A Few Snowmen Decorations

Hi there everyone. How are you doing with your Christmas decorations. I am almost done, just have my village to put up and I might get that done tonight....probably after the hockey game. Hawks and Rangers are still tied 0-0.... with 9 minutes to go.

Shoot.....Hawks lost....1-0 in overtime.

Thought I would give you a few shots of my snowmen through out the house. Here they are.

 This Votive Snowman sits on the TV table....can you see, I am watching the NHL Network???

 This ceramic Snowman is pretty old. My mother gave it to me when JP and I were first married. So he is at least 43 years old.

 I bought this Snowman candy dish last summer at a garage sale...cute isn't he? Candy is good too...Lindor Chocolate mint. One a day keeps the Doctor away????

 This is a Snowman ornament that hangs on my lamp, watching me as I play on my computer. He has been around for a long time too, not sure when I got him....I think he was a gift.

 I bought this Snowman door hanger this year at Shopko....I think I need another door hanger for the back door.

 This Snowman ornament hangs in the center piece on the dinning room table.

This Snowman is sitting on the front porch. Now there is a story behind this Snowman. This was the first Christmas gift JP gave me back in 1971, so it's 45 years old. I was very disappointed though....because I honestly thought he would give me an engagement ring....but alas, this Snowman and Santa Claus were in the box (Mr Santa got sold at a garage sale many years ago.) JP never did give me an engagement ring....he is not that kind of guy. When we did get married, I had to buy my own ring.....nice, huh???

This Snowman is sitting on the front porch in the planter.....he wiggles around when the sun is shinning.....I might put him in the car on the dashboard....we need a little smile each day when we take off in the car. I heard it might be easy to find the car, course I always park in the same spots at the different stores I shop at. So maybe that would not be a problem for me.

Well, I hope you liked my little tour of Snowmen....I think there are more....in my village, which I need to set up before JP comes home in two hours....better get cracking here.

You all have a great night and keep looking up ~~ better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Snowmen?????

Hi there everyone.....well I just looked out the window and there is a small dusting of snow on the ground. Our first snowfall of the season. Maybe it will be a white Christmas after all.

I started this post about 3 weeks ago but never published it only because there was no snow.....so here we go, just a few snowmen to look at. Tis the season!!!

I thought this was a fun snowlady or man. I think I should find some more tires and make this guy. I never did make my frog this past summer, only because I was pretty sick with the hernia problem. Maybe next summer will be better.

Here is a cute card, forgot where I got the idea. I just ordered the embossing folder from Stampin'Up and I have lots of snowflake stamps. I think the snowman is made out of punches and that I can do easily. He sure is sweet looking.

I found this cute snowman last year and thought what a neat idea, making the tree out of a snowman. I used to have a fake white tree years ago and decorated it with red lights and ornaments, it sure was a pretty tree. I never would have thought of this idea. Really cute.

No....I know this is not a snowman.....but he sure is cute. We used to have a white doggie like this, (sniff) he died 3 years ago this month. Hyko was his name.....best dog in the world.

Hope your Christmas plans are going well and you are getting everything done. Don't forget to find some time to relax and put your feet up for a while. Watch a good movie or turn on the Hall Mark Channel and watch some Christmas movies. Well, you all have a great day and keep looking up, things will get better soon.
Cheers ~ Louise

Christmas, Pizza and Cards......

Hi there everyone. Goodness, it has been a week since my last post...time is a'flying! Hope your Christmas plans are shaping up and you are getting everything done that needs to get done. When you are finished you can "R-E-L-A-X" and enjoy the season and the real reason we celebrate this time of year. Yeah, all the fan-fare and busy-ness of the season sure can take our eyes off of what is important.

Have you not heard????? "JESUS....is the reason for the season". I am glad I don't have to worry about getting presents for everyone.....just a few gifts for JP, Kylie, sent off Pop's gift in Las Vegas, got my cards made and sent off, baked cookies and decorate the house.....whew....almost done with 9 days left till Christmas. Why do I put myself through all this busy-ness???? I don't know why, guess I just get caught up in it all, trying to make Christmas special even though it is not that much any more. It's for the kids anyways.

So in the picture below is my little Christmas tree....this year, I decided the tree will be in all blues....hard to tell that the blue and white lights are on...but they are. I have the same blue and white lights on the front porch....so pretty. After Christmas I will put up red and white lights for the Valentines.....love my little Christmas tree, it is so very hard to take downstairs after the season. If I could find green and white lights, I would leave my tree up till St. Patrick's.....hahahahaha!

In the picture below is my Blue Apron pizza...gosh was this ever delicious....I shall make it again. "Roasted Sweet Potato & Caramelized Onion Pizza" and oh....it was so yummy the next day too. Sweet potatoes were peeled and sliced and layered on a cookie sheet, a little salt and pepper and olive oil for 12 minutes or so at a 475 oven. Then cooled and transferred to a bowl. The pan was then used for the pizza dough, spread out to the size I wanted then topped with the béchamel sauce, 2 T oil, 2 T flour and cook, stirring 1-2 minutes till golden brown, milk, lemon zest and 1/4 cup of water was added then the juice of 2 lemon wedges and seasoned with salt and pepper. The sauce got thick and then spread on the dough.

Then topped with the sliced sweet potatoes, caramelized onions, garlic, oregano and fontina cheese. After the pizza baked, the arugula and remaining cheese was added to the pizza. Oh yum...I will do this again. If you would like the recipe just google the recipe name and google will take you directly to Blue Apron and the recipe and you can make this pizza yourself. Again...it was absolutely delicious.

In the picture below is a card a made for a blog friend. Her husband just died recently. I think this has to be one of the prettiest cards I have ever made....was really happy how this card turned out.

This card is for the groomer who does my Kylie's hair every 8 weeks. I picked up a new cuttlebug folder....if you can see it...little paw prints. The snowman is a Christmas napkin and the doggies are stamped, colored and cut out.

This is another new Cuttlebug folder and all I did was use speckles and smooch pens.

In this card, I used some plumbers tape, ran it though my Cuttlebug then added a die-cut tree and stars for decorations. If you can see it, there is a ribbon running down the middle of the card.

The picture below is another Christmas napkin. I use the first layer of the napkin and lay that on a piece of card stock that was covered completely with a glue stick. Smooth it out as best you can without tearing the napkin. Let it dry then cut it the shape you want. I then added speckles to pop out the candy cane, snowman and holly leaves.

I this picture, is the same technique....but I used a Christmas tree. A friend gave me some of her napkins....this is one of them and guess what....she will receive her napkin back in the form of a Christmas Card. I guess that is called "re-purposing".

So tomorrow is my card making outing at Betty's. We are all suppose to bring something to eat that will go along with her pulled pork....oh yum. So I will bring a "Grains and Quinoa Salad" and "Cucumber sandwiches" (of course...pictures to follow soon).

Well, time to close here....the debate is starting and I need to watch that. Finish my Quinoa Salad and type a few letters tonight to friends.

Have a great evening and keep looking up....things will get better.
Cheers ~ Louise

Another BA Meal and More Snowmen

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a wonderful weekend. I did, yeah it was my 69th birthday...we did nothing special, but I was able to do what I wanted. Instead of going out to eat, I made this wonderful meal from Blue Apron see their link here. "Seared Chicken & Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds with Chestnut and Brussels Sprout Pan Sauce." Oh my, we were both oohing and ahhing at the same time. This was such a good meal. JP loved the sweet potatoes cooked the way they were. Sliced then placed on a pan, oil, salt and pepper and baked for 20-25 minutes at 475 till tender and browned. The Brussels sprouts were deleafed and pan fried with chestnuts then the butter, lemon zest  and sauce was added. I did add the onions also.

The chicken was pan fried, patted, salt and pepper then floured on both sides till browned. The bottom picture was plated with both chicken breasts and the vegies, so we just ate up the whole platter. YES....I would make this again. I suspect if you type in Seared Chicken and Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds....you might get a recipe from someplace. I think I shall have to try that, just to see what happens. Try this recipe, you will truly love it.
Note: yep that is what happens...you type in the name of the recipe and it will take you to the Blue Apron recipe....perfect.

So here are some of my snowmen cards that I have put up in my Etsy store. These cards were lots of fun to make. Made from Christmas napkins then I just used speckles to emboss the snowmen. Each card is $3.00 so 4 cards = $12.00 + shipping $2.50.

The cards in this next picture, I will put up in my Etsy store tonight. Made with Christmas napkins and speckled. These cards will go for $9.00 + shipping.

In the two pictures below are the cards I sent off in the mail today....took a picture of them so I could remember what they look like, and make them again. Gosh, I may have to buy a set of speckles....running low on red and green.

There were 9 different Snowman cards.....love, love them all. In all I sent 21 cards, there was a set of 8, a set of 4 and a set of 3.....Hope she likes them.

I bought my turkey the other day.....just bought a breast and will roast that on Thanksgiving day. We'll have dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce (the real stuff, not canned) bean casserole and baked potato. If I get out to the store again, I want to get some sweet potatoes and cook them the way I did in the first two pictures....roasted....gosh they were good. We will probably have pumpkin pie or maybe cheese cake from Festival foods....yes, we will eat well and there will be left overs for a couple of days......we truly are blessed beyond measure.

Well, you have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy your family and friends. Keep looking up, things will get better.
Cheers ~ Louise

Snowmen, Blue Apron and Pumkkin Pie

Hi there everyone. Well, first off, here is part of the order for my friend Biz. I told her I would put some of the cards I made for her on my blog tonight for her to see. There are 20 cards made in all. I love the two cards on the bottom, the one on the left and the one on the right....both were made with Christmas napkins. You never would know would you. I think they all turned out fun. So now all I have to do is put a verse inside each of the cards. Then off they go to their destination.

Today I received my Blue Apron box of food.  Today's entry was Trattoria-Style Cheeseburgers with Crispy Rosemary-Garlic Potatoes and Aioli. MMMMMM was this ever a good hamburger!! Yep...5 Stars on this one.

The Potatoes were roasted with oil, salt and pepper then topped with sauté' sliced garlic and rosemary leaves. The burgers were mixed with lemon zest and salt and pepper....that's all. Then fried and topped with the Fontina cheese. Topped with Kale, lemon and oil dressing. The sauce was mayo, garlic and lemon juice. MAN was that a delicious burger. But, alas, too spicy for JP for some reason. He is getting a bit picky in his old age.

Kylie seemed to be under my feet the whole evening while in the kitchen. Don't know if she was hoping I would drop her some food or maybe she was just keeping company with me. Don't you just love (hate) my 1970's (ugly) floor???? Looks good from this view, but don't look too close.

Also on the agenda tonight was pumpkin pies....hopefully these babies can last till my birthday, if not...guess I will have to make something else.....maybe something cheese-cakey. Yes you do see pumpkin seeds on the pie on the left...I just started putting seeds on the pie.....it's actually very good and crunchy and then some cool whip, yep just what the Doctor ordered. I cut down quite a bit on the sugar. So it can be diabetes worthy.

Well, time to close this post for now....it's going on 2am and time for me to get some sleep. You all have a good day tomorrow and keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise