Christmas 2015 (A Brief Recap)

Christmas was crazy but wonderful!

We did our usual...

Lala's house on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day:  Heidi and Randy came to our place to open gifts.  Mackel's Christmas morning breakfast.  Dad's wife's daughter in law went into labor early so we didn't get to spend time with Dad :( Lala's for lunch and then ended up at home because Keith wasn't feeling well.  I went into casserole making mode.

Day after we got Perry and 15 other family members invaded for food and presents.

After that I spent days recovering!  Holidays are stressful!

Christmas Craziness

Christmas was a whirlwind (as usual) but we survived and had a great time.

Christmas Eve: Sandwiches and sides at Lala's house.   Gift exchange for kiddos.  Spent the night at Heidi and Randy's house.

Christmas Day:  Exchanged with Heidi, Randy and Keith.   Breakfast at Mackel's.  Lunch at Lala's and back to Mackel's for dinner.   My poor Dad ended up in the ER because of his neck/nerve damage, but he did make it to dinner. 

Day After Christmas: We finally got Perry and the troops invaded our house.  We hosted 14 people for brunch and then opened gifts gifts and more gifts.

I'm still recovering, but I'm so thankful for the time with family. 

Griswolds and Goodies

Saturday morning was spent running errands and feeling sorry for the people with a sheer look of panic in their eyes as they rushed to shop for gifts. 

Stumbling across some awesome coupons at Target for baking ingredients (Cartwheel and text to save) inspired me to attempt peanut butter balls for the first time.  

I quickly learned it's time to invest in the commercial size KitchenAid, but overall it went well.  I of course turned on Christmas Vacation to enjoy while rolling the filling. 

It's nice to enjoy some laid back days before the holidays. 

My Grandma's Super Healthy Recipe
3 sticks of butter softened
1 bag of powdered sugar (2 lbs)
1.5 jars of peanut butter (27 oz.)

Mix together and form into balls. Freeze for an hour or more. 

Melt candy coating bars and dip balls. (I obviously haven't perfected this technique)

Dry on wax paper.

Enjoy!

Christmas Cookies

When I was little,  my Grandma helped us make Christmas cookies every year.  It is one of my favorite childhood memories, so of course it was time to teach Perry how it's done.  

Now don't be too jealous of our artistic skills!  Luckily we bake better than we decorate!  These things are delicious!

Gotta love a good Pinterest recipe (Yes the sour cream sounded nasty to me too, but it made the best cookies I've baked in my 32 years).

Deck The Halls

We've been decorating!  It was delayed and it's nothing extravagant, but it's just right for us! 
 

I love Christmas....the twinkling lights, the scents, the traditions and the reason for the season, make me jolly. 
 

So here's a tour of our home. 

 

First stop:  My Mom's tree.   After she passed away, I inherited this beauty.  She's not pre-lit, the colors on the branches that guide setup are falling off, and she's massive, but she's mine.   Like my sister has said 20 times, "They just don't make trees like this anymore."   (Of course the pic doesn't do it justice).  I've always dreamed of having a real tree, but my aforementioned sister is allergic, so game over lol.

 

 

 

Next stop: The boys' tree (that I hijacked.) There's a battle in our house, colored lights vs white lights, and this year we compromised.  The boys put up a tree in the kitchen nook and I forced them to add ribbon.   Our family ornaments have migrated to this tree too.   I think our 2014 ornament turned out pretty cute!

 

 

 

 

Next up: The random touches throughout the house.  My musical tree that has been in my family forever and other randomness.   Of course the candles and Scentsy scents are all gingerbread, cookies, cinnamon, etc.

 

 

 

The latest addition: An answer to one of my greatest Christmas issues!  My sister found this lovely piece at TJMaxx and I LOVE it!   I love cards but never had the right place for them, until now. 

 

 

 

What's missing: Stockings and a nativity scene.  These are on my "buy during after Christmas sales."  We have mismatched stockings and no holders.  It's a mess.  And I'm still on the search for a perfect yet affordable nativity.

 

Last stop: Our front door decor and light up packages.   We can't have the neighbors thinking we're Scrooges! 

 

 

Merry Christmas from our house to yours! 

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

I finally got to go to a Favorite Things party!   I've always wanted to throw or participate in one, and the invitation arrived a few weeks ago! 

A small group of 7 ladies got together and we had a blast. There were a few kinks in everyone's interpretation of the directions, but we made it work!

I took 3 sets of Shea Moisture Superfruit soap with loofahs and 2 sets of OPI nail polish with hair ties (my friend, Holly, introduced me to these ties and I'm addicted.)  Apparently I was supposed to take 5 different items oops.

Anyway, the loot was all creative and fun.  There were tons of Bath and Body works items, food, alcohol, pampering items, gift cards, cooking items and other odds and ends.

I left with a wine sippy cup with merlot, a Margarita set (Fresca, tequila, lime and citrus squeezer), Jelly Bellys with a lip balm,  Pumpkin Spice maple syrup, and a Mexican feast set. 

My sister left with a Target gift card, ramekins, one of my soap sets, a hair brush and a coffee mug with a 31 mini bag.

There were steals, threats, bartering and cat fights, but we had a blast.  A B&BW gift set was the biggest hit.  I personally wanted an apron that someone brought!

I can't wait to participate in another one!  Thanks to the Huggins ladies for hosting and for the cute peppermint hot chocolate favor :)

Garden Goodies

I love garden vegetables.  I love them even more when I don't have to do the dirty work, but get to eat the goods!

Ever since I was a kid,  I've loved canning.  I'd clean and snap a mess of beans like a pro.   Luckily,  my sister has continued the tradition and I've got to can some this year.

So far we've done pepper mustard and pickles.  Salsa, pepper rings,  green beans and some other concoctions are in our future.  

We've also got some fried zucchini and cucumber salad added to meals too!  And my cousin hooked us up with red potatoes and green beans for dinner this week.  Yum! 

Sunday Tradition

A while back,  Keith and I started a Sunday tradition.  We don't do it every single week,  but we do try to make it there when time permits.   There's a quaint bakery in town, New Day Bakery, that has the most amazing scones ever.

It's a semi granola place mixed with good ole fashioned baked goods and we love it.  We grab two coffees and 3 scones/muffins and split the goods.   Our favorites include chocolate chip,  raspberry apple, peach raspberry and blueberry cream cheese. 

Today we got our normal baked goods and coffee cups and claimed a table on the patio.  The only variation to tradition was trying a new coffee.  We usually have the house blend and finally asked the server if the Grog was a bold roast (YUCK) and surprisingly he said no and shared it's a maple flavored blend (Maple is my absolute favorite flavor ever).  We both filled our cups and it was love at first sip.

So today we not only left with full stomachs,  but also with a bag of ground coffee.  Apparently there's a new tradition that was born today. 

I love this special part of our week.  I hope we always make time for it and the amazing coffee :)

Some shots from our many trips.  Yummy