A Recipe for Rituals

‘Tis the season for them.

 

Most folks think that home-school families are always at home.  Truth is – We’re usually going in so many different directions that during this time of year I find myself trying to schedule-in our beloved

Christmas rituals.

Dear readers, this is the reason for my long stretches between posts lately.  Junior year of high school is - junior year of high school!  With the semester behind us we now take a month off and the multiple-choice questions become…

Mine

1. Will you be home for dinner?

2. How are you getting there?

3. Do you have your wallet, your phone, a house key?

His

1. What are we having for dinner?

2. Would you be more comfortable with my sister or my best friend driving me?

3. Can I borrow $10 and if you don’t have that, can I borrow your debit card?

4. What are we having for dinner again?

These questions & reassuring messages are family rituals that are more like emotional security blankets that we wrap ourselves up in.

We need that.

Rituals that we do year after year become traditions.

We need traditions.

  However, this year has been different.  This Christmas I’ve found myself searching around the house for my “tiny tots with their eyes all aglow” – They’re nowhere to be found.  Good news is, they’re working & having fun with friends, and not wandering.

I’m actually the one whose been wandering & really missing the traditional “guideposts” that in all the years past have made room for our rituals.

But here’s a bit of good news I found them!  The guideposts that is. 

The new improved multiple sets of “guiding lights” complete with a strong connector!

When one light or (in this post) two eventually go out the others remain lighted!

  Over the weekend MR. put the music on, started a roaring fire, poured cocktails, and ordered dinner in. Gracie & I decorated the tree & the Christmas lights were finally plugged in.  And guess what - When the kids strolled in late that night, their eyes were all aglow!

Slowly but surely a sense of balance is beginning to emerge around here.  My heart is more open and grateful and the days we once called common, we now call holy.  I’ve finally stopped wandering long enough to begin to embrace & cherish some new rituals.

  We have come to greatly appreciate our rare family dinners where laughter is the guest of honor.  Contentment has also arrived and the house is aglow with the spirit of Christmas.

One ritual that we all show up for –

Christmas Morning Homemade Orange Glazed Cinnamon Rolls!

My dear friend Tamara Matthews Stephenson who authors the noteworthy blog, Nest, has added my recipe to her Christmas morning post & to her family’s Christmas morning ritual.  I’m blushing Tamara!

I urge you to stop by Nest for all the goodness that Tamara serves up to her readers every morning!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays dear friends. 

I’m preheating my oven & looking forward to spending more time with you too!

Best of the Best

When I’m looking for the best of the best for Mr. Porter, one place I like to go to is the Robb Report online.

It’s a great source for all things new & noteworthy especially for men with great style!

Tonight I was looking at the Robb Report’s The Best of the Best 2011 for advice on picking the best cigars. On occasions when the MR. is allll relaxed & enjoying a late evening out on the patio with friends, he loves to enjoy a really good cigar.

Shhhhh…..I want to surprise him to celebrate a recent accomplishment. Padron Family reserve No. 46 might be just perfect!  Hmmm, natural or Maduro?

Now, look at who else I found relaxing on the patio.

The incredibly talented outdoor furniture designer Richard Frinier and his Drift Collection. 

What a perfect combination.  I think the only thing missing from this fabulous setting is the MR. & Me, good friends, and the Padrons!

These beautiful sectional lounge chairs, matching ottomans, and cocktail tables also from Richard Frinier’s Drift Collection are produced from plantation-grown and weathered teak. 

I first wrote about Richard & his wife Catherine here.  Catherine Frinier is principal and managing partner of  FrinierAtelier and the Richard Frinier Collection.

Like I said, the best of the best!

Just one more new & noteworthy mention.

There is another MR. PORTER!

A fabulous website!

I loved reading The Report: High Flyers about ABC’s new show, Pan Am.

Grab your Samsonite & your Ray-Ban’s and before you go, enjoy Mr. Porter’s very swell video!

Exotic & Homegrown

I have the pleasure of tending to my neighbor's vegetable garden for a couple of weeks while they're off to some exotic destination. 

I asked them not to tell us where they were headed to. 

You see, it's just the two of them & adventure is their middle name.

  When they return we will plan a special evening, prepare a special meal in their honor...from their garden, open good wine, and sit on the edges of our seats.  Our kids will even want to join us.

Yes, they take those kinds of adventures.

 

 

Did you think I would go & pick vegetables without my camera?

 

   

Probably the most convincing reason to have a vegetable garden is a homegrown tomato.

  
  Some still green on the vine were too pretty not to pick.    

 All organic so a quick rinse at my garden sink and onto tea towels to dry made prep simple.

 The quintessential summer repast.

Slice thick slices of these red beauties, slather mayonnaise on a crunchy soft roll, & season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. 

Our friends are fabulous cooks so along with tomatoes there is fresh dill, basil, oregano, and chives.                  It's a quiet summer night at home in the Bluegrass & the air's incredibly still & heavy. 
   Meanwhile, you know who's waiting patiently on the front porch for a breeze & her after-dinner walk.   

Say goodnight Gracie.

"Goodnight Gracie."

To make a day.

To make a day takes a morning and an evening.

During the holidays it takes much more than that.

There's card writing, gift wrapping, tree trimming, cookie baking, party giving and much, much more.

Perhaps these are the ingredients for your day too.

This is about the time when I begin to droop as my list of holiday "should do's" becomes longer, not shorter

You bet it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas because we are busy doing it! Yes, we are, performing miracles, and making dreams come true, all in a day!

Wouldn't the real miracle of Christmas be if we slowed down so that our holiday traditions & celebrations became authentic, meaningful, and memorable for all the right reasons?

Mother Nature has a way of taking care of that!

Look at your list. Choose to let only what you love best about the holidays remain. Cross out a couple of "should do's" and realize that you can't do everything.  Not all at once. Not in a day.

Now there's time for play and making snowballs with the first snow.

Now there's time for more comfort & joy!

I do hope your lists get shorter and you have time to enjoy these days among all the rush & pitter-patter!
A few of you have inquired about what cookbook I was looking through that morning. It's
  Delicious Flavors by Victoria Amory and it's a go-to cookbook for recipes that please both guests and family every time.

If you love snow days as much as I do and would like my Orange Glazed Cinnamon Rolls recipe, head over to Nest where author Tamara Stephenson (who loves snow days too) shared my recipe!
Also, join me and other hosts & hostesses at Tablescape Thursday @
 Between Naps On The Porch!
All photos: Lisa Porter