my blessed life

Our stockings have been the topic of lots of conversations by the kiddos this holiday season. Mostly about what they might be getting in them, I'm sure, but also "which is whose favorite", "where did I get them", etc. The most frequent question though was "which stocking is yours and which is Dad's?"(since ours are identical, just opposite colors). So with that in mind, I was inspired to get crafty and bead our initials to hang on our stockings. It was a simple matter of wire, beads and mini pair of craft pliers. I used templates from a Southern Living Christmas book that I've had for a while. I love the way they turned out! I simply attached them with a small stitch~to which my kids replied, "you sewed ?!" Nothing like that to make you really determined to some day actually learn how to really sew. I've actually made these before for family members for our annual ornament swap. They look very pretty hanging o...

The cookie baking has begun around here! We've already scarfed down a batch of these yummy little things. Sand Tarts (Southern Living) 1 cup butter, softened 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 tbsp. ice water 1 tsp. vanilla 1/4 tsp. salt 1 cup finely chopped pecans, optional powdered sugar ***** Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add flour, sugar, water, vanilla and salt, beating well. Stir in pecans, if you are us ing those. Roll dough into 1" balls, then roll out into 3" logs. Shape into crescents and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350F for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned on bottom. Cool completely on wire racks, then dredge cookies in powdered sugar. Makes about 3 dozen.

Here are the rest of my ornaments that are souvenirs from trips my family has taken. It's sort of a tradition with us to bring back ornaments for everyone when on a trip. I've tried to post these in order, but it seems that my memory got a little wonky so just don't mind that please:) from a trip to New York City 1998 a couple from a set brought back from Belarus in the early 2000's (my dad's trip) from Branson, MO 2003 (The Princess' first Christmas) from Pigeon Forge, TN 2005 (a family vacation) from Winter Park, Colorado 2006 (a church ski trip) from Alaska 2006 (my parents' trip) from Maui, Hawaii 2007 (our 10th anniversary trip) from Gulf Shores, Alabama 2007 (a family vacation) from Romania 2007 (a giveaway I won at a ladies' conference from a friend who has adopted children from Romania) from England 2008 (my parents' 40th anniversary trip) from Gulf Shores, Alabama 2008 (a family vacation) from Gulf Shores, Alabama 2008 (a fami...

0381. girl time with my princess 0382. late night hang time with my hubby 0383. fresh fruit that looks as good as it tastes 0384. watching how excited my hubby his about his big Christmas secret {for me} 0385. cookies:) 0386. seat warmers in my car on a winter day 0387. Christmas tree marshmallows in my hot chocolate 0388. another day to be alive 0389. the excitement on my daughter's face at meeting *Clara* at The Nutcracker 0390. a sweet letter from a dear friend

Can you believe it's less than two weeks until Christmas now?! Where has the time gone?! Have you started baking and making Christmas treats yet? I made my first batch of cookies this past weekend: Sand Tarts . Mmm! I'll be sharing that recipe with you this week. This week I plan to make a batch of Amish Sugar Cookies , Peppermint Bark and dip some pretzel rods in chocolate...and maybe another thing or two~we'll see:) What's on your agenda? I'm also planning another week of low-stress dinner menus: Monday: Beans and Cornbread Tuesday: {friends coming over} Taco Braid , Rice & Beans Casserole, Chips & Salsa Wednesday: Baked Potato Bar Thursday: Cranberry Pork Tenderloin, Potato Casserole, Brussels Sprouts Friday: Stromboli Saturday: Turkey Turnovers Happy Cooking to you this week! This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie .

All this talk about ornaments has inspired me to take a little trip down memory lane with some special ones. These are all ornaments that have been collected from trips taken through the years. Some are from trips I've personally taken and some are souvenirs from trips my parents have taken. We all love to collect ornaments when we travel! And sometimes, if we are unable to find an actual ornament, we will buy something that we can transform into an ornament:) from Put-in-Bay Island, OH 1986 (school trip) Breckenridge, Colorado 1992 (family vacation) Honolulu, Hawaii 1993 (family vacation) Ogunguit, Maine 1995 (family vacation) from Rome, Italy 1995 (my parents' trip) from Israel 1997 (my parents' trip) Alberta, Canada 1998 (my parents' trip) from Holland 1998(?) (my parents' trip) from Amarillo, Texas 2000 (a trip with a friend) Prince Edward Island, Canada 2000 (family vacation) from Austria 2000 (my dad's trip) from Philadelphia, Pennsylvannia...

Just had to share my cup of hot chocolate with you. Aren't these just the cutest marshmallows you've ever seen? Found these up at my local TJ Maxx and had to have them. For the kids, of course:)