Elf Yourself!

I'm linking this up to the "Elf Off" over at "According to Chip and Bobo" in search of fame and fortune!

O, Christmas Tree

Another thing that's big around our house at Christmastime is the tree decorating. In addition to the real tree we put in the living room, we also have two other fake trees that go up in the kids rooms.

The living room tree is annoying to me. I want a Martha Stewart looking, color coordinated tree with garland, bows and fancy, breakable ornaments. Instead, we have a hodge-podge of ornaments we've collected over the past ten years with no unifying theme. Elijah has promised that we can add another tree to the collection next year. I will finally have my beautiful tree in the front room window, just for show. Of course, I couldn't do it this year because I have to buy the ornaments after Christmas ON SALE!

Anyway, enough of my rambling. Here are the kids trees:

Amelia's tree theme is "adorable," just like her.

Asher has a "Nightmare Before Christmas" theme, of course.

Tradition

The holidays don't start around our house until I've made the first batch of my favorite Christmas treat.


This is one of the things I remember about spending Christmas with my mother. So we always have a warm batch to munch on while decorating the tree. I make it in the oven, old school style, not in the microwave like the new boxes direct. It takes about an hour at 250 degrees, stirring every 15 minutes. It's time consuming, but the toasty goodness is totally worth it. I make dozens of batches throughout the month. Some I give away, but mostly we just inhale the stuff! For example, this is what was left this morning from yesterday afternoon's batch (the bowl was completely full).

Friday I'm In Love

There are so many things I love about this time of year. The cold weather, the endless days of shopping, the joy of listening to the only cheesy radio station that plays a loop of well worn Christmas songs, and of course, the food.

This edition is dedicated to my love of peppermint. Elijah insists that the addition of peppermint to any food only serves to destroy it's deliciousness, but I respectfully disagree.

This is my favorite holiday food ever! Since it's a seasonal item, every year, I try to make it last longer by buying up several tubs and keeping them safely from freezer burn. They don't usually make it past March.

This is something that can be difficult to find, but if you like peppermint, they are totally worth the search. Walgreens can usually be depended on to keep them in stock.

Best stocking stuffer ever.

This is new, I'm just trying it out. I'll get back to you on the deliciousness factor.

I realize this isn't a food, but it's a glorious way to start every December day!

So there you have it. A list of my favorite peppermint treats. Am I crazy to love peppermint this much?

Everything's Magic

Note to self:

Next time you want to start a 782 page book, do it after you're settled into a home not before.

I really feel like I missed out on the "feeling" of this book because I had to read it in stolen moments of quietude. (Which is not something that has happened very often in the past few months.)

I loved the story and would recommend this as a perfect book to get anyone into the mood for next October. It's not particularly Halloweenish, but the cover is reminiscent of Poe's raven and the story is entirely about magic, a topic I find to be perfect for the beginning of fall.

Susanna Clarke has cleverly underwritten the story with footnotes and asides that make up an entire English history for magic. I was very impressed with her attention to detail as well as her commitment to her subject.

Don't let the size discourage you, it's an easy book to get into and a truly fascinating read.