Dreaming of a White Christmas (and almond bark)

I received a TON of almond bark this year from dear relatives...the Brits have no idea what it is and don't carry it at Tesco. I think however my family would like to stock the entire island with almond bark, since they sent me 12 pounds collectively!

I'm not complaining though since I love the stuff. Sure it tastes a million times better to have real chocolate but I don't care. By the time you get chocolate melted and tempered who has the energy to create anymore. It's different doing chocolate work at home, at least in my experience, and I have never had the kitchen space to do it properly...especially now!

So since its the holidays Sophia and I made snow men! Since there is no snow on the ground this will be a yummy substitute. Though the cookies may disappear as quickly as the real thing does!






On a side note I am starting to bake my own bread. Not fancy bread or anything difficult...but plain ol' white bread (though I am considering a wheat bread.) I am mostly doing this for my husband benefit, since he is the one who has to pick up sliced bread after working 12 hours. We will still be purchasing and eating sliced bread but hopefully this will help prevent daily grocery store trips!

We will see.....

Merry Christmas to me?

I have a pretty good idea what I got for Christmas and it's not boots. (It's even better I can't wait!) However I still want boots. The website is down at the moment so I have no choice but to ponder the decision for a few hours. I need to decide whether I have been good enough this year for these amazing, rugged, ass-kickin' boots.

What's funny is I think I like them mostly because I'm homesick. These are the kind of boots I would have cringed at as a teenager. We always got good quality, warm, sturdy boots as kids, and I never appreciated it until now. Man what I wouldn't give to be able to go shopping at the feed store!

Christmas is coming...

Our house is slowly getting into Christmas. We may not get all the way into Christmas as far as decorating is concerned, since there is no room in our tiny living space. We are hoping to get a small tree just for traditions sake but we will see.

Our stocking's are hung however...accented by our small Christmas card collection. I'm sure many people don't know where we live anymore. I can't even keep track these days!
The majority of our loot has arrived however. As you can see it has taken over my dining table since there is nowhere else for it to go. Also we are quite spoiled!

I made some of my famous fudge tonight...it's super easy and all kinds of delicious! I tweek it every year to make it different. One year I even tried to add marshmallows...which didn't work out since they were too soft to keep the fudge stable...but I like to experiment.

The recipe is pretty mistake proof...just don't over heat it!

1 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 9 oz bag of peanut butter chips
1 14oz can of sweet condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Grease a 8 inch cake pan. (I use glass) Melt chips and milk on low heat until melted. Add vanilla and remove from heat. Stir in nuts and cranberries. Pour into pan. Cover and chill.

You can add ANYTHING to this recipe....be creative!

Snow Day!

We had mixed reactions to the first snow day......

Sophia instantly went to go find her snow pants and hassled me until she had on all her necessary clothing! Then spent her time catching snow flakes, making snow balls, throwing snow in the air, and insisting I make her a snow man!

Sebastian cried.....and cried and cried! He hated is new warm coat, he didn't want to wear his hat, he was generally unhappy with the idea of getting all these clothes on to go outside. Why couldn't he wear his jacket and run out barefooted like he was accustomed?

Eventually we coaxed him outside after spending all the fun being mad at mom in the house. He insisted that Dora come along and wouldn't put anything on his head. He was unamused.

Eventually we were able to put the hood on at least...it was rather cold which was probably why he relented. Sophia gave him hugs and that seemed to cheer him up....and he even started laughing. He just needs to get used to his winter wardrobe and he will have a lot more fun playing in the snow!


As usual the morning ended with hot cocoa with a choice of marshmallows. We used our Christmas mugs because if it snows you can use Christmas mugs right?

We plan to go back out this afternoon....since more snow has fallen since we first went out. Unlike the kids momma has no winter wardrobe and was in desperate need of mittens and snow boots. So the play time was cut short because mom had to go in and somehow snow isn't fun unless mom plays too!

Here's to Snow Days!

The Acceptance of the Hat

About a month ago I started a hat for my darling boy. I finished it a day later. Now there is something about the boy you should know....he HATES new things! Somethings only take a few hours for him to like...others can take months. This hat took a month for him to wear but its super warm and super cute, totally worth it. And since his recent mishap with his hair cut (the boy got his head shaved) he is gonna need the extra warmth! So one new thing conquered...next up; Snow Boots.





Finished hat a month ago.........

Finished hat yesterday! He even put it on himself!



Getting ready to go outside in their two cute hats!

Beeswax Stocking Stuffers

I just bought this for my kids for Christmas. It's modeling beeswax! I remember playing with this stuff when I was little and it's the BEST. The colors don't mix together like clay, it never dries out, smells fabulous and makes your hands feel nice. Really whats not to like? I think it might have been a present for me more than the kids but really who isn't guilty of that sometimes?

Bella Luna Toys has some of the best stuff for kids. I can't wait until my kids get older and want to play with all the crafty stuff! They just have a bunch of good simple toys and games which is hard to find sometimes. I don't think kids need all the "gadgets" we give them....sometimes all they need is a good ball of wax. Sometimes that's what mommas' need too!

My New Knitting Accessory

Here's what I wanted......
And this is what I got.

I found an old Crown Royal bag to put my knitting in....it's perfect for my marathon sock making! Also I didn't even pay for the Crown...I think it was one of my siblings last Christmas. So I could have spent 20 bucks but I chose good ol' free! Of course if I loose this one I gotta go buy more liquor so it wouldn't save you much. However the Crown can make for some fun knitting!



This is my latest sock....it's a self-striping yarn which is amazing. I have never used any before but I love it. I don't know who gets to be the lucky person to get this sock for Christmas...but maybe I will keep them for myself!