RJ Treleaven

Showing posts with label Advent. Show all posts

pansies

Ivy topiary in our kitchen

Happy Thursday, My Lovelies!

I thought I'd pop in this morning and share our Christmas decor. I like to use a lot of living things, from potted plants to greenery cuttings. I tend to bring in the holly and evergreen cuttings a little closer to Christmas, so I'll share them later. I'm lucky that I'm not allergic to Poinsettias because I love them (so many people are allergic). Let's take a look at three of this year's varieties:

This little pink one lives on our kitchen island which is painted pale pink.

Displayed in our foyer, this one is surrounded by ivy.

This one is also in our foyer, and it's the first bit of Christmas decor guests see.

Another little ivy topiary; this one is angel shaped.

We like Christmas cacti, and we love the red in the one below:

Another plant we enjoy during Christmas is cyclamen.

It's also fun to bring in houseplants that are red and green: You don't have to limit yourself to Poinsettias.

We also have a couple of artificial arrangements we enjoy displaying every year:

These work nicely until we bring in fresh cut greenery.

Here are a few vignettes in our kitchen and family room:

Christmas village

Coffee table

Normally I use my work table to arrange flowers, but this time of the year I use it to wrap gifts.

You can see our stocking stuffers in the bowl.

A little arrangement from Oak Street Garden Center

I bought several of the beaded green candle bobeches at At Home in Homewood. I've used them all over the house.

Our dining room is decorated with plants and bowls of glass ornaments.

And in case you missed it, you can see my Christmas tablescape HERE.

I'd never leave out the art studio: I love playing in there!

This is my Daphne's Diary Advent Calendar. I'm having way too much fun playing with it! You can see all the fun things in it daily on Instagram. There's a follow link in the right-hand side of my footer if you'd like to follow me (and of course I'll follow you back!) :D

Speaking of Advent: I styled our Advent wreath a little differently this year. I used moss, cinnamon-scented pinecones, and snow.

Please read my Advent posts every Sunday during Advent!

Our youngest daughter works for Starbucks, and this little tree with the Starbucks Been There espresso ornaments is a fun way to celebrate her hard work. Each ornament represents a favorite state.

We also include a few decorations in our bedrooms which include plants and special Christmas pillows.

Finally, we use a slender artificial tree due to allergies and room constraints.

I got a little heavy-handed with the tinsel! ;P

That's pretty much all the highlights of our decor before the last minute greenery is brought in.

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

Deck the Halls

Thursday, December 7, 2023

Happy First Sunday of Advent, My Lovelies!

How is your Advent Season so far? Have you been busy, or are you enjoying the season at a slower pace than normal? In order to truly enjoy this special season, I've decided to share a few of my favorite Christmas and Advent posts from previous years. You probably recognize our Advent wreath (above). I try to style it differently each year: I added moss, cinnamon scented pinecones, and snow. I'm also using stark white candles this year. It might not be as pretty as the fresh flowers I've used in the past, but I think the rustic, natural look is a nice change.

Today I'm sharing a very easy Christmas cookie that my family loves: the ever popular date ball. During Christmas, most Southern parties have the holy trinity of balls: date, sausage, and bourbon. We Southerners love our balls! :/

Southern Date Balls

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 stick butter

1 egg, well beaten

1 cup pitted dates, finely chopped

1 cup nuts, finely chopped (I like walnuts)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups Rice Krispies

Confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

Melt butter and sugar in a medium sauce pan over low heat.

Add egg and stir until thoroughly incorporated.

Add dates, nuts and vanilla and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in Rice Krispies.

When cool enough to handle, roll into bite-sized balls and roll in confectioner’s sugar.

Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy!

First Sunday of Advent Reading: Hope

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned. […] For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
~Isaiah 9:2, 6-7

Until next time...

Blessings!

Ricki Jill

First Sunday of Advent 2023

Sunday, December 3, 2023

Tiny tree in the art studio

Happy Tuesday, My Lovelies! I have been the most horrible blogger of late. Have you missed me? (haha) It is taking me forever to get anything accomplished these days...everything takes longer. Everything. I've received a few emails inquiring what's up, so I thought I'd give you a brief overview of my life lately. As you can tell from the above photo, I'm slowly decorating for Christmas. Our tree is up without the ornaments, but I have most all the other decor done. I still need to pick up a little greenery later on today, and then I'm planning on decorating the tree tonight.

As far as my blog goes, I am actually working on a few posts coming up soon:

Our December 2023 edition of the Tales of the Traveling Tote will be live this Friday, December 1st.

Here is a hint from my Tales of the Traveling Tote post:

Not really much to go on, huh!?!?

Also, I'm hosting this quarter's giveaway!

I hope you win!!!

On December 5th, I'm joining Rita @ Panoply for a Christmas Tablescape Blog Hop.

Here is a little sneak-peek of my tablescape, my "inspiration:"

via

I'm still attending my art classes @ Red Dot, and I have a goal to finish the realism drawing book I've been working on by the end of January.

Since baseball season is over, I'm reading a bit more at night. I am also working on a post of mini book reviews.

The Rachel Incident will be included in my Literary Friday post on Friday, December 8th.

I'm still trying to determine how I will post during Advent. I will probably post only on the Sundays of Advent this year, but I will be posting everyday in December on Instagram. If you don't follow me yet, please start and I will follow you back! There's a link to my account on the lefthand side of my footer, below. I will be sharing prizes from my Advent calendar as well as daily scripture.

The Advent Calendar is the fancy armoire, and it's from Daphne's Diary Magazine.

Thank-you for reading my blog!

Until next time...

Blessings,

Ricki Jill

What's Been Going On In November

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Happy Fourth Sunday of Advent, My Lovelies! Christmas is one week from today, and I for one think it's super-special when Christmas falls on a Sunday.

For each of the four Sundays of Advent 2022 I will be sharing my favorite tips to help YOU make your holiday prep easier. These days it takes me about three times longer to accomplish a task, so I need all the help I can get this season!

But first, today we light the candle that represents love:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
~John 3:16

The First Sunday of Advent, I shared the easiest way to clean a chandelier; the Second Sunday of Advent, I shared how to take care of poinsettias; and last week, the Third Sunday of Advent, I shared how to freeze cookie dough.

For today's last Advent post, I'm sharing my best recipe for make ahead breakfast casserole: I've shared it several times, but it's worth repeating. You can make it two or three days before you want to bake and serve it. It only takes an hour to bake so all you have to do the "day of" is preheat the oven to 350, take it out of your fridge, uncover and bake it. I bake this casserole for Christmas brunch every year: It has become a Treleaven Christmas tradition!

Yankee Pleaser Casserole

Ingredients:

2 lbs. bulk sausage, cooked and drained

2 c. grated cheese (longhorn, cheddar, whatever you like)

4 eggs

1 c. cooked grits

8 1/2-oz package corn muffin mix

1 3/4 c. hot milk

1/2 c. butter, melted

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2-quart casserole dish. Layer the sausage and one cup of the cheese in bottom of casserole. In medium bowl, combine the eggs, grits, muffin mix, milk, and butter. Pour over the sausage and cheese. Top with remaining cheese. At this point, the uncooked mixture may be refrigerated overnight, if desired. (My husband loves this part because he likes to take it with him to his hunting camp. Everyone loves it when he brings it!) Bake for one hour in the middle of the oven. Yields 8 - 10 servings.

Cook's Note: My husband prefers maple flavored sausage. It gives it an interesting flavor! I prefer hot sausage, and one of my daughters likes sage sausage. All three are good in the recipe!

I found this recipe in:

Do you have any Christmas brunch traditions?

I hope that these Advent posts have been helpful and a blessing to y'all!

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

The Fourth Sunday of Advent 2022

Sunday, December 18, 2022

Happy Saturday, My Lovelies! I wanted to share a little bit of our Christmas decor, and a few ways we're getting cozy this Christmas season.

We've bought several types of hot cocoa, and some Christmas teas and coffees. We love Taylor's spiced Christmas tea and O'Henry's Christmas blend coffee. There's nothing better than starting the day with a warm beverage when the sun is barely over the horizon.

I usually make tea every afternoon. I've received lots of wonderful cards, Christmas letters, and treats via mail. I've spent a couple of afternoons in my cozy art studio drinking tea and reading Christmas letters.

I want to thank all of you for your cards, letters, and treats.

They have meant the world to me this year. I am so sorry I have not reciprocated, but next year I am determined to send Christmas letters and cards.