HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Hello!

I wanted to post one more time for 2022 to wish you all a beautiful holiday season and a happy & healthy 2023.  And to thank all of you that have reached out to me this year.  And for being here reading my blog, it has meant so much to me and has been such a comfort.  It is greatly appreciated! 

Also, sending warm hugs to all of you in the rest of the country on this beautiful 79 degree day here in Los Angeles.  And to all of you that are living through the bomb blizzard, don't hate me.  On the up side, you're having a white Christmas!  How beautiful all the snowy pictures look on Instagram.  We do go down to the 50's at night so I do have a fire going while I look at your snowy pictures, again, don't hate me. 

It actually started to snow on me at the outdoor mall today.  Seriously, I thought I was having a stroke 😮.  I turned to a person behind me and said "do you see that?"  It turned out to be a snow machine.  Nice fake out.  There was also a guy with a mini horse sitting outside having coffee.  I had seen him walking from a distance and thought it was a really big dog, but it was a horse!  Only in LA.  And although we don't have a White Christmas, we do get pretty festive around here, so I thought I'd share some holiday postcards of pictures I took around town.  Oh, and I'll include the horse.😊

And of course, sending slobbery kisses from my Stella.

From Our Home To Yours

Happy Holidays!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING:

Lots of firsts happen when you lose your partner, and here we are at my first Thanksgiving without My Mike.  For those of you that know me, or have been reading my blog in past years, you know that TG was our huge holiday.  We hosted every year and we each made a turkey, yup two turkeys, we always went a little crazy.  Then we'd force our guests to choose the best turkey with a blind taste test, and we also both cheated trying to influence the win in our own direction, haha.  And everything had to be made from scratch, according to Mike.  This was because our first TG together revealed that I had grown up on canned cranberry sauce and Stove Top stuffing (I still love Stove Top). Who knew real cranberry sauce didn't come in a jelly log with can lines!? 

Anyway, it would be too sad for me to host this year so it will be a different kind of Thanksgiving for me.  I'll report back. 

But in case you're hosting and need some last minute ideas for your table, here are a few of my own favorites from past years, pictures 1 - 4 are mine and pictures 5 - 8 are some inspiration from my Holidaze board on pinterest.

1. These were my all time favorite center pieces.  All stuff my daughter and I foraged from a walk in my neighborhood.  Branches, berries and pine cones.  We also told our family and friends to brings some of the same from their neighborhood and we had fun putting them together.  The buckets were from the Dollar store.

 2. I always have a hard time throwing away perfectly good pumpkins, so I paint them.  One year they made it to Valentines Day so I painted them pink, that was weird.

3. And you can never go wrong with a charcuterie board! I like to make a few different ones on different boards and line them up.

4. These are so cute and easy, mini rolls that look like pumpkins.  All you need are store bought rolls, score then with a knife to look like a pumpkin and put a pecan in for the stem.  These were a big hit.

 And here's a few ideas from my Holidaze Pinterest Board.

5. Turn a carved out pumpkin into an ice bucket or a flower pot. Love this idea!

6. Never underestimate the power of some greenery from your yard and lots of candles.

7. Put a candle in a vase and surround it with cranberries.

8. Tie up your napkins with twine, add a sprig of rosemary or any pretty plant cutting and a cinnamon stick. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving

CHANGING COURSE OVER THE HOLIDAYS:

I've been thinking a lot about what the holidays mean to me this year.  And I've come to realize that although we all have different traditions we follow, every year can be different too.  And I think that's a good thing.  Not to say annual rituals and traditions aren't great, but when you come to a fork in the road, and you need to change it up, it's all about how you can choose to look at it.  You can be sad that everything's changing, or you can take the opportunity to be creative and work with what you've got.  So after years of big beautifully decorated trees, here is our Christmas tree this year, a little Charlie Brownish for sure.

You see, we always had a tradition of going to a particular Christmas Tree Farm.  Mike would pull out his ancient (disgusting), plaid flannel pullover, I'd make a thermos of hot cocoa, and we'd go cut down a tree. And by "we" I mean "he".  This was very important to him.  No fake trees.  I was on the fence.  I'm Jewish so it's all just fun and festive decorating to me.  Anyway, in 2020, due to Covid, we bought our first fake tree.  And let me tell you it has its perks.  It was pre-lite, for once thing!  

My husband was only picky about two things in life, where we'd park in the football stadium for tailgating, (he'd move the car at least 5x before he found the "perfect" spot), and which Christmas tree to choose at the farm.  He'd change his mind 10x until we found the "perfect" tree.  And then he'd saw it down.  It was tradition, it was a ritual, it was fun for all those years, I have great memories, and now it's over.  Time to change it up.

This year, due to Mike's loss of cognitive function, he has no idea it's even Christmas.  I'll keep telling him, but honestly, if I didn't decorate he wouldn't notice.  And he can no longer follow directions like "get down the holiday boxes".  When I went into the garage to get them myself, I was very grateful the Hanukkah box was on a shelf I could reach.  But then I realized that he had put the Christmas tree, the stand, and most of the decoration boxes on the very top shelf.  The boxes are heavy and big, and the garage ceiling is high so when I say top shelf I mean higher then my 5'2 self on a ladder can reach.  I cried for a minute.  Then I decided it wasn't worth killing myself on a ladder for.  I found a box I could reach, and in it were the things I love to put on the mantle.  I found some lights and some ornaments.  We have so much that I just could not see buying new things.  So I put the lights around my living room and used what I found.

Do I miss the tree?  Yes, but it looks pretty this way too.  I hung the ornaments I found on my rubber tree, (said Charlie Brown's mother, probably).  And I decorated our mantle.  I'm happy with it.  And believe me, I'm not deprived.  This week I decorated our 12ft Christmas tree at work.  In my collage days I got extra credits volunteering to decorate holiday windows in NYC, (a la Rhoda Morgenstern), and that was so much fun. 

It's good to remind ourselves that we are the Caption of our ship and we can change course whenever necessary.  Don't fight against the current, you could drown!  For the future, I dream of traveling through the Christmas Markets of Europe over the holidays.  As for this year, I'll be happy with a roaring fire, a cozy blanket, and a big cup of hot cocoa :)

From Our Home To Yours, Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Helloooo and happy Thanksgiving week!  Thought I'd share some crafty table ideas for you if you're hosting Thanksgiving this year like me.  I always try to make the table look very festive and I usually use things I already have.  Also a new recipe I'm adding this year for those of us that are now eating plant based diets and this dish is delish!

I've always loved the word forage, as in to hunt and gather.  So the weekend before TG my daughter and I forage for pine cones, berries, sticks and dried leaves, basically anything that will look good on the table or in a basket or galvanized bucket, (from the .99 cents store).  It's all very Laura Ingells.  I also keep my pumpkins from Halloween to use for TG and sometimes I paint them.  Also, colorful pumpkins from the craft store, mixing dishes and patterns, colorful napkins, twine, and lots of candles.  Here are a few of my tablescapes from past Thanksgivings.  I hope they inspire you to get creative!

Here's the recipe, it's from Zestandsimmer.com via Pinterest.  And check out my fabulous food board for tons more plant based yummy recipes!  I'm kind of obsessed.

There's so much to be grateful for

Happy Thanksgiving!

FAB FINDS FRIDAY: One Girls Trash Is Another Girls Treasure

I often say that one girls trash is another girls treasure, and I'm here to tell you, I really mean it!  Recycling doesn't only mean your trash, it also means stuff, stuff that lasts forever.  Recently inspired by an instagram account I follow of @katekeeseeoc I made a little trip to Orange County.  To the Goodwill. Yes, that was a trip.  If you're a thrifter, and I am, then you track down the good stuff even when it's an hours drive.  Kate makes insta stories at this Goodwill and the home decor stuff always looks amazing.  And if you're a DIYer and/or a dumpster diver, you should follow her!

Here I am, that's the face of a happy bargain hunter, one more thing and I wouldn't have been able to see over the cart!

I went looking for a round rug, not easy to find.  Mike came with me, and it was a good thing he did because I wouldn't have been able to lift the rugs out of the huge bin they were in.  Tons of rugs, all new, still in their wrappings.  Him being tall made it easy,  I really couldn't even reach them!

My daughter was in NY at the time, she also loves thrifting, so she had me face time her with the camera facing out and she was all "wait let me see that, what's that over there?"  At one point she noticed this great basket and a woman behind me said "I want to talk to whoever is on the phone, they have great taste".  We kind of became a spectacle.  The store is huge.  I'll show you my haul as I incorporate it all in my current home makeover (on a $0 budget) but for now I decided to cruise through my house and share some of the amazing things I have picked up curb side through the years for FREE.  I guess you could call me a dumpster diver although I've never actually gone into a dumpster to take anything out.  My stuff just seems to show up in my path, usually curbside.

This beautiful pot was $10!  Going to put it here and move the terra-cotta one across the room, we'll put another cactus in it.  We take cuttings of cactus from outside, we have so many.  So that's FREE.

Here's a closer look at the pot and the round rug.  Still trying to get the lumps out.  First dog to pee on it gets coal for Christmas.

Here's the basket my daughter picked out.  The top half was folded in, and it just looked like a regular shape basket (you can see it in the shopping cart picture) which was nice enough but when I got it home I noticed the handles inside and pulled them out and it turned into this basket, I love it!  These are expensive, this one was $10.  She let me take a picture of it in her apartment in fact this entire corner was thrifted.  She even got the fiddle leaf fig off Craigs list for $15, the gorgeous light was a $40 antique store find and the flower pot was FREE when a neighbor was moving.  Also the picture on the wall was thrifted.  (FYI, real life pictures include mail on tables.)

My dining room 'antler' chandelier was FREE from a friend who moved to a new house and the ceilings were to low for it.  We have high ceilings although Mike still manages to impale his head on it every now and then.

Come on, what trip to Goodwill would be complete if I didn't so something ridiculous.  What can I say, I love Unicorns.

This table was a curb side find, FREE.  It was black and I left it that way for a while.  Now that we're doing a little make over I just painted it blue.  I'll be sharing before and afters soon, this is still a work in progress.  But this is my favorite blue, it matches my interior doors.   And still trying to get the lumps out of the rug.

This goes waaaay back.  My dress form from when I was a fashion designer in NY, another life-time ago.  I worked for a dress company that got a bunch of new forms and was getting rid of some old ones.  I asked if I could have one.  My boss said sure.  But I had to get it out of there.   From Manhattan.  To Queens.  On the train.  After a 30 floor elevator ride down, I wheeled it 10 blocks to Penn Station.  I got a few weird looks, but mostly people ignored me, cause, that's NY.   Down two escalators,  (oh yes I did), over the scary gap and onto the train.  It hung out the window of the car for the 10 minute ride home from the train station and then from the street to the court we lived in, farthest apartment of course and on the second floor so two more flights of stairs.  It was home.  Mine forever.  I even moved it across the country.  

This leopard chair, in mint condition, came out of a storage room of a building I worked in, put out for the trash truck and saved by me. 

Here it is in action, that one time my desk was clean.

 Two of these French windows were out with someones trash.  I have the other one outside in my garden.  I love them!  FREE

Pardon the Stella Monster, she thinks everything is hers.  This was a FREE bench, needs new cushions but I've had it about 20 years.

Happened to be passing by a house in my neighborhood and noticed an elderly lady putting this adorable ice cream parlor set out at the curb with a sign that said FREE.  I stopped and said I'd take it and she was so thrilled, said she had it for 40 years but was moving into a retirement home.  One can of black Rustoleum spray paint and it looked brand new.   It's sits in my veggie garden, which right now as you can see is a bit of a mess, full of ashes and debris from he recent winds and fires. (Real life).   Also while we're in my garden, the bricks were FREE too.  I noticed them at the curb of a neighbor down the street.  I made 5 trips with my trusty wheel barrel, up hill.  And I laid them myself.  I am woman hear me roar.

Tile chairs, two of them, garage sale $5 each.

Another FREE table and chairs that someone was putting out to pasture.  I have a similar one from Pier 1 so I know the value.  Left by the curb for reasons unknown.

 

Stained glass from a construction site.

Got this chair for FREE, also with a matching ottoman, very Hollywood glam, and of course Stella claimed it.

And probably the most expensive thing I've ever gotten for FREE is our fireplace mantle.  I spotted it leaning against a pile of construction debris in front of a 10,000 sq. ft. custom home being built in Beverly Hills.  I stopped and asked the construction workers if they were getting rid of it and they said the homeowner changed her mind, and wanted a different one and told them to throw it out! They said no one wanted it because it was too heavy, it's solid concreted.  Oh come on you know I wasn't passing this up!  I asked them to make sure no one took it and told them I'd be right back.  Right back as in the time it took me to rent a U-haul truck and stop at the ATM for a little tip money.  When I got back they loaded it into the truck for me.  I had just moved into my house and the fireplace was just a hole in a charred wall, no mantle.  I was ecstatic!  

Get your bargain on!