Love it all (except the gold-silver combo)

 

 

 

 

Checking out holiday décor is especially fun this year, in part because there is so much to choose from. I love the hand-spun artisanal touches that are showing up. Perhaps the prettiest examples are those I found at westlem, where I dropped by yesterday. I saw (and loved) for example, David Stark’s beautiful flower garlands, made out of newsprint and silver foil veneer. They would look lovely gathered into a bouquet, threaded into a garland of pine cones, or nestled among tree branches on a mantle. I also loved the funny little penguin-shaped felt ornaments, which are hand-made in Nepal. The store looked gorgeous and had a wonderful selection of small gifts and stocking stuffers. My first new year’s resolution is to get my up-town butt down to their downtown location more often.

I also love the bold and unexpected colour combos I found at others retailers and the drama that ornaments and accessories drenched in either white or black sparkly sequins added. The only trend I’ve heard bandied about that I don’t go for – the mixing of silver and gold. I prefer either as an accent – mixing too much of these shiny shades gives me a tummy-ache.

Other faves this year, which I’ve shown in pics above (starting at the top)

The cool-but-not-chilly black, white and silver themes shown at Ikea and Bouclair(as shown above, along with Bouclair's nutcrackers)

The non-trad aqua and silver holiday theme from HomeSense

The mix of warm brown and golden metallic ornaments from Urban Barn, as well as the glam holiday table setting they’re showing

Juiced about winter? I thought not.

 
Wintery weather hasn’t hit us here in Toronto yet. (Although it sure has come to Calgary, where I spent last weekend. YIKES! Where's a Chinook when you need one?) But you know that snow, slush and sleet will eventually come to the Centre of the Universe T.dot. Along with the dreary weather comes the flu season. One way to stay fighting fit is to eat well, and consume lots of fruits and vegs. If you want to boost your intake, you could try juicing. I’ve been trying out Breville’s new Juice Fountain Plus, which has some great features and sells for about $180. It’s easy to clean, has a shute wide enough for whole apples, carrots and other fruits and veg and has sturdy rubber feet so it doesn't shuffle on the counter. Another safety feature - it turns itself off if it's over-loaded. The generous-sized pulp container is dishwasher safe. (Two free tips – save the pulp and add to soup and muffin recipes to bump up the fibre content, and line the container with a plastic bag for easier clean-up).  The serving jug has a froth separator so you can skim juices before drinking. What I didn’t realize is that the juicer can also be used to make soups and smoothies as well as fresh fruit and veg juices. So why not serve a healthy holiday drink by juicing four apricots, four small red apples, three medium operas and then adding one cup of sparkling water? You also could add sparkling wine (white or rosé) for a grown-up bevvie.

Holiday House Tour

 
Getting in the mood for Christmas, and hungry for classy décor ideas? You can get inspired and do some good by joining the Kingsway Christmas House Tour, hosted by the Canadian Cancer Society, which will showcase stunning homes in Toronto's toney Kingsway neighbourhood. All will be decked out in festive frills, courtesy of professional florists and decorators, such as Ambrose Price of HGTV fame, (whom I happened recently to meet at the launch of the It Gets Better Canada video.  Tres charmant!)  Now in its 11th year, this beloved community tradition includes a tea room stop. It all happens this Saturday, November 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $45 each (group rates are available). Best of all, proceeds raised will support the Canadian Cancer Society. Click here for more information  or call (416) 323-7145.

Seasons Christmas Show

 
If you’re already in the holiday spirit, and live in the GTA, you may want to head out to the sixth annual Seasons Christmas Show this weekend (Nov. 19-21) at the International Centre in Mississauga, where you’ll find more 200 exhibits of luxurious Christmas décor, yummy food and gifts, as well as seminars by décor celebs, including Karen Kirk from Canadian Living magazine, Frank Ferragine from CityLine,and Jane Lockhart, host of W Network’s Colour Confidential. Visit the site for more information.

Feeling Christmas-y yet?

 
 
Gearing up for the holiday season and beginning to look for affordable gift and décor ideas? I love this simple, inexpensive idea using old mason jars and Walltalk - lightweight vinyl quotes, graphics, and monogram initials that can stick to a variety of surfaces, including glass. They also come off easily and won’t damage the surface. Use them in the project shown, or think about sticking a short quote or word grouping on small canvas and putting it in a vintage frame. Or try stacking three Christmas-y words (joy, love, peace) on an inexpensive glass vase from PC Home or Ikea. You could also spray paint cheap cookies tins from the dollar store or Goodwill and stick words on those. You'd fill them with home-baked goodies, of course. Or maybe espom salts that you'd scented with essential oils. You could also:

Add a quote or words to a wide ribbon and thread it through your Christmas tree.

Add a quote or thought to the edge of plate chargers.

Frame family photos from Christmas past and add a favourite saying or a line from a traditional carol to the border.

Visit WallTalk for more ideas, and a list or retailers — or to order from the site.

Next week, I'll share some ideas for creating holiday décor/gifts with Rustoleum’s Frosted Glass spray paint.

Spills and splatters? The gracious hostess bats not an eye

 

 
 

I’m a pretty laid-back hostess. So if little Jimmy drops his ice-cream Sundae on the carpet or Uncle Ed knocks a vase off the mantle, I just clean it up with a smile. I have winced (only inwardly, though) when, say, a glass of red wine spills across one of my treasured linen tablecloths. In this week’s Hot Home Products column, I talk about a new line of stain-resistant table linens available at JacKryn France,  a tres adorable French-themed boutique in Aurora, Ontario (yes, they do sell online!) These linens have none of that plastic-y feel that previous generations of stain-resistant fabrics have had. And they are gorgeous. Not all the pics I had made it into my column, so here are a few more. Lovely, no?

BTW, if you do spill red wine on a conventional linen or cotton tablecloth, you can still play the gracious  hostess. Start by quickly tossing a few handfuls of salt over the stain while saying something clever and witty (you're on your own there, reader, but I suggest you avoid asking the culprit if he/she is loaded or something - unless, of course, he/she is!) Then just ignore it until you can discreetly take the linen off the table. Hold the cloth over a sink and run very hot water through the back of the fabric. Pour vinegar through to get any lingering colour out. Then wash as usual, and air dry in sunlight if possible.

 

Home show here I come (albeit slowly, and with a bit of a limp)

 

 

Well, I’m back in the saddle, so to speak, after weathering not one but TWO falls over the last few weeks. (My right leg still looks like ground beef!) Fortunately, I should be right as rain in time for my appearance at the International Home Show at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. I’ll have lots of great ideas for entertaining this holiday season – none of which will cost too much. There will be sneak peaks of new décor and tabletop products from Trudeau (like the super cute little fondue pots and individual serving plates shown above) and glittery ornaments from Debbie Travis’ Christmas collection for Canadian Tire (see pics below). I’ve also been experimenting with new goodies from Hamilton Beach and Procter-Silex, and will have tips and tricks for how to use everyday appliances such as slow cookers, electric skillets and hand-held mixers to create luscious meals that can will wow dinner party guests or make something special out of a weekday family dinner. And yes, I will have a few fun giveaways. See you there!

 

 
  

 

Friday tip for inexpensive elegance

A great centrepiece will add drama and punch to a dinner party table, but it needn’t cost the earth. Try something simple, like a great bowl filled with seasonal fruit or veg. My favourite this fall is probably a red wire bowl from Ikea ($29) that looks terrific filled with yellow or green apples (see above). You can also put a glass bowl inside it for serving a pretty dessert, such as a Trifle. (Although since I DESPISE Trifle, I'd probably go for a slow-cooked brown rice pudding with toasted hazlenuts, coconut and white choc. Or bitter choc and dried cranbrerries. But you choose your own dessert, my friend -  chacun a son gout, after all!)

I also like the crinkled steel bowls I saw at the opening of the new Urban Barn at 275 King Street East. They start at about $27. This is a wonderful store, btw, and I encourage you to check it out. And watch for their wonderful “Bollywood” pillows in an upcoming Hot Home Products column.

I’ll have more tips on beautiful style that won’t break the bank at the Fall Home Show, which runs from September 30 – October 3 at the Better Living Centre at Exhibition Place. Hope to see you there.

I'll drink to that

If you read my column regularly, you know how much I love Wedgwood china and Waterford crystal. So I love this fun idea - the venerable manufacturer has gotten creative with technology and come up with a ‘Clink-Clink’ iPhone application, through which users can scroll through an assortment of beautiful Waterford stemware and choose from more than 100 toasts that they can then send to friends and families from their phones.

Click here for a video demo of the ‘Clink-Clink’ app.

Chocolate and beef? Yes - read on...

Tom Sfetkopoulos, category manager for bakery for Longo’s, has noticed a change in consumer interest in chocolate over the last few years. “It hasn’t been as rapid as the rise in cheese, but there has been a large shift toward higher-end chocolate and now lots more shoppers are curious about the different types and sampling it,” he says. Canadians, in particular, may be more open to new types of chocolate, he says, because of our multi-cultural make-up.

But the rise is also driven by people looking for different ways to entertain friends. Tasting parties — as opposed to sit down dinners — are a relatively easy and affordable option. Consumers are responding enthusiastically to his company’s Origin line, which uses cocoa beans from all over the world to create in-house chocolates. As with wine, each will have a flavour influenced by the soil, humidity, temperature and salt content in the air of the area in which the cocoa beans are grown. “Chocolate made with beans from Ecuador, for example, have a slight whiskey aftertaste,” he explains.

Sfetkopoulos doesn’t necessarily hold with the notion that wine drunk with chocolate must always be as sweet or sweeter, and he advocates an adventurous approach. “So much is about personal preference, so have fun with it. I discovered a few months ago that I love dark chocolate with merlot, simply because I popped some in my mouth while I was drinking a glass.”

He does suggest limiting tasting parties to three varieties, starting with something light, like white chocolate (although it’s technically not chocolate, since it’s made with cocoa fat from the beans, not the beans themselves) then moving into a milk chocolate and finishing off with something with a higher cocoa content that has a stronger, more bitter taste.

Chocolate can also play a role in cooking, adds Sfetkopoulos. “Think about a beef tenderloin with dark chocolate sauce,” he suggests. Another great tip – dip the rim of martini or shot glasses in chocolate before pouring drinks in them. It’s trick he says he’ll use at his New Year’s party. What a sweet way to welcome in 2010!