Friday, January 1, 2010

BrocanteHome Puttery Posts

Start your New Year out right with the most WONDERFUL daily e-mails (my first just arrived!) from BrocanteHome -- dubbed "puttery treats" -- these creative, daily reminders to make life special are worth every single cent.

I've been a fan of puttery treats for the last five years, I'm thrilled one will arrive straight to my inbox every single day!!!

Check it out!!

(Photo from BrocanteHome's Etsy site, link above)

Thursday, December 31, 2009

My 2010 Resolution: Photo Albums

We're almost to 2010!!! Isn't there something about that number that just rings happiness and fortune?!

I have one and only one resolution this year, to update unfinished photo albums and keep the current ones CURRENT!! I'm starting 2010 tomorrow!! I use Pioneer brand albums like the one below, always have!

I've been keeping albums since I was a pre-teen, for the last twenty years, each organized based on residence -- e.g., name of university & year or street name & year. Though unlike the no-frills ad above, I use cute paper, borders, die cuts and stickers!

I also keep individual vacation albums, my daughter's baby book (o-12months), holiday albums and individual family albums for those great Christmas card or school photos that family send in the mail, I just label and pop them in!

Actually, this is the album I have bought all these years, I buy them in bulk, each year thinking they might discontinue them!! ARGH! Needless to say, I have a virtual WALL of albums. And I have one very good tip for keeping anything collected in that number looking presentable: Buy the same (AFFORDABLE!) album, either in the same color, or coordinating colors.

On the spine of each, I stick a little engraved brass plaque with the name of the album "APPLEHILL AVE 2001" which are only $4.50 apiece from Pioneer. I just ordered four -- one for 2010, 2011 and 2012, plus one for our upcoming vacation to Hawaii.

I don't see info on the plaques on the Web site, but shoot me a comment if you're interested and I'll unearth the ordering information.

Here's to an awesome upcoming 2010!!! May we all have the drive to accomplish our resolutions this year!! :)

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Cozy Home Christmas 2009

Scenes from our cozy little Christmas ... it was one to remember with a fantastic Pre-school Christmas show, trip to Cincinnati, two feet of snow, a new baby nephew and a haul from Santa!!
Cozy new pajamas for our daughter, waiting on the foot of her bed on Christmas Eve (an awesome BrocanteHome puttery treat idea!)...
A tray for Santa under the tree, complete with home-baked cookies, egg nog and carrots for the reindeer!

Some of Santa's haul: a Lite Brite, pillow pet unicorn, Snow White figure, sweet little singing bird and Zhu Zhu pets.

Beautiful snowfallen neighborhood...

Happy Christmas Kitchen (with handmade Cath Kidston-style wreath, by me :)


Home-baked cookies in monogrammed confectionary boxes...

Chocolate Santas hanging on to their canes...

A very happy holiday ...
Thank you all who take the time to read posts direct from our sweet little home, and leave such valued and insightful comments. Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2010!!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

A 6lb, 15oz Early Christmas Gift

I am bursting with pride to announce the arrival of my baby nephew, born last night to my brother and sister in law!!! We stayed til the wee hours to catch a glimpse and he is BEAUTIFUL.

He was two weeks early, so we're all in a bit of a state of shock, but agree, he is the best Christmas gift EVER!!! :)

Now where do I find a mini santa suit?

Meaningful Preschool Teacher Gifts

My daughter's school asks for a WHOPPING $150 per family for teacher gifts every Christmas. Yes, you read that correctly. 11 families in my class alone.

And while ANY supplement to a teacher's salary is *hugely* deserved, as they are saintly creatures in my book, it does seem to detract from the spirit of personal gift giving a bit...so we supplemented our share with some homemade heartfelt gifts...

My daughter painted wooden ornaments and stuck sweet little Christmas shapes in the drying paint and glitter glue. It should be said that she did this with the utmost care, very serious squinting and careful brushstrokes...
And on the backs she slowly, carefully printed their names, using letters they taught her to write.
She was so nervous to give them to her teachers, that she asked me to come with her and then ran back to me, so full of happiness that she couldn't show her face for a couple minutes :)

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Holiday Gifts: Iced Shortbread Cookies

I get a lot of questions about these cookies, so I thought I'd post a small pictorial!!
I start with a simple shortbread recipe, rolling it out fairly thick and using large cutters...
Outline the edges with stiff-consistency royal icing...
Fill in the shape with watered-down royal icing, it dries very smoothly.
I tint the outline and filler the same shade -- green for the Merry Christmas tree, it took about 7 drops of green liquid food coloring to get the icing to this shade.
You can add additional icing work to the base icing once it's hardened ...


I add names to the bottom, ala Williams-Sonoma, and package in cellophane bags with coordinating holiday ribbon!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Happy Gingerbread Candy House

This year's gingerbread house -- featuring old-fashioned Starlight Mints!!
Squishing of the icing (and eating of the icing...)
Roof work...
A supply of gorgeous, colorful old-fashioned hard candies...
A happy cottage!! (It should be noted that I modeled the lattice window off of my friend's London home, I believe I am obsessed with the lattice window.)

Pre-school Christmas Party Bags

I was so excited to help organize my daughter's preschool Christmas party this year -- my job: decorations and goody bags!!
My daughter specifically requested these to go in the bags: Iced gingerbread men and houses!!
And some little trinkets from the party store (the most fun to pick out...)
All packaged up in clear cellophane treat bags (30 for $2.50), tied with sheer polka dot ribbon...
Santa lollipops I made from cute little Wilton molds and meltable wafers...
And when they were passed out by my daughter just before the end of the day, the kids couldn't wait to get to their cars in carpool before pouring through the contents!!