Christmas in Vermont

Welcome to Church Street. You will see that antlers are playing a starring role this year.

Other than antlers, the usual greenery has been deployed.

I collected this assemblage of carved wood Santa Claus figures over the course of about 10 years. I stopped adding to it a while ago when it reached a critical mass on the mantle. Also, at a certain point the collection just seemed complete.

The tree is up in the living room. In our second year here I had an electrical outlet installed in the baseboard behind the tree to plug in the lights and make the cord almost invisible - more effort has been made to accommodate this brief seasonal feature than a television (which we still don't have - and are not getting for Christmas.)

Our collection of ornaments has a general theme that developed naturally over time: snow sports, woodland creatures and woodland creatures engaged in snow sports.

I add a few new ornaments every year and this year I received two fabulous additions as gifts. From my friend Cindy Hattersley, a designer in California and author of the beautiful blog Rough Luxe Lifestyle, a new star for the tree top.

And from dear Monika who pens Splendid Willow, is the proprietress of the divine Splendid Avenue, and knows that I love all thing Scandinavian, a set of linen ice skates from Danish company Maileg.

In a heroic feat of crafting not seen before, or ever since, Mr. H and I made three 6-foot strands of this pinecone garland during our first winter in Vermont. (That was before we had kids or gainful employment.) This is the 18th Christmas that they have graced our tree. Other than losing a few cones that were poorly drilled, they have held up nicely.

We eat very well in Church Street as Mr. H spent his 'gap year' in London at Le Cordon Blue culinary school. He is a renaissance man; he also plays guitar, writes poetry, and has a master's degree in creative writing.

Making s'mores is a nightly activity from the beginning of Christmas break until New Year's. There is some debate but I think the secret to the ideal s'more is getting the chocolate into the middle of the molten marshmallow so it melts.

I made these luminaries with empty wine bottles and half-gallon milk cartons. After the initial freeze I removed the wine bottles and added more water to raise the bottom level to conveniently hold a votive candle. It is my annual homage to Martha; I have been a fan since the early days.

On Christmas Eve stockings are hung on a bookshelf as the fireplace cannot be spared even for a single night. In addition to candles, we go through a lot of firewood here.

Before signing off for a bit, I'd like to wish my lovely readers all the best in 2013. I feel enormously grateful to have met so many warm, generous and funny people in the last year through the wonderful world of blogging. Thank you all for the inspiration, education, friendship and laughs. With lots of love, 

All I Have Today

In eighth grade I went a away to a small boarding school in Massachusetts. There were elements to the way life was lived there and features of the school that, particularly in the mid-80's, seemed anachronistic in the modern world. The school possessed a large antique printing press and I took a class to learn how to use it. Although we students were required to attend chapel five times a week, it seemed more in the interest of providing a religious education than with the goal of inspiring a deep spirituality. Nevertheless, one of my first projects was a letterpress printing of the 23rd psalm which had been recited to me often by my grandmother. Though my faith and I have traveled a wavering road in the 25 years since I left there, that psalm was the first thing to come to my mind when Friday's news began to unfold, and it has played over repeatedly for the last 48 hours.

Feeling helpless, frightened for my own children and the world they are growing up in, thinking of the children of Sandy Hook Elementary, the teachers and staff who sacrificed their lives trying to protect them, the parents and families whose grief and suffering I cannot even imagine - this is all I have.

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

10 Things for 2013

One of my first blog posts, 10 Things I Can't Live Without, was a list of my essentials for comfort, peace and harmony. I wanted to do an updated version for the new year, but the list is essentially unchanged so instead I have compiled a collection of things I've seen or read about in the last year that interest me, inspire me or that I just plain covet. It's part work-notes, part wish-list.

No. 1  From Tara Shaw Maison, the Swedish Corner Cabinet - ample storage in a beautiful form and finish.

No. 2  The Cannes lamp by Lisa Luby Ryan for Arteriors - a slender baluster lamp with a contemporary glass finial.

No. 3   Elizabeth Eakins' Hagga rugs - serene patterns in versatile neutral colors.

No. 4  Until reading this post by my friend Loi Thai, I had never really given much thought to antique weathervanes as decorative art. I am now fixated on the banner form such as this example from Tone on Tone.

No. 5  The Lydia chair from Verellen - a fresh take on the wing-back, updated with modern legs and nailhead trim, that would be perfect fireside.

No. 6  From textile artist Elizabeth Hamilton, beautiful hand-screened linens in great patterns and gorgeous colorways.

No. 7  From Quatrefoil Design - a collection of framed intaglios - I will never tire of neoclassical imagery and 'grand tour' souvenirs.

No. 8  Ok, I realize it looks a little like it might have emerged from the Krypton of 1978's Superman, but I saw this fixture in Charles Spada's Boston showroom last week and it is honestly pretty cool.

No. 9  The new lacquered line of furniture from Chelsea Textiles - familiar pieces with a chic contemporary finish.

No. 10  From friend and fellow blogger Carolyn Bradford's shop, Mulberry Heights Antiques, a Sonya Shin Edwards original oil painting. I respond to art on which I can impose my own imagination, so although I don't know where this was painted, it puts me in mind of a Scandinavian fishing village.

Are You Baking This Weekend?

Please stop by my friend's wonderful cooking blog Tiny Kitchen. The recipes are excellent and easy to follow, and below is a sample of the beautiful photography that accompanies each post and walks you through each step. While recent entries focus on holiday baking, you will also find healthy main dishes - you will want to follow!

All photos by Tiny Kitchen

Sharing Gift Ideas at The Enchanted Home Today

Please pop over to The Enchanted Home to see my gift giving ideas as well as those from some other very stylish bloggers in the latest installment of Tina's Bloggers Buzz on Holiday Gifts.

Sleigh Bells Ring

A light blanket of snow fell over the village this weekend, wreaths were hung and a few hundred tiny white lights strung through the evergreens outside. Christmas decorations here are generally on the simple side, no dramatic statements, just favorite treasures and collected objects taking center stage...from Tone on Tone a marble urn filled with vintage ornaments.

I love a touch of red here and there, particularly at this time of year. In an alabaster vase found at my favorite shop in New York City - Lexington Gardens - a spray of fresh winterberry.

I go through hundreds of tealights at this time of year. I light them at about a quarter to four when the sky begins to darken and they burn until we go to bed. These votives were bought during my visit to Norway in 2004 - the trip that started it all. Read this previous post for the full story and perhaps everything you ever wanted to know about me.

Candle clips from one of my favorite haunts in Burlington, Vermont - Vintage Marketplace - a, multi-dealer shop and vintage lover's paradise inside an old warehouse on the shores of Lake Champlain.

Never is my aesthetic more influenced by Scandinavian style than at Christmas. This year I have been inspired and awed by Norwegian blogger Vibeke of Vibeke Design. She is an authentic creative talent who crafts astonishingly beautiful vignettes, art and ornaments. I was inspired to hang these petite boxwood wreaths from Splendid Avenue in the dining room windows after seeing something similar in Vibeke's own lovely house.

 

We bought these sleigh bells the first Christmas we spent in Church Street. I meant to put them away come January, but we all liked the sound they made when people came and went. When our Lab Gus began ringing them at about five-months-old to alert us to the fact that he needed to be let out, we realized they would always be a permanent part of the decor, just dressed up for the holidays.