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It was a good year, I do believe!

1. nifty fifty in the am, 2. pinecone elves, 3. lamp, 4. Christmas in pastels, 5. Decking the halls is so much more fun when you have a friend!!, 6. Christmas ornament, 7. red in progress, 8. christmas game, 9. Sven-Anita & Agnes, 10. Stylist Anna Richardson, 11. number 13, 12. These are a few of my favorite Tins………, 13. Boopsie Pose Dolls!, 14. happy friday!!!, 15. Untitled, 16. Hoots holiday!, 17. Hero in a half shell…, 18. holiday flickr favorites, 19. Untitled, 20. IMG_8624, 21. playing, 22. stacked, 23. Untitled, 24. joy, 25. in the window, 26. Russas, 27. It’s Time!, 28. Simple Pleasures (10-12-09), 29. Elfin, 30. goods by atlantic treefox, 31. the guardian of the forest, 32. Gnome’s House Hand Bag, 33. mid-century modern furniture hoops, 34. Oldschool/retro toys, 35. rice dk aw09, 36. sofia’s room

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys

Hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season!  I’m busy making gingerbread cookies, eggnog, and Christmas presents; watching Christmas specials on TV; building towers with Mega blocks; and dancing around the living room like Tinkerbell.  All of which I highly recommend.

a.) for abandoning y’all for a week, and

b.) for what I’m about to share.

I was roped into making zombie treats this past Friday.  Here’s the deal: 4 TV’s, 4 XBox 360s, 4 copies of Left 4 Dead, and 7 males = Zombie Gamer Party.

At my house.

So.

This was a sheer test of my love for my husband.

And here’s what I made.

First, the cheesy eyeballs that didn’t look much like eyeballs, but I did try.  And they did taste good.

Found the recipe here.  (And if you decide to make these, add some water to the mix!)

Second, and I really do apologize, disembodied zombie fingers.  (Actually,shortbread cookies with strawberry jam and sliced almonds.)

Found the recipe for these here.

Now.

I really don’t want to give my readers nightmares, so I’ll be back later today with a pleasant post. :)

Oh, and the fingers were a hit, but I ate most of the eyeballs.

This is me wingin’ it with what I have…

• 3 c. oats (I used quick-oats because I accidentally bought the wrong stuff.  Worked great.)
• 1/3 c. oil
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. honey
• 1/3 c. wheat germ
• 1/3 c. coconut flakes
• 1/2 t. cinnamon

Heat oven to 325.  While that’s warming, heat oil, sugar, and honey in saucepan over medium heat until sugar has just dissolved.  Then thoroughly coat oats, wheat germ, coconut flakes, and cinnamon with melted mixture.   (I used my hands for this.)  Spread in 2 greased, shallow pans.  Toast in oven for 10-15 minutes, stir, and then toast for another 10-15 minutes.  Remove and let cool before storing in air-tight container.  Serve with milk or yogurt and fruit. :)

What I’ve learned about granola is that you can do it up any way you like.  You just need some dry ingredients and some wet ones.  Once you figure out the proportions, really you can put in whatever you like.  Or whatever you happen to have in your pantry.   I like to add raisins and milk to mine because I’m a notorious cereal junkie.  But I think it would be particularly delicious over fresh peach or baked apples.

Photographing my breakfast.

Like this lady.

So how about a healthy dose of Vitamin C?

In the spirit of A Year of Mornings, I present to you a tangerine diptych.

Happy Friday, everyone!

EDIT: How do you like my new, orange-y banner? :)

Seriously.  Have you seen this yet?

Hey, thanks for the couch love.  I feel affirmed.

If you don’t love the couch and are too polite to say so, that’s okay too.  We can still be friends. :)  And I’ll even be friends with those who used words like “ugly” and “fugly” in reference to my new love (*cough* male friends *cough*).

Here are two of Emily’s Christmas presents.  Since she can’t yet be sneaky and doesn’t even know why she should be, I can actually show you what I’m working on.  So here’s a bear hand puppet in the spirit of her much-loved (ha!) Halloween costume and a dolly based on One Red Robin’s free Ruby pattern.  That pattern is fantastic, by the way.

If you have any more gift ideas for babies and toddlers, please tell me!  I have maybe 3 crafting days left before we exchange gifts.  So I’d better get to it!

P.S. I made these crackers, and I highly recommend them.  Add garlic salt & parmesan for extra yum factor. :)

We’re a little late this year, but typically I like to put up the Christmas tree on the day after Thanksgiving. I love Christmas decorations. And having a little family party of sorts while pulling out all the remnants of past Christmases warms my soul.

So we had a little pre-party involving candles and fudge brownies and attic boxes, and then we went to our Christmas tree nursery.

This is the only place we’ve ever bought a Christmas tree as a couple.   Sorry to get all sentimental on y’all.

With Jake-Jake crawling, nom-ing things, and pulling up on anything he can grab, we thought that a table-top tree would be best this year.

The nursery made no bones about it. All their little trees were appropriately labeled “Charlie Brown Christmas Trees.” Seriously.  Jammed into a tiny hole in the ground was our perfect evergreen shrub.

It was only $8. I mean.

That’s alright with me. Even if it is already starting to lean from the burden of ornament-holding. As long as it doesn’t snap in two, right?

Finally, it feels like Christmas around here. *happy sigh*

I’m thankful for sweet, wonderful family. We’re heading out tomorrow morning to trek halfway across the country from Oklahoma to Tennessee to Virginia to be with family. And eat. Love it!

Last year, I found a yummy cranberry dish (that’s more than a sauce) in a Jell-O ad in Martha Stewart Living, I believe. It’s much like a fruity dessert. Based off of this recipe, I made a few changes. Here’s the adapted recipe:

• 1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, undrained
• 1 pkg. (8 servings) cherry flavored Jell-O
• 2 cups freshly prepared cranberry sauce (I used the directions on the bag)
• 1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
• 1 orange, peeled and sliced

Drain pineapple, reserving liquid in 1-qt. liquid measuring cup. Remove 1 Tbsp. of pineapple; set aside for garnish. Add enough cold water to the reserved liquid to measure 3 cups; pour into large saucepan. Bring to boil; remove from heat. Add gelatin; stir at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Add cranberry sauce; stir until well blended.

Pour into large bowl. Refrigerate 1-1/2 hours or until slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites.) Stir in remaining pineapple, apple and orange; stir gently until well blended. Pour into medium serving bowl or Jell-O ring. Refrigerate 4 hrs or until firm. Garnish with reserved crushed pineapple just before serving. Store leftover gelatin in refrigerator.

Makes 14 servings, 1/2 cup each.

So what’s your favorite Thanksgiving dish?