Joseph's Lullaby

Go to sleep my Son
This manger for your bed
You have a long road before You
Rest Your little head

Can You feel the weight of Your glory?
Do You understand the price?
Or does the Father guard Your heart for now
So You can sleep tonight?

Go to sleep my Son
Go and chase Your dreams
This world can wait for one more moment
Go and sleep in peace

I believe the glory of Heaven
Is lying in my arms tonight
Lord, I ask that He for just this moment
Simply be my child

Go to sleep my Son
Baby, close Your eyes
Soon enough You'll save the day
But for now, dear Child of mine
Oh my Jesus, Sleep tight

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

look at these nuts!

Here are a couple of last-minute nut recipes for gifts, gatherings or gorging.

Freddie's Chocolate Peanut Clusters

12 oz white chocolate chips (did you know white chocolate isn't chocolate at all?)
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 lb. salted peanuts

Combine and melt in microwave (2-3 minutes, checking every 30 seconds to make sure it doesn't burn) stir until no lumps. Mix in peanuts and spoon clumps onto wax paper on cookie sheets. Chill to harden and serve.

Rosemary Roasted Cashews

1 1/4 pounds cashew nuts
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon melted butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the nuts on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until they are warmed through. Meanwhile, combine the rosemary, pepper, sugar, salt and butter in a large bowl. Toss the warm nuts with the rosemary mixture until the nuts are completely coated. Serve warm.

**Update: I made these last night, and they are AWESOME! Don't get the salted cashews - look for the unsalted ones. It makes a difference. PS - after you take the cashews out of the oven, toss them in the butter first to coat. Then, toss with the rosemary mixture. That will help the spices stick.

Happy Christmas!

wish list wednesday

What am I wishing for this Wednesday?

* An unlimited supply of Archipelago Vanilla & Brown Sugar lotion. It smells so wonderful and reminds me of Haley.

* That time would slow down! I'm not ready for Christmas to come and go yet!

* I saw these shoes out shopping last week, and I can't quit thinking about them.

* A new iPhone case. I kind of love this "crocheted" one.

* A "Happy Birthday" to Jesus - the reason for the season! Thanks to his abundant blessings, I don't want for anything, but it sure is fun to wish, right?

What's your wish?

Christmas dessert party

I had a little Christmas party at my house Friday for my mom, aunt and cousin, and we had a great time! They shopped (I have no money with which to shop), we opened presents and giggled a lot. Isn’t that what family is all about?

As I tend to do, I went a tad overboard with the after-lunch desserts. Here’s what I made if you’d like to know…

Christmas Potpourri
Ok, obviously we didn’t eat this, but it made my house smell like Christmas! Isn’t it funny how certain scents just mean something? This mix you can make once, leave it out and turn the stove on whenever you want; just add water when it needs it! Next year, I think I’ll use a little baby crock pot so I don’t have one eye out of commission on my stove.

Red Velvet Mini Cupcakes (no pic)

Truthfully, I can’t tell if I bombed these or if I just didn’t like the recipe. Red Velvet is my favorite cake flavor, and I really wanted these to be the star of my little show. I have to admit I killed it on the frosting, but the cake part blew. My kitchen sink looked like someone tried to cover up a murder with all the blood-red batter everywhere. Next time I’m using this recipe. I might do that this week to try to redeem myself in my mind.

Mini Treasure Brownies

These are such an old stand-by recipe for me. I made them for a party a couple of years ago, and they were so easy and popular, I’ve made them many times since. The name is kind of stupid, so I’d love to change that if you can think of something good. This go-round, I used Reese’s cups and those peppermint Hershey’s Kisses. Festive!

Angel Food Cake Skewers

I pinned these a while ago, and wouldn’t you know, there’s not a recipe attached to the pin – just a picture. Oh well, not like a monkey couldn’t figure these out. But for your convenience, here’s what I did:

½ of a store-bought angel food cake

1 pint strawberries, washed and stems removed

Nutella (duh)

Short skewers (they were about 7-8”)

I cut 1-inch slices of the angel food cake and cut those slices in half. Then I “broke” the slices into cubes – that was much easier than trying to cut with a knife. On each skewer, I put 3 cubes of cake with a strawberry between each cube (that’s 2 if you’re counting). I laid out all the skewers on wax paper and heated some Nutella in a double boiler (Don’t even think about trying to heat it in the microwave. It’s a disaster, plus you just waste good Nutella – a crime punishable by death). When it had loosened up some, I poured the Nutella into a small Ziploc bag and cut a tiny corner off. I then piped/drizzled the melted Nutella over the skewers and put them in the fridge until I was ready to serve them.

We listened to my playlist for the season, and there you go! A Christmas dessert party in a nutshell! Can you believe Jesus’s birthday is Sunday? I don't want it to come because then it's over!

christmas playlist 2011

“Zat you, Santa Claus?” by Louis Armstrong
“God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” by Barenaked Ladies and Sarah MacLaughlan
The Night Before Christmas” by Brandon Heath
“What Child Is This?” by Third Day
“What Christmas Means to Me” by Stevie Wonder
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Zooey Deschanel and Leon Redbone
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel” by The Civil Wars
“Merry Christmas from the Family” by Robert Earl Keene
“Joseph’s Lullaby” by MercyMe
“O Holy Night” by Selah
“That Spirit of Christmas” by Ray Charles

well, isn't that clever?

image from you are my fave

Look at what Melanie made? Isn't she the smartest/cutest/darlingest?

Treat boxes made from, wait for it...aluminum foil boxes!

Adorable, clever and very green!

wish list wednesday

What am I wishing for this Wednesday?

* How cute are these 12 Days of Christmas plates? (Even though I loathe the song...)

* To make some homemade marshmallows. This recipe looks like a good one. Fran swears it's easy...

* This super little glittery bag. It would be so hard not to carry it every day!

* This book spotted on A Cup of Jo. Dogs rule!

* A classic Christmas movie film festival with Rudolph, Charlie Brown, The Grinch (the original, NOT the Jim Carrey one...), Elf and Christmas Vacation. What are your faves?

What's your wish?

tis better to give

image from you are my fave

I’ve been told on more than one occasion that I’m hard to shop for. I disagree, but that’s probably because I know in my head what I like and what I secretly want. And if we’re being honest here, and we are, there are often things that I want and want to give, but financial means prevent me from doing so.


So, here’s a thought: if you could give anyone ANY gift EVER, no matter the cost, what would you give?

it's beginning to look a lot like Pinterest

Who up in here is digging on Pinterest? I am (follow me!). Something about it has re-energized my creative spirit, and that makes me happy.

Last year, I didn’t do any Christmas decorating other than a tree. I kind of thought it was pointless since only Kell and I would see it, but turns out, I was a little depressed about it. So this year, I knew it was on like donkey kong. And where’s a girl to go for inspiration? Duh.

All that said, would you like to see my mantle?

I can’t take credit for the look, and please excuse the poor photo. I had to take the picture with my phone, and there’s just not a lot of natural light in my living room. Here’s the mantle muse (image from there, too)…

What do you think? Did I get close?

I have to admit, when I first start copying a project, I can have blinders on for everything except what’s exactly like in the original. I searched high and low for the candlesticks, but they were nowhere to be found. (What’s the deal with no one selling hideous glass candlesticks anymore?) I even scoured our local Hancock for fabric just like what’s in the picture, but that didn’t happen either. When I got over the hurdle of not executing a carbon copy, it was much easier to visualize (and breathe).

Wanna know how I did it? As if it’s really complicated.

The trees are just floral foam trees from Michaels, and that’s where the garland is from too – it’s actually yarn from the knitting section. The only reason I even recognized it from the picture is because I used the same stuff in pink for a baby shower this summer. The sequined garland is from Big Lots – don’t you dare knock that place.  I tore strips of fabric for the trees and pinned them on with those pins that have the little white balls on the top. It didn’t matter if it matched up perfectly; in fact, I didn’t want it to. I like the overlap here and there – it reinforces that it was handmade.

The blue trees are circles of felt pinned with the same pins. I saw the idea here and went along with that tutorial, except I used pinking shears. Not sure if you can even tell, but I think it adds another layer of cuteness, and as we all know, cuteness counts.

The other stuff I had – the window is old, the “MERRY” I got years ago when I lived in Greenwood, and I have no recollection of where the glittery trees came from.

I have to say, I’m proud of my little mantle, and I’m so glad I decorated this year. I feel like much less of a Grinch.

Have you decorated yet?

wish list wednesday

What am I wishing for this Wednesday?

* That someone would tell me to go home today. We got some snow this morning!

* I'm certain I could find a spot for these gold pinecones around my house. You could leave them out all winter!

* That there were such thing as Nutella chips. Probably good there's not (that I know of)...

* These awesome Uggs. They're actually cute!

* To come home to some of this Holiday Peppermint Bark. Hint, hint...

What's your wish?

look what I just made!

Check this out!

I just made two of these lighted "trees" from a couple of tomato cages (about $2.50 each) and Christmas lights. Sadly, I can't take credit for the idea (yay Pinterest), but it was one of the fastest, cheapest projects I've ever done.

What do you think? I'm going to put them on either side of my front door, but I'm still not sure what's going on the door...

It's beginning to look a lot like you-know-what...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

look at those nuts!

Here are a couple of last-minute nut recipes for gatherings, gifts or gorging.

Freddie's Chocolate Peanut Clusters

12 oz white chocolate chips
12 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

Combine and melt in microwave (2-3 minutes, check every 20-30 seconds to make sure the chocolate doesnt burn) stir until no lumps. Mix in peanuts and spoon clumps onto wax paper on cookie sheets. Chill to harden and serve.

Ina's Rosemary Roasted Cashews

1 1/4 pounds cashew nuts
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon melted butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the nuts on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until they are warmed through (keep an eye on them!). Meanwhile, combine the rosemary, pepper, sugar, salt and butter in a large bowl. Toss the warm nuts with the rosemary mixture until the nuts are completely coated. Serve warm.

Happy Christmas!