christmas morning

here are a few photos from our christmas morning, if you'd like to see. my mom totally outdid herself like she does every year, making an amazing breakfast, lunch & dinner (not to mention the big christmas eve dinner she made the night before)! I don't know how she does it- we are certainly a spoiled bunch. 

 {santa came!}

 {my mom got robert the donna hay cookbook & it's beautiful}

 {dad's getting hip with his non-pleated pants}

 {grammie made us these sweet christmas angels using some lace from our mom's wedding dress}

 {mom's getting high tech with her new kindle fire}

 {good thing we're over the "everything my parent's do embarrass me" stage}

happy birthday jesus cake

every christmas eve I make a happy birthday jesus cake. this year I decided to make a salted caramel cappuccino cheesecake. it got rave reviews & wasn't difficult to make, so I would definitely recommend trying it out. I used this recipe for the cake, but instead of using canned caramel topping (this is a sin in the baking world, by the way), I used this salted caramel recipe. and there was enough caramel sauce leftover to put a dollop on everyone's plate, which made it even better! I think jesus would approve.

christmas eve

we had a really nice christmas eve with my family on monday. as has been the tradition for the past few years, we go to a different church for the christmas eve service (the church we are members of does a later service which conflicts with dinner time). it's always fun visiting a new place & seeing how different denominations worship & celebrate the birth of jesus (this year will live down in history as my fave). we also had family over for dinner where my mom made an amazing meal & we played some pretty funny games. there was lots of laughter, full bellies & feelings of gratitude for all that we have been blessed with. 

 {poor mom was slaving away in the kitchen}

black + gold wrapping

one of my favorite parts of the holiday season is wrapping gifts. I love having a theme (see 2011 theme & 2010 theme) & this year I decided to go with black & gold. I found the gold wrapping paper at target on clearance last year after christmas. I decorated the packages with gold tassels I made from a plastic tablecloth (like I did here), some pom poms (like I made in this post) & then cut out feathers as the gift tags (using this template). this sounds ridiculous & very unlike me, but I think I actually enjoy giving gifts even more than opening them. 

mini mountains

I think my wrapping theme this year is going to be black + gold. I found a printable for these mini mountain tops & made a couple today. I think they'll look cute on top of my wrapped gifts this year.

get the free pdf here. 

christmas day

only in florida can you put on shorts & flip flops & take a boat ride on christmas day. it was an incredibly beautiful, peaceful afternoon. a wonderful way to celebrate jesus' birth. merry christmas! 

annual ornament

I got a bunch of felt at an estate sale in atlanta last weekend for $1, so I thought I should probably make something with it. I found this diy post & decided to use the felt to make an ornament. my mom's friend used to make my sister & me a handmade ornament every year as kids & it has always been a sweet tradition. so I thought I'd start this year & attempt to make a make new ornament myself. knowing me, I'm sure I'll get around to making this new "tradition" happen every year...

a gift for everyone

it's so hard to buy for people who have everything (that's most of us). i hate giving people junk they don't need, just to give it - picture frames, bath beads, candle holders, etc. I'm all about practical gifts... which to me usually means something edible.

I have always loved these ceramic baskets from anthropologie (especially after reading this somewhat ridiculous blog post about having a pretty refrigerator, which I couldn't help but enjoy). I bought a couple of them & filled them with fruit: tangerines from our tree, meyer lemons from a co-worker's tree & some limes. attached a delicious sangria recipe (I used this free mason jar template), coupled with a bottle of wine & this makes the perfect gift, in my opinion. 

and if you're interested in the sangria recipe, here it is:

1 bottle dry red wine
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup triple sec
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup frozen lemonade concentrate
1/3 cup orange juice
1 lemon, sliced into rounds
1 orange, sliced into rounds
1 lime, sliced into rounds
2 cups+ ginger ale or sprite

in a large pitcher or bowl, mix together the red wine, brandy, triple sec, lemon juice, lemonade concentrate & orange juice. wash fruit & float slices of lemon, orange & lime (and any other fruit of your choosing) in the mixture. refrigerate overnight. add ginger ale just before serving.

christmas around the house

 

{vintage bulbs}

{mini tree}

{gift made by mom}

{I love presents!}

o christmas crack, o christmas crack

obviously I've never done crack (or any other drug for that matter), but I can't image that it could be any more addictive than this christmas toffee (a.k.a. "crack"). I've been making it every year since probably high school. I only allow myself to make it once a year at christmas, or else I'd be about 400 pounds. because once you pop a piece, you can't stop.

it's extremely simple to make & is great for gift-giving. photo below in case you need 'em.

saltines (I use the generic version)
2 sticks butter
1 cup light brown sugar
a bag chocolate chips (I use semi-sweet)
crushed nuts (I like pecans or walnuts)

preheat oven to 350
melt butter & sugar on low in a small pot on the stove until completely blended.
cover a raised-edged cookie sheet with aluminum foil (I used a silpat mat instead).
completely line the cookie sheet with saltine crackers.
pour blended butter & sugar mixture over crackers.
bake at 350 degrees for 7 minutes.
remove from oven. sprinkle chocolate chips over toffee.
put back in the oven for 2 minutes to help melt the chocolate.
remove from the oven & carefully spread the melted chocolate chips with a spatula.
sprinkle some chopped nuts over the toffee.
let cool & then put in refrigerator until hard (do not freeze).
once toffee is hard, remove from foil & break apart.
store in an airtight container in the fridge. I promise it won't last that long, though.