Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! Sharing with you today a few pictures taken around my home early on Christmas eve. My vintage deer and some other decorations I have collected through the years are peeping out from the branches of the Christmas tree and vignettes around the house. I hope you enjoy them! For my backyard garden, bird life videos and daily happenings and pictures go to: thewrensthicket.blogspot.com For my rose garden updates and pictures go to: rivercrestrosegarden.blogspot.com Thank you for visiting! Denise

New Collected Items in my Etsy Shop

My New Obsession - Handmade Cold Process Soap Making

I'm studying, watching youtubes made by expert CP soap makers ,like Eden's Secrets, Royal Soaps, La Fille de la Mer (Ariane Arsenault), The Soap Queen of Brambleberry Soap Supplies. Here are my two batches I made during Christmas. The pink/green one is made with micah colorants and Winter Snowflake fragrance oil. The dark one is colored with charcoal, gold and red micahs and fragranced with Turkish Mocha. I am so pleased with the way they turned out except for the bubbling on the outside of the green/pink - which I planed off after cutting. It was caused from placing in the warm oven for awhile afterward in the silicone mold - which is a tight fit and allows no air circulation. I did learn from that and thank the Soap Maker's Forum for all their advice and help in fixing it. I will avoid that problem in the future. The last few pictures are of lotion bars, bath melts and the latest cold process soap, a terra cotta swirl and heart shaped bars of the same terra cotta. It is scented with vanilla lemon verbena fragrance oil and smells fabulous!

Merry Christmas!

Post by Rose & Co.

This is a beautiful store in London, England that I follow on Facebook. I thought this was worth sharing for all of us who love Christmas vignettes and beautifully done windows in stores. Wish I could visit in person this Christmas!

Have a Cuppa

Tea and Macarons

It's that time of year again when the air turns crisp, frost appears overnight and you might need a little warming up in the afternoon.  Perfect time for a cup of tea.  I like to make mine using the Keurig coffee maker, water only over  loose or single bag tea.  My chosen tea is from Teavana or Bigelow Teas.  Green or Black leaves, spicy, citrus blends are my favorite.  I love to smell the leaves at Teavana before purchasing.  Camomile is also nice and relaxing.  Fruity blends will wake you up and seem like you are eating a snack with honey and lemon added.  Try some tea to warm you up this time of year!

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A painting by myself of one of my vintage tea cups

Oscar De La Renta

A beautiful photo from a fashion show of Oscar De La Renta's beautiful dresses.  He sadly passed away just recently.  I always loved looking through his latest collections and remember seeing some of his fashions in person at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, DC at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis exhibit about 15 years ago.  Just beautiful dresses and fabrics!

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Macaron Madness

One of the oldest French leather and luggage makers, Moynat, designed a Macaron trunk exclusively for chef Yannick Alléno and their pop-up store in the Isetan department store in Tokyo.

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The Moynat Store in London

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