Thursday, December 29

Feast of the seven fishes

Feast of the Seven fishes is an Italian tradition

celebrated on Christmas Eve.....

Our family celebrates and prepares the

Seven fishes on New Year's Eve.

This is because we don't spend Christmas weekend here at home and I wanted

to share an Italian tradition with our kids.

We love to cook and spend time in the heart of our home.

It's a night of cooking, drinking, dancing,

&

watching the world turn Midnight!

On the menu for this year will be

Drinks:

Prosecco with drops of Chambord & frozen raspberries for fun.

Argentine Wine with dinner

Champagne to toast,

Limoncello with dessert.

Finish the night off with espresso and more Champagne.

Dinner:

Seven Fishes

Shrimp Crostini,

Oysters,

Tuna,

Quahogs,

Linguine Vongole,
(24 littlenecks in a white wine broth with a splash of diced tomatoes
hubby makes this and it's soooo good).

Baccala
prepared with tomatoes, garlic, red chilies, olive oil, mint, & capers.
(soaked for three days in cold water to get rid of the salt)

Lastly,

Grilled Lobsters in a Meditteranean broth.

It will be a feast.


Desserts

Grapes for good wishes in the New Year!

Struffoli,
(homemade by me)

Cannoli's
(Visit to the North End the Italian section in Boston for goodies),

Italian cookies,

&

Panettone

This is our tradition for New Years Eve.

Do you have traditions during this festive time?

I wish you a wonderful New Year in 2012!

Thank you for all of your inspiration through out the year.

I enjoy reading your posts and they make me smile.

Looking forward to a spectacular 2012!

Take care,

Claudia







Sunday, December 25

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas,

Feliz Navidad,

&

Buon Natale!


I hope everyone is having a wonderful day

with

family

and

friends.

We have been enjoying all the preparations for Christmas.

We started out earlier in the week with

Santa coming to our home and celebrating.

The kids had their friends over for their first

Christmas party.

Santa came in his sled and brought presents.

The little ones were so excited!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas!





















Take care,

Claudia

Wednesday, December 7

Decorating...shopping.....decorating!

Hello,

It's almost Christmas.....

We are enjoying everything about it!

Decorating mantels and tables,

picking out the Christmas tree,

hot chocolate before bedtime,

sugar cookies,

&

singing to Christmas music through out the house.

Happy faces, Advent calendar, and Christmas lists.

Only one more week of school,

so I have been pretty


busy getting everything together.

We started off the season watching

the

Peter Pan Show in Boston.

The city all lit up with festive lights.

The show was

under a big white tent

with a three sixty projected scenic design live theater.

It was spectacular!

The performances were wonderful and funny.

Our whole family enjoyed it.

We have started watching Christmas movies

Little Women,
(Love the March's Family house)

The Holiday Inn,

&

Rudolph.

Can't wait to see them all.

This weekend we will be watching

A Christmas Story.

One of our favorites.

I'll be back soon to show our Christmas decor.

I hope it snows soon.

It's been pretty warm here in New England.

Take care,

Claudia




Tuesday, November 22

Amazing weekend!

Two wonderful things happened to me this past weekend....

My hubby and sister surprised me with my

40th Birthday party

at the

Charles Hotel!

It was such a surprise and it all was so beautiful!

Our family and dear friends

were there to celebrate my

40th !

My sweet hubby planned a beautiful gathering!

We love the Charles Hotel

in

Harvard Square...

It's a fun place to stay.


The Charles Hotel

I was overwhelmed and surprised.

People took their time to fly out and drive from far away

to celebrate with me.

The invitation read "Better Late than Never",

because

my birthday was in February.

It was a sit down dinner and the flowers were stunning

and the cake was gorgeous.

It all looked so pretty!





We had brunch the next day from Henrietta's table with

family & friends.

It was an amazing weekend!

Then on the same weekend

I won a giveaway

from

CIAO Newport Beach.

A little black dress.

It's beautiful!

Please check out Claudia's
(love her name)

CIAO Newport Beach blog.

It's fun, fresh, and a beautiful blog.

She was sweet enough to follow mine.

Thank you for this wonderful gift.

Have a magnificent time with family and friends this

Thanksgiving.

Take care,

Claudia


Saturday, November 12

The Color Red.....

Hello,

Are you thinking Red yet?

I am having a hard time enjoying November without

thinking about you know what......

I was so excited to decorate the house with Fall/Halloween decor

and now

Thanksgiving is around the corner.

But for some reason, I am thinking you know what already!

Is that insane or what?

We host Thanksgiving and I love this holiday!

It's the time to give Thanks and be with your loved ones.

I cherish each holiday so much with my family to make sweet memories.

I have been bombarded with you know what catalogues

and

my favorite shops

already decorating for you know what.

I found this yummy recipe that I will be serving for our signature drink

on Thanksgiving Eve.

The night before is always fun.

Cranberry Sangria


via Coastal Living


Ingredients

2 cups of Fresh or frozen cranberries

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of water

1 bottle of fruity red wine

1/2 cup of brandy

1 cup of orange juice

Garnish with fresh cranberries, orange, lemon, lime, and grapes.

Preparation


Bring first three ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan
over medium high heat.


Reduce heat to low, and simmer five minutes or until cranberries pop.

Pour mixture through a wire-mesh strainer into a bowl, using the
back of a spoon to squeeze out juice. Discard solids.

Transfer cranberry mixture to a large pitcher.

Stir in wine, brandy, and orange juice.

Chill two hours.

Serve over ice, garnish with cranberries and fruit slices.

I am also enjoying Ryan Adam's

new album

Ashes & Fire.

Perfect for the month of November!

Take care,

Claudia




Sunday, October 2

Fall Decorating...

It's October!

It's that time to start decorating for Fall

and to celebrate Halloween....


One of my favorite Antique shops is closing and

I picked up a few things.












The splint basket is my favorite find this week.

Taking the kids to pick out pumpkins.

I am linking up at

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia...

Beautiful and inspirational blog!



Happy Sunday!

Take care,

Claudia

Sunday, September 25

BOW TIES

Each season

I rotate my old magazines to reflect the change in

season even if

summer doesn't seem to want to leave.

The air conditioner switch has been turned on again.

I was going through my old Country Home magazines

to look for

Fall recipes.

I came across this one.


BOW TIES

with

Chicken & Dried-Tomato Pesto.


(It looks so yummy)!

Via Country Home



- Recipe -

8 oz Bow-Tie Pasta

2 cups Frozen Peas and/or chopped Roasted Red Peppers

1/2 cup oil-packed Dried Tomatoes, drained

1/3 cup of Olive Oil

1/2 cup slivered Almonds

2 Cloves Garlic

1/4 tsp. each Salt and Black Pepper

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

2 cups chopped or shredded purchased roasted chicken or cooked chicken

1/4 cup fresh Basil, snipped

Freshly shredded Parmesan Cheese
(optional)


Directions:
  1. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package directions, add peas to pasta water for the last 2 minutes of cooking time, if using. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water when draining pasta and peas. Place drained pasta and peas back into the pot.
  2. Meanwhile, for dried-tomato pesto, in a food processor or blender, combine the drained dried tomatoes, olive oil, almonds, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cover and process until almost smooth. Add 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and blend until combined.
  3. To the pasta (and peas if using) in the pan, add reserved 1/2 cup pasta water, dried-tomato pesto, roasted red pepper (if using), and chicken. Toss gently with snipped basil. If desired, serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

I hope to be able to have an indoor fire soon.....

Happy Sunday!

Take care,

Claudia







Wednesday, September 14

A change in color.......

Last of the Summer Hydrangeas....

They have turned from white

to

periwinkle,


to light green,

&

now Cranberry.





It blends well with the downstairs bathroom.



Take care and have a good week!

Claudia












Saturday, September 10

September......

September has arrived....

The kids were in school for two whole days.

Just a couple days before

eating gelatos,

beach,

outdoor movies,
(Trying all summer long to get that projector to work and finally it did
to watch The Marx Brothers).

Then the day before

new first day outfits,

new shoes, new watches, new accessories,

new school supplies.


There were happy faces going to bed before first day of school.

Our kids were ready to reunite with

friends,


teachers,

and

they were looking forward to their First Day of School Surprises!

I hope everyone's first day went well.

I wish everyone a great school year!


September is here and I'm starting to prepare some changes

to welcome Autumn.

Even though it was hot out yesterday I have not yet

put away my flip flops....you won't see me wearing boots yet!

Open House was this week for my oldest and I was the only

one wearing open toe shoes.

There were a lot of leather boots going on!

Really??

Not ready yet!


Here are some inspirational pictures to bring a little bit of

Summer and Fall together

for at least a few more weeks.








Love all the warm colors.

Images via Coastal Living, Cottage living, Southern living.


The last couple of weeks I have been enjoying your blog posts.

So much inspiration and talent!


Have a great weekend.


Take care,

Claudia

Thursday, August 25

I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise......

Hello,

I am sooo excited and

counting the days

for Saturday to come....

We have waited all year to go

&

see

The Zac Brown Band!

ALL country fest this weekend.

No hurricane is going to keep us from

enjoying this night...fingers crossed!

Take care and have a great weekend.

Enjoy,

Claudia


Monday, August 22

Happy Monday!

Hello,

We are back from vacation

in Nantucket.

All

rested

and happy.

It's bitter sweet to leave Nantucket but we do

enjoy returning

to our

home.

Only three weeks left before you know what starts....

Can't even think of it right now.

Making sure all homework, summer reading, and projects are complete.

Soon enough!

In the meantime,

catching up on some of my favorite magazines.

I wanted to share this Lake House

spotted in

Southern Living.

I love this picture and wanted to share.

Family photos used on the face of cabinet doors.

Love it!

Here are more pictures of this beautiful

Lake House.

Take care and Happy Monday!

Claudia





Sunday, August 7

Nantucket House

Hello,

I have to show you the decor of this Nantucket house....


We have been renting this house for eight years.

The kids love it

&

call it the

Up Side Down House.

The rooms are reverse.


The bedrooms are downstairs


and the

Great Room,

Deck

are upstairs.

I think it's a brilliant idea!
(the only thing that is not so much fun is carrying all the groceries
upstairs).


There are trees and bushes surrounding the property so it seems

you are under a canopy.


The deck is along one of the walls
facing the

backyard.


It's really beautiful at night....

This is where we enjoy

listening to
music,

cigars,

and

shooting stars.

It's a relaxing house

to enjoy good times

and

make sweet memories.

Love the decor.

I'm not sure the style of the house.

Not all of the decor is coastal.

There are sea shells and coastal paintings hanging on mantels and above the window sills.

The owners
also added trinkets and decor from places they have visited such as Guatemala.

We feel at home here.

My Mom is from Guatemala
and it seems that it was meant to be to find this house.

We are thankful the owners are able to share their home with us.

I hope you enjoy the pictures.


First walk into the house.


Bathroom between two bedrooms. Couldn't take pics
of bedrooms. The kids were still sleeping.

At the end of the hallway door leading to backyard
and outdoor shower.


Reading room/office right before master bedroom.


At the end of the bed of the master bedroom a beautiful stone
fireplace.


Master bath and shower on the opposite side.


Heading back above the main door. Love the windows and
of course the aqua bell mason jars.

Heading upstairs.


Top of the stairs.

Cute shelves....


His and hers....Love the white slip covered chair.
This is where I read in front of the fireplace.


Stone fireplace.


View of the dining room.


The kitchen. Love this color blue.


Another view. At the end there is a breakfast nook.
Love the open shelves for the dishes, glasses, etc.


Walk in pantry. Had to take a picture of the oversize
bell jars. Need to find some of those.


Behind the couch the kids call it the game room.
Lots of books, games, and pillows on the floor.


Another view of family room.


Upstairs bathroom.

Upper deck...Also love the color blue
on these chairs.


View from upper deck. First thing in the morning.


Another view.
Once the fog clears you can see Nantucket roof tops at a distance.



Take care,

Claudia