Christmas Decorations

We decorated our house in time for the dessert and drinks party we had last weekend. 

Our decorations are very simple.  here is a look at our dining room and bar area.

The dining room table.

Some garland my mom was getting rid wrapped around a candle holder I got at The Will the day after Thanksgiving (for $1.50), some ornaments and candle holders from Ikea.  All inside a tray I made for the table. 

Remember the platter holder? I added some over sized ornaments I got on super sale the day after Christmas a few years ago and look how nice it looks all dressed up for Christmas!

I love the red snowflake against the white platters!

And a reindeer family that my grandpa made years and years and years ago (before I was born maybe). 

I put random things in the hutch - just a little something here and there to give it a Christmas feel.  Like some red beads my mom was getting rid of and some more garland in a pitcher.  Holly and a pine cone on the cake stands. 

And a pine cone in a margarita glass. 

Another over sized ornament and some garland. 

Here is our beautiful tree!  Michael decorated it and it is just perfect!

We have a lot of duck ornaments since Michael is a duck hunter.  This ornament I bought at a Christmas store in Truckee (?) with his mom and sister after Christmas last year. 

A pink ribbon - Michael's mom is a breast cancer survivor. 

I wish we could find an orange ribbon for Leukemia or a cancer sucks ornament would be even better!

We have a few John Deere ornaments. 

My amazing mom used to make egg ornaments - we have two on our tree. 

My graduation ornament - I graduated with my B.A. 5 years ago - WOW!!

A Canada Goose ornament Michael's mom and sister brought back from their trip to Canada this summer. 

We have like 500 dog ornaments on our tree (and 1 cat).  Ok, seriously we have at least 5. 

And to top it all off we have this beautiful amazing wonderful star that I just love!!

And the bar ...

We put a random table in the corner with the chalkboard, my grandpa's old guitar, and a hurricane glass full of ornaments.  LOVE this corner!!

My grandpa made this reindeer, sleigh, and Santa set.  Why are there only 5 reindeer you ask?  Well, they are pretty old and the Christmas before my grandpa died Michael was hanging something on the mantel at our old house.  My dad and I were sitting on the couch and Michael dropped the thing (it was a wooden stocking) right on the reindeer.  A few reindeer lost their life that day ... We took them to my grandpa's house so he could fix them but he was battling cancer (we didn't know it yet but he had been for 4 years).   After he died they disappear from his office.  So, now we have only 5 reindeer. 

Here is a close-up of the sleigh.  That wonky looking elf - I have no idea where it came from but we have had this set since we were kids and we must have thought it was perfect.  We also wrapped all of those presents as kids.  Every year I think about making new presents but then I don't because they are pretty old and dated but I still love them!

So, there is it - our dining room and bar area all decorated for Christmas!  I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and get to spend some time with those that you love!

Dessert and Drinks Party

It is a wordy Wednesday today:

Saturday night we hosted a party for the girls I went to school with (it has been 5 years since I got my BA - wow!).  I asked everyone to bring a dessert to share and I would provide the drinks.  The turnout was a little disappointing, but it was still fantastic! 

Our entry. 

A chalkboard sign Michael made for me using old barn wood. 

Our very simple mantle complete with a beautiful "fire."  This a great idea if you have lived in your house for two years and still have not gotten your chimney swept or it you don't want to have to worry about a real fire during a party. 

The hot chocolate bar ... I wanted this to be self service so, I had everything out and ready to go and even included some cute instructions!

We had peppermint schnapps, whipped cream vodka, and fluffed marshmallow vodka.

Mugs, spoons, and hot chocolate mix.

The hot chocolate mix had marshmallows in it. 

I used a frame I got at The Will (gosh I love the show Two Broke Girls!) and played with fonts and colors on Microsoft word until I was happy with it.  The frame is taller than a piece of paper so I used some red card stock (that was a thank you card from a graduation on the fridge) to make up the different. 

I love this serving platter from Ikea - I use it all the time and it looks so nice!

Spaan's cookies - they have THE BEST holiday cookies!!  They are butter and almond made locally and addictive. 

Peppermint bark. 

Chocolate covered macadamia nuts - one of my students gave me a box so I shared it (otherwise I would eat it all myself).

Sliced apples with caramel I made in the crock pot.  We shook the sliced apples with 7-up (instead of lemon juice) and they didn't turn brown AND didn't taste like lemons!

One can of condensed milk submerged in water in the crock pot for 8 hours make a caramel dip - next time I try this I will leave it in for longer. 

And, I had random dished of candy on the bar, and in the family room. 

We put out some chips and salsa so nobody would go into a sugar comma. 

I didn't take pictures of what the others brought but I should have because they were amazing desserts!

Linking up to Pinke Post's wordless Wednesday. 

Peppermint Bark

Bark is very easy to make (my students would call it easy peasy lemon squeezey)!

All you need is:

2 cups dark chocolate (I didn't measure but this is my guess)

2 cups white chocolate

2 candy canes

Put the candy canes in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. 

Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave for about a minute and a half - stop every 20 seconds and stir it.  When it is melted spread it on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  Set aside to cook. 

Note - I put it in the freezer so it would cool quickly but the edges turned up so I wouldn't do it again. 

Wait for the dark chocolate to harden.  Then melt the white chocolate the same way and spread it over the dark chocolate. 

Sprinkle the crushed candy cane over the white chocolate while it is still melted.  Gently press the candy canes into the white chocolate.  Let cool.

Break apart into pieces. 

Yum!  Try not to eat it all in one sitting. 

There are many many variations you could do on this - I usually swirl the white and the dark chocolate together which looks nice.  This time I layered them which I LOVE.  You can put any type of candy on the top - andies mints would be amazing or nuts like slivered almonds or sprinkles.  You can also add a little something to the melted chocolate like peppermint or almond extract or cake mix or anything you think would taste good. 

Busy Busy Weekend!

We had a very busy weekend!  On Saturday we hosted a party (pictures to come) and we finally decorated our house and tree!  On Sunday we did some improvements to our house! 

So, now our house looks like this:

See our tree?

Our house is a total disaster (you should see the garage) but I am VERY HAPPY!!  I can't wait for us to finish up so I can show you the amazing results. 

Hope you had a great weekend!

Flat Aggie Visits a Beef Cattle Ranch

Flat Aggie had so much fun on her first adventure (her trial adventure)!  She visited Tyler in Rio Oso, CA (31 miles from our school).  Tyler is a rancher and he raises beef cattle and hay.  He also works during the farming season for a local farmer.  He also has a horse, some chickens, a duck, and an amazing dog.  Since I know Tyler and was there with Flat Aggie this post will be a little different than most.  But, I wanted to create an example for others to follow IF they want.  This is in no way a limitation!

Hi Kids!  It was a pleasure for Flat Aggie to help me with some chores around the ranch.  There is not as much to do this time of year, but we did get to do some fun things.  She got to meet Hank, my horse.  Hank did not like Flat Aggie at first but soon warmed up to her and let Flat Aggie sit on his back.

Flat Aggie then checked out the steers in the pasture.  These steers will be finished and are to fill my family's freezers. 

She then watched me fill the manger with hay for the cows to eat.  I have 34 cows.  Most of the time, the cows are out on pasture but during the winter I need to feed them hay.  I grow this hay during the summer to stock my hay barn - the hay will last me through the winter. 

Flat Aggie enjoyed the up close view of the cows eatting.  She even liked my dog, Remi. 

Thanks for letting Flat Aggie visit me on the ranch today.  I hope she had a great time and that you learned about my ranch.  Bye kids!