Christmas in the Air

On Friday I will be participating in Maria's Holiday House Party. And for all my blah blah blahing in July about how I was going to be prepared for Christmas this year, I totally am not. I'm going to be though, I promise.

So in a show of good faith, I thought I'd give you some sneak peeks before Friday's festivities. You can expect an abundance of ribbon and angels and purple. (Don't say you weren't warned about the purple either.)

Oh yeah, and there will be glass jars too. Like you didn't already guess that, right? Hope to see you Friday!

Cherry BonBon Cookies

Hello dear friends, thank you for stopping by today for Scrappy Jessi's Annual Cookie Swap. The cookie I am sharing with you comes from Taste of Home magazine. When I first saw the recipe I knew I had to give it a try. I was intrigued because the glaze called for maraschino cherry juice to add flavor and color. This ingredient instantly reminded me of my Grandmother. Let's just say she was famous (or rather infamous) for her application of cherry juice to a wide variety of recipes, whether they needed it or not. LOL! She would have loved these little gems and I hope you will too.

CHERRY BONBON COOKIES

DOUGH

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup confectioner's sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

24 maraschino cherries (drained with the juice reserved)

GLAZE

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon butter, melted

2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice :)

Additional confectioner's sugar

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (The texture of the butter with the powdered sugar starts off really strange at first, but then gets better) Add milk and vanilla.

In a separate bowl combine flour and salt. Gradually add to the creamed mixture.

Divide dough into 24 portions; shape each portion around a cherry, forming a ball. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

For glaze, combine the sugar, melted butter and cherry juice until smooth. Drizzle over cookies. Dust with confectioner's sugar.

Enjoy!

Thank you again for visiting! For a complete list of participants in today's Cookie Swap please visit our fabulous hostess Jessi. Hope you will drop in again. Please feel free to let yourself in if I don't hear the bell. I'll be the lady of leisure with feet elevated and bonbon in hand. Happy Holidays!

Smart Cookie

Hey good lookin' come see what's cookin'!

Join us Friday for Scrappy Jessi's Annual Cookie Swap.

You won't be disappointed.

Until then, think pink!

Happy Day!

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope each of you enjoys a wonderful day filled with family and friends.

I'm thankful for you!

Christmas Yet To Come

Christmas decorating continues. This is the hutch in my kitchen that I have shown you before, but it is nowhere near finished. What you are seeing here is a work in progress. I like to start piling things up on the shelves to get a feel for it all. I like to eyeball the colors and heights of different objects and how they work together. All of this may stay, or we may go back to the old drawing board.

You may have figured out that I have an affection for gingham checked fabric. That will probably stay for sure. However, my husband's cell phone, watch, glasses, and wallet in the lower right hand corner are going to have to go. When I mentioned this he said, "Just put one of your glass dome things over it all. It'll look great." Right, nothing says Christmas like a cloche over some electronic gadgets. The snowmen seem to like his idea though. Typical.

Christmas Present

Did I mention that we are skipping Thanksgiving over here at blog sweet blog? That's right, we're fast forwarding to Christmas. And since I LOVE Christmas music, I had to create a little holiday Playlist for your listening enjoyment. I might add some more songs as the season progresses, we'll see.

Now you can't have Christmas without decorations right? That being said, I wanted to show you some recent additions to my collection. I found this beautiful wreath over at Bayberry Cove. I think it's going to be great with my Cody Foster houses and Christmas in July trees. Ooh, and it's larger than it looks too. Twelve inches across!

This little shadow box came from the ever talented Suzy at Georgia Peachez. She is such a clever girl! I love the way she repurposed this vintage ornament box.

And finally, I scored this adorable corsage from Beth. I stalk her shop on a daily basis to admire the amazing goodies she creates. Check out her blog. She gives the tutorial for making a similar corsage. How sweet is that?

Eventually, I hope to show you how I incorporate these new lovelies into my holiday decorating scheme. It might be helpful if I take down the Halloween decorations first though.

Christmas Past

I've been rummaging through my Christmas goodies trying to figure out which things I want to have out this year. I know, I know, it's still early but I like to start dreaming and planning, because to me that's half the fun.

Over ten years ago I had a brief foray on the craft show circuit. At that time I was really into making country Christmas decor. Santas, snowmen, and angels were the headliners at all of my gigs.

These are some of the pieces that I had leftover after my last show. I really haven't displayed any of them since then, because at the time I was completely burned out from making them, peddling them, and looking at them in general.

Here we are ten years later, when I can finally bear to look at it all again, and wouldn't you know it, not a bit of it fits in with my current decor. I guess Santa and the girls will need a shabby chic overhaul, because they're not up for being country when country just isn't cool. Then again maybe I can slap some lipstick on those angels and call it folk art. That will put them on the "A-List" for sure.

Lining and Zipper and Gathers, Oh My!

So two lines into the directions for the Dorothy costume, I signed a blank check and put it in the swear jar.

I knew the thing had a zipper, but I figured I could rig up the closure with Velcro if I got in over my head. For some reason though, the fact that the pattern did not call for interfacing didn't send up any red flags for me.

Turns out the bodice had to be lined rather than interfaced. In my book, having to deal with lining is the equivalent of making a second garment. ARGH!

It's fitting that one of the main parts of the machine has the word "pressure" in it's title.

However, it was worth the time, effort, and the full round of golf that the check ended up covering.

Welcome To...

I am so excited to be a part of the Autumn Gathering tour! I have a few corners of my home spruced up for the season that I would love to show you.

This hutch is in my kitchen and I love to decorate it for the holidays.

I thought you might like a close up of some of the smaller goodies. This figurine is one of my favorites.

The jack o lantern light string around the costume shop really lights up!

I actually saved this little candy corn box from when I was a kid. Told you I was a pack rat.

The table in my breakfast nook is rocking a Christopher Lowell inspired table scape. So yes, there is probably a paint can hiding under the gingham, giving the floral arrangement a much needed lift.

I had to remove the glass cloche so you could see this pumpkin pull toy. So much better without the glare.

Ooh, and this is one of my favorite pictures! It greets you in the entryway.

Last stop is the formal living room. For some reason, I always struggle with decorating the mantle, regardless of the season. I really like the way this turned out though.

Here are the details...

Thank you so much for stopping by today. For a complete list of participants, please visit our fabulous hostess, Kari. Hope you pop in again. Happy Autumn!

My Big Break

The November issue of Country Living Magazine features a wonderful article about Silver Bella, a paper arts extravaganza that I attended last year. It was great to flip through the pages and see some of the fun gals that I had the honor of meeting. I was also delighted to catch a glimpse of myself in one photo as well. And I do mean a glimpse...



Those are my hands in the left side of the frame, cutting away at some paper. The adorable Jeanie of Southern Nest is to my left and Natalea, with the lovely locks, is to my right. You can even catch a gratuitous shot of my bangs in the photo as well. I knew keeping my 80's style do would pay off eventually.

Truth be told, my phone has not stopped ringing since the magazine hit the stands. My services are in demand. I can now join the ranks of other great hand models like George Costanza. Ooh, and speaking of which, I will borrow a page from his book and keep my investments safe...



It's now moisturizer and gloves 24/7... or at least when I'm not at a shoot.