Day After A Party

We love having parties. Typically, we try to give an open house around All Saint's Day. This past month, we combined it with hosting the first official Fairy Tale Novel Fan Forum Gathering. All our parties have the same format: we ask everyone to bring a dish, drink, snack, or dessert to share, we clean the house, and we start around noon and go on till whenever. This year we were delighted to have The Miller Sisters come and play a set in our living room (which converted to a "stage" so easily that I had hope we can do it again). It was wonderful to have our house filled with friends old and new enjoying themselves.
But I have to say one of my favorite parts of hosting a party is the morning after, when we group the remnants of the food into breakfast and snacks for the lazy-day-afterwards. I stumbled upon a new way to create a buffet display during this party: I stacked our two benches atop one another and covered them with a fall-colored tablecloth. Leftover wine and hard cider glows on the top level, and the pumpkins and fall flowers still look fresh. And thanks to some thoughtful guests, the floor and room are actually clean! Once again we were thankful to all the friends who helped make our party a success: we look forward to seeing you all again!

Window Fairies

Lately I've been finding evidence that our home is inhabited by fairies, as this photo proves. If you're looking for a Christmas gift for a crafting girl, don't neglect Fairies: Petal People You Can Make Yourself, a delightful Klutz book that includes a kit of fairy-making material. It was a Three King's Day present last year for one of our girls, and, as floral wire, embroidery floss and wooden beads are inexpensive, and artificial flowers are free for the picking in the ditch bordering a nearby cemetery (where windblown memorial displays routinely come to a dismal end), fairies continue to populate the recesses of our home: sometimes I discover them tattered and adventure-stained in the toybox; sometimes perched on a window, resplendent in newly-created beauty. Witness these four "fairies of the seasons": Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, who currently have taken up residence near the candleholders and flower vases on the buffet near our dining table. And I can say I am happy to be graced with their presence. May you be so blessed!

Drawer Organization

When it came time to organize that catchall-of-catchalls, the top bureau drawer of my dresser, I longed to have money to buy sleek wire organizers. But being short of cash as usual, I started using old trays and candy boxes, and lo and behold, I liked the result so much better. I just started with a stack of shallow wooden and cardboard boxes and trays. I divided the things that "live" in my top drawer into different piles, then put each pile into a box or box lid corresponding to the proper size. Then I just arranged the boxes and lids in the drawer, adding smaller boxes and trays and favorite things to fill out the space and keep things from sliding around.

So the contents are (from left to right) my fall scarves, my spare eyeglass case, a hand mirror, and a wood cigar box with snack baggies of jewelry (divided up according to style and color: I am becoming my mother!). Polly's baby socks and shoes dwell in a basket and box in the middle of the drawer: below them are special pieces of jewelry in cases and some Catholic keepsakes. Even my inhaler has a home beneath my miniature journals, and all my hair necessities are on a bright red tray at the bottom so I can grab them without fully opening the drawer.

So far the items in the drawer have been fairly-well-behaved even after several months: though the scarves and socks get messy, it's never been easier to find my jewelry!