Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Happy Holiday Party

Hi there, thanks for visiting!  Come on in and join us in celebrating the holidays!  I hosted my 2 sisters and sister/friend Shirley for a luncheon here at the farm yesterday.  I almost had to cancel due to the weather.. snow and ice.. but my guests were willing to make the trek and party was *ON*!  o<[]:{D  


Last minute tidying and decorating.. fires laid and lit by my helper ELF.. candles lit.  Tablecloth laid and the table set with my Christmas dishes, flowers and candles.  


Don't mind the Elf's shoes.. :-)


These are my Christmas dishes.. they were not expensive and I got them at Fred Meyer, but I still love them.  I adore tartan plaid and there are 3 vignettes on the plates of vintage style holiday things.  


The Elf brought me a bouquet of flowers which JUST match the colors of the season.. isn't he sweet?  I also wanted to show you the fabulous beaded tree that Kristi made for me years ago.. it's one of my favorite gifts ever.


After decorating and tidying and laying the table I then spent an hour in the kitchen making my homemade clam chowder.  We had lunch as soon as my last guest arrived.  :-)  My older sister Roberta on the left, then my younger sister Denise, and Shirley, my best friend from 7th grade.  :-)


Shirley brought a delicious broccoli salad, Denise brought 2 super fresh and delicious artisan loaves of bread, potato rosemary and a dense brown sweet potato nut bread, Roberta brought a cheesecake for dessert.


My clam chowder turned out perfect!  I cut up 5 lbs of Yukon gold potatoes, just barely covered with water, set it to boil, with some salt, added a chopped up center of a stalk of celery (about 2 cups) and then the magic ingredient, added a tablespoon of minced garlic (from a jar).  While that was cooking, I chopped up 5 slices of bacon and sautéed it in my cast iron frying pan, then added 1 whole minced onion.  When those are cooked, add them to the pot of potatoes, add 2 cans of whole baby clams - bring that up to heat and stir.. then add a whole quart of heavy cream.  :-)  Pepper and a dollop of butter in the middle.  


Shirley was so thoughtful and brought some fun rock candy and a toy train for the boys!  They were so happy!  Denise was sweet and brought them a a walkie-talkie set!  They were so excited!!


Hayden was loving sitting on Aunt Nene's lap.  :-)


Kristi joined us and we had such a good time.


Roberta surprised us with these amazing bracelets she made for each of us with tiny photos she printed up, then she encased the photos between two pieces of glass, then copper foiled them and soldered them together and added a loop on top, then string them on bracelets.  How cool are these!!!  Thanks Roberta!


Here we are modeling our bracelets.


Denise brought me a beautiful soft alpaca scarf which will go great with my red and white hat.  Shirley brought us some tile coasters and a neat box of matches.  Thank you, girls!


I made the girls each a little snow scene in a jar and they seemed pleased!



Here is a close up of my little snow scene.. it was fun to make.  Thank heavens for glue guns!  


I spotted a Nordic Advent candelabra in several of my blog friends homes, so I fell in love with them.  I checked on eBay and found 2 vintage ones.. isn't this neat?  It looks wonderful lit up in the dark evening.  I just ordered some new candle rings as this one is missing 2 and the other one is missing all the bulbs and all the candle rings.  I'll show you that one when I get it fixed up.  It's natural pine and this one is stained pine.  By the way, I made the little painted houses and the 2 snowmen in years past.


I hope you're enjoying your holiday preparations and social whirl!  We're off in a bit to go out to lunch and then plunge into some serious shopping for fun things for our grandsons.  We sent $$$ to our daughter in Ohio to buy a neat child's computer tablet for the girls.  They are going to love it!!  

❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉
*M*E*R*R*Y* *C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S*!*
❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ 

((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

24 comments:

  1. Beautiful fun :-) Your post helps me feel part of it, too, Teresa. Thanks for sharing! xx

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  2. Teresa, What a lovely sight to visit your blog!!! The tree is so beautiful and your table setting is stunning!! Love the bracelets, what a great gift and so much talent! Each bracelet is so personalized, what a labor of love.
    Merry Christmas, I think you are Mrs. Claus : ) xoRobin

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  3. How beautiful everything looked Teresa, a real feast for the eyes. What a wonderful hostess you are. Those bracelets are amazing, enjoy! I have finally got the trees decorated..hooray! x

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  4. What a nice party. The food looks delicious and I love the bracelets. I'm glad you all had such a good time.

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  5. I love how you have decorated your house for this festive season. What a lovely time you spent with family and friends and such thoughtful gifts.
    Rosezeeta.

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  6. What a fun party Teresa!!! I can tell upon the smiles on the kids faces that they are some happy little guys and it's because they are part of the most sweetest family II have ever met in blog land! The food looks all so delicious and your home looks so inviting that I so wish I could pop over for just one little visit before Christmas....all beautiful!!
    xo Shari

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  7. Hello Teresa all looks so beautiful. I am now trying to get into the swing of things. Hugs Anne x

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  8. Wonderful Teresa, such beautiful gifts and wonderful family time ♥

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  9. It looks like you all had so much fun Teresa. I can't wait until our turn at your cozy Christmasy home. I really like broccoli salad and that one looks "good enough to eat"! Ha! The bracelets are true works of art and I know they brought cries of delight when you all saw them. What sweet gifts everyone shared. Such fun times are happening at your house-as always. Do you ever have a dull day? Have fun!
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  10. I adore your snow scenes in the jars. I have been thinking about making some of those!

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  11. Your home looks amazing and what a fun,fabulous party...

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  12. Looks like ya'll had a lot of fun! The food sure looks and sounds delicious! Some of those foods are the ones I miss most now that I can't eat dairy...clam chowder and cheesecake. They were some of my favorite foods. Yum! I make a broccoli salad that seems similar to that one. It's always a hit. :-)

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  13. Your home looks very festive and it looks like you had a fun time together! Mmm--love a good clam chowder--yours sounds so much like my grandma's and hers was the best I ever had:)
    LOVE your new Nordic candelabra -- I keep one of mine out all year round and will soon be getting the others out of storage.
    Advent Blessings,
    Aimee

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  14. How wonderful that you and your sisters and best friend make time to have a special get together before Christmas. I love that! Your home looks especially cosy and inviting and the luncheon menu sounds great.

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  15. Your house looks wonderful Tresa and it looks like you had such a great time with your sisters. They look like wonderful ladies. I'm so glad you are enjoying your holiday ! Can't wait to see you again :)

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  16. That looks like so much fun!!! Your house looks so festive! It is so comfortable looking!

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  17. Well I loved being a part of the party.
    I pulled up my chair and felt as if I was there.
    Thank you so much for sharing such a lovely occasion.
    I love the little snow scenes.

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  18. Looks like a great day was had by all. Love all your photos Teresa, especially the one of the broccoli salad :) The bracelets are so unique - something very special to treasure. Your home looks so festive - its obvious you're all having a wonderful time. xoxox

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  19. Hi Teresa, Absolutely gorgeous, scrumptious, yummy and perfect!!! What a beautiful happy home you have!!!! Enjoy your weekend!!!
    Love
    AMarie

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  20. What a fun party! And the house is decorated so festive! The bracelets are so much fun, and what a lot of work she put into them. I'm going to make your clam chowder, it looks so good. Do you think Shirley would share that broccoli salad recipe with us?

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  21. Broccoli Salad Recipe:

    5 cups broccoli (nice bite size)
    1/2 cup dried cranberries
    1/2 cup sunflower seeds
    1/2 cup cooked crumbled bacon (4 or 5 strips)
    1 cup frozen peas

    Dressing:
    1 cup Mayonnaise
    2 Tbl white vinegar
    1/3 cup (or less) sugar

    Mix together and chill

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  22. OH Teresa, thank you so much. I'll be taking this to my paint class party next week. They'll love it!
    Happy Holidaze!

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  23. Thank you for the broccoli salad recipe! It just so happens that I have all the ingredients on hand too. Can't wait to make it. You've done a wonderful job decorating for the Holidays. Everything looks so festive!

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  24. It is so good to see people enjoying the holiday and spending quality time, making memories with family and friends. Everything looks so festive and bright. How sweet the photo bracelets and how yummy is that meal. Thank you for sharing recipes. I will be sure to try them in the future. The grandsons look so happy. That is the main reason I have always loved Christmas, the children.
    (((HUGS))) Susanne :)

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