Christmas Gifties...

Officially this is the very last day of 2011!  I decided I should share some of the sweet gifts I received this year for Christmas before the new year began.  The past few weeks have been crazy and I've noticed that January is filling up quickly too.  I hope to post more regularly in the upcoming year and I can't wait to see what 2012 brings! 

These citrine beauties were hidden in my stocking.  R did an awesome job, I'm actually wearing them now!

 Mom gave me a 1 inch hot tools brand curling iron.  I absolutely love it!  I'm thinking about purchasing a smaller barrel so I can vary my curls.  I don't even have to use the highest setting and my curls are shiny and smooth.

 R also gave me a Kindle Fire for Christmas.  He promised to buy a case for it as soon as I find one I want.  I really haven't wanted to use it without a case but I look forward to traveling with it soon.  I have a list of books I've been wanting to buy so this is perfect!

 This was the best gift I received.  R had a sweetgrass basket made for me and sent from Charleston.  The image here is from google  but mine has a traditional braid and no handle.  I love it!  Not only is it functional but it is also a handcrafted piece of art.

 Mom gave me a Pandora bracelet.  I've gone back and forth over the past few years whether or not I wanted to start one but finally I gave in.  Mom was sweet enough to purchase 2 clips and a gold cross bead to start my collection.

R and I were given a few gift cards as Christmas gifts.  We used them to buy a much needed microwave for our rental house and this console table from Pier 1 to use in our dining room as a bar.  The cards helped so much! We felt so blessed this holiday that so many friends and family thought of us! 

Merry Christmas Y'all!

Oooh La la...Santa really out-did himself at our house.

I love all the cards sent from family and friends.

With all the hustle and bustle of the holidays it's hard to remember the reason why we celebrate.  On this Christmas I'm going to remind myself to be thankful every morning my feet hit the floor. 

~*~*~*~

"So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,  and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them." - Luke 2: 4-7

A Festive Eve

I've been fa la la-ing while making Christmas candy today.  It's been awesome so far...Christmas with the Kranks and Home for the Holidays have been playing in the background.

 I had a lot of pecans left over after making pecan bark so I used PBFingers recipe for Pumpkin Spice Pecans.  Bake pecans in a 300*F oven with butter, pumpkin pie spice, and brown sugar with a sprinkle of salt.

 Our prefered wine tonight.  Duplin Christmas Eve - it's super sweet so I may switch to something for dry after a glass or 2.

 I wish I could take better photos.  This is the pecan bark broken up after it cooled.  I believe I posted how to make this last year.  It's definitely a traditional snack for me.  Melt the chocolate in the oven and add toasted, lightly salted pecans and let it cool in the refrigerator.

 Buckeyes are tradition for me too.  Peanut butter mixed with vanilla flavor and powdered sugar, rolled into balls and dipped it melted chocolate.  So easy and so perfect.

I'm thinking I'll set the table like this for tonights meal.  I love that tealight holder and I haven't used it all season.  We bought all the ingredients for antipasto, linguine with mussels, and christmas goodies for dessert!  I'll start the prep soon and I can't wait. 

I hope Santa is good to everyone tonight!



Christmas Eve Brunch

I found the most amazing Chocolate Sour Cherry Bread at Harris Teeter and I wanted to create a holiday treat out of it.  This Christmas eve morning I made french toast using four slices of the chocolate loaf.  Powdered sugar would be a festive topping but R opted for regular maple syrup.  I made a spread inspired by a recent article in Fitness magazine using a spoonful of low fat ricotta cheese mixed with a spoonful of unsweetened applesauce and a dash of cinnamon.  I took a very messy photo but  it tasted delicious!

I might post once more by the end of the day...I'm going to be making Christmas candy for the next few hours.  Tonight R and I have plans for our dinner, movie and gift exchange before the craziness of tomorrow starts. 

In the Kitchen: Muesli chocolate chip cookies

I love muesli...in fact it's one of my favorite breakfasts paired with vanilla nonfat greek yogurt.  My local grocery sells Bobs Red Mill and I noticed a cookie recipe on the back of the package and couldn't wait to try it especially since the grocery had a sale on their Nestle mint chocolate mini morsels.

1 Egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2  tsp bakin soda
6 oz chocolate chips (I used the mint chocolate morsels)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup applesauce
3/4 whole wheat flour
1 cup old country style muesli

Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together and set aside.  Blend applesauce, sugar, and vanilla together.  Beat in egg.  Add flour mixture and mix.  Stir in muesli and chocolate chips.  Drop by tablespoons on lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375*F for 10-12 minutes.  Makes 24 cookies.

I don't have any photos because R and I polished these off in 24 hours.  I love that they have a little something for everyone - oats, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, flax...so much like "everything" cookies with less work.

In the Kitchen: Kris Krinkle Cookies

So I've been making Kris Krinkle cookies for years but normally I measure all my ingredients the "homemade" way.  This year I thought I would try to make them with cake mix ... this idea came from Julie's blog, http://www.pbfingers.com/.  They are delicious and the taste is almost identical to cookies I've made in past years.

To make these use:
1 box devils food cake mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tsp mint extract
confectioners sugar to coat

Mix the first 4 ingredients together to form the dough.  Refrigerate the dough for approx 15 minutes.  Take a tablespoon full of dough and roll to form a ball.  Roll each ball of dough in confectioners sugar and place on a pan lined in parchment paper.  Bake in an oven heated to 350*F for 12-15 minutes.



Bow Bouquets for a Rehearsal Dinner

Life was really busy for me after BFF's wedding and these pictures were taken but forgotten during our move.  I made "Bow-quets"  for the rehearsal dinner using bows from her shower gifts and I had so many that I made mini versions for the bridesmaids to use.  The rehearsal went by so quickly I didn't get a photo of us using them but I wanted to give credit to another blogger who has wonderful instuctions on how to make these.

 (bridesmaid bow-quet)

I was so fortunate that Caitlin posted "How to Make a Bow Bouquet" back in March.  I saw several instructions online for different variations but her drawings were so clear.  And they were definitely prettier than the bows taped to a paper plate idea.  I will say, it's easier to make these with another set of hands.  I was fortunate that R could hold the bows together while I worked.  Here is the finished product:

I wanted to use all white but that gold bow was so sparkly and pretty I just tucked it in the bottom.