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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

It Smells Like Christmas!



My Christmas Cactus is in bloom!




While the flowers don't have a strong scent, I can definitely detect a certain sweetness when I walk near them.


The smell of fresh cut Christmas trees are appearing on many corners in New York City. This is how many New Yorkers buy their home trees and wreaths.



It's so nice to walk on the sidewalk between the trees and smell their pine and balsam fragrance.




Did you know that having a real Christmas tree is better for your health and the environment? 



Bakeries are beginning to display Christmas goodies.




I really enjoyed looking at this store's sweet gingerbread houses and cookie display alongside a few vintage cookbooks. I love the spicy smell of gingerbread, don't you?




This bakery had a Santa's Hat cake among all their baked goodies for sale!



Holiday candy is being displayed in all of New York's wonderful ethnic markets. I'll be showing a predominantly Polish neighborhood in Brooklyn on my blog soon, where I took this photo. This was in a wonderful-smelling candy shop!



The smell of chocolate is heavenly in Jacques Torres chocolate shops located in various neighborhoods of the city.




I was recently in his chocolate shop in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn, and found this cheery snowman so appealing!



Chocolate Trees, Santa, Snowmen...oh my!



Probably the best smells are coming out of your kitchen right now as you are preparing for Christmas.
This is an old photo of the cookie trays I used to prepare to give as gifts for Christmas. Everyone now seems to be on a diet, so I don't bake quite as much anymore, but I'll definitely prepare a few treats for Christmas Day!  What is your favorite Christmas cookie or holiday treat?

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59 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 6, 2011 at 8:59 PM

    It smells like Christmas??
    Yes, it does...with home made cookies and a live green tree our cat loves too.
    This year we have a eco-friendly Christmas with a potted 'Blue Colorado Spruce' as a Christmas tree. Just take a look at my blog:)
    - Cheers Gisela.

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  2. Barbara F.December 6, 2011 at 9:06 PM

    Beautiful photos! I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here for Christmas - home I guess. Favorite Christmas cookie or treat? All of it, but a really special fondness for struffoli. :) xo

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  3. Betsy Banks AdamsDecember 6, 2011 at 9:08 PM

    It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas---in New York that is!!!!!! Great group of Christmas photos from your area, Pat... Love seeing that Santa CAKE.... Neat!!!!!

    I swore I'd never have a 'fake' tree---but several years ago, we bought a pre-lit tree ---and love it... Oh Well!!!!

    Hope you all have a great Christmas... Are you going to CO--or are any of the family members coming to you????

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  4. UnknownDecember 6, 2011 at 9:14 PM

    A beautiful Christmas Cactus. I was hoping you would have a photo of the big tree in RC. I love bakluva, however you spell it. Beautiful cookies plates.
    QMM

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  5. Pamela GordonDecember 6, 2011 at 9:27 PM

    What beautiful photos of the sights and smells of Christmas on the streets of NYC. I love this and can almost smell the trees and chocolate. Love the snowmen. Thanks. Pamela

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  6. genieDecember 6, 2011 at 9:34 PM

    This is a post filled with the colors and tastes and smells of Christmas. What a wonderful collection of shots you have given us I have to say the Santa hat cake has to be my favorite. Super shots. Genie

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  7. Sara at Come Away With MeDecember 6, 2011 at 9:38 PM

    Hello Pat, I am vicariously enjoying all your Christmas scents...nothing quite like a real Christmas tree or a balsam wreath to say "Christmas" to me. Can't help noticing that lovely emerald brooch among the cookies and gingerbread houses...or perhaps it is costume jewelry, but still lovely.

    It's difficult to chose a favorite holiday treat, sweets lover that I am. Let's see....German marzipan stollen....pfefferneuse....I'll start there!

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  8. ClaudiaDecember 6, 2011 at 9:50 PM

    Yes, it's here - you can't stop Christmas from coming. I remember dragging home woebegone Charlie Brown Christmas trees in NYC. (And in the apartment I lived in - a real tree should have been illegal). I am tempted by all.

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  9. podsoDecember 6, 2011 at 9:53 PM

    There are just no store windows like those in NYC! I so enjoyed this post! I can imagine a real tree would be so healthy! We are now on our third year of our artificial one .... we do miss the scent!

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  10. Skye December 6, 2011 at 10:35 PM

    It's true- there's no place like the city at christmas time! Oh and I just love the Santa hat cake! Ha!

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  11. Lisa@GrandmasBriefsDecember 6, 2011 at 10:41 PM

    Ah, I love your holiday header! And the photos just encompass all the delights of the season. Love it, Pat! My favorite holiday cookie? Boring as it may seem, I especially enjoy the butter cookies that come in the round tins. Can't recall the exact name, but it's a blue tin filled with happiness and joy...at least for my tongue & tummy! Happy Holidays, my friend!

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  12. Betsy BrockDecember 6, 2011 at 10:48 PM

    Mmmmm!~I start the baking tomorrow!

    I think I could window shop all day long in NYC. Gorgeous!

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  13. Ginny HartzlerDecember 6, 2011 at 10:54 PM

    My mouth is watering!!! And the chocolate snowmen are so cute, a nice change from the Santas! I notice in the cookbook window what looks like an antique broach. Your trays are so pretty! My favorite treat would be peppermint hot chocolate, and really just the turkey itself, with lots of mashed potatoes and gravy! I also love the smell of homemade bread baking!!!

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  14. Ciao Chow LindaDecember 6, 2011 at 10:55 PM

    there's nothing so cheery and evocative of Christmas as those evergreen trees on city sidewalks. those treats are fabulous too. i've never seen a cake like that santa's cap.

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  15. LindaDecember 6, 2011 at 11:05 PM

    simply Wonderful!!

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  16. black eyed susans kitchenDecember 6, 2011 at 11:06 PM

    I was so happy when I read about the natural trees. We cut down a tree every year because for us, thats where the magic is...the house smells so good! Your really captured the aromatic essence of Christmas...wish your blog was a scratch and sniff!
    ♥, Susan

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  17. diane bDecember 7, 2011 at 12:32 AM

    New York certainly knows how to prepare for Christmas. All those shops with delicious fare. I'd love to run amok in them. I love traditional English Christmas pudding with brandy sauce but I also love Lebekuchen from Switzerland a special kind of ginger bread.

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  18. PondsideDecember 7, 2011 at 1:50 AM

    What lovely smells you have around you!
    My favorite Christmas cookie is a ginger crinkle - not very fancy, but the best thing with a glass of cold milk!

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  19. Flavia GalassoDecember 7, 2011 at 3:12 AM

    I wish to be there, in New York city..... I love it too much!!

    Hugs, Flavia

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  20. JennyDecember 7, 2011 at 4:44 AM

    You're on a diet and going into candy shops!!!! Your willpower must be epic, girl!

    Love the trees on the sidewalk! Just lovely!

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  21. AnonymousDecember 7, 2011 at 5:45 AM

    Hello Pat,
    thank you for your visit and admiring my potted "Christmas tree".
    Yes, you can grow a tree like mine in a small space.
    Please read more...
    http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/trees-shrubs/growing-trees-in-containers.htm
    Wishing you a beautiful Advent season,
    - Cheers Gisela
    Guildwood Gardens

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  22. ellen b.December 7, 2011 at 5:47 AM

    Really enjoy seeing Christmas in New York photos! What fun. My favorite Christmas treat is a sweet pastry bread roll filled with a sweet walnut mixture my mom makes every year called roolyet. I'm really trying to pin down the recipe so I can start making it. Enjoy the preparations!

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  23. TannaDecember 7, 2011 at 7:01 AM

    I don't make all the candies and goodies I used to make either, Pat. Seems I ended up being the one who ate most of them! And, mercy knows I don't need them either. We always had a candy called Martha Washington Balls that are my favorite... probably just because they were always a part of Christmas and that was the only time we had them. ;)

    ALL these goodies on your street scenes look wonderful... why bake/cook when all these are available! LOL! blessings ~ Tanna

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  24. Old KittyDecember 7, 2011 at 7:26 AM

    Diet and Christmas do not mix!! And shouldn't be allowed! LOL! Awwww Pat! I'd have a tray or three of your fine cookies please, thank you! LOL! Yay for Christmas chocolate and cakes! The santa cake is a WINNER!! I love that cake!

    Awww I am most envious of your christmas cactus! Mine's yet to have one single bloom after nearly 10 years with me! LOL! It seems to like staying green!!

    My christmas tree is in its pot but it's so big and heavy I'm thinking of leaving it outside with outside christmas lighting!

    Merry Christmas! Take care
    x

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  25. CarolDecember 7, 2011 at 7:51 AM

    Christmas in the city is the best! All they need are the roasted chestnut guys back on the corner, I miss that smell :) My fave cookie are those chocolate covered stars, the ones with the little round sprinkles.

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  26. Sam Hoffer / My Carolina KitchenDecember 7, 2011 at 7:54 AM

    We've walked through Christmas tree farms in North Carolina where trees are farmed and the smell is incredible. Must be the same on that street corner.
    Sam

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  27. CathyDecember 7, 2011 at 8:13 AM

    I, too, love the wonderful smells of fir and pine trees, and browsing the decked out holiday store windows is a favorite ritual. I have never visited NYC at Christmas time and know I'm missing something special. Love that Santa Claus hat cake!

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  28. SnapDecember 7, 2011 at 8:38 AM

    Your post was so much fun! Beautiful Christmas cactus and I can imagine that walking down the streets with all the trees really does smell like Christmas! I love going window shopping with you! Yum!!!

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  29. Sandy aka Doris the GreatDecember 7, 2011 at 9:07 AM

    What a lovely post. Those bakeries looked so wonderful! I live in a small town where I only find things that look like that at exclusive craft fairs and bake sales. But we are the Xmas tree capital of the world. I wonder if your trees came from Nova Scotia?

    A delightful blog. I'll be following.

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  30. Penny from Enjoying The Simple ThingsDecember 7, 2011 at 9:15 AM

    Our cactus are blooming too, and we always have a real tree...I love the sights and smells of Christmas.

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  31. AnonymousDecember 7, 2011 at 9:54 AM

    Your Christmas Cactus is magnificent, love the Santa Hat cake! Beautiful post Pat...I can smell the Christmas smells of New York!

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  32. GraceDecember 7, 2011 at 10:37 AM

    Pat!! I love this post. The Polish market I can not wait till you post about. I think NY is the best Holiday City! So much to see and do. Grace xoox

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  33. LindyLouMacDecember 7, 2011 at 11:04 AM

    Your Christmas Cactus is stunning.

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  34. My name is RietDecember 7, 2011 at 11:20 AM

    Oh wow, beautiful photo's of all that wonderful smelling Christmas stuff. I love the smell of a fresh tree and we are going to buy one this weekend.
    Have a nice week.

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  35. betsyDecember 7, 2011 at 11:26 AM

    How old is your cactus? Mine is three, and a pitiful stub compared to yours.

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  36. LindaDecember 7, 2011 at 1:04 PM

    Oh it must be wonderful at Christmas in your wonderful city! All those sights and smells are wonderful! We have always gotten a live Christmas tree...we will go out this weekend and get it I think... I love that Santa hat cake...it was so cute. All your pictures were wonderful!!

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  37. VeeDecember 7, 2011 at 3:57 PM

    Hmmm, I'd love to walk between the Christmas trees. There's nothing finer than the smell of a felled pine forest. And I do believe that it is a renewable resource. I just don't like the mess.

    Your Christmas cactus is a corker. I didn't know that there was any scent, but then my Easter cactus never blooms in such profusion.

    Yes, I adore the smell of gingerbread and have been discussing with John the possibility of making a gingerbread house. He says I'm on my own as he's too busy with the real one. One that size that you showed would be just about right.

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  38. JamesDecember 7, 2011 at 5:47 PM

    Please, please, please post you recipe for Rainbow Cookies

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  39. annieDecember 7, 2011 at 7:29 PM

    I love the smell of pine.

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  40. PatDecember 7, 2011 at 8:10 PM

    Love the photos of the Christmas trees for sale in the city. The strangest thing for me as a Michigan person in an area of Christmas tree farms, was to spend several Christmases in Arizona. Like New York City, the trees were available and were very lovely...and just as piney-smelling as if we had gone to the tree farm and cut our own. And now on to baking those goodies!

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  41. JessicaDecember 7, 2011 at 9:33 PM

    i never thought about how people in big cities get their christmas trees. Neat. I guess everywhere transforms for the holidays. I love your header photo of Rockafeller Center. I was there last year about this time. If you have time to stop by my site I would really appreciate it. www.forgottencompass.com
    Thanks for sharing :)

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  42. YvetteDecember 7, 2011 at 10:48 PM

    That Christmas cactus is gorgeous, Pat! Wouldn't I love to be in NYC for the holidays. There's nothing like New York at Christmas time. All the boros, too. :)

    Look at all the baked goodies in your post. I live in a town that doesn't even have a bakery. Sad.

    All the baked goods come from the Shop Rite or else you bake 'em yourself.

    But I'm determined to make Christmas merry no matter what. :)

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  43. KathleenDecember 7, 2011 at 10:48 PM

    Your cactus is beautiful! I was given a large one as a gift last year, in full bloom. This year, ONE bloom. I wonder what happened, any tips?
    I love the smell of a real tree, but it is too difficult for dh to do. I can put the fake one up myself, but I wouldn't be able to handle the real one, stringing the lights etc.
    Loved your pics of all the stores getting ready for Christmas, and your cookies look amazing!

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  44. AnonymousDecember 7, 2011 at 11:38 PM

    nice post thanks for sharing..happy holidays...

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  45. Lovella ♥December 8, 2011 at 12:40 AM

    Oh Pat. ..so fun to see New York's preparations for Christmas. I am trying to imagine Manhattan this time of year. So ..fun.
    Those store windows are so wonderful ..so fully of ethnic treats.

    I really love making Nanaimo Bars. . .which makes me think I should do them relatively soon. I have done my baking. ..and am sharing the wealth.

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  46. OlaDecember 8, 2011 at 3:47 AM

    Your pictures shows pre-Christmas atmosphere very well!
    We had first snow yestarday (wit rain) so it did not stay but still...:)

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  47. SheilaDecember 8, 2011 at 9:26 AM

    I am looking forward to seeing all the Christmas photos you will share of Christmas in New York city, Pat. The cookies look s tempting. I don't do much Christmas baking anymore because the farmer has a winter hobby and it's cooking and baking. He's made shortbread, two kinds of biscotti and brownies so far and will continue to whip up a batch of something every few days. I try to freeze everything right away and then "just one" is my watchword over the holidays but it doesn't always work. Shortbread is my favourite.

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  48. SavoringTime in the KitchenDecember 8, 2011 at 10:11 AM

    The smells of Christmas are wonderful! What a beautiful Christmas cactus you have. We used to get real trees all the time but I got sick of pine sap and needles stuck in the carpet.

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  49. nannyDecember 8, 2011 at 10:30 AM

    Your Christmas Cactus is beautiful!!!

    I have always wanted to visit New York during Christmas. Guess I am through your beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing so many!

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  50. WhiteStoneDecember 8, 2011 at 11:46 AM

    I tried for years to get my Christmas cactus to bloom. Yours is gorgeous!!!

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  51. Judy December 8, 2011 at 12:07 PM

    I caught a whiff of 'Christmas'...just looking at your blog! I love the sights and sounds of the season.

    Our fake tree has been up for awhile...no nice scent there. But the live one (a spruce) is coming today. And the house smells of gingerbread...and pumpkin.

    I love your Christmas cactus. So glad it chose to bloom at the right time!

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  52. CindyDecember 8, 2011 at 3:51 PM

    Lovely photos, I love seeing and smelling the trees, There they sit, ready and waiting to go to someone's home, perchance to grace their living room and bring so much excitement and fun, especially to the children.
    I love to make my husband's favorite things, such as shortbread and mincemeat tarts. This year I will make shortbread, butter tart bars and gingerbread whoopie-pies.
    Have a wonderful day.
    Hugs, Cindy

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  53. debDecember 8, 2011 at 7:46 PM

    there is NO place like NYC at Christmas...thanks for sharing those lovely pics...I especially like the trees lining the sidewalk!!!!

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  54. Nanny AnnaDecember 8, 2011 at 10:58 PM

    What a beautiful Christmas Cactus Flower! I also enjoyed looking at the amazing shop windows you have there in NY.

    Anna, your newest follower :-)

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  55. UnknownDecember 8, 2011 at 11:40 PM

    Pat, I want to be there. We have all those fake Christmassy stuff her. No real Xmas trees, fake snow, fake snowman...and it's not winter. Your cactus is behaving well. I have one here..it never blooms. Enjoy all this shopping ;)

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  56. TracyDecember 9, 2011 at 7:13 AM

    mmm...I think I can smell it all through the screen, Pat...WOW! NYC does Christmas BIG--love it! ;o) Your cactus is GIGANTIC! Lovely bright pink color... Making & baking here before we go on our Xmas trip Stateside. And burning the scents of the season too--cedarwood, pine, myrrh...Happy Days ((HUGS9)

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  57. BethDecember 9, 2011 at 9:01 PM

    Hi Pat, I love this post! It was so much fun seeing the chocolate snowmen, the bakery items including the gingerbread houses, and your plates of homemade goodies. I used to bake a lot at Christmas but I don't anymore...I like to eat it too much! My favorite Christmas goodies are fudge, chocolate covered peanuts, and Christmas cookies (decorated sugar). Your Christmas cactus is amazing! Wow, so many blooms!

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  58. TrotterDecember 10, 2011 at 7:15 AM

    Hi Pat! Happy to be here after my accident ;)

    It surely does smell good... ;)

    Blogtrotter Two is around Scandola. Fabulous! Enjoy and have a great weekend!

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  59. GailODecember 13, 2011 at 7:15 PM

    I wish I could keep a Christmas cactus alive never mind blossom!

    So many of my memories are linked to scents...this is a marvelous post! I am very glad I don't live near those chocolate shops though:)

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