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Barbara, thank you for having me here today. I will happily
share some of my Northwest-Swedish holiday traditions with you. (And you
Ms. Barbara will be invited to one of them - guess which one?!!).
Coming December this household gets crazy busy as many
others this season. Except for mandatory Holiday decorating, treat making
and Nutcracker events, there are three special things that are
part of our family traditions and that we always make time for:
Mid December we officially open the doors to our
"Holiday Candy Store". The kids and I fill our old Swedish secretaire
with lots of homemade treats and goodies. Friends and family members tend to
gravitate more to that part of the house that many other! It is a fun tradition
that I hope my children will continue.
Pssst... Brugge Chocolates makes the best chocolates in
Seattle. Very high-end European style.
No. 2 - Gloegg Party(ies)!
Our gloegg party is growing every year and what a fun way to
see friends and family, happy and relaxed during this busy season. Being from
Sweden, "Gloegg" is a Swedish must have have during the winter season.
Gloegg is basically hot, sweet, mulled wine with added spices, almonds and
raisins. And of course we serve lots of good dishes and treats to go with this
cheerful holiday drink.
No. 3 -- Bellevue Botanical Garden d'Lights Festival
Extra Bonus (sans kids!)
When my husband and I need a little special time to
ourselves, we enjoy visiting Cafe Juanita in Kirkland. The award winning chef
& owner, Holly Smith, always gets rave reviews from
magazines, critics and a loyal clientele. And rightfully so. Her food is
top notch Northern Italian cuisine without the contrived factor. The restaurant
is located in a retro styled converted home. I would describe it as understated
elegant with a very good vibe. We always leave happy -- and full!
So, there. Some of my personal traditions and
must-visit-spots around beautiful Seattle.
Wishing all of your readers a beautiful Holiday season. And
a warm holiday hug to you Ms. Barbara. You are a gem. Seattle is very fortunate
to have you right here in in our lovely city.
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What a sweetie! Isn't that candy store idea such a great one?
I haven't tried Brugge chocolatees (except in Brugge!) so that's a must for me sometime soon....
Mon, I can't wait to share some Gloegg with you! Thank you so much for sharing your ideas with my readers. :)
10 comments:
Wow Mon and Barbara it all looks and sounds so wonderful! Mon your Swedish secretaire looks fabulous and love the candy store idea. I hope you both enjoy!
XXX
Debra~
Love Mons fabulous style and your neck of the woods sounds like a magical place to ring in the holidays!! Loved this...thank you!
I just love the candy idea! Mon's picks are all so lovely. I've never been to the Bellevue Botanical lights festival - will have to check that out. Even better if we can swing over to Café Juanita, one of my favorite restaurants.
Barbara, I'm thinking about you and your family today. Take care! XO
Monika truly is a darling and so talented too! I love her traditions. Thank you for sharing them with us.
Happy Monday.
Teresa
xoxo
Beautiful post, Monika! I love it when people of all cultures can share their special traditions at this time of year. Thank you for the great ideas!
The Botanical Gardens .. such a wonderful and magical spot, and Cafe Juanita has a cult following :)it's THAT delicious! The cookbook looks wonderful.
Such a wonderful tradition to fill the Swedish secretaire with homemade treats .. a candy store. I can see how that would become a very popular spot :)
Your home and traditions are so pretty Mon! Thanks for sharing ladies!
That candy store idea is so clever! Thanks for sharing all the wonderful swedish traditions...so fun!
Wow those lights at the Botanical Garden are beautiful!
i love this lady. the candy store is such an incredible tradition setting the perfect backdrop for childhood memories of the holidays!
and how i wish i could lift a glass of glogguueeee (whatev, mon) with you two fun seattle chicks. maybe we can glogg it up in 2013 FOR NO GOOD REASON AT ALL.
smiles to you, barbara.
michele
Dear Barbara,
This is my first blog comment since I came back from Sweden a few days ago!
Thank you so much for having me on over today. I had fun putting together this post for you. And I am looking forward to sharing some good, old gloegg with you!
Warm hugs. Mon.
P.S Link from my blog will show up tomorrow (:
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