Deck the Halls Installment #5: Crazy Kitchen

My favorite colors since I was a little girl have been purple and pink. I love them! When I tried to come up with a theme for my kitchen, I went with my favorite colors and tossed in some Gingerbread items for good measure.

I use battery operated garlands with a timer for the cabinet tops with pink ribbon woven throughout. I bought a large purple polka dotted ribbon to add to them next year.

Looks like I am ready to make the traditional iced sugar cookies soon!

Deck the Halls Installment #4: Living Room Garland and Nativity Scene

I was shopping with my mom one year and happened upon a beautiful, ornate Nativity Scene at Sam's Wholesale Club. My sweet mom bought one for me, and one for her home. We put it out every year. I love it because it reminds me of her, and also because it is the prettiest one I have ever scene. The outfits on the figures are ornate and detailed and made of fine fabrics. The camel is one of my favorite pieces, as well. :)
I added an angel from my angel tree to the set, because I thought it needed one.

I updated our mantle decor this year, as well. I have a very heavy, large garland that I now place on top of my mantle and let it hang down both sides.  I used to hang it from the mantle with nails-it was hard to do and then you had to fill in the holes afterwards. Why don't we think of better ways to do these things right away? LOL
This year, I added gold deco mesh to the garland and a new animal print ribbon from Garden Ridge. The ribbon matches my two giraffe inspired fabric chairs in that living room, that I just love. I also added clusters of oversized gold ball ornaments, which made a nice impact. I opted not to hand the matching wreath above the fireplace this year, and just let the garland make the statement instead. I am a big fan of reindeer, so the golden ones adorn the center of my mantle.

Deck the Halls Installment #3: There's a story behind this tree...

There's a story behind this tree.....I had been admiring a tree full of golden angels at Garden Ridge one year and had decided that if it were on sale after Christmas, and if I had any money left over,  I would try to buy it.

Luckily, I received $200 that year as a gift. So, very early on December 26, I waited outside the store in the cold with other bargain shoppers waiting for the doors to open. Once they did, I rushed to "my" angel tree, stood guard and looked for an employee, who was nowhere to be found. I ran around the store and located one and told him I wanted to buy the tree, decorations and all. He got a manager, because I wanted to buy it as it stood, lock, stock and barrel for a mere $200.

Somehow, I convinced the manager to accept my offer, if I would be responsible for "un-decorating" it myself, which I gladly did! While the store's employee disappeared to find a box for me to use, I had to keep multiple customers from taking ornaments off of my tree! Hahaha..I bet I was a sight! When the employee finally returned, I excitedly placed the treasured angel ornaments into an empty cardboard box, placed the tree on a flatbed cart, paid for my find, and proudly took it home. This 7.5'  tree came with gold ribbon, gold plastic beaded garland and more gold angels than I cared to count. I was thrilled! (It does have a gold tree skirt, but I have a dog who insists on peeing on our tree skirts, so I don't put them out!).

 I place this golden covered gem in my entry every year. When I divorced in 1999, my soon to be ex-husband demanded possession of my tree in mediation. Needless to say, he did not get it! Unfortunately, over time, lights began to go out, and a well meaning friend bent the tree pretty badly one year while helping me put it away. So, I replaced the original tree with a 9 footer. Over the years, I have added new ribbon and a few ornaments, but, basically, it still stands proudly in our hallway, greeting our guests and reminding me that every once in a while, you can find a real bargain that not only makes your home more festive, but also has an interesting past. Just like me!

Deck the Halls Installment #2: Red and White Candy Cane Tree

We love to decorate for CHRISTmas and one of our trees is red and white with Candy Canes, Santas, and such. It's a flocked tree and makes quite a mess when setting up, so I suggest you invest in a tree bag to store it in, if you have one.
Here are some pictures:

To get this look, I added C9 white twinkle lights from Decorator's Warehouse in Texas, red and white striped deco mesh, red and white striped ribbon, red glitter ribbon, red ball clusters, red and white balls, red and white candy lollipops and ribbon candy, peppermint sticks, berries, assorted picks, and stuffed Santas with other assorted ornaments.
For the window, I added several flocked garlands with the same deco mesh, balls and assorted ornaments.
The effect is a pretty tree. Enjoy the holidays!

Deck The Halls!!!!

CHRISTmas is a BIG DEAL at our home!

It's our favorite time of the year and we love everything about it! We decorate just about every room in the house-with trees in every room, complete with garlands, Santas, Reindeer, a beautiful Nativity Scene and more! I will be blogging several posts about the season. This one will focus on how to deck your outdoors for a fabulous Christmas!

This year, I decided to go with blue, my son's favorite color . I upgraded to mainly all LED lights and added battery operated wreaths and garlands, to boot.

Here's how I began:
I hung garlands across the top of the garages and tucked in blue deco mesh followed by ribbon.

Then, I added clusters of blue balls and snowflake lights and glittery snowflake cut outs from Target.

Above the front door, I used a large garland around the perimeter and tucked in blue deco mesh along with a pretty shimmery silver sheer fabric.

Then, I added the same blue and silver ribbon, large snowflakes and clusters of balls to finish.

For the wreaths, I did the same-and added a large bow out of the ribbon.

All in all, it has turned out well so far.....more to come!
Enjoy the holidays and remember: Jesus is the reason for the season!
:)

Breadstick Cornucopias-A Thanksgiving Tradition!

We have a tradition in my home every Thanksgiving where I make cornucopias from breadsticks for family and friends. We fill them with vegetables, fruit and ranch dip for a delicious and pretty appetizer.  I gave them to a few friends the first year that I made them, and have had special requests for them every year since.

To make them, you will need 2 cans of breadsticks for each cornucopia

Nonstick foil (or regular)
Assorted mixed veggies cut up into bite size pieces-we use broccoli, baby carrots, celery, bell peppers, cucumbers, grapes and tiny tomatoes
6 Tablespoons milk or 1 egg white for brushing on dough before baking (Optional)
Ranch dip for dipping

To begin: Take a large sheet of foil and make into a cone shape. I often tape the seam together with scotch tape. Crumble up foil into balls to fill the foil cone shape to help it hold the bread dough weight.

Next, open the breadsticks and separate into the precut strips. Start by wrapping one strip around the tail/closed end of the cone shape (squeeze the end of the cone together first). Then, take another bread strip, and wrap around the end of the cone, just above the first strip, slightly overlapping so that the bread dough strips touch all the way around the cone. Continue with another bread strip above the third one, and so on, until the cone shape has been covered with bread dough strips. Note: it helps to slightly stretch the strips out and when they don't reach all the way around the cone shape, flip the cone over and apply another piece of a strip to each end of the strip to connect it. Pinch ends together completely.

For the top of the cone, take three bread strips and stretch slightly and pinch the top ends of the three strips together and lay on clean counter workspace. Then, braid the three strips together, sealing the bottom together. Wrap the braid around the cone top, and use another bread strip to complete the circle underneath the cone, pinching ends together.

You may use milk or egg white to paint over the cornucopia before baking, if you wish-optional. Bake according to package directions-about 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool.
Once cooled, carefully pull out the foil stuffing and then the foil cone shape from the bread cornucopias.

Place on platter and fill with veggie mixture, letting veggies spill out of cornucopia and onto platter. Serve with ranch dressing or anything you would like to dip the veggies with. Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Trick or Treat!

We are fortunate! Our neighbors put on a free Haunted House that draws huge crowds of trick or treaters! We love it! I decorate our yard with lots of lights, spooky trees, flashing bats, a circle of ghosts, and various characters, including the Peanuts group, which I love.

Why do I go to so much trouble? Well, it all started for my kids and now I continue because of the neighborhood kids. As soon as I break out the decorations, the kids seem to just know it and come over to "help" me. It's cute! We also have people who come to our home on Halloween every year and most stop to take pictures in our yard. It's a lot of fun. Everyone's favorite photography stop seems to be the large inflatable black cat that moves its head from side to side every minute or so. That's the favorite stop in our yard for the kids- some are scared but all seem to love it!

We had a young lady stop by this year to tell us how much my son scared her like 10 yrs ago-when he was dressed like a scary monster and hid behind our column and jumped out to "greet" her.  He scared a lot of the older trick or treaters that year. Good times.

We sat outside and handed out candy for hours. I always buy a ton of candy and rarely have much left over. There were lots of super heros this year but my favorite was the blonde headed little lion. He so reminded me of my son at that age. Precious!

So, if you are one of those people who don't hand out candy in your neighborhood, please reconsider. It is a lot of fun and you are making memories for kids that they will remember forever. And, so will you!

Halloween Door Decor

I have been seeing a lot of decorating ideas using Deco Mesh, so I had to try it. So, I let my front door be the guinea pig and experimented a bit.

I started with a lighted grapevine garland that I have had for years. Then, I layered a fall leaf garland over the grapevine garland. I plan on leaving this part up through Thanksgiving.

Then, I used a roll of deco mesh and gathered it up into sections and used my green florist wire to tie it to the garlands.

Next, I went to Michael's and bought a few inexpensive items to add another layer of Halloween specific decor. I bought foam jack o lanterns, a bat, a ghost, a witches' broom, and made the BOO letters. For the letters, I bought modge podge, scrapbook paper, and precut wooden letters spelling BOO. I cut and trimmed the scrapbook paper to fit the letters and used the modge podge to adhere the paper to the letters. Then, simply added them to the garlands. Easy! Finally, I took green glittery mesh ribbon and wove it through the garlands.
Here's how it turned out:

Happy Halloween! :)

Jack-O-Lantern Stuffed Peppers!

I enjoy the holidays immensely! I try to make our home fun for the family by decorating inside and out and by making themed foods and activities. I will share some of my photos of our Halloween decor on the next entry. For now, here's the recipe for these fun little guys:

I got this neat idea off of www.godairyfree.org.  I changed up the recipe, but kept the creativity.

Pick orange colored bell peppers that are flat enough on the bottom to sit upright. I tried to choose them like I do our pumpkins that we carve every year.

Fortunately, I found these on sale for $1 a piece. Score!! Wash each pepper and cut the top off the pepper and remove the seeds. Carefully carve your choice of Jack O Lantern faces onto each pepper.

Next, you will need low fat ground turkey, white rice, and tomato paste for the base of the filling:

You can also use tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, or spaghetti sauce in place of the paste. I just happened to have the paste on hand to use. (You do have to add some water to thin out the paste).

You will also need the following:
1/2 tsp garlic powder or minced garlic
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Brown the ground turkey with the onions. Add the spices. Place 1/2 cup of the rice (no need to cook the Ready Rice first), cooked meat mixture, 3 TBS tomato paste and cheese. Mix together-add a little water, as needed. Fill each pepper with the mixture.

Foil line a baking dish and cook at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 20 minutes.
Enjoy!

Our Family Tree Has Added A New Branch!

I received the link from the photographer for my daughter's wedding pictures today. My father, a four time cancer survivor, walked my daughter down the aisle. How wonderful it is that he is here to do the honors. Isn't it great how pictures can capture those kind of memories for you? I love them. Of course, I cried as I looked through all 700+ of them, as I was overwhelmed with the emotions of how blessed I truly am.

Now, my little girl is a grown woman who will have her own little ones to love someday. How wonderful will that be? I have already been collecting ideas on a Pinterest board titled: Future Grandbabies Fun! I have always been told that grandchildren are the best. My grandchildren are going to have a lot to live up to, considering I think that their parents are pretty darn terrific!

My son will be married in June. So, once again, our Family Tree will expand, adding more wonderful people to love and enjoy this journey we call life with. And, once again, I am also excited about the future grand babies!

Yes, I am blessed to be a mommy. I am blessed to have amazing children, who have chosen wonderful partners (whom I also love),  to bless our family with. For all of those new mommies out there-enjoy every moment with your children. Remember, they grow up quickly! It's the most rewarding feeling to see them grow into the adults that you have been praying for. God is good-all of the time!

Have You Been Boo'ed?

There's a neat tradition you can start in your own neighborhood in October-leading up to Halloween. I have seen it called the Phantom, too. Whatever you call it, it's a great way to have a little fun with your neighbors. Here's how it works:

Take a print out of "You've Been Boo'ed!" to tape (masking tape won't harm anyone's paint) to two lucky neighbor's front doors. You need to leave some tasty Autumn treats on their front doorstep, as well. Most people ring the neighbor's front doorbell and run like crazy to hide. The object is not to get caught! The two recipients are asked to each "Boo" two different neighbors the next day, who, in turn, each "Boo" two additional neighbors until all neighbors have had a turn. Be sure to leave the paper sign on your front door so that everyone will know who has been "Boo-ed" and who still needs to be! It's fun to go on walks around your neighborhood and see all of the signs.

Here's a copy of the sign I used-right off of Pinterest-from SixSistersStuffblogspot.com. They have great material on their site!

Here are the treats I left:

Pretzels with Hershey's Hugs and Candy Corn

Monster Popcorn Mix
Popped Corn, pretzel pieces, Candy Corn all drizzled with melted white chocolate....I also added Heath Toffee pieces

Doesn't really matter what you leave as a treat-I have just been in the domestic mood lately, so I have been cooking and baking often. It's been fun!

Hopefully, all of our neighbors will participate. When it gets to be a couple of days away from Halloween, I will try to be sure to finish off the rest of the homes without a sign on their doors. After all, who wouldn't want to be "Boo'ed"? 

Low Fat Hatch Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

My son is living at home for one last year and I love cooking for him and whoever else comes in for dinner. He loves to eat healthy, so I have searched the internet for lots of recipes, and have tweaked a few, with good results. We really enjoy these low fat enchiladas and I hope your family will, too!
Here's what you will need:

Corn tortillas-1 package-need at least 15
2 cans Hatch Green Chili Sauce-I found it at my local farmer's market. You can substitute jar tomatillo sauce ( green sauce).
3 chicken breasts-trim of excess fat and score to help absorb the marinade
1 package low fat finely shredded cheese- I used 2% Mexican Blend
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red or any color of bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped

2 limes, juiced
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 TSP Salt
1 TSP pepper
1 garlic clove
1 TSP Cumin
Mix ingredients in ziplock bag and add chicken to it-turning to coat. Marinate in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Grill chicken until cooked-outdoors or inside in a pan-your choice. Cut into small cubes and place in bowl with one can of sauce. Set aside.

Take corn tortillas=put some nonstick cooking spray in a fry pan-heat medium high and warm tortilla in pan, one at a time=turning once until lightly browned on each side. This softens the tortillas to make enchiladas.

Take chopped onion, cilantro and bell pepper and heat in microwave in a glass bowl for 4 mins. or until soft.

To assemble: take a large baking rectangle baking dish and place a very small amount of sauce in bottom. (Hint-I line my pan with nonstick aluminum foil first) Place a tortilla in pan and spread about 1 TBSP of onion mixture and one TBSP of chicken in middle of tortilla. (More if you want enchiladas to be fatter). Sprinkle cheese on top and roll tortilla up, placing seam side down in baking dish. Repeat until pan is filled with enchiladas. Take remainder of sauce and pour over top of enchiladas and sprinkle a generous layer of cheese (to taste) on top. Bake in 375 degree oven for 25-30 mins or until cheese is bubby and heated throughout.

Ingredients inside the tortilla

These didn't last 24 hours in our house! Enjoy!