COUNTRY PORCH
November 2005 Newsletter
A Heart of Gratitude
Greetings from The Porch!
Up here in the Northwest, November’s beauty
radiates from behind closed doors with glowing amber fires and windows steamy with the
fragrance of Thanksgiving. Ray Stannard Baker calls Thanksgiving the holiday of peace, the
celebration of work and the simple life . . . the beauty of seedtime and harvest. We call
it God and family.
Call it a clan, call it a network,
call it a tribe, call it a family:
Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.
~ Jane Howard
With grateful hearts our harvest is in and our
shop is bountiful with country style curtains,
valances,
tablecloths,
shower curtains,
country quilts and
kitchen dishtowels including
NEW Christmas patterns! Our NEW
Ceramics from Park Designs are so
delightful we can hardly wait to unpack the next piece! Have you seen our “just in” lined and
scalloped valances?
There’s so much to share! Visit
Christmas Decorating Themes
for yummy new holiday patterns with coordinating ceramic pottery,
Ann Clark, Ltd. for oodles of whimsical
tin cookie cutters
and our Home Accessories for one more
design layer.
Each day has 24 golden hours . . . we invite you to
disconnect for awhile and begin the creative process of holiday planning and decorating. Whatever
you do, ORDER EARLY!
Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year;
to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.
~ Edward Sandford Martin
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Bittersweet
The turkey is in the oven and the air is fragrant with Aunt Emma’s pumpkin pies! Set a pretty table
with linens of just berries and twigs twining their way into a simple border. Artist Pat Fischer
added a bit of moss leaves and a background of tea stain to create this utterly enchanting pattern.
Make Thanksgiving a time for grateful hearts.
Visit our NEW
Spice Cabinet Themes online catalog
for more inspiring country ideas! |
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Pinecone
What better way to celebrate the holidays than a get-away in the woods! Our pinecone motif, simple,
yet classic and elegant is richly enhanced in this Jacquard of rustic colors in brick, moss, midnight
blue and taupe from the High Country Collection by Park Designs.
Take the lodge look all the way with Pinecone napkin rings in antique brass,
add ambience with our Pinecone lamp or
warm your pinkies on our Pinecone rag rug.
No cabin is complete without a Lodge quilt
and a Welcome to Our Cabin needlepoint pillow. What do you think?
Visit our NEW Lodge Cabin Home Decor
online catalog for more woodsy ideas or return to Kitchen Decorating Themes
for country inspiration! |
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Jolly Santa
Designed in the primitive tradition, artist Teresa Kogut has decked Santa out in all the luscious
colors of country. Imagine Jolly Santa in hues of country brick and accented with moss and mustard
on a tea stained backdrop.
Did you notice the whimsical napkins? They'd be adorable dressed in napkin rings from our
Christmas collection. And NEW
from Park Designs is our Jolly Santa ceramic pottery
with fun stuff like our Jolly Santa cookie jar!
Whether you’ve been naughty or nice you’ll enjoy browsing Santa’s Workshop for more
Christmas Decorating Themes. |
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Christmas Ticking
It’s a wonderful life! Really deck the halls this holiday season with a primitive table setting in
Christmas Ticking from Park Designs. Muted Christmas colors of country red and hunter on an aged-tan
background are bordered with tiny fir trees. Add a little shimmer with
antiqued Fir Tree napkin rings
or a sweet Pinecone lamp to light your way.
For more creative holiday ideas, visit our
Christmas Decorating Themes
online catalog. |
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Holly Berry
Mother Nature gathered daffodils Sprays of colorful holly berries in country red with sage on
a soft white background create this adorable traditional pattern by Park Designs. Mix and match
with our Christmas collection of
Christmas napkin rings or add a country
red chamber stick lamp. How easy is that!
For more creative holiday ideas, visit our
Christmas Decorating Themes
online catalog. |
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November
Quilt of the Month |
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High Country
‘tis the season to create a beautiful bed for the holidays with this vivid quilt of
classic burgundy and hunter green plaid flannel accented with sand, sage and cranberry
and bordered in corduroy.
Fluff up your nest with pieced pillow shams, hooked velvet pillows, flannel Euro shams
and quilted pillows. High Country quilt is featured with Burgundy and Green Plaid
bedding accessories. And to all a good night! |
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Ticonderoga
We’re mad for plaid! Victorian Heart has chosen soft, woven homespun fabrics in hues
of country reds and greens to create this timeless rail fence pattern called. It's
irregular patchwork lends itself to the primitive country look and simpler times.
Complete your cocoon with pieced shams, quilted pillows and throw. This quilt is pure country! |
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Recipes
To Grandmother's house we go!
Pumpkin Praline Layer Cake
Taste of Autumn – Gooseberry Patch
I think this is the type of dessert that’s so delicious, it makes your toes curl up!
- Judy Phelan
| 1 C brown sugar, packed |
1 2/3 C sugar |
| 1/2 C butter |
1 C oil |
| 1/4 C whipping cream |
4 eggs |
| 3/4 C chopped pecans |
2 C canned pumpkin |
| 2 C all-purpose flour |
1 3/4 C whipping cream |
| 2 t. pumpkin pie spice |
1/4 C powdered sugar |
| 1 t. baking soda |
1/4 t. vanilla extract |
| 1 t. salt |
Garnish: pumpkin pie spice |
| 2 t. baking powder |
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Combine first 3 ingredients in a heavy saucepan
over low heat until brown sugar dissolves; stir occasionally. Divide equally between two
greased 9” round cake pans. Sprinkle evenly with pecans; let mixture cool slightly. Sift
together flour, baking powder, spice, baking soda and salt in a bowl; set aside. Blend sugar,
oil and eggs; alternately add pumpkin and reserved dry ingredients. Spoon batter evenly over
pecan mixture in cake pans.
Place pans on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes or until centers test
clean. Cool cakes in the pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes; invert and cool completely on wire
rack. Beat whipping cream until soft peaks form; stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Continue
beating until stiff peaks form. To assemble cake, place one layer on a serving plate,
praline-side up; spread with whipped topping. Add second layer, praline-side up, and top with
remaining whipped cream. Garnish with pumpkin pie spice. Serves 8.
Bon Appetite!
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Christmas Decorating Hints
This idea is the best and the easiest holiday decorating you’ll ever do! Imagine a plump
little Christmas tree decorated with Ann Clark, Ltd.
cookie cutters
tied with strips of homespun plaid or raffia. They’re virtually indestructible and even the
littlest ones will be able to help . . . how fun is that!
PS - Better yet, bake up oodles of cookies first . . . your little helpers will long remember
the Christmas they decorated the tree with Mommy. |
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November
Candle Club
Oh, the sweet scent of the holidays and Scent-a-Bun candles! Or welcome home your family
with the comforting scent of our cake candles,
like Apple Cinnamon, Maple Syrup, Pumpkin Spice or Banana Nut. They’ll think you baked all day!
Our cake candles burn 90-92 hours. |
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It was so good to visit with you and we thank
you for your business! Our creative energy is in overdrive and we’re all on a mission . . .
to bring you the very BEST of everything that we and the shop have to offer.
New and exciting patterns are arriving daily, so visit often, anytime. We’re always OPEN
on-line. Or call us at our toll free number @ 1-866-664-9182 and chat; we’d love to hear how
you transformed your home with decorating themes from The Country Porch!
A generous man will himself be blessed,
for he shares his food with the poor.
~ Book of Proverbs 22:9
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know someone who may also be interested in reading our newsletter, please
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All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Copyright © 2005 The Country Porch, LLC
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