This is the time of year when clementines start appearing in grocery stores. For me, the first clementine sighting really seems to signify the Christmas season has begun.
The sweet and tart juicy flavor is such a respite from the heavier flavors of comfort food that is so prevalent in the colder months. I also love that clementines do double duty around the house as both a sweet treat to eat and a festive decoration.
I love the way P. Allen Smith displays bowls of clementines around Moss Mountain Farm.
Chocolate-Dipped Clementines Makes about 54 pieces
7-8 medium clementines
4-ounce dark chocolate bar (60-70% cocoa), finely chopped
Sea salt
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel and segment clementines, set aside. Gently melt chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave or over a double boiler. Working in small batches, dip segments in chocolate and transfer to parchment-lined sheet. Immediately sprinkle segments with a few grains of salt before the chocolate begins to set. Once all pieces have been dipped, set the sheet aside until chocolate hardens. To quickly harden chocolate, transfer baking sheet to the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Serve at room temperature.
Until then, I am using my first batch of clementines around my house for a touch of Christmas.
With the weather getting colder, this is the time of year when I love to stay home, build a fire and hibernate. Comfortable and cozy clothes are a must for this activity, but when the subject of sweatpants comes up in our house, my husband always refers to this hilarious Seinfeld clip.
Like it or not, Jerry has a point, sweatpants definitely send a certain message. With so many great "loungewear" options (doesn't that word sound so much better?) available, there really isn't an excuse to not look stylish while being comfortable.
And the even better news, loungewear no longer just means valour sweatsuits or having to wear "juicy" across your bum! Some of my favorite places to shop for loungewear are Anthropologie, Target (love the Gilligan & O'Malley brand), J. Crew and Ann Taylor Loft.
Here are the items I am hoping to cozy up with this winter.
Thanksgiving may be my favorite holiday. What is not to like about a day devoted entirely to eating? But, the best part of Thanksgiving for me is setting the table, and my mom has always indulged me in this.
This year, we decided on a rustic theme for the Thanksgiving table. When designing a table or floral arrangement, I really like to try to keep the costs down as much as possible. This makes for more of a challenge plus it is fun to be creative with items you already own. The only items we did purchase were three yards of burlap from Jo-Ann's Fabric for less than $10.00 and three bunches of fresh flowers from Fresh Market for under $30.00.
To achieve our rustic theme, we used antlers, small branches with little acorns and rattan chargers from Pier One Imports. For the center of the table, I used an old sugar mold to hold the flowers and small tea candles. This works great when you need to fill a long space, but you want an arrangement low enough for people to be able to see each other across the table. For place cards, we tied little pieces of paper with twine to small acorn branches.
Hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving! Now, on to Christmas...
Welcome to The Zoo, a blog about STYLE (fashion, art), DESIGN (interior, table, floral), TASTE (cooking) and anything else that makes the world and every day life more beautiful. My hope is this blog will be a form of creative expression for myself and a resource of inspiration for others.I look forward to sharing this adventure with you.
Oh....and you may wonder, Why "The Zoo"? That is what my husband has affectionately named our house which is home to two "zoo creatures", our miniature pinschers Asta and Josie.
