The most wonderful time of the year

No, I don't mean Christmas. I mean FALL! Don't you just love the change from hot dreary days to breezy days and crisp nights. Watching the beautiful array of colors splash the landscape. Sitting around a fire in your backyard roasting marshmallows (If I were in Utah I'd roast them up in the canyon...)

I love fall it is my favorite time of year. You can still be outside. The excitement of the new school year hasn't quite worn off. You can layer your clothing and dress really smart. OH! I love it.

Here are some great Halloween Decor Ideas: All but one are care of Martha Stewart!

The pumpkin above with the holes has been an idea that I've wanted to use for years. You clean it out cut holes and rub the inside with cinnamon then light a candle and you get instant holiday fragrance for your home.

The orange pumpkin jars are old kitchen jars they painted the inside and added face stickers to.

The rest are mostly self explanatory and are just some fun ideas!

Lastly, the picture below is from Lowes. They are tomato cages wrapped with Christmas lights, then a cloth over with a face drawn on there in permanent marker. Fun huh!

Ole! Arriba! Arriba!

Thought you might like to see my first ever attempt at a decorated cake!

Happy (late) Cinco de Mayo!

(don't judge too harshly, I don't own any of

the proper tools and had to get really creative!)

It's a sombrero, in case you couldn't tell!

Creme Brulee Recipe

I did have one person ask, so here it is (this recipe is from our friends the Johnsons!- they are the ones who watched America's test kitchen every Saturday or so and then shared what they learned! Which also included the best cheesecake recipe ever! Thanks guys!)

Creme Brulee
Preheat oven to 300

In a separate pan start about 2-3 quarts of water boiling, for a water bath when they cook, not in recipe!

1 cup heavy Whipping cream
1/3 cup Sugar

slowly bring to just boiling, mix only occasionally (don't over mix)

add:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt(I let these heat up a little, but not too hot)

in a separate bowl:
6 eggs yolks (beaten)

Now in order to put the hot cream in with the eggs you have to add a small amount of the cream to the egg yolks, and stir them it in, to temper them, (so that the eggs don't cook) add a little more of the cream mixture to the eggs, stir and then you can add the rest.

Place a dish towel in a glass casserole dish(this will help the ramekins not to slide all around), add the ramekins on top of towel, fill each ramekin.

Fill the casserole dish with the boiling water (from above) so that the water is 2/3 the height of the ramekins. I open up the oven and pull out the rack and stick the casserole dish there before filling it up. This way I don't spill boiling water down myself trying to stick it in the oven.

Bake 30 minutes

Place ramekins on a wire rack.
Sprinkle the tops with sugar (raw or table whatever you prefer)
cover and place in fridge overnight.

Torch the top before serving. (we got a torch at the kitchen store, our friends just bought one at home depot! You just torch it till the sugar starts to brown and boil.

Good luck!

Chirstmas Eve Tradition

We would like to wish you all a

Merry Christmas!

Here are some photos from our annual
Christmas Eve Candle Light Pizza Dinner!

Six Randoms

Okay I just got tagged, so I am going to answer it, six random things. (I just found an old friends blog today. Love that!, too fun. She named her most recent tag blog "Tagnabit", so clever, I really wanted to copy it, I resisted, but still thought it should be shared.)

So Katie this is for you! (Sorry if you can't get on, it's a private blog).

1. My house is FINALLY clean! So- I have been sick for about a week plus. This means that the Christmas decorations were pulled out of the closet and left all over the living room floor- for days, and days, and days.

I went to the doctor and he gave me a prescription that seems to be helping, although yesterday that was not the case. My dear friend Emily decided to have mercy on me. She came over to my house yesterday and decorated BOTH of my Christmas trees and vacuumed. What a woman, what a friend! Here are the pictures, she did a Silver and Gold Tree that is downstairs and a red tree up stairs. The whole time, I just literally sat there and watched.



I love the little crystal stars, in the silver and gold tree those were my mothers parents.






I also have to explain the pine cone flowers. I love these my Great Grandparents made these. I have no idea how, but they are so charming and I love how sentimental they make me feel. There is just something so wonderful about the kinship I feel for my parents, grandparents and on and on. To know that my mother is like my grandmother, and that I am like my mother- what could be more wonderful than that? I hope that someday I am my mother! It gets me crying every time- in a good way. I love it!



2. I have been bullied into putting up Christmas lights. I didn't want to be the neighborhood Scrooge, and in a 'burb I seem to be feeling some PEER pressure, in a least a little sense. We did nothing for Halloween, I felt a little bad. A few tenacious little trick or treaters actually commented. So, I thought I would do something for Christmas, granted even it is WAY simplified, but so pretty and dignified! I love it- simple candles in the windows.



3. I just ate a bit-o-honey that I found in Justin's drawer when I went to grab the camera. (it was from Halloween- he's a candy hider, not a candy eater).

4. Soapbox- This may be old news, but is anyone else as disgusted as I am about what happened in that Walmart in Manhattan the day after Thanksgiving? If you haven't heard a man was trampled to death when a mob broke through the door just to go shopping.

When Justin read the news to me, I started to cry, it was SO upsetting. Are we as a people so concerned about shopping that we would think it is okay to break into a store to get what we want? And then not notice the fact that a person is under your feet in your mad attempts to get the next techy gizmo for 5 dollars less?

I was so sick and saddened that I for one will promise to never join the throng the day after thanksgiving. I am just sad that this is what Christmas has turned into. I actually am planning to practice what my friend Katie told me in college (the same friend who tagged me) But her plans were and I hope still are to give three gifts for Christmas, like the wise men. One gift you need, one you want and something meaningful.

Hope that wasn't too depressing! I will try not to depress you again
5. I love watching Martha Stewart. Yes, I admit it. The woman is a force. I realize that she doesn't come up with half of it, but at least lately she has been giving more and more credit to others for their ideas lately. I think that prison was a good thing for her. I like it too when she jokes about it.

But anyway, I just love the ideas. I love the recipes. I like learning new techniques for cooking and I love the crafts. I just like looking for inspiration. and there is plenty to go around. I love the art of making a house a home and this is probably a good time to spread that vision. On that same subject, one of my favorite books is "Shelter for the Spirit" by Victoria Moran. If you want to read a good book check it out!

6. I would like to say that I am really thankful for all the time I have with Justin. I am happy that my husband and I get along so well. This long wait for an extension of our family has been hard, but also good, I have finally reached that point of reference.

Justin and I know each other so well. We can finish each others sentences. We make up songs together- and we make up the same thing simultaneously- no kidding! We have secret love signs for each other. And special greetings when he comes home. I would not trade my time with him for anything. He is just such a good guy and so caring.

For example, I woke up this morning to the dishwasher unloaded and the hand washables washed. Who could ask for more? But that is the great part- there is so much more I could mention... But I will just say this. Thank you Justin for being my husband. Thank you for being my confidant, my counselor, my sous-chef, a great listener, a fabulous builder, such a cutie! Thank you for being my BEST friend.

Only being able to spend eternity with you could make me more happy than I am now!

Thankfulness

Happy (late) Thanksgiving

I hope all of you had a great time on thanksgiving day, enjoying family, friends, or at least a day off!

Justin and I headed over to our friend's Matt and Emily's, for a great dinner, we made a few things, including my first Lemon Meringue Pie (my Momma's recipe, the very best ever)! Justin made some Beautiful Rolls, he was trying to channel our friend's the Howell's in North Carolina, but we don't have their recipe so we just used his mother's recipe.

And of course Justin wanted to dress up, to surprise the kids. Then when I jumped on board and actually made him put lipstick on his face he wasn't quite as excited, but I had fun!

At dinner we mentioned three things that we are thankful for so I will try to do the same in no particular order:

First, I am thankful for my family! My sweet husband is the best ever! Such a fun, caring loving man! I adore my parents, both Justin's and mine! Such wonderful people! Of course all of my brothers and sisters, and their adorable children, life would be empty without you!

___

Second, That Justin and I were so taken care of in all our recent changes! We never needed for anything and have been blessed immensely, and are happier than we have ever been. I have never had so much fun in my life, as right now staying home. I make a healthy dinner every night and work on project after project and have been dusting off a few of my dream ambitions, (writing a book-who knows when it will get done, I need to give myself a few due dates)

____

Third, for my Father in Heaven, and the plan that he has for us!

Witchin' you a Happy Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!