sugar-plums and snow

I’m dreaming of a pink Christmas

As I snuggle down in bed with Ruby on this Christmas Eve, dreaming of sugar-plums and snow, I can’t help but feel like my armoire represents my little Cottage Christmas. With un petit nativity from an antique shop in France to the array of perfume-filled bottles lined up in trays, my Mimi’s rose garden painting passed down to me watches over my collection of this-and-that. Hemingway and happiness are the last blessings I see as I close my eyes for Christmas. Joyeux noël, à toutes et à tous une bonne unit!

are you ready, boots?

An aha moment. I’ve had one, literally with the Mutual of Omaha Aha Moment commercial tour back in May 2011. I also had one when I saw three new uses for a pool noodle in Real Simple Magazine. Seriously, mind blown with an idea so simple, so easy, so closet life-changing, I had to try it. Start Walking.

Boot Supports

1 pool noodle

Knife

Permanent marker

1. Hold noodle against calf of boot. Use permanent marker to draw a line just below the top of the boot.

2. On a solid surface, use the knife and cut along drawn line. Repeat for other boot.

3. Insert inside boot to keep boots supported in closet.

summer solstice social

Summer is here and it is time to serve your guests the tastes of the season. Celebrate the longest day of the year with fresh fruit from the local farmer’s market and herbs picked right from the backyard garden. This featured appetizer and sparkling drink will make guests remember this social as the party that made the sun stand still.

Fried Polenta with Veggies

1 package of polenta, sliced
Seasonal vegetables, sliced
Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Mushrooms, Jalapeno, Corn, Red Bell Pepper, Yellow Bell Pepper, Avocado, Artichoke Hearts
1 sweet bulb onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 tsp mustard
1/4 c  and 4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Cook polenta over medium-high heat in medium-sized pan with 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil until golden. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place polenta on paper towel to removed excess grease.
3. Place all desired vegetables, onion and garlic on foil-covered baking sheet. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper over mixture. Bake for 15 minutes.
4. In separate bowl, combine mustard, 2 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Coat cooked veggies in mixture. Place vegetables on top of polenta and serve as appetizer.

Sparkling Vodka Sipper

1 part sparkling water

1 part vodka

1 part orange juice

15 oz. can of sliced peaches, undrained

Seasonal fruit, sliced

Mangoes, Blackberries

1. In a large pitcher, mix sparkling water, vodka, orange juice and undrained can of peaches.
2. Place sliced mangoes and blackberries in individual drinkware. Pour sparkling mix over fruit and serve chilled.
3. Serve with Name Skewers and enjoy!

Party Skewers

1 Package of Wooden Skewers
Craft tape

1. Cut tape in 2-inch pieces. Place top of skewer in the middle of the tape and fold the outer sides of tape together.
2. For Name Skewers: Have guests write their names on tape and place in drinking glass to avoid drink mix-ups.
3. For Party Skewers: Write appetizer name on tape or leave blank and use different prints for different appetizers.

sweetness of summer

The savory summer weather of late night dinners on the patio are just around the corner. I love having friends over for a light meal and an even sweeter dessert to catch up and enjoy time under the stars. There’s something about the thick, Texas air that makes me crave the coolness of watermelon. This featured appetizer is a great idea for a large party or small gathering. Finish the night with seasonal banana pudding and a dollop of fresh whipped cream to start your summer off on the right dish.

Watermelon with Mint & Feta

Watermelon, cubed
1/4 c Feta cheese
1/4 c Mint, chopped
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Pepper

1. Combine feta, mint, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.
2. Place mixture on top of watermelon squares and serve with party skewers.

Banana Pudding with Cream

1/3 c sugar

1/3 c cornstarch

3 c milk

3 c vanilla wafers

3 bananas, thinly sliced

6 eggs, separated

1 c heavy whipping cream

1 Tbsp powdered sugar

4 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

Pinch of Salt

Optional: Pistachios, shelled and minced

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Mix well. Add milk. Over medium heat, continue to stir until thickened and boiling. Remove custard from heat.

2. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks, then add in 1/2 cup of hot custard until blended. Pour mixture back into saucepan of custard and cut for an additional 4 minutes. Add vanilla and butter until well blended. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.

3. Using a large electric mixer, mix the heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar to form the whipped cream.

4. Spoon chilled banana pudding in individual serving bowls, top with whipped cream and vanilla wafers.

Optional: Add minced pistachios on top for nutty flavor and crunch.

mint and merriment

Don’t just deck the halls, deck out the dining room with playful peppermint to enjoy all season long. Save the bordeaux tablecloth and gold-rimmed drinkware for the 25th and opt for red and white swirls to set the tone for the mint and merriment get-togethers leading up to the big day. This peppermint party will look so good, Santa may come early this year.

Peppermint Christmas Trees

What You Will Need:

-Sugar ice cream cones, different shapes
-Peppermint candies, round
-Peppermint candies, crushed
-White royal icing

1. Cover each ice cream cone with royal icing.
2. Pour out crushed peppermint candies onto individual parchment sheets or paper plates. Roll ice cream cone in crushed, peppermint candies. For a different look, use round peppermint candies and individually place to cover entire cone with peppermints. Dry for 24 hours.
3. Place trees from one end of the table to the other, varying the sizes.

Peppermint Vases

What You Will Need:

-Clear vases, different shapes
-Peppermint candies, different shapes

1. Pour peppermint candies into each vase. For a tall vase, use peppermint sticks. For a small round, vase use original, round-shaped peppermints.
2. Place the vases from one end of the table to the other, varying the sizes.

Peppermint Place Cards

What You Will Need:

-Red Cardstock paper
-White Cardstock paper
-Hole Punch
-Red and white striped ribbon, ½ inch width
-Silver paint pen

1. Find a small, oval-shaped object, like a jewelry box or picture frame. Trace the shape on different colors of cardstock paper, one oval per guest. Cut out each shape.
2. Punch two holes per oval opposite sides from each other.
3. With the silver paint pen, write each guest’s name per oval. Have fun and save the cursive handwriting for Christmas dinner and break out fun shapes and designs with each name.
4. Cut a length of ribbon that would give each place card an extra ½ inch to 1 inch per side. Slide the ribbon from the front, right side toward the back and out through the back, left side. With scissors, cut a triangle at both ends of ribbon to finish the peppermint look.
5. Place each place card on top of plate and charger to give each guest their own personal peppermint.

Peppermint Coffee

What You Will Need:

-Peppermint sticks
-White melting chocolate
-Variety of red and white sprinkles
-Peppermint candies, crushed

1. Fill 1/3 of a pan with water and place a smaller pot with white melting chocolate on top. Bring to medium heat and stir frequently until chocolate is melted. Turn off heat.
2. While chocolate is melting, pour out sprinkles and crushed peppermint candies onto individual parchment sheets or paper plates. Dip 1/3 of the peppermint stick into melted chocolate. Immediately roll in desired sprinkles. Place upright to dry. Repeat for each peppermint stick.
3. Using a spoon or spatula, spread leftover melted chocolate on the rim of each guest’s coffee cup.  Flip the cup over, and roll the rim in the crushed peppermint candies.
4. Serve after dinner with coffee. Guests can use the candy-coated rim and candy-coated peppermint stick to flavor each cup of coffee poured.

Peppermint Cookies

What You Will Need:

-Sugar cookie dough
-1/2 Tbsp. peppermint extract
-Red food coloring
-Sugar-cane peppermint candies

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix up favorite sugar cookie recipe and divide dough in half. In one bowl, mix the peppermint extract into the dough. In other bowl, mix red food coloring into the dough.
2. Take a small piece of the peppermint-flavored dough and a small piece of the red-dyed dough and roll together to form a ball. Place ball on cookie sheet. Repeat for desired amount of cookies. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Immediately press a peppermint candy into center of each cookie. Let cool.

the great no-carve pumpkin

Ghosts and goblins are out tonight,
Witches try hard to cause a fright.
Light a candle on the ground,
Glowing pumpkins all around!

 

Give your pumpkins a ghoulish glow without the puree pulp with these no-carve pumpkin ideas. Join us as we go beyond the rind and deck out the number one Halloween decoration, the Great Pumpkin at my shabby chic cottage. I paired up with MyHomeLifeMag.com to create this spooky, one-of-a-kind wonders.

Cinderella Pumpkin

Be your own Fairy Godmother this Halloween and Bippity, Boppity, Boo your plain pumpkin into a sparkly carriage that Cinderella would take to any ball. With a bag of sequins and a box of small head pins you can create a whismical world with a no-carve mess. Slide a pin through the center of a sequin, then press into the  skin of the pumpkin. Be creative with the design or trace a fun image or message to really give your pumpkin the glass-slipper effect.

Pumpkin Place Cards

Whether you are celebrating All Hallow’s Eve or gathered around a turkey with a tableful of blessings, give each guest a place with the stem of a pumpkin. Using a small pumpkin found at local grocery stores or farmer’s markets, cut a small slit at the top of the pumpkin to allow for the width of a place card.

Replace each guest’s name with their Halloween character or for Thanksgiving, write their name and why you are thankful for them. Not only will it add a personal touch to your seasonal pumpkin party, but it will give your less than a $1 place card a priceless meaning.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

A witch wouldn’t be a witch without her hat, just like Halloween wouldn’t be a holiday without pumpkin seeds. Those crunchy, healthy, pop-in-your-mouth snack seeds are what make the orange and black of Halloween my favorite holiday.

1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp. of cayenne pepper
Pinch of Kosher salt
Pinch of black pepper

 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Clean all pumpkin pulp from seeds.

2. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and mix well. Bake in oven for 12-15 minutes.

Spider Pumpkin

To enjoy the nutty flavor of pumpkin seeds, you have to have one sacrificial pumpkin to carve. Make it simple by avoiding the printable masks and instead opt for a screwdriver and some black paint.

We found some novelty spider and blacklight lights at a local craft store that allow for the spider cover to pop away from the bulb. After you do a basic pumpkin carve, pop each spider away from the bulb, then with a screwdriver place random, round holes around entire pumpkin. With black paint and a small brush, paint spider webs connecting each punched hole. String each lightbulb through the backside of the holes and reattach spider or novelty light covers. Using a knife, cut a larger hole at bottom near back to feed the power cord. Plug it in and watch your front porch trick-or-treaters marvel at the spider-exploding pumpkin.

star-spangled popsicles

click for how to video

Melt away the dog days of summer by skipping a trip to the store and creating homemade popsicles with ingredients found within the kitchen. Celebrate the produce of summer by mixing up the traditional popsicle with fresh peaches, blackberries and sliced strawberries.

water balloon party favors

click for how to video

No blindfold needed. The only thing better than candy is a waterfall of fun on a hot, summer day. String water-filled balloons on a back porch or between two trees and watch out! This is one piñata party that everyone can enjoy.

watermelon cookies

click for how to video

No baking required. Cool off without warming up by the oven with these easy and healthy summer cookies. Cut a watermelon into 1 inch slices, then punch out simple summer snacks with any shape cookie cutter.

s’mores in a jar

click for how to video

Forget the stick. Enjoy summer’s best dessert sans the sticky mallow mess and burn ban smoke. All three classic ingredients are still used, just without the old school method. It’s easy to say “Kumbaya” with a mouthful of gram cracker summer.