Dec
12

Boxing Day Brunch

by Sofia   -   in Cooking  Party planning

For a few years now we have been hosting a Boxing Day brunch in our house for our family and a few close friends. We have a traditional Christmas dinner at my parents house on Christmas eve so this is a different kind of meal. I love brunch and breakfast foods but as we usually spend a whole day together it´s nice to add something a bit more substantial and lunch like in the mix. I think we will do a roast beef this year. There will also definitely be smoked and cold cured salmon with mini blinis or lovely toast and fish roe for sure. Definitely eggs in some way. Perhaps as a scramble served from the shell topped with some roe or a sprinkling of truffle salt.Or maybe I will do quail eggs as they are so pretty. I think we need to do some roasted potatoes for the roast beef? With a lovely cranberry jelly perhaps. Obviously a salad with some candied nuts on top. And cheese. Some pretty desserts too. I think cookies, perhaps something with almond and a sprinkling of powdered sugar, some mini pavlovas are always gorgeous, decorated with pretty jewel like berries and some orange rind. The girls will decorate gingerbread cookies for us that are always a cute addition. And then a panettone on a pedestal.

My new table cloth fabric arrived yesterday. I will have it sown for a long festive table cloth that I can use all year around. It´s a beautiful classic blue toile de jouy on a creamy white base. Such has been on my wish list for years and now we decided that our pretty new dining room deserves a lovely festive table cloth. One that lands all the way down and is probably impossible to iron but looks elegant. I think it will look lovely with any colour scheme from pink peonies in the summer to red velvet bows during Christmas. With yellow, pistachio and baby pink for Easter or with orange & teal for Fall. I have a very good feeling about it!

I hope to add some of our silver pieces on the table this year. An antique silver toast stand, our silver coffee and tea set etc. They should look lovely with some white pieces and I think I will add some pears, lemons & mandarins with leaves attached as edible decorations. I have seen both in the stores lately, also lemons with leaves. So pretty! I will make a tower of two or three of my white cake stands to display them at the centre of the table. Or perhaps I´ll make a centrepiece on a silver tray. I´m still contemplating if we even need flowers. Perhaps not. I´ll most likely have them around the house everywhere else.

Dec
10

Twinkle lights & powdered sugar

by Sofia   -   in Cooking

This morning I woke up early. I tiptoed to our kitchen. I lit up some candles & put my favourite Christmas playlist on in the background. I made myself a cup of coffee and got to work. I wanted to make an old-fashioned rice porridge for my family for breakfast. Not unlike risotto it takes about 40 minutes to come together so to get my girls to school in time I was up long before I could hear the pitter patter of bare feet and see sleepy eyed & messy haired little angels in their nightgowns emerge to the kitchen from the warmth of their beds.

Yesterday was one of those days when at the end of it, before bedtime stories I sneaked in to our bathroom, ran myself a relaxing lavender bubble bath and read my book for a while, soaking up the warmth and relaxation. Sometimes we just need a minute for ourselves. I have learned early on that I always feel better after a run or a bath. Even on good days it sometimes does a world of good to unwind after the hectic running around and then I can be more present for my girls. I took out all our Christmas books a few days ago. It´s so nice to get back to them again and again every year. Some of them are from my childhood and maybe one day I will read them to my grandchildren. So even though my girls read by themselves I enjoy these books together with them and want to have the right state of mind for that moment.

I have been enjoying this time of twinkle lights all around us so much. All the buildings look like gingerbread houses with the pretty lights. I make sure to turn on the lamps by our windows every morning and night when we wake up or come home to give light to those walking outside. I also put a led candle to our hallway that I keep on, flickering in the mornings and at night, when it´s dark so anyone who comes home or leaves to go out in the dark gets a warm and cozy feeling. We also put fairy lights in the girls rooms. They look so magical. 

Dec
6

Hyvää itsenäisyyspäivää

by Sofia   -   in Random