~It’s the MOST wonderful time of the year~

We started (and mostly finished) our Christmas decorating yesterday. It was so much fun, the kids had a blast, and it puts me in the best mood. It’s funny how a little thing like decorations can change a person’s mood about their house. And just in time… I was feeling a little bored with how it looked. Here’s how it turned out…

My mom hand made all of our stockings. She is mucho talented.

  

*The Santa was made by my Grandma… the kids love to come downstairs and see this big  jolly guy.*

My DEAR SWEET Grandma sent me 4 houses this year for Christmas. Not only are they gorgeous, but their Thomas Kinkade… who I LOVE. These houses are so intricate and detailed. The kids love them, now if I could get a certain 2 year old to keep his hands off.

 

*They even have little tiny people.*

Can you tell we have little girls in our home that rule our house… and not to mention our tree?!

    

I made this… Do you love it? The website is posted below this post. So go take a peek!

A HUGE THANK YOU to my parents for giving me this mirror. They were going to Craigslist it… but I begged and they caved. Christian hung it up… along with the wreath and our plaque. He had his work cut out for him today. He’s the best!

I LOVE the gold frame for Christmas cause it matches the other gold accents around the house right now. After Christmas?… We’ll see. 
I finally found a place for this bad boy. I feel like LOTS of people have similar things, but I love it and treasure it. I don’t think you can read it in this picture but it says “Families are Forever” under the Simpson name. If you’ve never made one, I highly recommend it. I made mine HERE.

Christmas Crafts

(Quick Shout-Out to my girl Lindsay who I’m “stealing” both of these craft idea’s from. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. )

Here are two fast and easy crafts. My friend Lindsay found this great website where you can make an Ornament Wreath. It only consists of a wire hanger, ~80 ornament balls, and ribbon. I made mine this weekend and it turned our FANTASTIC! It was fast and so fun. My girls had a blast helping me too. Here’s how mine turned out, and here’s where to find it! (Thanks Lindsay for being so crafty!)

Thank you Eddie Ross for being such a creative genius!

The second cute craft I’m also loving! Lindsay (once again) found this little gem. I haven’t personally done this specific craft but I have all the materials rearing to go! 

Here’s Lindsay’s…

Don’t you just LOVE the way the light shines through them? Like little Halo’s. Love it! Beyonce would be proud.

… HERE’S where you can find it.

WHAT I’VE BEEN UP TO…

I’ve been a little M.I.A. lately … but for good reason though. I am in charge of a newsletter that our family contributes and then combines together quarterly. This year I’m up to bat as the “editor” (I use that term loosely). During the holiday’s I thought it would be a good idea to put some of our favorite Holiday recipes together into one. So I’ve been busy with that and finally finished the compilation and sent it off to my husband for him to print off for me.

The OTHER thing. The other HUGE thing that I’ve been up to are … well… more hats. I had a crazy idea last Monday that I wanted to make hats for all of my nieces and nephews this Christmas. It’s an inexpensive, yet time consuming idea. It may seem doable to most people. However I have been blessed with 26 nieces and nephews. Which is really fun for out kids to get together and play. It’s like a big party all the time. Not so much fun when you decide to take on a monster project like this. Luckily for me and my obsession I’ve already made 12 hats (minus the flowers which I’ll add later). I just started the boys hats now and are happy how they’re turning out. It’s the colors that I’m worried about. We have half NC State fans in our family. And a few UNC fans. If I make the wrong color hat for the wrong kid… I might have a family feud on my hands.

Here’s how they’ve turned out thus far…

The hats with ribbons can have the ribbon traded out for a flower. It just weaves between X stitches but looks equally as cute with a flower attached. This time around I’m going to put hair clips on the back of the flowers so they can be used as wanted. I think the light pink hats with the chocolate ribbons are my favorites. The yarn is a little daintier but not as easy to work with (in my opinion). The other will be warmer though.

 

My 1 boy hat. It’s obviously NC State colors and was easy to make. It’s been a little harder to gauge the size of the nephews hats. The girls are easier for me to eyeball. Especially since I can try them out on their heads. I’d rather them turn out too big than too small so they can grow into them.

CANDLES

If you’re anything like me you like your house to smell good. Not the Lysol-I’ve-Cleaned-All-Day kind of smell though. I’m talking- YUMMY- walk in and BAM! cinnamon… or BAM! vanilla. I’m also a sucker for Yankee Candles. However, I can walk in and blow $30-$40 just on candles. Ridiculous! Some AWESOME alternatives that I’ve found throughout the years are the Febreze Candles. They don’t have a waxy smell when they burn, and they’re larger then the Glade. The Holiday’s are the perfect time to pick up some of those great housewarming scents too. I have found 3 that are my favorites so far…

Cinnamon Sugar & Home

 

Pumpkin Harvest & Fall

Winter Evening and Warmth *my favorite so far*

I also recently bought an Airwick Candle. I’ve never tried their candles before. All I know is one of the Lavender smells makes me want to throw up… so this is a leap of faith in my opinion. I had a coupon and it was on sale. I’ll let you know how it works out. In case you’re curious it’s called …

CRACKLING FIRE & WARMING SPICE

IT’S A HIT!

I found an UNBELIEVABLY EASY dinner that the whole family loved. My kids like Andy’s Hot Fries. They’re really spicy and they can sit and eat an entire bag from start to finish without a single drink. So I was able to tell them that this dinner tastes like Hot Fries. It worked! Even my 2-year-old loves it and has had more for leftovers. SUCCESS!! (If your kids aren’t big into spicy, I would try this recipe with BBQ sauce instead. But this is excellent for a party for adults too.

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 (17.5 fluid ounce) bottle buffalo wing sauce, divided
• 1 package dry ranch salad dressing mix
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 6 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise

Directions

1. Place the chicken breasts into a slow cooker, and pour in 3/4 of the wing sauce and the ranch dressing mix. Cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 7 hours.
2. Once the chicken has cooked, add the butter, and shred the meat finely with two forks. Pile the meat onto the hoagie rolls, and splash with the remaining buffalo wing sauce to serve.

*We add ranch on top. You can make this more sandwich style by adding cheese, tomato, pickles, or lettuce. Whatever sounds good to you.*

A Simple 6 Pocket Bag

During the week Better Homes and Gardens sends me emails on how to be more creative. Some of it’s kind of weird but every once in awhile you come across a fun little project that is inexpensive and fun. As soon as I saw this bag I thought it was really cute. Granted, I don’t own a sewing machine and I keep forgetting to steal my mom’s when we go and visit… so I haven’t made this little gem yet. However, I thought I’d pass it along anyways.  It’s a perfect church bag to throw together for your kids or it would make a fun little spring bag depending on the fabric you use. If you’re anything like me, it’ll take you until spring to complete it.

What You'll Need

• 1/4 yard blue print (straps)
• 2/3 yard blue-and-green print (pockets)
• 2  10-1/4-x-14-1/4-inch rectangles thin, firm batting
• 1 yard green print (lining)

Finished Bag

• 8 x 10 x 4 inches
• Quantities are for 44/45-inch-wide, 100% cotton fabrics.
• Measurements include 1/4-inch seam allowances.
• Sew with right sides together unless otherwise stated.

Cut Your Fabrics

Cut pieces in the following order.

From blue print, cut:
  2  4-x-34-1/2-inch strips

From blue-and-green print, cut:
  2  14-1/2-x-16-1/2-inch rectangles

From green print, cut:
  2  14-1/2-x-20-1/2-inch rectangles

How to Make It

Assemble Straps

1. Fold a blue print 4-x-34-1/2-inch strip in half lengthwise with wrong side inside; press.
2. Open and fold long edges into center; press. Refold in half and press. Topstitch 1/8 inch from outer edges to make a strap.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to make a second strap. 

Assemble Bag Units

1. Fold one blue-and-green print 14-1/2-x-16-1/2-inch rectangle in half lengthwise with wrong side inside to make an 8-1/4-x-14-1/2-inch pocket rectangle; press. Repeat with remaining blue-and-green print rectangle to make a second pocket rectangle.
2. Referring to Diagram 2, with right sides together, layer a green print 14-1/2-x-20-1/2-inch lining rectangle and a pocket rectangle. Place a 10-1/4-x-14-1/2-inch batting rectangle under the layered pieces; pin all layers together.
3. Referring to Diagram 2, pin ends of a strap to the bottom edge of layered pieces, leaving 4 inches between strap edges.
4. Place a pin on each side of strap 10 1/4 inches from bottom edge. Beginning at bottom edge of layered pieces, topstitch one side of strap up to the pin marking 10 1/4 inches; remove pin, sew across strap, and topstitch back down to bottom edge. Repeat with remaining side of strap to complete one bag unit.
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 to make a second bag unit.

Layer Bag Units

6. Layer bag units' with right sides together; pin. Pin loose portion of straps in place to prevent catching them in stitching. Join units around all edges, leaving a 5-inch opening at top center for turning (Diagram 3). Press seams open. 

Finish Bag

7. To shape flat bottom for bag, at one corner match bottom seam line to side seam line, creating a flattened triangle (Diagram 4). Measuring 2 inches from point of triangle, draw a 4-inch-long line across triangle. Sew on drawn line. Trim excess fabric. Repeat with remaining bottom corner of bag, and both corners of green print lining.
8. Turn bag right side out through opening and finger-press seams. Slip-stitch lining opening closed. Insert lining into bag.

Fast Dinner – St. Louis Style Ravioli

These are super fast, super unhealthy, and super good.  How can you wrong!?

• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1/2 (25 ounce) package frozen cheese ravioli, thawed
• 3 cups vegetable oil for frying
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce

Directions

1. Combine milk and egg in a small bowl. Place breadcrumbs and if desired, salt in a shallow bowl. Dip ravioli in milk mixture, and coat with breadcrumbs.
2. In a large saucepan, heat marinara sauce over medium heat until bubbling. Reduce the heat to simmer.
3. In a large heavy pan, pour oil to depth of 2 inches. Heat oil over medium heat until a small amount of breading sizzles and turns brown. Fry ravioli, a few at a time, 1 minute on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately with hot marinara sauce.

We use homemade pizza sauce and it’s more like mini pizza’s. They cool fast so serve these immediately! Enjoy!