Hello, can you believe its the Sunday before Christmas? Amazing how time has flown! I was SO touched by all of your emails from my last post….literally they brought tears to my eyes (click here if you missed that post). You are the reason I will likely blog until I am old and gray:)

It has been a busy week and ended with our 2nd family Christmas party last night. It was a lot of fun, a lot of work and today I am looking forward to some relaxation (and leftovers-best part)? then heading into the city later. Nothing quite like NYC at Christmas though I must admit I have always dreamed of being in Rome for Christmas and hope one day to make that a reality….it must be magical!

OK onto my Seven on Sunday….

 

1 GIFTS FROM MY READERS AND CUSTOMERS. I am so touched and humbled by various things I have received lately for Christmas. I feel so fortunate to have made the connections that I have so to receive these generous and incredibly thoughtful gifts is just so wonderful and really warms my heart! THANK YOU! Check out some of the amazing goodies I have received……

ADORE this stationery complete with gift tags, notecards and adorable pagoda notepads from Laurie of LB Original fame, GORGEOUS!

I used the little gifttags on a “party favor” I gave out the other night when a group of friends took me out for a belated birthday dinner, filled my Enchanted Home mugs with mini flowers and wrapped them up with the pretty pagoda tag-

And this incredible box of? the Frontgate STUNNING blue and white ginger jar ornaments from an amazingly thoughtful reader/client, THANK YOU! I want to get a little tree to put maybe in my dining room and have it be exclusively a blue and white tree….think it’s very fitting!

And this scrumptious box of amazing treats from Savannah Candy Kitchen (a danger zone) from? another reader/customer…..

And another huge box of honeybells straight from Florida that we ate so fast, didn’t have time to snap a picture!

What about this darling desktop calendar in it’s own beautiful acrylic holder? from Nico and Lala? Just love it…..

And from Annabel Ingall this Christmas card with a beautiful little wallet tucked inside…..now thats my kind of Christmas card:)

And from another vendor, they sent this beautiful padded wood box with this beautiful white porcelain bud vase, will go right on my end table-

And of course the magnificent work of art from Rosa Clifford–

 

2. INSTAGRAMS OF INTEREST Every week I share with you what has delighted, inspired and amused me on Instagram. I am always amazed at how on any given week, there is so much to love! It is seemingly endless. Here is my round up from this week with a heavy dose on the holidays of course…..

 

3. ONE AMAZING PUNCH RECIPE! If you have ever been to the iconic Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle NY which really is the quintessential NY/jazz experience…you have likely tried their famed punch. Well the secret is out and so is the recipe! I made it last weekend for the family Christmas party #1 and suffice to say it was a hit not to mention awfully pretty!

THE CARLYLE PUNCH

1 ounce Southern Comfort

1 1/2 ounces Raspberry Vodka

1 1/2 ounces Cranberry Juice

1 ounce Orange Juice

1 ounce ST-GERMAIN

1 ounce Simple Syrup

1 to 3 dashes of Bitters

Splash of Champagne

Method

In a shaker, combine ice with the Southern Comfort, Stolichnaya Raspberry, St. Germain liqueur, simple syrup, orange juice, cranberry juice,?and fresh lime juice.

Pour in a cognac glass over?ice and finish with three?dashes of Angostura bitters and a splash of champagne. Garnish with blueberries and raspberries.

4 BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES. I love nothing more than my family being together, lighting the fire and watching a classic Christmas movie. Normally the boys give me a hard time at first but then I lure them with popcorn, candy and a snuggly blanket and sure enough…we soon all are sitting down as a family for a movie marathon:)

A few that epitomize Christmas to me are The Holiday, Elf, Home Alone, Miracle on 34th St, Home Alone and so many more. Do you have a favorite? Here is a nifty little reminder just in case you are looking for one to watch…….do you have a favorite?

5. TEDDY READY FOR CHRISTMAS. My genius idea for my Christmas card pictures which included my three sons with Santa hats on and Teddy dressed as Santa never materialized. If I didn’t know better I would swear he has been sulking for not getting to be on the Christmas card! So I thought he deserved a little “press time” by showing you Teddy in his “ugly Christmas sweater” . He is such a good sport:)

6. Thankfully Patricia of PVE saved the day as far as cards go! I spotted this gorgeous drawing of hers and asked if she could make them into last minute Christmas cards and she whipped them around so fast, before I knew it,? I was addressing them and getting them out the door. I still have 2 more batches to complete,? that’s what Mondays are for….all the last minute things to do! Click here to visit PVE

7. ASPEN AT CHRISTMASTIME. How picture perfect is this place! I think it vies for top Christmas town alongside Woodstock, Vermont. So magical and gorgeous and of course with the guarantee of snow…it’s a winter wonderland! Have a friend who is there now, and texted me that they have been getting snow showers almost every day…..think I am having snow withdrawals (I say that until our first big snow then? I will be ready for spring:)

Hard to believe it’s less than 1 week till Christmas. For those of you eagerly awaiting the porcelain container, it is due in this week! I am crossing my fingers it will come in without any delay because of Christmas. I have a small group ready to spring into action to get it unloaded and start getting orders out right away.

With my hosting duties behind me (yay) I can now fully concentrate on finishing up last minute Christmas preparations and various odds and ends that fell to the wayside this week. Thanks for stopping in, hope this finds you in the holiday spirit and not working too hard:) Until next time…..