Happy 90th Birthday!

I have been very blessed in my life to have known all of my grandparents, some great-grandparents even, and to have had step-grandparents who were just as doting as the real thing. I am even further blessed to still have one of those grandparents alive. My Grandma Jane is the epitome of the Southern Heritage side of the family right down to the sweet southern accent she still bears.

This year Grandma turned 90! We decided to surprise her with a family get together at a cousin's house telling her we were picking her up to go with us out to dinner. Once inside and she saw all of our family, it took only a second before the tears welled up. She was so touched and surprised! It was just a small gathering but it meant the world to her.

Over her 90 years, she had been through a lot.... lost brothers in the coal mines, divorced, raised my father, was widowed twice, and is her last remaining sibling of a family of 12. She lived through the depression, worked many years as a nurse, and learned to drive when most women didn't....it was only fitting to celebrate her many years and all she overcame.....

I made the arrangements to be "girly" while still fitting her country style. The candles are decoupaged with actual photos of her through the years.

 Including her own baby photo and one where she is holding my dad after he was born.

We even made sure the wrappings her gifts were in were fitting to her roots and style.

Cheetah Truck Holiday Top

OK can we just say I am in LOVE with this holiday top I got this year! How absolutely cute is this design of the little red truck being in leopard print?!?!? I have worn it so many times already.... it runs generous so I do wish I had gotten a smaller size but it washes well and I am so happy with my purchase! Thank you babychloescloset (DM her on instagram to get yours!)!!!!!!!!

First I wore it to my bocce Christmas party styled with a faux fur vest....

Then... even though you really can't tell it's the same top... I wore it with a plaid puffer vest to take Dante to see Santa Paws!

Then today I wore it again, even more casually... styled with a leopard Miss Me belt, Levi's and my Ariat Fat Baby boots to finish up my Christmas shopping!

Holiday Shopping

Despite my English "snobbishness" for brands and Italian affinity to "high end", I have discovered two new treasure troves for shopping during this past year...both of which may seem odd... but are wonderful stores I highly recommend for gift shopping.

The first is Tractor Supply Company.... I know right! But I am dead serious! While they are not full of the same decor and holiday zeal as my second recommendation, they are full of wonderful gift ideas from cute clothes, boots, scarves and gloves, right down to farm house decor items...... and how can you beat this cute gift wrap I used from there this year?!?

The second store that has become a new favorite is Petitti's.... I know they are a chain here in Northeast Ohio but unsure exactly how far they reach. If you have one anywhere near you, I highly recommend you stop in... it is NOT your neighborhood nursery anymore! I actually bought quite a few gifts here this year and their holiday displays far beat any department store I visited this year!

Comment below... what new gold mines did you find this ear for holiday shopping?

A Buffalo Check Front Porch

The first thing to get decorated entirely for the holidays each year is the front porch for obvious reasons.... it needs to be done while the weather still holds out in Northeast Ohio and it's the first thing people see. With Buffalo check being so popular this year and this gorgeous ribbon I found I Sam's Club this year I was inspired to go all out in red!

My mom is the best bow maker ever so I of course recruited her to tie all these gorgeous bows. I pulled the old sled and skates from the back of my parents garage as well and picked up the throw from Five and Below this year.The package on the chair is actually a grape crate wrapped up. I took my normal leopard welcome mat and put a Dollar Store red welcome mat over it to add color. The wreath on the front door was made by myself several years back now but the cotton was added last year. The garlands and wreath on the railing is also reused from years before and simply updated with the new ribbon. The new red truck welcome flag came from JoAnn's this year.

A Wreath Making Party

For the past several years, I have been aware of a local tree farm conducting wreath making classes. It is a lot like a "Paint and Sip" night, I guess, except that you pay to decorate a holiday wreath and BYOB. But sadly, every year they sold out almost immediately. This year I was balking about missing out again to a friend on the phone who promptly suggested that I just throw my own event... What a great idea! So that is exactly what I did!

I sent out the invites to some girlfriends and my mom and aunt and a party was planned. I provided the supplies then had guest BYOB and bring an appetizer to share to keep the costs down. It was a fun and creative night!

To maximize space, I drug a long buffet table up from the basement which I sat up in the middle of the living room and split some into the dining room. I sat up boxes of supplies on end tables and in the middle of the tables. Guests mingled and shared the supplies they had near them with others.

Dante wasn't too sure what was going on with all these women all over the house.... but he patiently waited for every crumb that dropped on a chair near where the appetizers were set up.

The night was a huge success resulting in good conversation and some wonderful creations!

A Simple Thanksgiving

Every other year, it is not my turn to host a single holiday meal all season.... and to be honest I love the reprieve! So this year Thanksgiving was hosted by my Grandma and I had no work to do except to bring the cranberry sauce. So since I didn't have the huge family meal this year, I still thought it would be nice to set the table like it was Thanksgiving for the following Sunday's pasta meal.

The cornucopia was a fabulous find a few years back at a furniture store going out of business that I filled with picks from Hobby Lobby and a few real small white gourd-type pumpkins gotten back in the fall. Then I pulled out the antique gold edge white set of fire king given to me by a cousin and used them over a gold charger. It is hard to tell but the bread plate placed on top of last year's leftover Spode napkins is an antique yellow depression glass plate also given to me by the same cousin. Then I used my crystal gold edged glassware for drinks. Despite not truly being the "holiday" meal, I think it gave a Thanksgiving feel carried through the whole weekend.

My cranberries taken to dinner were a big hit and always are. The recipe came from Southern Living a few years back but I made a few adjustments.

My Cranberry Recipe

25-30 minutes, can be prepped ahead

1 bag fresh cranberries (about 12-14 oz)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup orange juice (without pulp)

2 small peeled Bartlett pears

1 cup fresh chopped pinapple

1/4 cup thinly sliced celery

1 bag candied pecans

In a large saucepan, bring orange juice and brown sugar to a boil, adding in cranberries at about half boil stirring often. Continue until you start hearing the cranberries pop, then reduce heat to simmer and allow ingredients to thicken. Simmer about 10-12 minutes before removing from heat and stirring in the pears, pineapple, celery, and pecans. Once combined, can be moved to a serving bowl while still hot. If prepping ahead, let cool before refrigerating. The original recipe also called for it to be served shilled but I think it tasted better slightly warm. Recipe will keep up to 3 days ahead though.

 

Christmas on the Farm

Well the second weekend of November brought the first snow to Northeast Ohio and a cold weekend, so what better time to kick off the Christmas season? And it just so happened that it was the same weekend of an event nearby called Christmas on the Farm. The event was held across the state line in Enon Valley, PA at the Highland Meadows Horse farm and vendor sat up in old horse stables.

While it was a cute idea to set up the food vendors outside by the silo, everyone apparently agreed it was far to cold to sit out there even with the delicious hot cocoa.

Of course, I did get to see Santa though. I think my sherpa made me look like I had ate as many cookies as he did though... lol.

I think the horses on the farm were wondering what all the traffic on
 the farm was that day but it was still a cute event and I event got a few gifts already!

What great Christmas kick off events have you visited so far? Comment below....