Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Cranberry Jalapeño Salsa

Merry Christmas everyone.


I hope you are enjoying your day whether your visiting family, friends, or just staying in alone and getting some rest. That actually sounds great right now. Christmas always seem so busy and hectic. We say every year that we are not going to do so much the next Christmas, but then we do. It’s all fun though. 


My daughter will still come over and spend a few day at home during Christmas. We laugh, cook and shop and get on each others nerves at times but I love it. 


Christmas eve day we walked around and gave out some home made Cranberry Salsa to my sweet neighbors. 




We are so blessed to have nice, friendly and helpful neighbors on our street. Every time we are out at the same time, we end up talking forever about things going on in life. I just like to share some Christmas cheer.


Christmas eve we headed out over to mom and dads for a nice family gathering. We had all kinds of foods and sweets. My daddy read some scripture and sang us a little song. My mom stayed busy working in the kitchen despite she was not feeling well. Sometimes I don’t know how she pulls it all together, but she does. 


Now its Christmas day. I got up early and enjoyed a nice quiet breakfast. As I was sipping my coffee, I gazed at the Christmas tree with presents underneath. I smiled and said to my husband, “we did it”. We never think we can pull it off with our small income but we do. My daughter was happy to wake up for the 32nd year with presents under the tree. 


Cranberry Jalapeño Salsa:

  • 12 oz fresh cranberries,
  • 1 Jalapeño
  • 1/2 Cup Cilantro
  • Lime juice
  • 4 Green onions
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar ( see instructions)

Chop all the above ingredients together, then mix in 1/2 cup sugar.

Let it set in the fridge for a few hours and enjoy.

It’s great poured over a block of cream cheese with your favorite crackers.

Or use for a sweet n spicy salsa for your tortilla chips.


It’s getting later now and Nick is making lasagna to take over to his brothers tonight for our Christmas dinner. Everyone will bring a dish. There are some small kids that we get to watch play and open gifts. 


Tomorrow I will rest. 

Merry Christmas from our family to yours


Secret Santa

While at work the other day, me and some of the girls in my unit were looking at a post on Facebook from our local animal shelter.
The post was asking people to choose a pet from the shelter and be their Secret Santa. We jumped on the idea and started choosing a pet.

The choice was hard as I scrolled through the sad faces of pets waiting to be adopted or fostered. One pet caught my eye. He was a black 2 year old Terrier named “Meatloaf”. He did not have a Secret Santa yet so I reached out. They accepted my request and just like that I had a pet to shop for.


Me and one of the other girls decided we wanted to drop off our gifts during our lunch hour the next day. After work I stopped by he dollar store for a couple doggy things for Meatloaf. I found him a blanket, ball and a teether bone. 


When we arrived the next day with our gifts, they took them to a drop off area and said they will give the pets the gifts after they are looked through and approved. 
While we were there, they took us back to see the dogs. I havent been in the animal shelter since I was a little girl and thats when we went to pick out a pet cat. 

The animals were so pitiful. They gave us a little tour of the building and we got to see all of the dogs. They would bark and cry as we walked by. But not Meatloaf. He just stood in is cage with his nose pressed against the cell bars. As I walked away from him, he litterally laid his nose in his elbow and had a depressing look on his face as if he was unwanted and I was just another person to turn him down. But, “sorry Meatloaf, I was not there to adopt. I can’t have a pet due to allergies and commitment but Santa will visit you soon”. We left the building and the looks on those animals faces will forever be stamped in my mind. 

The next day, this video popped up on FB. It was Meatloaf receiving his gift. He was so excited. This made me smile. 

Click below for the Facebook video.

If you are looking for a pet, consider adopting or fostering from your local animal rescue shelter. They need a home and someone to love them. I can only imagine the feeling of taking one of these pets home and seeing the look on their face in the back seat of the car while heading to a loving home. 

Handmade Christmas Ornaments

I have a little Christmas tree in my work cubicle and needed some ornaments for it. My cubicle theme is mostly boho so I wanted something that would fit in with that style. That’s when I seen this pattern for tiny boho macramé ornaments. I had to give it try. 



I love how they turned out and they fit my theme perfectly. They are now hanging on my little tree along with the little gnome ornaments I purchased from Walmart. 



I have not done any crochet lately. In fact, I even closed my Etsy store. Because I was tired of making things and they never sold or if they did sell it was mostly people asking for another color other than what I already had made. I was just getting tired of meeting demands. When it becomes work, It’s not fun anymore. I also have not sold enough this year to cover the fees. So I gave it up. 

The other night I decided to pick up the crochet hook and create a couple little gnome ornaments for my tree at home. I made two. 


They were very easy to make and you can find the pattern HERE

It’s fun to crochet small things. Theses ornaments were fun to make and only took about 30 minutes to complete each one. They do not really go with my colors but they still look oddly good on the tree.

Do you use a theme at Christmas?
My theme at home is buffalo plaids and touches of red throughout. 

Tree Lights [Fail]

We decided to put up our Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving this year. I usually wait until Thanksgiving night to put up the tree. I was ready for a new look. I got tired of the orange and brown colors of Fall. However, I refuse to light the tree for display until after Thanksgiving. 

Speaking of the tree, I had this bright idea (no pun intended) to put red lights on our white tree this year. I thought sparkles of red would be so pretty surrounded by silver balls. Boy was I wrong! If your thinking of red lights on your tree, Just DON’T!

It was so ugly that I could not help but laugh and make fun of my own idea. I really did try to find some beauty in it but I couldn’t. I sat down across the room to study the project. I could feel my nerves bubbling and my head spinning. I could not see the ornaments that were hung on the tree. The red lights were so bright that it over powered everything. 

I walked outside to see what it looked like in the window. It looked like Hells living room. It was terrible. 


Seriously.



I could not do it. I just couldn’t! So I stripped the tree of all the ornaments and then carefully reboxed the lights the way they came and returned them to Walmart. I swapped them out for the clear/white lights. It looked so much better and gives the room a relaxing ambient lighting. The ornaments are now hung in place and there are even a few presents under the tree already.

I feels good to have my Christmas decorations already put up and makes bringing in Thanksgiving more festive. I have a job now where I get to have a couple days off for Thanksgiving so instead of decorating on Friday, I can relax and enjoy the magic feeling in the air.

Do you decorate before Thanksgiving?



These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Well it’s now three days after Christmas and I am just getting around to blogging. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. My favorite time was Christmas morning when I could slow down a couple hours and enjoy a cup of coffee and homemade sausage balls. 

After a couple hours of quiet time, my twenty nine year old daughter came running into the living room to see what Santa had brought. He indeed stopped by. She got almost everything she asked for. She also surprised me and Nick with a few gifts. She got me some little things she knew I had been wanting. 

Here are a few of my favorite things.

Turkish beach towel. These towels are thin and soft. They are absorbent and light. Turkish towels can also be used for a light blanket or scarf.  
I have also been wanting some silicone cupcake liners. I got both.


There was a sweater I seen on the internet that I had my eye on and she managed to get the exact sweater I wanted.

 

She also got me some slippers, make up brushes and make up. I was happy but all I really wanted and needed was her just being here at home with me.

Her boyfriend got me this nice oil defuser. I love it and it is so relaxing. 


Something else I got for Christmas was a future new Sister in Law. My brother in law preposed to his girlfriend on Christmas Morning. I have only met her a couple of times when I visited the beach this past Summer. She is a sweet girl and I wish them the best. 

Later my Mom and Dad stopped in for a visit and then we headed off to Nicks other brothers house for Christmas Dinner and watched some of the little ones play and open gifts. 

I even snuggled my Nephews bearded dragon. I think it liked me and I’m showing some guts here. I’d much rather be snuggling a puppy. 


I slept late on Sunday and that was nice except I missed church. Then my daughter left to go back to her place and I spent the rest of the day taking down Christmas decorations and cleaning the house. 

This coming weekend will be busy again. I will be doing my traditional New years dinner. Boy I’m tired!

What are some of the special moments you had this Christmas? 



Feeling Elfie

Happy Christmas Eve yall!

I have a day off today from both jobs. My daughter is home, presents are all wrapped and the cooking has begun.

Last night I felt a little elfie. You see, at my seasonal job, they have had these little Christmas accessories for us to wear all month. My job is picking orders and getting them prepared for store pick ups. Often I would have to run them out to a car on curbside. They wanted us to look festive I guess. 
But not me, no no. 
I snarled my nose up at the lighted necklaces, antler head bands and paper elf hats. I just was not going there! Nope.

Well last night while I was darting around the store grabbing items for those last minute shoppers, I got in the mood to put on one of the elf hats. “Ok, I’ll do it”. And just like that, I became a jingly elf. I had fun passing children as I was working. Some would be acting up in the store and when they saw me, they would straighten up and their little eyes would just stare at me until I disappeared. Some kids would run and hide. I would just wave and point as I walked by. I had fun. Now I know what Santa must feel like. 

I began to think about those little kids. I could have been their only little Christmas hope they had.
To me it was just a stupid little paper hat with bells on it. 
To them, I was an elf. I was one of Santas helpers. 


I was running my legs off, my feet hurt and I was tired from working my day job then coming here to work at nights.
But if it wasn’t for me and others doing this task, some one would not have their present under the tree in time. I carried around a handheld device that would let me know when an order was placed and what to grab. (Aka Santas list). 
Sometimes I would have to reject orders when there was no inventory to be found. Even though they ordered online as it was in stock, an inside shopper could buy it off the shelf before I could fill the order. Every time this happened I would feel sad. They would get an email letting them know it was not in stock. I just hope they had a plan B in these cases. 

Now it’s time for me to relax. I have a big day ahead of me. I have some cookies to make. I will also be making sausage balls, grape salad and broccoli salad for tomorrow. I need to get my nails painted and my house cleaned. 

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. 

Puppy Chow Muddy Buddy

I finally got my Christmas shopping finished. I actually finished last week. It feels great to get that behind me and now I can sit back and enjoy the rest of the season. 

With my work schedule, I have to find time to get things done. I was off on Sunday so I was able to enjoy church again. My daughter came home and we spent the afternoon baking cookies and making treats to hand out to the neighbors. 

This year I will be handing out tins of “puppy chow”. It’s not really puppy chow but that what it’s called because of how it looks. If you buy it in the store, it is called Muddy Buddy.



It is made by coating chex cereal with a peanut butter and chocolate mixture then tossing it into powder sugar. It is absolutely delicious!

Incases you want the recipe, here it is.....

PUPPY CHOW (Muddy Buddy)
6 cups Chex rice cereal.
1/2 Cup peanut butter.
1 Cup chocolate chips.
1/4 Cup butter.
1 Teaspoon vanilla.
2 Cups powder sugar.

In microwave, melt chocolate chips, butter and peanut butter together on high for 30 seconds. 
Microwave 15 seconds at a time until mixture becomes smooth.
Stir in vanilla and pour over cereal mixture. Stir to coat. 
Pour into a 2 gallon resealable food storage bag or a container with a lid.
Shake until coated. 
Transfer into a serving container and add extras of your choice such as pretzels, marshmallows, M&Ms, or other candies.

I just added some Christmas colored M&Ms. 

We also made my favorite holiday cookie, “Pecan balls”. I filled a tin with those to take to work and we have a container of our own. 
I could eat my weight in those things. 

My Christmas Run Down

Wow, I am just now settling down to catch a breath after a busy Christmas. My daughter came in on Monday and left today. We did a lot of cooking and baking.

A few weeks ago I found this little cookie cutter at a thrift store. It was still in the box and had a sugar cookie recipe attached.

Since I was looking for a good sugar cookie recipe, I was tickled to find this little charm. Face it, we all need cookie cutters in the house. Could you imagine how happy the world would be if everyone baked cookies at the same time? Think about that.

We wanted to make colorful Christmas cookies like you see in pictures. I have never been good at making homemade icing, much less, cookie icing. 
After searching around on Pinterest, we found the perfect cookie icing and began mixing. After a couple hours, we had a batch of cookies. We boxed them up and handed them out to neighbors. Don’t worry, we kept a small batch. 


The cookies were easy to make and the icing was easy to make. Applying the icing to the cookies was another story. I do not think I want to ever frost a cookie again in my life. We had a bigger mess than a kindergarten class on craft day.

We also made sausage balls for breakfast. I made them this time using pimiento cheese instead of the usual sharp shredded cheese. They were delicious. 

Christmas Eve we headed to my Mom and Dads for family time, food and more sweets. Mom always makes a fruit cake. It is a favorite and we all make sure to take a piece home when we leave. I mean, just look at all that fruit and nut goodness.


My daughter and I wore matching pajamas to mom and dads Christmas eve and made everyone laugh. 


It was fun and it just sorta gave us that childhood feeling again. 

Christmas morning, we enjoyed watching our girl open her gifts. It’s just like when she was little. She will run down the hall and into the living room to see what Santa brought. He was able to get everything on her list this year. I will miss Christmas mornings like this when she gets married one day and starts her own family and traditions. Until them, I will suck up ever moment. Did I mention shes 28? 

Now It’s the day after Christmas. Our daughter has already left to go back to her uptown apartment and we spent the evening taking down the Christmas tree and all the decorations.We are quick to do this so we can get the house back in order in time for our New Years feast we prepare each year for all the family.

Do you take your Christmas decorations down early or leave them up until January?




Christmas Eve Eve

Happy Christmas Eve Eve. Is everyone ready for Christmas? I am. Christmas shopping was completed a week ago and now it’s time for baking. I have lots to things to make by Christmas. I have cooking to prepare for and goodies to make for neighbors and family.

Not sure how much baking I will get done today so I started on a few things yesterday. 
My daughter will be coming home this morning and staying through Christmas. She still has to work half the day. She can work from here since she has the privilege of working remote a couple days a week. The fun will start in a little while. 

Before anything, I have a mandatory meeting with the unemployment office today. I have to take proof that I have been searching for jobs while drawing my little 200.00 unemployment check. I’m not gonna complain though. It buys groceries. I have worked everyday since I turned sixteen. That’s 34 years and I have never been unemployed before. Now I have to prove I have been searching for work the past 6 weeks. Well, I have a long list, plus two papers they gave me full of places I have applied for with no avail. So, yes, I have proof. I think people that are capable of working but choose to live off the Government should have to do this too. But that’s none off my business.
I have gotten word from some employers that they will not be interviewing until the first of the year. Fingers crossed something gives. I need to work not only for the money but for my health and sanity. 

Anyway back to baking....

I made some of my Italian Biscotti. This is an all time favorite. We like to dip them into our all day morning coffee. They are so easy to make. I’m not sure why I only decide to make them at Christmas. 


This batch was made using vanilla flavoring with only a touch of anise and lightly dipped in chocolate. They are the perfect sweetness.

This year I also decided to make “Italian Crescent Cookies”. 


These are made using butter, flour, sugar and walnuts made into little crescent shapes and rolled in powder sugar. I love anything with powder sugar. I will break a diet over powder sugar. It’s my weakness. 

I have cookie dough made and in the refrigerator waiting on my daughter to arrive. We will be rolling out the dough and cutting into Christmas shapes before decorating them. A lot of these cookies will be given away. I hope they turn out pretty. I usually struggle with icing them. 

What is a Christmas favorite you or someone else makes each year?


Hat and Mittens

I have had a lot of time on my hands lately. I spend my mornings working out, reading blogs, and applying for jobs. Sometimes after lunch, we will go out a little while and run a few errands just to get out of the house. I can hardly wait to go grocery shopping once a week as it gives me a reason to put on a bra and jeans. Cabin fever is setting in.

One thing I have been enjoying is crocheting and watching Hallmark movies. 
The other day, I entered a giveaway on Instagram and won a skein of Yarn Bee SugarWheel Yarn. I would not usually buy this particular type of yarn myself as it has wool in it and wool makes me break out and itch. This yarn was a wool/ acrylic blend that fade in and out with colors of gray. It was easy to work with. I am now a fan and didn’t suffer any allergic reactions. 


With the yarn I won, I created this cute adult size hat using my favorite stitch called the lemon peel stitch (also called the grit stitch). It consist of a single stitch followed by a double stitch throughout. I love this stitch because it works up fast and has a chunky puff texture. I am currently working on a blanket using the same stitch. 

We have some little elf shoes on a string that we put on the tree every year. One of my daughters favorite things to do is make them the last ornament on the tree. Nick doesn't care to help us decorate the tree, but we always hand him the little elf shoes and he turns around backwards and throws the shoes on the tree. We choose to leave them where they land no matter how wonky they hang. It always makes us laugh. Now my daughter wants a set to throw on her own tree each year. I could not find another set likes ours so I figured I would make her something equivalent. I crocheted her this set of tiny mittens.

She can now make a wish and throw them on her tree like we always do with the elf shoes. 
They were so fun to make, I decided to make a couple more for friends. 

I have also been trying to learn to knit. I am not having any luck. As far as I can get is a few rows before I mess up and don’t know how to fix it unless I start over. I really would love to learn to knit but I have given up trying for a while.

Note: Crochet and Knit are two different things. Crochet uses one hook needle and knitting uses two long pointed needles. Knitting to me has a softer and prettier texture. 

Natures Christmas

I have been feeling pretty bummed that I have not gotten to go anywhere to see magnificent Christmas lights or Christmas towns this year. I love Christmas time and want to suck up every little light, Christmas carol and excited child I come across. But I’m alone on that. I have to get my thrills from riding around neighborhoods and admiring someones creativity here and there. My husband just doesn’t get in the Christmas mood like I wish he would. It makes the season rather humbug. Things perk up around Christmas Eve though and the mood changes a little. It’s ok. Christmas is not really all about that anyway.

The other day, we headed outside to rake leaves for the 2nd time this season. I threw on my worn out (Elmer Fudd) boots and headed outside. The sun was out and the temperatures were in the 50’s. Perfect for a little fresh air and yard work. I ended up raking a pile of leaves that lined the curb at the road. The leaf sucker truck will come by in a few days and suck them away. 


As I was raking, I had to stop for a moment and admire nature. Here I am pouting about not getting to ride miles down the road to sit in traffic for hours just to see commercial Christmas lights when all I had to do was look around where I was standing. I noticed that Nature itself provides it’s own Christmas show. I began to smile and my attitude began to change. God is my favorite artist. 

I spent a few moments looking up into the pine tree that leaned over our property line. The leaves were evergreen and smell of pine filled the air as the tiny pine cones held their posture. “That’s a Christmas tree”, I uttered under my breath. 


Evergreen trees are traditionally used as Christmas trees as a symbol of undying life. 

As I worked my way across the yard, I noticed the neighbors large holly tree at the corner of our yard. This was Mr. H’s tree. He and his wife both passed away this Summer. He always kept the tree trimmed back so it was rather large and unshaped this year. It was beautiful. I did not see a flawed leave and the berries were perfectly in their place. “This was a Christmas wreath”, I thought. The berries were like lights as they glistened in the sun.  


Holly is a traditional Christmas decoration as the sharp leaves represent the crown of thorns and the berries symbolized drops of blood of Jesus. Made into a wreath it symbolizes unending life. 

Nick was out for his morning walk and came across a tree that each year is full of reachable Mistletoe. He snatched a piece and walked in the door with a big grin on his face. 


This too symbolizes “Life that does not die”. However, the story behind mistletoe is mythological and believed to have mystical powers. This is where we get the “kissing under the mistletoe” rule. I like it. 

I would have never noticed the natural beauty of Christmas around me if I were still working every single day in an office like I had for the past 26 years. Though I have been stressed about finding a new job, I try to enjoy the beauty and find the blessing of the days I have without one. 

Friday Bowl- Chocolate Pomegranate

The produce isle was full of Pomegranates. They were in large tubs sitting across from the cranberries. I just learned that Pomegranate is a Christmas fruit. No wonder I had trouble finding them during the summer. 

I love a good Pomegranate. Put it with some chocolate and you create a sweet combination. 

Chocolate Pomegranate Yogurt Bowl


2/3 Cup Triple Zero Chocolate nonfat Greek Yogurt
2 Tablespoon- Pomegranate Seeds (raw)
1 Tablespoon- Natures Promise Pumpkin Seed Flax Granola
1/2 Tablespoon- Mini semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips.

224 Calories- 17 g Protein


🍓🍌🍉🍊🍒🍏🍅🍈

I have decided to reserve each Friday to share some of my creative food bowls. I have been eating these at least 3 times a week and I feel great. They are easy, healthy and fun. This is part of my new "Clean Eating" Plan. Wish me Luck.

Christmas Goodies

This is the only time of year I will spend hours in the kitchen baking cookies, cakes, candy and fudge.

This is the first year I have made sugar cookies. For some reason I have always felt it was a hard task. (or maybe I thought I might like it). I have put it off long enough. I usually always make pecan butter cookies or Biscotti. Not this year. I tried all new recipes that I have never attempted.

Sorry no photo of the sugar cookies yet because technically it’s only 8:00 in the morning and I haven't made them yet. I wanted to get my post out before I start with all of my Christmas Eve festivities. 

I made a batch of Italian Canestrelli cookies. They turned out delicious! The slight taste of lemon and powder sugar, set these cookies away from the typical butter cookie.
Since I have an Italian husband, It's always fun to throw in a special Italian recipe in the mix.


I'll never be able to compete with my mom or the little Italian grandmother that once held this green handled rolling pin. But its always fun to take a shot at it.


I have been wanting to try out my extra large muffin pan so I made a dozen apple muffins. I did not have any large muffin cup liners so I made my own using parchment paper. They looked like they were right out of the bakery. Dontcha think? I ended up eating one and giving the rest away. I may make some more of these later. My dad has requested some. I can't say no to daddy.


I also made some shortbread cookies. These were the easiest ever! With just three ingredients they turned out great. Perfect with morning coffee. 
Did I say "only three ingredients"?


Then there was the Fudge. I have an easy fudge recipe, but when I saw the award winning peanut butter fudge recipe over at Andrea's blog, I had to give that one a try. I love peanut butter fudge and when she mentioned it could be made in the microwave, I was sold! Mine did not turn out as pretty as hers but it was still delicious! Thanks Andrea.


Today we will make a trip to a few neighbors and hand out boxes of homemade goodies. Later we will head over to mom and dads for some family time with dinner pickups and gifts for the kids. 

Before I close, I want to show you this darling Christmas ball that my favorite friend made me. The movie “Die Hard” is one of my favorite Christmas movies....Ok not really, but it is the most exciting Christmas movie....Ok maybe technically I should call it a Holiday Movie....
Anyway, she made me a Christmas ball that represents one of the main phrases in the movie. You have to see the movie to understand. 



I love it. Thank you Anne!!!


Yall please remember the true meaning of Christmas. 
Jesus is the best gift of all.

I WISH YOU ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Gifting

Hope everyone is ready for Christmas! It will be here in just four more days! I have to say that I am officially done with my shopping. I finished up two weeks early this year.

I have two brothers with kids and wives and a sister. Nick has two brothers with wives. We used to all exchange gifts. That was really hard. I love to give and wish I could give everyone something special but each year it would get more stressful trying to find the perfect gifts. Half of the gifts were left unneeded or unwanted. We finally decided to only buy for the kids and our parents and that made things a lot easier and more fun. The adults now enjoy time together sharing recipes and stories. It’s also more fun to sit back and watch the small kids open gifts. Teenagers, not so much. Haha.

Me and Nick do not swap gifts anymore. We spend it all on our daughter. It’s not much, but since our monies are usually tight, we would rather give her the things she needs and we enjoy doing something special together after the Christmas bustle.


Our daughter is twenty seven but at Christmas shes twelve. Haha. Ever since she moved out after college, at Christmas she will come home and spend about five days with us. She still has her own bedroom and walks in the door as if she still lives here full time. We will do some baking, and get our nails done for Christmas. On Christmas morning she will wake up to presents under the tree and gifts scattered from Santa. I told Nick that the first Christmas we have after she gets married (someday) will be sorta heartbreaking. I already made it through her driving away, going to college, and living out on her own. Now I have to go through her being someone else's joy on Christmas morning one of these days (soon I think). Meanwhile, I'm gonna enjoy it while I still can. 

Do you swap gifts among a big family or just buy for a few?
Do you and your spouse swap gifts or go out instead?

If you are alone this Christmas, my heart goes out to you. I pray you can find peace, joy and love in those around you and in yourself. 
If you know someone who is alone, I hope you will share the joys of Christmas with them. 

Merry (Almost) Christmas.


Fine Dinning

Where I come from, fancy eating is dinner around the dinning room table instead of the kitchen table using cloth napkins instead of paper.

As a Christmas present from my daughters boyfriend. He insisted on taking us out of our comfort zone and into a fancy swanky restaurant in uptown.
We did not know where he was taking us but we trusted him and agreed to go. 

We met at his house and he drove us uptown where the buildings were tall and the town was full of lights and action.
This is the first time Nick had ever let anyone drive him. He never lets me drive him anywhere and if we go anywhere with a group, he will drive his own car. So this was a pretty big shock to me and my daughter. 

Upon arriving at the restaurant we were met with a valet driver at the front door of none other than Ruth Chris Steakhouse. I have always heard about this place, but knew I’d never go unless taken there by surprise. Ha.

Our table was waiting and we sat down to dinner. After the price shock from the menu, I ordered my meal. I chose the Salmon, while everyone else had steak or chicken. We snacked on calamari while we waited. I almost forgot where I was as I reached in using my fingers. Nick tapped my hand and pointed at one of the two forks. 


Sides were ordered separately so we ordered four to share. I also enjoyed a glass of wine and It was not the cheap stuff.
I leaned over to my daughter and asked “are you not concerned about where your car is or who has it?” She responded with “well yea, I’ve never used valet parking before”. 

The wait staff worked hard to make every ones dining a pleasurable one. They kept our glasses filled and clean silverware by the plates. If we put our fork down, they immediately would replace it with a clean one and wiped any crumbs off the table ( I was seriously waiting on a back rub). 


The food was delicious. I think that is the best fish I ever had and Nicks steak was so tender you could cut it with a fork. We finished the meal off with a couple desserts. They said they were sharable in size. (Maybe for an elf). 


After dinner the car was waiting for us at the door, unharmed. 
This was definitely a nice treat and something different for us. We are very thankful and blessed to have such a good boyfriend in the family. 
You may be laughing at my excitement of fine dinning but in my town, we usually will eat a meal for two under twenty bucks. 

It’s Beginning To Look Like Christmas

Finally, It’s beginning to look like Christmas in the house. I usually do not do a lot of decorating because sadly, no one ever visits. Of course, I could cook or have a party and they would come but no on ever just “drops by”.

When my daughter was in for the weekend, I turned on the Christmas music and we decorated the Christmas tree and did a little cooking. While she finished the tree up, I headed to the den to decorate the mantle. I looked for black and white buffalo plaid to use with my accented reds throughout the house. I could not find what I was looking for, so I grabbed a table cloth, pot holders and a couple ornaments in the red and black gingham. It will have to do for now. Again, who's gonna see?



After we settled down for the night, we painted a couple cookie cutter style ornaments that she brought home for us to do. She always liked to paint ornaments since she was little. I will hold on to that as long as I can.


It was fun catching up on drama and giggling a bit. Nick was somewhere in the house hiding. I tell ya, we wear his ears out when shes home. It’s like having a best friend in the house. 

We skipped the black Friday mobs and headed out early Saturday morning for some shopping. First stop was to the restored Loray Mill for “shop small business Saturday”. There were lots of craft vendors. Here is my daughter checking out the breads and pastries. 


I purchased a tomato pie to try. After the small shopping at the mill, we headed to the mall and a few other places before eating lunch at McAlisters.


I had the half turkey ruben with tortilla soup. It was so good and just the perfect portion.

It was a busy weekend and its not going to lighten up anytime soon. There seems to be something going on every weekend from now until Christmas. 
But on a good note. I am almost finished with my Christmas shopping. If I can just stop buying myself something every time I go out, then maybe I’d be better off. 

Peppermint -Goose Creek Candle

It’s that time of year to start thinking about the sweet smells of Christmas. When Goose Creek candles asked me to choose a scent from their jar candle collection, I was overjoyed. The decision was not easy as they had so many different fragrances to choose from.


With Christmas just around the corner, I chose the fresh scent of Peppermint. I mean, you do know that Peppermint is the pumpkin spice of Christmas, right?



My candle arrived quickly and was neatly packed to prevent any damages. I immediately took it out of the box and placed it on my kitchen table. Within ten minutes of lighting it, I could already smell the sweet scent of peppermint. The room was soon filled with the aroma of Christmas. 



These candles are made right here in the USA by a family owned business you can trust. I can rest assure knowing I am not breathing any toxins in the air as they do not use any harmful chemicals in there candles. This also means I do not have to worry about black residue on my jar or walls.


One of the reasons I really like this candle is how it has duel wicks that are made with 100% cotton which gives this candles a long lasting, even burn. I love using candles in my home especially while I am cooking or expecting company. It’s hard to find a good candle now days. I want my candles to be more than just a pretty flicker of light. Goose Creek candles didn’t let me down. I look forward to using more of their fragrant candles in the future.




Shop for your favorite candle at goosecreekcandle.com


*This product was provided to me free of charge 
in exchange for my honest review. 
All opinions are 100% my own.

Crochet Peppermint Coasters

I haven’t been doing a lot of crocheting this season. Last year I was over loaded with making bun beanies by requests. I may make a few more but right now I am fixing to get busy crocheting some baby blankets for little nieces due the first of the year. yes my family continues to grow. I love it. 

But first I decided to make some cute mug coasters. I always use coasters under my cups. I do not like to hear my cup hit the hard table when I place it down. If I do not have a coaster handy, I will grab a napkin to use. I have made myself several coasters with cotton yarn. I like that I can just toss them in the washing machine when they become dirty.  

When I found a pattern for these peppermint coasters, I knew I had to make few. 


I love how they came out and were really simple to make (if your a crocheter of course). Jack over at Shipslog once said. “You guys always amaze me I can never see where you start or end the task”. 
I take that as a compliment. It means I’m doing it right. With these disk shapes, the start is in the center and the end is on the outer edge. Once finished, the yarn is tied off with a crocheters knot and the yarn tails are weaved in and out of the stitches to hide. 



I made a couple of these coaster for myself to enjoy during the Christmas season and I have a listing for them in my Etsy shop. I think they are going to be fun to use around the house as I will be decorating in reds and whites this year. 


You can find these ready to use coasters and more in my Etsy shop at LiLiDi

For all you crocheters out there, here is a link to a free peppermint coaster Pattern.