Merry Christmas 2019
About Rhonda Caudill
Posts by Rhonda Caudill:
Deck the Halls … on a Budget
ASK A DESIGNER
Design Dilemma:
We’re on a limited budget this year but want to incorporate the spirit of the season into holiday decoration. We have a new small Christmas tree with a limited selection of favorite ornaments. What ideas can you share to use free or a “next to nothing” cost to add jolly to our holiday?
(credit: Charles Schultz)
Sue’s Solution:
It’s easy to “deck the halls with boughs of holly” when you go “shopping” outdoors. Keep in mind, “less is more” and group like-items together. Use balance and proportion to fill up your 3D space – up and all around. Pick a color scheme, red and green from the outdoors is a great choice. Adding blue accents will update the look. Texture and pattern add visual appeal. Light and reflections in mirrors or on metals bring a display to life. A fun idea, as seen below, is to use a ladder as a tree and decorate with ball ornaments, painted pine-cones, etc. and add light strings.
Santa’s House, North Pole
Iconic Building of the Month
A log cabin on a 25 acres property in the chilly North woods is where the Claus family, numerous elves, and legendary reindeer call home. Big wood beams fashioned from hand hewn logs support and furnish this 2500 square foot, three bed, two bath rustic cabin revealing old world charm. Perhaps it was Santa himself who built this home in 1822.
It’s easy to deck the halls with boughs of holly in the open concept floor plan. A recent renovation in 2013 provides modern amenities and easy living including a gourmet kitchen with a baker’s dream oven featuring 12 cookie settings and hot cocoa on tap. Perhaps one of the coziest highlights can be roasting chestnuts in the floor-to-ceiling river rock fireplace. Built-in shelving in Santa’s den showcases toy prototypes. An adjacent large garage lodges the legendary all-weather sleigh.
Adjacent buildings include an elf village of 150 square feet private cottages, a state-of-the-art toy-making facility, and of course, reindeer stables.
Click here for more information and pictures of this charming property and for a glimpse into a magical existence full of joy, hope, and best of all, love.
A Christmas Lesson For All Seasons
When darkness comes, glimmers of hope mean the world to us. The Moravians, a lesser known,
communally focused sect of Christians, light beeswax candles as a symbol of hope during the
Christmas Eve love feast. Lights are dimmed. Candles beam. A child sings the traditional Morning
Star song, perched up in front of the congregation, who, like adoring parents, respond to the lyrics.
Sopranos and altos soar with tenors and basses: “Fill my heart with light divine.” Finally, volunteers
carry trays of burning candles into the space. The sight is spectacular, and the story of the Moravian
Christmas candle is even more inspiring.
The 1700s in Germany, and throughout the world, were filled with chaos. Religious and political
strife ran free. One Christmas, tragedy struck Gnadenhuetten. People were massacred, farms
burned. It seemed impossible to remember that a religious holiday had happened at all. Yet, as they
saw it, the candles brought purity to an otherwise polluted place. That’s because the Moravians
regarded beeswax as the purest of all animal or vegetable waxes.
The candle service that evolved spread across the Atlantic. Its first recorded instance “in the New
World” was in 1756, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania – now known as the Christmas City. Here, Bishop
Peter Boehler felt moved by the experience… after his return from Europe where there was so little
apparent hope. That night was “long to be remembered as a bright hour in the midst of a dark
time.” Voices sang to celebrate the holiday, even in times of peril. More than 250 candles shone
through the darkness as they sang the closing hymn.
Their hearts burned brightly; and a few years later, the Moravian children of North Carolina skipped
home with candles, still burning, to light their Christmas trees. Now people of all ages engage in the
tradition. Each church determines the size of the candle and how it is trimmed. Yet the
commonality is in the message – hope. The Moravian Christmas candle marks the start of a new
chapter. It is a symbol of light’s power to overcome the darkness.
The Don Cesar
Iconic Building of the Month
Built in the jazz age of the roaring 20’s, Florida’s Legendary Pink Palace, The Don CeSar, on notorious St. Pete beach has seen high society glamour, military convalescent, government administration, Hollywood drama and tourists galore.
Inspired by Mediterranean and Moorish styles, architect Henry H. Dupont’s designs incorporated arch openings, red clay tile low-pitched roofs, balconies, stucco façade, and towers aplenty. A notable architectural detail from contractor Carlton Beard is the innovative floating concrete pad and pyramid footing foundation to stabilize the building on persistently shifting sand. To this day, the building remains with no evidence of structural concern. It is nearing its 100th birthday.
Pink, for hope, calming, and nurturing, is found in sunsets. This Gulf coast icon provided these aspirations to its visitors for nearly a century. It is loved for its location on pristine sugar soft white sand beaches, temperate climate, and luxurious opulence. The Pink Palace has been protected by local citizens and visitors throughout the years. In 1974 it was admitted into the National Register of Historic Places. The Don CeSar was named after a main character in the opera, Maritana.
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