What a feast for the senses the flowers and evergreens of Christmas are! This year I’ve been unusually short on time and didn’t have the option of a leisurely comb through the cold rooms of the floral wholesalers. Much of my Christmas flower shopping was done at the grocery store – the apples, cinnamon, and astilbes came from Safeway and Whole Foods! The rosemary wreath was a very thoughtful hostess gift from one of my daughter’s friends. With a little doctoring, these basic ingredients became homey and welcoming holiday flowers. I used an apple, a cinnamon stick, an old flower pot, and some holly from the garden for the little apple topiary (those would make great Christmas place-card holders, by the way). The rosemary wreath was a Thanksgiving hostess gift re purposed with a new container and some elephant and white beech mushrooms. One bunch of white heather gave the kitchen a Christmas feel, and the rest – greens, roses, holly – were combined to provide little containers of holiday cheer all over the house. I hope you take the opportunity to see the extraordinary in the everyday, especially at this time of year. Cheers!