Thursday, December 20, 2012

Inspire Me Thursday

Hello lovelies... It's the last time I'm going to see you until Christmas!  I can't believe how quickly it's come on!  I don't know about you but I feel like the days leading up to Christmas suck the inspiration out of me!  Hopefully this collection will help you get some of that inspiration back...

The first ever Christmas card..printed in 1843..



















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This SNL skit gave me a laugh but of course since we're in Canada the only version I could find is a handy cam on you tube.  Still funny.

Happy Holidays!

Love Desiree



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Friday, December 14, 2012

Red and Green 2012

Good morning readers... can I get a TGIF??! One more week and it's officially Christmas holidays but Christmas pretty much started for me last Saturday with our 4th Annual Red and Green Party!  Ever since I've been totally filled with the holiday spirit...: )

This year was a quaint affair so we took the opportunity to have a traditional sit down Christmas dinner. A chance to bust out the china!  I used every chair I could find and 11 and a half of us, dressed in red and green of course, got cozy around our dining room table for a meal of epic proportions!  I love how our Red and Green party has become a yearly tradition in our circle of friends... I feel so lucky to have such a great group of people around me in this big city we live in far away from our own families and hometowns, this is our chance to celebrate the holidays together and show these beautiful people how much we love them.. : )

Setting the table was the first thing I did because presentation is everything.
I happily took Friday off to prepare... James and I spent the day making all the final arrangements...First up were the table gifts. A sweet treat to take home for later… a homemade chocolate brownie topped with salted caramel! I used this recipe and the sea salt we received from Amanda's wedding back in September…the combination was sinful!
By the time Saturday arrived everything was going according to plan… I had most of the side dishes ready and James was in charge of the main event…a 10lb roast beef he was cooking in Harley's apartment!  He even managed to whip up some yorkshire puddings down there.  Having a second kitchen can be pretty handy in times like these… 

All there was left to do was put on my fancy party dress! I got this little number at Exile in Kensington Market… Half the fun of the Red and Green is dressing up!

 Our guests began to arrive right on time decked out in their finest red and green!  It's so special to see the changes year after year... New babies, new loves, new friends, new jobs...: )
 Vivienne was the star of the show! Obviously...look at that smirk!
 I cracked open the champagne and started things off with my signature cocktail!
Hibiscus Flowers and Champagne! Aren't these beautiful!  I saw the recipe in my vintage tea party cookbook and knew it must be mine.
We have ridiculously good looking friends...


hmmmm...

  Studs...
Come on!
Vivienne didn't want to miss the party so she decided to delay her bedtime. We danced to reggae while Mom ate my delicious croissant cake!
Good times were had by all...
But before the night was over Mr. Hesp made sure to capture a fantastic group shot....This one will have to go in Viv's baby book...
Another successful Red and Green!

Thanks for reading!
xoxo
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Thursday, December 13, 2012

Inspire Me Thursday

Happy Thursday!!! It's only 12 days till Christmas and I'm pretty pumped about it!  Hope you're having a good week so far... Here's some inspirations...
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Thanks for reading!  Stay tuned for a post about our annual Red and Green Party!
Love Desiree
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