cathyboettner

Christmas Cards and Gift Ideas

There used to be an online store that ONLY sold items that are made in the US, but, sadly, they closed a little over a year ago. I have been sending cards that are made in the US for years, but they have gotten difficult to find. However, I found a new source–Allport Editions (allport.com).Continue reading “Christmas Cards and Gift Ideas”

Holiday Table Ideas

During the COVID holidays, I challenged myself to come up with really cute/creative tablescapes using only items that I had in the house at the time. Here are some of my favorites from that series of posts. Toyland Table For this Toyland table design, I looked through the sweet toys that used to line theContinue reading “Holiday Table Ideas”

Gift Wrapping

When I was a little girl, I always dreamed of being presented a large stack of beautiful boxes topped with a fancy ribbon, just like in the movies. So this year, I bought stacks of boxes for everyone (Nashville Wraps). These boxes are not very big, so I had to come up with coordinating wrappingContinue reading “Gift Wrapping”

The Christmas Table

Normally, my SIL and I work on the table for my in-laws holiday celebration the day before we’re all gathering. However, this year, I am not planning to use any of the items that we are planning to use for their table, so while I had all the Christmas stuff out to decorate our house,Continue reading “The Christmas Table”

Outside Holiday Decorations

I found some new (old) items to use on our porch this year. While we were in Lansing, MI this past February, I went to an antique store that had zillions of old wooden ice skates for $5/pair. I picked some up because I planned to use them with our wreath. My husband hung aContinue reading “Outside Holiday Decorations”

Cajun Hash

I needed to use up some baby potatoes that were starting to sprout, so I washed about a pound of them and boiled them until they were just tender. In the meantime, I thinly sliced about 8 green onions. I drained the potatoes and let them cool a bit so that I could slice themContinue reading “Cajun Hash”

The Thanksgiving Table

This year, we’re having another big crowd–13 for dinner–so we had to extend the table ALL the way, and add a couple 2′ x 4′ folding tables at the end to get everyone in. We topped the table with 2 white cotton hemstitched banquet cloths. On top of this, we put fabric, wicker, resin, metal,Continue reading “The Thanksgiving Table”

Thanksgiving Flowers

We aren’t having Thanksgiving dinner at our house, but my oldest and his girlfriend are coming in for the holiday/weekend, so I wanted to do some pretty flowers on the counter. I have some really interesting branches that I cut off my curly filbert earlier this year that I have been dying to use forContinue reading “Thanksgiving Flowers”

Holiday Drinks

Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday to whip up some fantastic cocktails to enjoy while cooking, watching the game, or catching up with family. I have included non-alcoholic versions where possible. In our family, we have a couple of favorites that we like to enjoy during the holidays. Caramel Apple Martini 2 oz apple cider 2Continue reading “Holiday Drinks”

The Ancient Basement–Massive Beams

If you’ve been following along, you know that we are going for and 1930’s English pub kind of vibe in the basement because of the space that we’re working with. One of the things that we decided to do was to add oak beams to the ceiling to add a nod to that look. EarlierContinue reading “The Ancient Basement–Massive Beams”