Category Archives: Celebrations

Christmas Decorating Ideas at Arhaus in the Galleria

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You would have a hard time convincing me to spend my free time wandering through stores most of the year, but at Christmas time, I find it becomes a little more fun.  I enjoy spending some time in decorated spaces, listening to recordings of Christmas carols, and in the midst of crowds of shoppers out to pick out the perfect presents for everyone on their list.  I do most of my actual Christmas shopping online, because it is just so much easier and more enjoyable to actually –shop- in the calm environment of my home, sitting by our Christmas tree.  Decking the halls is an important part of most people’s Christmas traditions so I wanted to share a peek at a recent excursion I made to Arhaus, a furniture and home design store that is a new arrival to the Galleria in Edina, Minnesota.   Cloche and Finials I recently discovered that Arhaus which has other locations around the country is full of inspiration for home decorating ideas, for the holidays, or any time of year.

Interesting Plate Bust Oval Frame Arrangement

There are vignettes throughout store, such as this interesting juxtaposition– a Greek or Roman bust, an ornate frame, a vase of dried greenery and flower-shaped plates mounted on a faux-painted wall.  Not everyone would want to recreate this display in their home, but it certainly gives ideas that grouping seemingly random items together can be an interesting way to display statement pieces along with items that might be hiding in the cupboard.

Moss, Silver Pinecones and Golden Pear Centerpeice at Arhaus

An ornament-adorned chandelier above the dining table topped with moss-lined bowls filled with silver pinecones and golden pears makes a stunning holiday tablescape and is an accessible idea that anyone could recreate at home.

Rooted Twigs in a Bottle

Employees are quick to explain that Arhaus employs shoppers throughout the world who acquire their one-of-a-kind, reclaimed items that are sold alongside their new, custom furniture and decor.  A piece of time-worn ornate Victorian trim makes an eye-catching shelf below a barnboard-framed mirror.  I love the simple bottle of rooted twigs sitting on the shelf.  I have a bottle just like this, and I have twigs, but encouraging twigs to root in a bottle is a fascinating decorative touch that had not occurred to me.

Seasonal Planters Outside the Galleria in Edina

Speaking of twigs, the planters outside the Galleria were done up with seasonal greenery, dried hydrangea, birch, huge pinecones and red twigs and are surprisingly similar to the planters outside my front door.  The only difference from my display is that my spruce branches, birch logs, dried stonecrop and red twigs were all scavenged from nature and saved when necessary garden and tree-pruning took place earlier in the fall.

Upside down Christmas Tree

The first time I saw a Christmas tree hanging upside-down from the ceiling, it bugged me, because–that is just not how Christmas trees are done–.  This manner of displaying a tree has grown on me.  This upside down ornament-adorned tree was grand and really lit up the room with Christmas splendor.

Watering Can Decor

Another unexpected display were these aluminum watering cans hanging from the ceiling in an irreverent display above a bed.  This isn’t going to work in everyone’s bedroom, but it could perhaps work in a sun porch or a mudroom, or outdoors outside of potting shed?Winter Scene in a Green HurricaneEveryone and their brother are making little winter scenes with tiny trees and animals nestled knee-deep in “snow,” which is sugar or fine sand in the bottom of vases, and in lids of upside down jars this year.  I think it is cute, cozy, homespun, vintage Christmas touch.  I won’t deny that I picked up a few, very reasonably priced little trees at Menards to make a winter display myself.  Aren’t we all trying to channel Christmas at Grandma’s house, into our homes around the holidays?  This tray topped with a green hurricane vase with a winter scene, pinecones, a glass bird and a grouping of other sparkling ornaments is another accessible Christmas design-idea that a trip through Arhaus afforded me.  Arhaus is a fun place to visit for fascinating home-design ideas for decorating at Christmas and throughout the year, and is worth the trip whether you want to shop or just browse.  What are your favorite sources of inspiration for home decor ideas?

 

Thanksgiving Preview

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Thanksgiving is only a few days away.  I am looking forward to it!  It will be our third year hosting my parents, in-laws and brother-in-law at our house.  Thanksgiving traditions have varied and evolved throughout my life from being celebrated in October (in Canada) to having a large gathering at my parents house or Bjorn’s Aunt and Uncle’s to a smaller gathering at our house.  This has become one of my favorite long weekends of the year being with both of our families, eating well, relaxing and having lots of laughs.  Here is a peek at last year’s Thanksgiving preparation and the resulting meal.  It is also a reliable preview of this year’s anticipated event.  There will some tweaks to the menu to keep things interesting, but we’ll serve our most-loved standbys to make sure everyone get their favorite traditional Turkey Day dish.

Meal Preparation:

1.  Our home from the front, framed by a gorgeous golden-leafed maple tree.  This year all of our leaves have fallen and have been raked and hauled away.  We’ve become much more zen about raking and hauling leaves this year.  It is a huge job, but we’re used to it, and we enjoy being outside in the fresh air and we love these gorgeous maples so much.  It sure is nice to have a cleaned up yard before snowfall this year.

2.  City Bread, drying out for stuffing.  City Bread is my favorite rye bread from Winnipeg which made the bulk of our stuffing last year.  We’re due to visit the ‘Peg, our freezer is empty!

3.  Last year I brined the Turkey using this recipe from Macheesmo.  Everyone reported the bird to be juicy and flavorful and despite concerns, I was pleased that I could still make a tasty gravy using the drippings.  This year I am not brining the bird.  Bjorn is brining a bone-in turkey breast that he will smoke, so I’m skipping that step since my roast turkey will play second fiddle.  I wouldn’t roast a turkey, but we simply must so that we can make gravy!

4.  Our little house from the back, again the maple leaves last year were gorgeous.  This year, with the leaves down the focal point of this view of our house is the new roof, which is cottage red.  I love it, but I’m waiting for some finishing work to be done in front before I post pictures.

5.  Toasting sage from the garden for my Mosaic Stuffing.  I call my dressing Mosaic Stuffing because I clean out my freezer and use up the random loaves, rolls and bread ends that I’ve been hoarding in the freezer for the last few months.  I love using a variety of bread with different flavors and textures as a basis for my dressing. I follow my Mom’s dressing recipe which comes together on the spot with her coaching.  It is a simple recipe with bread, butter, sautéed onions, celery, salt, pepper, sage, broth and milk, similar to the recipe from the 1967 edition of the Betty Crocker cookbook but with some extra love and instinct as to seasonings, amount of milk and cooking time.  We like it crispy on top and moist in the middle.

6.  Sauteing celery and onions in butter for the stuffing.

7.  Two pans of stuffing, one for today, and the next for the equally important Leftovers Meal, eaten tomorrow.

8.  We round out our plates with a variety of roasted root vegetables:  carrots, parsnip, and beets, coated lightly in olive oil and tossed with a generous handful of chopped fresh herbs.

9.  Last year I grew one square foot of turnips which we saved for Thanksgiving.

10.  Bjorn made the turnips into a Turnip Puff.  It was a tasty vegetarian side dish, though it isn’t on the menu this year since we didn’t grow turnips!

11.  Scalloped Corn is another Thanksgiving standby which will be repeated this year, except this year I am going to add more whole corn kernels as well as creamed corn and bake it in a cast-iron skillet.

12.  We make a huge pot of creamy, buttery mashed potatoes because everyone loves them.  I was very disappointed by the potato selection last year at Lunds– by the time I got there to shop, so many of the potatoes were green.  This year I bought a bushel basket of Yukon golds from the Saint Paul Farmer’s Market.  There isn’t exactly a crowd shopping at the market this late in the season, so I had my pick of potatoes and the friendly seller assured me they had just been dug and wouldn’t be green by Thursday.  Shrinking the carbon footprint of our meal where I can, and having my selection of freshly dug potatoes is win-win in my book.

13.  It is an all-hands-on-deck meal situation at our house.  I haul out the roaster, use the crock pot and have every precious square inch of kitchen counter and table space in use to prepare this meal.

14.  In contrast to the last two years, I bought a turkey from Lunds instead of from the Farmer’s Market this year.  I haven’t had a lot of success buying a local turkey.  I stood in line for two hours in 2010 to pick up a monstrous golden turkey, and could hardly thaw myself or get the bird cooked in time to eat the next day.  Last year, our pre-ordered “fresh” local turkey was frozen and missing a wing.  I’m willing to pay for quality locally grown meat, but when I’m paying a premium, I need to be assured that quality will be delivered.  This year, I wanted a smaller bird and so I went the easy route.  Yes, I do feel a bit guilty for not buying totally local when I can, but I decided to give myself a break.  I am much happier with a completely fresh, free range bird which weighs about 12 pounds.  I will be stuffing the bird with herbs and fruit, and covering it with butter and bacon, which is a family tradition, passed down from my Grammie.

Grammie roasting a huge turkey topped with bacon.  Look at that Golden Bird!  

15.  Even though I used an electric roaster and crock pot, the oven was packed.  I’m planning fewer dishes this year so we should have oven space to spare.

16.  We will set the table using our Mikasa Cameo Platinum wedding china.  It is simple and clean-looking, and I love it.  This year, we have the full set including gravy boat!  I am going to warm up the table decor a little bit this year, more candles, more colour, though the plated food will remain the focal point.

The Thanksgiving Meal:

1.  Get a load of that plate of food!  You will note that we enjoy both traditional cranberry sauce made by my mother-in-law, and jellied from a can.  We also are so very fortunate that my mother-in-law and Bjorn’s Grandma make lefse together.  My Dad and Grandfather were born in Norway, but they moved to Canada without packing their traditional Norwegian recipes, so I am pretty pleased to have married into a family in which the lefse-making tradition is going strong.  I have had a lesson from Bjorn’s Grandma, and I will share that some time.

2.  Mashed potatoes topped with chopped chives.  I dried tons of herbs from our garden which I will use in Thanksgiving dishes and throughout the winter.  This is a meal where I splurge on fresh herbs, though hopefully never again after this year, since I’m planning to plant a little indoor herb garden soon.  They make everything look great and they add wonderful flavor and color that I love to see on our Thanksgiving table.

3.  “Don’t drown your food” was a catchphrase from educational children’s public television.  That message sunk deep into my brain.  This is the one time of year I ignore it.  To me, pumpkin pie is only to be served with a mighty dollop of sweetened, freshly whipped cream.

4.  What is my key to a stress-free Thanksgiving?  Say “yes” when people offer to bring things, especially things you aren’t good at making.  I have never in all my born days baked a pie.  If we’re lucky, maybe I never will.  Thanks Mom!

5.  The table looks festive once it is covered in an array of platters topped with appealing, sumptuous Thanksgiving standards.  We’re ready to dig in!

6.  Another impressive plate of food, this one topped with the brined, roasted turkey.  You can see the lovely roasted golden beets on the right of the plate.  They will be making an appearance again at our Thanksgiving table this year.

7.  My immediate family, from left to right, my Mom, mother-in-law; brother-in-law, Dad, father-in-law and my darling Bjorn.

8.  Another view of the table, close enough to see the roast turkey, carved and arranged by Bjorn, and a gorgeous platter of carrots and parsnip covered in herbs.

9.  We have a buffet in our dining room which holds the dinner-table overflow.  Here, wine bottles are ready to top-up our glasses, dressing stays warm in the crock, and scalloped corn and turnip puff are ready to be devoured.

10.  My Mom’s homemade pumpkin pie.  Pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving is a homey tradition we can’t do without and her pie hits the spot.

11.  The men all managed to nod off for a well-timed nap right after the meal was over.  I have to wonder if tryptophan is the cause, or if they’re employing well-timed dish-washing avoidance strategy?!

12.  Later in the day we manage some how to get hungry again.  We set a less formal table with sandwich fixings and haul out the turkey platter.

13.  We round out the turkey sandwich meal with salty snacks and cookies that my Mom and Val bring.  We’ll have a full-fledged Leftovers Meal tomorrow.

We have so much to be thankful for and we are so truly grateful, wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving week.  

Backyard Baby Shower for Betsy

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I have a small group of girlfriends from school who all live around the Twin Cities with their wonderful husbands and significant others.  We all have busy lives, so we don’t see as much of each other as we could before we all grew up and joined the workforce, but we manage to keep in touch by making sure every big event in each of our lives is celebrated.  There are 5 of us in total which means we all get a chance to host small group celebrations every time someone gets engaged, married or has a baby, or in the lulls between those milestones, someone hosts a brunch or a game night.  In early September, I hosted a baby shower for Betsy, who was expecting a baby girl.  This is the chevron shower invite that I created at ontobaby.com, a great website that I happened upon that allows you to customize colors and content and create many neat things for free, and then print them, or send them out via email as a PDF.  Since the shower, teeny little Vivian Kiyoko arrived, and she is beautiful and I am so thrilled for Betsy and her husband, Sam that they are parents of this perfect little person.

Like most easygoing and enjoyable parties, this one started with advanced preparation.  I made a full recipe of Martha Stewart’s Corn and Zucchini Orzo Salad.  The salad was lemony with juice of 3 lemons and zest, kicky from the jalapenos from our garden, tasty and light, but the recipe, which reports to yield 6 servings yields something closer to 16 servings.   I guess the pound of orzo pasta, 6 medium zucchini and 6 ears of corn should have been a tip-off.  Everyone loved the salad and it made for some good leftovers the next week for lunch.  I served the crumbled feta in a separate bowl so each person could add their own.  Somewhere along the line while preparing for the shower I read an article about all the things pregnant and nursing moms aren’t supposed to eat, so anything that could vaguely be construed to be unpasteurized or uncured was served separately, even though most of my groceries probably satisfied both of these pregnant-person dietary requirements.  I’m a vegetarian in a mostly meat-eating world, so I am (over)sensitive to this sort of thing. I am so glad that Tea Sandwiches and Deviled Eggs are back in vogue.  I like both of these baby shower classic snacks, so I made both.  Tea Sandwiches are perfect baby shower bites–they are small, cute and girly.  I made cucumber tea sandwiches with cream cheese and chives, and smoked salmon tea sandwiches with the same spread.  Both the sandwiches and classic deviled eggs were yummy.   Decorations are one of the things that make a gathering into a party, so even though this is a small shower with a group of girls who gather with some regularity and don’t rely on pretense, I had to decorate.  Betsy was expecting a girl, I took that as license to go pink. I cut dots out of pink felt and strung them into a garland on embroidery floss.  Each felt dot is secured to the embroidery thread with two hand-stitched french knots.  [Try saying that five times fast.]  I stuck these around the patio with pink striped washi tape. I also hung pink tissue paper balls from the house and our patio lights with washi tape. I bought little pots of pink mums; hearty ones, like the moms and moms-to-be at the shower.  I wrapped the pots in poufy pink tissue paper, shiny clear wrapping paper and secured the paper to each pot with a wide pink ribbon, tied in a bow.  The hearty mums decorated the table and served as a little favor for each person to take home. I marked every person’s place at the table with a plant stake topped with a pink polka-dot name card that I made with a strip of card stock, further embellished with washi tape that I stuck into the pot of mums at each place. To round out our lunch I served antipasto skewers which consist of golden cherry tomatoes, marinated artichoke heart quarters, salami, fresh mozzarella, marinated mushrooms, peppers and seasoned olives from the grocery store olive bar threaded on to short bamboo skewers, dressed lightly with balsamic vinaigrette and garnished with fresh flat-leaf parsley from our garden. I set up a buffet table on the patio so that we could help ourselves to food and drink while we relaxed and talked.  I set out pink tumblers and reusable striped straws as well as champagne glasses out so everyone could pour their own pink lemon-aid Arnie Palmers  from drink dispensers and San Pelligrino sparkling water from the bottle which was sitting on ice.  I also set out bottles of fruity Joaia and Izzy’s soda, and of course, we popped a bottle of champagne.  I served mixed nuts, mints and bridge mix in a cut glass candy dish, another nod to classic baby shower fare that I am happy to revive. Desert was simple and totally a highlight.  I whipped cream and stirred in sugar and vanilla, and sliced strawberries and blueberries which macerated in sugar in the fridge.  The whipped cream and fruit were a delicious topping to a white cake made in a bundt pan, served with coffee. Betsy took home a nice assortment of cute baby gear, books, clothes and other essentials, and this cute Locally Grown Clothing Co Minnesota onesie.  Nice pick, Alison. September was a busy month!  Having to buy a new car and getting a new roof for our house and a few trips out of town took the time I’d normally devote to blogging, but I’m back and planning to share a few “catch up” posts about the fun we’ve been having, stop back!

Lovely Labor Day

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Labour Day Weekend 2012 was probably the best on the books.  We were at the lake with my parents;  truly a magical place that we get to enjoy all year round.  The weather was perfect this year, so we filled the hours with our favorite summer pass times: boating, swimming, water-skiing, bon fires, leisurely meals, visiting family, a great meal at Companeros, 4-wheeling, sunsets, coffee on the dock, magazines, garden strolls, board games, long talks and lots of laughs.  It was the best.

Thoughts on 32

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My face doesn’t show up on this blog often because I’m usually the one taking the pictures. I just had a birthday so I thought I’d come out from behind the camera for a moment while I think about being 32.  Having a birthday in early July means that when you turn the corner to calling yourself a new number, you are also turning the corner on half of the calendar year’s passing.  I have always found this time of year to arrive with the same feelings as a year ends and a new one beginning–it makes me look forward and backwards at the same time.

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31 was a great year. Many of the best moments were spent enjoying time with Bjorn, with family and with friends near and far.  Some great additions to the last year of my life occurred by design.  We got to travel to see new places and friends who we don’t see as often as we’d like–this was thrilling after several years without.  I made more time for hobbies, a little reading, lots of cooking and more writing.  Some of the best times were day-to-day moments at home, in our garden, or banging pots and pans in the kitchen making dinner.  Trying new things like preparing a meal for a youth safe house in our neighbourhood, Bjorn brewing beer (more on that some other day) and striving for more simplicity have enriched our routine.  Some memorable moments were the result of surprise–in one week going up on stage to “spin the wheel” to select the set list at a Yo La Tengo concert at the 400 Bar, and not long after, having my name pulled out of a hat and winning a Minnesota Vikings-sponsored trip to Cancun.  I have a feeling that this year will bring unexpected high points–surprises borne seemingly from coincidence and others from the predictable–doing the things I love, being with the people I love.  One realization I had recently after watching the Walkmen perform at First Avenue a few Saturdays ago was that seeing a great band perform is still worth staying up late for and even made me feel like I dialed back my age a few years.  Another realization I had is that my ideal birthday is spent in the lake, floating, swimming and enjoying the day in the presence of family and good friends.  I look forward to new discoveries, both small and great.  I am grateful for 31 years rich in family, friends, fun and happiness.  I am happy to welcome this new age.  As Hamilton Leithauser of the Walkmen sang with determination and intensity a couple of weekends ago, “I know that it’s true –it’s going to be a good year!!”