Christmas delights

This is the delightful new bedspread Amberlee sewed for me for my birthday. It makes me so happy, almost giddy, every time I walk in the room and get a shot of all those bright colors! It's exactly the picker-upper I crave in the middle of winter.

These are the Thomas Keller gougeres we made for Christmas dinner (from Bouchon, I think). Wow! Another deluxe delight this Christmas!! I have to say though, that I like the Tartine gougeres a LOT too, and the Tartine variety are so beautiful. I'd like to make them both the same day next time so I can compare them, especially the flavors, more fairly. It's been too long since we made the Tartine gougeres, so it's hard for me to be sure of which ones taste better. Josh thinks the Thomas Keller version tastes better while the Tartine version looks better.
And here I am eating a chocolate pot de creme (recipe courtesy of Cook's Illustrated) at the Christmas Eve party. The chocolate was topped with whipped cream then garnished with crushed peppermint candy and a peppermint meringue cookie. Make sure to serve these when the chocolate creme is at room temperature. They taste much better (smoother, creamier, lighter, yet still very rich) than when they're cold (too rich and overwhelming...you can only eat one or two bites when they're chilled).
Seems like I forgot to take pictures of the rest of our Christmas festivities. Oops. I was too busy making the festivities happen to also make some pictures happen. At least Josh remembered the camera on Christmas morning. The videos he took are the best. See the videos of the kids on Christmas morning.

Colorful Christmas toys

These are pics from last Christmas. I think I like this toy as much for the rainbow of colors as for the musical function.


What better hiding place than a huge box on Christmas morning?

Girlfriends

I have this wonderful circle of friends that I grew up with that still keeps in touch. Lucky am I to be included in this group. Each one is an amazing woman with many talents that I admire, including, and especially, a feeling of kindness and generosity towards others. You gals are the best! And I mean to share these sentiments with the few that are not in this photo as well. You know who you are, and hopefully you know that we miss you whenever we get together and don't get to see you! Best wishes to each of you today and every day!

Beehive Bazaar Dec. 2007 — A tribute to my mom

Last Christmas I made some things to sell at the Beehive Bazaar. Here they are:

Note cards and Buttons

10" tall Gingerbread Cookies
("Ms. Ginger" came solo; a packet of 2 cookies was named "Fred & Ginger")

Painted Reclaimed School Chairs

I must give some credit to my mom. She helped me make and decorate all of the gingerbread cookies. She also deserves partial credit for all of the projects I do. She gave me some of the most important tools I have. She taught me to brainstorm, to think creatively, to commit myself to excellence. I remember watching her tole painting. She had such precision and control in her hand. I remember watching her pipe icing decorations on a stunning wedding cake. Again, the dexterity and discipline she exhibited were impressive. I remember time and time again coming to her with a school assignment and no idea where to start. She never failed to light the way, helping me organize my thoughts, develop ideas, and carry out the project. I certainly didn't feel creative or skilled in my efforts during those years. Moments of clouded brain syndrome still inhibit me on occasion, at which time I push aside the despair of an approaching deadline and an expectant client and try to remember my mother's lessons. You learn from doing, even someone else's doing. So moms out there: do not fear that your child isn't learning anything when you sit down and do their homework with them. As long as you do it with them, and not for them, they will learn more than you thought you had to teach.

'Twas the season

'Twas the season to be jolly, so I wrote and designed a poetic, slightly silly style invite for our Christmas party last year. Here it is. This green has definitely been one of my favorites this last year: c 60 m 5 y 95 k 0.