If you read my blog, you know I like to decorate for many holidays. It gives me something to look forward to and gives me a little bit of festivity throughout the year.  I like to decorate for Valentine’s Day because I love pink (no red hearts here!).  In addition to my heart shaped items, I like to put out my pink glass for the holiday.

I was digging around in my linens, wishing I had a Valentine runner, but I realized I have tons of handmade doilies inherited from my grandmothers. I also found a

table scarf my grandmother embroidered. These look just perfect with my glass and I’m so happy to have something they made by hand I can display. Many of my pink items belonged to one of my grandmothers, so it is especially nice to be able to display them this way.

If you read my blog, you know I like to decorate for many holidays. It gives me something to look forward to and gives me a little bit of festivity throughout the year.  I like to decorate for Valentine’s Day because I love pink (no red hearts here!).  In addition to my heart shaped items, … Read more →

One of our holiday traditions is to take a

drive to see holiday lights. The best place in our area is Niagara Falls, Ontario, where they have lots of animated displays near the Falls. There is an entire little park with scenes from Disney movies, that little kids love. The nicest part though is in a park called Dufferin Islands. This is a little park near the falls that has a pond and some small islands on it. The CAA sponsors the display (and collects donations). It’s a lovely little drive and the lights are reflected in the pond water, where ducks swim around. This year was better than ever. We were greeted by the Dufferin Islands sign with a beaver with a wagging tail. One of the first displays was a Buffalo meeting a moose,

symbolizing the friendship of Buffalo with our neighbors in Canada. The displays in the park are all animals. Dinosaurs, polar bears, a beaver cutting down a tree, a dolphin jumping over a whale, raccoons and other Canadian animals. Most them move. A bird lands on a pond, a polar bear swims next to an umiak, two rams clash horns. It is great fun to see it all. A section of trees are wrapped with red and white lights, turning them into candy canes. My obsession this year was the big lit balls hanging in a section

of tree. I’d love to have some like that in my trees next year!

The Falls are lit with holiday colors as well (although it was too cold to get out and walk through the mist to see them up close!).

Enjoy the beautiful lights and Happy Holidays to you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of our holiday traditions is to take a drive to see holiday lights. The best place in our area is Niagara Falls, Ontario, where they have lots of animated displays near the Falls. There is an entire little park with scenes from Disney movies, that little kids love. The nicest part though is in … Read more →

It was cookie night at the Sember household. Even though my kids are 20 and almost 15, they still look forward to it. This is our first year with gluten free cookies and everything turned out well. I used Cup4Cup flour and made chocolate chip, sugar cookies, and gingerbread cookies with my usual recipes. I made all the dough one night, refrigerated it and baked it another night. Then last night we decorated. I got gluten free natural (plant-based) food coloring for my birthday and used those to make different colors. Last year we tried putting each color frosting in a squeeze bottle, but we don’t make enough to fill the bottles and it ended up not working well. So this year, we went back to the tried and true method of a butter knife for each color. We have quite a collection of decorations we use. It was a fun night which ended, of course, with everyone having a cookie!

It was cookie night at the Sember household. Even though my kids are 20 and almost 15, they still look forward to it. This is our first year with gluten free cookies and everything turned out well. I used Cup4Cup flour and made chocolate chip, sugar cookies, and gingerbread cookies with my usual recipes. I … Read more →

I used to write a holiday letter each year and enclose it in our cards, letting everyone know what we’ve been up to, what the kids are doing, where we traveled, and what’s in store for the new year. I also always included a wallet size family photo. Several years ago I stopped sending the letter (and the photo), but kept on writing the letter. I still write one every year and keep all the letters together in a binder. Sound crazy?

I decided that anyone I really cared about already knew what was going on with our family and if I didn’t care about them, why was I sharing all the details of my life with them (after all, they could just read my blog!)? If they cared, they would be in touch enough to know what was happening. If not, what kind of connection did we really have anyhow?

I still like to write the letter because it’s a way for me personally to look back on the year. I like paging through the binder of yearly letters and remembering everything that happened in those years. It’s also a way to keep track of what happened when, which does tend to blur as the years pass!

Will I continue to write the letter once my kids have flown the coop? I don’t know, but I do expect that our traditions will change as our children create their own individual lives, and I look forward to the change it will bring into our lives.

I used to write a holiday letter each year and enclose it in our cards, letting everyone know what we’ve been up to, what the kids are doing, where we traveled, and what’s in store for the new year. I also always included a wallet size family photo. Several years ago I stopped sending the … Read more →

Ornaments don’t have to be just for trees!

I have a lot of ornaments. Over the years, I’ve come up with some ideas for ways to display them. A tree is the obvious choice, but I’m maxed out on trees! I’ve got our main tree in the living room which holds all of my special ornaments. The family room is the kids’ tree – each has their own ornament collection. The kitchen has a skinny tree with my food and cooking ornaments. And my office has a skinny tree with my book ornaments. No more room for trees at my house, so I’ve had to come up with some other ways to use my ornaments.

When we got married, we bought boxes of pink ball ornaments in different sizes to fill in the tree. I now have so many ornaments I don’t have space for those. I keep those in a basket in the living room, in front of the fireplace. I spray painted a basket gold and tied some pink ribbon and artificial flowers on it to dress it up. I also have a few pink and white ornaments I like to display in a small footed bowl in my dining room.

When my grandmother passed away, I inherited a lot of her ornaments. Her tree was blue, so her ornaments don’t match the color scheme of my main tree or living room, but blue works well in my family room, so I’ve got some displayed in a bowl on a table there. This year I also put some in a lidded glass dish that was hers (I managed to break one in the process of trying to get it full but get the lid to fit!). She also had some old pink ornaments that I’ve placed in a hurricane vase.

I like to hang ornaments in windows, so I’ve got blue star ornaments above the kitchen sink and 12 Days of Christmas ornaments in the eating area windows.

We added some garland to the light fixture above the kitchen table and hung some ornaments there as well.

This year we also created some chair decorations for the kitchen and used some ornaments there.

Ornaments can also be added to wreaths, garland, candle rings, stockings, or just strewn down the middle of a table.

Ornaments don’t have to be just for trees! I have a lot of ornaments. Over the years, I’ve come up with some ideas for ways to display them. A tree is the obvious choice, but I’m maxed out on trees! I’ve got our main tree in the living room which holds all of my special … Read more →

In addition to the new decorations, which I shared earlier, my existing collections have undergone some changes, mostly because last year I received some new items for them as gifts and did not display them until this year.

In case you haven’t gotten the hint, I’ve got a thing for trees, and I’ve also got a thing for pink. I’ve been working hard to update my collections to reflect those obsessions!

We have a huge mantel to decorate for the holidays, and I used to struggle because it needed height. My collection of tree toppers has solved that problem. They look wonderful grouped in front of the mirror. Last year we added some new pre-lit garland and I found two boxes of this amazing pink garland at an antique store that has made it gorgeous. This year I added some clip-on pink roses that have shiny ice or dewdrops on them. I think the mantel is looking fabulous. I would like to add a few more pink tree toppers to complete the collection.

I have a wonderful little collection of trees that sits on my grandmother’s chest in my dining room. That collection has been expanding as well and I received some beautiful ones to add to it last year. At this point, the chest is full, so unless I find something fabulous, I will need to put the brakes on this collection!

In my quest to update the dining room, I created this little display on a side chest as well. And my teacup collection has been changing as well. My grandmother bought me one teacup each year for my December birthday. When I was a child, it was a pretty horrible gift. I didn’t drink tea, I didn’t like them and didn’t care. As an adult, I still don’t really drink a lot of tea (and when I do, I prefer a mug to a tiny cup!), but I do like having a collection she started for me. One problem is most Christmas china tea cups are red. And, as I mentioned, I don’t do red, I do pink (I do have red in the kitchen, where it looks fine with the blue theme, and I have cranberry in the family room). My challenge in recent years has been to find cups that are Christmas, but are pink (or at least not red). My mom had a couple handpainted for me, which added to the collection. As you can see, I’m still working on getting the red out (so to speak!).

In addition to the new decorations, which I shared earlier, my existing collections have undergone some changes, mostly because last year I received some new items for them as gifts and did not display them until this year. In case you haven’t gotten the hint, I’ve got a thing for trees, and I’ve also got … Read more →

I’ve added a few new decorations this year that I’m excited to share!

While we were staying on Amelia Island, FL this past winter, we bought this gorgeous blue glass tree. Here’s the dirty little secret: it is made out of a gin bottle! The artist was minding the store when we went in and told us much more than we wanted to know, actually. It almost took away from the beauty of the item, but I’m so glad I bought it. And we miraculously got it home without breaking! It’s about 18 inches long and is really a beautiful piece of art.

I stumbled upon this cute little tree made out of magazine pages and had to have it for my office! It’s from Home Goods and I paid $12.99 for it. The secret was I got there the day they were putting out the Christmas decorations. Things tend to get a bit battered and bruised at Home Goods and TJ Maxx I think, but this made it into my cart right after it hit the shelves. I’m worried about how I will store it without bending the branches (that are rolled pieces of magazine pages).

The big new addition this year is the kitchen decorations! Last year I added a small tree to the kitchen and decorated it with food and cooking items. The room was still feeling sparse though. Last year my daughter and I went to a Christmas tour of homes and in one house they had beautiful decorations on the backs of their kitchen chairs. So this year, we’ve added that! My husband did all the work on this – I just gave direction. We bought silver ribbon (9 feet per chair) and he made them into bows (he watched a YouTube video to learn how). Then we attached a blue snowflake ornament to each (I can’t believe it, but I found these at Walmart – and they are jingle bells too which is kind of fun) and we added some faux evergreen (cut off from some extra garland). He attached it to the chair with 3M removable hooks. It looks amazing!

Next up, the kitchen chandelier. I originally planned to just put some garland on it, but then I found cute blue and silver star ornaments to attach. It has really dressed the space up.

I also decided the dining room needed some work. We have an old (as in rusted on the back side) wreath we usually hang on the wall in there and it has seen better days. I ordered two small preserved boxwood wreaths which we’ve hung on the sliding glass doors. We used ribbon to hang them (looped through the wire on the back) and velcroed them (with removable 3M sticky stuff) to the top of the molding above the doors.

So these are my new additions, all of which I’m quite pleased with. Have you added any new decorations this year?

I’ve added a few new decorations this year that I’m excited to share! While we were staying on Amelia Island, FL this past winter, we bought this gorgeous blue glass tree. Here’s the dirty little secret: it is made out of a gin bottle! The artist was minding the store when we went in and … Read more →

We always put our holiday decorations up the weekend after Thanksgiving. I was really looking forward to it this since I have been slowly replacing old ugly decorations with new ones I like, so I finally feel as though it’s looking nice around here.

Of course I was overly optimistic. We put up the tree in the living room and about 40% of it wouldn’t light. This is the second artificial tree we’ve owned for that room in 12 years. They really should last longer than this. When we moved to this house in 2000, we decided to switch from a real tree to an artificial. I remember buying the pre-lit artificial tree at Kmart for a great price (I think it was $100 or something). That lasted 2 years. We replaced it with another tree that cost a lot more from Michael’s. That one has lasted about 10 years. I had a premonition about this – for weeks before Christmas I had a feeling there was going to be a problem, and I was right. Yes, we could just string lights on it on top of the ones that don’t work, but we already add a long string of pink lights to that tree and I don’t want any more wires. So off we went to the stores. Ugh.

It seems that they’ve changed the shape of trees since we bought last. First of all, we could not

find the height we needed – 6.5 feet. We ended up with a 7.5 foot tree from Lowe’s for much more than I wanted to spend. The tree is taller than what we had, but narrower and instead of being a triangle shape it kind of flares out at the bottom, is straight in the middle, then flares in at the top. Different, but I don’t mind it. Since our ceilings are 7.5 feet high, we couldn’t put the wooden box my husband built years ago under the tree (I like some space between branches and floor for presents).

We also had a crisis with our tree topper. We bought this topper on Valentine’s weekend the first year we were married when we were on a getaway to Corning, NY (for our first Christmas, we used a big bow that was on a wedding gift). The tree topper MUST go on the tree, but it wouldn’t fit! Terry ended up snipping off the top little branches and cleaning off the top of the center pipe to get it to fit on top. It fits, but the only way to get it on and off is to tip the entire tree sideways!

I think the tree looks nice and every year I love hanging the ornaments and remembering where I bought them or who gave them to me. I think I need to take photos of them and label them so my kids will know the meaning behind each on, but that is a giant task. I have ornaments from both grandmothers and I buy ornaments on our trips (I have ornaments from Italy, Scotland, Maine, Hawaii, Bahamas, Arizona, California gold country, Saint Saveur Quebec, Florida, and Ocean City, Maryland among other places).. My mother-in-law bought us the first Christmas and baby’s first year ornaments. My mother has bought me a lot of ornaments and started my collection when I was a teenager. There’s an ornament that reminds me of our first dog (there used to be two of this ornament, but she ate the other one, so I always think of the remaining one as her ornament). There is the bird’s nest with 2 big birds and a baby bird that Terry bought for me the year I was pregnant with our first child.  There is even an ornament that one of Terry’s past bosses bought him – the man was a kind of mentor to him, so I always think of him when I hang it.

In the coming days I’ll share some of my new decorations with you and show you some of my Christmas collections that have expanded nicely.

Do you have ornaments that are meaningful to you? How long do your pre-lit artificial trees last?

We always put our holiday decorations up the weekend after Thanksgiving. I was really looking forward to it this since I have been slowly replacing old ugly decorations with new ones I like, so I finally feel as though it’s looking nice around here. Of course I was overly optimistic. We put up the tree … Read more →

It’s that time of year when we are all scrambling for gift ideas. Cyber Monday has us all looking for great shopping ideas. Let me help you! I have written what sometimes feels like a whole library of books (over 40 titles!) and there is pretty much a title on my list for everyone on your shopping list (and maybe one or two you might want for yourself!):

Cookie: A Love Story: Fun Facts, Delicious Stories, Fascinating History, Tasty Recipes and More: Who doesn’t love cookies? This book is perfect for your mom, your grandma, your aunt, your best friend, your book club pals, and the gal at work who is always bringing in cookies. It’s a delicious read – all the things you never knew about cookies. What could be better for a holiday gift? It’s an ebook, but you can buy a printable gift certificate to give that lets your recipient download however they want (Kindle, Nook, PDF, etc.). Give the certificate with a tin of gingerbread men or some cocoa and you’ve just given someone a delicious evening!

The Muffin Tin Cookbook: Perfect for any mom you know, this book has 200 recipes for all kinds of foods made in muffin tins (mini, regular, and jumbo) for breakfast, snacks, entrees, sides, veggies, muffins, desserts, and more. Pair it with a package of muffin tin liners (I like the reusable silicone ones) and a muffin tin pan for a cute gift basket.

The Parchment Paper Cookbook: Give this to anyone who likes to cook but has a busy life. The book has 180 recipes that are all made in parchment paper packets. There are no pots and pans to clean: everything is cooked inside folded parchment packets, so it makes life simple! Pair this with a roll of parchment paper and a baking sheet for a gift basket and you’ve just given someone many nights of easy dinners.

The Organized Kitchen: Great for newlyweds, friends who love to organize, people who have just moved, and teachers. It has great ideas for now to arrange, organize, and store kitchen tools as well everything you need to know about cleaning, storing food and perishable; and a section of recipes everyone needs. Give this with a set of magnetic nesting measuring cups or a set of square glass food storage containers (perfect for stacking!) and you have a lovely gift.

How to Parent with Your Ex: That friend, co-worker, or relative who is getting divorced, or just got divorced will thank you for this friendly guide to making your parenting relationship work during and after a divorce. It has lots of tips and practical advice that are useful not only as they are going through the divorce, but in the years after as they continue to have to parent together. For a joke, give it with a bottle of your recipient’s fave booze. Or pair it with some chocolate and cozy socks.

The Essential Supervisor’s Handbook: Give this to your friend or relative who just got promoted. It’s packed with hands on advice about to succeed as you move into management. A paperweight or small desktop game is a great accompaniment.

Bad Apples: How to Manage Difficult Employees: We all know that person who is constantly complaining about the idiots at work. Give him or her this book which offers practical advice about how to work with people who are imperfect. Pair this with a bottle of headache medicine and you’ll get a hearty laugh as your thanks.

The Practical Pregnancy Planner: The mom-to-be on your list will appreciate this ebook, which offers monthly checklists of everything you need to do to get ready for a baby, with a focus on finances, insurance, wills, guardians, and organizing information. Add in a cute rattle or pair of booties and you’re good to go.

The Everything Kids Money Book: Perfect for kids ages 8-12, this includes activities, fun facts, puzzles, advice, and just plain fun to make earning, saving, and spending enjoyable. Pair it with a $10 bill inside a plastic money puzzle holder or a bar of money soap!

Quiz Book 3: Three Times the Fun: This American Girl quiz book is what the tween girl on your list will enjoy. Funny, revealing, light, and inspiring quizzes will make her laugh and help her learn about herself. A packet of sparkle colored pens and some hair elastics make it a complete gift.

The Divorce Organizer & Planner: Anyone facing divorce will need this book to help reduce legal fees and get organized for the process ahead. Add in some relaxing tea and this recipient will know you want to help him or her through a hard time.

It’s that time of year when we are all scrambling for gift ideas. Cyber Monday has us all looking for great shopping ideas. Let me help you! I have written what sometimes feels like a whole library of books (over 40 titles!) and there is pretty much a title on my list for everyone on … Read more →

I’m halfway through my posts about all of our stops in Italy, so let’s take a rest stop and talk about shopping (don’t worry, there will be lengthy foodie posts to come as well!)

Pre-Shopping

Before I leave on a trip, I try to find out what the specialty items of the area are. For Italy, I determined that I should look for handmade glass and lace (and locally made lace is hard to find and expensive since most of it is just made in factories in Asia now) in Venice, handcrafted paper and leather in Florence, and lemon products and custom-made sandals in Sorrento. Cameos are another specialty in Italy. I also read about glass or stone mosaics throughout the country.

I have several specific collections I am always looking to add to: bookmarks and magnets are the cheapest, although bookmarks can be hard to find. I always am looking for Christmas ornaments, Easter eggs and cups, handmade baskets, locally made soap, fun food items to bring home, and watercolor paintings depicting the area. It helps to have specific things to look for.

Venice

The shopping in Venice was fantastic. There were so many stores, it was hard to focus. This was also our first city, so we were jet lagged and trying to adjust to the terrible heat! We took a vaporetto to the island of Murano which was

an amazing place to visit, but they had so much glass that is made there on the island that it was hard to choose! Some of the glass is very expensive. One shop had a few glass mosaic pieces, but none were right.

I found two great bookmarks in Venice, one with a tassel (which they sell many of in Venice) and one with Murano glass.

We bought our Venice painting from an artist in the campo right in front of our hotel, next to a canal. It was one of those perfect settings.

Florence

There was a lovely shopping section in Florence on the far side of the Arno, just past the Ponte

Vecchio, but I wish it had been bigger. This area had some terrific artisan shops where we bought leather items and a beautiful painted tray. My husband bought a wallet and we got the leather trays I photographed. I found bookmarks here and little books of paintings from each city which will hang on my book tree in my office.

I bought my painting in Florence (the long narrow on in the front of the photo below) in a small courtyard outside the Uffizi where artists were selling their work. Artists were also selling things in the Plaza Repubblica at night. I find that areas where

tourists gather in the evenings are good places to find local paintings that are inexpensive. I rarely pay more than $20 for paintings like these.

I looked at gorgeous stone mosaics in Florence, but could not bring myself to spend a minimum of 250 Euros for one. So those have now taken up residence in the museum in my mind (all the things I wished I had bought and didn’t on all of my trips!).

Rome

Rome was a challenge for shopping, but we did find a nice little grouping of shops near the Pantheon. Everything else was junky souvenir shops or expensive designer shopping. There were several shops with nice pottery in Rome.

I bought a painting in Rome, but it’s a print that I saw lots of street vendors selling. I could not find any artists selling original paintings.

I saw a gorgeous handpainted leather purse I came very close to buying, but the back of it had some scratches. They didn’t have any others. Another item added to the museum of my mind.

Pompeii

We took a tour of Pompeii and I did not expect to buy anything there other than my fun little cheap magnet (I buy one every place we go and they decorate the file cabinet in my office). However, our guide took us into a cameo store, where an elderly man sits hand-making cameos.  They were beautiful and my daughter and I each bought one (ok, I bought two). The artist signed them on the back and also wrote our

initials on the back. I really wanted a blue cameo, but they told us those are always made in factories. The ones we bought are handmade from shells.

Sorrento

Sorrento had a wonderful shopping section, very quaint with narrow

alleys and cobblestone streets, just off the Tasso piazza. It was a shopper’s paradise. There were so many shops selling leather purses that I was dizzy!

My daughter had sandals handmade for her here (you go in and pick out the elements you want on them and they have it ready the next day: they do not actually hand-make the sole however – they just put together the pieces you select). Limoncello is a big product here, but I bought lemon soap and honey since we don’t care for alcohol.  My husband bought a beautiful leather bag and a belt here.

We had dinner one night down in Marina Grande, a tiny little beach area. There was an old woman selling lace just behind the beach. She was sitting and doing lacework, so there is a chance the lace I bought did not come from Asia, so I bought one lace doily.

We also stumbled upon a truly fantastic HUGE store called Gargiulio and Januzzi. They sold inlaid wood boxes and plaques, some glass jewelry and a big room of amazing Italian pottery and linens. Downstairs was a big room with marquetry inlay furniture which was gorgeous. I had to get out of that room or I would have had the entire thing shipped home. I bought some pottery and a table runner, as well as an inlay wood box (all still being shipped home, so no photos). Very high quality items and very good customer service. The shipping was free which was a nice bonus.

Capri

We visited the island of Capri on a tour, but only went to the town of Anacapri where the shopping was rather limited. I had high hopes for Capri, but didn’t buy much, other than the beautiful hydrangea glass plate I’ve photographed with my Murano glass. My daughter and I bought the lace bracelets I photographed with the lace doily here.

I could not find a painting on Capri (there was one shop in Anacapri with paintings and the owner was so aggressive, I could not even really look at his work. We ended up buying one in Sorrento of Capri the next day, so that worked out ok.

Not pictured are t-shirts and sweatshirts other members of the family brought home, as well as a couple pairs of earrings my daughter bought and promptly put into use!

We also had to make an emergency suitcase purchase at a train station! My daughter’s suitcase zipper broke. The train station in Rome had a big suitcase shop and we got a nice one for about 50 Euro, which was a nice bargain. We tried to throw out the broken suitcase, but everyone we asked told us to just set it outside the main doors of the station and someone would take it!

Overall, it was a successful trip in terms of shopping and now I am trying to figure out where to put it all! I have to get the paintings framed, which is always a challenge. I can often find frames and mattes at Michael’s but sometimes they are not standard sizes and I have to have them framed.

I always feel as though I am buying a ton, then I get it all home and it really isn’t a lot. It’s always so nice to have lovely little items to remind me of our trips!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m halfway through my posts about all of our stops in Italy, so let’s take a rest stop and talk about shopping (don’t worry, there will be lengthy foodie posts to come as well!) Pre-Shopping Before I leave on a trip, I try to find out what the specialty items of the area are. For … Read more →