Merry Christmas to you and yours. I have enjoyed getting to know so many of you in the last few months! I am so grateful for all of your support and sweet comments. Wishing you a holiday filled with peace, joy, and love!
Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
Friday, December 23, 2011
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to you and yours. I have enjoyed getting to know so many of you in the last few months! I am so grateful for all of your support and sweet comments. Wishing you a holiday filled with peace, joy, and love!
Last Minute Gift Idea
It's almost here! Christmas is only two days away. These last few days before Christmas are my favorite. All of the shopping, school parties, and preparations are mostly done and now we can just enjoy this time.
If you are in need of a last minute gift, I would recommend any of these books by Robert Sabuda (you can find them on Amazon). While these books are pop-up books, they are not just for children. We own these three books and they are truly works of art.
This one is my personal favorite:
These pictures don't really do the books justice. Each page is beautiful and the books themselves look lovely in a Christmas vignette.
If you are in need of a last minute gift, I would recommend any of these books by Robert Sabuda (you can find them on Amazon). While these books are pop-up books, they are not just for children. We own these three books and they are truly works of art.
This one is my personal favorite:
These pictures don't really do the books justice. Each page is beautiful and the books themselves look lovely in a Christmas vignette.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Just beautiful
My friend Betsy shared this photo with me and it was so beautiful that I wanted to share it with you too.
This is the Sydney, Australia cathedral and the image is created by lights. For the holidays, the cathedral has a light show where various images of the theme "Peace" are projected on the cathedral.
This is the Sydney, Australia cathedral and the image is created by lights. For the holidays, the cathedral has a light show where various images of the theme "Peace" are projected on the cathedral.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Suzy's House Party #22 - Link Up!
Christmas is getting so close! We are in the midst of a flurry of parties, gift exchanges, baking and other fun stuff. We're looking forward to our annual sledding trip to the mountains on Christmas Eve too. What are you up to in these last few days before Christmas?
Here are the features from last week. Monkey Doodles shared this sweet little desk. The stripes and lettering are darling for a little girl.
It's a bit late to make this Advent calendar for this year, but I'm pinning this for next year. Two Thirty Five Designs filled ornaments with faux snow and scrapbook paper to create a cute "calendar."
Looking for a calorie-free cocktail for the holidays? Check out Circadee's creative paperwhite cocktail.
Merry Christmas friends! I am humbled by all of the talent out there and I am so appreciative that you take the time to share your creations at my party. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and I look forward to keeping the party going in the New Year.
•Link up your home decor project. Pretty much anything to do with you house is fine.
•Please provide a link back to my blog. A text link is fine, or feel free to grab my "Saved by Suzy" party button from the sidebar. The more people that know about the party and participate the better for all of us.
•Be sure to share the love and leave comments for others.
•That's it.
Here are the features from last week. Monkey Doodles shared this sweet little desk. The stripes and lettering are darling for a little girl.
It's a bit late to make this Advent calendar for this year, but I'm pinning this for next year. Two Thirty Five Designs filled ornaments with faux snow and scrapbook paper to create a cute "calendar."
Looking for a calorie-free cocktail for the holidays? Check out Circadee's creative paperwhite cocktail.
Merry Christmas friends! I am humbled by all of the talent out there and I am so appreciative that you take the time to share your creations at my party. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and I look forward to keeping the party going in the New Year.
<div align="center"><a href="http://savedbysuzy.blogspot.com" title="Saved by Suzy"><img src="http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd408/lizzygal18/Savedbysuzypartyblogbuttonchevron-1.png" alt="Saved by Suzy" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
•Please provide a link back to my blog. A text link is fine, or feel free to grab my "Saved by Suzy" party button from the sidebar. The more people that know about the party and participate the better for all of us.
•Be sure to share the love and leave comments for others.
•That's it.
Friday, December 16, 2011
A Couple of Recipes
It's my birthday today and I have a couple of presents for you.
Don't get too excited. I'm not giving away a trip to Paris, a giant bottle of perfume, or even balloons.
All I've got are a couple of recipes that I've made over the past few days. I thought they were good and I hope you do too!
We had our first snow the other day. It was short-lived, but the girls had a chance to play in it in their PJ's before school. The cold snowy weather was perfect for soup.
8 cups roasted butternut squash (approximately 2 medium squash) to roast squash, halve and seed, place cut-side down on baking sheet with 1/2 inch water; cook at 350 for about 30 minutes
2 T. canola oil
2 T. butter
1 onion, chopped
6 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups carrots, chopped
1 apple, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
1 c. half and half I used fat free
salt
pepper
nutmeg
red pepper flakes
Melt butter in oil. Saute onion and carrots. Add vegetable stock, apple, bay leaf and squash. Simmer until vegetables are tender, approximately 20 minutes. Transfer soup to blender and blend until smooth (or use an immersion blender).
Return soup to pot and add half-and-half. Cook until warm, but not boiling. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and/or red pepper flakes to taste.
Makes 8 servings.
These cookies remind me of my grandma, who we call Baba. She made these every year, but this was my first time making this classic.
40 marshmallows
4 T. butter
Green food coloring
6 cups cornflakes
Redhots
Combine the marshmallows and butter in a saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add food coloring. Mix cornflakes into the marshmallow/butter. Allow to slightly cool. Shape cornflakes into a wreath. Add redhots. Place on wax paper to cool.
Makes 2 dozen.
These were a little difficult to make. The cornflakes kept sticking to my hands so I couldn't shape them into pretty wreaths. Coating my hands in crisco or butter helped to keep the mixture from sticking.
What are your plans for the weekend? We will be heading to Denver where my oldest daughter is competing in the state gymnastics meet. Then we will spend a day with my husband's family in a pre-Christmas celebration before heading home on Sunday. It will be a jam-packed weekend!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Suzy's House Party #21 - Link Up!
Christmas is just a little over a week away! Are you ready? I think I've got almost everything done that needs to be done. I love this time of year and can't wait for the big day arrive.
This week has been a slow week of blogging and projects for me. Christmas projects are done and now I'm busy going to kids' parties, caroling, present wrapping, baking, and the like.
Here are the features from last week's party.
One of my favorite things about this time of year are all of the Christmas cards we receive. Mine end up shoved in a card holder, but I wish I had a creative way to display them so that we could actually enjoy the pictures. Living in the Woods came up with a great way to display cards.
Shelley at Crazy Wonderful created a wreath inspired by one of my favorite Martha Stewart wreaths. The rest of her Christmas decor is pretty awesome too. The first wreath is Shelley's and the second is Martha's.
First-time linker Cathy from Room Rx has been redoing her office and created these great curtains out of dropcloths and leftover zebra fabric for her office. I love the graphic pop of the zebra.
•Link up your home decor project. Pretty much anything to do with you house is fine.
•Please provide a link back to my blog. A text link is fine, or feel free to grab my "Saved by Suzy" party button from the sidebar. The more people that know about the party and participate the better for all of us.
•Be sure to share the love and leave comments for others.
•That's it.
This week has been a slow week of blogging and projects for me. Christmas projects are done and now I'm busy going to kids' parties, caroling, present wrapping, baking, and the like.
Here are the features from last week's party.
One of my favorite things about this time of year are all of the Christmas cards we receive. Mine end up shoved in a card holder, but I wish I had a creative way to display them so that we could actually enjoy the pictures. Living in the Woods came up with a great way to display cards.
Shelley at Crazy Wonderful created a wreath inspired by one of my favorite Martha Stewart wreaths. The rest of her Christmas decor is pretty awesome too. The first wreath is Shelley's and the second is Martha's.
First-time linker Cathy from Room Rx has been redoing her office and created these great curtains out of dropcloths and leftover zebra fabric for her office. I love the graphic pop of the zebra.
<div align="center"><a href="http://savedbysuzy.blogspot.com" title="Saved by Suzy"><img src="http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd408/lizzygal18/Savedbysuzypartyblogbuttonchevron-1.png" alt="Saved by Suzy" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
•Please provide a link back to my blog. A text link is fine, or feel free to grab my "Saved by Suzy" party button from the sidebar. The more people that know about the party and participate the better for all of us.
•Be sure to share the love and leave comments for others.
•That's it.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Wreaths, Wreaths, and More Wreaths
One Christmas look I'm loving this year is using multiple wreaths around the home. If one wreath is good, three would be better, right?
I love everything about this picture...the wreaths, the blue door, the lanterns. It looks so classic, but in a fresh way. Does that make any sense?
Speaking of classics....
Burlap and silver, on my!
How cute and easy is this one?
I think my favorite look is the wreaths hung on windows. However, my house only has a few windows on the front (something about living in the desert and not wanting to let too much sun in). So, wreaths out front wouldn't really work. But, I have five windows along the back of my house in the living and dining room. I thought it would be cute to put wreaths on the interior.
Michael's had all of their wreaths 50% off, so I got a great deal on all of the wreaths I needed and proceeded to hang them. I love the look of fresh greenery, but it's not an option for me. I'm allergic to it and in my dry climate it would turn brown almost immediately.
Here's my dining room and its wreaths.
A few years ago, I made this ornament wreath, by stringing ornaments on a coat hanger formed in a circle.
The wreaths continue along the family room windows.
I hung a mercury glass ornament in the middle of each wreath and then put a few silver balls on each wreath. My uncle and aunt have given my family these collectible silver balls for years and I wanted somewhere special to display them, rather than just mixed in on the tree.
Don't mind the tarnish...who has time to polish silver these days?
Does anyone else have a hard time photographing things against a bright window?
Here's a peek at the tree and looking back towards the dining room and its wreaths.
Of course, a visit to my home would not be complete without a sneak peak of our little Christmas pup, Emma, undecorating the tree!
If you are interested in checking out more of my Christmas decor, here are some other posts:
Christmas Yarn Wreath
Christmas Vignette: I used wrapping paper to cover a large painting to make it blend in with my holiday decor.
Green and Silver Christmas Mantle: Do you have oranges in your stockings on Christmas morning? I did a little research to see where this tradition originated.
Linking here:
Michaela Noelle Designs
I love everything about this picture...the wreaths, the blue door, the lanterns. It looks so classic, but in a fresh way. Does that make any sense?
Speaking of classics....
Burlap and silver, on my!
How cute and easy is this one?
I think my favorite look is the wreaths hung on windows. However, my house only has a few windows on the front (something about living in the desert and not wanting to let too much sun in). So, wreaths out front wouldn't really work. But, I have five windows along the back of my house in the living and dining room. I thought it would be cute to put wreaths on the interior.
Michael's had all of their wreaths 50% off, so I got a great deal on all of the wreaths I needed and proceeded to hang them. I love the look of fresh greenery, but it's not an option for me. I'm allergic to it and in my dry climate it would turn brown almost immediately.
Here's my dining room and its wreaths.
A few years ago, I made this ornament wreath, by stringing ornaments on a coat hanger formed in a circle.
The wreaths continue along the family room windows.
I hung a mercury glass ornament in the middle of each wreath and then put a few silver balls on each wreath. My uncle and aunt have given my family these collectible silver balls for years and I wanted somewhere special to display them, rather than just mixed in on the tree.
Here's a peek at the tree and looking back towards the dining room and its wreaths.
Of course, a visit to my home would not be complete without a sneak peak of our little Christmas pup, Emma, undecorating the tree!
If you are interested in checking out more of my Christmas decor, here are some other posts:
Christmas Yarn Wreath
Christmas Vignette: I used wrapping paper to cover a large painting to make it blend in with my holiday decor.
Green and Silver Christmas Mantle: Do you have oranges in your stockings on Christmas morning? I did a little research to see where this tradition originated.
Linking here:
Michaela Noelle Designs
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Elf on the Shelf
Do you have an elf living at your house? We do and his name is Buddy Fred, but sometimes we call him Buddy Ed. Buddy Fred/Ed picks a spot each day in our home where he can watch our actions. Each night, he magically flies back to the North Pole and gives Santa a report on our behavior. Are we on the naughty list or the nice? He returns in the morning to a new spot in our house.
The problem is that the girls are terrified of Buddy Fred/Ed. They are convinced that his eyes are moving...following them around the room. Little Mary asks multiple times a day for Buddy Fred/Ed to go back and live in his box because he is "too freaky."
The girls have been picking at the gingerbread house they made. In fact, the other day, its roof caved in. Buddy Fred/Ed was NOT pleased.
We awoke to find Buddy Fred/Ed trying to put the sad little gingerbread house together again.
Do you have an elf at your house?
The problem is that the girls are terrified of Buddy Fred/Ed. They are convinced that his eyes are moving...following them around the room. Little Mary asks multiple times a day for Buddy Fred/Ed to go back and live in his box because he is "too freaky."
The girls have been picking at the gingerbread house they made. In fact, the other day, its roof caved in. Buddy Fred/Ed was NOT pleased.
We awoke to find Buddy Fred/Ed trying to put the sad little gingerbread house together again.
Do you have an elf at your house?
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
How do you celebrate Christmas?
On Wednesdays, my youngest usually goes to preschool for three hours. Today, I had grand plans of finishing my Christmas shopping and going to a spinning class while she was at school. Instead, I'm cuddling on the couch with a sick toddler in between doing mountains of laundry and watching the puppy slowly undecorate and chew up the ornaments on the lower branches of the tree.
If you've been following along the last few days, you know that creating and following traditions is something important to me. While we have many traditions leading up to Christmas, we don't have many traditions related to the actual day of Christmas. I'm wondering if you can help me by sharing some of your traditions.
As a child, we always had a Christmas eve dinner at my grandparent's house. My grandparents came to the US in the 1940's from Czechoslovakia. So, my grandma would make a big, traditional Slovak dinner. Some of the foods I remember included: sauerkraut soup with little dumplings and mushrooms; oplatky - a Communion-type wafer stamped with a nativity scene and dipped in honey; bobalki - dough balls with poppyseeds; pirohy - dumplings with various fillings; polish sausage; and kolachki - pastries with nuts, apples, poppyseeds, or cheese.
We would go to a Christmas eve candlelight church service and then return to my grandparent's house to open family presents.
Then we would go home and in the morning, open presents from mom and dad and Santa. My parents always had a big Christmas party with lots of friends and family later in the day.
As an adult, we usually head into the mountains on Christmas Eve to go sledding. Afterwards, we come home, eat a simple dinner and read the Christmas story. The kids open one present (always matching pajamas) and off to bed. Our church doesn't have services on Christmas Eve, but I'm thinking of going to a church that does for the evening because I think of Christmas Eve as such a spiritual and special time. Attending church and singing hymns is something I have missed on Christmas Eve.
On Christmas day, we open presents. We don't live by family, so we Skype the grandparents so they can get in on the merriment. Later in the day we would head to a friend's house for Christmas dinner. These friends had graciously adopted us into their family for holidays, knowing that we didn't have family in town.
Unfortunately, these friends recently moved to Texas. This leaves me wondering what we should do for Christmas. For Christmas Eve, I don't love the Slovak food my grandma served, nor do I know how to make it. I was thinking about incorporating a few of the foods I liked (the kolachki pastry). The other side of my family is Italian. The Italian tradition is to serve a dinner of seven fish on Christmas Eve. Maybe I could try that?
I want Christmas day to be special for my children...something more than simply opening presents and hanging out around the house....especially since we won't be celebrating with extended family. What do you do to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? What do you cook? How do you spend the day?
If you've been following along the last few days, you know that creating and following traditions is something important to me. While we have many traditions leading up to Christmas, we don't have many traditions related to the actual day of Christmas. I'm wondering if you can help me by sharing some of your traditions.
As a child, we always had a Christmas eve dinner at my grandparent's house. My grandparents came to the US in the 1940's from Czechoslovakia. So, my grandma would make a big, traditional Slovak dinner. Some of the foods I remember included: sauerkraut soup with little dumplings and mushrooms; oplatky - a Communion-type wafer stamped with a nativity scene and dipped in honey; bobalki - dough balls with poppyseeds; pirohy - dumplings with various fillings; polish sausage; and kolachki - pastries with nuts, apples, poppyseeds, or cheese.
We would go to a Christmas eve candlelight church service and then return to my grandparent's house to open family presents.
Then we would go home and in the morning, open presents from mom and dad and Santa. My parents always had a big Christmas party with lots of friends and family later in the day.
As an adult, we usually head into the mountains on Christmas Eve to go sledding. Afterwards, we come home, eat a simple dinner and read the Christmas story. The kids open one present (always matching pajamas) and off to bed. Our church doesn't have services on Christmas Eve, but I'm thinking of going to a church that does for the evening because I think of Christmas Eve as such a spiritual and special time. Attending church and singing hymns is something I have missed on Christmas Eve.
On Christmas day, we open presents. We don't live by family, so we Skype the grandparents so they can get in on the merriment. Later in the day we would head to a friend's house for Christmas dinner. These friends had graciously adopted us into their family for holidays, knowing that we didn't have family in town.
Unfortunately, these friends recently moved to Texas. This leaves me wondering what we should do for Christmas. For Christmas Eve, I don't love the Slovak food my grandma served, nor do I know how to make it. I was thinking about incorporating a few of the foods I liked (the kolachki pastry). The other side of my family is Italian. The Italian tradition is to serve a dinner of seven fish on Christmas Eve. Maybe I could try that?
I want Christmas day to be special for my children...something more than simply opening presents and hanging out around the house....especially since we won't be celebrating with extended family. What do you do to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? What do you cook? How do you spend the day?
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Christmas Mantle and Stockings
My mantle is pretty simple this year. I love green, white and silver for Christmas decorating. As always, I wanted to use what I had on hand.
My mom gave me these little angels. I remember them sitting on our Christmas table with red candles as a child.
I wanted to incorporate greenery, so why not stick a Christmas cactus on the mantel? I'm allergic to many other plants, including pine.
I have always received an orange in the toe of my Christmas stocking. This is a tradition that I have continued with my children...they each get a big orange in their stockings. I always assumed that every child received an orange, until I discovered that my husband and his family never did this tradition in their family.
I was never really sure why we got an orange. I think my mom said that the tradition originated years ago when fresh fruit was scarce in winter, so it was a treat to receive an orange. As my kids to get old enough to ask about this tradition, I thought I better do some homework to discover its origins.
The tradition dates back to the time of the real St. Nicholas in Turkey. St. Nicholas heard three poor sisters complaining that they would be sold into slavery because their family did not have enough money to provide a dowry for them to marry. The sisters hung their stockings up by the fire to dry before they went to bed. In the morning, they found gold coins in their stockings. It is said that St. Nicholas threw gold coins down the chimney and the gold landed in the stockings for the girls to find when the went to put their stockings on in the morning. Today, oranges symbolize the gold.
Check out these cute printable labels that be added to the oranges:
Linking here:
Ten June as part of the Bringing Christmas Cheer to the Blogosphere.
Home Stories A to Z
I filled the lanterns with these glittery pinecones. I love the silvery sparkle.
My mom gave me these little angels. I remember them sitting on our Christmas table with red candles as a child.
I wanted to incorporate greenery, so why not stick a Christmas cactus on the mantel? I'm allergic to many other plants, including pine.
If you are interested in this painting, you can read more about it here.
I have always received an orange in the toe of my Christmas stocking. This is a tradition that I have continued with my children...they each get a big orange in their stockings. I always assumed that every child received an orange, until I discovered that my husband and his family never did this tradition in their family.
I was never really sure why we got an orange. I think my mom said that the tradition originated years ago when fresh fruit was scarce in winter, so it was a treat to receive an orange. As my kids to get old enough to ask about this tradition, I thought I better do some homework to discover its origins.
The tradition dates back to the time of the real St. Nicholas in Turkey. St. Nicholas heard three poor sisters complaining that they would be sold into slavery because their family did not have enough money to provide a dowry for them to marry. The sisters hung their stockings up by the fire to dry before they went to bed. In the morning, they found gold coins in their stockings. It is said that St. Nicholas threw gold coins down the chimney and the gold landed in the stockings for the girls to find when the went to put their stockings on in the morning. Today, oranges symbolize the gold.
Check out these cute printable labels that be added to the oranges:
Linking here:
Ten June as part of the Bringing Christmas Cheer to the Blogosphere.
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