What I Have Been Up To This Past Month...part 1

In the middle of December, Phillip and I hosted our Annual Christmas Dinner. I can't be certain, but I think this was our 5th or 6th dinner. It has become my favorite holiday tradition. Phillip and I invite 12 or so people over for dinner. This is nice for us since we are usually by ourselves for the actual Christmas Holiday since we do not have any family nearby. It seems silly for Phillip and I to make a big holiday dinner for just the two of us. I had a lot more decorations than what I am posting, but unfortunately, I did not realize that I only took half of the pictures. I must have gotten distracted at the last minute doing some sort of hostess duty.

I love this Santa Claus picture that I got from Pottery Barn. I knew that it was big, but I did not realize that it would be quite as big as it was. I had to move my big mirror and artwork around just to find a wall he would fit on.

One of my favorite decorations was this little display I made with a Bambi cake topper and a little white tree in the apothecary jar. I love using the apothecary jars for various seasonal displays...especially little cutie "still life" displays. I had this in the entryway next to my little Christmas Cd's Phillip and I make every year. I like to give them to our guests as party favors.

The pictures of the table don't really give the table dressing justice. The colors were aqua, mint and silver...they really did sparkle nicely. I can't wait for next year...by then Phillip will have the family room completed and it will look so much more appealing.

Above is my YUMMY chocolate trifle dessert. I must say that I am quite proud of this. Not only did it look gorgeous, but it tasted delicious! I highly recommend this dessert if you want to make a big impact for a small effort. By the way, you don't need the trifle bowl. However, I think the proper bowl really does show off the dessert. I mean, just look at all of those yummy layers! I found the bowl at Crate and Barrel. It was much more difficult than I thought to find a proper trifle bowl.

I am sure you are all wondering about the pictures of my tree. Well, I am embarrassed to say that this year we did not get a tree. It was not my intention, but every time Phillip and I tried to go, either there was a snow storm going on or Parker was sick. Before we knew it, it was Christmas Eve. So I did something I never thought I would do...I bought an artificial Christmas Tree at the after Christmas sales. It is a gorgeous 8 foot Noble (the only real type of Christmas tree in my opinion). The needles really feel real at first touch. Never again will I be without a Christmas tree.