FABBY: My Mother's Birthday Party

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013!!!

Hello my sweet friends!

Yesterday,  December 27th. was my mother's birthday and she was just a very young 83 and she looks wonderful! I made a table for a tea party for her with most of the things she has gifted me throughout the years, since she came to Ecuador from the USA, around 20 years ago. Although she's given me so much more lovely things I cherish, like my beloved tablecloths, runners, doilies crocheted by her; specially because they came from her and will be passed on to my two daughters, as well.
I totally forgot to mention that my grandmother's birthday was also Dic. 27th...that is my mom's mother as well, and we used to celebrate the two of them! My grandmother couldn't believe it when she gave birth to her "only" beautiful girl! Mother is an only girl and so am I.. funny, right?

Anyway, I hope you like mother's birthday tea party table in her honor.

 For mother's birthday I used part of my reticulated china, like the chargers and the dinner plate to use with the cake and other goodies..but first, the salad plates; they are from her vintage Limoges, gorgeous aqua china she gifted me year ago; here I will be serving the entree which will be a quiche Lorraine.

 Here is my Kugelhopf, which I will serve as birthday cake, cause mama doesn't like to be blowing candles of any kind. The recipe is at the end of the post.

 Mother also gave me this adorable  Christmas cheese plate with lid. The cookies at your right were a recipe from Libby Murphy's Blog at, http://twirlandtaste.blogspot.com..they don't look pretty as hers, but they are yummy! They're called Butter Cookies Thumbprints, a recipe she shared from her mother.

Mother also gifted me a few years ago for my birthday, this adorable nutcracker.

 The charger and the dinner plate, which will be used for all the goodies like, the cake, cookies, small sandwiches, etc.... and the teacup and saucer from my complete set of reticulated dishes. I used it in her honor, cause she loves this china of mine.


Here is the Limoges salad plate for the entree, which will be a Quiche Lorraine.

Than, after she gave me the short nutcracker for my birthday in October.. a few years ago, she gave me for Christmas that same year, the tall nutcracker too.

I arranged the center piece with some faux holiday flowers on the antique French bowl from Alejandro's grandparents..which is the same color of the Limoges plates. 

 The cloche is holding real fruit that I sprayed with some powder sugar to give it a snowy look.

She also gave me, again, for another birthday.. the holiday butter dish at your right.

Ok, ok..it's true, but mother found two porcelain "sugar bowls" in a perfect cream like color and bought them for me, because my reticulated china didn't have sugar bowls...and they were just perfect! I am her only daughter, so we like the same things and we are best friends too!

My dearest mama, now 83, looking great and feeling in pretty fine health. May God bless her every day.

So here you have it, my mother's 83rd. birthday tea table for today, although her birthday was yesterday, the 27th. of December, but I had just come from spending Christmas with our daughter Sofia and her family. I did the baking before I left to my daughter's and frizzed it.

 

Thank you in advance for your sweet and generous comments you always leave me..they're so appreciated.

 

Again, lots of thanks to the gracious hostesses for the great parties they hold every week.

 

LOVE,

FABBY

 

KUGELHOPF

 

1 1/2 tsp. yeast

2 Tbls. warm water

1 cup milk

6 Tblsp. butter

1/3 cup sugar

3 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 3/4 golden raisins

2 tsp. grated orange or lemon peel

 

In small bowl, stir together yeast and warm water; let stand 5-10 minutes, until foamy. In small saucepan,combine milk, butter and sugar. Heat over medium heat, stirring often, until butter melts and sugar dissolves. In large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Stir in yeast mixture. Gradually add milk mixture, blending at low speed in the K. Aid with the hook attachment..or in whatever machine you prefer. Increase speed to medium and add eggs, one at a time. Stir in raisins, and orange peel. Generously grease Kugelhopft pan, (or any other bundt pan). Spoon dough into prepared pan. (dough will be sticky). Cover with oil plastic wrap and a towel. Set in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 2 hours. Heat oven to 375F. Bake 15 minutes. Cover loosely with foil and continue baking for 15-20 min. longer. Remove from oven and cool 5 min. in pan. Invert onto cooling rack and cool completely. Dust with powder sugar before serving.

"You could even make toast from the slices and rub butter on them for breakfast, it's like a sweet bread."

 

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FABBY: Christmas Eve and Day at Sofia's

Victoria, Christmas Eve at her home with the presents from the two sets of grandparents and her aunts..as Santa will deliver his gifts by sled, and through the garden..you know..

 

Hello my sweet friends!

                       "Merry Christmas 2012 and many blessings"

 We're staying for the Christmas Holiday at my sweet daughter Sofia's house, who hosted it for the first time and did a marvelous job, in every sense..it be decorating her house, having us as guests and of course cooking. Her menu was turkey, a potato and shrimp salad, a delicious rice with coca cola she makes with dry mushrooms, stuffing, gravy and the sweet "camote" (sweet potato kind) I made. Great dessert and lots of cookies too....so much eating!!

 Here is her lovely table, although it's simple because of how she was going to fill it up with food, lol.. she aslo had her in laws and her young Sil as well.

 Here is some of the food. The turkey stuffing in the bowl with the rooster lid. The dishes were made by us at our former ceramic company and this set is for Victoria, our first grandgirl.

Our daughter Sofia with her daughter Cayetana 5.

Alejandro so proud of his grandgirls.

I added this picture of Cayetana playing the piano, as I was asked about the piano. Both my grands takes lessons, so they played Christmas carols for us and sung in French and English, as they learn both languages at their school.

My darling Alejandro...we are so blessed to be another Christmas together and may our Lord grant us many, many more celebrations of His birth...it's what I mostly ask for C'mas.

 A painting of the girls in the back wall at their den; from two years ago.

Cayetana loves to make faces, she's really so funny!

Our hosts for Christmas 2012...Sofia, her husband and our granddaughters.

 Cayetana got so tired of waiting for Santa, so she called it an evening!

Today, Christmas Day we got up at 7am because the girls just wanted to wake up to see what Santa brought them. After all the mess they did opening gifts we had beakfast and started to play with some of their games with them..Menopoly. We had a wonderful Holiday 2012. Thank you dear Lord for all our blessings.



Cayetana exausted from opening her three gifts from Santa, her other grandparents and aunts.. and two from us.



Victoria and Cayetana opening their Barbie boat they got for both from Santa.

Can't believe this is Christmas Day and in a few hours Christmas Day will be over too!

Thank you all of you for been such generous friends and for visiting all my holiday posts..you always make my day and now my entire year 2012, which in a week will be over too, leaving space for the new one, 2013 and I'm looking so forward to visiting you, and your talents, let it be tablescaping, home decorating, cooking and so much I've learned from you this year and I have inspired myself, each and everyone of you contribute so much to my love for blogging and to the happiness it brings me...so when I don't hear from any of you, I really miss you! So thank you so much and many blessings.

Luv ya all!
FABBY




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FABBY: Daughter Sofia's Christmas Home

Hello and Merry Christmas to you all my lovely friends!

We arrived today to my daughter Sofia and her family's house; who are hosting Christmas for the first time in their home, since they usually come to our house and make the three hour drive. We are happy to be spending our Christmas holiday with them, therefore, we made the three our trip, for a change.. to be with our dear little grands, Victoria 8 and Cayetana 5.

I took some photos of Sofia's house all decked out for Christmas 2012, as it's also their first in this house.

 The entrance door. They also have a row of big candy cane lights by the walk, but I should have taken photos at night, instead in the full sunny 90 degree day, lol

 The tree,  and in the side table her Nativity scene and a little amusement park. Hubby in the background looking out at the garden..

I taught Sofia to also make a memory tree starting from her first Christmas after their wedding in October 1999. I gave her the top angel and several ornaments I had in my tree and some new as well...course, she acquired most of them and now her tree looks lovely and pretty full too!

They live in hot weather all year round, by sea level; therefore, she has no fire place or mantel for that matter..so she cleverly placed her little daughter's stocking by a side chest.

  The candle holders in the coffee table were also made at our past ceramic company.

Sofia's little Nativity under the side table.

 The small musical amusement park, and the merry go round.

A close up of her hand decorated tea set with animals in the lids.

 The gifts are mostly ours for the parents and little G'girls, plus our Sil's parents and their young daughter.

I designed this tea set with mugs for eight, at our former ceramic co.

Sofia placed it inside her lovely silver tray.

Merry Christmas to all of you and your dear families..may you have a very blessed holiday.

Thank you in advance for your generous comments, as you always make my day!

I will also be joining some great parties, so thank you so much lovely hostesses.



Love,
Fabby


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FABBY: Christmas Eve Tablescape 2012

Merry Christmas to you all!

Although the tragic events in the Conn. elementary school has casted a shadow on many of us and our holiday season, still.. we need to focus and honor the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ and our children, these be grand kids or our own..and why not, wish all the little ones in the world a very blessed Christmas.

I was hopping I would do my table for Christmas Eve 2012 table scape with the rest of my English red transferware, but as some of you who follow me know...I bought a beautiful tea set with cake plates for 12 settings. I was hopping the dinner wear would come from Europe by this time so I can use it for the holidays; but it didn't, so I mixed it with my beautiful Lynn's Fine China with the holy and I have 16 place settings, as I bought two complete boxes for 8 place settings, plus all the serving pieces. I love the holy pattern. 18 years ago when I acquired it I had a father, a brother with family, who now doesn't live here, a grandmother and a Fil and Mil; so I had lots of guests for C'mas day, so that prompted me to buy the two sets.. still, some day each my daughters can have 8 settings. 

The tablecloth is gorgeous, as it was love at first sight a few years ago and I had to have it! 

I love to use as centerpiece, like the tea set in a tray, flanked by two small fresh flower arrangements and gold candles, with gold chargers to accentuate the gold embroidery in the tablecloth.

The embroidery in this tablecloth is lovely.

My mother gave me one wooden nutcracker for my birthday, which is in October..and the other nutcracker for the Christmas following...this was around 7 or 8 years ago.

The place setting with Turkish gold glass chargers.

The small flower arrangement and one  of the two English teapots.

The pretty holy pattern in the Lynns Fine China dinner plate. The napkins are a perfect match with the dinner plates and I have them for longer time than the dishes.

The dinner plate and on top the red English transfer ware.

The red transferware teacup and saucer. I love to mix and match dishes.

 The brass candle sticks are Italian from twenty years ago and they're also holding a gold candle, each next to a small fresh flower arrangement.

 I used three stems in each place setting. The clear ones for champagne and water are Bormiolli Rocco and the amber wine glasses are Mario Santini. I didn't use my green and red glassware here, so to accentuate the gold embroidery in the tablecloth, instead.

Check some small wreaths on the antique Italian Arte Nouveau chandelier, from the early 1920's...my idea is to dress her up a little with the holiday motif, even though she doesn't need any more dressing up, with all the hand cut crystal prisms and glitter it has.

Lovely two tone roses.

 

A view from the foyer, to the formal dining room. The porcelain Santa is German and the two tier in blue and white is German Meissen...from several years ago, I bought it in a great antique shop in the capital.


I wish you and your dear families a Christmas filled with love, respect and happiness and may each and everyone of you be blessed by Baby Jesus, this Christmas, the new year and always!
Thanks for your sweet and generous visits and also for sharing such beautiful holiday decorations, recipes and ideas...you're all such inspiration to me!!

Thanking the lovely and gracious hostesses for the fun and great parties they  host every week. May you have a happy and blessed Christmas and year 2013.

LOVE,
FABBY



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