~Merry Christmas 2014

Merry Christmas to all of my blogging friends and faithful followers.  Thanks for sticking with me all these years!

*One of our family's traditions is to make White Peppermint Hot chocolate on Christmas Eve.  Enjoy the recipe!

White Peppermint Hot Chocolate

4 Cups 1% low-fat milk

7 hard peppermint candies, crushed

½ cup white chocolate chips

½ tsp peppermint extract

4 hard peppermint candies

1 Tbsp light-colored corn syrup

6 Tbsp frozen fat-free whipped topping

1.    Cook milk in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until warm (do not boil!)

2.    Add crushed peppermint candies, stirring until candies dissolve.

3.    Add white chocolate, stirring with a whisk until chocolate melts. Cook until tiny bubbles form around the edge of the pan (do not boil), stirring constantly with a whisk.

4.    Remove from heat, stir in peppermint extract.

5.    Coarsely crush 2 peppermint candies; set aside.

6.    Finely crush remaining 2 peppermint candies.

7.    Coat rims of  3-6 mugs with corn syrup.

8.    Place finely crushed peppermint candies into a saucer; dip rim of each mug into candies to coat.

9.    Pour 2/3 cup of hot chocolate into each mug; top each serving with 1 Tbsp whipped topping. Sprinkle 2 coarsely crushed candies evenly over topping.

2014 Holiday Decorating~Home Tour

Decorating Ideas & The Jingle Bell Shop

Christmas gift idea

I know we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet, but I'm starting to get excited to decorate for Christmas.  My neighbor has her tree up, and I am officially in the mood for all the sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas.  I promise I will wait until after Thanksgiving to do anything about it though! :)

Since I'm thinking ahead about gifts, I thought I would share something that I did last year that went over really well.  Before you think it requires a lot of kneading and rising, think again.  These beautiful loaves of bread are Rhodes frozen pre made loaves!  So, all that is required is sticking them in a bread pan to raise, and then baking.  I tied each bag with a ribbon and attached a card with the scripture reference to Jesus being the bread of life...

"And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life.  He that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."  John 6:35

I also included a link to some of my favorite Bible videos.  Who doesn't love a loaf of freshly baked bread?  ;)  And, if you are really in a hurry, you can use my rapid rise method using a heating pad!

Thanksgiving Centerpiece Ideas~

Santa's PJ's~quick craft & gift

Christmas Home Tour~Random

This is what Grace drew on her chalkboard, and here is her personal little Christmas tree.  :)

Love this picture!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Home Tour~Powder Room

Christmas home tour~Sunroom

I kept things simple in the sunroom.  A few sprigs of evergreen from my yard scattered here and there,

Christmas Home Tour~Guest Room

Christmas Home Tour~Master Bedroom

Christmas Candy Display

Vintage Snowflake Craft & Goodwill Website

Countdown to Christmas Vignette #5 Sun Room

5 minute Cinnamon Rolls

Countdown to Christmas Vignette #4 Kitchen/F.R.

Countdown to Christmas Vignette #3 Piano room

This year, I tried to "edit" my Christmas decorations.  I don't think we really need as many decorations as we think we do...adding just a little bit of red and some fresh greenery goes a long way.  Otherwise I think things can look too cluttered.  So,  I spray painted some more frames red (did you miss this post on fun things to spray paint?), and added fresh bough clippings from my tree and red ball ornaments.  I didn't know what else to put in this wooden tray, so an empty, wrapped box was the perfect space filler! I think it looks really pretty, and I can pull it out every year with the rest of the decorations if I store it carefully.  (Don't forget to pick up your gift wrap from here after the holiday!)

If you walk in the front door, and you are standing in the foyer, to the left is my "piano room"...

Countdown to Christmas Vignette # 2 The foyer

Countdown to Christmas Vignette #1

Greetings!  As we look forward to Christmas, I have decided to share some photographs from my home tour last Saturday.  I took a lot of pictures before the tour, so I will be splitting them up into different posts (vignettes) as we countdown to Christmas.  Guests were greeted by a wreath on my front door that I spiffed up with a bow made from ribbon that was on clearance from Walmart last year for $2.00 a roll.  I knew it needed something, and I didn't have any red ribbon on hand, so I used the green.  I really like how it turned out.  I also added three sprigs of green, glittered berries from the Dollar tree.

Before guests reached the door, they walked past an "open" sign that I made from materials that I found around my house and yard...

Name badge labels as gift tags