Christmas Cheer

Hey Friends!

I apologize for the recent neglect on my part.. I have been working hard on secret Christmas and winter birthday projects for a while now. But in all my secretive crafting I failed to capture any quality photos. Whoops.

Anyways.. I made some fun things for my family this year for Christmas.... brought to you by Pinterest, of course. It was the first Christmas in a long time that I was able to make gifts. For the past few years we have either just moved or were in the throws of packing to move, so my boxes of future ingenious gifts/ projects were boxed away or in storage.

But no more! Hurray!

Since I have been teaching myself to knit, I made scarves for my sister and sister-in-law and my pal Celia (sorry for the spoiler, Celia... someday we will exchange gifts...). Each one was different- Jenn's was a purple infinity scarf, Rachel's was a creamy white cowl, and I won't ruin the surprise any more for Celia.... I will post on that masterpiece later....

For my brother-in-law Nick I made him a sweet set of coasters to go with four pilsner glasses and a large glass bottle for his home brewed beer. The glasses had chalkboard paint on the bottom rims and the bottle had chalkboard paint in the middle for him to label his concoctions. I would be remiss if I left the chalkboard areas blank, so I put witty little sayings on each one ("Johanna is the coolest" "Drink this"..etc).

I also sewed fabric baskets for my sister and sister-in-law and filled them with all the random little gifts I pick up throughout the year.  I sewed my mom a few Scrabble tile pillows of her initials, as an homage to one of her favorite games. Wait until you see the cuteness I made for a little friend... my step dad loved it so much I made him one! Check back for a forthcoming post on it! For my brother I made a fireplace kit, complete with matches. It wasn't until later that I discovered that his fireplace is gas... oh well he can still use the firestarters in his fire pit.

I also made some yummy white chocolate peppermint popcorn to give to friends.

This popcorn has three ingredients- 4 quarts popped popcorn ( about 1/2 cup of kernels popcorn), 16 ounces of white chocolate chips,melted and 10-12 candy canes ground up. so easy.

Side note: my favorite word in Portuguese is the word for popcorn: "pipoca" (pee-PO- ka). Try saying it- I promise you will smile.

 Melt the chocolate while you pop the popcorn, then add the crushed peppermints to the melted chocolate. In a big bowl, pour the chocolate mixture over the popped corn and stir to coat every bit. Once well-coated (you will have to work kind of fast) spread the covered popcorn on a baking sheet covered in wax paper. Let the chocolate harden and then eat or package it up to give as a tasty gift. The hardest part was keeping Mr. Lemon's quick fingers away... all in all it took about 15-20 minutes to make.  It would also be yummy with milk or dark chocolate and peppermint... mmmmm.

The Return of Project Wednesday

"Welcome back...welcome back, welcome back, welcome back..."

(theme song from Welcome back Kotter)

Thought I was too young to know that? Your right... I would watch it on Nick at Night hehe.

No I was not kidnapped, abducted by aliens, or in the witness protection program... For those they may be wondering why so much silence from the co-author of this blog there isn't an answer - there are MANY!!!!

New school year

Ballet classes (for my daughter)

Zumba classes

Emergency trip to the ER (my husband had appendicitis)

Introduced to Pinterest

girls bedroom makeover (post to come)
Halloween
sewed costumes for Halloween

Addicted to Pinterest

Wedding in Charlotte

Sewed dresses for the girls (for the wedding in Charlotte)

Vacation to Florida

Thanksgiving trips (visited both sides of our family)
and recently I just started up a photography business

SO...now that I have made all of my excuses for being a lame blogger let's get on with it: Project Wednesday is back baby!! And just in time for Christmas! Johanna and I have an obsession with Pinterest right now and one of us may or may not need an pintervention (1146). Although it keeps me up late at night I get so many inspirations and ideas...if only there was a board on how to get your children to sleep in - hmmm... Anyway today's project brought to you by Pinterest:

Twine Ornaments

here is what you need:

glass ornaments (we used clear but any would work)

your handy glue gun

twine

ribbon (for hanging)Did you notice my glue-gun? She has seen a lot of miles...and she always keeps a souvenir from each project :) she makes Johanna giggle.

This isn't necessary to have but it does make it a little more enjoyable:

Mmm...caramel brulee latte...oh how I love you!

I started with a dot of glue on the bottom of the ornament and then coiled the twine on top of it.

Then kept winding and gluing to secure.

Continue till you reach the top and secure it with more glue.Super easy, yet beautiful! Add ribbon to hang on your tree or group them on a plate for an easy centerpiece! Voila - thanks Pinterest!

Pumpkins and Pinecones

 

I picked up 7 plastic pumpkins at the Dollar Store the other day, in hopes of decorating my house. Fall is my favorite season, but orange pumpkins don't fit into my home's color scheme. My plan?

Decoupage!

Here they are covered in newspaper. I put them in a bowl with a few Dollar Store pinecones.

Don't they look pretty?

How do you decorate for fall?

Gettin' Spicy!

I have been getting compliments and requests for the chili recipes I used for our Shrub Removal Par-tay


Sadly I do not have any amazing step by step photos.

I also do not have photos of fresh, mouth watering ingredients.

What I do have are the recipes.

I got both recipes from Better Homes and Gardens. I love all the food photos on the site- don't you?


I pinned a few other chili recipes on my Pinterest board, so check them out if you want a different flavor. I have some super yummy soup and chili recipes pinned. Just sayin'.



Chili Numero Uno:

Beef and Bean Chili

Serves 8

2 lb lean ground beef
2 large onions, chopped (2 cups)
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
2-4 jalapeno peppers (add more or less)
2 TBS chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 15oz can tomato sauce
3 15oz cans red kidney beans, drained
1 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped ( I used chocolate chips- excellent for snacking as well as sweetening!)
1/4 c fresh cilantro. (I didn't have cilantro/don't like it so I omitted it.)

In Dutch oven, brown beef over medium-high heat; drain off fat. Add onions, garlic and peppers; cook about 5 minutes, until almost tender. Add chili powder and cumin; cook 1 minute, until fragrant. Add tomato sauce and 2 Cups water; bring to a boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered for 10 minutes.

Mash one of the cans of beans. Stir all of the beans into the chili. Return to a simmer; cook about 5 minutes. Remove from  heat, stir in chocolate until melted Stir in 1/2 tsp. salt and the cilantro.

**This chili is a bit spicy, so adjust  the amount of peppers and chili powder to your taste.**

Chili Numero Dos:

Spicy White Chicken Chili

Serves 8-10

2 cups chopped onion 

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 TBS olive oil

1  4.5-oz can chopped green chilies

3 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

3   15-oz cans white kidney beans, rinsed and drained

28-oz reduced sodium chicken broth

5 cups cooked  cubed chicken or turkey

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

 In a Dutch oven cook onions and garlic in hot oil over medium-high heat for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring often, until tender. Stir in green chilies, chili powder, oregano, and cayenne pepper; cook for 1 minute. Mash one can of the beans. Add all beans and broth to ingredients in Dutch oven. Bring to simmering. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes.

Stir in the chicken/turkey; cook about 10 minutes, until heated. Stir in cheese until melted.




Both chili recipes were delish and were even better the next day.

Let me know if you make either one- I would love to hear how you liked it!
Don't forget the toppings and cornbread!

Centerpiece

Mr. Lemon and I went over to a friend's house to watch the Steelers game tonight. I use the word "watch" loosely since I think I watched about two minutes total. Normally I would sit with Mr. Lemon to watch/nap,  but there were fun new projects to be done with my friend! I can't pass up an opportunity like that!

She had the idea to make centerpieces from pumpkins and greenery. She bought some cute pumpkin pie pumkins and we went into her yard to gather greenery and flowers. Her yard is full of beautiful trees and berry bushes.

We found lots of goodies, despite all the mud/snow! We filled three bags and made two trips back to her house. Once inside, we covered her dining table with our freshly cut treasures and got to work!

This is what I came up with:

It smells fresh and was practically free to make!

Bonus: The Steelers won so both of our hubbies were happy too!

Not Another Shrubbery!

Since the Shrub Removal Party on Saturday, the front of our house is a wreck.

 We tied up 18 bundles of shrubbery but there is still a huge pile on our front lawn. 

(The word "shrubbery" makes me laugh and think of the scene in Monty Python. Who's with me? Anyone? )

I am so excited about the idea of flowers in the front of our house! I have big plans for flowers and window boxes to pump up the curb appeal for our little house. The front looks a little bare without the enormous bushes so I need to get to work!

For immediate color, I bought some red mums. These will (hopefully) come back next year to provide fall color. I know they are perennials, I just hope I don't totally kill them.

I also planted tulip, anemone, and ranunculus bulbs for spring. They will be so cheery in pinks, yellows, purples and reds!! I just need to plant some fill in plants and some summer blooms. Any suggestions?

And for all of you who know me, Mr. Lemon did the initial digging, but I did actually put the bulbs (all 160) in the ground. Only two "surprise appearances" from those wiggly you-know-whats, resulting in bit of minor squealing on my part. Grandma Bets would be proud.

Proof that I actually had my hands in the dirt.

I suppose this is my debut picture. So nice.

What is your favorite flower? Do you have any plans for your spring garden?



Blog Bonus!!
For an extra dose of silliness: the "Knights of Ni" scene.

Shrub Removal Party!

We have twelve very large shrubs in the front of our house. As in two rows of very large shrubs that are so high that we can't see out/open our windows.

Yikes and double yikes.

5 Azaleas + 4 Evergreens + 2 Box woods + 1 Forsythia = 12 shrubs too many!

This is the view between the rows of bushes. Enough said.

Today we had a few friends come and help dig them out and free our little house from being overtaken by vegetation.

Hooray!

(Dirt splatter on our siding from spinning tires.)

Oooohhh!!! Who's that guy!?

 

Ta Da!!!

Left side: giant roots and tire tracks. Right side: The Pile Formerly Known as Shrubs.

It only took four hours, two chainsaws (one broke... sorry Steve!), two heavy duty chains,  one very serious axe, one Durango, one van, and lots of chili to take care of business!

Before

After

[Not pictured: Super-sized bushes!]

Yes our yard has a huge pile of roots and branches, and yes our yard has tire tracks, but we no longer have all those bushes hiding our cute little house!

Thank you, Mr. Lemon, Dan, Brian, Steve, Andy, and Steve! You guys made my day!

More improvements to come!