snickerdoodles

New Year's Eve...

  “…to make an end is to make a beginning.”
— T.S. Eliot

Tonight is the big night.  Have you decided what you are doing? 

I thought I would share a couple more ideas perfect for a New Year's Eve celebration.

Aren't these party blowers lovely?  The full instructions are available on Martha Stewart.com along with a whack of other craft ideas.  It's listed as an easy and fun craft but for me right now they seem to be easy and fun in the same way as a root canal might be.  No thanks.  I would gladly buy some ready made though.

These decorations are so pretty and if you have a circle punch this is quite simple.  Read on Martha for the full details.  I might have my kiddos do their own version.  This idea reminds me of the lovely glass hanging ball strings I saw at Momentum Interiors:

Here is another Martha idea I really like and will definitely use:

Lining a deep tray with gorgeous paper to set off the glassware and punch.  I have been oogling a simple punch bowl like this one at Superstore for months now, love the shape.
   

Hubbie will be off for the first time in many years.  We are staying home and having an appies feast, games and family disco party.  For desert I have chosen to make a gingerbread cake with homemade caramel sauce and fresh whipped cream. 

Are you still needing a simple dessert idea?

I will give you the secret to the easiest most impressive dessert I know.  I even saw a version of it done by bakery owner Rosie Daykin and featured in House & Home this past May in the entertaining section...   are you ready?

Cookies and Cream Cake

1.Go to the grocery store and buy a package or two of plain chocolate wafer cookies.  It's a blue bottomed box and the top is clear plastic so you can see the dark oreo coloured disks. 

2. Buy a large container of whipping cream and whip it with a bit of real vanilla or add the scrapings of a vanilla bean.

3. Flip over the box and look at the recipe shown for a chocolate log and do that...OR I like to use a  footed cake stand and make it in a circle.  Plop cream to anchor the first layer and keep layering and circling until you have a height/size of cake you like.  One large whipping cream will do a box and a half.

(I only remembered to snap a photo near the very end but you can get the general idea.  I had just started to cover the cake with cream when I took this.) 

4.  Use the remaining cream to frost the entire cake and let sit several hours before serving.

5.  Garnish with a mound of blackberries or baby tangerines or raspberries or even chopped candy canes.

6.  Use any leftover broken wafers to scoop up the last bits of cream in the bowl and share the beater licking with a cute friend...

By the time you serve it the cookies will have expanded with the cream and it will slice like a cake.  It will look like a very complicated torte and there won't be any leftovers.

Have a wonderful night friends!  Wishing you the Happiest of Happy New Years.

another must have gadget...

   There's always room to squeeze one more doo-dad on the pantry shelf if it's going to make your life easier.  After my adventures making popcorn in a pot I am so excited to have found the Whirley-Pop.

 
 

The Original Whirley Pop Stovetop Popcorn Popper

Hand-cranked stove top popcorn poppers are the best way to make movie theater popcorn at home. Get your family together and enjoy popcorn and a movie tonight!

 

I found this dandy pot on the Wabash Family Farmssite, a wonderful place for all things popcorny.  Hopefully I will be able to source one locally.  It sells on line for only $25 and I think it would work so well for kettle corn recipes.  If you've tried one or seen one around please speak up....sometimes these things aren't as fabulous as they seem.

 

Right now I have the Cusinart popcorn machine as well but it doesn't work for sweetened recipes at all.  If you are a savory corn lover I would recommend it.  Mine is white but it looks a lot like this...

If you feel like making some kettle corn try the recipe from bigLITTLE I featured last week, it's delish.

 

oxo

photo catch up...

Before I forget, here is a quick snap of a wrapped Spiced Kettlecorn from last week's recipe below.  I also tucked in a big slice of the White Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake fudge from the week before's recipe.

Now for the new pets, here is Silver:

 and her new home decorated by Liam:

degu number one:

 
both degus are friendly with Silver, she shares her castle,

 
  they like snuggling in socks and giving kisses on the nose, much to Ry's delight.  And of course there is still Rufus who seems to be adapting fine to the new pet invasion:

He is just the most lovable dog...all our fur balls bring so much joy and laughs to us.

Now I am off to do a couple returns and try and get a cheap memory card at all the crazy sales this week.

sparkly lemon cocktails...

  Here is a drink recipe that's super sparkly I found in Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Get Togethers cookbook:

MAMA-osas...I am going to call mine Lemon Sparkles

1 shot of Limoncello liqueur

4 ounces dry champagne

Lemon zest for garnish

I serve them in a stemless martini glass with a sugared rim...yum!

Another festive cocktail I have been sipping is...

I shot Pear Vodka

Cranberry juice

dash of soda or ginger ale

This looks festive and is super light and refreshing after all this holiday feasting!

Happy sipping.

oxo

merriest of Merry Christmases...

 
   3 naughty/nice little elves

Well friends,  the big day is finally here. Take a big,deep breath and enjoy every merry moment... because before you know it another Christmas will have come and gone in a wild whirlwindy way.

Sending you my sincerest holiday wishes for a Christmas filled with joy, love and fun from our house to yours!

 oxoooxo

last minute holiday hit...

  If you are feeling like you need a little holiday hit to get you in the Christmas spirit check out Everyday with Rachael Ray.  We don't have TV so I've never seen the show but I am a new fan of the magazine and website: rachaelraymag.com  This month they are both filled with recipes, gift ideas and good reads all around.

three pets later...

   Going to the animal shelter in the Christmas spirit is not a good idea. I was lucky to grow up with lots of pets...cats, dogs, rabbits, birds, turkeys, cows, etc.  If you are a pet lover and visit a shelter filled with holiday cheer, be prepared to come home with a car full of critters.  We were lucky to leave with only one sweet little cat and a couple of degus.

Yesterday my eldest Noah turned 11!  It's hard to believe how fast he has grown up.  We had a fun day of brunch with family and one school friend, playing a new gift (Wii Resort) and going to the arcade for a little Dance Dance Revolution fun among other stuff.  The most important part of the day for the boys though was going to the SPCA.  It's the same one where hubbie and I adopted our first cat Libby over fifteen years ago. 

There were lots of kitties to choose from especially beautiful big old ones.  Having a dog we wanted to get a little younger one as older cats can be a bit fussy.  That limited our search to about six candidates and Liam carefully met each one and held them.  When it was Silver's turn she immediately started purring and cuddled into Liam and he fell in love while poor Niles and Tony looked on longingly.  She's between one and two, has had a kitten but is neutered now, and she's tiny.  Wishing I had of brought my camera so you would all go today and pick a feline too.  They offered Ryan a job as he's the perfect height to play with all the lower cages and given a stick with a pink feather on the end he managed to get cat paws of every variety poking out of the bars and bat at his spastic toy entertainment.  So that is the cat end of the story.

Now for the degus...  Since Sniffles the rat died last year Noah has been very sad.  We knew another rat wasn't a good option as they are sooo interactive it's sad to keep them caged.  Sniffles stared at us non-stop holding on the the little bars and made us feel so guilty.  Giving her complete freedom wasn't an option either as she chewed wires on expensive stuff and rat poo and pee in the house is rather revolting!  We considered gerbils as they are clean, and not so social but still interesting.  I adore guinea pigs and fuzzy hamsters but they are stinky and rather dense and Noah needs pets who'll do stuff other than sleep all day.  When I saw the degus on the SPCA website I knew we found our match.  They were only $20 each and came with the cage, all the accessories and the food and dust bath.  It was meant to be.  Squeak and Whiskers snuggle together in their tiny log cottage, lie in their hammock, climb their ladder and run in a wheel...Noah is thrilled.

As much as I would have loved to have them have this excitement Christmas day it's all worked out well.  They are completely consumed with their pets.  Pancakes and sausage (their absolute favorite breakie) await and there have been three calls to come and eat and no takers.  Hopefully by tomorrow morning the novelty will have waned and they will be interested in joining us for Christmas morning under the tree. 

Happy Christmas Eve friends,

oxo

seriously sheepy...

  It's Christmas Pageant time.  At church this Sunday the kids were the feature.  The youth band and choir played and sang and the wee ones did a silent nativity play. 

These kids really know how to rock!  The boys were wowed by the drummer.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will want to get involved.

 
Angels were all around.  I LOVED being an angel when I was little although our costumes weren't  nearly so polished.

A very serious flock of sheep sat beside the manger.  Good thing Ry didn't realize there was a baby right there or he would have definitely grabbed the baby Jesus and made a run for it.  He loves dolls.

After his performance he was all business waiting for a big movie offer.  None came so he headed back with the rest of the flock.  In my scramble to get a photo of him leaving I forgot to change my settings and hence he's a little green, oops.

The story of Christmas is such a magical one, hope you get to enjoy a rendition or two this week.

oxo 
  

p.s.  For those who read about my lost photo woes a month or so ago we had someone retrieve 486 photos off our hard drive.  Maybe that wasn't all of them, I haven't had a chance to look but I am thrilled to get some back, 486 is a super number!  I couldn't have asked for a better gift for Christmas.

  Thanks for all your thoughts and kind words when I was mourning my baby pictures and such.

the ultimate must haves for Christmas...

Here are some things that have blown me away this week...

1. Rigamarole Red wine. 

It's from our new home, the Okanagan Valley.  It has an adorable black rhino dancing on the label and is a lovely menagerie of Merlot, Cab, Gamay and Pinot Noir.  I am not a huge  red fan lately but the delicious smell of this vintage wooed me back.

Here is a special Rigamarole Suduko to try:

2.  LASH BLAST  mascara by Cover Girl. 

I haven't tried a new brand in years but a recent late night make-up fest at Shopper's Drug Mart led to my new passion for Lash Blast.  I heard it was good from my teen niece but honestly it's really GOOD.  For under $7 it covered each and every lash, even the two pesky white ones that drive me bonkers!  No clumps at all, the dangerous looking brush separates them perfectly.  It didn't flake or irritate my eyes either.  Yippee...just what I needed to perk up my sleepy peepers.  Here's a very big picture my new orange friend.

 3.  President's Choice Candy Cane Chocolate Fudge Crackle Ice Cream.   If you don't believe me hit the President's Choice page and check out reviews.   This is the perfect end to an evening of festivities and has a nasty habit of singing a sweet, late-night holiday siren song from the freezer. 

Beware...I was just savoring the last plop from our tub when I remembered I ate a big hunk of this earlier today:

 
  and quickly had to shove the ice cream back into the freezer.  A close call.  This sadistic desert is what my Dad pulled out for my Mom's birthday party last night!  There were only about 30 guests and we went home with a hunk big enough to host another 30 folks for a cake feast!  I was very tempted to just fix it up and tuck it away till Noah's birthday on Wednesday but that would be so wrong. 

My parents now live beside the pastry chef for the Predator Ridge Range Restaurant and she is amazing.  Everything is from scratch and pure bliss for a desert lover like me.  At brunch in October I barely made it through a lemon tart, some creme caramel and a deep chocolate cake.  At Pasta night last week there was a big chafing dish of steaming cinnamon bun bread pudding.  Think about it, bread pudding made with cinnamon buns...enough said.   This gal is right up there with Martha as far as I'm concerned.  Now back to the list...

4.  Taboo. 

The 80's game that is still perfect for playing with the whole gang.  Even seven year old Liam was reading away and giving some killer hints.  Our friends brought it as a gift last weekend and we love it.  It's available from the Chapters/Indigo link on my sidebar with free shipping and I did see it at Superstore today too.   We are big Sequence fans but Taboo is a fun change for everyone and good reading and comprehension practice for the boys.  Plus there is a buzzer, who doesn't love squeezing a buzzer?!?

5.   My new Voluspa candle.

I bought it at Momentum.  It's a triple wick beauty in a gorgeous pink and silver tin.  I keep it beside my bathtub and it releases a clean, pretty Panjore Lychee aroma into the room

This is a picture of one I took burning at the Momentum open house... a different scent and colour but equally divine.   These candles are worth every penny.

Phew, I am glad to get that all off my chest.  I took my mind off my crazy Christmas shoperarma today that hit $800 at Superstore, and almost made me cry.  Especially when I looked back to see the big lineup behind me and struggled to get it all packed back into my train of two shopping carts! 

Still, I was left without a gift  for my dear Liam who still only asks for a cat who makes kittens.  He made us a very special card at school and inside it says:

Merry Chirtmas mom and Dad I love you.  I don,t want presinsts this yeare.

Love Liam

It broke my heart and when I asked him why he said he knew Santa couldn't bring a kitten on his sleigh and that it was okay we could use his present to make the basement.   I might have to start prowling the SPCA this week to make his little Christmas wish come true.  The thought of cat pee on our new carpet and scratching on the new sofa is scaring the gingerbreads outta me but my boy is worth it.  I considered buying the litterbox, bed and such and sticking a FurReal friend cat in... but that would be cruel.  While decorating the tree yesterday, he pulled out the framed pet ornament we had with a picture of our old cat Libby in it and his eyes welled up with tears, it's been over a year now and still he misses her.  I almost jumped in the car then and there to go on a cat mission.

Does that mean I have to buy Noah the gerbil family he's been admiring at Petland?  I want a burrow/donkey and some chickens. Ryan looses his mind over bunnies.   How on earth are we ever going to find a housesitter with all these critters when we want to go away?  

Night, night friends, I am off to pray to Dr. Doolittle for some guidance,

oxo

white chocolate cherry cheesecake fudge, oh dear!...

Sound too good to be true?   It is.

 
I tore this page out of 2006 from House & Home magazine, glad I finally got around to trying it.

Here is what mine currently looks like:

Once it fully chills I can slice it up.  We did have fun licking the bowl after and the beaters.  I am a milk chocolate lover but the boys adore white chocolate.

White Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake Fudge

12 oz. white baking chocolate

1 cup dried cherries, I used a dried berry mix

1 block cream cheese softened (250 g)

4 cups icing sugar

2 tsp vanilla and lemon juice

1 cup coarsely chopped vanilla wafers (I used graham crackers as I forgot to buy the wafers)

Instructions:

1.  Line the bottom and sides of an 8" loaf pan with plastic wrap

2.  Melt chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat, set aside

3.  Slice cherries into slivers and set aside  

4.  In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Gradually add the icing sugar, beating until incorporated after each addition.  Beat in vanilla and lemon juice.

5.  Blend in melted chocolate until smooth.  Stir in cherries and chopped wafters.  Spread in pan.  Cover and refridgerate until firm or overnight.

6.  Turn fudge onto cutting board, remove plastic.  Slice with a large knife into 1/2" thick slices. 

Makes about 15 slices.  Can be refrigerated for up to a week.

Yum!   Speaking of yummy, look who was sitting in front of me at the school concert...

Sweet Sadie, almost good enough to eat as well.

oxo