{Our Christmas Eve Dinner at Ristorante da Maria}

Sorry for posting this late but since December 20, my FeedBurner was not working.

Rather annoying but nothing what I tried, pinging or whatever, worked...
Suddenly it was just back!
And off again after posting this... Arrrgggh.

So a belated post about our Christmas Eve Dinner at Dublin Farm Come Home To The Country at Ristorante da Maria.

Here we are in front of the Christmas tree with a Hot Punch.
There was a pianist who played during the 5-course dinner.

We have had heavy rain with flood warnings and unusual warm weather for Christmas.
Pieter's suit got a bit wet from getting out of the car to the restaurant...

My coat is on the coat rack...
Wearing my new cropped top in caviar from Neiman Marcus Last Call but to me it just is black color.

On the driveway before we left for Christmas Eve Mass.
We had donated a Poinsettia in loving memory of Mom and my Angel Sister Mariet

First Christmas without Mom... but it feels special for having one more Angel that we know by name!

My skirt is from Escada, printed hair calf and I've cut it shorter as it was below the knee and rather frumpy looking that way.
Panty hose are DIM PARIS which I bought in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Pumps are Chanel from Last Call at Sawgrass Mills, Florida.

Pieter's suit is from Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH in Woodbury Common Premium Outlet.

We both opted for the Fish; Red Snapper Fillet.

Appetizer: Potatoes au gratin with smoked salmon...

This was SO YUMMY!
First dish: Ravioli stuffed with Porcini mushrooms, topped with a 4-cheese sauce, white truffle oil, Parmesan and fresh herbs.

Our Fish Entrée: Red Snapper Fillet cooked in foil with a Puttanesca sauce.

Lime Sorbet

Strawberry Ice Cream Bomb with fresh berries and starfruit on strawberry coulis.
That was really heavenly!
Lady Chef Maria is the best in our region and she makes everything fresh and from scratch!
Don't you love Pieter's Espresso cup?!
We had a very joyful Christmas Eve, just the two of us.
Hope yours was likewise pleasant, or your Christmas Brunch, Dinner whatever your way of celebrating was.

{Dark Days Before Christmas}

We are having some really DARK & RAINY days before Christmas, complete with THUNDER!

Not easy for making any photos...

Around 4:00 PM in the afternoon...

Lit all candles in our green wooden Christmas tree.

The idea for using a candle with empty escargot shells I got from a blogger friend.

You can see on my CANDLES Pinterest board

This Baccarat crystal caviar bowl is missing its top insert so it is perfect for filling it up with shells.

The Hardanger Christmas table topper is from Bad Münstereifel in Germany.

Holly berries are from our garden...

Thunder for now but on Christmas day the sun is peaking and it will be 82°F, like on Thursday.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!


My posts are not showing up on the Blog List for some reason... still an old one showing.

{Glass Christmas ROSE Ornaments from Anonymous Blogger}

We ALL love parcels in the mail don't we?

~ 

Well, especially if a sweet Blogger Friend is sending such a perfect gift!

Look here: Glass Christmas ROSE Ornaments... and all 8 of them arrived in perfect condition.

A true BLESSING in many ways.

Lavender being my favorite color, together with the teal, these glass roses made for a perfect wreath with some fresh Rosemary sprigs.

Thank you ever so much for this precious gift dear Anonymous!

Someone knowing very well about my addiction to Roses and Angels...

~ 

Took this photo outside in the last rays of sunshine.

We both went with two of our kitties to the Vet, before I could make my photos...

This LED Pillar Candle did just perfectly fit the wreath that I created with some florist wire.

Flameless candle is also kitty-safe!

I've placed them on a large 12.25 inch or 31 cm Pillivuyt serving plate.

Don't you love these colors?!

With the lavender they are also most fitting for the Advent Season.

How very thoughtful in multiple ways...

Wishing you all a blessed Advent Season!

{French Comptoir de Famille Candle Wreath}

Inspired by the French Countryside, 

nostalgic home décor items by 
Comptoir de Famille.

Needless to say that I feel fortunate for being able to offer you these lovely French Country Style Candle Wreath at my on line boutique: French Comptoir de Famille Candle Wreath.  ←click it.

Adorned with Roses and Berries this is also perfect for a romantic  Christmas Day setting...

Works with the LED pillars as well, for a clean and safe candle setting.

♥ Pour Toi ♥

{Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) & Brave Furbabies}

We went to midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and the weather was perfect after 5 days of heavy rain. So glad that we completed early this year all the Water Control Projects; what a blessing for never having to worry again! 

Christmas day was so LOVELY and SUNNY that we went for a walk!

Coming back we spotted about NINE Turkey Vultures, up in tall trees near the creek across from our property. So I investigated and found an entire RACK OF RIBS alongside the road across from our home. Did the neighbors drop it from their shopping bag? But it was naked...

So those huge Turkey Vultures were having a yummy Christmas Dinner!

So quickly Pieter grabbed our Nikon camera and attached the 200 mm lens to capture these images for you...

Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura)

Size: Length: 64 - 81 cm according to the website's link above (just click it).

Or for US standard: 2 1/2 feet length with a 6 foot wingspan or 1.83 m!
Mockingly they are also called here: CONFEDERATE CONDOR!

Photos are heavily cropped and Pieter zoomed in from our driveway, without tripod...

How in the world could an entire rack of ribs end up alongside the road?

This Turkey Vulture LOVES it!

Our Furbaby, Spunky-girl is being brave...
All her hair upright and a very bushy tail! All her hair spiked up to look BIGGER!
 Looking at me like asking: Mom do I have your back?!
Sure you do Spunky-girl!

Okay Mom; I will attack!

She scared me, as I feared for her getting pecked at by those long and sharp beaks!

Her tiny sister, our 6-pound Tiggy-Tiger is all 'bushy-tailed' with hair spiked out and ready to join Spunky!

Look at Tiggy-Tigger as she too tries hard to look impressive with all her hair up; doubling her size...

That upright bushy tail!
Good for not having ANY traffic on Christmas Day in the afternoon...

Our cat-boy Spooky joins in now!
He too walks across the street towards those Turkey Vultures...

Watch him act BRAVE! With his arched back...
Both of us never have seen Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) from that close!

They stayed high up in the trees near the creek's edge of our neighbor's property.

Waiting for their turn to dive...

Impossible to capture all nine of them by zooming in from across the road.
But this was quite a Christmas Adventure!
I've learned that our Furbabies understood far better than their human parents that these mighty birds ONLY attack carion and not live animals.
I thought they acted very BRAVE!

That was our unusual Christmas afternoon adventure with the Furbabies after we got home from a walk...

Next morning, the entire rack of ribs was gone!

We did not let our Furbabies eat from the greasy meat and luckily they stayed inside with us.

December 25, 2014 Our Brave Cat–Boy Spooky Chasing Off Turkey Vultures ←click short video

{SHOPSTYLE - Decor Silver Ball Ornament}

Showing you our present wreath with Silver Ball Ornaments.

Angels, Cherubs and Candles are sheer magic don't you agree?

This was my inspiration from Italy...

Giovanni Raspini from the heart of Tuscany, creates these Heirloom Silver Balls, filled with red satin.

I've opted for this Silver Trio!

There is only ONE left of this beauty!

Click:→ Spectrenoir for going to my  online Boutique.

Got one out in the mail today, for a client in Germany.

Sold out...

The red satin is so perfect with the silver!

Lucky for having some natural light today, as the sun is out and shining bright!

This is the other, larger Decor Silver Ball Ornament in our wreath...

Cherub Angels!

Sold out...

Each Decor Silver Ball Ornament arrives in such a signature red box from Giovanni Raspini, Italy.

This Decor Silver Ball shows TOYS

From the trio being shown here, I have only the two on the left, inside our wreath.

From each of these three is only ONE still available... #1859

At ShopStyle  you could have bought some very plain ones.

When you select: Decor and put Silver Ball Ornament in the search box you can further select from the drop down menu: Seasonal Decor and Store. All is marked yellow.

Neiman Marcus did sell out completely!

Are you also having any special Silver Ball Ornament