Kaseys Korner

Amaryllis 'Ambiance'

Blooming just in time for Christmas and the colors couldn't be more perfect for the season.

Love the pairing of red & white against the antique blue vase.

I usually don't cut my Amaryllis flowers but 'Ambiance' put up three bloom scapes so I didn't mind cutting the first one to put in the vase.  

Besides the Amaryllis, I also have blooms from a new pink Christmas cactus.

Given to me by one of my sweet neighbors as a thank you for decorating her mantel.  

VERY nice of her, especially when I was happy to help.  That sort of thing is fun for me and not a chore at all

 

I hope I can keep it alive.  I'm good with outdoor plants but not so much with houseplants.

This past week I kept really busy baking for both my book club and cul-de-sac parties.

I made the above Hazelnut expresso cookies for my book club. They were devoured!  I highly recommend them if you're looking for a new cookie to try over the holidays.

For my cul-de-sac party, I was put in charge of desserts.  I enjoy making those so I chose both a no-bake white Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake

and Lime Gin Coconut macaroons.  

At least one of my neighbors is on a gluten-free diet so I left out the cookie crust base from the recipe ~ it was still totally divine.

The Peppermint sticks came from Cracker Barrel ~ I thought they'd be a festive (edible) decoration but they actually turned out to be the perfect utensil for eating them!  Dipping the peppermint sticks into the cheesecake gave us a little extra zip of peppermint flavor.  Because of that, they'd be great for any party, you wouldn't have to provide extra serving pieces.  They're also very easy to make & everyone enjoyed them.

I guess I hit both desserts out of the "ballpark" because they were both gone by the end of the night including all of the Lime and Gin Coconut Macaroons (see link above for recipe.)

Another easy dessert to make and if you are a fan of coconut, an absolutely amazing treat!

I couldn't ask for better timing on the Paperwhites either.  

They are just beginning to open ~ they'll be gorgeous at the end of the week for Christmas!

and finally, our little "baby" Ivory has a new favorite spot to sleep ~ on top of the bookcase next to the tree!

Isn't she sweet illuminated by tree light???

Now I'm signing off to try and catch my breath before the next round of parties.  I still have all my wrapping to do plus some cards and a little shopping left so it's going to be a busy final few days.  I hope you all are more ahead than me??!!!  If I don't get back to the blog, Merry Christmas to you ~ I hope it's a peaceful, happy holiday.  










 

Christmas 2015 decor

Finally some Christmas decorating photos!  

Let me preface the post by saying, I'm nowhere near as good at indoor photography as outdoor, so please excuse any less than perfect photos you might see!!!

The theme this Christmas is pretty traditional.  Greens, golds and reds.

Favorite new find this holiday season, flexible glitter tape for the tree!  Awesome!

I actually like our big tree better this year when the lights are NOT on.  Doesn't it look completely different??

This is an old 9 1/2' tree, purchased with pre-strung white lights that burnt out long ago.  That's okay ~ it allows me to change up the lighting more easily.  I spent at least several hours unstringing all those old lights and can I just say I have nothing but RESPECT for whoever puts them on for a living!  Wow.  Were they ever intricately wound around the branches!  After I finally got them all off, I re-strung (no where near as well!) with 6 strands of white, 3 strands of green and 1 strand of red lights!

My little '12 Days of Christmas' Plate tree is on the coffee table.

It's one of my favorite decorations & probably the easiest to put up!  Each of the 12 plates is painted with the corresponding figure from the song.  

The plates are small (2 1/2"??) & rimmed in gold.  Elegant yet so simple.

On the mantel, I chose an asymmetrical style this Christmas and I'm still tweaking it.

Once again, my apologies for the quality of some of the photos.  I have horrible indoor lighting and never bought an external flash for my camera so that's why it's so difficult to get decent photos.  You may have to use your imagination! 

My decorating style is to start with a vague plan that usually evolves during the process & then I make changes as I live with it.  

When I first decorated the mantel, I didn't add ornaments to the boxwood topiary or gold garland over the fireplace.

The ornaments go a long way toward dressing it up!

and I can't even express how much I love the gold garland there.  

Paperwhites on track to open for Christmas!

Today ~ the perfect December snow ~ melting on the hard surfaces and just enough to make things "pretty."

(please politely ignore the fact there's still a pumpkin out there!)

It can quit anytime tho ~ I'm good with this amount!!!!

Thanks for stopping by.  Hopefully I'll get more photos loaded up soon....

 

 

Brugmansia 'Daydreams'

 A profusion of blooms.

in double (frilly, no less!) salmon pink.

The only "teensy" drawback ~

this bountiful, spectacular display is all happening in the garage!

Every time I get a Brugmansia, I swear it's the LAST time because they bloom SO darn late.

At least for me.

'Daydreams' was my "one last time" ~ enticed by the prospect of double trumpets.

*sigh*  It would have been spectacular in the garden, don't you agree??

Oh well, I will definitely overwinter it in the garage and try again next year (with this one ~ no more new purchases!)  

Oh, btw, it's blooming in the garage because the day before Thanksgiving, daytime highs went from 60 to the teen's.

On top of the temperature drop, Fall took a decided plunge into Winter with the first snowfall of the season.

Thankfully, not much snow.  Just enough to cover everything in a blanket of white.

Accompanying the snow, something else making the garden a little less friendly!

That seals the season, it's officially over.  

I didn't even have time to stress about it tho since I was too busy preparing for Thanksgiving.  

Above:  the only photo of took of our table/the holiday.  Although the next morning, I snapped one of the turkey centerpiece (with better lighting):

Now on to Christmas...  

Is it just me, or are the months passing especially swift this year???