Old and New

The recent snow we had reminded me of the Old Year/New Year that is coming up so quickly! We might look back on the old year and see the things we wish we could change or do better. but once the new year comes it can make even the old year look a little better with a fresh new look...wishing all of you a very happy and safe New Years Eve!

A Year of Mornings

I happened to run across this book at the Library. The 2 women were bloggers who lived 3191 miles away from each other and every morning they would post a picture taken before noon. Eventually they began to have such a following that it became a blog of its own! Fascinating to anyone interested in photography or everyday life.

Check out their blog at http://3191.visualblogging.com/.



The pics above are examples of a few of my mornings in the past month! Isn't it interesting to see how much beauty there is in the everyday hours?

So That Was Christmas!

Was it about JESUS?

Was it spent in the circle of FAMILY in a home filled with love?

Was there frost or SNOW?

Did the decorations have a SPECIAL meaning to you?

Was each family member showered with LOVE?

Was there BEAUTY in the sights and sounds?

Was there JOY in the small things?

Then THAT was Christmas....and that was MY Christmas!

Happy Christmas!

To ALL my friends and fellow Bloggers, I want to wish you the Happiest Christmas filled with the best of everything you love and to pass on something I learned this season...When we wish someone "Merry Christmas" what we are really saying in the original languages is ....you ready? Joyful Anointed Sacrifice! So thats what Christmas means to me and I pass it on to you with a full heart of Praise. Love you much!
Thanks to my friend Julie Rokala for that translation and to "Sharla Stenersen Photography" for the family pic and to Tristi at" 3 princess paperie" for the card layout!

White Chocolate Cinnamon Caramel Corn

Here is the recipe for the most delicious and addicting snack you ever tasted!

6 Quarts popped white popcorn
1 C. butter
2 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. light or dark corn syrup
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1-2 tsp. cinnamon
8 0z white chocolate

Coat bottom and sides of a large roasting pan with non-stick coating. Place popped corn in pan.

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to boiling; stiring constantly. Boil without stirring for 5 minutes. Remove mixture from heat. Stir in Baking soda, vanilla and cinnamon.

Gradually pour the caramel over the popcorn and mix well. Bake in 300 degree oven for 40 minutes stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan.

Break apart. Melt white chocolate and pour over the baked caramel corn. Stir slightly. Chill in refrigerator, break into clusters. Store, covered.

All Wrapped Up

I couldn't put off this part of the season any longer, so I put on a mellow Christmas CD, brewed a cup of herbal tea, grabbed a handful of White Chocolate Cinnamon Caramel Corn and started wrapping the gifts!

Shhh...this is a surprise! Something I put together for someone in the family:)

I ended up using white and plain brown paper bags and brown wrapping paper with snowmen. It kind of seemed to fit the less is more decor I did this year.

I used up my scraps of leftover ribbon from this and that, some brown yarn and made some tags out of scrapbook paper and stamps. Once I get started on the wrapping I always enjoy it and end up wishing there was more to wrap:) I'm so glad that my man, shortly after we were married, taught me exactly how to make a wrapped gift box look professional! I've used that skill hundreds of times. Beats me where he learned it because once I knew how he never wrapped another gift! Hmmmmm...maybe there was a hidden agenda in that long ago tutorial!

City Christmas

Portland, Oregon @ Christmas time...notice the firplace is made out of stacked wooden yard sticks! Thats Anthropologie for you.

First Congregational Church circa 1895 where we enjoyed a "Celtic Yuletide" performance

Decor at Nordstroms

Brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things!

A Tuba band played in Pioneer Square

A Peppermint Mocha at Borders and a Lot of Interesting books to browse

Macys decked out for Christmas, but not like Meier and Frank used to do their window displays!

Keeping it Simple

I was inspired by the ideas in Pottery Barn and decided to keep my Christmas decor simple this year. The main focus is just evergreen branches, berries and silver stars.

I used a silver star tree topper as an accent piece on my entry table.

And just filled jars with pinecones and accented them with a silver star ornament. The simpler decor feels peaceful to me and not too overdone which is not really my thing any time of the year! I feel like the hustle and bustle thats out in the shooping arena fades away as soon as I walk in the door...

Learning Experience

The Artisan Fair is over and done! After all the work and time...was it worth it? Well I learned a lot! I sold almost everything:)...

But didn't make much profit:( Thats okay, I got the experience and I can learn from that. I hope all the other vendors did better at the profit margins! Glad its over...ready to just focus on Christmas!

Happy 1st Birthday, My Lovely

My little granddaughter had her First Birthday yesterday! The pic above is when she was just brand new,

This is the cupcake tower I made. It was actually not too hard to do, and turned out really cute. The top is one big cupcake that she got to dig into with the help of her 3 little boy cousins.

The cupcakes are topped with buttercream frosting and fondant flowers.

Here's the little one year old on her first set of wheels! She has been such a joy to me this year, and I thank God every day for the privilege of being her Grandma. Love you Sweetie!!!