Paparazzi

Recently, a neighbor stopped by for a little sunbathing on the deck.





Tanning the left side...






Tanning the tummy...





Tanning the right side...





Life is good.





Zzzzzzz....





Uhh?!  Did you hear that?





I'm pretty sure I heard something.





Rats!  The paparazzi found me again!





Cat lover?  You may like this post:  Cat T.V.

New Year's Eve Champagne Punch, Delicious and Easy to Make

While we continue enjoying all the beautiful tablescapes linked for this week's Tablescape Thursday, I thought I'd share a wonderful recipe for a Champagne Punch I make every Christmas and New Year's.  It's easy to make and always a big hit.  (If you don't care for champagne, substitute chilled club soda, instead.)





If you are making this for a small gathering of 2-4 people, one batch will do. If you're having a larger gathering, you'll want to make several batches because it's always a big hit and goes quickly. I went through 4 batches (with none left over) when I had a party with 25 in attendance. (So, that works out to be around 1 batch for every 6 folks in attendance.)


Champagne Holiday Punch

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
3 cinnamon sticks
4 whole cloves
2 cups cranberry juice
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 bottle champagne (Korbel Brut works great)
Small amount of Grand Marnier (or any orange liqueur you prefer)
Red sugar
Green sugar

In a saucepan, bring water, sugar, cinnamon sticks and cloves to boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Discard cinnamon and cloves.
Cool to room temperature and pour into a large pitcher.
Add cranberry juice and pineapple juice.
Chill in fridge until ready to serve.
At serving time, add 1 bottle of chilled champagne.

Right click on pic below to save it to your computer, then just print it off...much easier than having to write it all out.





Dip the Rims in Nonpariels for a Festive Occasion:

For a New Year's Eve party or a birthday party, I like to dip the rims of the glasses in nonpareils, instead of the the colored sugars I use at Christmastime, seen HERE.




When you are ready to serve this punch, just pour a little Grand Marnier or any orange liqueur into a shallow dish. Pour some nonpareils into a bowl.




Dip the rim of the champagne glass into the Grand Marnier, then into the bowl of nonpareils. Then pour the punch into the glass.




You can serve the punch from a punch bowl and ladle it into the glass, but since the opening of a champagne glass is so small, it can be pretty messy with the punch ending up running down the sides of the glass. I found it much easier to just pour it from a pitcher.




Or, if you have a beverage server similar to the one below, that will work well, too.




You may wish to print off some copies of this recipe because your guests are going to be asking for it.  Or, just tell them it's an old family recipe and you've been sworn to secrecy. ;)




To see the Christmas version with sugared rims, click HERE.  It's really pretty with green and red sugared rims for Christmas.

Elegant Dining in Brumby Hall: Welcome to the 175th Tablescape Thursday!

Early this morning I posted a tour of the downstairs of beautiful Brumby Hall.  If you missed that tour, you'll find it here: Brumby Hall.  For Tablescape Thursday, I'm taking you into the dining rooms.  Yep, Brumby Hall has two dining rooms, probably due to its function as a special events facility now.

This dining area was at the very back of the home.  Isn't the chandelier gorgeous?  I loved the simplicity of the three hurricanes down the center of the table.





The salad plates depict the Twelve Days of Christmas.  This one is "nine ladies dancing."  Does anyone recognize the pattern?






Love all the detailed carving on this beautiful sideboard.





This room had built in china storage.





A closer view...





Another beautiful chest...






Toward the front of the home you'll find a second dining room.





Here we see another stunning chandelier.





Another beautiful centerpiece...





Take a peek at the other beautiful furnishings in this room.  You often see these tall mirrors in entrance halls of historic homes.  This one was lovely here in the dining room.





The room was decorated for Christmas since this tour was in early December.








The dining room had its own Christmas tree.





I'll be sharing three upstairs areas/rooms in this historic home soon.  In the meantime, you can tour the downstairs HERE.  Love historic homes?  You'll find more historic home tours, HERE.

Looking forward to the beautiful table settings posted for this Tablescape Thursday!

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Beautiful, Historic Brumby Hall: Take the Tour

This week between Christmas and New Years is such a special time.  In a way, it feels like time is standing still.  For some, life may have returned to normal with normal working hours and schedules.  But if your household is anything like mine, you're still reveling in all things Christmas with New Year's Eve/Day waiting in the wings.  My family is still here visiting and the memories we're making are memories I will cherish always.  I hope you're making wonderful memories this week, too.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to tour Brumby Hall, a "house museum" included in The Marietta Pilgrimage, a Christmas Historic Home Tour.  Brumby Hall has a rich history and it's a delight to tour since it has been restored and furnished beautifully.





This brief history of Brumby Hall was included in the booklet we were given during the tour.





Hope you enjoy this "pictorial" tour of Brumby Hall.  If you ever have an opportunity to tour it in person, you'll definitely want to do so.  Pictures just don't do it justice.

The Entrance:






Here are a couple of photos showing the condition of the home prior to its restoration in 1926.  Rough looking, wasn't it?





I guess this would be called the Parlor.  The antiques throughout this home are so beautiful.





Gorgeous mirror!  Do you see the firescreen?





Instead of decorating the mantel, the front of fireplace was decorated instead.





The other side of the parlor...





A little closer view...





This room was toward the back of the home.  It felt cozy and warm.  I love the wall color.





Another beautifully decorated fireplace...





Some of the art in the room...





I think this painting depicts Brumby Hall  (lower right) surrounded by the buildings of the the Georgia Military Institute in 1864.  Sherman burned all the buildings, except Brumby, on his "March to the Sea."  He spared Brumby Hall since Colonel Brumby and Sherman were friends at West Point.





Simple decorations for the mantel at Christmastime.





The bathroom...





More gorgeous furnishings...  Love this grand piano, identified as a Chickering square by a savvy reader.





Love how the mirror was decorated for Christmas...






A built in niche/cabinetry...





This little doorway led to the area under the main stairway.  I guess it's just storage.





Here's the way to the upstairs.  I'll share the upstairs in another post soon.  There were just too many photos to share them all in one post.  I can't wait to give you a tour of the dining room and a banquet room at the back of the home.  There's even a tablescape to share.





See you tonight for Tablescape Thursday!  Happy Holidays!