Christmas Boat Parade

 

 

 

Over the years, we have been to many Christmas parades and the thing I remember most is that even though bundled up from the cold, I was usually freezing. This year, we went to the Christmas Boat Parade, along the Intercoastal Waterway in Venice and no coats were required.

 

 

 

 

We had planned to just take our chairs and cooler and find a spot along the Intercoastal, but received an invitation to a special event dinner at The Crow's Nest. We were seated at a table by a window and had a perfect view of the boats, very close to where the parade began. Dinner was a set menu and I enjoyed Pesto Salmon Costini, Seafood Bisque (with a shot of sherry on the side to add in - yum), Prime Rib and Key Lime Pie (my favorite) for dessert. It was all delicious and just a really nice and festive evening all around.

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't know what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised with the amount of decoration on the majority of the boats. The fire truck boat (photo above) won the People's Choice award and was really well done and realistic. Of all the entries, my favorite had jumping Dolphins pulling Santa's sleigh, palm trees and alligators - perfect for the Christmas season in Florida.

Happy Tuesday!

 

Thanksgiving in Photos

 

 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with a lot of blue skies, sunshine and warm temperatures. My daughter Melisssa flew in from Michigan and having at least one daughter here made my weekend. We will see Megan and Adam at Christmas, but still missed them a lot. However, newly married couples need to spread their time between families and we understand that. Time was spent at the beach, the pool and at a lot of fun restaurants. Tropical drinks were enjoyed and we shopped at St. Armands Circle one night. We watched MSU in both football and basketball and unfortunately watched the Lions lose on Thanksgiving Day. We even got in a round of golf in on Sunday before Melisssa flew back to Michigan. It was hard for her to leave and head back to snowy weather, but we see her again in just a few weeks. It will be a busy December for everyone, but we are all looking forward to spending Christmas together back in our home state.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, as a bonus to the weekend, yesterday was our 36th anniversary. We had a lovely dinner out with wine, a lemon drop martini (for me) and a wonderful Italian meal, followed by Creme Brulee for dessert. Here's to many more in this new life we have built here in Florida.

 

Happy Tuesday!

 

Thanksgiving Place Cards: Pumpkins and Seashells

 

 

 

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about Florida style fall decor. I decided to take one of the ideas (this pin) and make place cards for my table. The idea was much more coastal looking with white pumpkins, but pumpkins in general are scarce here in Florida, especially this late in the season, when everyone has moved on to Christmas. Also, buying a pumpkin early here is asking for one that needs to be thrown out by Thanksgiving. I was happy to find some mini orange ones on Saturday and was especially happy to find some with long stems.

 

 

Here is what I did: cut tags (free hand) from card stock that coordinated with the tablecloth I planned to use, poke a hole with a wooden skewer, feed orange striped butcher's twine through hole, tie a knot, then make a loop to fit over stem, glue a small seashell in top corner and write name with a sharpie. I had all of these items on hand, so only purchased the pumpkins. Note: you could easily adapt this idea and use any pattern of card stock and glue something totally different in the corner as well.

I will use some other seashells on my table, so this year, it will be a real mixture of traditional fall decor and the unexpected.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

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