Currently Under Construction Until November 1st.

I am currently in the process of taking pictures of my ornaments. I've had some friends email me wanting to know when I will post more recipes and I do have a handful to still post. Jaycee, Carmen, The Pierces, Tobie, Clarissa and the Whitfields, thank you so much for your sweet emails. I appreciate you looking at my December Days blog. Clarissa, thank you for the picture of the pumpkin bread that you made from my recipe!

I should have all pictures done by the end of the month. I have been spending a little more time on My Love Affair With Thrift Shops but I have been looking forward to posting all my Christmas pictures for you.

I've Been Tagged!

I've been tagged by sweet Barbara over at Southern Lady's Vintage to list 7 Random Things That You Dont Know About Me. I've already made a list over at my Love Affair With Thrift Shops but I'm ready and willing to go for another seven!

1. I secretly love vintage Harlequin Romance books. I have a collection.
2. I once dreamed of being Mrs. Leif Garrett. Pssst..don't tell Fig Newton.
3. I hate high overpasses. I will not drive over an extremely high overpass in my city. They scare me half to death. The traffic here is terrible and everyone is a crazy driver.
4. My sisters and I were in ballet for many years. Now we are all tubby but still have our slender dancing legs. My sister Laurie (momof2roses) was more involved with her gymastics. We used to call her "Nadia". She was a little firecracker! I don't reveal that I was once a ballerina..no one would believe it!
5. I loved the show Hee-Haw. Okay okay...it's silly of course but that was all that was showing back in the 70's on Sunday night.
6. I wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer!
7. I buy too many Christmas ornaments. I buy what is leftover at departments stores after Christmas for a song and then bring bags and bags home chock full of goodies. They immediately get put into my bins underneath my bed where my husband can't see them. Well now he knows. He reads my blogs. I love you honey! : )

Going Shopping at Family Dollar and Big Lots

I was sitting here tonight thinking about hitting some of the dollar stores to look for decorative ceramic Christmas decorations. I need to get my sister Cyndi to go with me as we always buy the same things. I was told last year by one of the Family Dollar managers that Christmas boxes start arriving in late September or early October. I'll start taking pictures of my ornaments that I've bought at thrift stores and at my favorite place, Lubbock Antique Mall. I know that the Christmas stuff from Family Dollar or Big Lots aren't what you call vintage or even remotely heirloom quality but we have found some precious things there. Wish us luck because we will hit the stores on Wednesday!

Deanna's Pretty Pumpkin Bread

You simply must try this recipe. It is so delicious with a nice cold glass of milk. Easy to prepare and no messy kitchen to clean up.

Winter Wonderland

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening, in the lane, snow is glistening. A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland.
Gone away is the bluebird, here to stay is a new bird. He sings a love song, as we go along, walking in a winter wonderland.
In the meadow we can build a snowman. Then pretend that he is Parson Brown. He'll say: Are you married? We'll say: No man, But you can do the job when you're in town.
Later on, we'll conspire, as we dream by the fire. To face unafraid, the plans that we've made, walking in a winter wonderland.
In the meadow we can build a snowman, and pretend that he's a circus clown. We'll have lots of fun with mister snowman, until the other kids knock him down.
When it snows, ain't it thrilling, Though your nose gets a chilling. We'll frolic and play, the Eskimo way, walking in a winter wonderland.
Walking in a winter wonderland, walking in a winter wonderland.

Cool Thoughts and Hot Gloves

Today was hotter than Hades and I was wishing that some cool weather would head our way. Unfortunately, I am now living in a city where it will never snow. It can get icy but that's it. I miss Lubbock sometimes as we did get snow there during winter time. I was cleaning up in my walk-in closet this afternoon and came across my red fuzzy gloves and put them on and started wishing that Christmas would hurry up and get here. I started sweating with the gloves on so I reluctantly removed them and placed them lovingly back into my slip drawer...okay so I made that up....I tore them off and threw them into my sock drawer and muttered under my breath about the dang heat and humidty we've been having. Oh well, all I can do is wait for December and it's mercifully cool weather that we will rejoice in having.

Frosty The Snowman

Frosty the snowman, was a jolly happy soul, With a corncob pipe and a button nose and two eyes made out of coal.
Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale they say, He was made of snow but the children know how he came to life one day. There must have been some magic in that old silk hat they found. For when they placed it on his head he began to dance around.
O, Frosty the snowman was alive as he could be, And the children say he could laugh and play just the same as you and me.Thumpety thump thump,thumpety thump thump, Look at Frosty go. Thumpety thump thump, thumpety thump thump, Over the hills of snow.

Frosty the snowman knew the sun was hot that day, So he said, "Let's run and we'll have some fun now before I melt away. "Down to the village, with a broomstick in his hand, Running here and there all around the square saying, Catch me if you can. He led them down the streets of town right to the traffic cop. And he only paused a moment when he heard him holler "Stop!" For Frosty the snow man, had to hurry on his way, But he waved goodbye saying,"Don't you cry, I'll be back again some day."Thumpety thump thump, thumpety thump thump, Look at Frosty go. Thumpety thump thump, thumpety thump thump, Over the hills of snow!

WRAPPING PRESENTS....NOT!

I have to confess, I stopped wrapping presents about ten years ago when I became very frustrated with wrapping paper and scotch tape. Mind you, I love foil wrapping paper and wrapping paper that has special designs on them but gosh darn those things...they just make me mad when it's time to wrap those goodies. How many of us have accidentally gotten the scotch tape stuck on the paper and then tried to gently pull the tape off and got that horrible tear that is noticably white and sticks out like a sore thumb? Well, that's when I started buy Christmas bags of every size and color and design. I also started stocking up on colored tissue paper as I think it just makes those bags sparkle. Easy to carry and no bows to smush if you are transporting them to a loved one's home. Try it this year.

TIME TO LEARN THOSE CHRISTMAS SONGS

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light. From now on, our troubles will be out of sight Have yourself a merry little Christmas, make the Yule-tide gay, from now on, our troubles will be miles away. Here we are as in olden days, happy golden days of yore. Faithful friends who are dear to us gather near to us once more. Through the years we all will be together, if the Fates allow. Hang a shining star upon the highest bough. And have yourself, a merry little Christmas now.

Laurie nominates December Days blog with A BLOG WITH A HEART award!

I designed this award for my sister's blog because I felt we are so far away from each other in terms of miles but not far away from one another in terms of the heart. I wanted bold colors and of course some pink because I wanted her to know that women are brave, bold and strong. The pink signifies tenderness, love, giving and being considerate towards others. Hand drawn? Yes, but I love all things shabby and it was created with that in mind. Imperfect in design because our lives aren't always perfect. Hits you right in the face doesn't it! Well Laurie was sweet enough to nominate my December Days blog with my A BLOG WITH A HEART award and I thank her from the bottom of my heart. You're a great sister Laurie! You are a great friend to me and a great wife and mother!

______________________________

I'M IN A CHRISTMAS COOKIE STATE OF MIND

If there's one thing among all the things I love about the Christmas holidays, it would have to be Christmas baking.How many of us love to munch on Christmas goodies and treats? I know I can count myself as one of those people. As I sit here and think about what I am going to bake this coming holiday, cookies and breads come to mind. I love all kinds of cookies. My husband loves sugar cookies very much so I make my dough and cut snowflakes out with my cookie cutter. I like to decorate my snowflakes with pale blue royal icing. I have included my sugar cookie recipe and a recipe for royal icing on my recipe cards. I hope you enjoy them.I love pumpkin bread and zucchini bread. I have so many recipes for pumpkin bread so I picked one out and I will have to put it on as a page element since the recipe is too long for my recipe cards.Have you ever had Panettone? It it so delicious! I can't believe I lived forty-three years without once having tasted Panettone! I once saw Martha Stewart making panettone with her mother and it just looked so good. I lived in a city that just didn't have a wide array of food in any of our grocery stores. Hardly any ethnic foods were avaliable except for the Mexican food aisle. I'm hispanic so I knew all about what that aisle offered! In any case, in 2003 my husband and I moved to a city with the population of over a million people and I discovered so many different types of food. I was in bakers heaven. I now have access fo a Whole Foods Market and World Market. I would have to say that those two places are my favorite hang-outs.Last year, I made gingerbread boys and they came out pretty darn good. I bought a really nice set of gingerbread boy cookie cutters at my local bakery supply store. They were a little pricey but of good quality. I have included a gingerbread boy cookie recipe for you to try. I will leave new recipes for you from time to time and I hope you will get yourself a nice Christmas apron and start baking. By the way, Ross Dress for Less sells wonderful Christmas aprons during the holidays. One last thing, be sure to make yourself some of my wonderful Sassy Sangria so you can enjoy while you wait for your goodies to come out of the oven.

HOLIDAY SPIRITS WITH A TWIST

You Say Potato...I Say Yummy!

SUGAR COOKIES AND ICING

MERRY RECIPES FROM ME TO YOU!

OH THOSE ORNAMENTS!

Here are the real Shiny Brites. Aren't they just divine?

What a boon to have these lovelies.

Looking Back at Christmases Long Ago

O Holy Night.....wow, don't you just love those Shiny Brites? You can still find them around on the auction sites if you are having a yen for them or just feeling nostalgic. I do have the Shiny Brites that once belonged to my parents. They managed to have about seven ornaments left of the twelve that came in the original box. I can't imagine how many my brother, sisters and I broke. When I got married and we had our first tree, we were woefully lacking in decorations. Not having a lot of money back then, we made do with the leftovers my mother gave us. Among the chirstmas ornaments she gave us, was a box of Shiny Brites. I know we used to have about three boxes but heaven only knows what happened to them.Anyway, my husband and I bought garland...(that garish shiny thick stuff that was all the rage back then) and icicles. The real icicles. The one's with lead. Okay so maybe it's not safe anymore but gosh darn it, wasn't it super shiny? And it was heavy and wouldn't fly away from your tree from the slightest breeze.(I have a secret...you can purchase icicles from those auction sites too. The ones with lead) *word of caution: If you have small children or pets I would re-consider buying the old fashioned kind and just stick with a niced beaded garland, twinkling lights and your ornaments.A year after our first Christmas together my husband and I were given some more ornaments from my parents. Mom wanted to stop putting up a tree. She has a small living room and she would get claustraphobia (or so she says). Now she just goes crazy with Santa decorations. Her living room is full of Santa's and Snowmen.My husband and I fell in love with the ornaments my parents gave us and I got a tear in my eye when I opened the box. There they were, the beautiful Jewel Brites. Shaped like a diamond gem, these are a clear plastic and sometimes colored, ornaments housing angels, flowers, Santa, snowmen. They are adorable. Years later, about fourteen years to be exact; I found and purchase Jewel Brites at an antique mall in my hometown. Needless to say I went ga-ga and bought all four boxes for ten dollars apiece. It was a lot of money for ornaments but when something hits your heart cost is not an issue.

Making Cinnamon Apple Cider and Taking Out the Tree

Brrrr, it's snowing and it's really cold out there. Okay, so it's not really cold and the weather outside is not frightful at the moment but I'm thinking about winter and the smell of pine needles. I'm allergic to real trees but it doesn't stop me from smelling them from afar.

I was thinking about the beginning of our holidays when people start pulling their trees out of the basement or closet and for those who actually venture outdoors and get a real tree, I applaud you. With thoughts racing along like a string of christmas lights, I pondered the set up and decoration of our trees. I'm sure you have a favorite way of decorating your tree. I used to change my theme from year to year but as I acquired more and more ornaments I just started putting all of them on the tree.

My tree is a revolving tree so I get to see all of my ornaments in their shining glory. There was many a Christmas when I never saw the ornaments on the back of my previous trees and that just causes mayhem for the front of your tree. Why you ask? Well, what do you think? I'll give you a hint. You wind up placing all your best ornaments in the front and relegate secondary ornaments to the back. Yes, you got it....the front of your tree starts looking like an ornament clearance sale at your local department store. I do recomend buying your self a revolving tree if you are allergic to natural Christmas trees. I myself cannot touch a limb of a real tree since it causes me to get welts. In any case, I'm sure you know what's best for yourself and your family.

How to start with the decorating of your tree. Well, in my case, my dear sweet mother Rosa always let us decorate our tree when we were growing up. Rosa's rules?

Have your ornament hooks at the ready!

1. (Unless you have a pre-lit revolving Christmas tree like me you may skip this rule.) String lights around the limbs of your tree. You may need over 15 strings of 100 bulb lights for a 6-7ft. tree.

2. Garland. Garland is so versatile. So many styles to choose from. I have a garland with beaded gold stars. I use about 7 strands for my 6 1/2ft tree. I'm guessing my garlands are about 5 yrds each. I've hooked them together for easy set up. People still love that shiny gold, silver or even multi-colored garland that was so popular in yonder days. Nowadays you can choose garlands with stars, candies, angels, santas, elfs,...the sky's the limit! I start from top to bottom and hook the last part to one of the branches with an ornament hook.

3. Big ball ornaments. These you use inside the tree to give it definition. An added bonus for doing this is that the twinkling lights will reflect and bounce off of the big ornaments. You can buy these big ornaments at Wal-Mart, Target..etc. These are less than $3.00 a box and if you get about five boxes that should cover the inside of your tree from top to bottom. Use the multi-colored ornaments for a colorful and full look for your tree.

4. Heavy Ornaments. Typically, Mother said to always place your heaviest ornaments at the top and middle sections of your tree. You can still do that but now you can buy hooks or ties to safely secure them leaving you free to place them anywhere on your tree.

5. Place your mid-sized ornaments next. Balls, figurals, your homemade treasures. Scatter them around your tree and step back a few times to view your placement. Some ornaments compliment each other so I tend to remember which of my ornaments look best together.

6. Small ornament fillers. These are the smaller ornaments that may be figural as well. I have tons of these type of ornaments and they just sparkle from the right placement. I use these to fill gaps and holes.

7. Tinsel or no Tinsel? I had not used tinsel in years but I once got so nostalgic that I raced over to an auction site and purchased five boxes of lead tinsel. I still have it. You may refer to my cautionary paragraph in one of the previous page elements about using this tinsel.

8. Stand back and admire your tree and re-work areas that you don't admire.

9. Drink a cup of Deanna's Apple Cider and listen to some Christmas carols.

Thanks mom!

How Do I Decorate The Tree?

Silent night, holy night....ah, the feeling of Christmas never leaves my heart and even though I pack up my spinnng tree after the New Year I am still thinking of the holidays.

Twinkling lights of many colors adorn my tree and I wouldn't have it any other way. People love white, amber, red or the multicolored ones. I prefer the multicolored ones myself. But whatever your color scheme I'm sure that your tree is the most beautiful of all.

I slipped into a comfy chair earlier and thought about my tree. Would I ever change the way I decorate my own tree? Probably not. It woudn't be my tree. I was never into fad trees and luckily those are few and far in-between! I have amassed a large collection of ornaments from family, friends and my children from Kindercare. I worked at Kindercare for eleven years and I was given some of the most beautiful ornaments by my kids and their parents. In all those years and all those ornaments my most treasured is an ornament my Center Director and friend Allison made for me. She made a large wooden Christmas tree ornament with our last name on it. She painted snow falling on the tree and it's top with a gold star. She wrote: The Nelson's, 1996 on it. Sadly, she passed away at age 44 in 2003. Through her, I fell in love with antiques and collectibles. Thanks Allison.

So this year, again, I will decorate with all of my ornaments. I can't leave any of them out. I try but....they wind up on the tree somehow.

Well, now is a good time for you to start making the Merry Spiced Apple Cider and start thinking of how you will decorate your tree this year. Me, I'm staying loyal to all my ornaments.