Happy New Year Friends!!!

 First,  I wanted to share this amazingly stylish and pricey bottle of  Dom Perignon Champagne.  It is a limited edition bottle by David Lynch, artist, and movie producer of the cult favorite, and what I would say, worst film ever made, Eraserhead.  However the bottle is cool and hip on so many levels.

 Next, I wanted to show you some designer cookies someone gave me as a gift. I think they are creative and fun but the test is in the taste,  I can tell you by appearance. they look a little dry.

 This was a really fun bottle of Champagne, given to me as a gift. I just love the festive winter bottle. I definitely plan to chop of the top and make this a candle holder. It will look so pretty with the blue glass.

Finally, I am not a drinker but everyone should take part in a New Years toast. They have so many alcohol free sparkling ciders that there is really no excuse to not pop open something bubbly to ring in the New Year. I have here a very reasonably priced Champagne, and just the thing to have on hand for those unexpected New Years guests. We will be eating Chinese food and watching fire works. Have fun and be safe!

Thoughtful lil' gifts

 Greetings!!!  I just wanted to show you a couple little things that made me happy. The first being my annual Holiday Barbie 2012. I mentioned before, I get one every year, this year was no different. She is lovely! My father who always gives her to me said, he thought she looked very cheap this year. I love to talk Barbies with my fabulous seventy year old Dad. I had to disagree. I love the simplicity of red and white. It was a lot like last years but I loved last years as well. I also have the Hallmark Holiday Barbie Ornament. However, I am very sad to announce that after the many years of collecting the Barbie ornaments, this was the final in the series. I guess it must have been losing popularity. Sniff, sniff.

 Next, I would like to show you this pretty little cowly, scarfy thing my friend knit for me. Pull over scarves are big this year but my bestie, kicked it up a notch by adding some vintage buttons. It is really soft and looks very cool popping out of the top of my coat. It displays all the richness of a sweater with the skinniness  of a tee shirt, because of course, it only covers ones neck.

 This cute wreath was an accessory on a gift from another friend. It is a homemade candy wreath with Jolly ranchers, caramels, bulls-eyes and gum.  This are all twist open candies. Ones they are open you should be left with a fluffy candy wrapper wreath. What a cute, sweet idea!

 Above and below are some homemade ornaments from my sister. She used scrap paper as well as vintage cards. I really liked them. No surprise, I love to see re-purposed vintage paper given new life. Happy second day of Christmas!

It's Christmas Eve Y'all !!!!

It's Christmas Eve and I have a lot of bits and pieces to put together to make the big day a success. We always decorate our big tree on Christmas Eve, it is a family tradition. I put a bunch of small trees around to keep everyone in the spirit of the Holidays. Here is one of the small trees next to my plug in fire log. It flickers and makes a crackling sound. It is just the thing to create a little winter ambiance. You will also notice a mix match bunch of stockings. There are a bunch of us here and everyone picked out their own stocking except for the cat. I will be up extra late stuffing those stockings and trying to keep them from falling. Stress central! I will probably start munching on chocolate treats intended for good children.

 Here are a couple cinnamon nut loaves. I did a bunch of different baked goods. They are great last minute back up gifts. Then I did some homemade ornaments for the people I knew like that sort of thing. Most of my other friends got store bought scarves and Alex and Ani bracelets. I had fun picking out special charms. I also threw together some gift baskets with Wolfgang Puck Soups, crackers, tea, olives, biscotti, and Chocolate  No rhyme or reason just stuff I like myself.

 Here is my mini pink candy tree. It is really just a little table top number. I have a soft spot in my heart for pastel Christmas decor. I really love how it can take us right into February with Valentines Day. It takes a long time to get rid of all the Holiday decor. I tend to let snowmen and winter/snow flake stuff hang for a while.

 Here is one little troop of Nutcrackers. One of my sons has been collecting since he was little so his collection is pretty big. There is such a huge variety. He always gets an original of different one for Christmas Morning.

 This is my pathetic little snow village  There are only about nine houses but really who has the room or patience, or most importantly the time?. We were fortunate enough to inherit my husband's Father's vintage Lionel Train set. In the past we have set up the trains with the little glittery cardboard houses as well as these lighted porcelain numbers. However,  it really takes days to set up because we need to build the giant table. Christmas sprang on us too fast I guess. We just didn't have the time.

 Here are just a few of the Holiday Barbie Collection that I set up every year around the house. I am missing the first two dolls, one of these days I will order them online to complete the set...I have been saying that for years now.

 Are they pretty or what. I wish I were going to a party where I could sport a gown like that. I keep them mint in box mostly because the boxes are so graphic themselves.  I love the little scarf wearing deer in the background snow scene,  featured below for 2011.

 I also own all the Hallmark Holiday Barbie Ornaments. This is the first ornament I put on this years tree. Hallmark is incredible when it comes to ornaments. So many musical, humorous, beautiful, animated and collection varieties to choose from in their line.  I was collecting the Madame Alexander Angels but the discontinued. That was a bummer. I posted before that I collect the Saint Nicks and this year, thanks to Chickie, who bought me a couple, I plan to collect the Fisher-Price vintage toy collection ornaments.

 This lovely Barbie statue is just adorable. She has the vintage ponytail Barbie face and she is hanging out with Snow Babies. I like Snow Babies as much as I like Kewpies in the spring.

 Here are a couple of woodland Snow Babies. Whats not to love?

 I wanted to show you this crafty little church and sleigh made of yarn and plastic netting. Someone really put a ton of time into this project. I got it at a Holly Fair a few years ago. It was definitely worth more than the four dollars I paid for it. The labor alone.It is hard to see but it even has some sparkly gold thread that was added later.

 Here is my vintage Christmas Elf that sits on a shelf. He used to have bells on his shoes and hat but my kids abused him...because " he is so creepy". He looks a lot like a Rice Crispies Elf, Snap, Crackle or Pop.

 More Holiday inspiration. Frosty the Snowman coasters. more little deer candles as well as a collapsing Santa. You press in the button under his stand and he faints. Entertaining for at least  a good three minutes.

 Look at these cute little magnets,below, my friend made me with retro pictures. They look so cute on the fridge. I need to make this easy gift myself...someday.

 Fired up the old record player today while I was cleaning. It really inspired me to get everything done on my list. I skipped Rudolph the second time around. Once is plenty.

 This little vintage Santa ornament wishes you all a safe, exciting Christmas Eve. I hope your dreams come true! Have Fun!

70's Crafty Christmas

 Here are some pictures from the Better Homes magazine hard cover home made gifts book.  There are so many uses for driftwood, yarn, milk cartons and construction paper. The whole thing is sort of cute for a child, however, this book was geared towards savvy homemakers. People don't feel comfortable decorating their homes with painted rock paperweights, macrame plant holders and milk crate book shelves anymore. I am all for re-purposing objects but re-gifting those items are a matter of taste and shouldn't be forced on a friend. If you don't have money you can always find something small cute and useful for a couple of dollars.  I mentioned before that people always appreciate baked goods and home made candies. You can even get the bread or cookie mixes and embellish them with nuts or butterscotch chips.

 We can make candles with cookie cutters and cup cake cups. I love candles!!! However, now it is all about Yankee Candle type scented candles, not wax smelling, black smoke, cough inducing candles of yesteryear. I don't care how pretty they look, they need to smell good as well.
Look, we can make a Nutcracker Ballet, finger puppet army.  Just look, boys love them too. My boys would only be interested in the guys with swords, it is just the way it is.

 I found this colorful display of gifts, featured below, extremely depressing.  I can't imagine being an excited child on Christmas morning and finding, what appears to be , a dead, armless clown, or that creepy face lady, wearing a big hat. I can't see the purpose in these items because I don't find them pleasant to look at even though their colors are so bright and cheery. They just don't say holiday to me..not to mention Christmas.

 Below are different ways to decorate gift boxes. There is yarn, felt, pom poms, cup cake cups and office supplies. I think they are cute but who has the time?  I can imagine if I went through the trouble of decorating a gift like this, I would be really offended if my giftee, didn't acknowledge the handy-work  and then see it ripped off and thrown to the floor.  That would be painful. Gift bags are the way to go.

Hobbit Movie

The Hobbit Movie opens today!!  This is good news for J.R.R Tolkein enthusiasts, Lord of the Rings fans and fellow nerds everywhere. It is sold out today so I will not be donning by elf ears until next week. Happy Weekend!

Frosty, the All-Inclusive, Winter, Holiday Special

I just love this!!! It is the original Frosty the snowman.  However, this classic bubbly rendition was replaced by a much less cheery cartoon when I was a child.  The whole premise of this newer cartoon was about how a lovable snowman  had a run in with the law, broke into a florist and then started to melt. He ultimately realizes he needs to leave town.  He has a gang of kids who support him and who are brokenhearted by his departure. The song ensures us ,"He'll be back again someday.........." Whatever that means. It always made me sad as a child.  In all the other Christmas Specials, Santa arrives in the nick of time, (St. Nick to be precise) to "save Christmas", but not this time.

Then I realize, that my pal Frosty has just as much to do with Christmas as he does with Hanukkah . He talks just like my Jewish friend Marty, who owns the dry cleaner, originally from New Jersey. On that note, "The Map", from Dora the Explorer, might be from "Jersey" as well.

 Anyway,  Frosty's catch phrase, "Happy BoYYYthday" should be followed up with a" Oy vey, where am I? Or, he should say to the little girl, "Could you be a "mench" ( Yiddish for a good, decent person) and help me hide from that "mashugena" (crazy) cop."  They should all play a game of dreidle and go out on a high note. The point is, this cartoon, that has always been coined a Christmas Holiday Special has very little to do with Christmas or any Holiday for that matter.

In reality, the 1969 cartoon should be promoted as a slice of seasonal fun, and the joys as well as the trouble of snow.

I hope you will be back again someday, Frosty Snowmann, from Long Island , New Jersey.

Sweets n' Stuff

I love Christmas sweets. I really like the pretty delicate candy ribbons and hard candies.  The ones above have a chocolaty filling but I prefer the ones with the vintage flavors of cinnamon and peppermint as opposed to fruit. 

 It is really so difficult to diet around this time of year.  There seems to be a holiday party every weekend. I really enjoy breads like cranberry, pumpkin or  banana. I enjoy them with tea and I add insult to injury by putting them in the toaster oven with butter. Will I ever learn?  I am such a sucker for comfort food , especially when I am feeling Christmas nostalgia and when it's cold outside.  I suppose the secret is to have one slice a day as opposed to a slice, with the several cups of tea, I drink everyday.

This year,  I have found so many different kinds of beautiful gift bags and wrapping paper. They have sparkles  durability and some even have little plastic gemstones. I still have a ton of small gifts to buy for friends.  I am thinking it would be nice to try fudge and put it in nice tins this year. My fudge usually ends up too soft and not sugary and crumbly like my grandmother used to make.  I don't know what I am doing wrong.  Maybe, I should just make fudge sauce for ice cream and let myself off the hook.

 No one did Christmas like the Victorians.  I have a small Father Christmas tree above. I also have a bunch of Victorian Dolls that I display for the Holidays.

 I also love retro fifties style Christmas  stuff. Below you see a home made Rudolf from sticky burrs and sticks and seeds. Cute idea.

 Look at these nicely packaged candies above. Again, I just love that classic Victorian vibe.  Below, I found these really pretty, Victorian gift tag stickers  They sparkle as well. Yes, I have everything to wrap and carry gifts, now I need to start thinking about shopping for gifts. Gloves are always a useful gift or better yet, home made mittens.  I am putting too much pressure on myself. A Starbucks Coffee gift card might be the easy way to go but what am I going to do with all this gift wrapping paraphernalia?

 Here are some antique Christmas tags and little religious Christmas blessings. They are from the roaring twenties.

 Christmas is not Christmas without the Grinch.  I know many of my friends have the Elf on the Shelf to encourage their children to behave but personally, I prefer to have a grouchy Grinch leering down at them. Kind of like me.

Over the top fabulous!!!

Nothing tacky going on here.  These folks are wonderful...well,  maybe just a little tacky. If my hubby was on board, and if I had a ton of time and money, oh and of course, storage space, I would do this to my house.  My neighbors would probably  love it!!!  Well,  we 'll never know.

Gingerbreadin'

I decided to make gingerbread houses with the kids. A good gingerbread house starts with a strong sugar foundation.  I made mine with a little cream of tartar, vanilla flavored coffee creamer and confectionery sugar. I decided that the children are really only interested in the candy so I was not going to go the extra mile and make gingerbread.  There is really no excuse not to, but I was pressed for time.  Pillsbury makes refrigerated gingerbread dough or you can buy gingerbread graham crackers but I went with plain graham crackers.

I bought a bunch of yummy candy.  I forgot gum drops which is a bummer.  Spice gum drops are so classic and a must have for gingerbread houses not to mention candy ribbon. I failed in that department.

 Here is a little gingerbread villiage. Most of the kids are under eight so they won't win any contests for beauty.  They were still really cute not to mention yummy.

 I took pictures, then they went back to the kitchen table.  I made some hot cocoa and the destruction began. It was fun, that turned into a manic sugar rush, jumping, running, fighting over candy and then crying.

 I love doing crafts with the kids.  Well, most of the time. I do love this time of year!

Kandee shares some Christmas magic!

I am so excited for this Holiday Season!!!!!!!  I have so much to share but so little time. I posted this mediocre Holiday video by Kandee because I love her passion and enthusiasm.  People like her really cheer me up and motivate me to get my act together.

 I have gone to several little Christmas fairs at churches over the past couple weeks. What a fun way to raise money. There is usually a baked goods table, some tables for hand made items, a white elephant, a cafeteria lunch and a photo opportunity with Santa.

 Lately,  I am seeing these little Bazaars get smaller and smaller, and even cancelled.  I have also noticed, that there aren't as many home made items.  Cute little must haves, like Life Saver doll ornaments (these were little yarn dolls that had a Life Saver candy body) and candy cane Rudolphs, with a red pom pom nose, just don't seem to matter anymore.

Most of the people running these events are older ladies in their eighties, and they do a heck of a job, God Bless 'em.  Unfortunately, most  people just don't have time to volunteer because everyone is so busy with kids activities or working. These events were community building high lights.  When I was younger, my friends and I were so excited to buy little presents for our parents for a dollar. It is a shame these fairs are slowly, going the way of " Ladies who Lunch".

 However, I do admit that our standards have changed so much since the seventies, when I was a child.  I remember, we were always collecting toilet paper tubes for girl scouts or school.  W would later decorate them and fill them with candy. Then, we would add insult to injury by charging people fifty cents to hang them on their Christmas tree. I even remember making a little toilet paper roll Nativity Set........This was  so wrong on so many levels.  When I think back on it, the whole concept was really quite unsanitary.

Anyway,  I will try to bring some Holiday cheer your way.  I have one tradition that is always enjoyable for nobody but myself,  because I only have sons.  I bring out my Holiday Barbies!!!!!  I have a huge Barbie collection, of both vintage and new.  I also have the complete set of Barbie Hallmark Ornaments. The Holiday Barbies don't dress like trampy whores and several gowns were actually designed by Bob Mackie himself. They are all so beautiful and hold a special place in my heart because everyone of them are from my father. I am forty four...gasp, years old and my Dad says it is not Christmas if there isn't a Barbie under the tree for me. Gotta love that.

I hope for the rest of the month to share a little something fun.

Yum Yum Bento Book

We were so inspired by our friend Diane and fellow blogger at http://busynursebento.blogspot.com/, and her wonderful yummy creations that Chick decided to order some really fun Bento products for us to try out.  Yum Yum Bento Box, the book, was really fun and did provide a ton of fun food ideas for kids. We cater parties but when it comes to kids it seems it is best to go with a sure thing. Chicken nuggets, pizza and mac n' cheese.  We love the idea of healthy eating but Bento creating is very time consuming, especially,  if you are doing it on a large scale. Most parents make Bentos for creative ways for their own cherubs to develop healthier eating habits. I am on board with that but my kids are naturally non-picky eaters so if I serve it, they will eat it...even if there is no smiley face on it.

 Above we see rice shapers. There is bear, a heart and a star.  We also have some really good quality metal cut outs. They are like mini cookie cutters. They can make flower shapes in vegetables, meat, cheese or fruits. Below we see egg shapers. Many people add food dye to color the eggs.

Most people use dried sea weed strips to make faces on their food. I really love these seaweed by Annie Chun. My kids like them too and they come in different flavors.

 I wanted to show you the egg shapers. They were not perfect and needed to be trimmed a little. Interesting observation. The brightly colored yellow egg is from one of my mothers free range chickens and the light yellow yolk is from the super market. Interesting.

 These are little condiment containers. They could be used for salad dressing, soy sauce or ketchup. My kids just wanted to play with them. They kept filling them with water, pulling off the heads and drinking from them.

 This was my rendition of franks n' beans. I did little octopus hot dogs, with chicken stock flavored rice and basil, tomatoes with seashell and star mozzarella and beef bologna. I threw in a couple sea weed snacks as well. Below I had little heart shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, an egg and an almond butter ball, bird with apple slices. Note to self. More greens needed. More colors needed. Too much white food. I could have colored it up with multicolored peppers that the kids would have picked out. Maybe next time.