Are You Hungry? Feast Your Eyes On My Christmas Food Ornaments

The tree in the dining room is up and decorated. It is the my “food” tree where I like to put all of my decorations that look like food on it. It still need to place some candy canes on it but for the most part it is finally up and done. :)

Love my banana.

And so far the only new ornament I bought this year is the cute little dessert dome with the cupcake in it.

I picked it up at Kohl’s way back in October…don’t get me started on why you have to buy Christmas decorations in October! I had to get it then thinking I would never see it again and then I just saw a similar ornament at Pier One a couple of nights ago!

My favorite kind of pie is lemon meringue. And there is my mushroom ornament…

My mushroom was a gift from my friend “M” who last year gave me a set that included a carrot, an onion, and a garlic bulb. Beautifully made.

I like the light in this photo. Hard to see but my asparagus with a red ribbon tied around it is hiding in the background.

There is my garlic bulb…

Hot dog for lunch followed by a slice of cherry pie anyone?

Or would you prefer a hamburger? I saw a an ornament that looked like a submarine sandwich yesterday that I think I have to go back and get in honor of my son. He would be perfectly happy to eat Subway everyday.

And you know the girl with the “Pickles and Cheese” blog has to have a “pickle”. But can you believe I still haven’t found a “cheese” ornament that I like yet?

Now I know this isn’t a “food” ornament but I wanted to show you another ornament I just finished making for my son. I came across another vintage photo that I loved…this one has a bunch of boys in their itchy wool 1920’s bathing suits looking like tough guys. I just had to personalize it with my son and his buddies. Boys could care less about ornaments for the tree but this one actually made him smile!

Christmas Kiss Cocktails

Our neighborhood Christmas Tree Parade Party is tonight. It was a great idea that a friend of ours came up with since most of us who live in our neighborhood are from somewhere else and most of us do not have any family around to enjoy all the work we put into decorating our homes and Christmas trees. The Tree Parade lets us take turns hosting and let’s us oooooh and ahhhhhh over each other’s Christmas decorations. I think it is a great idea. And this year I am especially thinking it is a great idea since I don’t have to be one of the hosts! I took my turn last year. :)

We visit three houses over the course of the evening. The first home is usually appetizers and cocktails, the second home is the main course, and the third is dessert and after dinner drinks. Last year we hosted the last stop on the parade. It didn’t end until the wee hours of the morning. I thing everyone was in the mood for Christmas Cheer that night. ;)

I served hot Irish coffee, the usual beer and wine, and these wonderful little cocktails called a “Christmas Kiss”.

I made them by the pitcherful and they were well received!

Having a party and looking for something new to serve? These were definitely a hit.

CHRISTMAS KISS COCKTAILS

3 cups cranberry juice cocktail

1 cup vodka

1/2 cup Amaretto

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

Ice Cubes

Clementines, peeled, separated into segments, fresh cranberries, and fresh lime wedges for garnish.

Mix cranberry juice, vodka, Amaretto, and orange juice in pitcher. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

DO AHEAD!: Can be prepared one day ahead. Keep refrigerated.

(Want to make only one? In a shaker filled with ice, mix 3 shots cranberry juice, 1 shot vodka, 1 shot ammaretto, and 1 Tbsp. orange juice. Shake well and pour! )

I am linking this post up to FOODIE FRIDAY over at Designs by Gollum. Stop by for more great recipes!

Cheers!

27 Christmas Questions

This was kind of fun to do. I saw this questionnaire over at Kelly’s Dare to be Domestic Blog where she posted her answers to the following questions. It was fun to read her answers and then I decided why not, so here it goes.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper. I love the look of wrapped presents. Stacks of them! Gift bags are good for teachers, neighbors, and friends. But for under the tree it has to be wrapped.

2. Real or artificial? Both. I have two fake trees. The one in the dining room has food, fruits, and vegetables on it because well…it’s a dining room tree! My other fake tree is in the front window. We got our first real tree in many years last year and will continue with this new tradition and put it in the family room. Our daughter works at a Christmas tree lot that our friends own and she shamed us into getting a real tree. I have to say it is nice to have that fresh tree scent back in our house again at Christmas. All the family decorations like ornaments from vacations, handmade, and the one’s the kids made are placed on this tree. This is the tree that we decorate while listening to the Nutcracker.

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually we put it up the day after Thanksgiving. Now that our First Year College Student is away we will wait till she gets finished with exams and comes home for the holidays. I put up the fake ones right away.

4. When do you take the tree down? A few days after Christmas. It never lasts till New Year’s.

5. Do you like egg nog? Cough, cough, gag, gag. I don’t do thick and creamy white beverages.

6. Favorite gift as a child? Chatty Cathy doll and a big black Royal typewriter and a clock radio.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, I have two. I have one that I bought when we were first married with a creche. Then just a week or so ago I found a white porcelain set at Goodwill for $4.99. It’s lovely. :)

8. Hardest person to buy for? My husband. The only thing he ever says that he wants is “World Peace”.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Daughter. She is happy with anything and everything. And my son because he is always happy to supply me with a list.

10. Worst Christmas gift ever received? My husband gave me the DVD of the movie “Tin Cup” because I said I liked golf. Honorable mention: He also gave me a bagel cutter one year.

11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? Regular mail for the Christmas cards definitely!

12. Favorite Christmas movie? "White Christmas" and "Love Actually".

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Whenever I see something that I think someone will like I get it. The trick is to not give it to them right away which I tend to do. Most of the shopping gets done a couple of weeks before the big day.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No, I honestly can say no to that.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Peppermint Bark from Williams Sonoma.

16. Clear lights or colored? Clear. Both inside and out.

17. Favorite Christmas song? “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams and I love the Carol of the Bells.

18. Travel or stay at home for Christmas? Stay at Home.

19. Can you name Santa’s reindeer? Of course! Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph

20. Open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? We have always opened on Christmas morning. It was easier to explain Santa that way. Husband grew up opening gifts on Christmas Eve. I grew up opening on Christmas morning. Some years we let the kids open one gift after we got home from Midnight Mass. Not sure what we’ll do this year.

21. Most annoying thing about this time of year? All the Christmas decorations to buy in the stores are already picked over or sold out the first week in December! It’s because stores are bringing their stuff out now before Halloween! Well, I am sorry but I don’t want to have to buy my holiday decorations in October!

22. Do you have an angel on top or a star? Copper angel on one, big bow on another and lots of spiky frou frou on the third.

23. Ugliest Christmas decoration ever invented? The Santa on a Harley Davison inflatable.

24. Which looks best; theme trees or homey trees? I like “both kinds…Country and Western”…(that’s a line from The Blues Brothers. Had to sneak that in for my husband) :)

25. Gingerbread or sugar cookies. Sugar Cookies although I hate baking them. I can never get them off the cookie sheet without breaking them.

26. Favorite kind of Christmas cookie? Buckeyes

27. Do you like fruitcake? No, But…I recently tried “Southern Supreme” fruitcake which is mostly pecans and it was pretty tasty!

Okay…now it’s your turn!

Christmas Bulb Jackpot!

I feel like I hit the Christmas Bulb Jackpot at the Goodwill today. $1.99 for each box of ornaments!!

The striped ones are my favorite. They have that retro thing going on! Do I have enough containers??? Because none of these are going on the trees. No room! And I don’t want to have to get another tree. (And I think another tree would put hubby over the edge.) :)

A couple of weeks ago I brought home this wonderful glass terrarium. I haven’t had a chance to boast about it to you all yet so let me take the opportunity to do so today! Yes, it was goodwill find and I honestly only paid $2.99 for it. Honest! See…zoom in on the orange price tag that I left on the side for you. I couldn’t believe my luck that day. Well, it has been sitting empty until today when I filled that baby up with some orange and blue Christmas bulbs.

So bright and colorful!

Next stop….the mantle where I filled a couple of Hurricanes with these burgundy and green bulbs.

Then it was time to visit the dining room….

Here are my favorites of the bunch. These striped retro bulbs have some texture to them and came in orange, green, and blue.

Remember my white “Fleur de Lis” bowl…another great Goodwill find? (I used this bowl on my Thanksgiving table and filled it with the natural decorator balls that you can still get for free with the purchase of 4 cards from American Greetings.) Today I replaced those natural balls with my new retro Christmas bulbs and filled it to the top.

May your Christmas be colorful and bright!

I am linking this post up to Bobbypins Booardwalk where she is hosting a Bragfest!! You know I am all about bragging when it comes to my GW finds. Stop by for more bragging!

Decoupaged Vintage Ornaments: A Gift For The Girls

A GIFT FOR THE GIRLS. The Bunco Girls. All 12 of them!!

Here is what I have been working on in my spare time lately. ;) I am planning to give one of these ornaments as a Christmas surprise to each of the “girls” in my Bunco group. Our big end of the year Bunco Christmas Party is later this month but I wanted to get these finished beforehand. Bunco is another one of those things that I was introduced to when I moved to the South. If you are not familiar with Bunco it is a dice game. It’s pretty mindless and easy to play while chatting, eating treats, and enjoying a cocktail. :)

There are 12 of us in our Bunco group and I think that only one of my Bunco girlfriends knows that I blog so I feel pretty safe showing these to you. I want them to be a surprise and I am hoping that this post slips by the one member of my group who does read my blog!

BUNCO: THE EARLY YEARS

The idea came to me when I first saw this vintage photo somewhere online and loved how all the girls in it looked. When I counted and saw that there were 12 girls in the photo, the idea hit me to do something with it for Bunco since there are 12 of us in our group. I decided on putting “Bunco: The Early Years” on each ornament and then had fun deciding which “Bunco Babe” got to be which “Vintage Babe” in the photo. :)

Supplies Needed:

Canning jar lids and rings: (use wide mouth lids and rings for larger ornaments and pint sized lid and rings for smaller ornaments) I needed to use the Wide Mouth larger sized lid and rings because I had a lot of names to fit on the photo of the 12 vintage ladies. ( A box of 12 cost me $4.99)

PHOTOCOPIED image: if you use words…photocopy them too!!!!! Now is a good time to use your jar lid as a gauge for how large your image needs to be. Make sure it is going to fit in the size of your jar lid. You do not want your image to be too large or too small.

Spray paint: I used American Accents Rust-o-leum Heirloom White

Mod Podge: (I used the original Mod Podge…I experimented with the extra glossy formula but I did not like it…looked too thick to me.)

small paint brush

Tacky Glue

Red ribbon for the hanger: ( I also added a red/white striped ribbon around the edge of each ornament)

Sharpie Permanent Ink Pens: (I used a red sharpie to write Merry Christmas 2009 on the back of each ornament and used a green Sharpie to draw some holly leaves)

First I found a vintage photo that I liked and I printed it out. Then I had it photo copied as many times as I needed for the number of ornaments I wanted to make. This is an important step because if you try to decoupage the image from your home computer the ink with run, and change colors and looks terrible. Trust me, I learned this the hard way! (If you want to use words in your project…photo copy them too!!)

Step 1: Take your photo copied image and use a jar lid to trace a circle around your image so that it fits perfectly in your finished ornament. Cut the circle of your image out and set aside. Now is a good time to cut out your “words”. I cut each word out individually which made it easier for placement. (Now is also a good time to assemble your ornament as a “test” ornament to make sure everything is going to fit and to get an idea of how your finished ornament will look.)

Step 2 : Assemble the jar lids. Glue the jar lid to the ring with Tacky Glue. Let dry.

Step 3: Spray paint the the back side of your ornament. Let dry. Turn over and spray paint the front side. This step may require a couple of coats.

Step 4: Decoupage the image to the lid and ring set. Start by painting the Mod Podge to the inside of your ring and then paint the back side of your circle and place it in your ornament. Then finish with a coat of Mod Podge directly on the image and make sure it is completely sealed and there are no air bubbles.

Step 5: Now you can start decoupaging your words on the ornament. Use the same 3 step process, Mod Podge the ornament, Mod Podge the back of the words, then give a coat over the top to seal. Let dry.

Step 6: Cut a length of ribbon to wrap around the edge of your ornament allowing extra a the top if you want to make a bow.

Step 7: Apply Tacky Glue around the outer side edge of the ornament and wrap the ribbon around the ornament. (I did not tie a bow on mine). Add any other embellishments you might like at this time.

Step 8: Sign the back, add a special message and don’t forget to put the date on it! I used a red and green Sharpie Permanent Ink Pen for this.

Step 9: Cut a length of thin ribbon for your hanger. Loop it, dab on some Tacky Glue to join it together and then add a drop of Tacky Glue to the to outer edge on the back to adhere the ribbon hanger to your ornament. Let dry completely before you try to hang it.

And here are the 12 sweet Vintage Bunco Babes on the front side….

And here are the backsides with a Merry Christmas Wish for 2009.

I can’t wait for our Christmas Bunco Party so that I can give these out just like Santa!

I am going to link this up to DIY Show Off Holiday Highlights. Stop by for some other great Holiday DIY Ideas!

I am also going to link this up to the Shanty 2 Chic Rust-0-leum Revamp Party. Stop by here to see what transformations can be make using Rust-o-leum Spray Paint.

And I have linked this post up to Make It For Monday over at Cottage Instincts. Drop by for a visit!

I am also linked up to Kate's Centsational Girl for her fabulous ornament party. Gorgeous ornaments here! Come look!

It’s Beginning to Look a Little Bit Like Christmas

We finally got started with the decorating inside the house. Well, I should say “I” instead of “We”. The other half of my “We” watched football while I dug around in the storage boxes. The two trees are still bare but I found some of my Santas and some of the other little things I like to put out each year. I really need to get more organized. I am still missing some boxes and not sure where to look for them!

The photo frame above is waiting for the First Year College Student daughter to come home for Christmas so that we can take the annual Christmas picture. I found the frame at TJ Maxx earlier in the week. It is nice and sparkly. It’s just waiting for a great photo.

I actually have two sets of these little elves. I bought this first set about 20 years ago at a Church Bazaar.

Then about 10 years ago I saw this set at another craft show and had to have it too. For all you crafter out there these would make a cute project!

I was able to put some of my Santas together. The ones I could find anyway. There are more in a box somewhere. Now to the real work. The trees. I hope to make some progress in that department real soon. :)

Mint Chocolate Delights

It is Christmas Cookie time! I made a batch of the most wonderful cookie today. Nestle Toll House has a “limited edition” bag of morsels called Dark Chocolate and Mint! And of course on the back of the bag is a great recipe on how to use them. They are called Mint Chocolate Delights and it is the perfect name for them.

I have a feeling these morsels are only going to be available this time of year. I have seen mint chips before but not a combination of mint chips and dark chocolate chips. I think I am going to stock up on several bags so that I can make these later in the year. They are a big hit with my husband and our 10th Grade Son who is also the pickiest eater I have ever seen, and today he told me that he actually prefers dark chocolate. This is a big surprise to me! These cookies are moist, minty, chocolaty, and fudgy all at the same time.

Here is the secret ingredient!

Here is the recipe (because sometimes different bags carry different recipes. This is the one you want to try.)

Mint Chocolate Delights

2 Cups of All Purpose Flour

2/3 Cups of unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 large eggs

1 10 ounce package of Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate and Mint Morsel (1 and 2/3 cups)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bow. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by well-rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until cookies are puffed and centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

For mini sized cookies: prepare dough as above. Drop by well-rounded measuring teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 10 minute or until cookies are puffed and centers are set. Makes about 7 dozen mini cookies.

Enjoy!

I am linking this post up to the Virtual Cookie Exchange over at Little Llamas Blog. Stop by for some other great cookie recipes.

I am also linking up to Darlene's Our Creative Life where she is hosting a Cookie Recipe Party.
Stop in for even more recipes!