Pacific NW Holidays: Marianne Simon Design

My last (but certainly not least!) post in the series on celebrating the Holidays in the Pacific NW is the lovely Marianne from Marianne Simon Design.  I have been so fortunate to have met her and call her a new, dear friend in Seattle!  Lucky me.  If you don't already know Marianne, you'll see why I am so glad I found her after you read her wonderful post!  I won't make you wait any longer...here you go!

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What an honor to be here today on Barbara's gorgeous blog.  I feel so lucky that we have become friends, not only in the blog world, but also in person.  I was thrilled when she asked me to do a post on what I love about celebrating the holidays in the Pacific Northwest.  So, without further ado, these are a few of my favorite things...

Pike Place Market
Always a fun place to visit any time of year, but the holidays seem to make the market a little more magical.

Bellevue Botanical Garden

This is a place you have to visit.  Not only do I go every year to see all of the beautiful creations, I actually took a class one day a few years ago at the garden and helped them make wisteria.  Every time I look at the display I'm reminded that I actually created some of the flowers there!

Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker

Always a festive way to kick off the holiday season!  Here's my favorite part...

Baking

Of course, it wouldn't be Christmas without one of our longest family traditions dating back over 75 years.  When I say we do a lot of baking, I am not kidding.  We typically make between 30-50 or more varieties of cookies and candies over one long weekend.  I swear this is harder than my day job, but the joy it brings to family and friends faces when we pass out our box of goodness... priceless!  Heres' a look at a few of last years creations.

Decorating

In my own house, I use a lot of fresh greenery and keep everything pretty neutral so it doesn't compete with my decor. 

Paperwhites

I always start them right around Thanksgiving so they'll be in bloom for Christmas.  I place them all over my house and the smell is intoxicating.  These were in my office last year.

Published

Here's my shameless plug for the holidays...  This year I'm celebrating my home being published in the December issue of HGTV magazine.  Truly a dream come true!

Family

Of course, the best part of the holidays is spending time with my family and friends filled with lots of laughter and joy!

Thank you again Barbara for including me!  Happy Holidays!

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Isn't she great?  I see that we share a love of paperwhites, the Nutcracker and simple greens for the holidays, among many other things.  Thanks for the beautiful post Marianne.  :)
And, how amazing is that about her being published in HGTV magazine?  Congratulations Marianne!!  I am so happy for you!

Thanks so much for your beautiful post, showcasing your great style and zest for living.