It's almost upon us! Here at our house the gifts are wrapped, the stockings are hung, and Christmas will be spent with those we love.
I truly appreciate getting to know those of you who stop by this little blog and leave your sweet comments so I can visit your blogs and peek into your daily lives. Isn't it amazing that we can count friendships all over the world? All because of this thing called blogging. To all of you, I wish a very joyous Christmas!
xo Jill
This has been a swift Christmas - in no time at all, it will be over! I have to admit my decorating never really got off the ground since much of our belongings are still in boxes. I simply didn't feel ready. We did put up a tree, but I didn't put my favorite ornaments on it because of the "busy little fingers" phenomenen we have going on around here. Still, there are touches of Christmas throughout the house, and I'm thinking that might be the key for future Christmases around here. I rather like the idea of garlands, snowflakes, bowls of ornaments, wreaths, candles, fresh greens, and no tree. Keeping it simple by using what we have, and remembering that Christmas is really about having love, faith and joy in our hearts, being thankful for home and family, and most of all, honoring the reason for the season.
Be sure to visit Mary at Little Red House for more mosaics!
Every year I make Christmas cards to send to family and friends who live far away. And every year I don't think of an idea until about the 9th or 10th of December. This year is no exception - people will be lucky to get them a few days before Christmas, and there's one friend in England who typically gets her card after Christmas, sometimes even after New Year's. Will despairs over this lateness - he'd prefer the cards to arrive early in the month. Like that's ever going to happen with me in charge.
Anyway, I spent the weekend in my studio making these cards while watching old classics like "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Miracle on 34th Street" and listening to the wind and rain outside. It was perfect. The cards were inspired by a photo in the British Country Living magazine - I wish I had seen it sooner because I think they'd make the prettiest little paper ornaments. It's time consuming - each little bird has around 200 holes to punch, give or take (I tried to count but I lost track each time- - it's such mindless repetition!). I'm using a pushpin, and my fingers are quite sore from gripping that tiny little thing, but I think they turned out very sweet. I'm only about half finished, so I need to find more Holiday classics to watch today, too!
For Pink Saturday today we have a theme... "What are our favorite Holiday decorations?" Hands down, mine is my collection of mercury glass ornaments. Only a few are actually vintage, the rest I've bought here and there each year. A few weeks ago I found a pink one!
This year I didn't put many on the tree because we have a little guy in residence who can't resist all the bright, sparkling ornaments - I'm finding them all over the house! I couldn't bear any of my favorites being broken so they're tucked safely out of reach. One day, I'll do a tree covered exclusively with mercury glass ornaments. Won't that be pretty?
It's been very cold here in California - not at all typical. I love it! I've always disliked warm, balmy Christmas days. I'd say I wish it would snow, and my mom would reply that if it snowed all the kids who got bikes and skates for Christmas wouldn't be able to try them out, and I'd say I didn't care. Because I really didn't. I guess I'm selfish that way. This year though, we've already had a dusting of snow where I live just northeast of Los Angeles, and it's cold enough to snow again if the heavens send the right kind of clouds our way. It's even freezing down at the beach. So once again, I'm selfishly wishing for a white Christmas.
Soup always sounds good on a cold day, don't you think? This is a yummy copy-cat recipe from the Olive Garden restaurant. It's not exactly a health-conscious soup with it's sausage and cream, but that's probably why it's so yummy. I always make extra so I can freeze some for later.
Zuppa Toscana
1 lb Italian sausage
4 or 5 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise then into 1/4 inch slices
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 onion, chopped
1/2 can Oscar Meyer Real Bacon Bits (these are less fatty than real bacon)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups kale, chopped
2 cans chicken broth
1 quart water
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Remove skins from sausage. Bake approximately 1/2 hour in a 300 degree oven, drain on paper towels and cut into slices. (Another option is to cook the sausage in a pan with the crushed red pepper, so it's crumbled instead of sliced.)
Place potatoes, red pepper flakes, onion, chicken broth, water, and garlic in pot and cook on medium heat until potatoes are done. Add sausage, bacon, salt and pepper to taste, and simmer another 10 minutes. Turn to low heat, add kale and cream. Heat through and serve with crusty garlic bread.
I've never actually used bacon bits in my soup because I always forget to buy it and I don't keep it on hand, so we end up having to add a little extra salt. It's probably really good with the bacon bits. Buon apetito!
Enchantment
While unwrapping our Christmas decorations I came across several jolly St Nicks, and thought they'd make a jolly mosaic. I also included a jolly kicking-up-his-heels reindeer, because he fit right into the silly Santa theme.
Check out lots of other jolly mosaics over at Mary's Little Red House.
Six weeks ago we got the key for the doorway into our new house, and it's finally beginning to feel like home. Even though there are more boxes still packed than unpacked, and the painting isn't finished, nor the kitchen or master bath, I'm beginning to feel comfortable here. I'm getting to know the quirks of the house - the places where the floor creaks, and how to give a little twist to the back door handle so it doesn't stick, and which light switches go to which lights (they're kind of mixed up). The little touches that make a house a home are appearing as I find them in boxes, slowly but surely!
We still have some major bookcases to build, plus an office area in the family room, so that's why there are so many boxes yet to unpack - there's simply no place to put everything right now. I did manage to carve a path through the boxes in my studio and actually sewed something in there the other day - that's progress! The studio is another room that needs some custom-built tables and bookcases before I can put things in their places. In the meantime, though, I'm happy and relieved that I know where the Christmas boxes are!
My goodness, where did Autumn disappear to? As soon as Thanksgiving was behind us the weather turned cold and blustery, right on cue to herald the Christmas season. The sparkle of holiday decorations seem to shine brighter when there's a nip in the air - now all we need is snow!
Be sure to visit Mary at The Little Red House for more mosaics!
We love our clementines around here. Ryan often tells me I shouldn't eat two in a row, but when he isn't looking I usually eat a third, and sometimes even a fourth. After all, they're small, and I'm big, so I can handle it!
Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday! If your weather is dismal, just fill a bowl with clementines for a bit of instant cheer and sunshine.
