Howdy folks! How was your Thanksgiving? Last week was a little bit crazy for me. We did a day trip, lot of food, and lots of DIY (finally have a smooth, popcorn free painted ceiling in my living room and kitchen--only took 6 months!). But we got it all done, and decorated most of the way for Christmas, too.
Now it's time to settle down and get back to the regular schedule! Here's the plan for the week:
The holidays bring parties and cookie swaps! Are you ready with a go-to cookie recipe? I was just introduced to cool whip cookies. Using cake mix and cool whip you can make cookies in no time, and they are just the right level of chewy...so good. This variety is pretty simple - chocolate mint. I think of 2 kinds of cookie when I think of Christmas - gingerbread and mint. So of course I just had to try mint at the first gathering of the season. I'll be bringing these to some other holiday events for sure!
Instead of my usual meal plan every year, for the week of Thanksgiving I try to share recipe ideas for all kinds of dishes for the big meal. After all, everyone here in the US is focused on that one day's menu plan! Here are some great ideas for the bird, the side dishes, and desserts.
If you're looking to make room in your oven for more Thanksgiving dinner this year, may I suggest you make your turkey in a slowcooker? I have a large crockpot that easily fits a 7-8 lb turkey breast that is more than enough meat for around 10 people. I've been making turkey breasts for a while, and I have to say that not having dark and white meat simplifies things tremendously, and cooking your meat in a crockpot not only frees up precious oven space, but reduces the chance that your meat dries out.
You all know that I have 3 little girls, right? I love them dearly, but I sometimes get stumped on what to give them for Christmas and birthday...and I'm responsible for coming up with ideas and gifts lists for extended family, too. I have the added complexity that one child has a birthday near Christmas, and the other two are twins...so what do you do? Have double the Christmas list? Say no to gifts? Although I am tempted sometimes to say no to gifts, I will settle for gifts that I am confident they will keep playing with for a long time. Here's a few ideas we've found as a family.
The problem with doing seasonal crafts...is that they are seasonal. So if you don't get a project done before the season ends, there is no motivation to get the project done until the next year. Take this little glitter washi tape star ornament. I started it before Christmas last year, but I didn't finish it before Christmas. So then it sat on my worktable for the next 11 month. Please tell me that I'm not the only one that has craft procrastination?
At least despite the amount of time it took me to complete this project, it really is easy, and it won't take much time at all to complete, especially if you don't take 11 months off between steps.
Howdy! Is it getting chilly where you are? The last soccer game of the year for the twins was very chilly for North Carolina - like 30's. I'm glad we're done with that! I love my girls being involved in soccer. But when I'm sitting down...well, it's just too cold if you're not moving!
We're looking at keeping warm with some dinner recipes. What about you?
I never grew up eating brussel sprouts. I know that they have a bad rap, so I'm pretty glad I missed that vegetable scar. However, since it wasn't a vegetable I was familiar with, I pretty much ignored it until last year when a coworker brought a salad with the brussel sprouts raw. If you've never had raw brussel sprouts, they are a milder version of cabbage. Since I'm all about introducing new vegetables to my family, I decided to make a sweet-salty dressing (featuring bacon - always welcome in my house!) and add it to brussel sprouts. The results? Everyone tried it, and my pickiest eater actually did pretty well with it! I would love to add it to our Thanksgiving day dinner...we'll see if they like it that much!
Here's what you need:
1 lb brussel sprouts
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons apple juice
1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoon real bacon bits/bacon crumbles
1/2 tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated from a block, not from the can. More for garnish if desired.
Wash brussel sprouts.
Remove loose and damaged leaves. Cut in half lengthwise and then slice thinly crosswise.
I just used a knife, but you can use a mandoline. Whisk together olive oil, juice, and vinegar until combined. Fold in bacon into the dressing. Toss the dressing with the brussel sprouts and grate cheese on top.
Serve with more parmesan cheese if desired. Makes 8-10 servings. Enjoy!
Are you thinking about Christmas gift ideas yet? If you want to make handmade gifts, either because you love making or you want to save a little bit of money this holiday giving season, handmade gifts are the way to go. I've found 15 awesome options if you want to make a gift or three for your loved ones!
It's been a while since I brought out my silhouette and made something, but lately I've been wanting to make some reindeer inspired candle holders/hurricanes. If you're a regular reader, you know that sometimes I join in with some other bloggers on a Silhouette Challenge. This month's challenge was to make something for under $5. By using dollar store vases, spray paint I already had, and washi tape and vinyl, I made all of these vases for less that $5. Even if you don't have some of the supplies, I know that you can make each one of these for less than $5.
Hello, hello, hello folks! How are you today? We were blessed with more rain this weekend, and this late in the soccer season, that meant no soccer, and no makeup for the game. I know I should be disappointed for my kids, but I'm ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and as much as I know that soccer has helped my girls, I do not want to combine soccer madness with holiday madness. It was also good to have the weekend off from the field because this mama did something crazy to her back...you know, like pick up her 4-year-olds who are as big as some 5-year-olds. So much for being productive!
Anyway, I'm feeling much, much better now, so it's time to plan the meals for next week.
Do you love washi tape? Washi tape was
originally a Japanese item, but it's taken the craft world by storm. It's a
paper based removable tape. Usually translucent, it comes in all kinds of
colors and patterns. I'm pretty excited to share with you today a beautiful and
quick piece of art that uses washi tape to make feathers!
I love making things
with my kids, and there's something special about making Christmas ornaments
with them. If you have some air dry clay, some buttons, and some metallic
paint that kids can apply with their fingers, you can make some memories and some pretty spectacular Christmas
ornaments. This is perfect to trim your own tree or to give away as a gift.
Anybody else love the
idea of antique glass Christmas ornaments? Or even look alikes that you can
find at places like World Market or online? How many of you know, like me, that
you cannot have those glass ornaments in your home and expect them to survive
the Christmas season? You might think I'm making this statement because I have
kids....nope. Let's see. I used to have 2 glass lamps. Over the summer, both
broke. One was broken by a four-year-old. The other was broken by my husband.
We also have a cat that likes to climb and chew on Christmas trees, and I am a
big clutz. So...glass Christmas ornaments are few at my house. That doesn't
keep me from loving the frosted look of antique glass, with the almost metallic
shifting of colors.
So what's a girl to do?
Make faux antique glass ornaments with metallic paint and wooden ornaments that
won't break!
Happy November folks! I hope that you have loads of fun with Halloween last night! We sure did. Now it's time to ease (I hope) into the holiday season. But first, we need to survive the last couple of weeks of soccer. I love the discipline my girls are learning from the sport, but at the same time we are ready for the season to wrap up, especially now that the time change will make it a little bit harder to get everything done before nightfall.
I’m Rachel, a real-life architect, wife and mom of three little girls 8 and under—including twins! I try to find a balance between my work outside the home and my work inside the home, and try to stay sane in the meantime. I love sharing new recipes, crafts, as well as homemaking and parenting tips—all the things that build the architecture of this mom.
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