SUNDAYS WITH CELIA VOL 50
Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas Eve! Thank you for stopping in today for Sundays With Celia Vol 50.
Are you ready for Santa to arrive tonight? We will be enjoying a quiet Christmas Eve, as our children and grandchildren are not arriving until tomorrow. But I’m all ready to go and excited to be hosting the family for a full week here in beautiful Lake Arrowhead. I’ve made plans to take the grandbabies to Santa’s Village, where we will be having a Christmas Tea with Mrs. Claus. And I’ve planned to have the neighbor children over for a cookie decorating party with my grandbabies. So stay tuned and I’ll be sharing some kiddie cuteness real soon.
Looking Back On Sunday
We have had a very busy month and I’ve been feeling under the weather so I actually went a full week without a single post. We also made a quick trip to Colorado to visit our son, where I got to see my first snow of the season. Here in SOCAL it’s windy and cold, but dry. So, no white Christmas for us this year.
On the way to snowy Colorado we flew right over Lake Arrowhead! It’s always fun to view our hometown from the air.
Despite travel and sickness I’m all caught up now and this week I actually managed to blog about My Christmas Table, which featured these pretty decorated napkins. If you missed it click here to view the post.
I also gave you a step-by-step tutorial on how to prepare Christmas Mulling Spice Party Favors. They make a great hostess gift as well. Plus, it’s never too late to enjoy mulled cider or wine, so make up a batch of this attractive and delicious mulling spice to enjoy all winter long.
A Christmas Dinner Party
Last week we enjoyed a beautiful and intimate holiday dinner party at the newly renovated home of our dear friends, Mo & Dub. Their Modern Farmhouse table was so lovely that I wanted to share it with you.
Goodbye Cottage Grove, Hello New Fixer Upper!
Well, it is with both happiness and sadness that I report that we closed escrow on the sale of The House On Cottage Grave last week. I’m happy because it sold quickly, but sad that a little piece of me is now gone. And, much to my surprise, a family from Orange County, California purchased the property and will be making it their full time residence. My business model is to renovate vacation properties, furnishing and outfitting them so that all the second home buyer needs to bring with them is their toothbrush. My buyers had been on the hunt for a second home, but loved The House On Cottage Grove so much they decided to relocate to the mountains permanently.
Knowing that the end was near for Cottage Grove, I’ve been searching for my next fixer-upper for sometime now. I was actually getting a little worried because nothing I saw really spoke to me, that is until I found The House On Victoria Court! We are in escrow on this 1930’s charmer. I’m having the inspection done next week so it’s still not a done deal, but I sure hope it works out. I have a vision for this diamond-in-the-rough, and I’m excited to get started!
Have You Ever Wondered How British Royalty Celebrates Christmas?
For some reason I’m intrigued by all things British. I think it’s because I was lucky enough to travel there starting when I was a small girl, at which time I fell in love with England. I dreamed of what it would be like to be married to a prince and live in a castle. Now that I’m all grown up that’s the last thing I’d want to be doing, however, I wouldn’t mind an invitation to celebrate Christmas with the queen. Since I don’t imagine an invitation is in the mail, I’ll just have to settle for reading about it.
Toward that end, the Queen’s former personal chef reveals what the Royals eat at Christmas in this recent article published in the Daily Mail.
Imagine a quirky Christmas at Downton Abbey. A real fir tree glitters in every room, fires roar and footmen hurry through endless corridors. On the table in the dining room is a spectacular feast – ox tongue, roasted hams and a stuffed boar’s head. The family assembles in the drawing room for pre-dinner Veuve Clicquot…
Read the article by clicking here.
Be Entertained On Sunday
I took a break from Christmas prep last night to take in dinner and a movie with my husband. We went to see The Greatest Showman, a movie loosely based on the life of P.T. Barnum. Staring the multi-talented Hugh Jackman who sings and dances his way through this feel good movie alongside Zac Efron, Michelle Williams and Zendaya. While the movie has had mixed reviews, I really enjoyed it and may even see it again next week with my Granddaughter.
Listen to this beautiful song, my favorite from the wonderful Greatest Showman soundtrack, sung by Loren Allred…
Kidding Around At Christmas
In closing, here’s a little Christmas kiddie cuteness, brought to you from the folks at FamousDC (an unabashed plug for my son’s company).
Well, I hope you will be enjoying a holiday fit for royalty! And thank you for your support of After Orange County as we celebrate 4 years together.
Merry Christmas!
So there you have it: SUNDAYS WITH CELIA VOL 50
Thanks so much for dropping in!
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All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Unless otherwise noted, all photos are the original property of Celia Becker @ www.AfterOrangeCounty.com and may not be reproduced without specific permission.