Murano

I haven't gotten Venice out of my system yet.  We went in October, but the memories are so vivid, it's as though we came back yesterday - despite the craziness of the Christmas holiday season!

So, if you don't mind, I'd like to go back to last October, and reminisce a little more about our wonderful trip to La Serenissima, the Most Serene Republic, as it used to be known.

On our first full day in Venice, we headed over to Murano, an island in the Venetian lagoon, known for its glassworks.  They truly have elevated glass making to its highest manifestation.

Here I am, in one of many boat rides that I would be taking in the days to come.  This one was a private boat that took us to Murano, at no charge, in the hopes that we would drop a pretty penny on the island. First, we visited a glass museum and saw a demonstration of the art of glass blowing.

The work is hot . . . and meticulous . . .

 Here, the artist was creating a glass horse . . .

And if our eyes wondered on occasion . . .

We had THIS view to entertain us!

Aren't these chandeliers magnificent?  I don't know if these were special orders waiting to be delivered, or if they were just there to wow the tourists . . .

Check out the delicacy of these goblets . . .

Ours for a mere pittance . . . NOT!  The simplest of those goblets could easily go for €350 or more!

This green reminds me of the color of the Venetian lagoon . . . 

Can you stand a few more pictures of glass?

It was all so beautiful!

Check out that magnificent pink goblet!  It could be yours for a mere €350!

"Conteria" - tiny glass beads strung together to make these fabulous necklaces . . . Lee actually bought me one of these!  I'll post a picture of it at a later date.

And here is Murano.  It's hard to believe that this sleepy façade hides such magnificent work!

The tower of the Church of Santa Maria E Donato, the island church.

Webster's defines Venetian blue as a strong blue, similar to cobalt blue.  I think Venetian blue should be this beautiful aquamarine, like the waters of its lagoon.

Three Kings Day 2015

By the time Epiphany came around, the creative juices had stopped flowing after all the entertaining we did in December, but I couldn't let this holiday, which is so special to me, pass unnoticed.  However, although I definitely wanted to have friends over, I didn't necessarily want to cook.  Zuni, from Chickadee Home Nest suggested a "Dessert and Coffee" party, instead of an afternoon tea.  Thank you, Zuni!  Your suggestion was brilliant!  Zuni, who shares the same Cuban roots as I do, also celebrates Three Kings Day.  Please visit her charming blog.  You will be enchanted with her entertaining style and wonderful stories.

Once the plan was in place, I set out to find wonderful treats for a tasty dessert table, but, alas, I ran into an unexpected obstacle!  All my favorite bakeries were closed for the long holiday weekend!  Undaunted, I let my iPad do the walking and found a variety of sources here and there, and, well, came up with an interesting and delicious table!  Voilà!

Our parties always seem to end up in the kitchen, so I set up the desserts in the Living Room to encourage circulation.  It did seem to help a little, but in the end, we all ended up back in the kitchen.

The treats included Cannolli, Fruit-filled Kolacky, Coconut Flan, and, the pièce the résistance, Galette des Roi - Kings Cake as made in France.  It is made with puff pastry with a frangipane (almond cream) center. The cake had a baby Jesus hidden in its center, and whoever finds it gets to wear a paper crown, and is declared King for the day!

Kolacky is a delicious Central European pastry, and, since Polish Americans make up the largest European ethnicity in the Chicago area, there is no shortage of places that offer this yummy treat.

Cannolli may be Italian, but it's become an American favorite.  If you haven't tasted one, I urge you to find the nearest Italian bakery and have them fill one for you on the spot.  The best are filled with the sweetened Ricotta cheese center just before serving, so the shell doesn't have time to turn soggy.  Then the ends are capped off with either finely chopped pistachio or chocolate chips.

Just recently I learned how to make Coconut Flan, thanks to my friend, Layda, who brought one to our Christmas celebration and shared her recipe. The flan, arriving to the New World from Spain, acquires a uniquely Caribbean flavor when coconut is added. It is marvelous!  I'll share the recipe soon, once I've made it half a dozen time and feel comfortable with the outcome.  So, unintentionally, this turned out to be an international dessert buffet!  How fitting for The Three Kings!

Gold, symbolic of one of the gifts that the Magi were reputed to have brought to the Baby Jesus, is represented in the tablecloth and the arrangement of gold branches.  I found the branches at my local supermarket, stuck them on a dry oasis, and covered them with river rocks.  I love how it looks against my brown Living Room wall!  Each guest went home with a Lottery ticket.  Hopefully, more gold would be heading their way.

And here are the three mystical beings that represent the revelation of God to us.  They foreshadow, with their gifts of gold, myrrh and frankincense, Jesus' greatness and his suffering.  It is always, a most moving and perfect ending to the holiday season.  May your new year be filled with epiphanies and joy!  God bless!

Linking to Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.  You've got to stop by and see Susan's wonderful Snowman Cake centerpiece!

A Winter Wonderland - Christmas continued

We were busy at our house this December, this time, hosting my son, John's friends from NIU - Northern Illinois University.  Now that they've all graduated, it gets harder and more complicated for this tight group to see each other, so Christmas break seemed to be the perfect time - the only time actually, in which this group could get together.

I needed to cleanse my tablescaping palate, after all the reds, greens and gold that we used earlier in the month (plus my cream-colored tablecloth was still at the cleaners), so we went with a silver and white color scheme . . . with a teensy bit of red thrown in . . .

It was so exciting to be able to go to my stash and pull out all the elements of this table without having to spend a cent!  I had all these things in my basement from previous Christmases.  What a delight to be able to use them again.

The snowflake napkin rings have been around forever.  I still have the original Marshall Field's box in which they came.  Now that Field's is gone, I can never get rid of the box!

Every guest received a box of Frango Candy Cane mints.  The boxes were so pretty I didn't feel they needed any additional wrapping.  I love the pop of red against all that white and silver.  What do you think? 

The menu:  Crab cake on a bed of arugula, served with lemon wedges and tartar sauce, chicken noodle soup, served with oyster crackers, filet of beef au jus, served with Roman potatoes.  There was no point in serving a green vegetable to this bunch, so I saved myself the trouble.  Dessert was Coconut Flan, Oreo mini-trifles, and a tray of cookies, including Pecan Butterballs, Potato Chip Munchies and Double Chocolate Chip Candy Cane cookies.  Then we served coffee, and, since I'm still on a Venetian high, I served shot glasses with limoncello.

And here's the Motley Crew, including my son David, who showed up at our house unexpectedly on Christmas morning, on a second short leave from the Army, giving us the best present we could have hoped for this holiday season!  I am so grateful to have had all these young adults around!  They are such genuinely nice people . . . and they keep me young!

Linking to Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.  Don't miss the talented tablescapers who join this fabulous party!

Christmas 2014

We celebrated Christmas a bit early at our house this year.  Our celebrations are changing, as our sons, now adults, have complicated schedules of their own, so Christmas is whenever they can be with me.  My son, David, who is in the Army, came home on leave on December 10th.  We gathered up the gang, and moved up our celebration to December 14th, so we could all be together.

I got to use my new Christmas dishes:  Winter Greetings Plaid, just released this year by Lenox!  Now that's a rim shot!

I'm so happy to see that plaid remains such a strong element at Christmastime.  I love plaid!

My friend and florist, Robert, of Robert Floral Design Studio in Chicago, Illinois, made this gorgeous centerpiece, which included white heather, fresh Winterberries, Boxwood, apples, oranges, frosted pinecones, a few red glass balls, red ribbon, all resting on a bed of cedar boughs.

The Italian red water goblets came from HomeGoods.  It's such a gorgeous red!  The wine glasses are rimmed in gold and match the gold chargers.  They were a Dollar Tree find!

I used the Spode Woodland flatware.  I really find this flatware so charming at Christmastime!

The little boxes hold Fannie Mae truffles.  Everyone got to take one home.  It was pure serendipity when I found the wrapping paper in the same colors as the dishes!

The table is set.  We are ready for our guests . . .  We sat down to dinner at 3:00 P.M., since my son, David, was leaving very early the following morning, and many of us also had to get an early start the next day!  It seems that everything at work was moved up for the week of the 15th, in anticipation of Christmas the following week, so we all had jam-packed schedules . . . (sigh . . .)

Lee and I, relaxing for a minute in front of the Christmas tree . . .  One more Christmas with my wonderful guy . . .

And here we are!  We had a last minute addition when my nephew, Colin, and his baby daughter, Sofia, joined us!  And, of course, the more the merrier!  Nothing makes me happier than to be surrounded by family. This year, we were also blessed by the presence of our dear friends, Layda and Nick!  And there's David, kneeling right behind me!

May the Baby Jesus fill your homes with love.  May the Prince of Peace blanket the earth with kindness, understanding, generosity . . . and, above all, peace.  God bless!

Linking to Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.  Stop in and see some amazing seasonal tables!

A Classic Thanksgiving

I stuck to the classics with paisley in the linens . . . 

Plaid in the ribbons . . . 

Hobnail mercury glass votives . . . 

The Fiddle and Thread pattern in the Mikasa French Countryside dishes . . . 

And the Monticello flatware from Reed and Barton . . . ?

Copper seems to be showing up everywhere lately . . . so I decided to play with it . . .

It appears in the napkin rings, the votive holders and the centerpiece . . .  The good ol' rule of three!

The color palette is kept traditional with various shades of orange, rust and green . . .

But the linen pattern feels young and fresh . . .  I liked the counterpoint of young and fresh with classic and traditional . . .

We lit the candles . . .

And we broke bread . . .  Happy Thanksgiving!

Acqua Alta

Water.  In Venice it's everywhere . . .  The Venetians adopted this lagoon, and, if not conquered it, they certainly learned how to manage the water while embracing a distinctive way of life . . .

Water meanders through the city through a myriad canals . . .

And every day, Venice faces "Acqua Alta" - High Tide - when it comes, the city floods.  Venetians have long given up living on the lower level of their buildings . . .

Here's St. Mark Square - Piazza San Marco, during acqua alta, at roughly 11:00 A.M.  There are puddles everywhere, which will disappear slowly as the day wears on . . .

Risers are put in place, so pedestrians can access St. Mark's Cathedral.  The water actually gets so high that it seeps inside the church . . .  I've read that in the winter months it's even worse!

Ripples form as the water comes up from the drains . . .

Risers are piled everywhere, waiting for the next tide . . .

The water damage to these precious buildings is incalculable . . .  Engineers are feverishly working to build a dyke that is supposed to help keep the water at bay.  Global warming doesn't help, as the sea levels have risen . . .

It's remarkable, really, the culture that evolved despite these tremendous challenges . . . 

The acquamarine stuff didn't allow you to forget for even one moment that it was there, beautiful, powerful . . . and everywhere . . .