It was downright frosty here this weekend and feeling a little more like Christmas! While it’s nice to have mild temperatures and comfortable porch-sitting weather in December, it doesn’t feel like Christmas to me unless I need to curl up with a blanket or two and have something to sip on to keep warm!
I did a little Christmas nesting on the porch before the mercury did a nose dive to make things Merry and Bright!
Bird ornaments flew in to nest on the porch. . .
And this cardinal is bundled in a scarf and hat and ready for wintry weather!
December 12th is National Poinsettia Day. The poinsettia first came into the United States by way of Joel Roberts Poinsett, an American botanist and the first United States Minister to Mexico. In 1825, he sent cuttings home to Charleston, South Carolina. Enjoy a little tour of Christmas in the Holy City, Charleston, SC, here.
I lined a basket with plastic and used some paper to elevate pots of poinsettias, then used some red mesh to tuck in around the pots along with some pine cones. A cardinal ornament is perched on a glittery nest among the poinsettias. My basket is back inside this morning so they don’t get frost nipped from the cold weather!
Lanterns are filled with a mixture of botanicals for Christmas. . .
And cardinal-lidded teapot is ready to pour a Christmas blend.
Help yourself to an easy no-bake Southern treat to enjoy with a cup of tea or for Christmas gift giving, Pecan Bourbon Balls!
Pecan Bourbon Balls, recipe courtesy Southern Living
Makes about 3 dozen
Ingredients
1 (12-oz.) package vanilla wafers, finely crushed
1 cup powdered sugar (plus more to coat)
1 cup finely chopped *toasted pecans (plus more to coat)
1/2 cup bourbon
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Directions
Stir together all 6 ingredients (or pulse everything together in the food processor for easy mixing). Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar or chopped pecans. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks.
*To toast pecans: Place chopped pecans in a dry skillet on your cooktop on medium heat or on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the oven at 350 degrees until golden brown and fragrant, about 5-10 minutes. Allow to cool. Place pecan bourbon balls in mini cupcake liners for easy gifting and serving! I found plaid cupcake liners at World Market at the end of the season last year.
Pecan Bourbon Balls
An easy no-bake Southern treat to enjoy with a cup of tea or for Christmas gift giving!
Servings: 36
Ingredients
- 1 12-oz. package vanilla wafers, finely crushed
- 1 cup powdered sugar plus more to coat balls
- 1 cup finely chopped *toasted pecans plus more to coat balls
- 1/2 cup bourbon
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Instructions
- Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar or chopped pecans.
- Refrigerate up to 2 weeks.
- *To toast pecans: Place chopped pecans in a dry skillet on your cooktop on medium heat or on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the oven at 350 degrees until golden brown and fragrant, about 5-10 minutes. Allow to cool.
I always pick up an amaryllis bulb to enjoy for Christmas, but never time it right and it blooms in January.
Note to self: Plant amaryllis bulb November 1st ;)
I added a clip-on Cardinal ornament for a little Christmas nesting!
Christmas Nesting Details:
Tartan Dinner Plates / HomeGoods
Plaid Mug / Lauren Skylar Floral, HomeGoods, several years ago
Cardinal Teapot / Christopher Radko Old Saint Nicholas Collection, HomeGoods, several years ago
Napkins / HomeGoods & Pottery Barn
Red Tartan Napkin Rings / Williams-Sonoma, last year
Tray / Fitz and Floyd
Bird Pillow / HomeGoods, last year
Merry Pillow / HomeGoods, last year
Plaid Throw / Kohl’s, several years ago
Lanterns / Pottery Barn, several years ago
Thank you for your visit, I’m sharing with:
Metamorphosis Monday
WOW!!! Beautiful, just gorgeous!!! A person could get REAL comfortable on that porch! As you know, I just love the plaid and all the red!!! Thank you for the recipe and snuggling on the porch!! ❤️🎄❤️🎄❤️🎄
So cheery and festive. I would love to spend time on your porch enjoying time with your feathered friends and a cup of tea.
Really gets me in the Christmas mode………..and the desire to make those bourbon balls and sit with a cup of tea on your porch…..hmmmmmmmmmm…, where do you live again???………….:)
So pretty and festive! Hope Dave got to sample the goodies!
Lovin’ all the plaid Mary! Have a great week:@)
Mary, what a festive spot to eat…love the reds and of course, the tartan! The bourbon pecan balls look delicious! Have a joy-filled Monday!
i so look forward to seeing the porch every year!….Beautiful as always! Loved making your Bourbon Balls (without the bourbon) for my Sweetie’s Little Girls’ Luncheon last year. In addition to looking forward to seeing how you so beautifully deck the porch each year, I love seeing that amazing bench!!! One thing missing though…the Girls! Have a very Merry week!
This is so inviting on a cold, snowy morning (we have about a foot of snow or more). My daughter would love the cardinal tea pot. Thank you for adding a smile to my morning cup of coffee.
I love all the plaid and cardinals! It is so pretty and festive – rum balls – delish!
What a wonderful cozy Merry Mary spot! Who wouldn’t want to curl up here with a cup of cocoa and a pecan bourbon ball, a stack of eye candy filled Christmas books surrounded by poinsettias and bright red cardinals! The perfect way to put the Merry in the season!
Jenna
I have such a love/weakness for porches and this porch is so charming. I love how you have decorated it for the season. Happy Holidays!
I love that there is a National Poinsettia Day! I didn’t know that! Oh… your inviting, restful porch Mary, so perfect for this time of year. Whenever you work with birds, my heart is a flutter, so sweet, as I am sure your pecan balls are too! Whatever the season, you have such a gift for making it special, merry and bright! Thank you Mary!
Ooh I’m loving your Merry porch, dear Mary!! The bench is gorgeous. Did someone make that for you? You’ve decorated your porch so perfectly with your poinsettias and your Cardinal decor. Thanks for the yummy holiday recipe!
I am making these! Yum! They will transport easily! Thanks for sharing!🎄😎🌴
I’m cardinal crazy and the touches of mistletoe and plaid are perfect. Check out your local tele florist and see the adorable cardinal muds they are sending with flowers. Really great for brewing and serving my morning tea.
Loving the bird ornaments and those gorgeous pillows. Definitely a place I could curl up and read a book. Looks beautiful Mary!
Such adorable decor…love those birdies, esp. the cardinals!!!! Ohio’s state bird, ya’ know. I’d love to find a big beautiful red bird to go on top of my new kitchen Christmas tree. You didn’t mention where you found the birds. ???
I am inspired to fill some lanterns with baubbles & bits…they look so festive!
Now I’m off to check out that link…thanks!
Hi Rett, It’s NC’s state bird too! I don’t remember where I got those, I have a lot of bird ornaments :) Hobby Lobby always has a great selection when they put their ornaments out.
Oh, Mary…I did not need another Christmas Cookie to fall in love with! My turn to host this year, and bourbon balls might just help me to get to that festive happy place!!
Happy Holidays!!
Mary everything is so beautiful. Thank You for sharing.
Marilyn
I love plaid and enjoy seeing all your plaid items.
Joan
Thank You for sharing all your beautiful items. Your posts are always so enjoyable. They bring a cozy feeling.
Marion
You have a never-ending supply of beautiful things to assemble, Mary! Love the cardinals. I have passed over the poinsettias for the past couple of years, but they are so gorgeous, and so is an amaryllis. I seriously wanna come live with you. I could stay in the potting shed and be a happy girl.
I just love your porch and you always decorate it perfectly. I LOVE the cardinal pillow, wish I could find one. Also am in love with plaid so all those plaid touches are fabulous! Merry Christmas, Mary and thank you for all your wonderful inspiration all year.
~Mary~
Love your porch, and what a cozy spot for tea out of that lovely mug !!
Paula – IN
p.s.our state bird too !!
Perfectly charming porch!! Love the plaid and cardinals! Made bourbon balls years ago, so looking forward to trying again. Thanks for all the inspiration and beauty.
The cardinal is also Illinois’ state bird! Who can blame so many states for wanting to claim such a beautiful bird? I love the bird ornaments and the glittery nests, and all the tartan! There’s so much I like here that I would be perfectly comfortable moving right into that porch! Oh, it IS beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
This would be a wonderful spot to curl up with a hot cup of tea! Your photography, as always, is exquisite.
I always enjoy your posts, Mary, and today’s is perfect because our tree is up and the snow outside is falling in huge soft flakes. I am sure that there are still areas to decorate inside with the inspiration of your beautiful photos. Thank you so much.
Simply gorgeous! Love the cozy feel of it all! Thank you for joining the 12 days of Holiday Homes tour! Hope you have time to visit my home tour too! Have a very Merry Christmas!
Such pretty pretty images from a cozy porch! I love that bench! Don’t get cold! Stay warm and dry like that bundled up little bird! Merry, Merry!
Your porch is so festive and cozy for the holidays You would need the throws and blankets were in Kentucky today. The temp is 23 but at least it is sunny. Merry Christmas.
Such an inviting and beautiful porch, Mary! It’s too cold up here in PA ( have our first dusting of snow today) to put together a lovely winter/Xmas porch that we can really enjoy (need a sunroom for that which, unfortunately, we don’t have. So, instead, I put together a tartan red and green indoor room and will do a tartan and floral combo Xmas breakfast table setting to get my fix of plaid. Thank you so much for all your creative ideas and great recipes throughout the years–you always inspire me to add those little extra touches that bring it all together so beautifully. Wishing you every good thing in the coming year.
Love it all Mary. I’m a little behind in reading your blog, busy taking hubby to speech therapy since his stroke, but LOVE the porch and the pretty bird ornaments. I have a mid size tree that stays up all year in the corner of my dining room that is decorated in just white lights and bird ornaments – mostly cardinals and some dried hydrangea in between branches. (The dining room looks out on to my flower garden and bird feeders.) I purchased most of the bird ornaments at Target a few years back. I get so many compliments on this tree. Each season, I place a few seasonal items on the branches as well – turns out really cut, i. e. I place dollar store American flags in between the branches from Memorial Day until Labor Day. Actually, from where I sit in the living room I can see this tree, so it’s the only tree I’m putting up this year – keeping it simple. Love all your efforts. Thanks Mary!