Nostalgic for Christmas Movies

Ah, Christmas... I LOVE this time of year. It is my absolute favorite. I love the lights and the colors and the warm feelings despite the chill in the air. I love Christmas music, but what I really love are the movies.

Yep, I watch Christmas movies all season long, almost always starting with Love Actually. The ones on Lifetime, Hallmark, or ABC Family are my current favorite and guilty pleasure, bonus points if they include Dean Cain as a cocky Scroogey rich who unexpectedly falls in love with a down-on-her-luck girl who changes his whole world view, all thanks to the magic of Christmas.

I love the classics like Miracle on 34th Street (Natalie Wood edition), It's a Wonderful Life, Holiday Inn and White Christmas.

Lately I have been feeling nostalgic for the children's classics I enjoyed growing up. JJ is about the right age to start enjoying them too and I am loving being able to relive them with him. My friend said it best: "Having kids is like having a time machine." This year, we've been watching "Mickey's Christmas Carol" "Frosty the Snowman" "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "Charlie Brown Christmas."

When I was a kid, we had a VHS tape of a bunch of Christmas specials taped off the television. It included the ones above and also a few others like "Smurf's Christmas" "Muppet Family Christmas" "A Mouse, A Mystery, and Me" (bonus points if you remember that one! You can watch it below, thanks to Google Video!), and "Twas the Night Before Christmas" (I just saw that one at Costco today and I am kicking myself for not buying it!). I was just telling my brother that I wish we had kept that video so we could have converted it to DVD now. I get nostalgic for it every year.

Thank you Disney, Jim Henson, and Raskin Bass for giving me great childhood memories that I can pass on to my own children.

Art of Marriage

Sometimes someone says it just right and that is all that needs to be said about the matter:


“Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. A good marriage must be created. In the Art of Marriage, the little things are the big things. It is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say ‘I love you’ at least once a day. It is never going to sleep angry. It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon; it should continue through all the years. It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives. It is standing together facing the world. It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family. It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy. It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways. It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have the wings of an angel. It is not looking for perfection in each other. It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow. It is finding rooms for things of the spirit. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and obligation is reciprocal. It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner."
- Paul Newman's letter to his wife on their wedding day

Happy Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving. It is one of my favorite holidays because there are no presents, no glitz to get in the way. Just family, friends and gratitude for everything you have in life. Its a time for everyone to gather around a table of really yummy food and just be thankful for each other and all life's many blessings.

So, from my family to yours, I wish you the Happiest of Thanksgivings.

Cookie Turkeys

I saw this on Pinterest and I couldn't wait for Thanksgiving to make them!!

Here is the original post: http://7thhouseontheleft.com/2010/10/gobble-gobble-gobble/

Mine didn't come out quite as cute as the originals, but I think they are still pretty good. The differences I did: I used Mike N Ikes instead of Jelly Bellys and I used regular M&Ms instead of mini's, although, for this one I would recommend using the mini's because I think the regular sized M&Ms made their eyes too big. Also, she said to use regular Reese's PB Cups, but I used the big ones because they were more stable and provided more room to add the candy corn at the top.

Oh, and also, I just used chocolate graham crackers as the base. The blog says you can order the circle wafers online, but I thought that was a lot to go through just to get a cookie. Plus, the graham cracker gave me room to add letters so I could use them as the place cards for seating arrangements around the dinner table!

I would also recommend putting them in the fridge for a bit to set the frosting right after adding the face on the cookie. It will make things much easier. I didn't take too many pictures because putting it together is pretty self explanatory.

 

And here is the one from the website above. See, much better. Just need some practice I guess!

So Easy Cinnamon-Orange Cranberry Sauce

If I haven't said it yet, I'll say it again: I love this time of year!! I love Thanksgiving. I love what the season means and the time spent with loved ones around a table of yummy goodness.

In honor of tomorrow's festivities and the fact that tables everywhere will be filled with food and kitchens busy with cooking, today's recipe is one of my own.  It is a very simple, yet delicious recipe for cranberry sauce, a Thanksgiving staple. You'll never buy canned again (except to use in a yummy roast, but that is another recipe for another time!) I always make this the day before, one less thing to do the day of so you can enjoy your time with your family.

All you need is:

3 cups fresh cranberries (one bag usually contains 3 cups)
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
zest of one orange
ground cinnamon
2 cinnamon sticks (optional)


Mix water, sugar, cranberries and cinnamon sticks (if using) together in a pot. Bring to a boil. While the mixture is coming to a boil, add the zest of one orange and a couple shakes of cinnamon. (Sorry for the lack of measurement on this one. If you are using cinnamon sticks too, just a couple shakes will work, about 1/4 teaspoon if I had to guess. If you are not using cinnamon sticks, probably doubling the ground cinnamon would work, about 1/2 teaspoon.)


Let the entire mixture boil for a few minutes. The cranberries will pop; that is just their skins bursting open and letting their yumminess out. After boiling for about 5 minutes or so, bring it down to a simmer. Stir occasionally. The mixture will thicken slightly.


Take it off the heat and let it cool a bit before putting it in the fridge.

Enjoy!!


Happy cooking and Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving Wreath

My goodness, it has been a whole month since I posted something! I have lots of pictures of the things I do to share here, but apparently I've been doing a lot of "doing" and not a lot of "sharing"!!!

This is the wreath currently hanging on my door. It is perfect for the holidays and it couldn't be any easier!! It is even easier than the yarn wreath and less time consuming too because you don't have to spend the time wrapping the yarn around anything.  It really only takes the amount of time you need to lay out your design.

For this wreath, I bought the plain branch wreath form instead of the Styrofoam.  I also just browsed through the silk flower section of the craft store and picked out the flowers that were the most Fall like to me. I also found a cute fall ribbon to use. 

I got married in the fall and made use of a lot of fake fall leaves because, lets face it, I couldn't depend on nature in Southern California!  I still have a ton left over so I included some of those too.

1. Just lay your bare wreath on your workspace. Start laying out your flowers. I took the stems off of mine because I didn't need them, but if you need them, keep 'em on!

2. Using your hot glue gun, start gluing everything down. This is a bit tricky because there is a lot of open space in the wreath that wasn't there in the yarn wreath, just try to finagle the flowers and the glue in the spaces. It is easier than it sounds.

3. Tie your bow. If you  have your own tips and tricks for this, please use them (and share!!) but I just did my version of this video tutorial I found on YouTube: http://youtu.be/hS7hK9dau50

(I saw this little accent at the store and thought it was the cutest thing!! A nice little vintage accessory for my wreath!)

I hope you like this wreath and I can't wait to see what you create!

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Crafting!

Today I am Thankful for... Friends

(Side note: These are some pretty random photos! If you don't see yourself... then we need to get together soon and catch up! :0) )

I have always felt that I have been pretty blessed by the people that have been in my life. Some I've known since we were kids others I've only known a few years. Some people I've been close with for a long time, some I was close with a long time ago, but not so much now. Some I know from elementary school through high school, some I met in college, some at work, and some through other friends. Some are similar to me in my likes and beliefs while others couldn't be more different, but we've perhaps bonded over something else.

A quick look at my Facebook friend's list shows me a list of people from my past and present. All of whom have had some impact on my life, whether it be fingerprint or a footprint. I have memories of great times and strong bonds and I am thankful for each and every one of you for helping shape who I am today.