Gatherings

 

Family gatherings.

 

 

Friends gathering.

 

 

Gathering my thoughts.

 

 

Gathering my day & sharing it with you.

Mandarin Oranges

Taking a moment to share some warm sunshine, sweet mandarin oranges, and the best part of my day with you!

 

 

Bright green twigs with leaves still attached are signs of careful picking and freshness.

Thank you Trader Joe’s!

 

 

 

Tonight a few will be squeezed over grilled chicken & tossed in a green salad.

 

 

 

So long for now ~

I’m headed back outside to enjoy the sun & another mandarin or two.

If you love oranges as much as I do, you might also enjoy

To Make A Day ~

and

Sarabeth’s Kitchen ~

 

I hope you’re having a great day & looking forward to a blessed weekend!

On The Map

This season I’ve especially been looking forward to Traditional Home’s Fall 2012 edition of TRADhome ~ their inspiring online magazine!

 The feature story, Designer Hot Spots, was written by New York designer and dear blogger friend Tamara Matthews Stephenson of NEST! 

Many of the spots in California and Arizona happen to be my old stomping grounds!

 Thank you Tamara for inviting me to share one of my Go-To Spots for Great Finds ~ 

The award-winning and nationally recognized retail and design destination ~ Seaside Home in La Jolla!

Blue

It’s my favorite color.

It’s abundant in my closet.

Always my first choice in my home as well.

Blue is a gift from the sea.

{ thank you, Slim Paley }

My first beach cruiser which I still ride is blue.

I’m always California dreaming!

Love both of these blue boys!

One of my favorite artists captures my favorite color beautifully!

www.pvedesign.com

One of my stylish & entertaining blogger friends bring blue into her garden with a nautical nod to the past.

{ Thank you, Tamara Matthews Stephenson }

I smile every time I trip over these.  Last count, five blue pairs in the Porter house!

Every single shade of blue makes me smile.

It’s so all-American with red & white you know.

I love Jeeps too!

In Kentucky, we take great pride in our Bluegrass!

I had to say something about Kentucky!  We’ve had a serious case of March madness lately because come Saturday the Cardinals and Wildcats will meet at the Final Four in New Orleans! 

I mean it, folks, this is the grudge match to end them all!  To quote Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell from the Senate floor -

"Basketball fans from Kentucky have been waiting their whole lives for this game."

Wish us luck!

On a personal note, I want to say how lucky we are to have our #1 girl around and cheering with us this weekend!

One week ago today, she survived a serious head-on collision while driving through the countryside.  Her Jeep was totaled & she’s pretty black and blue but by the grace of God she & two of her dear friends all walked away.  Seatbelts, airbags, and angels saved their lives.

Go Big Blue! 

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!

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