Dancing in The Moonlight.....

Hello,

Hubby and I enjoying some oldies but goodies tonight and wanted to

share this version of

Dancing in The Moonlight

by Toploader.

It's not the usual posting but Friday nights are our date nights and

decided to stay in tonight.

Listening to music and sharing on

Facebook, here, and anyone that wants to listen....

Have a wonderful weekend.

Enjoy!

Take care,

Claudia

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

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!

Linking up with

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia blog

Take care,

Claudia

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

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

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

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