Furniture Rearranging

Several months ago we thought it was time for Baby Love to start piano lessons, so of course it was a package deal—the piano had to go along with the lessons, so our piano now lives at her house. It’s the piano her Papá and uncle used to learn practice ummmmm spend our money—that’s what it was!—so it seemed only right that she have it now. It didn’t get played much at our house, and when we had it tuned recently we were pleasantly surprised to learn that it’s in very good condition!

Once the piano was gone, it gave me the opportunity to re-think our furniture arrangement. It had been a focal point in our home, and I had loved using it for vignettes (if not for playing, LOL). Here’s where it was~

We played musical furniture (thank heavens for those slider-disk things!), and our vintage buffet came to the former piano spot…that was it! Loved it! That’s where it needed to live! ~~

And guess what’s gracing the sterling punch bowl my MIL gifted us many years ago?! Hydrangeas, of course! Today was a perfectly beautiful day, so I took advantage of the beautiful weather to harvest more of them for future use—I’m thinking Christmas, but my ideas are still a secret (to me too!—I’m thinking…I’m thinking…).

I thought you might be curious about the three pictures to the left of the buffet. The top picture is of my parents happily walking down the aisle after their wedding. The second is a portrait of my mother and me, taken in our home in Havana, and the last is of me with my father at the beach—in perfectly clear water (also in Cuba).

~~~~~~~

The move of the buffet created a void, of course, and after more musical furniture we settled on my MIL’s writing desk. It had been living in our bedroom (it’s the surface you see in The Nook and Old Ladder post {HERE}). Now it provides me with the opportunity to gather some blue and white~~

The vase on the desk is another perfect vessel for drying more hydrangeas. The black-and-white pictures are a collection my husband and I put together at our other house and repeated it in this home. It’s a collection of pictures of us and the generations before us. (Some adjustments need to be made to the collage, since I had to take some of them down with the new furniture piece.) Sometimes we talk about taking them down and doing something different there…we’ll see, but it’s interesting to me that after so many years of having them up I still enjoy looking at them. For example, there’s a picture of my beloved grandmother holding my baby brother and I’m sitting real close, right next to her. There’s one of my husband eating an ice cream cone that’s almost as big as he is, and an 8x10 of him deep-sea fishing with his parents in Mexico. Lots of good memories.

The sunlight was playing its lovely games when I walked in the room, and I quickly grabbed my camera.

Aren’t they drying beautifully? I know many of you dry your hydrangeas—how have you used them? Have you used them for any Christmas decorations?

I’ve been on the hunt for blue-and-white bowls, and recently I found this beauty at the antique shop where my SIL has a booth. Guess how much?? I HAVE to share the price because it’s so pretty and it was such a buy--$6.00!! It has no flaws, and the gold rim and base are perfect. See the reflection on the desk?

The rest of the vignette—blue and white plates on brass plate racks/candleholders. I got these candleholders years and years ago, I think from the Pier 1 catalog, because I wanted to display not only our boys’ Bunnykins plates, but also their mugs, and I was able to hang the mugs from the arms. It was a precious vignette in our other dining room. (Hmmmm…I wonder if I have a picture of them? They wouldn’t be digital, that’s for sure.)

I’m looking forward to your ideas on how to use dried hydrangeas, so please share them with me, and if you have pictures, please share those too! I can’t wait!

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Celebrating The Epiphany--the Three Kings' Long Trip

"Celebración de los Reyes Magos" - Having come to the U.S. from Cuba in 1961, our family still celebrates "El Día de los Reyes Magos" (The Day of the Three Kings), and the Kings still bring presents to our children.  Our 4-year-old granddaugher explained to her pre-school teacher that they come to our homes "because our family is Cuban."  :) 

The "Reyes Magos" are such an integral part of Latin culture that my mother told me recently of a wonderful toy store in Havana (Cuba) called "Los Reyes Magos."  Isn't that a great name for a toy store?!  Surely it didn't survive much after 1961.

This year my husband and I hosted our family's Three Kings celebration, now that our granddaughter is old enough to understand the story.  The Three Kings brought some gifts and left them under the tree for them (yes, we keep our tree up until The "Reyes Magos" come), but to make certain that the spirit of the day wasn't lost, the central figure in my tablescape was my childhood Baby Jeasus, which my grandmother managed to bring back to me in 1983 when she was able to visit Cuba.  She gave it to me originally, and gave it to me again...isn't that {AMAZING}?!

A celebration of the Three Kings is really about Baby Jesus.

The Three Kings:  Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar
We know they brought frankincense, myrrh, and gold,
but we don't know which gift each brought.
The red candle urn (left) is Tiara.

Crystal Three Kings and Baby Jesus
After I took this picture I added the the full text of Matthew 2: 1-12,
telling the story of The Wise Men.
A battery-operated candle behind the vintage trees
gave the scene in the cloche a soft glow.

In our invitation we promised cookies and hot chocolate and other "kingly" treats...
The table was set in jewel tones--befitting the gifts that the Three Kings brought.
Here's what we served~
Christmas tree carrot Bundt cake (in s/p cake stand with wonderful high dome,
from Bombay Company, a gift from my mother years ago)
Cream cheese with hot pepper jelly (red) and green pepper jelly
with buttery crackers (lower right)
Gem shortbread cookies
Candy cane-striped meringue kisses 



Jewel-toned vintage Tiara platter and Cambridge Caprice bowl
(the latter a gift from my SIL years ago)
Sterling compote holds whole cashews and dried cranberries,
a simple, yummy combination.



Since we were serving buffet style, the "star" stacker seemed quite apropos, don't you think?
Ribbon candy is a must during the holidays...in another Cambridge Caprice bowl,
surrounded by a mix of sterling and crystal candle holders.
Dishes are Lenox Eternal and the clear ones in the first two tiers are vintage Federal, Heritage pattern.
The bottom ones are vintage, of unknown lineage, but pretty.

We served Golden Pineapple Punch in our sterling punch bowl--a gift from my MIL,
complete with ladle, platter, and lid. 
Have you seen many punch bowls with lids?  I haven't,
but it's quite old now, and perhaps it was something more common in the past.

We served the punch in our "vintage" ARBY's goblets (can you say "vintage" and "goblets"
in the same sentence as Arby's? :) ) 
I have many of the glasses, and our son found these at Goodwill recently
and wrapped them up as what he thought would be a funny gift--

ARE YOU KIDDING?!  They're PERFECT! 
Funny, when I set them out I actually admired how they glistened!  :)

~~~~~~We also served the BEST CAPPUCCINO HOT CHOCOLATE EVER,of course
topped with whipped cream from my iSi Cream Whipper
(to find out more about it see HERE)
Everyone raved and asked for the recipe.
Sadly, I forgot to take a picture.
I served them in old footed punch cups--very pretty. 

I wish you a happy, healthy 2012 with much to be thankful for.

Does your family celebrate the Epiphany?
Do the Three Kings visit your home and leave gifts?
If you do a celebration, I'd love to know about it,
and if you have posted pictures, please be sure to share them with me!

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    Zuni