2022 PepperHarrow Holiday Style Guide
Home for the Holidays
a Guide to Easy Hosting and Decorating Tips
We love decorating for the holidays at the farm and love hosting family and friends this time of year. It’s our time of year to slow down, after a busy season of growing flowers. We have extra time to relax and hold our loved ones a little closer to us. Today, we want to give you some ideas for decorating your place for the holidays and some fun ideas for how to set your holiday table for hosting this year.
Simplicity
Simplicity is a word we love to use around the flower farm. Keeping everything simple helps with our sanity and helps remind us of what’s most important. Simplicity is best to forgo stress during this time of year when hosting family and friends. There’s no need to prepare gourmet meals for your loved ones. The main focus on this time of year is about getting together, celebrating thankfulness and spending quality time with those you hold most dear.
Adam’s most favorite easy dish we like to prepare for guests is a nod to his upbringing in Louisiana. Gumbo! It’s a favorite with our family and friends, who love this easy going, southern comfort food dish. Pair it with a little homemade cornbread and it’s hosting made easy! Scroll below for our gumbo recipe.
In a recent interview with NPR, Ina Garten also mirrored the concept of simplicity with cooking for the holidays, saying, "Make a simple meal and make it absolutely delicious. Your friends won't have any fun if you've spent the entire day baking. In fact, they'll have more fun if you're relaxed and happy."
Setting the Holiday Table
The flowers have gone around this time of year, so instead of using flowers to decorate our tablescape, we gather any remaining herbs, pumpkins, squashes, gourds, and include beautiful fruits we have around, like apples and dried oranges. Sprinkle in seasonal nuts in gold decorative dish to add an edible element.
My aunt told me, when I asked her for holiday decorating advice long ago, that adding candles always adds sparkle to holiday decorating no matter what. I definitely agreed, and candles have become my most favorite fall back to make our home or event space inviting and ready to receive guests. With candles, you can mix the colors of candles you use and you can also mix up the candlesticks you use to match the overall vibe you’re looking for with your decorating. I like to use brass or gold oftentimes with natural wood accents with dinnerware or serving bowls. The mix of organic elements with the elevated look of the gold/brass is striking.
Decorating Outside
Adding greenery garland, wreaths, bows, bells, twinkle lights, and other seasonal accents outdoors to celebrate the holidays is a great way to add a more festive vibe to the season. We love to decorate our front porch, Flower Cottage, and the barn event space where we host guests for holiday workshops here at the flower farm.
Holiday trends to be on the lookout for this year-
Using greenery and other organic elements, such as twigs, pinecones, and grasses! This is us every season, but it seems to be catching on in popularity. Grab a greenery swag or two and use them to frame out your doors, or a fresh greenery wreath for your front door. These natural elements add a lot to the holidays and often last an extremely long time, well beyond Valentine’s Day.
We also are totally in love with gold this year. Simple and stunning like what we said above, mixing the natural elements of the beautiful organic looking verdant greenery with the elevated shine of gold accents makes for a striking combination.
Color wise, we also love the look of burgundy, beige, gold, and other rust colored accents. We think this is a trend that is on point this year. You can even add a little pink to this beautiful color mix for a visually pleasing setup.
Another trend to be aware of this year is: everything houndstooth! It’s everywhere, out in force. We couldn’t find anything last year when we did our decorating and ended up using fabric to make our ribbons (shown below), but this year is very different. You can find houndstooth patterned ribbon, accent pillows, and other decorations with the pattern everywhere.
You can see some houndstooth examples and snag ribbon for bows here.
Flowers
Winter blooming flowers add a lot of cheer to the season. A favorite here are paper whites and amaryllis
Neutrals
Neutral, natural looking details add an extra hygge vibe to the holidays.
Simple satin ribbon and dried flowers is elegant and easy to add to any room for the holidays.
Ready for the Holidays!
We hope we’ve given you some quick, easy ideas for hosting and decorating your space for the 2022 holiday season. Whether you’re hosting a few, many, or visiting others, we hope that your holiday season is a wonderful one. Cherish each and every day and the ones around you!
XX Jenn and Adam
Adam’s Southern Comfort Gumbo Recipe
Ingredients:
3⁄4 cup olive oil
1 1⁄2 cups flour
1 cup onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 cups cut up andouille sausages
2 -3 lbs chicken, cut into small size parts, including gizzards
2 cans of crushed tomatoes
2 1⁄2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1⁄2 teaspoons louisiana hot sauce
2 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
4 cups water
4 cups sauterne white wine
1 tsp file powder
2 bay leaves
Directions:
In a stock pot, combine oil and flour on medium heat to make a roux. Stir the mixture constantly and slowly until it browns.
When the mixture reaches a nice golden brown color, add the onion and cook ‘til clear.
Add garlic and whisk in 4 cups of water.
Stir in the Worcestershire, crushed tomatoes, hot sauce, and sausage.
Add chicken.
Add 4 cups of Sauterne wine, salt, and file.
Add bay leaves to top.
Simmer for 1 1/2 hour, let cool, and place in fridge overnight.
Next day, bring to a boil and turn down heat and simmer for 1 hour. (It’s better served the next day)
Serve over warm rice with a side of cornbread.
Inspired by Adam’s cooking hero, Justin Wilson!
