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Our twin towers
Thursday, December 10, 2009 at 02:44PM
Plus which, I'm digging the patriotic overtones.
Twin towers of sweetness.I got the idea a few days ago to buy Christmas candy and fill these two tall squarish vases, making a tasty decoration sure to be appreciated by my family.
The vases were originally bought for our daughter's wedding in 2001, which sort of had a squarish theme.
Stephanie's engagement diamond is a square (princess) cut. Her invitations were large vellum squares. Her tiara design contained squares.
Her wedding cake tiers were -- wait for it, why don't you, if only to humor me -- square.
She and Joel even spent part of their honeymoon at the Rittenhouse Hotel on Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square.
I could go on and on.
The vases were part of the reception decor. Although extremely inexpensive (think dollar store kitsch), they sparkled beguilingly in candlelight.
Use what you have.
Now, years later, they've been hauled off the back of a dark storage shelf and polished to a brilliant shine in the damp soapy recesses of our dishwasher.
One holds Pearson's Mint Patties and the other holds Hershey's Almond Kisses ... all wrapped in Christmas red and green.
My twin candy towers remind me that life is as sweet as it is brief, and that Christmas is a beautifully shining time of year.
Also that I am lazy when it comes to cleaning and decorating.
Be that as it may, it's not a time to be sad and wistful for all we've lost, but to be happy and grateful for all we've got.
They also remind me of a fine piece of advice my mother once gave me regarding homemaking and decorating: "Use what you have."
I think the leftover wedding reception vases are happy to be glistening on a coffee table beside the twinkling tree and filled with Christmas goodies.
After all, it's so much better to be useful than to be forgotten.
They may remain and be filled with Valentine hearts after the full tide of festive Christmas decorations has inevitably ebbed. That would be lovely; don't you agree?
Merry Christmas!
Reader Comments (7)
Granted, I'm a guy (and thus have never give the matter the least bit of thought), but "squares" seems like such a novel wedding theme.
I like it. The guys could all wear square-toed shoes. The wedding cake could be a SpongeBob SquarePants cake (he's square-shaped, in case you didn't know).
It's probably a good thing I'm not a wedding planner...
I like the square theme too, but no much Kev's ideas! Your twin towers look delicious!
Hah! I forgot about those square vases. They are really pretty. They're even prettier with that chocolate in them...I'll have to dig into that when I get home. : )
"Use what you have." That has been the story of my life whether I wanted to or not! I never thought of that phrase as anything noble at the time. Looking back over the years, I see now that I actually had a "gift" at using what I had to make the place look better. I see now that I get some unexplained fulfilment in using what a have to make everything look better.
I like your twin towers a lot! The problem with having those twin towers here in this house, they would empty out fast. There are two candy hounds who live here! However, those two vases would be their favorite Christmas decoration, for sure!
@ Kev ... I think you missed your calling. You should be a wedding planner. And when SpongeBob gets married, you may borrow my vases.
@ Mari ... we can't deny Kev's inventiveness!
@ Audrey ... hope there's some candy left when you get here.
@ Cheryl ... I don't think the phrase "use what you have" is noble, but it's somewhat novel. It's plain good advice to remember in an increasingly disposable world. When I go to the craft and decorating stores during the Christmas season, I can't believe how quickly decorations fly off the shelves. I like Christmas decorations but I can't imagine where I would put another one if I were to buy it!
Mmmm, chocolate. I don't see too much of that here at school. I try to stay away from candy. The cookies and brownies in the chow hall (cafeteria) are a different story. ;) It's been snowing for the past few days off and on and it is so beatiful to see it glisten all across the already gorgeous campus. Tomorrow night I'm going caroling with the church group and I cannot wait! I've got final exams on the 19th, 20th, and 21st of December then after that I'll be heading to SC. Miss you! Maybe I could bring some snow with me. It might add a nice touch when placed around those square candy vases.
@ Robyn ... what I want to see in the vicinity of my candy vases is YOU! But do feel free to bring some snow!