Christmas Bells Are Ringing

 I'm not decorating for Christmas until after Thanksgiving.  Hubby won't let me.  And it gets dusty and tired looking if it's up too long..  I'm okay with it.

That said, it doesn't mean I'm not thinking about it, perusing all the Christmas books and magazines I can get my hands on, pinning on Pinterest and pulling out my "new" decorations.

All of the Christmas decorations that I picked up at estate sales, garage sales, antique malls, thrift stores since last Christmas are coming out of the closet.  It's making me giddy.

There's more, I just pull it out slowly.  Spreading out the happy.

When I purchased these bells, the women at the thrift store laughed.  And laughed.

 Just you wait.  I have an idea for these lovely Christmas bells.  I have a vision.  And a song stuck in my head.

Hark! how the bells
sweet silver bells
All seem to say
throw cares away.

Christmas is here
bringing good cheer
To young and old
meek and the bold

Ding, dong, ding, dong
that is their song,
With joyful ring
all caroling

One seems to hear
words of good cheer
From everywhere
filling the air

O, how they pound
raising the sound
Oer hill and dale
telling their tale

Gaily they ring
while people sing
Songs of good cheer
Christmas is here!
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas!
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas!

On, on they send
on without end
Their joyful tone
to every home

Hark! how the bells
sweet silver bells
All seem to say
throw cares away.

Christmas is here
bringing good cheer
To young and old
meek and the bold

Ding, dong, ding, dong
that is their song
With joyful ring
all caroling.

One seems to hear
words of good cheer
From everywhere
filling the air

O, how they pound
raising the sound
Oer hill and dale
telling their tale

Gaily they ring
while people sing
Songs of good cheer
Christmas is here!
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas!
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas!

On, on they send
on without end
Their joyful tone
to every home.

On, on they send
on without end
Their joyful tone
to every home.

 The Christmas place card holders that I found in Michigan.  Still in their sweet little box.

So vintage cute, I can't stand it.  They will always bring good memories of our trip to visit Danny and Jessica.

Hubby and I are going to have to host a sit down dinner this season just so I can use them!

Lastly, please don't hate me but I wrote my Christmas cards yesterday afternoon.  I designed an invitation for a Christmas party.  I planned a party menu.  I set dates for parties, drew names, and made a list.

Are you starting?  Decorating?  Shopping?

Seasonal Sip N See Sale

 We decked the halls, filled the shop, baked treats, decided on some great sales... Yes!  It's time for the Lynden Pioneer Museum Gift Shop's Shoppers Night!  Tonight only, 5- 8 p.m. we are having our holiday open house.

Come to shop, sip and start the Christmas season tonight.

Whatcom Farmers Co-op and Grandiflora Home and Garden are also having their holiday open houses tonight.  This makes for some great shopping in Lynden.

See you then!

Jam and Brie Tarts And A Book Review

The holidays are coming and along with them come many parties.  Today I'm sharing an easy 3 ingredient recipe made with items that you can purchase now and have in the house through the season.

Jam and Brie Tarts

1 box of puff pastry

Brie cheese

Jam

Thaw your puff pastry for 40 minutes, then unroll it onto a lightly floured surface.

 Cut into 12 pieces per sheet for a total of 24 squares.

 Trim and cut 24 cubes of Brie, approximately 1/2 inch squares.  I think Costco has the best price for Brie and this one will carry you through several parties.

 Spray your mini muffin tin with Pam.  Tuck the pastry into each muffin space, I lightly mold them.  Add  the Brie to each one and then top with a scant teaspoon of jam.

 The original recipe I made for Garden Party, called for fig jam, since I am almost out of fig jam (I know! Already!  Next year I'll make more fig jam).  I used my peach jam, blueberry jam, some mango chutney and some raspberry jam.  I had some sugar free raspberry jam in the fridge, I used it because I thought there would be someone at the party that couldn't have sugar.  Don't do it!  The sugar free was disgusting once it baked.  I took one at the party, bit into it and was mortified!  

Use your homemade raspberry jam.  I know I will next time.

Bake at 350 degrees.  The original recipe is for 15 minutes, which isn't nearly long enough.  I set my timer for 15, then add 5 and then keep checking every two minutes.  The pastry needs to get lightly browned.

Serve warm.

I recently read The  Sharper  Your  Knife,  The  Less  You  Cry  by Kathleen Flinn.  It's a memoir of her time while studying at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.  I enjoyed reading this book.  I have many techniques to learn and it was interesting to read about her struggles and then victories over the techniques.  There is a recipe at the end of each chapter.  I love reading cookbooks.  

Then Hubby and I started watching reruns of Julia Child's cooking show from the early 1960's.  Honestly, I think I may have to take on puff pastry.  It can be used for so many recipes and with practice I think I can possibly master it, however; not during the holidays.

 I'm Julia Childs, Tami.

Bon Appetit.

Christmas Shopping

 Before I get too carried away with our Christmas shopping I took a few minutes this morning to organize for the season.  I find some large shopping bags in the laundry room, assign each person in our family a bag, and then tag it with their name.  Any gifts we purchase goes into the bag of the recipient.

 I use a large envelope and label it for this year's receipts.  Just in case something has to be returned.

As I shop I divide and eventually conquer!

 I label a large bag as "friends and family" for girls' night gifts, draw name gifts, hostess gifts and other gifts.

Gifts for teachers... oh wait, we are finished with buying gifts for teachers.  Yipee!

Yes, there is a bag for moi.  It helps Hubby with his shopping and wrapping.  And besides I had a groovy bag from C. Wonder in New York City.  It had to be mine.

I make a list of the people we need to buy for and then make two copies.  One has ideas, their lists and sizes and the other gets filled in as I purchase with the actual gift.  That way I can see at a glance who I need to shop for and the ideas that I have for their gift.

How do you organize your Christmas shopping?

Whatcha Readin'?

 I read.  A lot.  I prefer reading over television, I read to relax, I read to fall asleep.  

So does Hubby, we are pretty much a match made in heaven.

I just finished The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harmon.  It is her first novel, she had written some nonfiction about her experiences being a midwife.  I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it as I was sad when it ended.
Edited to add:  Speaking of midwives, have you watched Call the Midwife?  Crazy good, Downton Abbey kind of good.  Masterpiece Theatre is not really TV FYI.

I love MaryJane Butter's new book, Glamping.  I think I'll put it on my Christmas list as it has many good resources for someone that owns a '57 Aloha trailer. 

 It's on the bottom of the stack(cut out of the picture) but it's at the top of my list.

Ina Garten puts together another top notch cookbook, Barefoot Contessa Foolproof.  She is my favorite Food Network star, and sometimes I wish I was Jeffery, her husband, because he comes home to amazing meals and a cozy home.  She positively dotes on him.   I try to model Hubby's homecomings to the ones she gives her husband but I have room for improvement.  I may need the book.

Return to Sunday Dinner, a book about Sunday dinners from someone that gets what Sunday dinners really are all about, a good visit with your family, love, good food, and more love.  This is a book filled with the philosophy of Sunday family dinners and amazing recipes by Russell Cronkhite.

Where'd you Go, Bernadette by Maira Semple came recommended and I am reading it but honestly, it's a bit of a strange story.  I do like the idea of outsourcing some of my chores to an assistant in India.  I kid. 

I just started Lola's Secret by Monica McInerne, so far so good for light reading.  I am now over 50 year old and if I am not enjoying a book I don't finish it.  Life is short and there are a lot of books out there.

My friend Leslie read some heavy books and you may enjoy her lists here and a book review here.

What are you reading?

Leftover Halloween Candy? Bake a Cake!

We had a lot of leftover Halloween candy at our house and it needed to used up and put to rest someplace besides my hips.  I found this recipe and I can't remember where, so apologies to the original baker, though I did tweak it.

Candy Dump Cake
3 c. all-purpose flour + more for dusting
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. dark brown sugar, tightly packed
1 c. vegetable oil + more for greasing
3 large eggs
1 c. Greek yogurt
2 c. assorted candy, roughly chopped -  I used Twix, 3Muskateers, Kit Kat, Snickers and Raisinets.  Chocolate candy was my choice.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and choose a bundt cake pan.  I used my sandcastle/snow castle/princess castle/haunted house pan.  it was that or a heart.

Prepare your pan with greasing and flouring it or I use the spray mix of oil and flour.  I use it liberally as I don't want any chance of my cake sticking.

Cream the sugar and oil together in your bowl. Add the eggs and continue to mix.

Beat in the flour, baking powder, salt and Greek yogurt, beating just until all of the ingredients are mixed.

The batter is silky and caramely, if that is a word.

Fold in the chopped candy pieces. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. I tap my cake pan on the counter so it sinks into all of the castle crevices.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the baked cake to cool for 10 minutes before un-molding to a wire rack to cool further before glazing.  Mine popped right out.

For my glaze I melted 4 T. butter in a small pan on the stove, I added 2/3 cup brown sugar, a pinch of salt and boiled for a bit, then add cream or half and half, about 2/3 cup.  Whisk it constantly until you have a buttery caramel glaze.  I "paint" the castle using a pastry brush, using all of the glaze.  Decorate if you wish.

Then pack it up and take it to a party!