Category Archives: Holidays

2015_Day 360: New Christmas candies a hit

Pinterest continues to be my favorite place to find new recipes for any occasion. Christmas this year was no different, as Pinterest provided me with several recipes that really have been a hit. The candy most-liked by family, friends and co-workers is a melt-in-your-mouth piece of heaven called Salted Chocolate Toffee Pretzel Bark. Five easy ingredients probably already sitting on your pantry shelves or in your fridge: pretzels, chocolate chips, brown sugar, butter and salt. Blogger Mel (melskitchencafe.com) is absolutely correct when she calls this “some of the most addictive faux-candy known to man.” Seriously, I dare you to eat just one piece. Continue reading

2015_Day 358: Christmas Eve treats

With husband and daughter both working this Christmas Eve, I decided to finish baking my holiday treats. Actually, I got most of it done last weekend, but the one thing I didn’t get to was a family favorite — Mint Bars. Continue reading

2015_Day 354: Maybe it’ll just melt away?

I like to take on artsy-crafty projects, but that doesn’t mean I’m always good at them. My pumpkin snowman is a good example of a recent craft fail. While the intent was good, it just didn’t come together for me the way I wanted it to. The idea was pretty simple: Paint three pumpkins white, then stack them, draw on a face, and and a scarf and a hat. Continue reading

2015_Day 353: Christmas colors

When we decided to go with a much smaller Christmas tree this year, we had a lot of extra ornaments. But I wanted to find a way to use them since they’re so colorful. So, I just found a basket and filled it up with them. Turns out it really helps make the house festive-looking. Plus we don’t have to deal with the plastic or wire ornament hooks! Continue reading

2015_Day 347: Project pumpkin snowman 

A few weeks ago when I was putting up Christmas lights, I noticed most of the pumpkins from the Halloween/Thanksgiving decorations that weren’t carved were still good. I hated to throw them out. It seemed such a waste. Then I had a thought. Why not try making a snowman out of them? Continue reading

2015_Day 342: Tuesday treasures

One of the things I love about Christmas is the opportunity to pull out all the ornaments and decorations made by the kids over the years. The simpler the better. Like the glass ornament made just by adding a few pastel paint swirls by oldest son. Or daughter’s quirky snowman with a beak for a nose. Or her tiny hand print that just screams cuteness. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Continue reading

2015_Day 340: December weather heaven

I am really loving this warm stretch of weather we’ve been having in central Texas. Sunny and in the mid-60s, this weekend was perfect. I did a little Christmas shopping, cleaned up one of my flower beds and added more holiday decorations to the front of the house–all in short sleeves. Even darn dog Chloe enjoyed the warmth, basking in the sun and rolling in the grass. It was a fantastic weekend all around. Continue reading

2015_Day 334: A new Christmas tree tradition

Although our house can not be considered small by any means (2,200 square feet), the living room is pretty packed with a sofa, two chairs and the TV. There is no room for a Christmas tree. Ditto for the dining room. So this year, when I saw a tree advertised as a “pencil design,” I saw it as an answer to our Christmas tree dilemma. Continue reading