River House Diary

 Valentine's Day was cold and rainy so we turned our gas fireplace on fir the first time. It didn't blow up, so all is well. The fireplace works!

 We purchased the Thurston Wing Chair  from Ballard Designs and had it custom upholstered in two gorgeous fabrics -- a velvet and a Suzani print. It lived in the master bedroom of our Oakton house. For the River House, we had it reupholstered in Anna Elisabeth Porcelain Blue . It's in the rear guest room, which we're thinking we should name "the Blue Room." Reupholstered wing chair

We purchased these Cooper Upholstered Cubes from Ballard Designs for the sunroom in our Oakton house and had them reupholstered in a Gabrielle Chambray, a fabric exclusive to Ballard Designs that had been discontinued before I made the decision. I was lucky enough to find enough yardage on eBay. Reupholstered ottomons

 This giclee painting is from Pottery Barn. I needed something big to fill up the wall. The painting is no longer available. Abstract coastal art

The two watercolors I purchased from Derek McCrea were hung above the bed in the rear guest bedroom. The Tybee Shrimp Boats are on the left and the Cape San Blas Florida piece is on the right. Things would have been a lot easier if we'd hung them before the bed was delivered. Art above the bed in the guest bedroom; personal collection

 We finally got around to making the bed in the rear guest bedroom. We live in hope the country will achieve herd immunity through the new vaccines becoming available and we can visit with all our friends and family we've been missing. The bedding is from Eastern Accents Penelope collection -- a nice cheat to choose coordinated fabrics instead of stressing over so many individual choices. Bedding for the guest bedroom; personal collection

 My sister-in-law works in the produce department of our local grocery store. A few days after Thanksgiving, she texted me and asked if we wanted a large, fresh turkey that would have to be frozen immediately if we wanted to use it for Christmas dinner. Of course, we did! And it was large -- 22 pounds! Wrestling with that turkey required my husband's help on Christmas Day. Our menu: Pineapple-Cottage Cheese Salad (one of Mom's classics) Chef Jean Pierre's Roasted Turkey  (be sure to watch the how-to video ) Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon and Honey Onion and Dill New Potatoes Walnut Vegetable Medley Grapevine, Kentucky Buttermilk Biscuits Fresh Apple Cake We had a wonderful meal with plenty of leftovers to send home with my brother and sister-in-law. (They are part of our COVID isolation pod.) The only problem with this menu was many of the side dishes that were cooked on the stovetop required attention at the same time. This is when sisters-in-law come in very handy!