Winter sangria...What choo talkin' bout Willis?

I'm just going to come out and say it. I like fruity drinks. That's right, the fruitier the better...and sangria? Love the stuff. Usually I make it in the summer, using all kinds of local seasonal summer fruit...but this winter I started a little search for something more winter-like, and Christmas tasting. I didn't have to search very far...a little Pinterest combing, and tada! Winter sangria! Made it for a Christmas party last week, and it didn't take long to disappear. The only problem? I didn't make enough! It's a little sweeter than wine, but not as sweet as the fruity drinks I love...right in the middle. In fact, I used a pinot grigio so it would be too sweet, because most people don't like their drinks as sweet as I do. A big punch bowl o' perfection! Merry Christmas everyone!

Winter Sangria with Limes and Pomegranate

Salted caramel sauce...heaven in a jar!

With the economy the way it is, there has never been a better time to stretch your crafty wings, and DIY your holiday gifts. I was talking to my mom this morning, reminiscing about Christmas a couple of years ago...the house cleaners would show up and scrub my house from top to bottom, and the teachers gift baskets were filled with Starbucks cards and gourmet goodies. These days, I'm the one scrubbing the house, and everything in the teacher baskets was crafted by me or the kids. These are just the times...everyone is scrimping by, spending a little less, shopping locally to save on shipping, and coming up with their own gift ideas. But really, is that such a bad thing? (yes on the house cleaners.....I miss you...come back to me...:(....) but as I looked at the kids teacher gifts, they were wrapped by the kids, with little handmade ornaments tucked in, peppermint bark from our own kitchen, stacks of coasters made by the kids, $1 mugs from Walmart, (that's right...I went to Walmart...times they are a changin',) and my newest treasure...homemade salted caramel sauce...and I actually had a thought...which is rare because who has time to think these days...but isn't that exactly what is at the heart of Christmas? Giving that takes effort, and love, and thought...not just some random thing bought off the internet? There is no better time to whip something up with love in your kitchen, and salted caramel is all the rage. I have to say, I see why. I love this stuff in every form. Salted caramel cupcakes, salted caramel frappucinos, salted caramel cake...I opted to make just salted caramel sauce, as you can really use it for anything. Dip some apples into it, pour it over ice cream, add it to your coffee, or just eat it with a spoon. Salty and sweet is my favorite combination, and this sauce gets it just right! I made up my own recipe, based on a couple of others I had found, then I doubled it , and poured it into mini canning jars, and the kids helped make labels. So festive!



Salted Caramel Sauce

1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup butter
1/2 to 1 tsp course sea salt or fleur de sel

Pour water into a sauce pan, then pour sugar into the middle of the pan, DO NOT STIR. Let it simmer and cook for around 20 minutes or so, until sugar is completely dissolved, and the mixture starts to turn a little yellow. Add the cream, but watch out, it wants to bubble over quickly, so watch the heat. In another small sauce pan, melt butter and brown sugar. Stir into mixture and continue to cook for a few minutes until it gets a little thicker. Remove from heat. (mixture will thicken up as it cools.) Add sea salt to taste. I pour sauce into a big measuring cup so it's easier to pour into jars, which you should do while it's still pretty warm. Keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Heat in microwave or stove top before serving. As I said earlier, I doubled this recipe, and it made enough for about 5 plus small jelly jars. Enjoy, and Merry Merry Christmas!

Christmas stockings...so easy to make!

My dining room is a far different room than any of the other rooms in my house. Where I stayed light and airy in most of my living spaces, the dining room is a mix of dark wood, black, and animal print. It has dark reddish walls, and an orange ceiling. That's right. I said orange. Don't freak out. It's not all Snooky...I promise. It has a large stone fireplace, and I have been hanging the same old burgundy velvet stockings on there since the dawn of time. Every year, I say, "those don't match, we need new stockings...something funky..." and my husband says, "they're red, the walls are red, they match." Ummmm, we all know that all reds are not created equally. Burgundy, and red....they do not match. It's a common fact in this world. I have been on the look out for replacement stockings for years, never to find exactly what I was looking for. Then it dawned on me. I can make them. It can't be that hard. Right? Well, it wasn't! They took me an hour to make all three. I switched out the old ones, and I loooove the new ones! Exactly, what I was looking for, and $10 for all three!

You will need: 1/3 yard of fabric per stocking
Matching thread
Fur trim, (or any kind of trim for that matter) sold in fabric stores
decorative tassles or fringe (I hate that word)
an old stocking to trace (you would think it wouldn't be that hard to draw a stocking, but mine turned out super freaky
Knowledge of how to thread a sewing machine, and skills to sew a straight line.

First, flip fabric over the backside. Trace your stocking. Trace your stocking the opposite way for the front. Put sides together and sew, keeping it inside out. Do not sew the top together (obviously.) When you are finished, turn the stocking inside out. You can either hand sew the tassles to the fur trim, then hand sew them on to the stocking...or you can do this:

I added a strip of fringe under the fur, and over the stocking, then sewed a line across in matching thread with the machine. Then I turned it to the backside (no one sees that side anyway,) and hand sewed it across, and then down the side. Anyone who has taken a lesson on me about sewing beware....I am known for my 5 minute pillows, free hand crazy, not always in a straight line kind of sewing. I figure, if you have a little common sense, and good guessing skills, no one will study it THAT carefully, right? Quick and crazy is better. For some things. For most things. Anyway, go to the fabric store and find some fabric that inspires you! You still have almost 3 weeks! Happy sewing, and happy holidays!