INSIDE: N Classified Marketplace, page 71 N Puzzles, page 72
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CREATIVE TABLE SETTINGS CREATE A MOOD, SET THE STAGE FOR HOLIDAY MEALS
WINTER CLASSES ... Registration is underway for a bevy of winter classes, from container gardening to woodworking, through Palo Alto Adult School. Classes begin the first week of January and continue through March. Information: 650-3293752 or www.paadultschool.org for a full list of classes. NO MORE LAWNS ... Acterra is offering a Lawn Replacement Workshop on Saturday, Nov. 20, from 9 a.m. to noon at Foothills Park, 3300 Page Mill Road, Los Altos Hills. Meet at the picnic area next to the Acterra Native Plant Nursery. The workshop begins with a short lecture on lawn removal, followed by a hands-on demonstration of sheet mulching and planting, then an optional tour of Acterra’s native-plant nursery. Wear gardening clothes; tools will be provided. Cost is $35; attendees will receive $25 off their first order for lawn-replacement plants from the Acterra Nursery. Information: Alex Von Feldt at alexv@acterra.org or www.acterra.org/programs/ stewardship/get_involved. html#workshops HOLISTIC GARDENING ... Del McComb, a certified Permaculture designer and Biodynamic gardener who designs and manages local private estates, will offer an “Introduction to Biodynamic Agriculture” on Saturday, Nov. 20, from 10:30 a.m. to noon at Common Ground Education Center, 559 College Ave., Palo Alto. McComb will explain this early form of holistic gardening, introduced by Rudolf Steiner in 1925, including a description of herbal preparations. Cost is $31. Information: 650-493-6072, www.commongroundinpaloalto.org or http:// introductiontobiodynamic.eventbrite.com/. CLASSIC COOKING ... Karen Bowman will teach a class on “Bon Appetit: Thanksgiving Desserts” on Sunday, Nov. 21, at noon, at Sur La Table, Town & Country Village, Palo Alto. The hands-on class will focus on Classic Pumpkin Pie, Apple Strudel with Cranberry Sauce, Apple-Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze and Spiced Cran(continued on page 59)
" 53*6.1) 0' 5"#-& 5011*/(4 STORY BY SALLY SCHILLING
PHOTOGRAPHS BY VERONICA WEBER
ecorating for the holidays can mean the routine dusting-off of the holiday décor and simply setting it out in its usual place — or an opportunity to embrace your creative side. A few weeks ago, designers and floral arrangers dressed up tables at the Menlo Circus Club, as part of the annual Holidays on a High Note fundraiser for Peninsula Family Service. Many designers focused on creating an original look by blending pieces old and new, often getting inspiration from things already lying around the house. The “Make the Holidays Sparkle” design by SarahSofia event planning in Menlo Park and Nicole Hitchcock of Palo Alto Blooms blended the traditional with the contemporary. “We wanted to take the traditional holiday colors and turn them on their head,” said Sarah Lucas, event planner
at SarahSofia. “We used the expected traditional reds and put them with the unexpected silvery blue for a frosty feel.” The flower arrangements were white hydrangea, kale, roses and amaryllis with accents of red cherries and ranunculus. “It reminds me of fluffy, fresh snow,” said Hitchcock, who took inspiration from Lucas’ linens and chargers. “The red is a great contrast against the silvery-blue linen, which gives the arrangement depth, and a more traditional feel to the table.”
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“Classic Remix,” (right) created by RKI Design, Menlo Park, contrasts old (antique silver candelabra and last-century Chinese porcelain) and new, red (roses, candies) and blue (transferware china, goblets and sake vases).
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From left, Harvest of Menlo Park offers “Harvest Holiday,” with the mid-winter feel of a silver tablecloth, white birds perched on snowy branches and silver Santas; included in SarahSofia’s “Make the Holidays Sparkle” design, with floral arrangements by Palo Alto Blooms, are glittery aviary place holders; Emily Joubert Home & Garden’s “Thanksgiving” table focused on all that was orange, from persimmons to pumpkins. *> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ Ûi LiÀÊ£ ]ÊÓä£äÊU Page 57