'Tis the Season!

So, here we are...the last few days of November are winding down and just around the corner is CHRISTMAS! Excuse me while I go have a mini freak out....I haven't done any real Christmas shopping and I really need to start! The only Christmas shopping I've done has been for my little nephew who isn't due until the beginning of February...I know...I'm buying Christmas gifts for an unborn child...But take a look and see how cute it all is!

He's going to be all Dr. Suessed out!

 

I have started a little holiday decorating. I have most of the house done. I'm waiting to get a tree so it'll really feel like Christmas! Hunny and I are planning on going to a Christmas tree farm and cutting one down! As a child, I did that a few times and this will be Hunny's first! I can't wait to get all bundled up, walk around with a hot chocolate, perusing the trees until the right one is found! I'm a little nervous that Fizzgig, my crazy cat, will climb and knock over the tree. This will be his first Christmas tree since we didn't get one last year because we were out of town for the holidays. My other cat, Scout, is the most well behaved animal on the planet...she never gets into trouble or doesn't bad things...she'll just sniff the tree and then sleep under it on the tree skirt. She'll never give two thoughts about climbing in it or attacking the ornaments.

This is Fizzgig

Does this look like a face that would climb a Christmas tree and tear off ornaments? Only time will tell! But, I'm putting my money on yes..

This is Scout

She loves to sleep and cuddle on her mama! 

I also need to decorate the outside...I think Hunny really wants to be in charge of the lights but we can't agree on the color. I want white lights. I love the traditional classiness it brings but Hunny wants BLUE...yuck! Every time I think about blue lights I think about a house in my hometown that had the most gaudy blue lights that was so tacky that I will not allow them on mine! I think we'll settle on multicolor even though I'd rather have white....Hunny ordered a couple of wreaths from a local Boy Scout troop for our front and back doors and hopefully we'll pick up some garland for our front porch too! 

In the house, I have been busy! I've finished decorating and want to share it with you!

 

This is my mantel. I'm pretty proud with how it all turned out! 

 It looks so pretty at night with the fire going!

I made the wreath above the mantel because it looked so bare without anything there. I've left that space bare because Hunny has big plans of hanging our flat screen there. Otherwise I'd love to find a big old mirror to hang there.

  I think it turned out pretty good! I was going to add pine cones to it, but I felt like it might be a little much after seeing it with the red and gold berries!

 This is my centerpiece for my dining room table. Nothing special...I just recycled a tired old wreath, gave it a little something new and VOILA! A perfect centerpiece! (One naughty kitty cat sampled this and then threw up the needles...I'll let you guess which one!)

I call this "Keeping Spirits Bright." It makes me happy! I used an old silver tray added a handkerchief that was my grandmothers, put our decanters (a wedding present) and a couple of snowflake hi-ball glasses on top with a few other handkerchief from my grandmother. I love it! 

 

 

With that I will sign off for now. I'm in the mood to bake some spice cookies! I'll let you know how they turn out!

Thanksgiving 2012 Posthumous

Thanksgiving 2012 Posthumous

Well, Thanksgiving is over...over for me anyway! I'm sure some of you will be dining and visiting with relatives and friends well into the night and possibly be visiting said relations until the end of the weekend. I envy you! I wish our Thanksgiving was being spent with our families, but alas, we couldn't afford to head back to Iowa a month after our wedding and Hunny's family was split between visiting in laws and working over the holiday so we were left alone. Alone until we were invited to a Thanksgiving dinner with some families from church! I was so happy to be able to make some of the dishes I had planned to make for the Thanksgiving dinner we had planned on having with my Hunny's parents until they canceled about a week before...insert profanity! 

My Pecan Pie! I made little maple leaves for the crust by using a little cookie cutter and the excess dough. I got so many compliments and it was completely gone by the end.

My Sweet Potato Pudding with Gingersnap and Pecan Topping. Another hit at dinner! Probably because everyone at the dinner was a true Southerner transplanted to New England!

 

 

So, to wrap up Thanksgiving I write a few things I'm thankful for! 

1. My Hunny! He is a wonderful husband and I have no idea what I would do without him! He is so good to me and loves me for my flaws!
2. My Family...they are a crazy bunch of people, but without them I wouldn't be where I am today. My parents are an excellent example of a loving marriage and loving parents. We never had a lot of money growing up but I always had what I needed, plus a little more.  My brothers are all so different but that's why I love them! I know no matter what each one of them would be there in a minute if I needed them!
3. My Kitty Cats! Scout and Fizzgig are absolute nut jobs but they have so much love to give me that it can be a little much at times...sometimes I like to sit on the couch with cats on my lap...just saying! 
4. My Church Family...I am new at this church since we just moved to the area but they have been very friendly and welcoming!

And with that, I am saying good buy to Thanksgiving. I love this holiday but as soon as it is over Christmas comes running up on us and I've got a lot to do for that holiday! I need to shop for Christmas gifts for my family and get them sent out, I need to start Christmas cards, and of course, we are hosting Christmas for Hunny's whole family...his whole family(plus us) is 11...not much seeing my immediate family is 12 people! So, with the holiday celebration at our house, I'll need to start planning everything out! I decided I'll be doing the 12 (cleaning) days of Christmas. I'm going to make a list of all the cleaning jobs that will need to be done and divide it between the 12 days prior to the arrival of his family. I'll start with cleaning jobs that won't need to be done again before they come and end with last minute jobs like cleaning the bathroom...I also need to find out how many days they will all be here so I can meal plan...I'm think easy crock pot or low maintenance meals for everyday except Christmas Eve and Christmas day itself. Plus, my MIL, SIL and niece are "planning" on coming up a day earlier than my FIL and BIL so we can make Christmas cookies! I LOVE holiday baking, so I hope they come, but I know that they sometimes "plan" something but don't follow through...a HUGE pet peeve of mine! But, I'm trying to stay positive! :) 

So, I've got a lot to do the next few weeks! I'm hoping to post a holiday recipe each week! Hold me to it! Oh, and one last exciting thing! Our wedding pictures are finished and we should get them in about a week! Eeek! So, excited to see them all! Hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend and don't eat too many pieces of pie!

  

Thanksgiving Menu

Thanksgiving!

 Oh, Thanksgiving! It is probably my favorite holiday...for reals! I love having a big dinner and lots of family around. It is such a blessing that I grew up in a large loving family that enjoying getting together over the holidays for multiple dinners and gatherings. Now that we live on the East Coast and the majority of my family still resides in the Midwest and we usually have to choose between Thanksgiving and Christmas to travel back for a visit. This year, however, since Hunny used all his vacation for the wedding we will be spending both Thanksgiving and Christmas on the East Coast. I'm a little bittersweet about the situation...I really miss my family during the holidays but I get to host Thanksgiving and Christmas here at our house in NH. Now, I promised to post my Thanksgiving menu in this post and I will! Be excited...I know you've been waiting for it! Before I post the menu, I've got to let a little steam off...Thanksgiving this year will only be Hunny, myself and his parents. Well, I come to find out after doing 90% of my Thanksgiving grocery shopping that his parents aren't going to commit to coming...they may or may not depending on my FIL work schedule...this really grinds my gears because they never told us up front they may not come, we only found out a little over a week before Thanksgiving. I wouldn't have planned and shopped for everything if there was a doubt. Grr! Now, that that's out of the way, I'll post my Thanksgiving menu with the recipes or links to the recipes.

Thanksgiving Menu

 Roast Turkey

Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing

Sweet Potato Pudding with Pecan and Gingersnap Topping

 Creamed Corn

Green Bean Casserole

Dinner Rolls

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Cranberry Sauce

Salad

Desserts

Pecan Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Apple Harvest Pound Cake with Caramel Glaze(maybe)

Yup, this is my Thanksgiving menu! I really wanted to make a roasted brussels sprouts dish instead of green bean casserole, but Hunny vetoed it...sad day! Green beans are the only vegetable I will not eat! I cannot stand the taste and texture of them. YUCK! I'd rather eat brussels sprouts over them any day of the week. 

The recipe I use for the green bean casserole is just the one on the back of the french fried onion can. Nothing special, but Hunny loves it! For the mashed potatoes, I like to make them garlicky so I add minced garlic to the potatoes while they boil and them sprinkle them with garlic salt while mashing them. 

Cranberry sauce is one of the best parts of Thanksgiving. I love putting it on top of a big piece of Turkey! So delicious! I usually make the mashed jelly cranberry sauce from the recipe on the back of the bag of cranberries. Simple and delicious! 

The pumpkin pie I make is from the recipe on the back of the Libby's can. I do make my own pie crusts and I make my own dinner rolls from scratch. I will post in the coming weeks about them. Something to look forward to!

 I really hope we do have a Thanksgiving dinner...I'll seriously be bummed if Thanksgiving day comes and we don't do anything...See you next week!

 

Time Flew By...

Finally! Things are getting back to normal after our big day! The past month has been so incredibly busy and awesome at the same time! I'm so relieved that the planning and the drama is over but I wish the feelings, emotions, and excitement of our whirlwind day lasted longer. It was so weird to wake up the next morning and not have the stress of the wedding hanging over my head. Ahhhh....

I wish I had some pictures to show you but I'm still waiting to get our pictures back from the photographer. I can't wait!

Now, life is moving on! Thanksgiving is a couple weeks away and my Hunny  and I are having his parents over for Thanksgiving dinner. It's so weird to have such a small gathering...I grew up in a large immediate family and extended compared to  Hunny, who has no cousins and only one aunt and uncle. I'd have to sit and think about how many aunts, uncles and cousins I have. I have to keep reining myself back because in my mind I'm planning a Thanksgiving dinner for twenty people when it'll only be four...I love hosting holiday parties and dinners. I could read recipes and gawk at food pictures all day! I need to finalize a meal plan and start stocking up on supplies. I will finalize a menu by this weekend and post it with recipes next week! Take care!