#christmas

Neutral Christmas Decor, Santana Row at the Holidays, Vintage Pins, Easy Christmas Cookies, and More

December 9, 2022 By kimwheeler 21 Comments

On this Weekend Meanderings my neutral Christmas Decor, holiday nights at Santana Row, vintage holiday pins, cute runners and napkins, an easy Christmas cookie to make and more…

Santana Row for Holiday Fun

Santana Row has been really making an effort to have fun things at the holidays and I wanted to share. This week my friend E organized us to have dinner and do their Wednesday night ‘Sip and Stroll’ where you can get drinks, walk about and see the lights and festivities. Wednesdays they have snow machines and on Tuesday nights wonderful live performances and coming the weekend of the 18th, a holiday craft fair.

We sat under the heat lamps at Left Bank and had a lively dinner and took a photo after by the big tree. It was a great way to be with friends during this holidays with low effort. Elaine and Bari are long time friends through tennis and we are lucky our husbands get on too. If you want to dress up a little and get that holiday feeling on, this is the spot! More here about all the happenings.

My friend E has a beautiful collection of vintage pins and wore one that night which brings me to this…

#Blingit

After writing this week’s Signature Style about festive outfits, I was inspired to share more of my own mom’s and grandma’s vintage pins and jewels that I have inherited and mostly sit in the drawer. I love wearing this pin of my grandma’s and the bells that my mom always had on her coat at Christmas!

I know a lot of you also have some festive holiday pins and jewelry you may only wear at a party or for the holidays. We need to get theses small treasures out all the days of December! Even wear them with a t-shirt and jeans- they look cool!

Juliet and I thought it would be fun to have a hashtag #BLINGIT on Instagram so people can share their treasures. All month, tag us with your sparkly bits and we will share them on our Stories! If you don’t Instagram, just email me and I’ll share here. Kim@northerncalstyle.com.

Also some of you have no vintage jewelry and that’s okay.. It’s fun to look for it online and at places like Goodwill and local charity shops. Online, EBay is a good source and WEISS is an American brand that made gorgeous pins and you can source beauties for good prices here.

Cute table runners and napkins

I love this runner I found at Nordstrom in Hillsdale while visiting my son last week. Very nice quality and I thought this green could work after the holidays too.

The whole line, called Heirloomed, is adorable and you can find it here.

They also had these cute cloth napkins 4 for $20 …

I filled my big wooden bowl (similar here) with some light green and pink bulbs and a few cuttings of greenery. It has been so dark lately, it’s hard to get a good photo.

I’m loving muted tones and that sort of works with the new white tree.

Last year’s look.. I had a brighter runner and added red ornaments. Also we had sunshine. It’s been pretty gloomy this month.

I’m really going slow on the whole decorating thing. Juliet and I talked about having to be in the mood to decorate on our LIVE this past Thursday on Instagram. Anyone else feel the same? We also talked about how important it is to say no to things this time of year. You don’t have to do everything you think you do, and cards and excess gifts are some of the things you may need to cut out to find more joy.. As women we put way too much on ourselves. We often do it to ourselves. Lower expectations =happier life!

Thanks to everyone who caught the chat. It was great to connect with you all. You can still watch it on Instagram here and we will do one next week before we take a little break for the holidays.

I found the gingham ribbon at Michaels this week. Michaels was CLEANED OUT of everything – and I consider this earlyish. Am I wrong? My sons will add their ornaments, each have their own boxes, when they come home.

I am not good with ribbon like some.. I kind of just jam it in there…

We did get the stockings up with command hooks and faux garland bought at the local home store Harvest. I have to remove it when the fire is on. This is the one time I miss having a mantel…Of courses Marlo has her own stocking!

Christmas Dream Drops

It’s going to be a stormy weekend here in Northern Cal, so I’m planning on doing my baking. This is one of the cookies I’m making and it’s fast, pretty and delicious. It was Sunset Magazine’s best cookie for 2011. I adapt it to remove the white chocolate chips which were unnecessary and weighed these down. This is like a mini pavlova so you want to make sure not to over bake these. They should have some give and be crisp on the outside and have chewy goodness inside that a hard meringue does not.

My dream drops at in the old kitchen, and far right photo from the original issue of Sunset. The online recipe has a new pic of them dipped in chocolate on the bottom. Recipe here.

FYI- these are a two day cookie max, so make these right before you want to share or eat them! I found the chopped up peppermint at World Market in the baking area.

I also spied at World Market and here, the vintage Betty Crocker ‘Cooky Book’ that holds all the treasured recipes our mom’s made. If you don’t have one, this spans cookies of the 20th century, trends and even world events and is chock full of good recipes and fun reading and awesome retro photos. I will never part with my mom’s edition, but may get another for the sons to each have. A cool gift idea!

Glennon Doyle and Abby Wambach’s California home

Guys, the real estate market is slow now, so instead I’m sharing these new photos from Sunset of Abby and Glennon’s home that I love….

This house is my vibe, and is described as a modern Cape Cod style. I love the lightness and use of soft colors and fabrics and lots of texture. You can see more of the house here. Interior design by Kate Lester and photos by Douglas Friedman.

I want a pink rug for my bath! The bookshelves are so cool..

You can follow their designer Kate on her Instagram, which I am obsessed with and she also has a home store in So Cal here. How lovely is her mantel for the holidays? Inspiring!

ALSO…

Serena & Lily has their Winter Clearance which is up to 70% off on some things and many favorites like the gingham pjs, velvet shams and Sonoma Bath towels are the lowest I’ve ever seen them. Sale ends 12/20 if need any beautiful home things.

I did update the men’s gift list from last week as my son and I had a great day shopping at Nordstrom and he showed me some more cool things so go here if you need gifts for guys.

Sorry if this post seems light, but I had two other posts this week.. One was Signature Style with Cindy and Sarah…about holiday dressing strategies, and on Thursday I joined Annie, Cindy, Mary Ann and Kelley in Balboa, to share our hometown holiday traditions. Mine is about my town of Los Gatos and our family December must-dos.

And that is my weekend meanderings for this week. Don’t forget to stop over at Elizabeth and Juliet’s blogs to see what good things they are talking about..

MAKE MINE A SPRITZER

PINECONES AND ACORNS

Have a lovely weekend!

Kim

On last weekend’s post..men’s holiday gift ideas, some fresh ideas in Christmas stockings, my new faux tree, a wonderful local floral design studio and more..

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A Holiday Table and Menu Idea for You

December 24, 2021 By kimwheeler 15 Comments

Hello and Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! I hope everyone is able to enjoy the holidays and take a break from the day to day and be with those you love. Cooking, eating and just being with my family is my favorite part of the holiday and I can’t wait to have my guys all here. We do Christmas Eve dinner and then sit by the fire after and exchange gifts with my father.

I think I’ve written about this before, but my family has a tradition my mom began which is staying in our own homes in our pajamas on actual Christmas. The hardest thing this time of year is thinking about my mom and missing her, but my dad and I started a new tradition where we exchange food after Christmas Eve dinner here. He gives my his famous cinnamon rolls to have for Christmas morning and I give him a lasagna to cook on Christmas day. We’ve done it now 6 years and it makes for a very relaxing day and so nice after all the rush. My dad’s cinnamon rolls are amazing and we pop them in the oven when the kids first get up and we only let them open stockings. Then we sit down to have rolls and juice and coffee. No presents until we have cozy breakfast with candles at the table!

Tonight we are trying something a little different for the Christmas Eve meal. My husband has always loved cheese fondue, but it’s a lot of bread and cheese and I often feel like it’s a bit much with all the Christmas treats. A week or so ago we had some friends over for a dinner exchange we do and we tried out a new menu and set a Christmas themed table. It was the same night I tried out this holiday cocktail on this post that was a hit with my friends. The dinner was so easy and had something for everyone, non meat people also, so we are replicating it tonight and I will set the same table.

If you need some ideas for a Christmas or New Year’s Eve menu and festive table this is what we did..

The Table

I had just put up a pink tree in my little den and liked the idea of continuing the theme in the table with pink bulbs scattered on juniper and evergreen branches that I laid out in the center. I added clear votives and a mix of the pink Christmas bulbs I had on hand, small and large and different tones. I found the branches at the grocery store in the floral department, but you can look in your yard or trim your own Christmas tree if you have a live one. I also added pinecones to this mix, which looks great, but I forgot to photograph it.

I don’t have red napkins, so I used some black and pink napkins I bought at Pottery Barn and with the black table, some pretty vintage glassware from my friend Elizabeth, my new plates from Anthro and a cute San Francisco made gourmet chocolate bar as a little gift on each place setting.

The napkins are here-now on sale and these red and green paisley ones would also be cute for a holiday table. I love the idea of taking regular napkins and making them work with the just the addition of matching bulbs in the same colors- so shop your tree (literally) and don’t limit Christmas to just red and green! I used these mini wreaths I found at Joanne’s as napkin rings and tucked a cutting of greenery in each.

The Menu

Ginger Marinated Chicken Breasts Sliced and plattered (we do both meats on the grill.) A recipe here.
Tri-tip with a rub. We often buy it already rubbed at the store, but this California recipe looks good.
Butter lettuce, pear, persimmon and toasted pecan salad. I whisk together a vinaigrette of 1/4 C olive oil,1 T pomegranate or any fruit vinegar and 1 T maple syrup and a squeeze of any citrus plus sale to taste.
Julia Reeds’s Gratin de Macaroni (a fancy and so easy take on baked mac and cheese everyone will love.)
Dessert is Christmas cookies and chocolates we have received on a pretty platter.

As we lost the wonderful Julia Reed in 2020, it’s hard to fins her recipes online and she never had a website. The book I take this from is called Julia Reed’s South and it’s a beautiful book filled with her actual dinner parties and great inspiration. It was a gift from my pal and fellow blogger Juliet who writes Make Mine a Spritzer.

I am copying this directly from the book with her own words to describe. I will never make the usual mac n’ cheese again as this is so much easier than the roux route. Also, if you want to eat lighter, you can change out the whole milk for a lighter fat content and when I made it, I used a whole box of penne (1 pound) and just 1 cup of creme fraiche and it was still super yummy..

Julia Reed’s Gratin de Macaroni

Butter for greasing the
gratin dish
½ pound penne pasta
1½ cups crème fraîche
1½ cups whole milk
1 cup grated Gruyère
cheese
¼ cup finely chopped
Italian parsley leaves
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black
pepper
2 tablespoons grated
Parmesan cheese

“My mother used to make a noodle casserole with egg noodles,
butter, sour cream, lemon juice, and Parmesan. Neither of us
can find that exact recipe, but I discovered something similar
in-of all places- an out-of-print book on French bistros. This is much
lighter and far speedier than a proper macaroni and cheese made with a
béchamel sauce, and I prefer it, especially with daubes and stews. Feel free
to get creative with the cheeses. I like the way the Parmesan browns on
the top, but I’ve substituted everything from Cabot Clothbound Cheddar
to Thomasville tomme (a buttery Pyrenees-style cow’-milk cheese from
Georgia’s Sweet Grass Dairy) for the Gruyère.
170
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Butter a shallow glass or earthenware gratin dish
or casserole.
Cook the penne in boiling salted water according to the directions on
the box. Drain and place in a large bowl. Fold in the crème fraîche, milk, and
Gruyère. Stir in the parsley, salt, and pepper, and taste for seasonings.
Spread the mixture in the prepared dish and sprinkle with the Parmesan.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until the cheese is browned on top and the liquid has
been completely absorbed. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.”
from Julia Reed’s South cookbook.

I also wanted to take the time to say thank you to everyone who subscribes and visits. I truly appreciate you reading and being here and it’s what keeps me going on this blogging journey of almost 11 years! The connection with you all, and the community that comes from doing this is everything to me. I have finally had more time to devote to this with my sons on their own and I hope it will be more fun and interesting to read in the coming year..

Thank you and I wish you a wonderful holiday season and let’s hope an even better and healthier 2022 for all of us.

Much love and happy wishes from my little spot here in Northern California,

Kim

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Drink Station Ideas for the Holidays

December 16, 2021 By kimwheeler 8 Comments

Today I am excited to join the most fun group to share our own ideas for holiday drink stations.

Some of us are back to entertaining in a small way and some of us are just doing close family with us. Either way, having a drink station is such a smart idea.

Reasons to love drinks stations:

They take the pressure off you to serve others.
They add a festive atmosphere and fun.
They let guests create drinks their way.
It lets you move people out of the kitchen and to other spots in the home.

I personally get excited when someone has a drinks bar, as I usually am picky about what I drink, and I like making things my own way. I also think it puts guests at ease right away and lets them move about the home when many times gatherings tend to congregate toward the kitchen or another spot. Having a drinks bar on another wall, or in another room, is a great way to get more flow going at your gatherings.

Obviously thanks to Covid, we aren’t having any Christmas party. Our last big party we had was Christmas 2019, our first back in this home. We set up our bar with a special drink and instructions so people could serve themselves. We had other options waters, wines, etc, to the side, but having a drink and the fixings for it, seemed to be a real hit. People like to try a new drink and a holiday cocktail feels festive!

This year, I had the opportunity to try out a Winter Spritz Bar when we hosted a small dinner party for two couples we do dinners with occasionally at each other’s homes. I feel like I have to mention that we are all vaxxed and boosted and are all very careful, so it felt safe to do this indoors

I am a huge fan of Aperol Spritz’s and have been since I first had one in Venice many years before they became popular here. I used to try very hard to find it in shops and now it seems to be THE drink. The Spritz has a bitter orange flavor about it which grows on you. The Winter Spritz is slightly sweeter with the addition of Vermouth which gives it an almost Manhattan taste, but a little brighter. This drink is a little ode to my mom who loved a good Manhattan and I so wish she was still here and could have one of these with me.

The fun part is having a different choice of an herbal Italian liqueur, called amaros, which to change them up. Amaro means bitter in Italian and these are light in alcohol and are considered digestives, which are good before or after dinner. Averna has a chocolate licorice and orange taste and the addition of sweet vermouth changes the Spritz drink to something more deep and wintery. Add a Luxardo Cherry and it’s the perfect winter sip. More about the interesting history of amaro or amaris and what they are here.

Creating a Winter Spritz Bar

You’ll need:

Italian herbal amaros like Apero, Averna, Campari, Bruto Americano or others like St Germain

Sweet Vermouth. We like this one.

Prosecco (it’s nice to stay with the Italian theme, but any decent champagne or sparkling wine can work.)

For garnish:

Luxardo Cherries

Sliced oranges or clementines

Tools:

Ice Bucket

Champagne coupes (similar to mine here) or low cocktail glasses

A slate board like mine for instructions and chalk pen.

It helps to have the instructions written on a slate near the glasses and ingrediants in their order of adding, think assembly line if you have the room.

To Make a Winter Spritz

1 Jigger Amaro (herbal liqueur)

1 Jigger Sweet Vermouth

add ice

top the glass off with a generous amount of prosecco

add garnish of your choice -Luxardo cherries and/or orange slices

Make it Festive

I like to make a drinks bar festive with holiday music, and some decor. I used battery operated strands of fairy lights, a vintage jewelry Christmas tree from my grandmother and a nutcracker and a few Christmas ornaments here and there. Keep the lighting pretty and low and sparkle factor high. If you have any vintage silver or crystal pieces, this is the time to trot them out! Have a tray of pretty glasses ready and the ice bucket full. It’s nice to have cocktail napkins near and a towel in case someone spills a little. I like toothpicks or wooden forks for the garnish and straws for mixing.

A few photos from our drinks bar at the dinner party..My cute friends Bari and E. The husbands got no photos!