Merry Christmas

 

Luke 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

The Lord sent His Son to this earth to die for our sins so that we would believe in His love and live in Heaven with Him always . . .

~ I wish you all a wonderful and blessed Christmas ~

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Ornament idea…

Let me start with a disclaimer….

Glass ornaments, lighting, and a flash don’t make for the best pictures… Sorry…

As I was sitting here this evening feeling creative, I decided to make more ornaments…

Using some transparency paper I bought several years ago for another Christmas project, I cut 2 inch circles.  Then printed small pictures, you need two picture per ornament, and as I type this I realize as long as they are the same size you could use two different pictures!  You will need flat glass ornaments (I bought mine from Michaels for $1.99 for a box of 6).  Some photo tabs or double sided tape, ribbon, and a paint brush or another skinny object…

After you have cut out your picture you want to apply your photo tabs or double sided tape and center it on your transparency circle. Apply the second photo to the back side. Add a clear sticker (I used Merry Christmas on a few).

Then carefully (so you don’t crease your photo) roll the transparency circle, and slip it into the ornament.

It will start to unroll slightly, but this is where the paint brush or other skinny object comes in handy gently “help” your transparency unroll.

Now you will cut coordinating ribbons (I like using about three or four different types per ornament top) tie them on.

And you are left with a keepsake ornament to give!

I made these 4 in about 10 minutes!

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Welcome, from our home to yours…

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looky looky

Here is what I have accomplished so far… I really should be cleaning house, oh well…

Frist picture is of the silver basket with the amber colored Christmas ornaments.

 

Next is the “trophy” with peppermint potpourri a Christmas gift from our neighbors the Liu’s, and of course ribbon.

Followed by the green and turquoise vintage ornaments and again ribbon.  Then the ever so cute mini Christmas light ornaments in the mini martini glasses! 

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Hi Ho a Junkin’ I will go…

Hi ho hi ho a junkin’ I will go….  (only I was missing my junkin’ partner) 😦 

Let me show you what $15.00 bought me at the local thrift store….

Now before you think I went and lost my mind… I have ideas… Ok the turkey is for next Thanksgiving, I am a HUGE fan of that holiday and always deck the house, Spike bought me these awesome pumpkins made out of dried leaves this year and I think this straw turkey will make a nice addition!  Then the red frame picture of the town with the American flag… I can just picture (pardon the pun) on my mantel for the 4th of July.  My 4 boxes of vintage glass Christmas ornaments, Emilie bought me this beautiful glass vase that I am going to fill with these babies!   The two mini martini glasses, I thought I’d put some mini glass Christmas light ornaments in.  The two matching silver trays I can picture filled with seasonal things including weaving coordinating ribbon through the slats… Which brings me to probably my favorite find… the silver trophy (as Tanner calls it) again I am thinking fill it with seasonal goodies and ribbon??  Aren’t you all excited??  I am so excited!  and yah… maybe a little nuts, but I am sure at least one of you will think these treasures are neat! 😉  I’ll post pictures when I display them all dressed up.

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Sugar Cookies

Signature Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Mix together sugar and butter.  Add egg, vanilla, and lemon juice, mix.  Blend in flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.  Cover and chill for 2  hours.  Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Divide dough in half. Roll each half out to desired thickness on a flour surface.  Cut into desired shapes.  Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake 7 minutes or until edges are light brown.

Frosting

1 box (1 lb) powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

splashes of milk until desired consistency

food coloring of your choice

Mix all ingredients together on high speed.  Fill ziplock baggies cut a tiny snip off the corner and decorate.

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Follow up to my follow up….

Ok here is the FINAL, final… The end result a color I can live with, more golden undertones {plus tea stain} and my motivation… my GIANT spoon and fork!  Aren’t they CUTE!  Now I am going to shop around and find some plates, and or sayings to put up there…. 

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photo

Here is a photo, texture and first final, I wasn’t happy with the color tone, so yep you guessed it… I went and bought more paint last night and at 9:00pm I repainted it, now I have to tea stain today, sorry but the tea stain in the bottom of this photo is very hard to see….  I’ll follow up with the finished version, when I get it done.  Ughhhhhhhhh *sigh*

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uugh am I crazy??

Maybe if I get around to it, I’ll post pictures… but in the meantime I will tell you all about it… I just spent a whirl wind two days painting and tea staining my kitchen,  painting my boys room, plus my entry way…  The result, fresh fun walls, two achy legs, a sore back, stuffy nose,  stiff arms, and a kinked neck!  But I did accomplish a huge GOAL, and all before Christmas!  Now if only I can get my game-room cleaned…. I am ambitious, and only had to babysit the three month old one day this week… It’s amazing how much you can get done without feeding a baby every 2 hours.  I just got out of a HOT bath and put on some sweats… ahhhh my reward!  The part I am most excited about it is, I managed to get all this painting done and keep up with the laundry and dishes!  Normally when I do these kinds of projects the house around me falls apart!  This is a very good day, and what do you bet I sleep REAL good tonight! 

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Salad

Spinach, Orange, & Almond Salad

 

 

Sugar
Water
1/2 Cup Sliced Almonds
3 Oranges
1/4 Cup White Wine Vinegar
1/4 Cup extra-virgin Olive Oil
1/4 Orange Juice
1/2 tsp Orange Zest
1/4 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper
10 oz package Baby Spinach
1 stick of Celery sliced thin
1/2 thinly sliced Red Onion
Ground Pepper

Lightly grease a 10 inch piece of foil and spray with cooking spray, set aside.

Combine 3 TBSP sugar and 1 TBSP water in a small sauce pan cook over medium heat swirling often, until sugar turns a golden color, 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the almonds and stir to coat.  Continue cooking until the almonds are golden about 1 minute.  Transfer to the prepared foil, using a spoon and set aside to cool.

Peel and divide oranges into slices, and set aside. 

Combine 1/4 cup orange juice, 3 TBSP sugar, vinegar, olive oil, orange zest, 1/4 tsp salt, and cayenne pepper in a mixing bowl and whisk to blend.  Transfer dressing to a bowl and seal until ready to serve.

Put spinach, celery, red onions, and orange slices into a large bowl, toss, sprinkle carmaelized almonds on top.  Drizzle dressing over the top season with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately.

Serves 6

Don’t let this recipe intimidate you… It was REALLY easy and SOOOOOOOOOO YUMMY, I picked out the oranges myself, and normally am not a fan or fruit mixed with my green salads, but this was AWESOME!

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