Winter Arrangement #5 in Vintage Christmas Planter (With Santa) - December 2025

Posted by on

Last year, it seemed like I made way more winter, evergreen arrangements than I've done this year.  But, unlike this year, I didn't *count* them last year.  So, I'm just going off 'feel'.  

This season, the arrangement-making started off strong, but I haven't had the occassion to make them (hostess gifts, mostly) yet, so it has tapered-off.

I last posted #3 and #4 in November when we put together two small ones that went to Naperville and across town in Downers.  

Today, I'm showing #5 in a vintage (Made in Japan) Christmas planter/mug with a wreath on the front of what looks like a 'faux chimney' along with a cute Santa Claus hanging out on the handle. 

See below for a couple of photos showing this latest arrangement featuring evergreens (spruce, fir, juniper, boxwoods) and two kinds of eucalyptus and a pinecone-on-a-stick. 

Vintage Christmas Flower Container with Santa and Chimney

Vintage Christmas Flower Container with Santa and Chimney

I filled this same container last year (post and photo) and I used more branching.  I think I like last year's better than this years, but that's part of the process. 

Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Be nice to each other here.

Popular posts from this blog

Cedar Summit Panorama Playset from Costco

Posted by on
Image
Move over vegetable garden and garage pavillion, there's potentially a new entrant into the currently crowded backyard at the Parrillo household.  Behold:  this beauty.  The Cedar Summit Panorama Playset from Costco.   Comes with 3 swings and a tube slide.  Nat spotted this behemoth at Costco and after doing a bit of comparison shopping at a place like Menards (more expensive, I think) and Wannemaker's (don't sell these type of things any more), it appears to be a fair deal. It is a kit - so I'd be putting it together myself, but I'm up for that challenge.  The real issue is getting it home.  I'm going to head back to Costco to take a look to see if it will fit in Nat's car with the back seats folded down.  If not, it seems like I'll be renting a truck from Home Depot.  Yes, the Babe is likely too small for a lot of this, but certainly NOT the swings.  We take her to the park on a regular basis and she gets a kick out of the swi...
Read more

Lou Malnati's Salad Dressing Recipe as Published in the 60's

Posted by on
Image
Earlier this winter, I wrote about the old Lou Malnati's menu and mentioned that as I was waiting around for my pie to finish up, I spied an old Chicago Tribune article posted on the wall that included the original Lou Malnati's Italian Salad Dressing Recipe.  The Tribune reporter called it "prized".  We were set to host a little pizza party over the weekend, so I figured I'd give it a shot.  Here's the article as seen through my mobile phone's camera. I'm not a wine drinker, so the fact that the recipe called for Burgundy wine didn't strike me as odd.  I went shopping at Angelo Caputos in Addison - a really incredible shopping experience - and when I got to the wine section I found Burgundy wine was carried ONLY in those HUGE jugs.  And they were dirt cheap.  The only issue is that needed just 4 ounces.  We ended up with a whole-lotta-wine that Nat won't drink. I've taken the recipe and modified it a bit by eliminating the percentage...
Read more

Martha Stewart: If You Want To Be Happy....Plant A Garden - Garden Advice - November 2024

Posted by on
Image
Martha Stewart hit me right between the eyes this morning with this quote about happiness.  She says that you can be happy for a year - if you get married.  And you can be happy for a decade - if you get a dog.  But...if you wanna be happy for the rest of your life - plant a garden.  See below. I'm adding this to the handful of pieces of garden advice/garden musings/garden quotes that I've collected here on my blog - including: It is better to plant a fifty-cent tree in a five dollar hole than a five dollar tree in a fifty-cent hole , Conifers should come first , never buy just one of anything , Audrey Hepburn's line/quote - "To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow" and... the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best? Today .  Martha's take on happiness fits right in there with these. I first came across this on TikTok in a promo for her Netflix documentary, but....on  Instagram  is where I found this (nicely laid-out four-pane...
Read more