Flower Clips and Candy Canes

I am really in love with this flower clip and want to make one for my hair!! These would be fun to make for Valentine's Day...or any day really! :)


Also if you have a collection like this, you might want to try this recipe for peppermint popcorn!

Fun Christmas Ideas

A girl I went to school with at BYU has this fun blog with lots of craft ideas and recipes etc...this year she posted two ideas I love and wanted to do with my little guy but it was a little late in the game...so I want to remember these for next year!

First I love this simple idea for a fun snow globe you can make with your kids! I posted another idea from Martha Stewart but this one just seems more doable to me. :) Find instructions here.

I have been wanting to make something like this all December! I was so excited to see this posted on Vanilla Joy--just wish it had been earlier in the month! I especially love that a scripture is included with each candy. Oh well, I'll just have to remember this idea for next Christmas!

Christmas Coal

Even if that special someone on your list has been nice...this would be a cute and funny gift to find in your stocking on Christmas morning! A nice lump of coal...with something nice stuffed inside! Find the instructions from Tatertots and Jello here.

Noel

I love this simple sign, you can find the tutorial here.


The first year I sang in BYU Womens Chorus we had an AMAZING Christmas concert. We sang beautiful arrangements of well known Christmas songs and I loved every second of it. The only sad thing to me is that the songs we sang were not all recorded on the archival cds they give you at the end of the year. That year I fell in love with the song "The First Noel" when we sang an additional verse I had never heard before. I loved it so much I wrote the words in my personal hymn book...which unfortunately I lost. I found these words online but I really think the words we sang the third line was different.

Now let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our Heavenly Lord,
The which hath made Heaven and Earth of nought,
And by his blood Mankind hath bought

This version by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is equally as beautiful and moving and includes the verse I love. I love to sing this beautiful arrangement someday. Here is my gift to you: I hope you find some time to listen to this beautiful music!

Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

Um...don't these look amazing, festive, and so delicious? I want to try these, but with so many recipes I want to try...they might have to wait until next year. :) Find the recipe here from the Recipe Girl.

Christmas Reads

I love reading to my son, especially when there is a holiday coming up! When I was little my dad would read "A Story a Day Until Christmas" every night in December until Christmas Day and we all loved it! I've tried to do the same thing with my son, but with all meaningful stories rather than fun ones. I'm not opposed to fun Christmas stories though--we still read them! In my search to find more Christmas books, I have found a couple of book lists that have some fun looking books on them! Check out the lists here and here. Also here is a great collection of stories you can print off to do your own "A Story a Day Till Christmas!"

What are your favorite Christmas time books and stories?

Christmas Galore

I came across this post from Simply Modern Mom today and LOVE all of her Christmas decor ideas! It definitely is an inspiration to me--I wish I had a staircase in my house like she does!

I have found some other great ideas I would love to try sometime in my Christmas decorating, I guess this post is a showcase of those!

First these simple candycanes look so easy and inexpensive to make! You could make a garland of them or hang them from a garland...all sorts of things! Find instructions in this post.


I love this jingle bell wreath! It is tiny--like ornament size, or gift tag size...or maybe you could group more than one together and hang then from your door so when it opens and closes it makes that lovely jingle bell sound...again lots of possibilities! Find the instructions here.

I love this paper star wreath! But I think even more I would love to make the cute little stars and hang them from the garland over our doorway so it would look something like this:

I love these little stars! One year my roommates and I made tons and tons of snowflakes and taped them all over our ceiling. We loved it! So I might even hang a few from the ceiling to make our big empty room look more festive. Find the instructions for these here.
I think these snowflakes just look like a fun kids craft! Find the instructions for these here.


Finally...to get you even more in the Christmas spirit is this recipe for these Thick and Chewy Gingerbread cookies that looks really good to me! I can't wait to try it and have that wonderful gingerbread smell in our house...
*update, I tried this recipe and thought it was gross. So I changed the picture and suggest you try this recipe instead! It might be the ones I made last year that were amazing--I can't remember which recipe I used!

What are some of your favorite holiday decor ideas?

Snow Globes

I love snow globes! This looks like so much fun--make your own!! Find instructions from Martha Stewart here.

Mistletoe

I totally love this! Ever since we've been married I have wanted mistletoe to grace our halls...however it has yet to happen. This looks easy to do however, and I'm excited to try it out!
Find instructions here!

Creche Exhibit

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

I miss watching the news in Utah, and the familiar news anchors or whatever they are called. :) I was happy to watch this, it looks like a great tradition! If you are in Utah this weekend, you should go check it out! One more awesome thing to add to my list of awesome Christmas functions in Utah!

Cinnamon French Toast

I really love the french toast at Kneaders. It is a.maz.ing. Today on Studio 5, Brooke shared her family french toast recipe and in the video she says her sisters think the Kneaders french toast is almost as good as this recipe...so needless to say, I am so excited to try this recipe! You can go here to watch the video, it made me wish so much that I could go to the Festival of Trees and buy the cookbook!

Christmas Morning Cinnamon French Toast

Batter

Ingredients:

• Combine together:
• 4 eggs
• ¼ cup of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
• ½ cup whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 tablespoon of applesauce

Method:

Dip both sides of thickly sliced Texas Toast into batter. Cook in a frying pan at medium heat.

Syrup

Ingredients:

• • 1 cube of butter
• • ¾ cup of sugar
• • ½ cup of buttermilk
  
  
• Add:
• • 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• • 1 teaspoon of baking soda Stir quickly as syrup foams up.

Eggnog

Mock Eggnog
Eggnog Pie

My first taste of eggnog didn't happen until I was in college and had a roommate who bought some because she loved it so much. She offered me some and suggested to me that I add milk to dilute it since it was my first try...and even then I didn't like it much. But now I am married to an eggnog lover and we get it every Christmas season and I have learned to enjoy it as well! But I still have to dilute it with milk. :) Last year I made Eggnog cookies which were good, and since eggnog seems to be pretty pricey, I am intrigued with the idea of making your own...I've even found some mock eggnog recipes that don't use eggs I would like to try. Here's a list of the eggnog recipes I would like to try:

Eggnog Pie
Warm Chocolate Eggnog
Mock Eggnog
and another version of mock eggnog
Peppermint Eggnog Punch (only because the rum is optional)
Homemade Eggnog

Do you like eggnog? Have you ever made your own?

Christmas in Utah

*photo found here

I was recently talking with a friend about how much I missed Utah this time of year. I didn't realize how much I missed Utah until Christmas keeps getting closer and I keep thinking about all the things in Utah that I love this time of year and I won't get to participate in. My friend didn't grow up in Utah and commented how she didn't think there was that much to do there, which led me to wonder if there really was a lot to do or if I was just being sentimental and silly. I started a list of things that I love about Christmas in Utah...and keep adding to it! I'll list it here and hopefully if you are in the area, you can enjoy a few of these awesome things!
I have not personally done all of these things on my list, but some of them I have wanted to do forever and just never had the opportunity before.

Festival of Trees
BYU Celebration of Christmas
The Forgotten Carols
Savior of the World
Nutcracker Ballet
Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert
Riding Trax to downtown SLC
Sledding and building snowmen (nowhere here to go sledding and I hear it rarely snows :(..)
Temple Square Lights
Sub 4 Santa/Giving Tree
First Presidency Christmas Devotional
Santa in my favorite mall
Thanksgiving Point drive through lights
SPanish Fork Christmas lights
Polar Express
Messiah Sing-in (I've heard these are common throughout December in the Provo/Orem area)
Jon Schmidt Christmas concert
Kurt Bestor Christmas concert
Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band Christmas concert
Peter Brienholt Christmas concert
Carriage rides in downtown SLC or at Thanksgiving Point
A Christmas Carol Play
The 100 Hours of Christmas on FM 100, now they play Christmas music constantly after Halloween I think? It used to be just the 100 hours leading up to Christmas day, I think now the 100 hours of Christmas are commercial free or something. :)
Downtown SLC Holiday Windows (look for a map of the windows on this website after Thanksgiving)
Candy Windows in downtown Provo (I'm actually not sure they do this anymore--anyone know? We tried to see them last year and while there were a few windows decorated, there were no candy ones...)
Living Nativity Pageant in Provo
Ice Skating, (also in the past there has been an ice skating rink at Gateway Mall although I'm not sure if they do that every year?)
Awesome decorations all over cities/stores/BYU/the library in Provo, etc...
Midway Creche Exhibit

There you have it! I hope you find something that interests you and have fun for me since I won't be in Utah until after Christmas! If you have other things you love about Christmas in Utah, feel free to let me know and I'll add it to the list!

Shutterfly Christmas Cards!

Since we have moved away from friends and family this year, I am really anxious to send out Christmas cards! I guess hoping they will be returned, and that a little bit of my lonesomeness from missing Utah will be eased. Plus it is so exciting and fun to send and receive Christmas cards! It helps you feel the Christmas spirit when you send cards to friends and family.
I have found that Shutterfly has some great options at great prices! I'm not sure how I'm going to choose just one!
No matter what style you are going for--they have it. I'm more of a simple yet elegant sort of person, but they have more trendy, fun designs too. They even have options for you to include more than one picture in your card.

I love how the stars frame the picture in this card! Love it!
Shimmering Stars
I love the simplicity of this card--mainly a picture on the front with space inside for you to write whatever you want!
Holly Frame

I love red, and I love snowflakes. This makes a beautiful combination!
Elegant Lace Snowflakes

This one to me is elegant--maybe because of the black and white. I also love the "oh holy night" script since that is a great Christmas carol.
O Holy Night

This one is beautiful! Red, stars, belief...there is so much to believe in that we are reminded of at Christmastime.
Believe in Magic

The best part about Shutterfly Christmas cards is that they have an amazing offer for bloggers to get 50 free holiday cards! For information on signing up, go here! Thanks Shutterfly for a great Christmas gift!

Thinking Ahead...

...to December! I saw this amazing Advent Calender on my friend Chelsea's blog and love it! Just had to share. :) Go check out the amazing photographs of the ornaments!

Also go here if you need ideas for Holiday Traditions!

Obsessed with Treats

For the past few years I have been obsessed with the idea of making homemade donuts. I still have never done it, but here is another easy recipe I have found. I'm really hoping this is the year to do this--I think it would be so fun to make these for Halloween!

I am also obsessed with cinnamon rolls--to me they are full of tradition, romance, and one of the ultimate treats ever. This recipe looks amazing, I can't wait to try it!

Eggnog

Today I decided that I like eggnog. It only took about 6 years. :) My first taste of eggnog was December 2003 when my roommate bought some and had me try it. Then I married my husband who loves eggnog and buys it every Christmas. I would try and drink it with him, but I could never fully enjoy it. I had to add milk to lessen the flavor and egginess. Plus just the thought of drinking eggs raw is still a little disgusting to me.
I bought some of the last eggnog at the store last week so I could try a recipe that looked good from my new cookbook. I made the cookies today, and tasted the eggnog...and liked it! Maybe it's the different brand, or maybe my taste for eggnog has finally acquired. :) I'm not sure, but it was really good and now I'm a little sad that I started to like it after Christmas! I have to wait until next Christmas to see if this is for real. But until then at least I can enjoy my Eggnog Cookies! Do you like eggnog or is that a tradition you avoid?

Eggnog Cookies
from the Worldwide Ward Christmas Cookbook

2 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. eggnog
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
additional nutmeg for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well with a whisk and set aside. Cream sugar and butter until a grainy paste forms. Stir in eggnog, vanilla, and egg yolks. Beat at medium speed until smooth. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed until just combined. Drop cookie dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet, 1 inch apart. Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg. Back 7-9 minutes, or until bottoms turn light brown. Makes 30 cookies.

Give

I know that Christmas is over, but I just saw this video today and really loved it. I hope it prolongs your feeling of the spirit of Christmas into the next year.

CHRISTmas

Yesterday at church, a sister in our ward told the following experience that happened to her on Saturday. The lesson was on a talk given at General Conference about virtues, and this story made the lesson real to me and I realized that I am lacking in some of the "ity" virtues. I wrote it from a first person perspective, trying to remember exactly what she said but it isn't exact. I hope she doesn't mind!

I had a spiritual experience yesterday in the mall, in the dressing room.
I got a gift card for Christmas and was in the dressing room trying on some clothes when three different times I overheard "Did you have a good Christmas? Did you get everything you wanted?" My sister, I love her, but she is selfish. She texted me saying "Christmas just isn't the same without a new piece of clothing to wear :( :("
What was Christmas about again? What did we just celebrate?
I have enough. I had to get out of there, I put the clothes back and left.

One week!

I can't believe there is only one WEEK until Christmas!! Where did the time go? Aah! There are so many things I have wanted to do that just will not get done until another time. Here are a couple of recipes that I would love to make but probably won' t be made until sometime after Christmas, but maybe you will have time to try them!

For the delicious cookies above, go here. Thank you Pioneer Woman!

For an English Toffee recipe that looks very easy but very yummy...

English Toffee
1 cup sugar
1/2 lb (2 cubes) butter or margarine
2 T. water
1/2 bag milk chocolate chips or 5 Hershey bars
finely chopped walnuts, optional

Cook sugar, butter, and water over medium-high heat stirring constantly until golden brown (this happens very quickly so keep your eye on it). If butter separates just keep going, it will go back together. Part butter and part margarine separates less than all butter. Pour quickly onto an ungreased cookie sheet. While hot, sprinkle chocolate on top of candy. Wait a minute or two for the chocolate to soften then spread evenly with a knife. Top with nuts, if desired. When cool break into small pieces and eat like crazy!