{Third Week of Advent 2014}

Wishing you all a very cozy and happy Third Week of Advent 2014!

Creating a warm and cozy atmosphere works wonders for the colder season.

Used our cotton Zweigart Aida tablecloth with the German Arzberg porcelain votive candle holders in white with real gold.

My sister Diny, was so kind for getting these for me in The Netherlands, when I found them in a Dutch magazine.

Having our own Magnolia Grandiflora trees, does also provide leaves that I have sprayed with gold paint.

Added Nandina berries with a few Ilex berries as well.

Nosegay from spices, seeds and hazelnuts, made in South Tyrol, Italy.

Thanks Johanna from +Silber-und-Rosen-Shop  for the name: In the Salzburger Land "Gewürzsträusschen".

Our gold sprayed Magnolia leaves tied with raffia. 

The big candle is still from our 25th wedding anniversary, it was a gift from dear friends.

This fireplace is from The Netherlands, Doensen Sfeerhaarden & bouwbedrijf in Venlo.

On eBay I once got a hold of this Baccarat Crystal Vesuve / Vesuvius Caviar Server (2 pcs) because the inset was missing... But it works perfect for floating candles with fresh flowers.

Here I used fresh cranberries for inside.

The table runner in Portuguese Guimarães white work, we bought in Coimbra in 1994,  while on tour through Spain Portugal for 19 days.

Used on top of this red Hardangar tablecloth it looks perfect.

Making photos during the dark days of the year is hard in itself but trying to capture those flames of burning votives is even harder...

Don't you love the hand embroiderd detail of that Portuguese Guimarães white work?

Wishing all of you a very warm and meaningful 3rd Advent Sunday and a great week ahead!

Stay warm and healthy...

{First Advent Week 2014}

Already Advent Season for 2014... 

Can't believe it but it is TRUE. 

Wishing you all a Meaningful First Advent Week.

Just using a red Point A la Ligne candle from France with fresh Rosemary sprigs from the garden.

Rosemary emits such a lovely fragrance!

The beautiful pineapple doily was hand crocheted by my sister-in-law Elly VandenMunckhof, she is a loyal reader of this blog.

The red rose ribbon is French too.
And so is the Baccarat vase...

For such a Perfect French Baccarat Crystal Candle Holder with etched mark including the fragrant red candle, you can have a look on my online Boutique. Just click the above link.

Sorry all sold out...

Related link:

{Point A La Ligne the Rolls Royce of Candles} | previous post by me

{Daffodils Bunnies & Hearts}

Spring is such a lovely season with flowers blooming.

Don't you love having such a vase indoors with fragrant daffodils?

From our German 'son and daughter-in-law' we did receive some lovely Easter bunnies and hearts...

Erika always is giving her heart to us in a most caring way.

We were lucky that both of them with their two children did visit us in our Vacation Home Vakantiewoning Pardoes, while we stayed in The Netherlands for Mom's 90th Birthday and Mom & Dad's 65th Wedding Anniversary.

 Yes, they drove up to us, all the way from the beautiful Eifel in Germany and gifted Mom & Dad with a beautiful handled willow basket, filled with edible goodies from their region.

Now I have turned a different fragrant white daffodil facing the camera...

Don't you like these double ones better than the single one in the first photo?

Those are the cutest little bunnies with the lace scarf buttoned around their neck.

Daffodils are inside a French Baccarat Crystal vase.

Very glossy Mr. & Mrs Bunny...

So glad they traveled well inside our suitcases.

Don't you love them too?

{2011 Pink Moscato delle Venezie - ONLY 5 percent of Alcohol}

Having worked and lived in the Venice, Italy area, of course we are very fond of anything from that region. For my health, controlling my blood sugar level, alcohol is of course not a good thing. In 2007 I got diagnosed with Diabetes Type 2 and since than I have avoided most sugars. It is a joy for being able to toast around New Year with something in your glass. Already during our flights on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, back and forth to work in Indonesia, I came to appreciate Moscato d'Asti wine with its 5.5 percent of alcohol. That was a great bonus when being upgraded into business class. I would skip wine with the meal but enjoyed it after. So this 2011 Pink Moscato delle Venezie with only 5 percent of alcohol is another find. 

Using my Japanese tray; gift from my host family in Osaki City, from my visit to Japan in July of 2007 as a chaperon.

This Pink Moscato has a fine “frizzante” effervescence as you can see in our French Baccarat crystal glasses.

At the top you just barely can read: Delle Venezie - 2011 Mochetto Delle Venezie Moscato Rosa

We found ours at Cost Plus World Market 

Cheers to 2014 and to good health!

{French Baccarat Crystal Tallyrand Ice Bucket}

One more item added to my Zen Cart powered on line Boutique: Mariette's Back to Basics: French Baccarat Crystal Tallyrand Ice Bucket. A lovely BACCARAT Crystal Tallyrand Ice Bucket in great condition, only minor wear to the gold on the handle. No chips or whatsoever. Perfect for use during New Year's Eve parties! Just click on hyperlink...

This is the discontinued pattern Tallyrand.

The Ice Bucket is 6" tall or 15.2 cm and quite heavy with 2.5 kg or 5.8 lb of solid crystal.

This vintage French Baccarat Ice Bucket only shows some wear to the gold on the top part of the handle.

Showing you the bottom part...

On the bottom part is also the authentic Baccarat France crystal mark etched.

This piece is also available at Replacements Ltd. (click link)

Picture from Replacements Ltd via above mentioned link.

Webquote from Replacements Ltd. with occasional discount...

click on above image for seeing larger!

Sorry Sold out...

It is the time of year for serving some special drinks... Shown here are our Baccarat crystal Piccadilly Champagne Flutes.

Or here the same Baccarat crystal Piccadilly Champagne Flutes filled with Prosecco the sexy Italian cousin of Champagne!

For other drinks that require some ice, such a bucket comes in handy...

Whatever the occasion will be for a special toast; do it the elegant French way!

Wishing you a happy weekend.

Related links:

House of Crystal | The making of French Baccarat Crystal video

Buckets of Elegance | Easy and Elegant Life blog with Champagne cooler

{Wishing YOU all a Happy 3rd ADVENT Week!}

The time is passing ever faster it seems like... It is gray and dreary looking outside with some rain. But inside we can create a cozy setting with the use of some votive candles and with natural things from our own garden. Wishing you all a Happy 3rd ADVENT Week! Stay cozy and warm.

On eBay I once got a hold of this Baccarat Crystal Vesuve / Vesuvius Caviar Server (2 pcs) because the inset was missing... But it works perfect for floating candles with fresh flowers.

Here I used fresh cranberries for inside.

To the left you see our Rösle Universal Fire Lighter which works great to light candles or whatsoever.

Also a WMF silver candle snuffer...

To the right you can see some yellow Ilex berries from our Ilex decidua 'Finch's Golden'

The berry yield this year is poor, also on the red Ilex, shown to the left with barely any berries...

The Pyracantha Firethorn berries we had plenty and also the red Nandina or Heavenly Bamboo berries.

The table runner in Portuguese Guimarães white work, we bought in Coimbra in 1994 while on tour through Spain Portugal for 19 days.

Used on top of this red Hardangar tablecloth it looks perfect.

Closeup where you see those Heavenly Bamboo berries to the left and the Pyracantha Firethorn berries to the right. 

You also get to see the great quality of fresh cranberries we got from Costco Wholesale.

I've made Cranberry Conserve out of them. Below you find the link to my post with recipe.

Making photos during the dark days of the year is hard in itself but trying to capture those flames of burning votives is even harder...

Don't you love the hand embroidered detail of that Portuguese Guimarães white work?

Wishing YOU all a Happy 3rd ADVENT Week!

Related links:
{2nd Advent & Great Family Time} | previous post by me
{3rd Advent} | previous post by me
{Silk Brocade for our PRINCE OF PEACE} | previous post by me
{SUPERFOOD For Your HEART ♥ CRANBERRIES} | previous post with cranberry conserve recipe

{First Advent Week}

Already Advent Season for 2013, and also the beginning of December... 

Can't believe it but it is TRUE. 

Wishing you all a Meaningful First Advent Week.

Just using a red Point A la Ligne candle from France with fresh Rosemary sprigs from the garden.

Rosemary emits such a lovely fragrance!

The beautiful pineapple doily was hand crocheted by my sister-in-law Elly VandenMunckhof, she is a loyal reader of this blog.

The red rose ribbon is French too.
And so is the Baccarat vase...

Related link:

{First Week of Advent 2012} | Last year's post by me

{Silver Grape Scissors with Roses and Champagne Grapes}

On August 22, I was finally able to make some outdoor photos, using our Silver Grape Scissors and the Champagne Grapes that we found at Trader Joe's the week before. I had not seen them in quite a while... 

So it's off to our balcony, the new polyurethane balustrade and railings are not yet painted but nevertheless.

Here they are... Silver Grape Scissors from Sweden, on our silver gallery tray.

Again it is shown with two gifts that I received from blogger friend Susan, the author of Ava Grace's Closet; the filet lace hand crocheted doily that lines the tray and the very finely crocheted lace table topper.

On the silver gallery tray are two Baccarat Champagne glasses...

Susan's Mama did such an excellent job on crocheting these pieces.

Thanks again Susan!

Have you ever tasted Champagne Grapes?

They are so sweet and a lot tinier than regular seedless grapes.

Here you can see the roses and leaves on the Silver Grape Scissors.

Some sweet golden wine is poured into the Baccarat champagne glasses.

Some laughing cow cheese and crackers from Costco, to go with the grapes and wine.

Mary's Gone Crackers are ORGANIC • GLUTEN FREE made with Whole Grains & Seeds and contain no added oils or trans-fats, sugar or dairy.

Why don't you join?

China is French GIEN ROSE.

For the moment, the sun is shining...

Related link:

What are Champagne Grapes? Champagne grapes are the name given to a specific type of grape, the Corinth. They are also being used for black currants.

{Our Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum 2013}

Our fragrant Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum was blooming on August 1, in Our Garden, here in Georgia/USA. 

Here I have cut off one stem with no less than 8 flowers. Some were still buds but nevertheless!

Looking perfect in this tall Baccarat crystal vase.

• They are of the Amaryllidaceae familly. There are supposed to be varieties that originated in South America and also in South Africa. 
• The link South Africa and Indonesia is a very logic one, since both countries belonged to The Kingdom of The Netherlands.
• Lots of Javanese people were brought to South Africa from Indonesia, to cultivate the fields as they were very adept and natural gardeners. 
• With that, of course plants and bulbs have gone back and forth as well. Enjoy our Indonesian species of fragrant white Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum:

A very green lawn we have this year due to all the heavy rains.

The sky is again looking pregnant with rain here...

There was no way to make any decent photos inside the home so I used this table on the patio outside our Rose Suite.

The second link below this post will tell you more about how we got this Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum from Indonesia, where we worked and lived.

We are sure glad we did bring a bulb from our Indonesian garden home with us!

They are such a reward each year. 

Highly fragrant too!

Here they are, in their big planter in front of our greenhouse. Under the left blossom you see the steps of our gazebo...

This photo is from August 18, when other blossoms had opened up.

A very happy and healthy plant and we're so glad for having something from the country where we used to work and live...

Related links:
{Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum in Our Garden} | previous post by me
{Our Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum in Wonosobo, Indonesia} | previous post by me
{Heavenly Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum} | previous post by me
{New Heavenly Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum} | previous post by me
{Our Tropical Patio with Orchids in Indonesia} | previous post by me

{Crocosmia}

On July 10, we could rescue some beautiful Crocosmia flowers from the rain. They were almost flat on the ground... but still pretty enough for filling a vase. Let me show them to you.

Here they are on the new Durango Ambra, Cerdomus GREEN Tiles from Italy, on top of our balcony.

The weather is rather dark  with all our rain for the last weeks on end.

Our grass has never looked that green.

Behind our pond you cannot even walk, so soggy and also near the creek...

Ah, a bit of sunshine, it looks brighter now!

The name Crocosmia comes from the Greek words for saffron (krokos) and smell (osme).

They are from the Iris family, native to the Cape area in South Africa.

Looking lovely in this plain Baccarat crystal vase.

There are so many varieties of Crocosmia that it is very hard to tell what exactly these are.

This is a closeup that I took on my desk in the office... 

Don't you love this beauty?

This one is taken on the window sill of our office where there was more light.

They look beautiful with so much detail...

Again, shown inside the vase on my desk.

Surprise! One looked quite different...

Do you have any Crocosmia flowers?

Related links:

{Our Cerdomus Italian GREEN Tiles} | previous post by me about our new tiles on balcony
Crocosmia | Info