CHICAGO CHRISTMAS

CHICAGO CHRISTMAS!

I had a marvelous opportunity to visit the city this past week and I wanted to post some pics! In addition to these venues, I was able to go to the Signature Room on the 95th fl of the Hancock which has breathtaking views!!  I hope every one had a Merry Christmas!! On to the New Year!!

Never a better holiday brunch was had than at the Cote D'or at the Drake Hotel: (notice the ad for cowboy boots in the lobby!)

http://www.thedrakehotel.com

Every year I stop by Butch McGuires, Chicago's Irish Pub....located on Division St., it is known as Chicago first singles bar, putting the first celery stalk in a Bloody Mary and it's Christmas decorations.  Though now, around the holidays it has become a tradition for families to dine there every year and enjoy the decor!

http://butchmcguires.com/

The Chicago Cut Steak House is the "IT" place.  Known for the amazing service and the best steaks, it distinguishes itself by the wine list and location.  On the Chicago River it has become a filming location for TV and Movies.  I tried to take pics at night, but they do not do the establishment justice:

www.chicagocutsteakhouse.com

MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS

This is my last blog until after X-Mas.  I hope all of you have happy and healthy holidays!  God Bless you all~ Candice

SIOUX PRAYER

Grandfather Great Spirit,

All over the world the faces of the living ones

are alike.

With tenderness they have come up

out of the ground.

Look upon your children that they may

face the winds and walk the good road

to the day of Quiet.

Grandfather Great Spirit,

Fill us with Light.

Give us the strength to understand,

and the eyes to see.

Teach us to walk the soft Earth as relatives

to all that live.

Help us, for without you we are nothing.

SOUTHWEST CHRISTMAS

SOUTHWEST CHRISTMAS

Here are a few pics of some great decorations at Tonto Verde Country Club:

THE BEST MADE COMPANY

THE BEST MADE COMPANY

The Best Made Company is located in lower Manhattan, is mission is "equipping customers with quality tools and dependable information that they can use and pass down for generations. We seek to empower people to get outside, use their hands and in doing so embark on a life of fulfilling projects and lasting experiences."

They have a great selection of camping tools, home tools, axes, knives, books and badges.  I encourage you to check out their website.  

http://www.bestmadeco.com

I love this first aid kit:

I also adore this axe:

LUMINARIES

LUMINARIES

Holiday luminaries, or luminarias, are sand-filled paper bags with a votive candle or battery-operated tea light set inside. Luminarias line the streets and rooftops in the Southwest United States and throughout Mexico and Latin America during the nine days before Christmas, often through January 6, the Feast of the Three Kings. The lights show the way to the Inn for Mary and Joseph during Las Posadas. Holiday luminarias are also called farolitos, which means little lanterns.

History

•  "Luminarias have not always been made out of paper bags, the early versions were actually small bonfires of crisscrossed piñon branches which were built in 3-foot-high squares." The bonfires were lit to guide people to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Las Posadas is a nine-day celebration of the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, and their difficulty finding lodging when they arrived. Children carry farolitos from house to house, accompanying "Mary" and "Joseph." They knock on doors, sing a song begging for food and shelter, and are turned away. At the last house of the evening, which is designated as La Posada, or the resting place, the children (and adults) are invited inside and served holiday tamales, biscochitos, posole and chili stews.

Materials

• Holiday luminaries, or farolitos, can be made from small paper bags. Use white bakery bags for the most dramatic effect. The paper allows the glow of the candle inside to show. Colored bags are available in grocery stores, close to the plain brown paper lunch bags in the household products aisle. Fold the top two or three inches of the bag down. If desired, cut a Christmas tree, star, holly leaf or other Christmas shape into the side of the bag. This creates an interesting effect as the candle flickers inside. Fill the bag halfway with sand, then push the candle down into the sand about an inch. The sand keeps the bag from being blown over, and prevents the melting candle wax from accidentally setting the bag on fire.

Influences

• The festival of Las Posadas originated when Catholic missionaries introduced the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus to the native people of Mexico and and Latin America. Because wood is often scarce in the Southwest, the practice of lighting signal bonfires was not sustainable. When Chinese immigrants brought their beautiful paper lanterns with them, locals began using them instead of lighting bonfires. The lanterns were expensive and the paper to make them was scarce, so people began using plain paper bags instead.

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Pendelton

Pendelton

Pendelton is an Oregon based company that has a variety of eco-friendly products.  I love their Eco-Wise Wool blankets.  They also have great towels, and home goods in a variety of native american and tartan pattern's.  You can embroider, monogram or add hanging tabs to the blankets.  Here is one of my favorite's:

http://www.pendleton-usa.com

Also, I found this baby blanket on Ebay...soooo cute!

THE SQUASH BLOSSOM

Squash Blossom Jewelry

One of the most recognizable artifacts of the Native American Culture. Traditionally associated with the Navajo silversmiths, rather it is a fascinating consolidation of influences traced historically back hundreds of years. 

The classic squash blossom necklace features a crescent shaped pendant, called "Naja" (Nah-Hah), the Navajo word for "crescent." A symbol that was common to many of the earliest civilizations. In the late 1500s and early 1600s, the saddles and bridles of huge muscled horses of the Spanish Conquistadors where fitted with sterling silver crescent-shaped pendants of Moorish origin.

For the next 200 years, as the two cultures cycled through various phases of peace and conflict in the struggle for power, the Navajo adopted and incorporated these and other traditional Spanish ornaments into their jewelry.

Early on, the Navajo wore the Nah-Hah as an ornament of beauty and these pieces also came to symbolize wealth. Eventually became associated with crop fertility and worn during ceremonies related to the agricultural cycles. It was customary for Medicine men to wear them as well.

I found this on Ebay: