December 6, 2012

for the love of scrabble



Fun little holiday ideas, inspired by Scrabble...















ciao! fabiana

a sweet little Christmas boutique

I did a little Christmas shopping today 
at our local school's Christmas boutique. 
Here are some of the cute things 
I came home with...

Lovely little mercury-glass votives that my friend Kimaleigh was selling 

Hand made birch bark votives and a little "Joyeux Noel" zinc tag from Linda Morgan. 

"Joyeux Noel" 

Here is the zinc tag on my apothecary jar

Amy makes the best Black Russian Rum Cakes every year and they sell out quickly!
Aren't they cute in these little ceramic bread dishes?
{scroll down for recipe at the end of this post}

Heidi from Chateau Designs makes these wine bottle votives out of re-purposed wine bottles
and then makes cute wine labels for them and fills them with a candle..  What a great idea!

Heidi also makes these great pillows, cubes and "fun saks" in a varietyof fabrics.
I got a black and white chevron accent pillow. 

Andrea Luna Reece creates 
and sells these sweet little owls, succulents and more.  

Amy's Black Russian Cake

1 box yellow cake mix 
1 large package chocolate pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup strong coffee (prepared and cooled...I use leftover coffee from the morning)
1/4 cup Vodka
1/4 cup Kahlua

Glaze:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon rum extract 

Mix together all ingredients. I make these in cupcake form and in mini loafs (makes 6 mini loafs filled 3/4 high) 35 minutes, cupcakes less time. Remove from pan and cool slightly.
Glaze:  Bring ingredients for glaze to a boil and pour over cake.(I use about 1/2, some like more).

Dust with powdered sugar after it cools.  Serve with blackberries, raspberries and mint.

Great cake that some say tastes even better the next day.  Just freshen up with more powdered sugar and berries.


ciao! fabiana

christmas apothecary jars


My own little version of this...

via pinterest


ciao! fabiana

December 4, 2012

a christmas dinner with friends


Fabulous food and decor at

the first Christmas dinner party of the season.

a beautiful holiday table set for twenty
We spent a fun Saturday night at a dinner party hosted by Liz and Martin. Martin plays ice hockey with my hubby, and the whole hockey team gets together every eight weeks for a delicious gourmet dinner. We hockey wives have really grown close, and we have a great time together.

Martin is a fabulous chef, and we were treated to a menu that included a seared salmon appetizer, the best tuna tartar I have ever had, a gingered carrot soup and rack of lamb.

Their home was so festive, especially the table decorated by Liz with the help of Michele and Penny. Speaking of Penny, she made the most incredible profiterole dessert and shaped it into a Christmas tree. It was served with her warm homemade chocolate sauce.  

Ooh, la la! 

each place setting included a special ornament and napkin from IKEA

a few of us hockey wives, me, Penny, Joann, and Sheree 

Liz is a fabulous hostess

Tuna Tartar with cilantro ~ AMAZING!

enjoying a yummy gingered carrot soup

Pretty traditional details on the table
Liz, Michel, Kathy, and Siobhan

a bite of salmon seared on one side with seaweed salad

Croquembouche ~ A profiterole christmas tree made by Penny.
Probably the best thing I ever ate!!

ciao! fabiana

decorating with evergreens




Christmas evergreens are beautiful to look at,
and infuse your home with a lovely holiday aroma,

so here’s a little 
Monday morning inspiration...


























ciao! fabiana



💕

While I’m here today, I wanted to share some of my "Tablescaping Essentials" with you. I have a whole page on the Amazon website with my favorite picks for setting a beautiful table.

Quite often time is of the essence, and I have last minute projects or events to work on, so I turn to Amazon for one or two day delivery. You’d be surprised at how many amazing items they have to offer! And I'm constantly updating this page with my new favorites. 



You can check it out here, at Tablescaping Essentials.


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