Saturday, January 6, 2018

Christmas eve ....

Christmas eve was so much fun
with our kids and grandkids

all clean and ready for the family
"the calm before the storm"


I put the tree in the living room this year and I really missed
having it in the den where I could see it every evening when
watching TV....I did this because of Khaleesi but then
ended up putting her in a crate
oh well...


the dining room table all ready for dinner



I do not have my coffee bar set up anymore
I'm looking for another piece of furniture to use for that
I saw the perfect piece at Costco and really regret I didn't
get it because now it's no longer available 
so I'm on the lookout!


here I am cooking again!
as much as I love it, cooking for a crowd will wear you out!


we now have to put a children's table up
when all of the kids and grandkids are here for dinner
I guess Khaleesi Rue was hoping she was going
to get a seat at that table


Our menu was...
London broil with horseradish sauce
rolls
pasta salad
lima beans
garden salad
and Daddy's dessert! 
We don't know what it is called, it's a recipe a friend gave him
and he makes it every year so we just call it "daddy's dessert"


For our appetizer, I did for the first time a charcuterie board
that's just a fancy word for salt preserved meats
I was so excited to make one of these, had been looking all
through Pinterest at all of the beautiful boards
I think it turned out pretty good with a good selection
of cheese and meats. Then some nuts, olives, artichoke hearts,
fig jam, bread sticks, grapes, dried cranberries, grapes, blackberries,
 crackers and mustard


I did a smaller one too so that Jacquelyn, who is a vegetarian could
have a nice selection of cheese, nuts and crackers


Jacquelyn bought Christmas crafts for the kids to entertain
them before dinner. So very thoughtful and the kids loved it


Declan, Gabe and Avery



John Thomas




Maddox and Nicole 


the kids and grandkids exchange their Christmas gifts
on Christmas eve.....and have so much fun









2 little princess'


so much fun and also so exhausting
topping the evening off with a little Bailey's. That is
always my treat during Christmas vacation


later....

Friday, January 5, 2018

Christmas baking ......

I love baking goodies at Christmas
One of my favorites is the cinnamon rolls I make
I use the Pioneer Woman's recipe and I do not stray from it at all
I follow the exact recipe and they turn out fabulous

The first batch I made was on the day it was snowing
I made 8 tins of rolls

Then the next weekend I made them when my friend Janace
came over. We love getting together and making the buns
And we made another 8 tins

it's messy and fun to make
rolling the dough out and then covering it 
in butter, sugar and cinnamon



here they are all covered up so the dough will rise again


the icing is the best part....maple flavoring with a little bit of coffee in it


here they are .. all baked and cooling so I can put them in the freezer
then I like to share with family and friends to have on Christmas morning


this was the first year I made this.....it's Ritz crackers, covered in homemade
toffee, covered in chocolate then covered in pecans. Holy moly, really
really good


I always make these Russian tea cookies.
aka...Mexican wedding cookies or snowball cookies


Failed to take a picture of the other goodies....
lots and lots of Buckeyes and Haystacks

later.....

Thursday, January 4, 2018

SNOW ....

I LOVE snow!
I just love watching it fall, seeing everything covered in snow,
going out in it, walking around
I'm just a kid again when it snows
and I like to think it's God's way of making winter a little prettier!

so here ya go.....bunches of pictures
this was a great snow because it happened on the weekend, less
folks having to go out to work and it didn't even stick to the roads

The snow came down on Friday, Dec 8th and then
snowed on and off all day on the 9th
Such a beautiful site














Sunday morning with the sun shining on the tree tops
it was so beautiful....a winter wonderland




later....

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Christmas decorations ....

There was a time that the only outside decorations
we put up was a wreath on the door, greenery around
the doorway and railings and white candles
in every window

Johnny always wanted more. So then I said ok, fine, put your
tacky lights up in the backyard. So he did
he covered the back deck in colorful lights
then it moved to the fence

and then it started to creep into the front yard
and it was fine.....it was time to let him have fun
with all of the crazy lights
and he really loves it





we call this the random tree. He just has random lights
that he throws in the tree, it looks different every year
and just looks really cool


I think it was Dec 8th....it snowed!! 
and wow, Christmas lights look even better in the snow!





later....