Sarah Walker The Curated House, Author at The Curated House

Christmas Eve | Wrapping + Singing

I love Christmas Eve. There is something so magical about the sense of anticipation. For our family, it is not just the anticipation of gifts, though our 9 year old can hardly contain his excitement over opening a book we will be reading together. {I love that he’s so excited about a book!! Feels like a mom “win” for me.}

For us, today and tomorrow are more than anything about the culmination of Advent. We realize that we have not been waiting alone. God is with us. He’s still with us and waits with us in our hopes and longings, and that’s worth celebrating.

Whatever your Christmas traditions, you will probably have some gifts to wrap and that always requires a good playlist, so I thought I’d offer some inspiration on both fronts today!

I’ve confessed to you before that I am a bit of a Maria. Brown paper packages tied up with string truly are one of my favourite things. This Christmas, I decided to work with two variations on that theme. For the guys in my life, I substituted the brown paper with road maps, and I rather love the result.

Simple yet interesting {and free from a Travel Info centre!}, the maps nod at the journey we are taking together in life. The symbolism may be lost on our little guy, but I will savour it quietly nonetheless. The other hidden beauty in this wrapping? It’s very forgiving. All the lines and squiggles of the roads make for a very non-linear pattern so that odd shapes don’t look quite as odd when wrapped. The paper is also thick enough to handle strange corners without ripping. Who knew?

My other variation on this year’s theme is equally simple but a bit girly-er in the details. Starting with my classic brown paper package, I substituted the “string” with a few lovelier options.

Sweet and simple. For some, I added some fresh elements, and for others a customized tag {these take too long to put on every gift or I would have!}.

It’s an eclectic mix, but I love how it all looks under the tree, and I can’t wait to see the joy in the faces of my loved ones as they open their gifts this year.

And now, my 3 favourite Christmas albums! These have been on repeat the last few weeks as the primary soundtrack for our holidays. I think you’ll love them too!

The Brilliance / Advent Volume 1

Hillsong / Born Is The King

The Hotel Café Presents / Winter Songs

I will be taking a little posting holiday from now until January 2nd. Until then, my wish for all of us is that we will slow down and really connect. My hope is that we will allow ourselves to be filled with wonder and gratitude for the gifts we have been given that could never fit into boxes or be wrapped with paper and tucked under a tree.

For me, this next week will be all about snuggles, games and reading by the fire; cooking and baking and skating and hot chocolate; visits with family and friends; and time to just reflect as we prepare to welcome all the possibilities and potential the New Year holds for us.

Wishing you a very meaningful and hope-filled holiday season with the ones you love. I can’t wait to share my journey of hopes and dreams and inspirations with you in the New Year, and I can’t wait to hear about yours!

Merry Christmas.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|December 24th, 2012|2 Comments

Christmas in Copenhagen | Part 2 | Torvehallern

Bathed in long shadows created by the warm sunlight flooding the space, Copenhagen’s Torvehallern is a jewel box of gourmet flavours waiting to be discovered. This glass-encased pair of food halls is Copenhagen’s biggest and busiest food market with over 60, 000 weekly visitors. After our all-too-brief visit, I understand why. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have a local market like this at home!

Gathering together the best that Denmark and the rest of Europe have to offer, these two modern glass structures offer a treasure trove of opportunity for any bourgeoning foodie fortunate enough to live in the area.

Stig – the charming olive maker at Stig’s Oliven {pictured below} – was our favourite vendor by far, though I must confess he threw us off at first by loading up a full plate of food for us without our asking! In friendly and generous Danish style, he quickly set us at ease again by offering it to us as “samples” to have with our lunch.

Without a doubt, his garlic olives are the best I’ve ever had, and I quickly made my way back after we’d eaten lunch to snap up a large vacuum-sealed bag of them to bring home. They are now one of the most treasured items in our larder, carefully hidden away from the unmoderated olive-eating appetite of my son and his epicurean tastebuds.

Not surprisingly, there are no lack of fromageries at the Torvehallern, with local Danish cheeses as well as gorgeous imports from all over Europe. France makes a very strong showing in this department.

The inventive, colourful and unexpected combinations at Hallernes Smørrebrød were positively inspiring, even if we didn’t know what half of them were! This is food to be enjoyed with the eyes as much as with the tastebuds, an everyday art form to be savoured over lunch.

In the end, we chose to sit outside, bathed by the warmth of the sunlight and ignoring the chill of the wind as we ate our simple but absolutely gorgeous lunch of smoked salmon fillet encrusted with dill, accompanied of course by Stig’s generous samples of olives, artichokes and dolmas. Very few vegetables were harmed in the making of this particular lunch, but all the gorgeous protein gave us the fuel we needed to keep exploring.

From florals to fresh herbs, nuts and chocolates to intoxicating dried spices, the variety at Torvehallern is truly a feast for the senses. I can’t imagine there are many ingredients a galloping gourmet could long for that would not be found within these two expansive glass edifices.

The truth is, Torvehallern left me longing for an authentically European market to shop at weekly back home, not to mention an endless supply of Stig’s olives! Seriously, I don’t know what we will do when they’ve all been eaten! If only a trip back to Copenhagen were an option {sigh}. Perhaps our new motto will be: “Don’t cry because all of the olives have been eaten. Celebrate because you got to eat some of them.”

Wishing you all a flavourful weekend filled with generous surprises and random acts of kindness.

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|December 21st, 2012|0 Comments

Christmas in Copenhagen | Part 1 | Nyhavn

Amongst the many beautiful and famous landmarks in the city of Copenhagen, Nyhavn is perhaps one of the most recognizable. The colourful row of houses and shops that line the canal have been there since the 17th century, and this gateway to the sea has become a charming tourist destination {something of a turnaround from it’s history of prostitution and beer houses}.

Today, the cobblestone walkway is lined with restaurants and pubs on one side. Even in the bitter cold of winter, they have tables set up out front with lanterns, wool blankets and heaters to invite passers by to sit and enjoy the ambience of the area over a drink or a meal.

{This windswept heather tells the story of just how c-c-cold it really was! Beautiful, but cold!}

At Christmas time, the other side of the cobblestone walkway is lined with gingerbread style huts {which I mysteriously failed to photograh – so sorry! They really were almost identical to the ones you saw at the Toronto Christmas Market}. These huts are home to vendors selling Christmas wares from handmade felted wool ornaments {and ornaments of all kinds!} to knitted mittens and sweaters to local Danish cheese and even reindeer skin rugs.

Wandering the nearby streets you’ll find that Christmas is literally everywhere, with everyday streets decorated with live evergreen boughs, lights and the iconic Danish hearts. Beauty and celebration are clearly embraced as a meaningful part of everyday life in Denmark!

Some of my favourite shops were the florists. I loved their neat and tidy wreaths and door knockers. Though not entirely an unfamiliar aesthetic, theirs had something charmingly Danish about them that I found both endearing and refreshing. Even the simple evergreen wreaths were more compact and intentionally crafted to my eye. So lovely!

Nyhavn becomes rather magical at night, with the lights from the boats and buildings reflecting like liquid gold off the water. I highly recommend wandering back here on your way home at dusk.