The Day Before

  Well, tomorrow December 2 is the day of the luncheon.  I am SO EXCITED!  I love to plan these affairs and  entertain my guests.  It is a highlight of the year.  I love to surprise them with many small gifts some of which I have already written about.  And, the food itself is creative to make and prepare.  More pictures of the food will be taken and posted tomorrow.

     Today I worked on finishing the three different desserts.  One of them is a Christmas tree cupcake.  Of all the desserts I have ever made this one although simple was challenging.  It consists of a tree base and a tree top that are baked separately and then put together via frosting.  The two parts must be level and the assembled tree must be frosted as it is being turned so as to keep it level.  See the pictures.

Tomorrow I will plate the tree cupcake and add a little snow (powered sugar) to the base.  I can't wait to present it!  Unusual yes?  What do you think?

Today I also finished making the individual pots de lemon creme that will have some crystallized rose petals as the top garnish (picture tomorrow).  The crystallized rose petals I picked from my garden in September...that is I picked the rose petals and then crystallized them.  They are perfectly edible as I use no pesticides in my garden.

     I also set out the gingerbread and decorated sugar cookies on the table as part of our centerpiece.  The smell is yummy!

Several pictures from different angles are posted here.

The center clear glass bowl with the snowman inside will have 'real snow' in it tomorrow.  I will explain this tomorrow.

A few more pictures of the Christmas decor now follow.  Be sure and look for the red fireplace mantel scarf that I embroidered with snowflakes...some in a metallic thread.

This is a Christmas tree cut from one sheet of paper without any breaks.  Very time consuming...but, oh so rewarding!  I made this.

These are wreaths
          I have made
                from vintage holly from Germany
                   and assorted ribbons I shaped into
                         poinsettias.

A portion of the Christmas tree where I have made most of the decorations.  These would include Victorian embroidered cones, velvet birds, glittered real pinecones and sumac, individually strung one by one acorns from local trees, and more.  Please post a comment.  You must sign in to do this.