the best ideas for Christmas greenery

 

One of the things I love most about living in southern California is all the lovely citrus that we get during the winter months.

 

The oranges came directly from our backyard, and not only are they a delicious variety of navel orange, but they also make for a cute display on my little Christmas tree when they’re sliced and dried in the oven.

 

Simple twine does the trick for arranging them on a little noble fir tree like this. 🍊🌲

Mixed greens garland and fresh tree are from Armstrong Garden Center. The Moët champagne bucket is from my collection. 

Whenever I see a vintage champagne bucket while out thrifting, I grab it. They're so handy for so many things!

 

If you’re looking for a lovely hostess gift idea, how about a beautiful glazed terracotta pot filled with culinary herbs? Perfect timing with the holidays just right around the corner.

 

I got everything I needed at Armstrong’s including this lovely Italian-style pot, and I filled it with some of my favorite herbs, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.

 

While cooking during the holidays, these flavorful lovelies are right at your fingertips. Just snip a few sprigs and add to your turkey or favorite side dish. 🤍🌿

 

Here’s one of the wreaths on our front doors. We have double doors, so I always like to get a pair of matching wreaths. 

These lush evergreen wreaths are from our local Armstrong’s, which is just a few blocks away. I then added a trio of  antique-looking bells on each wreath. 

I love the way they softly clang upon our arrival. I knew the look I was after for this year’s doors, so luckily Amazon had just the right ones!   

ciao! fabiana

 

 

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very fun holiday projects and recipes

Happy December 1^st to you all! As we head right into the Christmas holidays, I think our creative selves come out a little bit more.

 

That’s why it’s always inspiring to flip through the pages of Country Sampler Farmhouse Style to gather ideas and implement them in our own homes.

The winter 2021 issue that you see above features a really yummy recipe for Hummingbird Cake.

  

Have you ever had Hummingbird Cake? It features the flavors of pineapple, banana, and pecans all held together with the most delicious cream cheese frosting!

 

I can’t divulge this old-fashioned classic’s recipe at this time, but you can find it in this issue on the last page.

 

 

There are also a few of my DIY tree ornaments featured in the winter issue. 

 

This second Country Sampler Farmhouse Style edition is really full of great holiday inspiration too. It's the special Christmas bonus issue. Check out the domino garland I made above from vintage black dominoes and wooden beads.  

The home tours are especially beautiful, and aside from that, I’m excited to share that I have 8 projects featured in this issue, including 3 garland ideas and 2 DIY pillows.

 

A few of my other favorite projects include utensil holders, a Christmas tree shaped pillow and a nativity scene stenciled on a pillow.  

 

Be sure to pick up a copy or two, if you see them at the store. I really think you'll love them!

ciao! fabiana

 

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the prettiest tables for Christmas

The prettiest new pattern is out from Pacific & Rose. It’s called Gayatri Red and is just so perfect for setting the most gorgeous Christmas tablescape.

 

There are lots of options for this print too: tablecloths, placemats, runners and napkins. You can see the Gayatri print featured above in the placemat where it’s beautifully coordinated with the Gayatri Red Buti print napkin.

 

The Buti pattern is a sort of “mini-print” version of the larger more dramatic pattern you see on the “Jaal” pattern in the tablecloths, placemats and runners.

 

Here’s my table set with the gorgeous Gayatri Red Tablecloth. I made a festive floral arrangement using all white flowers like roses, hydrangeas, baby’s breath and alstroemeria, and then I popped in a few vibrant red roses for a punch of holiday color.

 

All the flowers are from Trader Joe’s, and I just used wet floral foam in an oblong vintage brass container to hold everything together.

 

For an extra punch of this amazing pattern, I layered placemats on the tablecloth to define each place setting nicely.

 

As you can see, I used the smaller print Buti napkin here again for a pretty pattern play, especially with the red transferware plates. It all blends together so nicely.

 

For a real dose of holiday cheer, mixing this red pattern with the green Caroline pattern is so fun!! Here I've traded out the red placemats and napkins for the green.

 

And here we have a red on green on red combination, 

which I absolutely love!

  

 

The possibilities are practically endless with different ways to combine these patterns. The Caroline green on its own is just so chic! Again, I’ve layered the tablecloth with placemats and napkins for a cohesive look.

 

 

For a more colorful look, it’s fun to combine the Caroline green tablecloth with the Gayatri red placemat and the Caroline blue napkins.

 

Not only is this a really fun look, but it also works so nicely for families that celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah, better known as Chrismukkah.

 

Table runners offer a more casual and informal look, and all these pretty patterns are available in the runner format. Layering the coordinating or complementary placemats and napkins is pretty fun.

 

As you can see, the new Gayatri red looks fabulous with some of the other more established Pacific & Rose patterns like Ivy Green and Pomegranate.

 

Personally, I love playing around with these beautiful patterns with my collection of red and white transferware dishes. They look so pretty together!

 

These patterns make setting the table at Christmas just so easy because of the festive prints and colors, which by the way are all created and printed by hand in Jaipur, India.

 

I love having lots of options for setting the table during the holidays, and as you can see, these patterns just work so great with each other that it makes tables setting a real pleasure.

 Check out PacificAndRose.com for more!

ciao! fabiana

 

 

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happy thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is inching closer and closer. It’s that funny time of year between fall and Christmas when pumpkins coexist nicely with Christmas trees. I’m thankful for that, as well as a thousand other things, both big and small.

 

I can’t wait for the arrival of family tomorrow, the smell of turkey roasting in the oven and the wonder and amazement of how quickly it all goes by as we head into the end of another year.

 

This is the time to treasure those precious moments.

 

Now that the table is set, it’s on to making some of the side dishes and maybe a dessert.

 

The plan for today is to make the Creamy Green Bean Salad. This is a new yummy recipe that I saw Katie Lee make on The Kitchen. I’m going to get it all prepped for tomorrow.

 

The sweet potatoes and stuffing are already made… Yay!

 

I'm making a Chai Apple Galette for dessert. It’s actually a combination of three different recipes. It’s in the oven now and smells heavenly! The chai flavor comes from a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, cardamom and lemon zest added to the apples.

 

If you’re interested, I can share the recipe soon.

 

I just love how the candlelight brings everything to life at the table and casts such pretty shadows.

 

As for the table setting, combining my favorite things is always a success. Candles, pumpkins, pretty glassware always adds such charm to a Thanksgiving table.

 

Happy Wednesday, my friends.

ciao! fabiana

 

 

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Table linens by August Table

Succulents, pumpkins and trees from Armstrong Garden

Eucalyptus foraged from my friend Maureen's garden.