For the last Saturday Meanderings of 2023, I am including two weeks of good things to chat about. With every intention to post last Saturday, well, you know how life goes the week before and after Christmas. Happily with a house full of family and guests, I never finished my post and here it is, a week later and there is more to add. So grab a cup of coffee or tea, and let’s chat about all good things over the last two weeks.

Before Christmas

What a week! On Saturday, December 16th we made the 6 hour drive to Newport Beach, California where we celebrated my husband’s birthday.

Newport Beach

With the average house price in Newport Beach being nearly $4mm, it is obviously a place we cannot buy, but we certainly love to visit. We always stay at Marriott Newport Coast Villas, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean and is situation right on the Pacific Coast Highway. This location is just perfect for our family and after coming here every summer when the children were younger, it feels a bit like a home away from home.

Four days of chock-a-block activities with the whole family (and significant others), from Disneyland to our favorite beach, the time is filled with lots of laughter and new memories. This Marriott property is so well maintained with beautiful landscaping too.

One of the highlights of blogging is meeting some truly wonderful people. During my September trip to Newport Beach, I learn that Wendy, from WM Design House lives in the area. So on this trip, we schedule time to meet for lunch and immediately, we become fast friends.

I love scheduling 4 to 5 days before Christmas to do something extra special with our family. Not only do we focus on my husband’s birthday (which can get lost in the holiday crunch), but hotel prices are still reasonable and accommodations available. Plus it’s a nice break from the holiday frenzy.

The Loofa (or luffa) is Ready!

This loofa plant has been the highlight of the garden this year. The vine is slowly dying off and I am picking dried loofa from the vine. If you recall, here is how it looks over the summer. At this point, this vegetable is very edible. Surprisingly, it did very well in our exceptionally hot summer.

As it matures, the fruit lightens in color and loses water weight. The shell hardens and starts to separate from interior fibers. Here is what the loofa looks like now.

The dried skin easily peels off and the seeds shake out from the inside. I find this plant so interesting! If you would like to grow this in your garden, here is a link to luffa seeds. I haven’t used it yet as a body scrubber but will keep you posted!

Annual Holiday Competition

My son, Benjamin has long-time friends (Emily, Max and Jeffrey) who gather each Christmas and compete in a food/drink cookoff. To date, the competition has included BLTs, stuffing, and hamburgers. This year they decide to do a cocktail one with categories of stirred, blended, shaken and shooters.

With a cleared kitchen island, each friend has a prep station. Official descriptions and judging sheets are provided to us and our friends, Rick and Janie. Not only are the drinks innovative and delicious, but it is so joyful to see the camaraderie between these incredible friends. Judging scores includes presentation, taste and innovation.

From tropical pinã coladas to snowball Negronis, this group did not disappoint. Operating as skilled mixologist, each and every drink is delicious.

Cocktails are rated with a numbering system and judged with a blind tasting. It’s always hard to pick one winner because such effort and attention is done by all three participants.

Christmas Day and After

Christmas morning is a very casual and relaxing affair here at Bella Terra. After the traditional breakfast of Eggs a la Goldenrod (see the recipe here), smoked salmon (made by my husband), bagels, and fresh squeezed orange juice for mimosas, we open our presents in the living room. It is possible there are more dog than people presents!

A late afternoon dinner is served in the dining room. What is fun about this year’s meal is that it was thrown together without a lot of forethought. The menu includes a smoked pork loin, a salad made from fresh garden greens and sweet potatoes, prepared in the most delicious way (recipe to come soon), cornbread muffins and a previously homemade (and frozen) pumpkin pie.

The table centerpiece is simply created with bottlebrush trees gathered from other parts of the house. Though our dining room is small and can only accommodate 10 people, it is very conducive to lively conversation and ambiance.

Celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas

I know many people are already dismantling their Christmas decorations, but not here at Bella Terra. This year, I decide to truly celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas (from Christmas Day to January 6, the Epiphany). My mother kept all decorations up until January 6th, a tradition we continue here.

What I love about this time between those two dates is the unique period of tranquility. I can fully enjoy the quiet beauty of the winter wonderland of our home without the stresses of the holiday bustle. In this sense of peace and stillness, I will slowly read and enjoy all the Christmas cards and letters we’ve received. Daily, I am watching a Christmas movie.

Even though Valentine’s Day merchandise is in the stores, I plan to be present and enjoy the peace and quiet of these 12 days. I invite you to join me in using this time for quiet reflection, to connect with nature’s stillness, spend quality time with loved ones, embrace deliberately slowing down, and savor your traditions and rituals.

When do you take down your decorations? Do you celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas?

As we say goodbye to 2023, I send you the biggest hugs and best wishes for a healthy, happy and exciting 2024. Keep those you love close to you and always extend a hand to those less fortunate. That’s what life is all about. See you in the New Year!

Happy Saturday and I hope you are all in a festive, joyful and holiday mood. I realize the holidays may be hard for some. Often I find myself singing happily along with a Christmas carol and sobbing with another. It is certainly a time of year where I think about those who I love, those I have lost and those less fortunate than us. Finding gems of holiday magic may require some work, but once you do, joy can overcome sadness. Welcome to another Saturday Meanderings where we chat about all good things this week. Hopefully this post will be informative, lift your spirits or help you spread the excitement of the holidays.

A Successful Event

Last Saturday we hosted an event with nearly 70 people attending. Held on the back terrace, it was a beautiful late afternoon. So nice to see old friends and make new ones. Remember last Saturday when I shared the “Christmas Tree Spinach Dip Breadstick” recipe? I make this for our event and it is an incredible success.

Here is the recipe again, however, some things to note. First, I think the manufacturer is making the pizza dough smaller. I use two rolls of pizza dough, but keep the same spinach/cream cheese filling (for one tree). There is plenty of filling for 2 trees.

At first, no one wanted to tear into it, but once they did, both trees went very quickly! I think you could make this recipe with various fillings. Looks complicated but is relatively easy. Just follow the instructions. I will definitely make this again. Yummy.

I also make this pretty dessert tray with store bought items~gingerbread cookies, European milk chocolate biscuit cookies (found in the cookie aisle at Safeway), Christmas tree and snowflake yogurt pretzels (just addicting), mini Belgian cream puffs (in the freezer section most grocery stores/big box at Costco) and the cute red/white mini licorice candy canes by High Valley Orchard (in plastic containers at Safeway). Add a sprig of greenery! So easy to throw together and bite-size pieces for all.

The Annual Christmas Tree Hunt

It is family tradition to get our fresh Christmas tree on or around my husband’s birthday, which is December 13th. Each and every year, we head to Whitfill Nursery and always find the freshest, most fragrant trees. We get a nice big one for the living room and a smaller one for the dining room.

The trees go into the pool for a day or two, primarily to clean and hydrate them. If you’ve ever had a spider’s web (and spider babies) in your Christmas tree, you know what I’m talking about. Eeew.

Another Great Hostess Gift

Once you inhale the fragrance of paper whites (narcissus) you can see why they are a favorite holiday flower. This plant has an average plastic container, but I pop it into a cute small basket, add some moss and a pretty blue velvet ribbon, and voilà, you have a hostess gift!

If you missed last week’s Saturday Meanderings, I share some hostess gift suggestions. The beeswax candles I order from Amazon arrive and they are perfect. These are all natural and organic, and you need to stand up the wick to light them. I gifted them to my friend, Janie with the electric candle lighter (charges with a USB port) and she loves it! See that post here.

It’s Panettone Week!

During the holidays I always take a homemade baked good to the man who has been cutting and styling my hair for over 30 years (Roscoe at Pucci Salon). My hair is in sorry shape as I haven’t gotten it done for months. Nothing like warm panettone out of the oven to motivate a good cut and style.

Never had panettone? Check out this Saturday Meanderings from last year goes into detail on this delicious Italian holiday bread.

December Sunsets

With the crisp, chilly mornings and evenings, our December sunsets are fabulous. Here is an unedited photo of the sky behind the hen house and garden.

Mother Nature puts on quite the show. Within minutes, the view changes. So stunning!

Note the Christmas lights in the garden. The temperature is in the mid-30s to low 40s in the morning. I generally put lights over the beds so when I cover them with frost cloth, some heat is retained to protect the plants. Our temperatures on our property are anywhere from 6-9 degrees cooler than the posted weather forecast. Freezing temperatures are on the horizon.

Fun with Food

I seem to be drawn to festive holiday food! This different approach to charcuterie looks fun to make, right? Not only can food arrangement be festive, but so can holiday cocktails. If you missed my Christmas cocktail post this week, there are several suggestions for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

This board is certainly seasonal. By just removing part of the rind on a round brie, you can make it look like Santa~so clever!

Mary’s Must Haves

Having fresh trees and greens in the houses fills each room with the most amazing forest scent. But if you have an artificial tree or greens, this is the next best thing:

Thymes Frasier Fir pine needle candles never disappoint. There are on the expensive side ($34.00 for 6.5 oz) but such a nice splurge for the holidays.

Though I haven’t tried this one personally, Yankee Candle has a 22 ounce Balsam and Cedar candle for $29.94.

My husband tucks the Scentsicles in our artificial garlands or wreaths to give them a White Winter Fir scent. These scented sticks are made of sustainable, biodegradable, recycled paper and make trees and greenery smell like fresh-cut for 30 days. See it here.

With lots of house guests, I am doing much more laundry, mostly sheets and towels. During the dry winter months, we have additional static cling and I am not a fan of dryer static. Even though dryer sheets help with static and add fragrance, I do not like the cost, waste and chemicals.

Instead, we use reusable wool dryer balls, 100% Premium New Zealand Wool – eco-friendly and all-natural. Ideal for those with sensitive skin, babies, toddlers, & pets. No fillers, chemicals, or synthetics. Dryer balls cut the drying time by up to 50% (savings in electrical costs). These sustainable (last up to 1,000 loads), biodegradable dryer balls are completely static-free.

Great stocking stuffer too!

I love these cordless table lights, Shanghai LED Desk Lamp Cordless Table Lights. At this past weekend event, I use them on the appetizer table. The light is so pleasant~not too bright but beautifully cast downward with pretty illumination. With two settings, you can adjust the ambience to your conditions.

Here is a photo where I use 3 of these lights on my Valentine dinner table. Since we are dining outside, I don’t have to worry about candles blowing out or dripping on the centerpiece.

The LED night lamp is battery-powered and charge with a USB port. It is equipped with a 5000 mAh rechargeable battery allowing up to 8 hours usage. Elegant and transportable, you can truly use them anywhere. Well worth the investment of $49.00 each. Plus they come in multiple colors (mine are gold). See it here.

This time of year my hands are SO dry. Often I will get little cracks, like paper cuts, due to the dryness. A few years ago, I did use a combination of Thayer toner with witch hazel, aloe vera and rose petal and then a good hand cream. With both products by my kitchen sink, it was easy to use them after hand washing. I just re-ordered the Thayer toner and did read great reviews about CeraVe therapeutic hand cream.

Note: the Thayer toner comes in a spray bottle too, which might make application easier. Will be getting both today in the mail and I’ll let you know how the hand cream works.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend! We are off with the family celebrating my husband’s birthday so I am hoping time permits me to share a holiday home tour with you next week. I’m still a bit behind in the holiday shopping but it will all come together. Are you ready for the holidays?

Before central air conditioning and heat, homes are kept warm by fireplaces in many of the rooms. In our historic home, we have 5 fireplaces inside and two outside. Each fireplace has a mantel that is begging to be decorated for the Christmas holidays. Here is a compilation of some of our decorated mantels over the years.

Back Terrace-2023

In our restoration journey, we add this valuable space to the back our our home. In the beautiful weather months here in Phoenix, it is the gathering place for family and friends. The large stack stone fireplace on one end is the focal point.

During our Fall Styling Workshop, Chloe from Celebrate and Decorate transforms the fall decorations to winter/holiday ones. Using this beautiful Norfolk pine garland, she adds large pinecones, elk sheds, festive balls and two different kinds of ribbon.

This beautiful 5″ elk ribbon (source: Decorators Warehouse but out of stock) and the 4″ silk plaid one (from my ribbon stash) are striking together. Vintage snowshoes and poles from thrift store finds add some charm and interest.

Here is the same fireplace but with a snowy, winter theme in 2020.

Living Room-2023

I recently shared this lush and luxurious mantel with you. If you missed it, you can see it here.

Here are some photos from previous years. In 2022 I repeat the use of magnolia and pine garlands and red berry clusters, but add faux amaryllis in blue/white ceramic pots.

The blue and white ceramic pots are filled with greens, ornaments and pinecones, as well as the same faux red amaryllis. The addition of our homemade stockings with brass holders keeps the simplicity of this mantel decor.

Here is another Chloe mantel, when she was visiting Bella Terra in 2020. Every time Chloe comes to Phoenix, I learn something new and I get a beautifully decorate mantel! Lucky me!

Dining Room Mantel

With such an abundant mantel in the adjacent living room, I decide to do a simply elegant one in the dining room this year. Using a magnolia garland, I add a faux lamb’s ear garland, glittery pine cones, pink and blush ornaments and a few strings of sparkly pink berries. This all goes nicely with the coral orchid pot from Dear Keaton.

In previous years, I use bottle brush trees, lights and pink/blush ornaments.

Some years I add garland and others not. This time I hang round pink ornaments with fishing wire on one side of the mantel.

Breakfast Room

Adjacent to our kitchen is the breakfast room. This sweet fireplace warms up both rooms during the winter months. Sometimes I change the artwork and sometimes I don’t. I do have to take care that any decorations are not too close to the flame too.

I’ve yet to decorate this for 2023, and hope to accomplish that in the next few days. In 2021 and 2022 I make the garland~red/white beads and tassels (see blog post), and dried orange slices (see DIY here).

In 2020, I hang a “clothesline” and with miniature clothespin, hang tiny Christmas sweaters, hats and mittens.

Originally, the breakfast room fireplace held all the nutcrackers we’ve collected over time. But it’s a bit of an effort to get them up from the basement and unpacked, so in 2010, I only display a few. In 2019, I go for darker shades of red.

Though the fireplace in the art room doesn’t typically get decorated, I love how my friend, Barbara from Mantel and Table, adorns this in 2020. Her use of faux peonies, gold berry clusters, pinecone ornaments and sheer ribbon makes an elegant statement.

The goal is to have the house fully decorated before this weekend. My guess is that you are already finished with holiday decorations~but I will get there eventually.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the various holiday mantels.

Welcome to Saturday Meanderings! So much of my week was devoted to a neighborhood issue~lots of research, creating a powerpoint presentation and sitting in a hearing for 5 hours. Naturally I’d rather be decorating for the holidays, but sometimes other responsibilities take precedent. We have a rather large event at the house today, so I’m buzzing around trying to get it all together. Nonetheless it’s the weekend and such a special and magical time of year.

Giving to Others

Especially around the holidays, I count my blessings for the fullness of my life. I realize that others may be struggling both financially, physically and emotionally. At our church, we have a woman who runs the prison ministry and this time of year creates an Angel tree. The names on the tree are the children, whose mothers are incarcerated, and unable to spend the holidays with their families.

Each year we “adopt” a few of the children, and fulfill their Christmas list. It is the season of giving and we do a small part to help out those in need. I hope everyone is able to provide some hope and joy to those less fortunate. Please share what kindnesses you do for others during the holiday.

Latest Salt Dough Ornaments

The other wooden cookie mold I ordered, finally arrives. This one is deeper than my pinecone cookie mold and I make the standard salt dough mixture (flour, salt, water).

As you know, last week I shared my pinecone salt dough cookies DIY. The baking of the pinecone ornaments took about an hour since the pinecones are much thinner. However, this thicker hen design takes quite a bit longer to cook (2-3 hours at 200 degrees), and I am not sure they are thoroughly baked.

This sweet design also makes much heavier ornaments. They are more propped on the tree than hung, however, I still think they look good. A good reminder is to see how deep the mold is and my next try will see if I can make them thinner?

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Concert

For 25 years, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra has taken music to a new level. The band only tours on an annual November-December extravaganza (104 shows) that the band prides in being “as over the top as we can make it. We have, two stages~with pyro, lights and lasers~on both sides of the area, as well as in the crowd and the best sound we can find. There are no second class seats at a Trans-Siberian Orchestra show. ” Their goal is to have people walk out of the concert speechless and still not believing what they have seen was possible.

Last Sunday we saw The 2023 Winter Tour, The Ghost of Christmas Eve. This concert is such a great way to start the holiday season! Their progressive rock band push the boundaries of traditional Christmas music. Who else has their female vocalist performing inside of a 24 foot snow globe?

Seats sell out quickly and this year they perform in Phoenix for only two shows. A great gift for someone who loves music, unbelievable pyro-technics, lighting and props. See more information about the Trans-Siberian Orchestra here.

Holiday Decorating

I am still not completely finished with our holiday decorating, but we are making progress. The very large wreath is up on the well tower.

My mother would alway put candles in the window at our home in Connecticut. Back then, they were electric and needed to be plugged in. I recall Scotch taping the plastic bases to the window sill. Now the candles are battery-operated and so much easier to use.

I bought ours years ago and love the fact that are on an automatic timer. Here is a similar product and I am surprised on how inexpensive they are today. A pack of 10 LED Flameless Candles is $39.99 here.

Each year my husband puts out artificial trees by the front door to create a forest feel. This year we add red poinsettias on the way up the steps for a bit of holiday color. Battery-operated candle pillars, in the lanterns, light the way. Costco has a good supply of poinsettias at a decent price.

This Weekend’s Event

Here are some nibble boards I will be preparing today for our event tonight. This is a super easy vegetable Christmas Tree display.

I will be making my Christmas Wreath charcuterie board (if you missed my post this week you can see it here).

Would love to have enough time to make something like this. Check out this Christmas Tree Spinach Dip Breadsticks from It’s Always Autumn. It doesn’t look too difficult and visually impactful. See it here.

Of course, who wouldn’t love this Hot Chocolate Dessert board? We won’t be serving hot chocolate at our event, but I am definitely pinning this!

Mary’s Must Haves

This week I am focusing on hostess gifts because it IS that time of year. Instead of bringing a bottle of wine, why not the following:

This Rechargeable Electric Candle Lighter is eco-friendly, windproof, flameless, USB rechargeable and has a hidden safety lock making it family friendly. Now 23% off on Amazon and is available in multiple colors.

Pair your electric lighter with a set of 6 of these pretty natural beeswax tapered candles. Everyone can use candles during the holidays! The price is right too at $15.19. I ordered both the lighter and candles and they arrive tomorrow.

Isn’t this natural wood spoon and fork set gorgeous? How unique to use something this pretty to serve your guests? The larger ones can toss a salad and the smaller ones can serve nuts from a bowl. Now 52% off (!) from Amazon at $28.50. Delivery is quick too!

If you know someone who uses fresh herbs, this is the perfect hostess gift for a gardener or cook. I use fresh herbs from my garden frequently and find it a bit tedious to chop them and then have to clean the cutting board.

These herb scissors with 5 blades and a safety cover is the perfect solution for easily chopping or cutting fresh herbs. Picture a pretty small basket with a collection of fresh herbs tied with a festive ribbon and these scissors!

This may seem like a strange hostess gift, but in winter we have shorter daytime hours. This gift, Eufy plug-in Dusk to Dawn night lights, will be loved by your hostess (of course after they use them). As we get older, it’s helpful if we are not tripping over something in the middle of the night. You have seen me praise these before, but I love the low profile look of these lights. Their glare-free light is not bright or offensive.

I am seriously ordering yet another set (we already have one at home and one at the cabin) as I want to put them in the pool house and guest cottage. A set of 6 is $23.99. Amazon has a rating of 4.7 out of 10,071 reviews. Eufy night lights

That’s a wrap. Have a wonderful weekend! Do you have any fun plans?

If you like to doodle, then you will love this project! Gingerbread everything is a big holiday theme this year, and yes, the gingerbread bug did bite me too! See how easy it is to decorate this very inexpensive cardboard houses into your own personal gingerbread village.

Supplies

You will need:

• Paper mache or similar paper/cardboard house
• White Paint pens with different nibs
• Glitter
• Glue or Modge Dodge

I find these 6″ paper mache houses at Michaels. I paid $5.99 each and now they are discounted to $3.99 each (darn). Our local store is out of stock, but you can find these in a set of 3 at Hobby Lobby, or from Factory Direct Crafts. Amazon has numerous styles available too here.

Any white paint pen will do but the key is to find a set with different nib sizes. From Michaels, I find Craftsmart oil-based premium paint pens in 3 nib sizes, but for the life of me I cannot seem to find it online. Plus one of the pens did leak and made a bit of a mess.

I find this set on Amazon and I think it will do the trick.

For years I have had the same big jar of glitter from craft days with the children and I LOVE it~so sparkly and festive. I find something similar on Amazon and I believe it is a close substitute.

Modge Podge is perfect to use as a glue and base for your glitter. It comes in both matte and glossy finish. Either will work but I use matte for this project.

Drawing details on the House

Use your imagination and draw curlicues, hearts or whatever design you want on your plain brown house.

Notice that these two houses are similar yet different, but both have the decorative, ornate look of a gingerbread house.

Add details at the roofline too.

I use the wide nib on the marker to color the roof and trim white, to appear snow-like. Around the chimney I replicate snow dripping. Then it is time to add the glitter.

Adding the Glitter

Though I do not have a photo, paint the roof and base Modge Podge and sprinkle the glitter over the wet surface. Put down paper or a pan first or you will have glitter everywhere. Since this is very fine glitter, you will more than likely be a bit sparkly yourself after!

In an attempt to create “icicles” I use my glue gun and drip glue from the rafters. While warm, I cover them in glitter. Not sure it’s worth the effort but here is how it looks. Since it didn’t make a huge difference and the glue actually looks a tad yellow, I only made “icicles” on one of the houses. Effort vs. reward.

The Overall Gingerbread Village

In the center of my rather large kitchen island, I have a two tiered glass patisserie, which I decorate by season. Found at Ballard Design, the patisserie comes in either pewter or brass and is on sale (from $299 to $225). Not only does it break up the surface of my island, but it is perfect for entertaining and displaying desserts, appetizers, etc.

The ceramic gingerbread houses are a find at Michaels (I believe are now out of stock). I blend in my two inexpensive gingerbread houses and I like how it all goes together.

Adding 2 different shades of bottle brush trees provides a nice contrast to the neutral tone gingerbread houses.

I think the DIY paper mache houses blend in rather nicely with the ceramic ones. Wouldn’t this be a fun project with children?

I am not sure whether I can squeeze a battery powered tea light in that front door but I’d like to find a way to light the house from within.

Holiday decorating continues!

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