Gourmet Christmas Tree

So here is our Foodie/Gourmet/Food Christmas tree. I love collecting ornaments for this tree. The majority of them came from Sur La Table (and the majority of those came after Christmas when they were on sale), but I did pick up a lot on eBay (old William Sonoma Ornaments) and even bought a few on our last trip to Charleston last March.

What treats can you spot on the tree?

Copper Kettle, Deviled Egg, Carrot Cake, Coconut, Cappuccino, Eggs Benedict, Sushi, French Onion Soup, and of course our ginger bread men cookie cutter lights!

Elf on the Shelf in her Chef's hat

Did a mix and match of plaids for the gifts this year, and here you see a gingerbread house, baguette, garlic, colander, shrimp, copper pot

Love the baker gingerbread men and snowmen around the tree. Do you see the soy sauce, brussels sprout, coffee pot, macaron, and pomegranate? 

Waffles, escargot, pan, fig, wedding cake, 

Deviled egg (my absolute favorite), croissant, toaster, baked potato 

Christmas Around the Apartment 2016

We are in the middle of a move, but I still put up all my decorations. At this point, I only have my Christmas decorations out and everything else is packed away and awaiting our move. For now I will show you some of my decorations, and will save the tree for another post.

This set up started out on our dining room table, but as things were packed I found a new space for it. I had most of the mercury glass from last year, but decided to incorporate some bottle brush trees this year, and also, that dear!

I now moved it on top of a hutch I have in the living room since I packed up all the stuff that is normally on it.

I think I stalked eBay for several months waiting for the right Fitz & Floyd Staffordshire piece to come up (actually I still look a lot!) This little guy is an ornament, but he makes a good companion to this other mini Staffordshire.

My husband is Jewish, so we celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. I'm always on the lookout for elegant Hanukkah decorations.

Just added some bottlebrush wreath ornaments to these candlesticks. Next year I intend to incorporate even more bottlebrush in my decorations since I want to do a vintage theme.

2015 Christmas Tablescapes

As I get ready to decorate for Christmas this year, I am looking back through all the photos of last year. My tablescape slowly evolved each week by changing out the flowers.

Look 1:

white spray roses, red spray carnations, berries

Look 2:

red spray carnations from week 1, white football mums, christmas greenery

 Look 3:

white football mums and greenery from week 2, white hydrangea and baby's breath (leftover from my friend's wedding which I did the florals for)

Look 4:

greenery from week 2 still going strong, baby's breath from week 3, pink peonies, and red berries (this is what we had for hosting Christmas Eve)

Crock Pot Applesauce

I have a few traditions and recipes I come back to each fall. One of them is making crock pot applesauce. It's the easiest recipe with only 3 ingredients, but it makes the house smell so good all day and nothing beats the warm delicious applesauce when it's all finished.

I bought a bag of organic gala apples for $3 at Trader Joe's which had 10 apples. I peeled them and sliced them up and threw them into the crock pot with 1/2 cup of water and 1 tsp of cinnamon. I let that go for 7-8 hours on low, but you can probably get away with less if you want to gently mash the apples yourself.

A few recipes call for adding sugar. I don't eat refined sugar, but I also never feel the need to add any sweetener to this recipe. I mean, it's apples - they already are sweet, so I recommend skipping the sugar.

Next up I am going to make my favorite pumpkin chocolate chip cookies... 

Halloween

I am not normally a Halloween lover. It's a big part of the fall season, but I just have never been a fan of scary movies or even dressing up in a costume. I love fall decorations and pumpkins and all that stuff, but I am just not a fan of vampires, goblins, and zombies all over the house. Because of this, I have never purchased a Halloween decoration, until yesterday.

I was shopping at White Barn (as in the Bath & Body Works Candles) picking up a few more fall scented candles, and found the most adorable Halloween decorations. We have a stand-alone(ish) store (it is still attached to B&BW), and I have noticed that every time I go there I find the cutest stuff. It also usually goes on sale as the Holiday approaches, and on super sale once the Holiday is over. I got a really pretty bottle brush wreath after the Fourth of July this year for like $5.

Anyways, back to Halloween - they had so much cute stuff there (fall stuff too!) and I ended up getting these adorable little ghosts for about $8 each (I call them "boos" which I think is more appropriate based on how cute they are).

I really wish they had a website with all the decor items they sell there, or even tags on the items to see who originally made them. The wreath I purchased in July had a brand that I was able to google and find a website for, but these guys had nothing. At least I frequent the mall where the store is several times a year. I need to make sure I pop in to see what decor items they have (and I suppose smell some candles too!)

Fall Arrangements, 2015

Just wanted to share a few of my fall flower arrangements from last year.

Fall around our apartment

Fall is certainly my favorite time of the year. I am not really a fan of Halloween, but I am a pumpkin lover and I love my Thanksgiving traditions (and decorating for Christmas the day after). Fall fashion is also a favorite of mine, but when you live in South Florida, you rarely have the opportunity to bust out your favorite boots until sometime in January. I just wanted to share a few photos of my Fall decorations around here.

My heirloom pumpkins from Trader Joes. I got these in mid-September and they are still looking great! I will probably need to swap them out in November though.

I have spent the last few months tracking down fall/pumpkin chinoiserie. The smaller pieces are from antique shops and the larger 2 are eBay finds. Picked up this adorable Royal Crown Derby Chipmunk on a recent trip to Renninger's Flea Market in Mount Dora.

Since taking this photo I also added a smaller green velvet pumpkin to the mix (I love velvet pumpkins!)

The balcony all dressed up for fall. I bought some mums last year that managed to survive all the way until now - they are starting to re-bloom! 

Velvet pumpkins. The 2 little ones were picked up at Cracker Barrel!

Fall in Love is appropriately hanging over the spot where we keep all the wedding invitations and save the dates.

My mercury glass pumpkin. I am a big fan of mercury glass and have quite a bit around our apartment. We had a lot of it in our wedding decor too, so I think that's why I love it so much. Just wait until you see our Christmas decor, I have a ton of mercury glass pieces! 

Silver Champagne Buckets

I love the look of Champagne buckets. I think they make a beautiful addition to anyone's decor. I have seen a lot of inspiration on pinterest; they can be very versatile. While the most obvious use is.. well, a champagne bucket, they also make beautiful vases, planters, and display pieces.

This photo from Traditional Home first sparked my interest in them:

I have since picked up a few of my own. When I first saw them in an a photo I wasn't sure what to call it - I searched silver trophies, silver urns, until I realized it was just a fancy champagne bucket. 

My husband got me a beautiful brand new one over the holidays last year from Godinger. I keep it on my bar cart with a contrasting gold champagne bottle in it:

Just today I found a very tarnished one at an Estate Sale. I brought this baby home and polished it up. It's more ornate than my first one. I also love the removable top handle. 

I guess you could say I love the urn/champagne bucket look. I even have a clear vase that resemble them:

I am not sure where my new bucket is going to go, or what I am going to fill it with, but I'm excited to add it to my collection.

Summer Arrangement

I usually stick to 2 or 3 colors when I do an arrangement, but I have been so inspired by colorful arrangements lately. I figure summer is probably the best time for a colorful arrangement!