Blossoms & Blessings

As the days grow shorter and we head closer to the longest night of the year here in the Northern Hemisphere, I can think of no better way to bring a bit of warmth and cheer to the house than to force a few bulbs.  Above are some paper whites I started last week.  The photo is nearly a week old, so these little guys are now on the verge of blooming as I type this post.  I'll include a photo of their blooms in my next post.  

I try to plant a few bulbs each week, so I'll have several weeks of blooms during the bleakest part of winter.  I've also planted some amaryllis.  As I mentioned in my last post about budget-friendly wrapping ideas, I'm on a tight budget this year, so all my Christmas decorations must be beautiful while costing next to nothing.  At a buck a bulb, or less, paper whites fit the bill for me.  They last days and days, smell beautiful, and you only need a few to make a big splash.  In fact, nothing is lovelier than a single paper white sheltered by a glass hurricane chimney or an "upcycled" jam jar!  You don't even need soil to force paper whites--just a shallow bowl or lipped tray and some water.  Keep the roots (not the bulbs) well watered in indirect sunlight, and you'll have blooms in 2-3 weeks.

I'll be sharing several more ideas for celebrating the holidays on a budget, and I welcome you to share yours here, too!  I loved hearing about your gift wrap ideas in the last post.  Special thanks to my friend Sande, who featured my wrapping post at her exquisite blog, A Gift Wrapped Life.  Sande inspires me every week with her creativity and her eye for beauty, so I was honored that she shared my much more humble efforts on her beautiful site.  

Finally, I know that as special as the holidays are, they can also be a difficult time for many folks.  I've certainly had years when I just wanted to draw the curtains and sleep through Christmas.  If you are having a tough time this year, please know there are always people who care.  The expectations surrounding the winter holidays can just be too much to bear, especially during tough economic times.    This year, some of my friends have been counting their blessings each day on their blogs or on Facebook.  I think rather than expecting so much from myself (or others) this Christmas, I am just going to count my own blessings, and then share some of them with those who have too few to count.            

   

Simple Gifts

I adore the holiday season.  Not just Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but the whole season.  I especially love to surprise people I treasure with little gifts throughout the month.  For my sister and mother, this usually means small but useful trinkets like pretty holiday napkins or votive candles.

Maybe the best part of giving (and for me, receiving!) gifts, is the wrapping.  When I was a kid, I loved to wrap all the presents for my mother each Christmas.  She would hand me a box and tell me who  it was for, and then I'd wrap it accordingly, pretending I was one of the women in the department stores who gift-wraps items for customers at Christmas.  I especially loved to curl the ribbons with my mother's sharp scissors.  I think I often even wrapped my own presents without knowing it until afterwards.  My mother was sneaky that way! 

This year I'm using my old standbys, plain brown craft paper and white tissue, so that I can dress them up in whatever way I fancy.  I often like to include a small extra gift on the outside of the package that relates to the gift on the inside of the package.

In the case of these cocktail napkins, I tied a white porcelain spoon, for serving mustards or chutneys at holiday parties.  I also tucked in a sprig of fresh bay leaves, which can be tossed into a pot of sauce or soup for flavoring.  I love using simple baker's twine for a little present like this.  It reminds me of candy canes, which I covet, plus it's economical.  A large spool (enough to last me at least a year) costs $10.  Oh, and I reuse tissue whenever I can!  If it's wrinkled, I just iron it out and it looks like new.

I found the galvanized star gift tag as well as the baker's twine at one of my favorite local Portland shops, Folly 101, but you can find them online, too.  You just write the recipient's name with chalk or a grease pencil, and then they can erase it and reuse the tag when they give a gift--or hang it on their tree as an ornament. 

One of my girlfriends has her birthday at the beginning of December, so I packed her up a box of Magpie finds, including these tiny pinecone votives.  I couldn't resist them, plus they're the state flower of Maine, so I'm sending her a little piece of the place I love. 

Just before I closed the box, I tossed in a few fresh bay leaves to make it look and smell beautiful when she opens it.

The box itself is a silk-covered one that came with a scarf I recently bought.  I always save pretty boxes to reuse, and this one fit the treasures I'd found for my friend perfectly.  I simply tied it with a very wide piece of ribbon that I bought last year during the after-holiday sales at Christmas Tree Shop, when they were selling gorgeous ribbon for almost nothing.

Like nearly everyone I know, I am on a serious budget this year, but I still love giving gifts to the people I treasure.  I'm making several gifts, giving smaller presents, and reusing nearly all my wrapping materials, but I don't think that means the presents can't be just as wonderful as ever.  Maybe even more so.  

I'd love to hear from you about your holiday shopping, crafting, baking, and wrapping this year.  What are your plans for the season?

Autumn Road

Some roads you take with a purpose in mind, but I prefer roads that lead to the unexpected.  I took these photos on an old farm road that hugs the Connecticut River near my husband's hometown.  We were just wandering when we discovered Cruise, who, according to the sign on his fence, gets bellyaches from apples, but loves carrots, and can eat as many as you give him.  

Sadly, we had no carrots, but we made promises to Cruise for our next visit.  I suppose this means that this little back road will now have a purpose.  

Somehow I think it will still hold plenty of surprises, too.