablecloth I luff it.

 Care to see the drapes we installed in the foyer?

Here they are open.

Here they are closed.

 I look like a green puffa marshmallow in my wool stuffed vest but I don't mind.  It's from The Rose, a UK shop that sadly has closed.

Wearing the Green Puffa with Brora greens on a country weekend.

 Back in town I've been wearing my JCrew blazers from years past.
I'm a fan of houndstooth with leopard how about you?

JCrew houndstooth Robert Noble blazer 2006.

 We went to the country for a weekend of hiking in the mud (that had originally been planned for skiing- but never mind).

The food was decidedly vegetable-free.

 Having trouble sleeping?  Me too, even with cozy flannel and all of the darkness typical for this time of year.

Insomnia, even with flannel coziness.  Oh well.

 Cleaning like a maniac before your Christmas festivities begin?  That's par for the course but I could really use an extra pair of hands... fortunately the Rascal Uni kids are finished with exams soon.

 How do you store your tablecloths?  I like this system of labelling the hangers with the size and then hanging them in my laundry cupboard:

Ironed and ready to go.

 I hope your Christmas preparations are going well and that you are feeling festive.
I was feeling extremely disorganized until I made a list which was like taking a valium: very calming.  That's the power of list-making.
Put your feet up and relax awhile (maybe with a Brandy Alexander), and whatever you do avoid the malls.
Cheers Darling Tooties,
xoxDani