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screened-in porches

Posted by Cobi on Monday April 23, 2012 at 06:00 AM
cobi's house • cottage • summer • Comments (3)

There’s something about screened-in porches.

They’re so relaxed.

And they’re the perfect place to enjoy ‘outdoor decorating’!

Like painting a ceiling blue.

And playing with all those great new indoor/outdoor fabrics.

You can see my own porch by clicking here to an older blog entry.

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to watch a movie in a screened-in porch on a summer night?

Screened-in porches have that ‘family-board-game-feeling’ like at the cottage.

Kids of all ages love the ‘camp’ feeling they evoke.

I guess it’s just that whole romantic notion of living life at a slower pace.

And hey, if it gets us to do that, we might even be able to say they’re good for our health!

a cobistyle christmas

Posted by Cobi on Monday December 05, 2011 at 05:58 AM
cobi's house • christmas • cobistyle products • entertaining • Comments (2)

If you haven’t seen this issue of Reno & Decor magazine, I thought I’d show you the images from my recent cover story. We photographed the story in my own dining room back in September. With years of magazine experience under my belt, it brought back many fond memories to be dressing a room for Christmas on a warm, sunny day with the windows open.

What I’m not used to, however, is seeing my own product-line in a story (and in my house!). What fun it was to have fuchsia pink cobistyle chairs delivered from Decor-Rest. Open boxes of cobistyle throws, pillows, Christmas decorations, trays and accessories from Canfloyd. And hang beautiful chintz drapery named after my own daughter, Charlotte, from inVU.

It was really fun to integrate items that I’d conceived of for my line - like this lacquer box and Xmas balls - with my own personal decorations I use year after year.

And the colourful cobistyle table-decor with my own white dinnerware, linens and milk glass collection.

The brocade-covered Chinese take-out boxes are something of which I’m particularly proud. The idea is to use them for party favours or small gifts and the colours are so pretty - they come 4 colours to a box - and brighten up anywhere they’re displayed.

I guess I have a thing for multi-colours - these cobistyle napkin rings come 6 colours to a box. The jewel-like tones look great with crisp white linens.

I love my little Geisha girl place-card holders - are they not adorable? They also work as tree ornaments.

I know the colours are not traditional for Christmas but they look festive and bright just the same, especially when mixed with each other. The advantage too is that you don’t have to take everything down the minute Christmas is over. They look great for New Years and parties throughout the winter.

This shot doesn’t feature any cobistyle products but it does express my favourite sentiment for the season and so I guess in a way it’s still ‘Cobi-style’…

Merry Christmas!

open to ideas

Posted by Cobi on Monday September 26, 2011 at 06:00 AM
cobi's house • display • organizing • Comments (5)

I’ve often had people ask me about the open-shelves in my kitchen. There’s an understandable fear of dust and grease making them impractical. Well I can tell you that after living with them for 6 years, I don’t find that to be a big enough issue to over-ride the appealing look, and ease of use, they bring to my kitchen.

Here are some other beautiful examples of open shelves in kitchens…

Gorgeous! But what if you aren’t renovating and want to create the look in your existing kitchen? Try removing the doors on a section of your cabinetry and paint out the interiors for a similar look…

Open shelves are often the key feature to a country kitchen…

But there are very hip looking kitchens with open shelves too…

And even loft spaces…

Open shelving is a wonderful way to show off a collection and make sure it gets use!

If you can’t find a way to incorporate open shelves into your upper cabinetry, you may want to think about a section of the lowers…

Or creating an impromptu version in a hutch…

Or even on a basic set of shelves…

Wherever open shelves are, they’re a beautiful way to create displays and vignettes in your home…

Or bring in colour…

The lack of colour on these shelves creates a more calm, classic, almost utilitarian look…

But hey, if colour is your thing, don’t hold back…

Basically, this idea is for anyone who’s open to it!

backyard oasis

Posted by Cobi on Monday May 23, 2011 at 06:00 AM
cobi's house • garden • summer • Comments (3)

In 2007 we did a major overhaul of our backyard. You may remember it from the pages of H&H. My dear friend and very talented photographer, Virginia MacDonald captured it beautifully. You’ll notice how my daughter (then 8 yrs old) wanted into every picture, and you won’t notice my son because he wouldn’t come near the camera!

Here’s the porch that we added on to the house. It’s our favourite room 3 seasons of the year (we added an electric fireplace and put plexi sheets on over the screens from late fall to early spring to extend the season).

Here’s Hito, our pearl gray Porty, weighing the consequences of sneaking some of the popcorn prop…

And there goes Charlotte…

Here’s Charlotte at the bbq which is under a retractable awning - no more holding an umbrella while flipping patties…

And here’s Charlotte at the pool’s edge - we painted it grey so the water is a little deeper shade of blue…

Our furniture is from Hauser and I love the black and white theme but plan to have some fun mixing in colourful cobistyle pillows and accessories this year.

I love this shot that Virginia snapped of Charlotte. I’d like to blow it up poster size for her room some day…

Can you imagine the size of the house this oval window came out of? We converted it to a mirror to create some interest on the pool shed/sauna wall.

This furniture isn’t special but light was so pretty we had to grab it…

These floating candle holders are for the pool - I found them at Lee Valley.

Here they are at nighttime…

Although the backyard cost ten times what I thought it would (landscaping seems to be like that) we love our backyard and use it day and night.

Looking at these pictures again makes me want to get out there and set it up for another summer of fun - we just need the sun!

silly love songs

Posted by Cobi on Monday February 14, 2011 at 06:00 AM
cobi's house • Comments (2)

This clever yet simple image from DesignSponge got me thinking about sentiments of love and how it’s fun to try other ways, beyond predictable phrases on a drugstore card, to say I love you.

When our kids were born, I wanted something in writing to mark the occasion. To me, something written in ink has a sense of permanence to it. I guess that shows my age.
Anyway, I’m not much of a poet and so I had song lyrics hand lettered by an artist I met through my work - Kathryn Klar of Tulip Press, click here to check out her website - and framed them as a gift to Bob.

When my son Aidan was born almost 15 years ago, I asked her to write out parts of “Beautiful Boy” by John Lennon (who wrote it when his son Sean was born). Notice the famous line near the end of the song…

Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)

Close your eyes,

Have no fear,

The monsters gone,

He’s on the run and your daddy’s here,

Beautiful, Beautiful, beautiful, Beautiful Boy,

Before you go to sleep,

Say a little prayer,

Every day in every way,

It’s getting better and better,

Beautiful,Beautiful, beautiful, Beautiful Boy,

Out on the ocean sailing away,

I can hardly wait,

To see you to come of age,

But I guess we’ll both,

Just have to be patient,

Yes it’s a long way to go,

But in the meantime,

Before you cross the street,

Take my hand,

Life is just what happens to you,

While your busy making other plans,

Beautiful, Beautiful, beautiful, Beautiful Boy,

And when Charlotte was born almost 12 years ago, I went back to Kathryn and asked her to write out “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder which he wrote when his daughter, Aisha, was born.

Isn’t she lovely

Isn’t she lovely

Isn’t she wonderful

Isn’t she precious

Less than one minute old

I never thought through love we’d be

Making one as lovely as she

But isn’t she lovely, made from love

Isn’t she pretty

Truly the angel’s best

Boy, I’m so happy

We have been heaven blessed

I can’t believe what God has done

Through us he’s given life to one

But isn’t she lovely, made from love

I thought of hanging the pictures in the kids rooms but instead we’ve proudly displayed them in our living room. Most visitors don’t even notice what’s written because they’re so subtly done, but our family knows the story and every so often when we look at them, we’re reminded of those tender years and how our love for each other was instantly multiplied on the days of each child’s birth.

open and shut case

Posted by Cobi on Monday February 07, 2011 at 05:59 AM
cobi's house • decorating • Comments (0)

Here’s a little idea that really works well at my house and you may have an application at yours…

Both me and my husband, Bob, work at home now, which is great on some levels and frustrating as all-get-out on others.

Because Bob moved his work home first, he got the main office. It’s a nice room at the front of the house but it’s also right in the middle of the after-school action most days.

We put new french doors on the room when we moved in, but they don’t always do the job. The glass is pretty and pebbly but still see-through and the noise factor can be an issue.

Since then, I’ve added this layer - it was instant - and although it doesn’t solve the situation, it definitely helps.

I bought a queen-size quilted coverlet, a bronze-look tension shower rod, and rings with clips (all in one afternoon) and I came home and put it up. I guess we’re lucky to have bookcases on either side of the door but I imagine many situations have deep door frames, a wall, or free standing bookcase to use.

The quilt muffles the sound and makes the room feel much more closed off from the rest of the house. It actually reminds me of a tiny 10-table restaurant we went to in Paris a few years back where the owners had hung a velvet curtain across the entry so that when the door opened, the draft wasn’t felt as much by the diners.

In our house, it isn’t about the draft, but when quiet is in need, the curtain pulls easily across and when papa is happy, we’re all happy.

heart of the home

Posted by Cobi on Monday January 24, 2011 at 06:00 AM
cobi's house • Comments (6)

Tomorrow I’m appearing on the Steven & Chris show and I’ve taped a little piece in my own kitchen. Although it’s been shown before, I thought it was a good place to talk about the whole idea of making a kitchen warm and inviting.

I’m a firm believer that your decorating shouldn’t stop at the door to the kitchen. Although a kitchen has to work harder than other rooms of the house, it should still be as inviting and comfortable as the others. We certainly spend enough time there!

Since my kitchen was first published in House & Home in about 2003, people have written to me with questions and comments. It was published again in Chatelaine last fall. I hadn’t owned the film until now and so I was unable to show it myself. I think the thing that people respond to most is the ‘homey’ quality of the room brought on by the colours; details like the cutouts over the shelves and the chintz curtains; and of course the windows.

Everyone loves the windows…

And the bronze and porcelain light fixtures from France (unfortunately the lady whom I purchased them from is no longer in business but I blogged about them in May 2009 if you want to look back for more info.)

We only had room for a corner banquet in the kitchen. It works quite well for day to day use with kids and smaller meals. I’m now champing at the bit to recover the cushions in my own cobistyle indoor/outdoor fabrics that are launching next month. It will be a serious endurance test for the high-performance fabric.

In fact, our kitchen is one huge endurance test for all the materials and surfaces used there! The cabinetry is already in need of a new coat of paint and the floor could use some work too. I’ve decided to think of it like our dog: One time I took the dog for a checkup at the Vet’s and I apologized for his dirty paws and a few burrs in his coat and she replied, “don’t worry about it, it’s a sign of a happy, active dog!”. When I look at the dings and scratches on the cabinets and wipe off the spaghetti splashes I found on the ceiling the other day (!!) I’ll say to myself - “don’t worry about it, it’s a sign of a happy, active kitchen!”. Spoken like a true professional.

tartan and pearls

Posted by Cobi on Monday December 06, 2010 at 05:58 AM
cobi's house • christmas • entertaining • Comments (3)

This past weekend I hosted a simply smashing dinner party, dahling. I called it ‘Tartan & Pearls’ and it was a celebration of my husband, Bob (the birthday boy) and his hero, Winston Churchill (just because).

The UK theme worked beautifully for early Christmas…all the right colours but nothing overt…have a look.

I used blank note cards for the invitation. Tartan & Pearls set the theme for guests and gave them an idea of what to wear. One smart couple came with the woman in tartan and the man in pearls. Another friend came in full kilt and gag-tam with red hair sticking out. Add in a few tartan bow ties and top hats and there were lots of laughs all round.

For loot bags I gave out little bottles of cognac, black licorice cigars, ‘keep calm’ sniffs and Scottish shortbread.

I found plain white note cards at Walmart that worked well for simple tented place cards and inside each one I wrote a Churchill quote. Bob had fun choosing quotes from his many books and speeches and deciding who should say what. When we sat down, the guests were told to look at their quote and to stand at some point during the dinner and recite it while others would chime in “hear, hear!”. I thought some people might be a bit shy but that was definitely not a problem with this group - it sounded like the British House of Commons on a busy day!

Bob couldn’t help himself from putting together a Churchill trivia quiz. It was so easy and fun. The winner got a box of Walkers Shortbread of course!

English and Scotch mints filled dishes with wintry white…

And I got out a bit of Bob’s memorabilia and displayed it around for fun…

To get things started…Churchill’s favourite champagne: Pol Roger, seen here chilling in the porch in the afternoon.

We also had a selection of British beers which you can buy singly or in small packs. Who knew Tetley made beer?
For dinner, I couldn’t go as far as steak and kidney pies, but steak and vegetable did the trick. Served with peas of course! And a hearty salad. After that we had a cheese course with English cheddar and Stilton and Carrs biscuits, then gingerbread cake, my homemade butterscotch sauce and cinnamon whip cream, yum!

Now the best part - the table - to get the theme going I bought a few yards of cotton tartan at the fabric store and cut it into two lengths so it ran from end to end. Then I pinking-sheared the remainder into napkins.

I have the perfect charger plates for this party, I bought them a number of years ago and they feature hunt scenes on each one. The white porcelain always looks great.

Down the middle of the table I stacked some of Bob’s Churchill book collection and used it for pedestals for votive candles and little crystal snowflakes my mom just gave me. It worked great and the red covers on many of the old books was perfect.

I regret I didn’t take a picture of the table just before we sat down when the candles were glowing - it was really pretty - but I was having too much fun!

There’s nothing better than the feeling you get the morning after a good party. It is most definitely our ‘finest hour’!

kitchen confidential

Posted by Cobi on Monday September 13, 2010 at 05:59 AM
cobi's house • Comments (3)

My kitchen is featured in Chatelaine magazine this month - the October issue is on newsstands today. It was fun to spend an afternoon ‘back in the biz’ with two talented people I worked with in the past - Virginie Martocq, Home Editor at Chatelaine and photographer, Michael Graydon. Here’s a picture of them hard at work, with Michael’s assistant, the lovely Valerie.

Of course, when they first asked me to be featured, all I could think about was the nicks and bumps on the cabinetry and the wear and tear on the floor (our kitchen isn’t new) but then I thought, ahh, those imperfections only show that we use it! And overall, we do still love it and spend part of every day in it - cooking, cleaning, talking, singing, laughing, spilling, fighting…. how could you not love that space? Anyway, I know how much good photography can hide, and so we went for it .

Thanks Chatelaine! It was lots of fun.

a map to good decorating

Posted by Cobi on Monday July 12, 2010 at 06:00 AM
cobi's house • collecting • decorating • family • Comments (2)

One of the easiest and best things we did when we decorated our cottage in PEI, was to frame a few maps of both the Provence and the city of Charlottetown.

It quickly created a couple of decorative vignette’s, but not only that, practical ones that can be used by ourselves and visitors to plan day trips and become more familiar with the island.

Local maps are an easy way to decorate your home - seasonal or otherwise. We have a huge school map of Ontario hanging on the large stairwell wall in our home and often look to it to find places we’re discussing.

Here are some other pictures of maps used in homes:

They are a great way to anchor a vignette:

Or decorate a large blank wall. Especially when you can get up close to examine them.

Here’s a more decorative idea. Wallpapering in maps. New ones are very affordable…

and the colours are often nice…

This summer, get your directions right and hang a local map at the cottage. You’ll be on the road to success!

ups and downs

Posted by Cobi on Monday May 17, 2010 at 06:00 AM
cobi's house • decorating • Comments (4)

Often people comment on the ceiling fixture over my kitchen table.

It’s a handmade (and signed) ceramic fixture from France. I purchased it a few years ago when we renovated our kitchen, along with two cream coloured wall sconces of a similar style. I bought them from a wonderful french country retail and mail-order store in Niagara-on-the-lake, southern Ontario, however they’re no longer in business. Recently someone asked me to help her track down a similar fixture and I was able to find some online however, not in Canada.

What I love about the fixture is it’s unusual character. It has a lovely homey feel to it with the coloured, earthy ceramic but it’s also got a contemporary feel with the exposed weighted pulley system. It’s also quite practical in that it can be lowered at mealtime and raised up afterward. Enhanced even more when you put it on a dimmer, like all ceiling fixtures.

The only downside is cost. They are fairly expensive and of course shipping is a factor, but to be honest, if you are looking for one special fixture to really do something different in your home, I don’t find them outrageous. There are many lighting fixtures on the market today that cost more, even with shipping and duty added to one of these.

All three companies I found are based in the UK but sell fixtures made in France. They’re all set up to ship to North America however you will need a trained electrician to be sure the electrical fittings are correct for our homes. Here’s what I found….

Holloways of Ludlow sells both contemporary and period lighting fixtures along with many other types of hardware and fittings for homes. Their price is £185.00 (about $288.00 CAN).

They have a number of colours to choose from and offer a very cute smaller size as well for £144.40 (about $225.00 CAN).

The French House is an amazing site just to wander whether you’re shopping or not.

All kinds of gorgeous items from France - I wish they were in North America! Their lamp is £187.00 and comes in this lovely green or cream.

Marston & Langinger is a British supplier of home and garden items. Their fixture sells for £215.00 (about $335.00 CAN) and I contacted them to ask about shipping one ‘Rise & Fall light’ and they estimated it at $60.00 to Ontario (their service was amazing by the way, very personal). Of course there would be GST and duty too.

If anyone finds a source for these beautiful lamps in Canada please write a comment and tell us all. You never know when the next renovation might strike!

everyday treasure

Posted by Cobi on Monday March 08, 2010 at 06:00 AM
cobi's house • collecting • travel • Comments (1)

One year Bob surprised me for my birthday with a long weekend in Paris.
It was only four days but we made the most of every second. I highly recommend it as a wonderful gift to anyone special - even yourself. Yes, it’s tiring physically, but mentally it’s the biggest jolt of energy you could ever get.

Anyway, I was going to tell you a story… On this trip we went to one of my favourite Saturday flea markets. It’s called, Marche aux puces de la porte de vanve . There are many antique markets in Paris, all called “Les Puces” - the fleas - and many are more fancy than this one, with beautiful linens and furnishings - but who am I kidding? I’m not going to buy an armoire or iron bed linens. I just want a few trinkets for my kitchen or my jewellery box or mantle to remind me of a wonderful trip. Anyway, if you like the thrill of the hunt - I suggest this one. Just take the subway to the Porte de Vanve (line 13) and follow the crowd. Try to go as early as possible on Saturday as they pack things up by mid afternoon.

Bob had also arranged for friends to meet us in Paris as a surprise, and good sports that they are, they agreed to come with us to the market. Given it was my birthday, and (traveling with Bob) we weren’t doing as much shopping as I would be doing if I was alone or with a female companion, I told myself that I was allowed to buy one thing worth a bit more than the usual fare. As we moved from stall to stall and I picked up odds and sods, I spied a framed painting in one booth that was full of paintings. For some reason it drew me in like none of the others.

I asked the gentleman how much it was and he told me. It was more than I wanted to spend, even with my special allowance. It was then I realized how lucky I was to have a friend with me who was raised in Montreal and had a much better grasp of the language…I asked her to find out if he was firm on his price. He said ‘oui’. I then asked her to offer him a lower price. She did and he said ‘non’. We left the booth and disappointedly I soldiered on to look for other hidden treasure. After a while I realized there wasn’t anything else as lovely as that painting and I had to go back and try again.

My dear friend agreed to help (like she had a choice) and we circled round and showed up again. Thankfully the painting was still there and I looked at it again. I was smitten. Again I tried to barter with the owner but my language was so poor, he didn’t understand, or let on he didn’t anyway. My friend came to the rescue and tried to work with him on my behalf but to no avail. He walked away and talked to other potential customers. To his chagrin, I just stayed there - trying to come up with another tactic. Little did I know, my tactic was working without even talking. I thought I would try him one more time - what did I have to lose? I showed him my wad of euros and said the number I would pay again. He turned his back on me and said something quickly to my friend. She looked at me and said “he’ll take it!”. I handed him my money, grabbed the painting and headed out of the booth before he changed his mind…”Merci! Merci!”….as we wove our way through the crowds to show our patiently waiting husbands, I asked my friend what he had said when he suddenly changed his mind? She laughed and said with a bit of embarrassment in her voice, “he said, ‘just get her out of my booth!’”. We laughed all the way out of Les Puces.

Here is my coveted painting….

I still love it. The artist’s name is Eugene de Sante and apparently he never really ‘made it’, although he did have a famous father or uncle who painted, someday I’ll research more…. It hangs happily in our main hallway and as I walk by it many days, I don’t give it a second thought. But sometimes I look at it and remember that special holiday and of course the lessons it taught me…

1. If you’re traveling and see something you really love, buy it. You likely won’t have a second chance and things that we buy on holiday are often our most treasured possessions because of the stories behind them, and the memories they hold.
2. Sometimes it’s not a bad thing to be a pain in the butt .

seeing red

Posted by Cobi on Monday February 08, 2010 at 06:00 AM
cobi's house • entertaining • winter • Comments (4)

This weekend coming up is an amazing time to throw a party. I can’t believe we’re not having one, but the family cottage beckons thanks to the long weekend.

If we were going to be home, I would definitely be doing a combined Chinese New Year/Valentine’s Party. Just think of all the decorating possibilities with that tomatoey Chinese New Year red clashing up against the pinky reds of Valentines. Yikes!!

Bob and I have a lot of fun planning dinner parties for friends - especially in the winter when life isn’t as busy. Last year we had a Valentine’s party since it was on a Saturday night. I just pulled out everything I own that’s red and/or pink to decorate the table and had lots of sinfully rich foods along with champagne and chocolate of course. We seated the women on one side of the table and the men on the other and had a lot of good laughs as Bob played Bob Eubanks and commandeered a personalized version of the “Oldie-wed game”.

I didn’t take pictures of the table or I would show them to you. I do remember, instead of place cards we put a pink lei on each chair for the ladies, and a red lei on each chair for the men - everyone likes to get lei-ed on Valentines!

A great place to get inspiration for a Valentine’s party is to rent the movie Julie & Julia. Meryl Streep/Julia Child throws a wonderful old fashioned Valentine’s dinner party - I love the idea of red roses and red felt hearts on everyone’s lapel - so classic and french!

Here are a few shots from a Chinese New Year party we threw the year before… I got right into it as you can see from the decorating. One guest asked me where I was going to keep all the stuff afterward, “in your Chinese room?”. I wish I had one! Right now it’s all in plastic boxes under our pool table. But I always find ways to reuse (you already saw my paper lanterns in use again last summer at an outdoor party).

I picked up Chinese newspapers when I went to Chinatown to buy the bbq duck we served, and lined the table with it. I also bought some cute plastic Chinese food containers and did little crocus’ down the table. I looked all over for colourful chopsticks but only found red and green - they worked fine with the colourful glazed bowls I bought and paper napkins and lanterns. Cheap and cheerful!

I found little ‘laughing buddas’ for each of the men and pretty paper fans for the women. Can you tell how much I love getting lost in Chinatown? I think sometimes the shopkeepers wonder who this strange 6’ redheaded lady is who keeps showing up.

I used fishing line to hang little paper lanterns between our ceiling lamps and from the curtain rods.

For decoration I bought extra oranges in Chinatown too. At this time of year they pack them with some leaves, which are so pretty in a simple glass pedestal.

I bought 12 restaurant style little plates for dessert (they were something like $1.00 each) and I already had the tea sets.

For dessert, I made an almond cake with an orange glaze - simple but at least it was homemade.

And did a second platter of traditional cookies, oranges and lychees.

We had a ball. I can only imagine how good it would be if we combined Bob Eubanks with my laughing buddas this year….maybe we should talk to the kids and re-think this whole cottage thing…

the comfort of hot cocoa

Posted by Cobi on Monday February 01, 2010 at 06:00 AM
cobi's house • entertaining • winter • Comments (5)

It’s February 1st today and I’ve got mini marshmallows on my mind….

I own 3 hot chocolate makers, and to all of my loved ones who gave them to me - don’t worry - they ALL make me very happy!!

My kids love hot chocolate in the evening, but not only that, I like to serve it as dessert at dinner parties in the winter.

I actually find that many people don’t eat dessert any more, and we’ve all had the disappointment of working hard on a homemade dessert, to have only a few people eat it, and even the ones that do, say “just a sliver!”, which means there’s a great big ‘ol chocolate cake for ‘guess who’ to nibble on in the days to follow.

I also find that many people don’t drink coffee after dinner - or maybe that’s just a “getting old thing”. Whatever it is, I’m not big on going to the trouble of making things that don’t get eaten or drunk. Drank?

And so I have decided, the solution to all the world’s problems is Hot Chocolate!! (Or at least a few of mine )

Hot Chocolate brings back heartwarming memories to anyone who grew up in Canada. How can you skate on a river, build a snow fort after the plow goes by, or toboggan down an icy hill, without coming home to a warm, milky cup of hot cocoa?

To serve it to adults, I like to make it in a pot on the stove - it’s easy to have ready beforehand so all you have to do is warm it up when dinner is done. Then pour it into one or two of my lovely jugs to ‘froth’ at the table. A bowl of mini marshmallows to pass is a must, or even better, homemade ones! (I’ve never made marshmallows and would love to hear if anyone has, or has a good recipe.) I have tried homemade ones from Whole Foods and they are amazing and really add an ‘elegant’ touch to the table.

My bodum insulated cups are wonderful - simple, classic and really work - I like this size (although they come in many) because they have room for some foam and marshmallows on top.

Here are some leads on my 3 pots if you’re interested….the glass one is also made by Bodum and has a plunger built into the lid that swirls the cocoa.

The ceramic one is made by a company called Bonjour and comes with a battery powered frother that sits nicely on a plastic lid.

And the beautiful, more old fashioned looking one, with removable wood handle and manual frother is really made for the thick and rich chocolat chaud, served in every good restaurant in France….. My dearest friend got it for me from my favourite store in Montreal, Arthur Quentin.

And on that note, I thought I’d leave you with a recipe for the best Hot Chocolate in the world. (For the real thing, you have to jump on the next plane to Paris and tell the taxi driver to drive directly to Laduree. Heaven is closer than you think….)

Hot Chocolate

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets and Ladurée

Serves 4 people.

Use any bittersweet chocolate but keep in mind that it should be one you love, since its flavor takes center stage.

3 cups whole milk

5 Tbsp. water

5 Tbsp. granulated sugar

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, water, and sugar. Place over medium heat and whisk occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture just to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the chocolate. At this point, blend the mixture. If you have an immersion blender, you can do this directly in the saucepan; or if you have a fancy jug like mine, you can awe your guests at the table while you froth. Either way, blend for 1 minute on high speed - and take care, as hot liquids expand when blended. The finished mixture should be very smooth and frothy.

Serve tout de suite!

get ready, get set

Posted by Cobi on Monday December 21, 2009 at 06:00 AM
cobi's house • christmas • entertaining • Comments (3)

As a working mom for so many years, I’ve trained myself that the only way I can entertain is to plan and prepare ahead of time. For any relatively organized, ‘type A’ overachiever, it’s the only way to go.

With that in mind…I get my dishes out the weekend ahead of any special dinner to figure out the table and make sure everything is clean and polished - I know, it all sounds very ‘Martha’ - but, like mom, she’s often right.

Here are a few ideas for setting a special holiday table.

I bought 12 of these chargers a few years ago when I was doing a special winter dinner party for Bob’s 40th. It was a splurge at the time but I knew on the spot that I loved them. So classic and they look great at any winter dinner party but especially Christmas. I love their size ~ they catch all the mess! - and the four hunt traditional scenes. I don’t know the pattern, they just say Royal Staffordshire on the back.

I don’t have enough white plates of my regular pattern (Wedgewood Coalport Countryware) and so rather than just have a few spares of another pattern, I alternate them half and half with some lovely square white plates I bought from the Brian Gluckstein Home collection at Home Outfitters. It looks good alternating in a stack and on the table - like I’m doing it for fun rather than necessity - love that.

In memory of my Grandmother, we always serve tomato juice at Christmas dinner. I remember everyone sprinkling it with pepper and drinking it at the beginning of our dinner when I was a kid. I don’t have little crystal cornflower glasses as she did, but I do have these heavy bottomed, stemless, wine glasses I bought somewhere along the line and they work well (plus go in the dishwasher!).

Speaking of my Grandmother, I couldn’t set the table and not use some of the dishes she left me. She knew how much I loved them. It’s ambitious to use them for the whole meal because I just can’t bear to put them in the dishwasher, but I always use them for one course and I encourage you to do the same - salad, dessert, soup - 10 or 12 smaller plates or bowls are a breeze to wash up and seeing them out on the table brings back warm memories of those we love. I use her double handled soup bowls for shrimp cocktail.

My daughter Charlotte loves helping me with place-cards. I bought these cute balls at a Hallmark store a few years ago and add a clipping of boxwood from the garden. In fact, little clippings of boxwood look great added to bows on gifts too. So easy and a nice touch.

?Now I have to run and polish the silver and 99 other things on the list…. Have a wonderful holiday and no matter how much you have to do, take a moment to sit by the tree and count your many blessings and all the things that are good in your life.