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!

Homemade peppermint bark, just like Williams-Sonoma!

I have vivid memories of helping my dad deliver plates of homemade cookies to all the neighbors on Christmas Eve. My mom was busy getting the house ready to host Christmas, and my dad would say, "come on Shayne," then give me explicit instructions on what do if some one's visit lasted more than five minutes. We would joke about using a "code word" or pretend I had to go to the bathroom, or the dog was sick, etc. But neither of us had it in us to actually pull out the code word, and we would be gone for a couple of hours. Part of me thinks this was my dad's way of getting him (and me, thanks dad) out of the fifty million other things my mom would have in store for us if we returned too early. Everyone in the neighborhood was always in a great mood, and we would laugh, and chat, and move on to the next house. It's weird how we inherit certain things from our parents, and our siblings inherit others. My sister acquired the love of volunteering at school, the PTA, and all things educational. My brother inherited my mom's work ethic, and I seem to have inherited the love of the holidays. I hand made each of my kids stockings, because that's what my mom did for us. I decorate the day after Thanksgiving. I bake all different holiday cookies...why? Because my mom always did, and her mom always did. I draw the line at home made butter balls, and shining silver, (although my mom comes down at does it for me :)) I also feel the need to deliver something to the neighbors at Christmas...or make my husband and kids do it while I get ready for Christmas. Cookies usually make the list, but a few years ago, I started making peppermint bark. I love the stuff, but realized it costs a crazy amount to buy, but is really easy and inexpensive to make. I have probably tried 5 different recipes over the years, and have settled on one that tastes the most like Williams and Sonoma (my fave bark). It is so good, I keep it in the fridge all holiday season, and long after. By lunchtime, I have usually consumed my weight in peppermint bark. It's addicting, I'm telling you. I have given out the recipe many times, as people seem to love it as much as I do. Make a batch a week, and my Christmas , you'll have enough for the teachers, neighbors, and yourself! I urge you to start your own holiday traditions. These are the things your kids will remember for years to come! Enjoy! Oh, and a little warning, do not, no matter how curious you are...do not, under any circumstances, taste the peppermint extract. You will end up with your mouth under the sink, and the mentholated burning may last for two days. It's minty. That's all I'm saying.

Awesome Peppermint Bark Recipe

Holiday signs...get your craft on this Christmas!

Coming up with craft ideas for the kids for the annual Christmas bazaar at the kids school proves difficult, year after year. Now, two out of my three kids want to have their own table to sell their own goods, so guess who gets to think of the ideas...shop for all the ideas...explain how to make the crafts...then finish the crafts as the kids burn out...then, with a little help...clean up the crafts. And crafting with the kids is fun, why? Exactly? Well, it actually does become worth it seeing their cute little handmade items they are so proud to sell, and then they take the money they make, and shop around the bazaar. They pick out cute little things for their siblings, and usually for me...and I love what they come up with. This year, I decided to help them make some cute wooden Christmas signs to add to all of their ornaments, hand sewn napkins, coasters (see here), and dog treats. But then something happened. I kind of took over the signs and I just kept going. Then, as the signs got cuter and cuter, I started looking for places around my house to hang them. Grace was like "um...mom, aren't we supposed to be selling those? Think of the money we could make..." I prefer to think of all the money we could save, if I just went ahead and kept them, you know...adding to my Christmas decorations for free! Actually, these signs cost around $30 to make all three, but are super sturdy, can be made to match your own decor, or can be given as gifts! They took me around two hours to make, and I am loving them! So, come on! Get crafty, just in time for the holidays!

You will need:

1 1"x6" board from Home Depot (about $5)
wooden letters (found mine at Walmart $1.98 each)
modge podge
Hot glue gun or strong wood glue
paint
picture hangers
primer or white spray paint
glittery or decorative craft paper







Start by laying out the words (I used peace, joy, and noel) on the board and draw lines with a pencil where you need to cut the board into three. Sweet talk your husband, unless you are crafty with the power tools, to make the cuts for you. If neither one of you are comfy with a handsaw or table saw, take it back to home depot, they will cut it for free. Spray primer on all the letters, and the boards, front and sides, (you don't have to spray the back.) After they are dry, paint the board any color you choose. Trace the wooden letters on the backs of decorative paper, and cut out. Play around with setting the paper on top of the letters to get a color combo you like. Paint the sides of the letter to correlate with what paper you are using...thin paper can be modge podged to the letter, and then a thin coat applied over the top. You can also paint the letters and decorate with sparkly glue, polka dots, etc. Heavy paper (I used mostly heavy paper) needs to get glued to the letter with a hot glue gun or wood glue. Then, hot glue your letters onto the board, then add a picture hanger to the back (Home depot $2.50 for three of them), and they are ready to hang! Go girl! Look what you just did!

Sweet Potato Souffle & Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce...

Thanksgiving is almost here, and after many years of trying recipes, there are a couple that remain absolute, all time favorites. Recipes so good you will make them year after year. This sweet potato souffle, is not technically a souffle, as it does not puff up in the oven. I actually got this recipe from my friend's husband...we were invited years ago to an early Thanksgiving at her house, and her husband made this dish, and literally every person at the table asked for the recipe. Now, my relatives ask me for the recipe, and ask that I bring it to Thanksgiving every year, (which is now usually at my house, so I don't have to bring it very far.) Here is the recipe, if you make it...you will thank me.

Sweet Potato Souffle

3 cups peeled and boiled yams
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter

topping: 1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup melted butter

Strain the yams after boiling, and put in a mixing bowl. Add brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, milk, and melted butter. Mix until whipped and pour into casserole dish. For the topping, mix brown sugar, flour, pecans, and melted butter. Crumble over yams and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I know it's not lo-cal, but people...it's Thanksgiving! You're welcome!



The pumpkin bread pudding was a recipe I found off the internet a few years ago. I had tried at least 4 or 5 bread puddings, and was not thrilled with any of them. I wanted something pumpkiny, and caramely, and warm, and vanilla-ish (all made up words, I know,)...something super memorable. When I found this recipe, I tried it right away, and it was a keeper. My mom, sister, and I can put away a whole pan of this stuff, easy. If there is any left, it's gone for breakfast the next day. This, an apple pie, and a pumpkin cheesecake, and you are good to go this Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

2 1/2 cups half and half
1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
10 cups cubed egg bread (I find mine at Central Market, it's called Ultimate French toast bread)
1/2 cup golden raisins

caramel sauce:

1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Mix half and half, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and vanilla in a large bowl. fold in bread cubes. Mix in raisins. Transfer into casserole dish. Let stand 15 minutes, then bake at 350 degrees, until knife comes out clean. Meanwhile, prepare sauce. Whist dark brown sugar and butter over medium heat in a saucepan. After butter melts, stir in heavy cream. Stir until sugar dissolves. Sift powdered sugar over bread pudding, top with caramel sauce and whipping cream. Comfort food at it's best!

Winter is coming!!!

As winter nears, cozy boots are everywhere! As the forecast calls for possible snow, dressing warm is even more important! How to dress warm AND look cute at the same time??? Some winter ideas for casual and dressy...

vest-oldnavy.com $40
hat- Stella Mcartney $60 net-a-porter.com
bag- romwe.com $99
jeans- abercrombie.com $68
tshirt- oldnavy.com
watch- shopbop.com
earrings- windsorstore.com $2.90
boots- Ugg zappos.com $220
hat- oldnavy.com $13
jeans- topshop.com $71
shoes- dsw.com $100
coat- oldnavy.com $79
bag- Madison by coach.com $398

Happy Holidays and stay warm out there people!