Saturday, December 29, 2007

Christmas 2007

It is always so unbelievable to me, how fast Christmas comes and goes! We had wonderful family get togethers. I only took a few pictures, too busy doing other things, I guess......
Love this picture of my 3 favorite people!

The traditional "all cousins" in front of Grandma's Christmas tree photo.

Christmas morning, waiting so patiently for mommy to take pictures before we dive in!
Daphne's one request from Santa. A pink kitchen!






Monday, December 24, 2007

Merry Christmas!!!!

Sending you a warm wish for a very Merry Christmas! I hope your day is jolly, magical, memorable, and fun!
For this is the birthday of Jesus our King who brought us salvation - His praises we'll sing!
- "A Gallery Carol"

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Christmas Cones...

Tomorrow is the last day of preschool until the New Year. I'm so excited! I love Christmas vacation!!!! Sydney loves school so much and will miss it for the next couple of weeks. She doesn't really understand what's so great about getting a break. Ahh to be 5 again!
I made a couple tussie mussie's today. Thought they would make a fun gift for Sydney's teachers filled with Christmas goodies. I created these with a remnant from my all time favorite vintage tablecloth. I just love the candy canes! They're a nice size - 9" long and the top diameter is 5" - plenty of room for treats!

I added lots of glitter too. You can never have enough sparkle, right?




Monday, December 17, 2007

Everyone Gets Their Favorites

There are so many things I love about Christmas time. Cooking and baking are definitely high on the list! I enjoy making family favorites. A beautiful array of cookies that includes "must haves". One of my brothers loves Toasted Almond Butter Crunch and the other loves Krumkake (more on that tomorrow), and I can't forget about my brother-in-law who really likes Swedish Cream Wafers.
Thought I'd share the recipe for Toasted Almond Butter Crunch.
You'll need: 1 1/3 C toasted chopped almonds spread out on a large foil lined baking sheet.
*Save out some chopped almonds to use later.

Butter sides of a heavy duty large saucepan. Add 1 pound melted butter, 2 C sugar, 2 TBSP light corn syrup and 6 TBSP water. Cook and stir over medium heat until boiling.
Clip candy thermometer to pan. Cook stirring constantly until temp reaches 290 degrees (usually about 15 minutes).

Watch carefully! Keep stirring cuz you don't want it to scorch.

Pour into prepared pan, let stand while you melt 2 - 12 0z packages of semi-sweet chocolate.

Spread the chocolate over toffee mixture.

Sprinkle with remaining chopped almonds.

Let cool until chocolate hardens, then break up into bite size pieces.

Enjoy!







Merry Christmas Post lady...

that's what we call her anyways... I know, I know, it's terrible not knowing her name especially since we see her almost on a daily basis....
Today, my last order for the holidays will be picked up, so to thank the post lady for her many trips up our driveway we'll be leaving a special treat.
Thanks to Heather at Present Past Collection for the wonderful idea, and recipe for peppermint bark, it's wonderful!
I made some yesterday. Changed it up a bit by adding a layer of semi-sweet chocolate - so delicious! Hubby couldn't get enough, so today I'm making more!


Friday, December 14, 2007

Ho Ho Ho

Last Sunday after church, we tried to visit Santa. I think everyone else had the same idea too! So instead of waiting over an hour with hungry girls we decided to come back another day. I'm happy that we did. I really like this years picture. Less formal then when the girls are in their Sunday best. First year that both girls are smiling!

Not Everything is Pink around here....

I've had so much fun visiting homes of all those who participated in Karla's Cottage "What you love about your Holiday Home" blog party. I've so appreciated all the nice comments I've received too. Thanks!
Here are a few peeks at some of the traditional colors I decorate with in our downstairs family room. It's OK for your home to have different styles, right????

Our multi-color lighted tree (never thought I'd have anything but white lights) is really charming. I tried to stick with a vintage toy theme, but each year I've been adding to it with anything we find we love.

The tree in all it's glory surrounded with coordinating pillows. :o)

Gotta love '32 Ford hiboys and old ornaments in a crystal compote. What a combo! :o)

Here is the railing leading up the stairs.

My mom gave me this snowman, I just love him!

I found this old school desk for 5 bucks and painted it black. It is much loved by our 5 year old budding artist.

I just love these old ornaments. Hard to see, but there is a fabulous very old Santa in the front jar, he is spectacular!







Finishing Up Christmas Orders...

I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel..... So close to completing all Christmas special orders for my customers. A few more sewing projects to finish up in the next couple of days, and then I can concentrate on baking!!! I'm so far behind on that, it's ridiculous! :o)
Just thought I post a picture of my most recent completed project. The jacket and teddy bear are for a darling little girl who turns 2 on Christmas eve!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

What Do You Love About Your Holiday Home....

Welcome to my home!
I'm new to this... but so excited to join in Karla's Cottage virtual home party!
Christmas is my favorite time of year! Here are a few of my favorites things...
The vintage pink flocked wreath which greets all who enter our home!

This year I tried something new on the mantel. My mom found me a simple wood box last spring thinking I could use it for something. Well... I added some rose appliques on front, beaded trim all around, then painted it white. It makes a perfect mini Christmas tree holder! The stocking is one I made out of vintage chenille.

Nothing is sweeter then Father Christmas all decked out in pink! He is even carrying roses!


I absolutely adore old Christmas ornaments! Here are a few of my favorites separated by color and displayed in apothecary jars.

The view from our entry hallway. I love how the lights reflect off the window and mirror over the mantle.

I recently purchased this Frosty the Snowman book off Ebay to replace the one I had as a child. When it arrived, I just had to put it on display - the illustrations are so sweet!

Since 2003, I have used an artificial tree. My hubby is estactic that he doesn't have to go with "picky" me to the tree farm to find the perfect tree anymore. One year we drove around to at least 4 tree farms before I could settle on "the one". Needless to say, that wasn't one of our better times! :o) He is more then happy to just get the tree out of storage!

Another favorite of mine - old aluminum trees are so sparkly no lights needed!








Lefse Anyone???


One of my favorite Christmas traditions is baking for our families. I have always been proud of my Scandinavian heritage and make a point each year to carry on the traditions set forth by my Great Grandparents.



Yesterday my mom and I spent the day doing some of my favorite things. With an order needing to be picked up for Christmas dinner. We headed down to Ballard (a Scandinavian community in Seattle) early this year to try to avoid the rush. We picked up potatis korv (potato sausage), cardamom rolls, nokkelost cheese, skoleboller (school buns with vanilla custard), and sursild (pickled herring). Christmas would not be complete with out these delicacies!
After snacking on some of the goodies we picked up, it was time for us to get busy making our Hardanger Lefse. The recipe was passed down from my Great Auntie Anna. My daddy, remembers as a boy Auntie Anna stopping by the house with a large plate of Lefse for all to enjoy.
My mom mixed up the buttermilk, white Karo syrup, eggs, sugar, and flour. After kneading in a total of 9 cups of flour and separating out 30 small lemon sized pieces of dough, it was time to start rolling. Each piece of dough is rolled out super super thin and then placed onto a 500 degree Lefse iron to cook for a couple minutes on each side.
One of the fabulous things about Hardanger Lefse is how well it stores. The sheets can be stored for a year (it never lasts that long though!) stacked in an open brown paper bag. Before serving, it needs to be softened, then buttered with cinnamon and sugar, folded up, and cut into 1 inch pieces. It's a lot of work to make, but so worth the effort!!!!


Tuesday, December 11, 2007

READY, SET.....

GO!!!! I've offically started my own blog! I enjoy reading blogs and figure now is as good as any time to start my own. I'm so hooked on blogging! I have come across so many interesting, and inspiring people via their blogs that I hope to maybe do the same in someway or another. So, here it begins!