Happy New Year...

Visions of Sugar Plums...

It's just about this time every year... after I've singlehandedly eaten my way through several tins of Christmas cookies, that I develop a desparate craving for fresh spinach, beets and all things salad...
Nothing like a hippity skip trip through the farmers' market in the dead of December... Ah well, back to those buttery jam crescents... and maybe just a little eggnog...

Chestnuts Roasting...

We, most of us, have recipes that become holiday standards at our dinner tables, whether passed down through generations (candied Spam skewers, anyone?) or our own takes on the old classics (roast turkey...with a sage foam)... Here's a small sampling of ours...

Holiday Ham Glaze

1 cup mango chutney

1/4 cup dijon mustard

1/2 cup dark brown sugar (packed)

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

juice and zest from 2 large oranges

Combine ingredients and pour over ham prior to baking.

Christmas Cheeseball
2 8-ounce bars cream cheese
2 ounces Buddig beef (finely chopped)
4 scallions (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon onion powder
Combine all ingredients and form into one large, or two small, balls. Refrigerate.

Russian Teacakes
2 sticks unsalted butter
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pecans (chopped)
powdered sugar
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt. Add pecans.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes.
Cool slightly and roll in powdered sugar while still warm.
Cool completely and roll again in powdered sugar.

On the First Day of Christmas...

Each year, I marvel at how quickly Christmas comes and goes... in the past, Christmas Eve was spent with my father's side of the family... Christmas morning always found us at home opening our gifts from Santa...
then onto brunch at my maternal grandmother's house... and back home again for Christmas Day dinner with my mother's side of the family...

It wasn't the twelve days of Christmas by any means, but it gave the holiday legs...a little longevity... Today, my comparatively small family has become even tinier... and this present day Christmas has dwindled down to a few hours on Christmas Day... I might have to start instituting a few new traditions... after all, I have a whole Christmas Eve to fill...

Merry Christmas...

to my sweet and silly family...

Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home. ~ Charles Dickens

T'was the Night Before Christmas...

when all through the house... gifts were being flung into bags... cookies were being tossed into tins... and any smart creature was huddling under the Christmas tree safely out of the melee... not much poetically, I know... yet quite accurate... thankfully, all our stockings had been hung by the chimney with care... in the hope that St. Nicholas soon would be there...

Noel...Noel...

My sweet friend made the time to stop by for dinner after not only putting in a long day at the office, but also nursing the beginnings of a cold and brought me the loveliest Christmas pillow crafted by her own two very talented hands... (dishpanhands @ Etsy) ...drop by her shop and snap up some of her needlework yumminess all for yourself...

Making a List...

How does this happen every year? December 25th creeps up on me like I didn't know it was coming... I start shopping for Christmas on December 26th... How can I not be done? I am easily distracted... that's how... like a magpie spying a shiny object... and if ever there was a season just rife with all things shiny... this is it... oooooo look at that... and I'm off...

Deck the Halls...

All the while I diligently decked these halls...

I got the distinct impression I was being watched...

Santa, maybe?

Checking to make sure no naughty words escaped...
along with a slightly off-the-mark hammer swing....
Or possibly a stalker...
intent on garnering a little attention for herself?
Perhaps a little tinsel strung ear to ear...

would solve that issue...no?

You've Got (Greasy) Mail...

Resist the urge to slather on hand cream while in the midst of writing out your holiday cards. Even if your poor Winter-chapped hands look like a creme brulee that's just been given its first whack with a rather mean spoon. Even then. Otherwise... well, otherwise, let me just say that the miserly one extra envelope your card company provided for mistakes is going to fall far short of rescuing you this time...

Let It Snow...

I made the rounds of a few annual Christmas craft shows yesterday... purchased from some of my favorite sellers... and just plain marveled at the creativity of others... when all was said and done, this rather dapper fellow....

found a new home with this happy little guy...

and together currently wait for the rest of the old frosty favorites to break out of storage and join them in the dining room.

Happy Thanksgiving...

I know...I know...

lets get past the turkey first...

but I just cannot seem to help myself...

what can I say?

Ha..Ha..Ha...

Ho Ho Ho... and a couple of Tra La Las... it's how we shopped the day away in the merry old land of Oz... beautiful blue skies... yummy classic diner breakfast... a great midmorning cuppa spicy pumpkin latte... more than a bit of fancy footwork up one street and down another... a jaunt through the farmer's market... a couple of bundles of boxwood... a snazzy new shoulder bag... total bliss!

"A friend is one with whom you are comfortable, to whom you are loyal, through whom you are blessed, and for whom you are grateful." ~William Arthur Ward

Has The Sunny Side Lost Its Up?

Like most of us, I love a great number of things in life... a fairly large quantity seem to fall in the food category... ranking close to the top of these edible affaires de coeur is the humble egg... I traded many a chocolate bunny for dyed eggs early on... and breakfast continues to be my favorite restaurant meal... although now I opt most often for a spinach stuffed egg white omelet with an occasional side of turkey sausage...

I know... I know... toss in a decaf java and I practically have to beat other diners off with my fork to keep them from pillaging from my plate! I do veer off course every now and then and barter with myself... whole eggs (but poached)... thick slices of toast (but without butter)... crispy bacon (but blot the grease and toss the fatty bits)... Who am I kidding? Is a poached yolk THAT much healthier than one that's been lovingly sizzled in a little butter? I don't think so either. And now that we settled that... my weekend is looking a little more interesting...

Fish Cakes...

We bought this... we use this... it's so thick and rich it should be called lip glaze rather than lip gloss... we recommend this... we love this... we love this even more when we remember to apply it AFTER we have taken our daily spoonful of Norwegian cod liver oil... oh, and NEVER on a windy day with long, unfettered hair... (some things in life should be accompanied by more instruction) ...we're just sayin'

Dishpan Hands...

I try to consider indies and local artisians first when I shop... the time they invest in their products equals a level of craftsmanship you'll be hard pressed to find elsewhere. Case in point... Etsy ... hold tight to your pocketbooks this place is fabulous!! A new Etsy shop, dishpanhands, is up and running. I purchased a number of her dishcloths before she opened her online shop... they are w.o.n.d.e.r.f.u.l... add some bath goodies and bubbles and you've got some perfect, just in time for the Holidays gifts... because these make fab washcloths as well...

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown...

Happy Halloween dearest Linus...

Vintage Visuals...

Eye candy from another era...

A favorite ghoul...or two...

Trick or Treat...then...

Waiting impatiently for darkness... running across lawns... through (almost always wet) leaves...

holding bags or pillowcases filled with candy... big candy bars... homemade popcorn balls...

even pennies and nickels... they were worth their weight at the little neighborhood corner store... icy cold bottles of soda from the pop machine... canisters of pretzel rods... oodles of penny candy... how to choose?