Girl's Night Out

It's almost October and I never posted about the fun little birthday party a few of my gal-pals had for me at Anna Shea's Chocolates and Lounge earlier this month. We had dinner together first and then went to Anna Shea's for dessert and it was just heavenly!

We had the difficult task of choosing 4 of their decadent cupcakes, which we cut into fourths so we could have a taste of each of them.

There was a bridal shower going on in one part of the lounge and a little girl's party going on in another. You can reserve the lounge for whatever type of party you want.

And as if the dinner and the cupcakes weren't enough to eat, we decided to order 3 of Anna Shea's to-die-for Frozen Hot Chocolates . . .

and one Hot Chocolate loaded with whipped cream - YUM!

Thanks girls for a night full of birthday fun!

Yet Another Cookie Exchange

Yes, I'm going to another cookie exchange party. This one is not a virtual cookie exchange. It's being held at the home of one of my friends. We've all been getting together every year since 2003. I love it because I don't have to bake quite as many cookies to serve at Christmas. This year I decided to make Sheila's Sand Tart recipe because they look like snow balls, which goes with my packaging theme.
I found these adorable felt totes with snowflakes embroidered on the front of them at the Dollar Spot section of Target this year. As soon as I saw them I grabbed a bunch because I knew they would be perfect for the cookie exchange. Part of the fun is finding different ways to present the cookies. The box of tea is also from Target. It comes packaged in a variety box of 9. Tea and cookies - a perfect combination!
I think these glittery snowflake tags are also from Target, but I'm not positive. You could also just die cut your own snowflake and coat it with glitter. The tag looks a bit plain in this pic, so I added a paper rosette and button to dress them up a bit.

I put the cookies in a cute cellophane bag, tucked in the recipe card along with the box of tea and tied everything up with sparkly snowflake ribbon from Michael's. I can't believe I finished these 2 days before the party. Usually I am still tying the bows as I'm flying out the door!

It's All ABout Me!

Today I am participating in Natasha Burns, It's All About Me Swap & Party.

Sweet Natasha came up with this wonderful twist on all the swaps out there in blogland. She described it like this:

"The idea of this is that you create for fun's sake. You will make something for yourself to keep and enjoy. You will do the project that you've been saying that you will do. You'll try out that new thing that you've been wanting to try out. It will be all about you."

I don't know about you, but I am always so busy making things for swaps or friends or to sell in my Etsy Shop that I very rarely have time to make something special for myself. So I thought this would be a great way to make that happen. I'd be able to use some of that vintage lace, pretty millinery flowers, lovely ribbons and dreamy wallpapers that I've been saving for projects that I send out to other's and use them to make a treasure for myself.

Several weeks ago I signed up for Heather's online class called, A Beautiful Life. (I believe she is keeping this class going thru November, so you still have plenty of time to sign up and make one for yourself!) Heather is so very talented, so of course each lesson was more glorious than the next. I know a lot of you out there took the same class and created the most beautiful journals. Well, as usual I had a ton of things on my to-do list and put the project on the back burner. . . until Natasha came up with her It's All About Me idea and I decided to set aside a day to finish my Beautiful Life Journal just for ME!

So here it is. . . .

Now that you've seen my It's All about Me project, you can check out all the

others right here.

Ugh!

~Antique Party Hats courtesy of Country Living~

What a way to spend New Year's Eve, huh? I'm still blowing and sniffing and coughing. Ugh! I never knew just how much YUK one person could produce in their sinuses. I'm ready for it to be over with - enough is enough already!

So what kind of fabulous things does everyone have planned for tonight? Do you like to go out and party until the wee hours of the morning? Or do you prefer to ring in the new year by having a quiet evening at home with family and/or friends? Unless I feel a whole lot better by tonight then we will be doing the latter for sure! Perhaps a glass of sparkling champagne wouldn't hurt though...for strictly medincinal purposes of course!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

I can't wait to see what fabulous things 2009 has in store for all of us!

Christmas Baking

This Sunday is the cookie exchange I go to every year with a group of my good friends. We have fun getting together for some good food (and cookies), good cheer, and good company. And it's just nice to take some time to sit back and relax during the hectic holiday season. We just had a huge amount of snow dumped on us, so I hope that doesn't put a damper on the festivities. Living here in the Midwest, parties and get-togethers planned for this time of the year are often a bit tentative due to our winter weather. If you're like my DH, you will drive through any kind of weather. I, on the other hand, am a little more cautious and driving in slippery ice and snow is not exactly my idea of a good time. Usually by the time I get to my destination, I have to literally peel my hands off the steering wheel, as they seem almost fused to it due to the stressful journey.

Anyway, due to the recent snowfall I thought it was a good morning to bake the cookies for the party. I decided to make my Norwegian Grandmother's Muerbe Cookies. This is a butter cookie recipe which originated from The Settlement Cookbook (The Way to a Man's Heart) by Lizzie Black Kanders. Lizzie taught cooking classes for immigrant girls at The Settlement House in Milwaukee around the turn of the century. After noticing that the girls spent quite a bit of time copying the recipes she wrote on the chalkboard, Lizzie decided to publish them in book form to help raise money. And after all these years the book, which was originally published in 1901, is still helping to raise money for charities. This cookbook was a staple in many of our mother's and grandmother's kitchens. I still have my mother's copy of the book and cherish both the memories it holds, as well as the recipes and household tips written inside of it.

Muerbe (Basic Butter Cookies)

1 lb butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, separated

6 cups flour

2 Tbls brandy

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup almonds, finely chopped

Cinnamon-Sugar

Cream butter and sugar. Slightly beat egg yolks with fork and add to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix well. Add brandy and flour combined with the baking powder. Chill dough for several hours, then roll out on a lightly floured surface. Cut cookies with small round biscuit cutter and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Beat egg whites slightly with fork and brush on cookie tops. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar and chopped almonds. Bake in 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets immediately and cool completely on wire rack. Makes 10 dozen cookies.

Enjoy!

xoxo

jeanne

A Pretty Little Christmas Tour of Homes

Welcome to A Pretty Little Christmas Blog Party! The 'oh so talented' Heather is our hostess and wait till you see her delightfully cozy home all decked out for the holidays. . .you definitely will fall in love with this girl's style. Also Boomama is hosting a huge Christmas Tour of Homes as well, so let's get going...there's lots to see!

This year I've decorated our home in cool icy tones of pink, aqua, silver and white. Much to my DH's dismay, I have ALOT of Christmas decorations and a NOT SO BIG house, so I never have enough room to put them all out at one time. I still do my gingerbread tree in the kitchen, a snowman tree in the livingroom, and a Paris themed tree in my family room. But the rest of the decorations usually vary from year to year, which I kind of like as it breaks up the monotony each year.
I love, love, love mercury glass and anything covered in silver glass glitter. I got these goblet style candle holders at Homegoods to use at my daughter's wedding last month. The flickering candle light creates a wonderful glow when they are lit. The glitter deer is from Target. The mercury glass tree is from Michael's. And the best part is I didn't even have to polish my sterling silver tray, because I think the tarnished finish suits the mercury glass very well.

These vintage tinsel trees sit in a grouping on top of my grandmother's baby grand piano. A string of mini white lights weaves it's way through the display. I am so obsessed with tucking those small $1.47 strings of 50 Christmas lights all through the house.

This sweet little angel is new this year. She was displayed on top of this wispy wreath in the store and I couldn't resist buying them both, just the way they were. Now that's what I call a smart shopkeeper who knows how to double her sales!

This pink organza stocking is another Homegoods find. Both the color and the layers of ruffles at the top are what caught my eye.

If you need to sit and rest a while, you can do it in this wicker chair in my 'studio annex.' Since my daughter's wedding, I have taken over her old room and am using it as an extension of my studio. Unlike my original studio space, I am trying my best to keep this one tidy. So far, so good...but then it's only been a month since she moved out!

I adore the sparkley aqua color of this tree. Most of the ornaments on this tree are new this year, either made by "moi" or handmade by talented friends.

JOY has been my word for this year. . .I can't seem to help myself when I see that word pop up wherever I go.

I keep this little guardian angel out all year long. I got her at a tiny local craft show a many years ago. She is made by a textile artist who uses vintage lace on everything she creates. I have her hanging on a small quilted memo board that was also handmade by another crafter I know.

Pink snow cottages and a vintage aqua Santa ~ what could be better than that?

More mercury glass and a wee pale pink bottle brush tree trimmed in pearls.
This creamware pitcher holds pink and aqua vintage glass bead picks ~ very festive indeed!

A darling mica covered ornament made from a kit designed by blogging friend and fellow Joli Paquet artist, Beth Quinn. FYI - Due to popular demand, Joli Paquet will be returning after the first of the year. Check back here in early January for all the details.

An aqua clip-on glass candle ornament "lights" up the night. . . . . . . . . .while a bottle-brush tree balances atop a snow covered aqua glass ornament. This is my version of a 'contemporary' Christmas tree, using a glass and silverplate tiered cookie server loaded up with silver glittery ornaments, pinecones and glass balls.
Well, thank you so much for stopping by. . .if you want to see a lot more of the Pretty Little Christmas homes, then click here. I'm on my way out the door now to visit some of my friends places too. . . .who knows, maybe we'll bump into one another along the way! Enjoy the day!