Can’t Keep Up! December 15, 2009

I was just telling my sister-in-law today that this is the first Christmas (ever!) where the stress is actually getting to me a little bit.  Usually I’m the one that is shaking her head at the non-shoppers in my family.  Event the year I was about to give birth (2 years ago) I don’t remember feeling this stressed!  Maybe it’s because I’m not sleeping (it’s only 12:58 am right now!).

But still, there are plenty of things I’m loving about the holiday.  Even this year.

Real Trees

Good Friends

My Sugarplum

Stay tuned for more.

New Dollies January 15, 2009

L has two new dollies that she absolutely loves.  She got one for Christmas with her Toys R Us gift certificate.  One I bought handmade off of Etsy.  Both are very cute.

If you’re in the market for a new doll: I do recommend Toys R Us.  They’re selection is impressive.  You can see that this doll is a little big for her right, but she still insists on carrying her around.  B insists on putting L in his lap all the time now.  I have to admit that its adorable.

This dolly is named “little Alice”, and she is all dressed up in a pink fleece bear outfit.

And while I’m thinking about it (and before I forget) I was to record that L is now saying “Daddy” “Uh oh” “Na” (for no) and probably even “Dog” and “Dolly” but they are very similar to each other, do it’s hard to say.  It seems like I’m forgetting a couple words.  Chad?

Christmas Food! December 14, 2008

There has been a LOT of baking going on here this week!  The chocolate cookies above are heaven– Ultimate Chocolate Dipped Cookies.  They are very messy though.  The chocolate ganache that they’re dipped in  doesn’t really harden.  Then you have your basic sugar cookie recipe from Martha with Royal icing or just powdered sugar.  Great recipe because she has several different ways to use the one base recipe.

In this pic you can see two other ways I used that basic recipe– the orange spritz I did with cookie cutters instead of a cookie press (which I don’t have); they are the ones drizzled in chocolate behind the candles.  I also did my own thing with the snowball cookies (instead of what Martha suggests): I just put in pecans that I put through the food processor and made really fine.  They were excellent!  The big bowl in the pic contains meatballs– just your basic recipe from kraftfoods.com.

And here’s my snowman.  As you can see– these pics were not taken before people started eating.   The poor guy is missing an eye.  The top ball was cream cheese with pimentos, olives, pecans, and green onions, which is a family recipe.  For the bottom of the snowman I used this recipe that is supposed to be shaped like a football. hehe.

Then there’s the cashew toffee that had a slightly burnt taste (oops!).  Recipe from my favorite cookbook (you know the one).

And lastly: homemade Chocolate Eggnog!  From the latest Martha Stewart Living. Absolutely wonderful!  My first time to make eggnog!  Easy!  Definitely recommend it!

Garlands December 19, 2007

Last week Brendan sat for an entire hour just eating popcorn while I strung our cranberry and popcorn garlands.  Who says that toddlers have no attention span?  They just have to be eating!  Eventually I’ll get a picture up of the actual garlands.

The boy needs a haircut, huh? I can’t seem to make things run as smoothly around here as normal for some reason.  38 weeks pregnant, Christmas in 7 days, a cold that makes my sinuses hurt and I seriously can’t breath through my nose most of the time, and a house that’s a work-in-progress.  I am actually happy with our progress, but things just don’t seem to get done like they used to.  I’m just happy he still gets bathed regularly.

Christmas Scarves December 18, 2007

Here are the two scarves I’ve been working on. They are very similar obviously. Both were made with garter stitch. One with a size 13 needle and one with a 15. Nice and easy.

I’m figuring it’s safe to go ahead and post the gifts since one of the recipients is in the Caribbean (how cool would that be?– I’m a little jealous) until the 23rd, and the other isn’t exactly an internet buff.

If you look at the backdrop you’ll see some of my Christmas packages. Don’t you just love that tree paper? I’ve now used up my store of Martha Stewart paper, and seriously need to restock. Unfortunately hers usually doesn’t go on after Christmas clearance, so I may just stick with Target turquoises for next year.

Making these scarves has been making me want one of my own, so I bought some nice cream colored alpaca yarn last time I was at Joanns. I have some pretty scarves, but no warm ones. Something I’m going to take care of as soon as I’m done with that baby sweater I started up for Christmas baby.

Mantel December 17, 2007

I’m kinda liking the less-is-more decorating this year. The silver, glass, and turquoise. I still haven’t been able to get a picture of the christmas tree I actually like. We’ll see about that later. But, I like my mantel pretty well now. Not sure if I’m done with it or not, but check out the awesome candle-holders I found at CB2. That may be my new favorite store actually.

Does anyone know how to get these kind of tree toppers to stay on straight? We are at a loss…

Advent Wreath December 10, 2007

Here’s my first crack at making an advent wreath. We decided to go homemade last minute so I had to throw it together with stuff I had mainly (besides the candle holders I borrowed from G). You may remember these birds from last Christmas… I can’t seem to find a picture of that project though. It’s actually my first time to ever have an advent wreath. Starting new traditions this year.

Now here’s a pic of my retarded Christmas tree. I got it “free” with a small donation to help support wildlife preservation (it’s from the Shawnee Mission Park).

I wasn’t able to make it look much better, but I’ll post a pic up the finished product soon. If the dog will stop knocking off ornaments that is.