A Celebration of the Epiphany, or Three Kings Day

This year, like last year, we celebrated the Three Kings’ Day at home (see 2012 post HERE). 

Grandpa Chickadee and I are doing the celebration in order to keep my childhood tradition of the Three Kings bringing gifts to the children alive.  Little Miss Chickadee, 5, has long known their names (in Spanish):  Melchor, Gaspar, and Baltasar, and almost-three-year old Master Chickadee almost has them down pat.

The three little chickadees spent the night with us (the youngest is 8 months), but guess who was up at 2:15 in the morning on her way to our room??  And this is what she saw:

Our Cuban tradition is to put their shoes/slippers by their beds, but we decided to tweak that a bit, since we didn’t want them to see their gifts without our being there to witness it.  Also, since Santa has brought so many gifts, the Three Kings bring just a few little things.  The idea is to celebrate the day, and to further reinforce that they brought gifts to Baby Jesus.

So she came in our room without having touched a thing, telling us that they had come, and describing perfectly what they brought for her brothers, but saying that she had seen nothing for her!  Why she said that, I don’t know.  I asked her several times, and the story was the same, so I chose to believe that maybe her sweet little mind didn’t allow the surprise to be given away.  As she snuggled in bed with us she was so calm; not giddy as we would have expected.  When she peered out the window she was sure that she could see one of the Three Kings on a camel!  We decided that they must have heard her get up and dashed outside before they could leave her gifts, and they were waiting for her to go back to sleep to come back in.  Ahhh, sweet innocence.

Our celebration this year was far simpler than last year’s.  On the menu:  Espresso hot chocolate (recipe to follow soon), punch, and cookies.

As you can see, I was a bit behind in the picture taking (you do remember the little chickadees spent the night, right?  And they needed their dress clothes, of course!).  I’d say the guava pastries (pastelitos de guayaba) in the red dish—a yummy gift from a dear friend—were pretty popular!

This year the table was a simple mix of evergreens, pinecones, and white.

 

The Three Kings were represented by our various nativity scenes.  This one, precious to us, was given to us early in our marriage by my in-laws, who brought it back from one of their frequent trips to Mexico.  I love how simple yet intricate it is.  To its left, the mother-of-pearl one my grandmother brought back from her visit to the Holy Land in the late 70s or early 80s.  Oh, how precious that one is too!

 

This sweet little nativity scene surrounded a feather tree while all the Christmas decorations were out, but as we pared down to a simpler winter look in preparation for our Three Kings celebration it looked like this:

 

And last but not least, the chickadees’ own nativity scene.  This is the one they are allowed to play with (and you never know who might be added to it).  Master Chickadee added this visitor at one point:

And when I asked Baby Love/Miss Chickadee to get the nativity scene ready for the party, this is what she lovingly prepared:

Be sure to notice the ladder…

As you can probably tell, the Three Kings celebration and the nativity scenes are very hands-on experiences for the chickadees—just as we want it to be.  In fact, at one point during our gathering Miss Chickadee took Baby Jesus out of the nativity scene and told the adults around her that “Christmas is about Baby Jesus.”  That, is exactly the goal.

Do you celebrate the Epiphany?  Have you by any chance read Yvonne’s moving re-telling of the Three Kings’ visit to the manger in her beautiful blog, StoneGable?  She tells it so beautifully that you might want to read it HERE.

These are the parties I’ll be joining to share my Three Kings Celebration.  They’re wonderful gatherings too; I hope you’ll visit.

Tuesdays at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/

Wednesdays at Let’s Dish: http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/

Wednesdays at Wow Us: http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

Thursdays at Tabletop Thursday: http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Thursdays at Home Sweet Home: http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Fridays at Feathered Nest: http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Sundays at The Tablescaper: http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to +1 this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

From my nest to yours, ~Zuni

A New Chickadee Christmas Table

Last year I had a chickadee Christmas table—so fun!  Well, this year, I have a NEW chickadee table, and I couldn’t be more excited.  Last year’s dishes had to be returned :(, so I was chickadee-less for several months :( again.  So IMAGINE, if you can, my joy when I learned about Boehm’s Chickadees and Holly pattern.  I quickly went to my trusted resource, replacements.com and yes! they are lovely dishes!  And now they are MINE! living exactly where they should be living—at Chickadee Home Nest!
Have you heard of Boehm china?  I had not…where have I been?!  Here’s a little bit about it:  American company Boehm Porcelain has been producing the finest porcelain flora and fauna sculptures available since 1950. Inspired by the delicateness, complexity and vibrancy of nature's own artistry, Boehm's renderings of flora and fauna are cast from only the purest white clay, and created by singularly talented artisans with painstaking attention to detail to produce breathtaking original works of art available in both open and limited-edition collections. (Source: wildlife.com)
And so it is that they came to live at our house…happy me!  There’s always room for more chickadees at this nest!

Are they just precious?  See the bottom right, where the china is “signed” `Boehm’?  I find that so interesting.  I wish you could see the detail of the art…it looks as though you can see brushstrokes.  Let’s take a closer look:

And here is the table I set for their homecoming dinner ~

You might remember the red Pottery Barn champagne/footed goblets from other posts.  In fact, I used them last year too, for that Chickadee Table:  http://chickadeehomenest.blogspot.com/2011/12/chickadee-christmas-table.html.    And I also used them for a Fourth of July table: http://chickadeehomenest.blogspot.com/2012/06/4th-of-july-table-and-more.html.  I like red accent pieces because you can use it for so many holidays, and I’ve certainly gotten my {sweet husband’s} money’s worth out of these!  How did he know I needed these?!

The centerpiece was super easy to make.  I used one of my favorite pieces—a red serving plate (gift from my youngest son…he knows I like red), as the under-plate, and placed a silver casserole that I really wanted to use this season, because it belonged to my dear SIL’s father, who passed away earlier this year.  I’m so happy to have it in our home.  To that I added a very vintage pressed glass compote, then filled the casserole with large “picks” (as in already put together) and a few fillers.  In the compote I used an arrangement I’d made for last year’s table and filled the gaps with pinecones and other fillers.

Texture is so important for adding interest to a table, and one of the pieces that made a huge difference this year was the jingle bell garland.  The instant I saw it at Pine Tree Barn (http://pinetreebarn.com/) I knew it was going home with me.  I haven’t seen them anywhere else, but I imagine the good folks at Pine Tree Barn would be more than happy to ship them to you.

Some close-ups for those of us who savor every detail~ I wouldn’t want to leave you wanting for more.

For soooo long I wanted vintage, etched goblets, and now I have several sets of various patterns.  I.cannot.get.enough.of.them.  This pattern (I don’t know the name) in particular, because of the vertical lines, catches the light beautifully, and if you look closely, there are “berries” in the design, following the berries throughout the table.  The wine stem is Waterford Alana, also a vintage pattern.

The darling S&P set is also a gift from our youngest and his darling…perfect for this table.

I love having the sweet grandbabies’ highchair right by our family table, and here it’s pressed into service for after-dinner coffee.

Napkins and Williams-Sonoma crystal “candy cane” stirrers in a Waterford vase.

Are you a red-and-green Christmas person, or have you gone to other combinations that are now faves?  I always seem to gravitate back to the red and green, and then I’m ready for muteds or soft whites by the end of the season.

If you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to +1 this post or pin it on Pinterest too! And, I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

Happy holidays to all!  May your season be warm, calm, filled with music and beautiful things to reflect on the true reason we join together to celebrate.

Here’s where I’ll be seen this week; I hope you’ll stop by too.  They will be fun, fun parties with lots of great ideas sure to please.

Tuesdays at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/
Wednesdays at Let’s Dish: http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/
Wednesdays at Wow Us: http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/
Thursdays at Tabletop Thursday: http://betweennapsontheporch.net/
Thursdays at Home Sweet Home: http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/
Fridays at Feathered Nest: http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
Sundays at The Tablescaper: http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

Fall Decorating ~ Inside

Last weekend the fall “bug” finally got me, and the front porch (HERE) and screened porch got their decorations.  While still under the influence of a bright, beautiful fall day, with perfectly blue skies I just kept on going and even did the inside of the house.  Do you ever get on a roll decorating and really need to curb your enthusiasm, lest the house start to look like a shop instead of a home?  There’s always that danger possibility around our place!

I LOVE to make seasonal changes in the china cabinet—that’s my “toy box,” where I get to shift things around so I can see and enjoy the things I love.  (You can see other china cabinet posts by doing a SEARCH of my blog.)

With the high ceilings in our home, it’s especially fun to also do the top of the china cabinet.  I love bittersweet, and when my husband and I went to Back Roads to purchase our mums, (HERE), Lisa also had bittersweet bundles.  They’re so hard to find around here that I immediately grabbed a couple of them.  I sure am enjoying their unstructured growing habits!

Not too patiently, I’ve been waiting to use these Rouen antique dessert plates I bought at auction this summer.  According to an eBay listing, these plates were made by Villeroy & Boch Mettlach between 1850 & 1899!  When I bought them I had no idea!!  I just knew I liked the rich colors, the “wavy” red rim, and of course the colorful birds.  I also liked the combination of blue and rust.  I CANNOT wait to set a table with them—Thanksgiving perhaps??

 

 

The Powell & Bishop Tea Leaf pieces, with their “copper” design, fit right in with the fall colors.  Exotic feathers complement the feel of the bird dishes.

                                   

             The big pumpkin was a “gift” from Sweet Baby Love…she picked it right up from her yard decorations and gave it to us to bring home.  Obviously, it needed to have a prominent place in the fall decor.

Speaking of Sweet Baby Love…she’ll be five in a few weeks, and she is just enthralled by the colors of fall this year.  She gathered these leaves one day when I picked her up from preschool.

  The picture of Sweet Baby G with a pumpkin was a first last year.  I stored it with the fall decorations to use it as fall decor.  The terracotta pot was a gift from years ago that I love so much that I use it year after year in the fall.

And on to a bit more indoor decorating…

My huge tole tray (see HERE for a full view of it) was pressed into fall service as the base for this quick vignette on the entertainment center.

The fall soup tureen was a gift from my mother years ago…Love it.  I hope to fill it with some yummy soup for a family dinner soon.

And the centerpiece on our dining room table…

The starting point of this vignette was the gorgeous hydrangeas that my SIL gave me.  She was busy and sadly cleaning out her dad’s home after his passing when I went to visit her, and his hydrangeas were just beautiful.  As a memento of the kind and loving and genuine gentleman that he was I asked her if I could have a few of them.  The rest, including the brass candlesticks I haven’t used for quite some time, just fell into place.

And the last touch of fall inside…

You’ve seen these in many posts, because they’re so versatile!

Perhaps next week I’ll be able to post the pictures of the screened porch.

So don’t forget to answer my question at the beginning of this post:  Do you find that you have to curb your enthusiasm when you’re decorating, or do you fly free and put as much as you want out?  I can’t wait to hear back!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to +1 this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Masterpiece Monday at http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com

Tuesday’s Treasures http://www.myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/

Tabletop Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

Cuisine Kathleen at http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/

Wow Us Wednesdays at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

DIY by Design Party at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/

What's It Wednesday at http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

Thursdays at StoneGable http://www.stonegableblog.com/

Home and Garden Thursday at http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/

Tablescape Thursday at betweennapsontheporch.net

Open House Party Thursday at http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com

Share Your Cup Thursday at http://jannolson.blogspot.com/

Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Home Sweet Home Fridays at http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Potpourri Friday at http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/

Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com

Thrifty Things Friday at http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com/

Vintage Inspiration Friday at http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Fridays Unfolded at http://www.stuff-and-nonsense.net/

The Inspired Room’s Fall Around the House at http://theinspiredroom.net/ 

From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Fall Decorating, The Front Porch

If you’ve been reading my recent posts, I LOVE summer, and it takes quite a while for me to get into the swing of things with fall, but eventually the changing colors and the nip in the air make summer decor look out of place and the collision of the two starts to get to me…that’s when I know it’s time to make the change.  How about you?  In which camp do you “fall” ?  Keep summer alive as long as possible, or welcome fall with open arms?
So when I step into fall I’m always surprised that it’s a pleasure…I actually enjoy it! 
I started with the front porch.  Welcome to our home!
I have “a thing” about our flag.  The way we have it on the house allows me to see it from inside, and never do I fail to notice it and its beauty.

I love shadow play—see the light post on the steps?  And the flag, flying high on a beautiful, breezy fall day?

 We’ve had these “jacks” for years and years, and I believe we’ve used them every single fall since…I really like them.  I decided to use them on the front porch instead of the screened porch, so the baby grands can see them when they come over.  The jacks have orange lights in them, so they’re on a timer to come on at dusk.  The plaid throw and the gold and orange one on the swing are actually shawls of mine that seemed to fit the vignettes this year.

Recently we stumbled into a fun, neat shop off the beaten path—Back Roads (www.shopbackroads.com), and we promised ourselves that when I transitioned into fall, it would be there that we would buy our mums.  Aren’t these gorgeous?  That’s only TWO plants in this big, old A&P bin.  And the price was fabulous.  Happy to deal with a small business instead of the big boxes too.

Later, when the sun is long gone and the “jacks” are lit, the baby grands and I will surely need the extra blankets to bundle up on the swing at bedtime as we do all summer long.  We’ll stretch the swing season as much as possible.

I would say fall {finally} arrived at our house, wouldn’t you?  And there’s more…several vignettes inside, and the screened porch.  I hope to have those in a post SOON!

How quickly do you adapt to fall?  What signals fall for you that gets you in the fall decorating mood?

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I love to read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to +1 this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you! I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back. I’ll be joining these fun parties this week.  I hope you join in the fun! Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ Masterpiece Monday at http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/ Cozy Home Scenes Tuesdays at http://cozyhomescenes.blogspot.com/ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com Tuesday’s Treasures http://www.myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/ Tabletop Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/ Cuisine Kathleen at http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/ Wow Us Wednesdays at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/ DIY by Design Party at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/ What's It Wednesday at http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/ Thursdays at StoneGable http://www.stonegableblog.com/ Home and Garden Thursday at http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/ Tablescape Thursday at betweennapsontheporch.net Open House Party Thursday at http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com Share Your Cup Thursday at http://jannolson.blogspot.com/ Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/ Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/ Home Sweet Home Fridays at http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/ Potpourri Friday at http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/ Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com Thrifty Things Friday at http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com/ Vintage Inspiration Friday at http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/ Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/ Fridays Unfolded at http://www.stuff-and-nonsense.net/ From my nest to yours~ Zuni