Two Posts Today! Swoon and Drool Worthy Recipe (Eggnog Cream Pies) and our DIY Fingerprint Snowmen Ornaments

It's a two-fer today!  Two posts in one from me. A Christmas miracle.

Fingerprint Snowmen Ornaments

I like to make ornaments with the kids each year.  This year I decided to use up the clear glass ornaments I bought years ago for the cute staged baby shower Jamie and I styled way back when (we used them as bubbles in a centerpiece).   The process was easy.  I had each kid dip their finger in some white kids' craft paint (read: washable; read: happy mama).  We did three little prints to make a snowman.  I made sure to remember whose print was whose.  Then I used puffy paint to dress up the snowmen: hat, arms, eyes and nose.  Big helped me with the boots.  And then I gave Little's print a pink scarf and Big's a blue one and had each of their snowmen holding their first initial.  I wrote "2011" on the side and we were done! I love how they turned out (and hello - free!):





Eggnog Cream Pies

I love eggnog.  I love it, I love it, I love it. I love it by itself. I love it in coffee. I love eggnog lattees. I love eggnog ice cream.  I love eggnog tea.  I love eggnog muffins. I love eggnog cakes and cookies.  I love eggnog with rum, brandy, whiskey ... even a combination of these liquors.  I.Love.Eggnog. 

So, when I saw a recipe for eggnog cream pies a few years ago that was supposedly easy and delicious, I tonto jumped on it.  I will tell you ... these are, indeed, easy and delicious.  It takes maybe 20 minutes to make them, including the time to bake the pie crusts.  My friends, I present, the eggnog cream pie:


So feel free to print and make the recipe below.  Let me know how you like it!  Are you an eggnog lover like me?  Please .... let's talk my favorite Christmas treat.

See you swoon,






Eggnog Cream Pies

2 unbaked pastry shells (9 inches)
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cartons (one 8-oz, one 12-oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
3 3/4 cups cold eggnog
3 packages (3.4 oz each) instant cheesecake or vanilla pudding mix

Line unpricked pastry shells with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450 for 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake 5 minutes longer, cool on wire racks.

In small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, confectioners sugar, allspice and nutmeg until smooth. Fold in 8 oz carton of whipped topping. Spoon into crusts.

In large bowl whisk eggnog and pudding mixes for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until softset. Spread over cream cheese layer. Top with remaining whipped topping, sprinkle with additional nutmeg if desired. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Yields: 2 pies.


3 comments:
Categories: ,

Pottery Barn knock-off mail bin

I have always wanted a wall organization system like the one Pottery Barn sells.  I swore when I got my own house I would buy this set and display my pictures, daily notes, and mail proudly.  OK, I don't really want to display my mail but I am trying to make the most of every inch of my home while keeping it organized and clean looking as well as feeling lived in all at the same time.  I know, all this over a mail bin!  I have been searching high and low for a mail bin like this one to round out my organizational wall:

Pottery Barn Wire Mesh Wall Mount Magazine Rack
 Why not just buy this one for $24 and call it a day?  Good question. I almost did but it stuck out two inches too far.  Now two inches is not a lot I know but in this case the rack would have overlapped the light switch and just looked funky...and made me insane to see it every day, so the hunt continued.

Alas, after many stops in Home Goods and to the wall that has the organizational pieces I finally came across the perfect solution :)  Check her out:



A chalkboard with a mail bin and I love the wire, so rustic looking, just love it and for $24.99!  I inspected this thing thoroughly in the store because I had no intention of putting the chalkboard up, I was really just interested in that wire holder at the bottom.  Cue happy dance because it was only screwed into the wood!  I bet you can guess what happened next...

Yup, off you go!

Maybe I can find something to do with this later.


All I had to do next was screw the mail bin into the wall and presto! I now have the organizational wall that I have been longing for (crazy thing to long for I know, but hey, whatever makes you happy, it's all about the little things right?)

Here it all is together:






I love how you can find something in a store and tweak it to use it exactly how you need in your home.  Do any of you look for pieces to transform when you are out shopping?  I am not always thinking outside of the box like this but am very happy that on this day I was because this mail bin is exactly what I was looking for.

See you swoon,

3 comments:
Categories:

Secret Santa! Something to Wear, Read, Want & Need

Don't you just love secret santas (aka, pollyannas, yankee swaps, etc.)?  I do!  I have a great online group of friends (we've been together since 2001).  There are about 35 of us, and every year we try to do a secret santa in December.  This year there was a $25 limit and I drew my friend Jen.  I was so excited!  I like to make my gifts as thoughtful as possible ... so I thought and thought and the answer was right in front of me: I'd do exactly what Jen was planning to do for her daughter for Christmas and give her four gifts: something to wear, something to read, something that she wants and something that she needs.  Yeah!  Here are all the gifts packaged up ... brown paper packages tied up with string.


I printed up the tags on my Mac using some favorite fonts (Lane Narrow and Affair).  I had the brown paper bag from a grocery trip and the ribbon were remnants in my stash.  I decided to print out little tags to include inside each gift, too.  And now for what's inside (along with a running tab of the cost)!

* Something to Wear * 

I went with some super soft, super cozy, cream socks from Old Navy.  That way I didn't have to worry about sizes and who doesn't love fluffy soft socks, especially as Winter is upon us?  These cost just $2 at an Old Navy Black Friday sale.


 * Something to Read *

I wanted to get Jen something useful.  I went with the the little book, Salt, Lemons, Vinegar and Baking Soda.  I recognized it immediately, as Jamie blogged about this book awhile ago.  It is so cute and helpful, especially to Jen who loves to keep things eco-friendly around her home.  I need to pick up one of these books for myself!  This book was on sale for about $5 at Barnes & Noble. 


 * Something She Wants *

This was easy!  Jen loves to knit so I emailed one of my other knitter-friends and asked for a suggestion on a place to get a gift card.  She suggested Purl Soho ... so I ordered a giftcard for $20 that Jen can use in the store or online.  I gotta admit: I don't knit but I really want to poke around that site.  Such cute stuff!


* Something She Needs *

Well, this one was probably the hardest of all.  I cheated a little and did a fun little poll on the boards and asked, among many other questions, "what is something you really need this holiday?"  Jen responded that she could use a holiday music CD, since they don't have one.  She thought it would be fun to play it while decorating their tree.  Yes!  I have a ton of Christmas CDs, so I just loaded them on my Mac, created a playlist in iTunes and burned her a custom CD with 90 minutes of Christmas music.  Cost? Free.  I had the CDs (even the blank one) on hand.  The cover is something I downloaded from Better Homes and Gardens - a cute Christmas pillow download (you can see more info on it in my post last week).  I just reduced the size of it to fit in a CD case.



And there you have it!  For $27 (I went $2 over budget - no biggie), I got my friend Jen four cute things. I hope she finds them as fun as I had putting it all together.  

What about you? Participating in any gift exchanges this year?  Christmas is coming! 

See you swoon,
4 comments:
Categories: ,

Swoon-worthy Pinterest Pix

I thought it would be fun to show you some of the the things I pinned this week.  I am a full blown addict when it comes to Pinterest, I am not afraid to admit this. For those of you not familiar with this site it is a world full of pictures of fashion, homes, art, you can even find DIY instructions for projects!  One of the best things about the pictures you "repin" is that most pictures have the website where you can purchase the specific item that you searched for.  Nothing is more frustrating than finding something you love and then not knowing where you can buy it.  This site takes all the guess work out of it.
 I will admit, I started writing this blog and hopped over there to find some of my favorite pictures and got sucked in again.  I warn you, do not go on this site at work, hours will pass and you won't even know it!

So this week's Pinterest round up looks a little something like this:

I came across this DIY craft idea when I was looking for radiator cover ideas for the dining room.  Yup, this is how you get sucked in.


No idea what I was looking for when I found this but sparkly shoes, um yes please!  I could totally do this myself...now which heels do I sacrifice for this project?


Shanna must have pinned this one, love it though.  Modge Podge and lace on glass.  I may try this over the weekend.


Let's jump over to fashion, our "All Things Style" board is growing rapidly.  This is one of my favorite boards to look at and like I said before, the best part is being able to find each item online so if I wanted to purchase it I could!

Not sure where I am going in this but I need it:


I wish all my shirts had sleeves like this:


I have also decided after much debate that I need a pair of leg warmers.  I know I had these in the 80's and this is why I contemplated for so long whether I should jump back on this band wagon.  Yup, going to do it.


This time the leg warmers will look a little something like this:


What an adorable outfit:


Moving along, here are some fun inspirational rooms and pieces that I have saved:

This would be my ideal guest room, colors, rustic distressed wood and love that headboard!


I am swooning over this white brick fireplace.  Makes me a little less nervous to paint mine!


Look how fun this radiator cover is!  Even without the cushion, I am loving the wood x front, I have never seen one like this before:


I hope you have enjoyed some of my favorite pins from Pinterest.  If you haven't signed up yet, get over there right now, you will not regret it.
Before I go for the weekend, I will leave you with these three things, they made me laugh out loud and what better way to start a Friday :)




And with that my friends, have a great weekend and be safe!

See you swoon,
 
1 comment:
Categories:

It just fell into place

This year I bought my Christmas tree super DUPER early.  Last year we had just moved in so decorations were scarce and the only reason we had a tree was because Shanna surprised us with one that was delivered and waiting for my husband and me when we got home from work (there were tears, how sweet right?). 

This year after picking up my tree I had to shift some furniture around to make room for the pine scented beauty so the chair and rustic table had to go...just for now (sorry dear husband, the table stays).  Funny how the table's temporary home has turned into its permanent abode.  It all just fell into place and the second I saw the table next to the couch, the far side of the room felt full and complete.  Who knew?  All I had to do was buy a Christmas tree to help with my decor decisions!  I will have the task of filling in the empty space on the other side of the room but I am OK with that.

Here are a couple shots of the room before the tree made its appearance:



Now on the other side of the room.  You will notice a new glass top or the table as well :)  A good friend of mine cut that for free! It works a lot better as a table with a top :)



So with a quick shift across the room, this small table has made the couch feel cozier, the room feel more complete, and saved my pocket some dough because now I don't want a new couch anymore!

What do you think?  Would you have gone for a bigger couch or do you like the tables on either side?  Funny how that table was in the front room for so long and I never though to try it on the other side.  Anyone out there stumble upon the perfect solution to your room layout by accident?

See you swoon,

5 comments:
Categories:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)