A Few of My New Favorite Things

 

After three very full days of Christmas celebrations, I am using today to catch up...on overflowing baskets of laundry, journaling and blogging, exercising and dieting, and relaxing.  I'm sure most of you can relate.  We had a terrific Christmas, and I'll fill you in on the highlights later, but today I just had to share my excitement about some of my favorite gifts I received.

This Sony camera is something I've been wanting, but I felt too guilty to spend the money for myself.  I've been blogging for 20 months and using my outdated Samsung tablet and a cheap Smartphone for nearly all my photography.  My husband surprised me with this Sony a 6000 camera and accessories, and I am so eager to get outside and see what it can do.  I took dozens of pictures with it over the past couple of days of family and food and celebrating, but I have so much to learn about photography and this camera's features.  I now have a new challenging project going into 2017.

 

Along with the camera, I have new reading material for the weeks ahead.  I have always been drawn to colonial America and love to study that period of time.  Although our farmhouse was built in the late 1880s, it was renovated in an early American style, and there is so much more I'd like to do with it.  I really wish Chip and Joanna Gaines could come to the Alleghenies and tackle our farmhouse for their next project.  I absolutely love watching Fixer Upper and was going to buy their new book, The Magnolia Story, myself if it wasn't under our Christmas tree.  Finally, my sister spent the better part of this year researching our family's genealogy and created a scrapbook of our family tree and lots of old photos, newspaper clippings, and old legal documents.  She was able to trace both sides of our family as far back as 1570.  It turns out that the vast majority of our ancestors settled in Pennsylvania and Virginia in the 30-50 years prior to the Revolutionary War.  It's fascinating to read some of the stories, and I can't imagine how many hours of tedious work my sister put in, but I'm so grateful she did.  I can't wait to curl up on my favorite chair with a gourmet Cappuccino (also a new gift) and these books.

And you can see how badly I needed a camera after looking at the photo above.

 

Not only is my sister a talented writer, but she is an artist and wood crafter as well.  This wall hanging was another total surprise Christmas gift she made for me in a farmhouse chic style, and it's hanging in our dining room above the piano.  I got all the kids and she got all the talent in the family. 

 

Our house was full this Christmas---with gifts, food, holiday spirits (both kinds), and family.  Yesterday we had 17 people crammed into our dining room around our main Christmas tree opening gifts.  Our farmhouse was full of life and love and laughter, just the way I've always hoped it would be.  The best part was sharing it with our first grandchild who truly brightens the room with his squeals and energy and innocence.  I'll share some of the details of both the high points and the mishaps later, but today I'm just going to savor all of it while the memories are fresh and the house is a bit more quiet.

And I'm going to play with my new "toy" so I can get more great shots like the one above.  I hope you're all able to bask in this post-Christmas euphoria and relax a bit as we finish up this year.

Unintentional Internet Fast & Merry Christmas

 

After blogging on Tuesday, we lost phone service and Internet at our house.  After many phone calls, visits from the repairman, two new routers, and hours of trying to get us connected to the Web again, we finally regained Internet service at 1:00 this morning.  It's been a hassle and definitely stressful, especially with a son who is cyber schooled and was in the middle of exams.  Oh, and half of the foods I am making this week for Christmas were found on Pinterest...and I couldn't access the recipes.  Living up here on the mountain, our cell phone service is unstable at best, so even using our Smartphones wasn't an option.  It's amazing how cut off from the rest of the world we feel now when we aren't connected virtually.

 

But I did begin this week at Mass praying for things to slow things down, quiet my mind, and allow my family to focus on this last week of Advent and what Christmas really means to us.  And I would say my prayer was answered.  As usual, it wasn't necessarily handled the way I would have chosen, but it was certainly effective.

 

Instead of being plugged into social media, news sites, email and blogger, Netflix and Amazon, Youtube and Minecraft, we found other ways to occupy our time.  Children went sledding and played games.  They painted and were crafty.  They cleaned and tidied up their rooms.  We spent so much more time together interacting with each other---talking, laughing, singing.

 

We baked cookies and reminisced and danced and watched old videos.  We lived without electronic distractions.  And things did sort of slow down and be still.  The house still bustled with life and noise and messiness at times, but it was different from the buzzing of incoming messages, emails, and updates.  

 

It was a blessing, actually.  I won't lie and say I wasn't at all stressed out about it, but it was a lesson in how much time we actually spend on electronic devices.  I believed that I greatly limit the time our children spend in front of a screen, but without Wifi, it became clear how much of our days are actually spent logged in throughout the day...myself included.  So it is with mixed feelings of relief and anxiety that here I am this morning on the Internet blogging, checking messages and social media and stats.  I'm glad that I can retrieve my Pinterest recipes so that I can prepare meals this weekend, but I do wish that we had more of a respite from the electronic distractions this time of year.

On that note, I'll leave you until next week, Dear Readers.  May you all Have a Very Merry Christmas!

 

Spreading Yuletide Cheer to Our Rustic Cabin

 

Even though we wait until the day after Thanksgiving to begin our Christmas preparations, this year we did begin a little early up at our cabin.  With the excuse that I needed to get it ready for company, the children and I went up there the day before Thanksgiving and tried to make it a bit festive.  I'm a month late in posting, but I wasn't sure I wanted you readers to see just how much of a fixer upper this cabin is.  But I decided, what the heck.  This way you can come along with us on this renovating journey as we pick a project a year to tackle, both at our farmhouse and the cabin.

 

Before we started any of the decorating, I whipped up two pumpkin pies for dessert in the working oven.  The old refrigerator at the cabin also works, so I was able to store the pies there since the one at our house was full of a thawing turkey and all the other Thanksgiving dinner ingredients. 

 

I hadn't ever used the oven before and I think that one side was hotter than the other because I nearly burned our Thanksgiving dessert.  Fortunately, my teen daughter checked them in time.

 

We also threw some cookies in the oven for the kiddos.

 

Between the pies, cookies, cinnamon pinecones, and the large scented candle burning, the musty smell of the cabin was fairly well masked.  We're thinking the multiple layers of mismatched carpeting is where that smell is coming from.  They will have to go.

 

All those extra Christmas decorations that I no longer use in the house got toted up there and were put to good use.

 

The girls and I decorated this little tree that is supposed to be 4 feet tall, but unless I'm actually much taller than my driver's license shows, I'd say this is just a tad inaccurate.  I even have the tree on top of a stool to give it more height.

 

Michael's had their pre-lit artificial trees, plaid tree skirts,  and ornaments 50% off the week before Thanksgiving.  I had a rule that I wouldn't buy anything related to Christmas until after that holiday, but I made an exception for the cabin.  And here in this photo, you can see some of the remodeling that needs to be done.  This one wall alone has paneling on part of it, bare sheet rock (I think?) in places, and noticeable insulation.  There's also a ping pong tabletop for the air hockey table that we moved up there.  And look at that yellowish carpet.  What color would you call that?

 

And while some of us baked, cleaned, and decorated, others were sprawled out watching Christmas movies.

 

That's because the cabin still has an old working VCR, and we still have quite a collection of movies on VHS, believe it or not.  I am just not willing to spend the money to upgrade to DVD when the videotapes are still good.  We almost always start out the Christmas season with Home Alone and A Christmas Story, which our youngest referred to as the "Shoot Your Eye Out Ralphie" movie for years.

 

After a few hours at the cabin, the inside smelled, looked, and sounded like the holidays, and it had warmed up enough outside to go for a hike before our out-of-town guests arrived.

I'll be making my way up there again later this week to prepare for Christmas guests.  The interior of the cabin hasn't changed since Thanksgiving, but outside it looks like this:

 

While the surrounding areas with more sun have melted, here on the north facing side of the mountain, we are still covered in snow and ice.  I think there's a good chance that at the Preppy Mountain Farmhouse, we will have a white Christmas even though there is no more snow in the forecast.

 

Secret Kiss Cookies

My plan this weekend was to start my holiday baking with my traditional peanut butter kiss cookies, but I discovered that I was out of shortening.  So I skimmed through one of my seriously used cookbooks from my childhood, Favorite Brand Name Recipe Cookbook, and decided to try these cookies for the first time.   Wow.  They were a huge hit and were one of the easiest cookies to make.

Secret Kiss Cookies

Cream 2 sticks softened butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.  Gradually add 2 cups flour and beat until blended.  Chill dough for about an hour or until firm.  Mold a tablespoonful of dough around an unwrapped Hershey's kiss and roll into a ball.  Make sure the entire kiss is covered.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 12-16 minutes.  The cookies should be set, but not brown.  Cool slightly and coat with powdered sugar.

This is one cookie that is actually better after it's cooled completely.  I experimented with a variety of the holiday kisses.  The cherry cordial kisses melted and oozed out onto the cookie sheet, so those weren't the best choice.  But the mint truffle kisses were fantastic.  They gave the cookie just the right amount of chocolate and mint, and a day later when the cookies were cool, they looked awesome when you bit into them.

With only 5 ingredients (plus the Hershey's Kisses) and minimal time and effort required, this cookie recipe is definitely a keeper.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

 

We are nearly three-quarters of the way through Advent and full of Christmas spirit and activities here at our farmhouse.  This is a bit of what we've been up to as we try making spirits bright.

 

We've decorated a total of four Christmas trees this year, not including ones that we've helped with at schools and Church.

 

There's been some fun gingerbread cottage competition going on.

 

The boys built one, and the girls built the other.  I must admit that we girls added some inedible embellishments to give ours a bit more curb appeal.

 

We got some snow over the weekend, and the children were so excited to be on a two hour delay Monday morning due to the ice that accumulated on top.

 

And then we woke up this morning to a lot more snow, but there was no delay, much to the dismay of the kiddos. 

 

I've been creating some Pinterest-inspired chalkboard art in the kitchen and the front porch.

 

And the house has been decorated with a few new things...

 

...but mostly old.

 

We've still got our burlap plaid theme going on throughout the house.

 

And we even took the rustic preppy look to our fixer-upper cabin this year.

 

There is plenty of viewing of Christmas classics.  I think I've watched Christmas with the Kranks on Netflix three times already.

 

And we've been counting down the days with our Advent calendar and this crafty bit of last year's Christmas tree that I made.  I change this every morning before I get my first cup of coffee.

 

The Christmas cards have been sent.  The trees have been trimmed.  The halls have been decked, though not with boughs of holly.  Gifts have been purchased, wrapped, and hidden.  The Holly radio station is played every time we're in the SUV.  Most of the Christmas movies have been watched, and the books are being read.  All that's left is the cookie baking.  The children have been wanting to start on that for weeks, but I'm putting it off because I can't resist the sweet treats.

And I'm desperately trying to end this year no heavier than when it started.

May the remaining days of your week be merry and bright, dear Readers.  

Decorating our Farmhouse Porch for Christmas (with Stuff from the Attic)

 

Most of our house is decorated with the "primitive preppy" Christmas decor from last year, but I wanted to do something different with the front porch.  Not having any electrical outlets on the outside of our house limits what I can do, so there are no lights, unfortunately.  For the most part, I found things in our attic and basement, some of them belonging to my husband when he was a child.

 

First of all, to all my readers who are PSU fans, don't be alarmed...this blanket was given to us and rests on our porch swing to snuggle under on cold evenings.  Since it's red, I left it on the swing for the Christmas season.  The small Christmas Blessings pillow was also given to us, but the plaid pillows were found for $5 at Target.  We don't sit out there much in the winter, but it looks inviting anyway, and it's become the favorite napping spot for our cats.

 

I took last year's wreath with the plaid bow and hung it from the rocking chair instead of the door.

 

I picked up the pine swag with another plaid bow at the Christmas tree farm the day after Thanksgiving.  To the right, the black ice skates and skis were my husband's, and I found them after rummaging through the cluttered attic and very rustic basement.

 

A friend of mine painted the snowman hanging on the wall, but the hanger fell off it years ago.  I attached some rustic ribbon and after more than a decade of sitting in a box in the attic, it's now out on display once again.  I purchased the small live Christmas tree at Weis this year and found unused Peanuts Gallery ornaments that I bought and never used years ago.  For now this is our little Charlie Brown Christmas tree, but the plan is to plant it in the ground when Christmas is over.  Ollie, the cat (who is lapping up the water dripping from the tree) has been with us since 2012 when the kiddos and I came back from a short vacation to discover their dad had taken in two more stray kittens.

 

This entrance is the one most used and comes straight into our busy farmhouse kitchen.

 

This chalkboard has been around for decades.  I previously used it when I was homeschooling preschoolers.  Now it's become my fun chalkboard art display that changes with the seasons and holidays.  I wish I could say I come up with these designs on my own, but most of the time I copy and adapt them from Pinterest.

 The only new items purchased for our porch this year were the swag above the door, the miniature potted tree, and the two pillows on the swing.  That came to a mere $39 and it was all purchased at places I frequent anyway: Target, Weis, and a local tree farm. 

Now I just need to finish my Christmas shopping.  Too bad I can't do all of that from our attic and basement.  I'm afraid "regifting" dusty items from the storage areas of our farmhouse wouldn't go over well with our children. 

Holiday Spirits: Apple Pie Cocktail & Cranberry Apple Cider

 

My husband discovered a fabulous cocktail that is perfect for this time of the year: Apple Pie.  We had these the day after Thanksgiving while we were decorating our freshly cut Christmas tree.  These are so good you'll want to share them with a house full of friends and family this winter.

Apple Pie Cocktail

Rim a low ball glass in a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon.  Pour 1 shot of Fireball whiskey and 1 shot of vanilla vodka over ice in the rimmed glass.  Fill the rest of the way with apple cider.

These taste so good that you just want to keep sipping them for hours, but beware that these drinks are potent, and the liquor kind of sneaks up on you, so pace yourself.

  While the adults enjoyed the apple pies, I had a large crockpot going with warmed cranberry apple cider for the kiddos.  This was a huge hit, and it made our kitchen smell quite festive while the tree trimming occurred.

There are a number of these recipes out there, but I used this one that I adapted from The recipe Rebel:

Warmed Cranberry Apple Cider

Pour a little more than 4 cups of apple cider, slightly more than 4 cups of cranberry juice, and 2 cups of orange juice in a crockpot or slow cooker.  Add 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of whole cloves, and 3 whole cinnamon sticks.  Stir and let cook for several hours.  I ended up doubling this recipe to make enough for refills for 5 children.  They absolutely loved it.

After sampling the non-alcoholic cranberry apple cider and drinking a few apple pie cocktails, we adults concurred that the ultimate holiday drink would be to combine these two.  Spiking the slow cooker cranberry apple cider with the Fireball whiskey and vanilla vodka would create a warm version of the cocktail and would be even better for a party.  It would also eliminate having to create each drink individually; although, you would still need to rim each glass first.

These will be making future appearances at our mountain farmhouse this season.