Things I Love Thursday

I'm keeping this week's list short and sweet while I'm about to go finish up my last "day" of college! I stumbled across design*sponge's flickr photostream full the entire Sneak Peek series and I was hooked! I didn't want to close the tab. I browsed a few sets (including an old favorite) and I thought they'd be great interior inspirations for y'all! I feel like I'm constantly moving and I'd love to finally get a place and stay there for a while. Be able to paint and all that jazz! (With that being said, we're probably moving out of our place at the end of January! And we only got here on the first of August!). Either way, I hope you find as much inspiration in them as I do! I'll be back to regular posting with my old personal entries before you know it! Don't worry! The past 6 months won't be the way I blog forever! I will actually have a life soon! Thanks so much for sticking it out with me! xo

(set)

(set)

(set)

Where do you look online for great home interior inspiration? What's the dream interior of your home? 

A Christmas Tablescape with the Churches of Dept. 56: Welcome to the 119th Tablescape Thursday!

(Christmas music for this tablescape can be found at the bottom of this blog. Just scroll to the bottom and click arrow to activate.)


Part of the fun of Christmas is seeing the world through the eyes of a child. Tonight, you and I get to be a kid again. How about a snowball fight...or a ride in a sleigh? :)

































































































Merry Christmas! (Last year's Dept. 56 Tablescape can be found HERE.)

I'm linking this post to the Christmas Vignettes party at Southern Hospitality. Stop by Rhoda's and check out all the vignettes!


Resources:

Chargers: Hobby Lobby, last year
Dinner Plate: Lenox, Butler's Pantry Gourmet, 2-3 years ago
Salad/Dessert Plates: Provided by Villeroy and Boch, from their current Toys Delight and Toys Fantasy lines
Stemware: Spode, Marshalls, last year
Flatware: Argent, I think, HomeGoods, last year
Napkin Sheaths: Pier 1, this year
Napkins: Martha Stewart Brand from Macy's, last year
Napkin Rings: Bed, Bath and Beyond, I think...years ago
Snow: Big Lots, this year
Tree Centerpiece: HomeGoods, this year
Dept. 56 Churches and figures: All were purchased 12-15 years ago

Looking forward to viewing your beautiful tablescapes!




Please Read:
If you are participating in Tablescape Thursday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on your post name. Then just copy and paste the address that shows up in the address bar at the top, into the "url" box for the picture linky. You'll also need to put your e-mail address in, but don't worry, it will not be visible to anyone.

You may see a red X once you enter your link. No one else can see the red X, it's just there in case you make a little mistake and need to delete your link and re-enter it.

I'd love for you to use the Tablescape Thursday logo button in your post. To do that, just copy and paste it to your computer and upload it to your post as you would any photo. Or, just grab the html code posted on the sidebar under the TT button.

Please, link back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch. This is important because it helps those who are visiting your blog, find the other wonderful tablescapes posted for this Tablescape Thursday, thus increasing visits for all participants.

Please, don't add your post name/blog name in ALL CAPS...it tends to create big spaces between the rows of links. Thanks!

Let's try something fun today! Please visit the person who linked before you and after you...that way everyone will get some visits. Hope you'll visit more, of course. :-)


Little Reminder: Thank-you for linking back to this post so the regular visitors to your blog will find all your fellow Blogger's posts linked here for this Tablescape Thursday. Don't forget to use your permalink. :)

Guest Post: Katrina's Quinoa Salad Recipe!

Hi everyone! I'm Katrina from The Demure Muse! Thanks so much for having me over here at Little Chief Honeybee.



I can usually be found blogging about my daily outfits or jewelry making but today I'm here to share with you one of my most recent kitchen experiments. I hope you try it out this holiday season because I think the colors are perfect for the winter festivities!

Quick disclaimer: This whole recipe was an experiment between myself, a meatetarian, and my friend who has newly converted to being a vegetarian. If you’re like me and have never heard of quinoa prior to this, it’s a pseudo-cereal that is extremely nutritious and is often considered a vegetable substitute due to its nutritional value instead of a grain.

Vegetarian Quinoa Salad - serves 4

What you’ll need:

1. 2 cups of quinoa

2. 4 cups of vegetable broth (or a mix of vegetable broth and water)

3. 1 ½ cups of cherry tomatoes

4. carton of fresh basil (add as desired)

5. small block of feta cheese (or as much/little as you’d like!)

First, we need to wash the quinoa. You may notice that the water that the quinoa is being washed in will have a bit of a “soapy” feel. I did two rinses before cooking the quinoa.

Much like preparing rice, place a pot on the stove at medium to high heat with the vegetable broth in it. Once the broth comes to a boil, add the quinoa and put a lid on it. Remember to stir the quinoa every few minutes so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. You’ll know when the quiona is ready because all of the broth gets boiled into the grains.

While the quinoa cooks, you can prep the rest of the ingredients for the salad. The great thing about making this salad is the fact that there is relatively little “‘cooking” involved! From here, halve the cherry tomatoes and chop the fresh basil. We want the basil to be in relatively big pieces.

Cut the feta cheese into about ½ inch cubes and then mix all of the fresh ingredients together in a separate bowl.

By this time, your quinoa should be well on its way to being fully cooked. We were a little impatient when we made this first batch of salad and we mixed all the ingredients in with the quinoa while it was still extremely hot, which melted the feta cheese. Depending on how you like your salad, it might be better to let to let the quinoa cool down a bit before mixing everything together.

Due to my meatetarian needs, I added a side of chicken. (I know, I know. I’m not the most supportive friend in terms of helping a newly converted vegetarian. I have a habit of forcing myself to have a balanced meal in terms of carbohydrates, vegetables, and proteins) I couldn't bring myself to have only a salad for dinner which is why I added the meat. I also added a small bed of spinach to my quinoa salad.

I hope you enjoyed the recipe! :)

--------------------------------------------------

Big thanks to Katrina for her awesome recipe! I can't wait to try it! You can stop by Katrina's blog or shop if you'd like to learn more about her!

Guest Post: Influence Holiday WishList!

Hi everyone, it’s Steph from Influence. I’m a twenty-one year old student from the UK and I’ve been blogging for a few months now just for fun. My blogs got a little bit of everything and is full of things that inspire me. I’m so excited that the festive period has finally arrived!! I love everything about this time of year from pretty fairy lights, chilly weather, snow, steaming cups of Starbucks gingerbread lattes, Christmas tree’s, Ice skating, quality time with loved ones, cheery music, woolly jumpers and furry boots (just to name a few reasons!!) I thought it would be fun to share with you all my Christmas wish list, have you started thinking of your own yet?

(1. Some wesc headphones 2. Hugo Boss Orange perfume 3. Some new nine west black boots 4. Hair products 5. Lush Christmas box selection 6. New socks 7. Some spending money.)

Every year I like to donate money to a charity. This year I’m going to donate to WSPA a well known charity who help stop cruelty to animals all around the world such as bears, working horses, factory farming, stray dogs, whaling etc. I think it’s important we spread awareness about these issues and show our support. It’s also a nice feeling to know you’ve made a difference in some person or animals life.

Thanks for reading my Christmas wish list everybody and I hope you all have a very merry and happy Christmas!! Love Steph x

The Ultimate Christmas Ornament Storage

Wow...what a day! This evening I've been busy bringing Christmas trees up from the basement and boy, does my back feel it! Have you started on your trees, yet? Each year, I love to add a few new ornaments to my collection. I've gradually started collecting wildlife/hunt themed ornaments with the idea of perhaps doing a "themed" tree sometime. I don't have quite enough, yet...but I'm working on it.

As I began taking out my ornaments this year, I remembered a post I did last year after Christmas where I shared how I store my most treasured ornaments...like the ones my family members have made...or ones containing photos of my son. :) I thought this year I'd show you these wonderful storage boxes now instead of after Christmas when it's really too late to be of help.

Around 11-12 years ago, I purchased these two, fabric-covered, ornament storage boxes.




The bottom one is covered completely in fabric and the top one has a fabric covered top. I loved how they looked and felt, but most of all I was impressed with their sturdy construction and the fact they came with acid-free archival paper. That told me these were not ordinary ornament boxes.




Here's a view of the inside...




I really like how the interior panels adjust to fit the size of the ornament.




Their website states: "The ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT STORAGE box is the only Acid Free archival quality decorative box on the market, making it suitable for archival storage of family heirlooms and collectibles." I was impressed last year when I "googled" their name and discovered they were still in business all these years later. I think that says a lot about the product and the company itself.




My boxes have held up beautifully...they still look virtually brand new. But the part I like most is each year when I take these boxes out and open them, my ornaments still look the way they did when I tucked them away the year before. :) In case you are wondering, I have not been paid to share this information. I just wanted to tell you about these wonderful boxes again this year in case you find it helpful. The company that makes these is called, Ultimate Christmas Storage and you'll find the ornament boxes along with more information at their website, HERE.
(Above photo from Ultimate Christmas Storage website)