Winter decorations ...

All of Christmas is packed away......I did that

before New Years eve.

 

But I like to leave some decorations out for winter

 

here's a shot of my winter wreath that I

made for the front door

 

 

the table runner I found at Kohls after Christmas

it was originally $34.99 and I snagged it up for $7.49

 

don't you just love a good deal......I sure do!

 

 

after removing Christmas ornaments from my glass containers

I just added some snowflakes from the Christmas tree

 

 

 

and then added some candles....

 

 

I'll leave this up until end of February

 

later.....

 

 

 

 



Family gathering part 2 ...

we have a lot of fun with our crazy gift exchange

you have to spend $25 on your gift

and everyone buys something good.....so the stealing

is the fun part for us

and the taunting about the stealing.....

 

it looks like in the pic below that my sister and her husband

are scheming on which gifts they would like to "steal"

 

 

 

this popcorn and choc covered pretzels was a popular gift

 

 

 

Matt going for the "double" gift....

 

 

One of my brother-in-laws isn't sure what he has

and the other brother-in-law thinks his is pretty funny

 

 

and my niece was happy to find money in her gift......

 

 

and here's my sister stealing from her own daughter! haha....

 

 

we just have so much fun and always look forward to

our next family gathering......

 

later........

 



Family gathering ....

My side of the family gets together for Christmas a few days

before the holiday

this year we all gathered on Sunday before

 

usually, we have dinner together but this year decided

that we would all bring appetizers instead

you know that "picking" food is so yummy!!

 

here's my cute pregnant daughter fixing up a veggies tray

 

 

can't wait for this little grandson to make his appearance....

 

when my family gets together.....there is lots of talking and laughing..

 

 

and lots of smiling faces.....

 

 

after we eat, the little kids open their presents....

 

 

and then we start our crazy gift exchange

 

 

that will be in tomorrow's post

 

later....

 

 

 

 



Winter salad ....

I made lunch for some of my friends on

the Friday before Christmas

 

One of the things I made was this winter salad

and it's yummy.....

 

in this picture I had not added the cranberries yet

 

here's the recipe

 

4 oranges or 2 grapefruit (I used oranges)

1 avocado

1 large red apple, sliced

lemon juice

spinach leaves

dried cranberries

 

sprinkle avocado and apple slices with lemon juice so they won't turn brown

 

arrange oranges, avocado and apples on spinach leaves

sprinkle dried cranberries on top

 

serve with lime-honey dressing

 

recipe for that is......

3 tablespoons frozen limeade

3 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon poppy seed

Shake all ingredients in tightly covered jar, refrigerate

 

hope you enjoy

 

later....