November 2007 - Posts
CREAM FILLED CHOCOLATE WAFERS: make ahead, prep about 20 mins, chill 2 hours
Here we go you will need!
1 (8-oz) package of cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/4 tsp, vanilla extract
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate mini morsals...mmm tosses a couple in her mouth hee hee
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans, Toasted......MMM tosses a couple of those also in her mouth
2 (9-0z.) box chocolate wafers* I like the nabisco famous chocolate wafers!!!
(ONE) Beat first 3 ingredients at a medium speed with an electric mixer until ever so creamy. Gradually add sugars, beating untill blended. Stir in choclate morsels and pecans
(TWO) Spread about 1 Tbsp. cream cheese mixture on 1 side of a chocolate wafer;top with another wafer..TOSSES this one in mouth to make sure its good LOL....Repeat well besides the tossing in mouth *GIGGLES* With all your remaining wafers and cream, cover the cookies and chill for about 2 hours...store in refrigerator....This makes about three and a half dozen cookies!!!!
Amid the bluster of holiday preperations, winter's onset goes virtually unnoticed. While we're busy decorating with tinsel and lights and kissing under the misteltoe and enjoying the warmth from the fireplace, outside nature offers glittering frost and sculpted branches. So take a break from the holiday montage, and set the room to celebrate the beginning of this beautiful time of year, I am not a fan of cold weather but this time of year can really be breathtaking along with Christmas that makes it ever so special! SOO lets let it snow, and take a short trip back to childhood, I love to cut snowflakes out of white paper remembering that no two are ever alike, then decorate your creations with shimmering sugar!! There are so many options to explore this time of year so don't limit yourself to just pines and poinsettias, here are some of my other favorite selections I have mixed in and combined to add a green touch to the wintery setting...asparagus fern, birds nest fern, lots of ivy, there is just so many variegated kinds.
BE CLEVER this Christmas and preserve memories: One of my favorite things to do...as your ornament collection grows with special gifts from family and friends, here is a fun way to never forget who gave you what! Write a reminder with a fine tip permanent marker on a narrow piece of satin ribbon, and use it to hang the ornament on your tree!
Hope you can use the fun tips and yummies to your tummies!
Love Elona
DRIZZLE ON THE YUMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!
Makes: A sweet tart dip for bread, OR drizzle for cheese and fruit!
Takes:10 minutes of prep. 50 MINUTES on stove top.
Keeps: Up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator
BALSAMIC CRANBERRY DRIZZLE
In a suacepan combine 3 cups of cranberry juice and 1/2 cup of balsamic vinigar. Bring to a boiling; reduce heat.Simmer, uncover, for 45 minutes until mixture is reduced to 1 1/3 cups. In a bowl toss together 1/2 cups cranberries and 2 tablespoons sugar; add to juice mixture. Simmer 5 minutes more or untill cranberries begin to POP. Remove from heat "COOL" pour into a jar; cover.Refrigerate.Makes 1 1/2 cups.........FUN TO DRIZZLE ON ALL YOUR FAVORITE BODY PARTS TOOOO!!!! OOPS did I say that Outloud??? HEE HEE
SOME FUN IDEAS:
I think EVERYTHING is just better with a bow!!! So why not treat every cabinet door in your house like a present, after all we reach in them for goodies daily.....Red and Green ribbons, plaid is my favorite; are an unexpected touch that not only will you love but your friends and family will also. Mix and match stripes and plaids for a all around fun look!
A little TRIO of TREES!! Pretty up any little spots that look lonely, countertops, bathrooms and little corners here and there with small containers of greenery that look like little bitty Christmas trees, such as a potted rosemary tree, which mine never want to live LOL or small boxwood trees....clip clip off the plants in your yard lol, place in water soaked florist foam trays...then top each tree with a pretty little bow and if you like spread small presents around them!
MORE FUN TO COME, AND LOTS OF CHRISTMAS IDEAS
Love Elona
OK so here is a past blog that I wanted to reshare, it is some of my favorite things that I will be doing again this year, when posting I will tell you if it is a past blog or something that I have added to my favorite things this year! I hope you all enjoy these coming up and use them in your life. Kisses Elona
Christmas Past:
Hand sewn stockings, treasured serving pieces, and ornaments that have been in the family for generations-these are just a few of my favorite things, that I love showing off during the holidays! Once all those seem to be in place, then comes the delightful and whimsical, such as colorful sprinkles or frosted cookies mmm served with a sweet wine or bubbly champagne, floral arrangements and holiday goodies hung from the chandiler!
For me it's alot about making the season more personal and more enjoyable. "I dont want things to be to high style or serious," Christmas should be fun! I love sharing my deocrating and some fun entertaining ideas and hope that you all will enjoy copying a few along the way.
Gathering around the fireplace, you are already half way there with a beautiful fire going.....mmmm the heat and having a yummy glass of wine, the smell of pine with classic red and green; touches of gold to your tree to add a little more life into all the fresh greenery! Always keep a plate of goodies on the coffee table so your friends can help themselves. Another fun idea is to wrap treats in celaphane, add a fresh sprig of holly, and then hang them from the chandelier!
Float some fancy....the magnifying affect of floating items in water gives simple things such as apples a glam look. Tip; Always put items in the container before you add water; otherwise well you will just have a water over flow mess LOL, long tall pitchers or vases look so pretty with apples and holly floating inside!
Practical Gifts....send your guest home with a favor, this year give cookies backed inside the reusable cutters!
REMEBER; To Greet Guest with style! Create a sort of natural cornucopia to greet all your friends with style and make them smile! Take a wooden flower box or copper box and fill it with magnolia leaves, a couple oranges, hypericum berries, and if you still have some in ur garden some chartreuse colored mums, I have some that have kept their style under some other plants from the cold, that stuck right in! So now just hang this pretty container outside; then add your seasonal fruit, flowers, and greenery all from your yard and hang it on your gate entrance!
So Now You Will Need Some Scents of The Season for When Friends Enter! Fill your home with irresistable aromas of the holidays! A stove top makes it easy, fill your pan halfway with water; then add a few fruit slices abd few whole spices. Bring to a boil, and then simmer on low heat, please keep an eye, usually you will need to add water throughout the day. Some good choices to use are, whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, whole allspice, apples, oranges, lemons, limes and fresh sprigs of rosemary or thyme. EXPERIMENT with different combinations untill you find the one that tickles your toes like a great big sweet kiss!
Hee hee I just got tickled, you know how you have the little countdown calenders? Well I have one that you fill with chocolates or just something fun in the box, I just got it this year and well it is filled with all kinds of goodies, but I can't start eating the chocolates untill its the 25 day count....so that is 2 more days to go hee hee then I can eat the chocolates!!! Soooooooo anyhow I was thinking wouldn't it be fun if there was a strip tease girl or guy for that, you get to pull off one item of clothing a day untll you get to the goodies LOL well anyhow, that was just floating around my mind!
I hope everyone is having a beautiful week. My days are getting soooo busy, baking cookies and candies and just getting ready for all the holidays, but I have to say it is so much fun, but after it is all over, I might find myself collapsing in a corner somewhere *giggles*!!
My hours may be a bit off tonight, I hope to make it back tonight, but I am cooking a meal for my dad tonight, he is bringing some hay for chester and then I was gonna get river rock this weekend, but I got a text earlier he had already picked it up for my gardens LOL he is funny, anyhow gonna dump the rock off, put chesters hay away and eat some dinner. I hope to make it back around 8 or so and hang out for just a bit, but I will leave a reply on my blog for you all. I will be leaving around 5 to do a couple things and finish dinner up!
Kisses Love Elona
Ahh, well really got some Christmas shopping done this weekend and lots of yard work, and a pinch more decorating. My girlfriends and I are planning to head out a bit more next weekend also. I have a little bit more in the gardens to do, stuff I noticed while picking up all the leaves this weekend, and hope with next weekend things are finished up. I have been doing some landscaping with river rock, and this is a good time to lay it down in the gardens, when you can see wthout all the plants lol.
I wake up in the mornings now and mm the house smells of pine, one of the things I love about real Christmas trees, I must say that blue spruce pine trees are extremly strong smelling, which I LOVE, they are amazing and completly scent the whole house up, it's amazing. I plan on tomorrow sorting through some of my older blogs of stuff I shared last year and resharing this year along with some of my new favorite things.
I hope everyone is getting ready for the holidays they are coming around quick.
KISSES ELONA
Here we are on a rainy morning with 30 days untill Christmas, what a perfect time to go out and do a little shopping and yummy eating with my girlfriends. We are fixing to head out the door in about 30 minutes and wanted to wish you all a wonderful Sunday and hope everyones weekend is going great. I did get all my yard work and things done around the house yesterday, so now I can go out and just enjoy the day!
Kisses to everyone and I will see you all tomorrow morning at some point!
NOW it is 31 days till Christmas hee hee and 30 till Christmas eve LOL
OK so I am up and running this morn, of course it was sleeping in for me, I get up at 3:30 to open a gym and teach aerobics every morning mon-fri....so I am up, stripped my bed and washing my beddy sheets and waiting for it to warm up an itty bitty pinch outside, before I hit the leaves, and hopefully there won't be to many more this next time, they are about all down, had a late fall this year, so here I am still picking up leaves. I am looking forward to tomorrow, getting all my chores done today, I just want to go out, walk a couple stores, get a little Christmas shopping done and enjoy myself. I am looking for one thing for myself, and well guess if I like it will be my treat to myself for Christmas, Mariah Careys new perfume called M I loved the idea of her bottles, one is a spray the other has a stick that you dab it on, so you control the amount, so hope the stuf smells as good as they say...I will let ya know........ok see you all soon, I am off to get some stuff done!
Love You All Elona
Ok sitting in my room today the countdown to Christmas come up, so I realized I had the countdown just a little off, I was going to Christmas eve hee hee so basically now it is 32 days till Christmas but 31 till Christmas eve!!
So I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have a few plans for the weekend and one of those is the 31 days of posting tomorrow LOL. Also tomorrow I am doing a few things around home and then also cleaning up some more leaves in the yard and grocery shopping. I hope to get all of my chores out of the way and then Sunday me and my girlfriends are just going out and about to do some shopping and hit starbucks and maybe a good place to eat in the afternoon....I will give you details Monday morn!
OK so everyone have a wonderful weekend and be safe and I will keep you all posted on the days till Christmas!
I am planning to be Christmasy all month!! So keep looking; santa panties, skirts, and hats, lots of fun and I have some great Christmas ideas for videos and pictures and old pictures to share throughout the month of December!
Love you all Elona
Hey there everyone, I wanted to stop in quick and wish everyone a beautiful Thanksgiving. I will see you on Friday. I am hitting the shower now and cooking lots of goodies in the kitchen. Dinner is at one and I willbe thinking of you all!!
I hope everyone has an absolute beautiful day. Take time within your day to think about what your Thankful for. I am very thankful for my family, my friends :) and all the special people in my life. There are many more things that I am thankful for but I will take the day to think of them and smile.
Ohh and as always a reminder!!! THIRTY TWO days untill Christmas
Love you all
and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, gobble gobble Elona
Here we are the day before Thanksgiving, and 33 days before Christmas.
Storms moving in tonight, been so windy here today, uggg lots of leaves, but they r pretty much all down now, not sure I will get to them this weekend, I plan on doing a litlte Christmas shopping with girlfriends and some relaxing a long the way. I have had a few very busy weekends, so I beleive I need a restful one, but who knows Sunday I might be out and about. I plan on bringing the Christmas tree in tonight before the storm hits, and then decorating it in the morn, while food cooks and I get ready to head to my moms. We have a huge meal planned, with some family in, that I have not seen in awhile, my brothers and all the kids and lots more.
I hope everyone has had a wonderful week in preperation of Thanksgiving and I hope the day goes beautiful for everyone. I will take a moment to stop in for a few moments in the morning, but not on cam, not sure I will have time. I will be thinking of everyone!!!
Kisses and Huggs
Love Elona
Ahh so yes it is, and well Thanksgiving is almost here to.
Well after reading over LilBears blog I got to thinking about what all cookies I bake, and thought be fun to give a list of what I do and what my mom does.
We split up the cookies, but between us we do homeade chocolate chip, a wedding danish cookie, sugar cookies, peanut butter cookies wth choclate kisses sunk into the middle....mmmmm, a cookie called spritz, it is a little butter cookie and you have to have a cookie press for these, little to much to explain, but I have a cookie press and so does my mom LOL, so that is a sample, there will be more LOL.
Candies, Ohhh I love these, usually I end up doing all the candy stuff, except the fudge, my mom makes the best fudge...ohh ohh ohhh, peanut butter, chocolate, chocolate with nuts, white choclate fudge...killing me thinking about it, well then I do a candy called haystacks, am not big on coconut but they are just so much fun to make, dipped pretzels wth all kinda decoration on them, peanut butter balls, then I make a little sandwhich cookie candy thing with peanut butter, ritz crackers and white choclate, one of my fav, I accidently break some so well I can eat them, one year I also did dipped cherries, hmm might do some of those this year for the Christmas eve party at my moms, peanut brittle and candy cane brittle tooooo :) so I will keep you updated on what else comes out of the kitchen.
Hope everyone is having a great Monday.... I got a ton done this weekend hee hee that rhymed, I am not sure how I am still walking lol, garden work, yard work, and Christmas deco started at my house and moms. I will be taking pictures ;)
Kisses Love Elona
Ohh me ohh my hope you all are now thinkng about it lol, t is just now 36 days!
So I am off to finish up some leaf cleanup.
Yesterday lets see...Christmas tree on back porch in its flower pot..thats done. River rock come...thats done, wheww my back hurts lol. Leaves in front and part of field done. Part of my Christmas deco up...............so now I am off to finish some stuff of mine up and out the door to go help mom get hers out, and then to the grocery store, I am one busy girly~~~~soooooooooooooooo see ya sooonnnnn
Kisses Elona
Hey there well I am fixing to get ready to head out the door and go get my Christmas tree!!!! I am excited, even though it will not be in the house untill Thanksgiving, but just can not wait to decorate it, it is a beautiful blue spruce. I will be sitting online this year, just like last beside it, so you can come tickle my fancy under the tree hee hee. I plan on sitting it by the fire place this year, instead of in one of the front window, just have to see how things go when I bring it in.
So I wanted to stop in this morning and give u guys a reminder on the countdown.
I hope everyone has a safe and beautiful weekend and I will see you on Monday, you can check out my day 38 blog to see just how busy I am going to be this weekend LOL
Love you all kiss kiss Elona
Ohh yes it is...each day gets us a tiny bit closer to the big Christmas!
And well it's Friday, I like Fridays, cause I know saturday I don't have to get up and go to the gym and bounce around teaching aerobics heehee, I do like it, it can be fun, but by Friday I am very tired, and ready to get my little jobs and a few fun things started for the weekend....so what is my agenda this weekend. Let's see I have some mixed river rock coming Saturday morning, so I will at some point get it placed in the gardens, then I think I am done for the season with the gardens, other then picking up the leaves; most everything is done and ready for Spring! Hmmm thennnnnn Saturday morning actually, before I do anything I am heading to the tree farm, to pick up my Christmas tree, it is ready, I am actually happy its warming up a pinch, that way while it sits outside before Thanksgiving it will stay warm, and the roots won't get cold. OK then I beleive a little bit of leaf cleanup, then at some point I am gonna go ahead and start putting up some Christmas lights, they won't be turned on untill Thanksgiving but I have a bit to do, so getting started early is a good thing!!! I am also at another point helping my mom get her Christmas deco out of storage and get her started .....last but not least some grocery shopping and gonna try to pick up a few more Christmas gifts, then I think I have it LOL for the weekend. Then its back to 3:30 jumping around Monday, but I hope the week will be beautiful, for Turkey day, I know some rain is in the forecast, I will not complain about, it's needed, so gonna have to watch the weather and maybe bring the tree up for cover for Thursday so I can get it in easily Thanksgiving eve, and spend my evening decorating. Then that following weekend finish things up indoors and out. I can't wait to get pictures to share with you all!!!!
I hope everyone has a beautiful weekend, I will see you all Monday...I am here till about 6 or 7 tonight, as far as I know; then going out for chinese!
Love ya all Elona
Hee hee so here we are rolling into the 30's, yes you are correct, that is how many days it is till Christmas...Are you ready? Are you scared? Are youuuuuuuuuuuuuu at least thinking? LOL anywho, I hope everyone at least loves this time of year. There is something ever so sweet about it. Even if times are hard; the lights, the smell, the feel, the meaning of it all, is enough to make a smile appear on that face. Sometimes you hear people talk about, well how do you bring it up..hmmm they have lost someone around the holidays, I lost my grandfather this month many years ago, right around Turkey day, some people hate the season, because it took someone away from them, but I think you should smile, I don't hate Thanksgiving because my grandfather was taken right before it..I LOVE IT, I love Christmas...it was his favorite holiday, and if anything..... even if life is tuff, even if its kicking me to all ends of the earth lol, well I smile because there is a reason to, and your loved ones would want you to smile to, not be mean around the holidays, but love it....My family and I still set a plate at Thanksgiving and Christmas for my grandfather, a little empty chair just for him, just because we can, just because it makes us smile..... SO don't hate the holidays love them, love them.....even for all the mean people in the stores pushing you with their carts and saying GROWLL........... SERIOSULY.....now that is something to giggle about.........I usually give them a cheerful WELL MERRY CHRISTMAS TO OU!!!!
Get ready for the holidays and if you just need somebody to talk to in the corner of your world...I am here!!!
I love ya all Elona
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