Comments : 32

Hello! Happy Sunday! First I have three winners to announce, one is the winner of the cashmere sweater and two lucky winners for the box of ornaments. Congrats goes to

Cashmere sweater winner- #125 LINDA

Two winners for the box of ornaments- #102 MJ MOORE and #82 SHERRIE

Please email me with your shipping addresses so these goodies can be on their merry way!

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Hope you are having a wonderful weekend, we had a great and so relaxing dinner with special friends last night, kind of a “pre birthday” party for me. My birthday is next week! And went to an incredible shower yesterday…I will be sure to share pics on my random musings later this week.

If there is a theme for today, it’s going to be productivity with a capital P!  Today is the day that I plan to make major headway on my holiday decorating, gift wrapping, planter redo’s, yes I have a lot on my plate today but it will be all done at home so I will take my time.

And you……are you done with all your holiday decorating or also in full holiday decor mode? As I do every Sunday, I am sharing seven things on my mind. Here we go….

1 A BEAUTY BOX FROM FRANCE! So we all know the whole box craze has become really popular, beauty boxes, tech boxes, there are even boxes for pets now. Well the newest just might be the best…a box straight out of France. It is the brainchild of my friend Sharon Santoni from My French Country Home. Yes “poor” Sharon has to live in Normandy, France so is a bonafide expert on all things French.  She is to me, a French Martha Stewart, the same one who brought us My French Stylish Girlfriends and whose videos make me want to jump on a plane within the next hour (click here to see a few).

This idea was born out of the concept that nearly all women are obsessed with all things French….and I will certainly attest to that.  So what better treat to yourself than to receive a quarterly box surprise box filled with all things French delivered right to your door. Oui oui!

This will be a subscription service where you can sign up for the year or just try it one time. There will be a wide variety of goodies included which will be garden, beauty, home, kitchen related. Gifts are full sized and all from iconic French brands…so exciting!

I  know many women who would love to give this to themselves for Christmas and I am one of them! Click here to learn more

 

2. HOLIDAY APPETIZERS. So as we are in the holiday season, many will be entertaining on either a big or small scale We will have our family Christmas party in a week  and because of my work schedule I am catering it this year….making it easy on myself. But I do love doing the appetizers as let’s face it, that’s the fun part!

I will be doing my big antipasta spread, my much anticipated baked brie and two others. Both of these below I have made recently and they are sooooo good. The crab balls are so tasty and I like serving them in small cups with a dollop of remoulade sauce. Plus a third one that I have not tried but just may for this party, it looks elegant and so festive.

Crab balls-

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1 lb. Back fin Crabmeat
1 Egg, beaten
1 cup Ritz Crackers, crushed
1 tsp. Yellow Mustard
2 tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice
2 tbsp. Fresh Parsley, chopped
1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

Place crabmeat in a mixing bowl, picking any stray shell fragments out. Add crushed crackers, Old Bay Seasoning & parsley to the crab. In a separate bowl, combine egg, mustard, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Whip with a whisk until smooth. Pour egg mixture over the crabmeat and crackers and gently mix careful not to break up large lumps of crabmeat. Mold into golfball sized balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Drizzle w/ melted butter and allow to cool.

And the asparagus straws just look so elegant and are extremely flavorful.

Asparagus Straws

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    • 24 asparagus spears, woody ends trimmed
    • 6 sheets of phyllo dough, thawed if frozen
    • 3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
    • 12 thin slices prosciutto (6 oz) cut in half crosswise
    • 4 oz. parmesan cheese, grated on the medium holes of a box grater.
  • Heat the oven to 400°F.  Unfold the pastry sheets on a lightly floured surface.  Sprinkle Parmesan on each sheet. Cut into 1 inch “strips”. After washing and trimming the asparagus, I carefully wrap one thin slice of prosciutto around each spear.
  • Then gently twist the one inch strip of puff pastry around each spear (brushing with butter is optional). Put in oven and bake for about 12 minutes or until golden brown. Midway through baking I always sprinkle these with a pinch of Parmesan to give it that extra little zesty bite! These are of course best when you can server them right when they are done….always a hit!

BRIE AND POMEGRANTE CROSTINI

 This simple and elegant appetizer has gorgeous flavors and stunning colors. It’s sure to be a hit at your next get together!

  • 2 tbsp Flat leaf parsley
  • 1/4 cup Pomegranate seeds
  • Can add pistachio nuts on to
  • 1 cup Balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp Brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 French baguette
  • 8 Wt oz brie cheese
  • 1/4 cup Pama pomegranate liqueur

 

3. INSTAGRAMS OF INTEREST So much beauty and inspiration this week,  it’s over the top! Had fun gathering this incredible round up of my faves this week……

And my favorite this week has to be this, because well….just seeing my ornaments throughout Instagram always brings a smile to my face and this looks so darn pretty!

 

4. HOLIDAY GIFT WRAPPING I am just getting started but thought I would share. Yes,  this year feeling like a late bloomer but I am starting to rev up my engine and today is designated to be “the” day to get lots done!  My theme this year is gold, blue and green. I love getting creative and it’s a lot easier than you think.

Even walking into your yard and clipping some fresh greenery is a great idea, throw on a few acorns and make sure your hot glue gun is ready. Of course I loved using the ornaments as adornments for those special gifts. Candy canes, small jingle bells, pine cones…it all works beautifully. Here is what I have so far-

 5.CHINOISERIE TOLE! I just got in a BEAUTIFUL shipment of lamps and lanterns on Friday, I will offer them up for an arrival  sale in the next week or so, they are sooo pretty. I am so excited to show you everything! And take a look at these gorgeous bathroom pieces coming in after the holidays…

6. WIN A TRIP TO FRANCE? Yes, this is not a typo!!! This is an unbelievable opportunity for one lucky winner to win a trip to Provence….can you imagine, that is the ultimate!! Another stylish friend, Vicki owns the most beautiful charming home in Provence and is offering a one week stay as a giveaway.  Vicki has the most beautiful taste and this Le Petit Bijou is nothing less than perfectly charmingly beautiful.

Vicki is the force behind the iconic French brand, French Essence, and author of a few favorite books on all things French. This is a really amazing opportunity to step into her world!

This is something you most definitely do not want to miss out on. It is so easy to enter and the lucky winner is going to be announced on Dec. 19th, talk about the ultimate Christmas present!! Here is the link to enter-

http://vickiarcher.com/2016/12/celebrate-win-week-provence/

And a few pics of this little gem-

 

7  SUNDAY’S SURVEY This is about basic manners. I grew up with parents who were hyper vigilant about teaching my sister and I manners. I have tried hard to make sure my own kids were brought up the same and if I hear one thing about them often, its that they are very polite. This is really important to me. I am however amazed at how many people are lacking a basic simple code of good manners.

What is it with society today that manners seem to have taken a back seat to everything else? Am I alone? Or have you seen this trend as well? I have observed it so much lately,  it seems like it happens on a daily basis. The way I see people talking to each other, the rage I see with fellow drivers, rarely giving courtesy to someone else, its everywhere and it’s really upsetting.

Just yesterday I was at a market and walking out, see a woman who was trying to back out of her parking space but someone else was purposely blocking her, so she got out to see what was going on and the guy told her “you took too long to leave” so now I am going to make YOU wait”. Can you  imagine? He was so incensed and outraged, it was actually scary. He then called her an expletive and angrily got in his car and sped away.

I realize I am powerless but the only thing I can do is to try and lead by example. Always saying please and thank you and showing courtesy and respect, a little kindness goes a long way. What do you have to say about this?

 

There you have what’s on my mind this Sunday. Anything there get your attention? I so appreciate you making  me a part of your Sunday, I love when I hear from my readers how reading my Sunday post has become a bit of  a special routine they look forward to every Sunday morning.

Trust me, I love putting these posts together just as much as you  might enjoy reading them and when things are uber busy as they are now, this is really my little refuge aka my happy place.

OK off to get busy decorating, enjoy your day and hope you have a wonderful end to your weekend. Until next time…..

PS So many email about the ornaments, it did not go quite as planned in that the new site did not launch when it was supposed to and I decided to put it aside until after Christmas so the blue/white ornaments have been added to my current site  (click here) a few days ago and the colored ornaments can be seen at this post (click here). You can email your order in to [email protected]. Guaranteed Christmas delivery for all orders placed by Dec. 18th.


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I could not agree with you more Tina in regards to a lack of manners with our younger society. I think what upsets me the most is when you get an invitation to an event and they do not respond. When you take the time and the expense to order an invitation and mail it and the recipient doesn’t have the courtesy to respond, it’s just rude! I wish we could all go back in time where manners were fashionable!

Have often heard it said that it would only take one generation for us to lose touch with civility and it has happened. At our grocery store my neighbors car has been hit twice and mine once and the culprit did not stop to give insurance info or say sorry. And I find women to be the rudest drivers. How did that Happen? What I do know for sure is those that shout the loudest about intolerance are the least tolerant. Am I sick of that word? You bet! We have become tolerant of the sickest things. Go figure.

Yes, basic manners are disappearing! A friend’s daughter recently got married, and although she thanked me in person for her gift (only because we happened to see each other)she confessed that she and hubby did not send out Thank You notes! This is shocking to me….all those people taking the time, effort and expense to get her a nice gift, and she and hubby are to lazy to even write notes! ……..Anyway, thank you again for a fun and informative post…I can’t wait to try the appetizers!

One of your BEST EVER, Tina….on the manners subject alone. It “distresses” me to the ultimate…I’ve never seen anything like it the past several years. Now…”off to the mines!!” franki

I almost got hit by a car yesterday. I was crossing a parking lane and a woman in the right lane went to the left lane that I was almost in and kept going. I wasHalfway across but she didn’t take time to stop. It makes me so sad. Some people have no regard for others just thinking about their own agenda. I work retail at Williams Sonoma and most people are nice but you always get the one who is demanding and mean. It can really shake me up

Tina, I couldn’t agree more about the lack of manners today. It is shocking and disheartening, and I see it every day down here in the gentile and mannerly South! On another note, could you share whose lovely vignette you showed above, of the stairway and antique chest and sweet chair? I’d love to follow them.
Thanks for brightening my Sunday morning.

It is absolutely disgraceful how too many in the NY area behave, whether it’s the lack of manners or an underlying current of aggression and selfishness. And it’s gotten worse over the years. Manners are one of the things I miss most about Toronto: you can be walking your dog in the morning and a stranger will say “Good morning” as you pass, and respond when you say “Good morning” to them, instead of looking at you as though you have two heads! It’s a very Southern way of behaving and it seems to have all but disappeared, as if the bad behavior of this past election cycle gave the rest of us permission to follow suit! Some women are offended when they are called ‘M’am’ by someone Southern, while I actually appreciate their good manners.
I’m with you, Tina: children need to be taught manners from Day One. If you teach children to use ‘please’ and ‘thank-you’ and they hear you using these words whether you are speaking to them or others, manners become second nature. Good manners and behaving in a civilized manner costs us nothing!
I have a friend who bought her children personalized stationary from a very early age and writing thank-you notes is ingrained in them. For a newly married couple to not send out thank-you notes (not an email or god forbid, a tweet) is just inexcusable! (And why is the bride’s mother not all over her to make this right?) You spend $50k for a wedding and you don’t have $150 for nice stationary and a few stamps?
People think that’s it’s the size of your home or the brand of the handbag you carry that gives you class, when actually, it all comes down to how you treat people. Want to find out if you should work for someone who has offered you a job? Go out to lunch with them and watch how they treat the wait staff. Chances are that if they are abusive and patronizing to the ‘hired help’ that you won’t be treated much better once you’re on board.
Unfortunately we’ve become a reality-tv society – and how the heck did we allow this to happen? It’s big ratings when two women are filmed in a cat-fight and screaming at one another. People feel it’s their right to say and do whatever they want in the moment with no filter. And how sad is it that our young women prefer to emulate women who dress and behave like trailer trash rather than Princess Di or Jackie Kennedy?
Thank-you for the recipes, those crab bites look delicious!
Happy holiday decorating all!

Good morning, dear Tina. Having a cup of joe and reading your “Seven.” Your wrapped gifts are simply the prettiest. How does someone open such beauty?!? Don’t get me started talking about manners. Ugh! I believe good manners should be started early. “Please” and “thank you” should be taught as the child learns to speak. Now I’m going to step down off of my soap box and finish my decorating. Have a great week.

Love your posts! Always get excited when I see a new post pop up in my email.
Can you tell me where you purchased the beautiful blue ribbon ?

Hi Tina – I voted in the “other” button. I think people have their virtual worlds set up. Perhaps it feels safer than the real world these days. The connection is lost, isolation sets in, and courtesy and kindness fall by the wayside. I agree with Joan, what is so hard about smiling and saying Good Morning?

Tina, you have a beautiful blog. Thanks for sharing your lovely home and your life. Seven on Sunday is my favorite!

The lack of manners and the aggression witnessed on a daily basis is appalling. What has happened to society? Having said that, I’m not going to waste another minute thinking about it but get on with my busy day with a long walk in the snow and an afternoon Christmas party ( with people with manners ).

I taught school for over thirty years. I saw the digression of manners slipping ever so slowly. It was such a sad thing, and sadly the poem, Children Learn What They Live, has never been truer than today. They emulate what the habits of those with whom they live. That which is important to parents will become important to them.
Thank you for this beautiful (as usual) post. You make my day again and again. May you be blessed for the joy you bring to others.

My mother ingrained into me us the importance of writing thank you notes. As a child, we were allowed to play with our Christmas gifts on Christmas Day, then boxed up and back under the tree until our thank you notes were written. This began before I could even print, when I drew a picture or made a hand print. To this day I always send thank you notes for any gift or kindness on one of my dozen personalized correspondence cards and people are always so appreciative that they often thank me for the thank you note! It is so easy and takes just a minute. When I send a gift and don’t receive a thank you note, that’s the last gift that person ever receives!

Happy Sunday Tina! ..well on the subject of manners, I am appalled when adults act so childish and tantrum in public. Our society has been on a “it’s all about me and my needs” path for a while now and I do hope people begin to take more responsibility for their lives, family, and personal behavior as we begin a New Year.

Anyway …..on to those crab balls:} WHOA! I will try these next time I entertain ~ yum! Your gift wrapping is always amazing and I need to get going on my own. Enjoy your Sunday! leslie

You’re never too young to be taught manners. I did this for my two daughters before they were born, I had simple but sweet note cards made up for them, imprinted with their beautiful names. After they were born, whenever we received a gift for the baby, I would send a thoughtful thank you note, from the baby, on their personalized note cards. I enjoyed doing it and the friends and family enjoyed receiving them. My children, not only learned the importance of sending a thank you note, but now continue with their own young children.

Thank you, Tina, for taking the time to express your thoughts on manners, and giving us this time to pause and reflect.
Happy decorating!

I think the lack of manners and etiquette goes hand in hand with the attack on political correctness. Republicans and Trump in particular have campaigned on destroying being polite, basically saying that is incorrect. I also don’t see this as being just a problem with the younger generation. Seniors at Trumps campaigns cheer when he is rude, aggressive and demeaning. Political correctness, civility and manners need to be appreciated and championed in our society.

Tina, I agree and lament the lack of manners displayed by some folk. It really does begin with the parents teaching their children good manners at home. Now, that I got that out the way, you take gift wrapping to another level! Those snacks look divine, hope to give them a try over the holidays

Thank you again, Tina, for your keen observation of the human condition and the interesting commentary that followed. When we were growing up, any lack of manners or misbehavior on our part would generate my mother’s “look” that shook us to the soles of our feet. Not a word was spoken, no comment was necessary. The “look” said everything that needed saying. A lost art, perhaps?

THANK YOU for the comments about manners. I’m a southern girl born and raised and proud of it. Like you, the one comment I’ve received over the years about our girls are their manners. And it’s sad when your child recognizes when other children are behaving badly and comment that we, their parents, would never have allowed it. Kids for the most part do learn by example good and bad. Parenting is hard but on days when I feel I wasn’t the mother I wanted to be but then my girls talk about how grateful they are for their upbringing, maybe I wasn’t so bad. When I was a flight attendant many years ago, non southerners always liked to hear my accent and said we from the south were so pleasant and mannerly. Now that ATL is now becoming the 2nd largest movie/tv production center in the country of which one daughter and my retired pilot husband work in, almost ALL outside production folks talk about how their ideas of the south and it’s people are soooo different from what they had thought. So “yes Virginia ” manners are alive and well in some places but quickly fading away. What a shame! Nothing is better than the surprised look on someone’s face when you say please and thank with a sincere smile on your face. Maybe that one small thing changed their life or at least their day. Oh, and by the way…MERRY CHRISTMAS or any other holiday or celebration that might be a part of peoples’ lives. We are a free and blessed nation and those who aren’t tolerant don’t know what hey are missing !

The south use to be known for their manners but that is a thing of the past now. If your handicapped no one cares they will get in line in front of you or take a seat even if you need one. I still believe in being courteous it doesn’t cost me anything. Another sad thing no one says Merry Christmas any more !!!!!!

I DO and so does my family. If someone observes something else we are happy to share that with them. Thats love and tolerance not PC!

You are the best present wrapper that I have ever seen. I need to take some tips from you 🙂

You are so correct about the manners! I am a school teacher and I’m appalled at how disrespectful kids are to adults and other students. I agree with everyone who said that it begins at home. I have 4 children of my own, so I know how hard it is to instill manners but it must be done!!

Squee!! I’m so excited you picked me to win a box of ornaments- thank you so much! I love love love them!

Okay Jane #19 comment or, I am going to take the high road with your snide comment. Please don’t put Republicans and Trump supporters in 1 bucket, yes, I am both. I was born and raised in Texas until I got married, I know all about respect, how to give and how to take it. Jane, you have a good day. Thank you Tina.

Totally agree with you about the lack of manner s today. Adults are as bad (or worse) as their kids. Parents need to teach by example. I truly worry about what this world will be like in the years to come if we don’t start displaying kindness and courtesy toward others. On a happier note, your new bathroom accessories are beautiful. And I can’t wait to try that crab appetizer recipe. Looks delicious!

I think the lack of manners is really a manifestation of a lack of empathy, concern, kindness, and gratitude that plagues our society.

On a positive note, it only takes a single gesture to snap people out of their funk. Last week I was at the grocery store, and behind me was a woman with two kids and BOTH were wailing mad. People were staring and audibly groaning. I didn’t just feel for this woman, I’ve BEEN this woman! So I immediately knew what to do next, I let her get ahead of me. She was shocked and so grateful. The kids were immediately distracted putting things on the belt, and within a few moments all was right with the world. I noticed everyone who had been groaning had stopped and were relieved to see the kids snap out of it.

SELF ABSORPTION is the culprit, people just get so stuck in their own worries and negativity. So my attitude is no matter what society accepts I’m gonna keep showing concern, empathy, kindness, and gratitude and who knows, maybe someone will follow my lead!

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