Oscar Night 2020

A dear friend has been hosting a glamorous pajama party for 20 of her nearest and dearest women friends and relatives for the last several years.  So, while her husband watches football upstairs, Cathy takes over the man cave and transforms it into a swanky lounge and theatre in which to watch the Oscars on TV.

Over the years, the ladies have begun bringing gifts for the other guests, not in any regular way, and it's all completely unpredictable in nature, it's certainly not required, and there's no expectation whatsoever, but we all end up going home with some fun swag.  I think, it's because we are all women, and the caring instinct takes over, especially in the midst of so many other wonderful women.  We all seem to want to give!

This year, remembering the success at Christmas, I decided to bring the ladies some Fannie May candy. 

When I went to the store, I noticed that Fannie May was celebrating its 100th Anniversary, and thought it would be special to take advantage of this opportunity.  Sometimes, things click into place so easily!

The reusable tin box contains creamy caramels covered in chocolate, and features the iconic Chicago "L" — the system of elevated train tracks that loop parts of Chicago's downtown.   I'm not sure how much this would be appreciated outside Chicago, but it was a hit at my Christmas Eve party, and I hope the ladies approve.

The lights were dimmed, and there was a lot of glitter and sparkle . . .

There was lots of champagne!

And, popcorn, of course . . .

as well as many other snacks.

Ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille . . .

A Romantic Christmas Eve

I was going to call this "A Very Paisley Christmas" in honor of the Red Caroline Paisley from Pottery Barn that captured my heart a while back.  You can see a little bit of the napkin here in this Valentine's tea post from last February.

But then, I decided to fold the napkins à la fleur-de-lis to show off its gorgeous pattern . . .

The centerpiece from Teleflora.com had pretty red roses in a mercury glass container . . .

 I love the look of mercury glass . . .

But the arrangement seemed a bit too dark to me, so I added some Baby's Breath . . .

 

Suddenly, the romance of it all struck me . . .

It reminds me of a Victorian-era table . . .  Hmm . . . would Mr. Dickens approve . . . ?

Each little box contained Godiva truffles.  Everyone should wake up to truffles on Christmas morning, don't you think . . . ?  The little packages were tied with red ribbon and I added a Christmas ornament, to be hung on the tree later on . . .

We had a toddler in our midst this year, so we dug up the table and chair set that my boys used when they were little, and set up a proper table for this young man . . .

Oliver, my brother's first grandson, and my great-nephew, stole the show, in the same way that he's stolen our hearts.  What a cutie!

Here's the family, as we sat down to say grace.  The menu:  Waldorf Salad on Baby Romaine, Filet of Beef Au Jus, Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli . . .

And for dessert a Cookie Tower.  I became a baking fool this Christmas with the help of my son, John, enabler and invaluable assistant.  The phrase "visions of sugar-plums danced in her head" could have been applied to me!

The tower included Cranberry Pistachio cookies, Magic Bars (Chocolate Chips, Butterscotch Chips and Coconut with a gooey center), Double Chocolate Chip Peppermint Cookies, Pecan Butter Balls, Almond Cream Cheese Cookies, Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps, Chocolate Chip Cookies, with semi-sweet chocolate drizzles, Almond Raspberry Thumbprints, Potato Chip Cookies, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Blossoms . . .

A closeup of the Almond Raspberry Thumbprints, Potato Chip Cookies and Peanut Butter Chocolate Blossoms . . .

The chocolate chip cookies are on the right, because it isn't Christmas around here without your basic CCC, and to the left . . . Pecan Butterballs, recipe from the Silver Palate Cookbook.  Let me tell you, those Butterballs are the essence of winter, they are kissed with HONEY and seem to melt in your mouth . . . fabulous . . .

Here you can see the Chocolate Espresso Snow caps and the Almond Cookies a little better.  These are not the best pictures but I was snapping away as fast as I could before the cookies were devoured . . .

The Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps were a new addition to our cookie repertoire, I found them in Pinterest but they are Martha Stewart's.  The were delicious and so pretty, too!  Here is the link for the recipe. 

My sister-in-law, Kathy, also brought a gorgeous, delicious flan to share!  I wish I had taken a picture of it.  It was a beautiful thing.  It can be tricky to bake a flan to a proper consistency, but hers was perfect!  Oh, if only we could slow events down a little bit so we could capture everything on camera!

And here is the photo that still makes me smile:  My son, John, trying to hold on to a slippery Oliver, and my other son, David, in the background with a half-smile on his face.  He seems to be thinking:  “Better you than me, bro!”  Oh, what a wonderful Christmas Eve!  I hope yours was, too!

I'm joining Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch and Let's Dish! at Cuisine Kathleens!  Please stop by for inspiration!

Spring Tea Party

I work with a group of amazing women who have managed, despite our reluctance of mixing business with pleasure, to become friends. We all take turns hosting in our own style; one friend hosts a cookout every year, another hosts an appetizer extravaganza, yet another can't cook worth spit (her words) so she takes the whole gang out to dinner . . . Me, I just love the idea of sitting around cups of steaming tea, sharing finger food and catching up on each other's lives - talking about anything but the latest work craziness that occassionally has us snapping at each other from the stress . . . Besides, it's a great excuse to make cucumber sandwiches . . . I adore cucumber sandwiches . . .

So here was the menu: Egg salad daisies . . .

Rosebud cupcakes . . .

I wish I could say that I cooked all this food myself, but I had a little help from some delightful local vendors. The cupcakes were from Jewel, our local supermarket. When I mentioned to the lady at the bakery that I was having a tea party, she was so enthusiastic about their rosebud cupcakes, that I ordered them sight unseen. They were as delicious as they were pretty . . .

I got to play with my new dessert dishes (more on that later). The napkins were given to me 20 years ago by my godmother, and I used them for the first time at my son David's baptism.

Phyllo tartlets filled with lemon custard and topped with fresh berries . . . Herbed cucumber sandwiches on nutty wheat bread . . . Ham and cheese bites on rye bread . . . Fresh berries with clotted cream . . .

Strawberry Scones, Wild Blueberry Scones, Glazed Orange Scones and Shortbread Cookies . . . all from Panera Bread . . . and if you happen to go there around dinnertime to place your order, go ahead and have one of their Cuban Panini Sandwiches - not authentic but delicious just the same!

I first saw these dessert dishes at Macy's, they are part of the "Conservatory" pattern, in the Martha Stewart Collection for Wedgwood. Then I spotted them at HomeGoods for a third of the price, and, well . . . they were meant to be mine . . . There are six little birds hidden in the design of this plate. Can you spot them?

Here's one of them . . .

Here's another one . . .

Some leftover Baby's Breath that was just too pretty to discard got tucked in a vase . . .

And a little party favor to take home: An embroidered handkerchief . . .

Each was unique . . . just like the lovely ladies who took them home . . .

This is how they ended up being displayed . . . My Aunt Olga gave me this cake stand 18 years ago. I remember the look in my aunt's eyes, hoping that I liked her present, bought at a garage sale, the only thing she could afford to give me at the time . . . there was so much love in those eyes . . . Isn't it beautiful?

A huge thank you to my three boys: My husband, Lee, and my sons, John and David. They sliced bread, spread filling, brewed tea and helped me set up this lovely table . . . and then they thoughtfully took themselves off to do manly things so my friends and I could have the house all to ourselves . . . You guys truly are my cup of tea!

Christmas Eve

The table is set for "A Woodland Christmas"
The centerpiece consisted of an 8-inch birch pillar candle, placed in a bed of Christmas evergreens and included holly, pinecones, gold Baby's Breath, winterberries, and Star of Bethlehem flowers.
The tablecloth's basketweave texture added another rustic element, and the gold napkins provided contrast . . . and a comfy bed for the chocolate reindeer.


A fishy appetizer - Shrimp Cocktail on shot glasses . . .
My parents were with us in spirit, and represented by their 25th anniversary goblets. It seemed fitting that we use them on the year when we celebrated our own silver anniversary. Here's the whole gang . . .
My sister-in-law, Kathy, my nephew, Kevin, and my brother, Al.
And here are my husband, Lee (I wonder what he's looking at), my son, David, my nephew, Colin and my son, John.
For dessert: Chocolate pudding topped with a hazelnut cookie star, Sweet and Salty Almond Bark, Hazelnut Star sandwich cookies filled with apricot and raspberry preserves, and apple pie!
The little favor boxes contained pewter Christmas ornaments from the Plow and Hearth catalogue. For every ornament sold, Plow and Hearth donates a tree to the National Forest Foundation. The owl, moose and hedgehog belong to Lee, John and David, respectively. A little gift, that hopefully will keep on giving . . .

Merry Christmas to all! Now I've got to go put out some cookies for Santa . . .