Cookie Swap Bunco!

I am officially a member of the Domestic Goddess Club.

I attended my FIRST EVER "Cookie Swap" last night. For years, I have heard about this ancient domestic ritual that organized, creative, culinary minded women the world over take part in every December.

(An activity that, until last night, seemed like a mystical legend of sorts...............kinda like Bigfoot or the Abominable Snowman.)

Well, LEGEND NO MORE.....................I can now say, "Oh, yes.......I've been to a cookie swap."

Who knows....this might lead to me saying, "Oh yes, I'm planting bulbs this year" or...."Oh yes, I flip the mattresses every spring"...................

Although it was a small cookie swap (compared to the legendary swaps I've been reading about online and in blogs in magic leather bound dusty books of Christmas' past), it was still a great swap!

Seven of us from my Bunco group decided to strap on the ol' aprons and give it our best shot.
(I just LOVED the table set up with the ribbons and the jingle bells....note to self.....copy KW's idea for next year's table.)

Here's the loot:

K.Z. made this wonderful Peppermint Fudge and Peppermint Puff Cookies.



B.B. made these Raspberry Lemon Thumbprint Cookies.



K.W. made Hello Dollies (or as she refers to them: Tiger Bars)
Hello Dollies are one of those "If you were on Death Row and had one last meal to eat, what would it be?" kinda things for me...............My soul is connected on deep deep levels with anything coconuty with sweetened condensed milk.



L.W. made White Chocolate Peppermint Delights.



L.C. made Oreo Truffles. (she was also celebrating her 25th Wedding Anniversary!)



A.H. made Gingersnaps! (Sorry I didn't get a pic of them outside of their cute little homes...trust me, they're in there taking a nap all warm and snuggly with all that yummy molasses)



And I made Snickerdoodles! (These are the ones that I won Reserve Champion with in 1981 at the my county fair and R won Reserve Grand Champion with at our 2007 county fair.........like mother, like son!)



I EVEN decorated the BOTTOM of my platter! (Channeling that "inner Martha" that came out during Goldilock's Christmas Decorating challenge.................she has created a MONSTER)

I pray every day that she never issues a "Clean Closet Challenge" or a "Laundry Challenge"..........................................

.....................and T prays every day that she will.


We had a great time and got to come home with 7 different kinds of cookies that WE DIDN'T HAVE TO MAKE!





Wonder what I'll make next year?...................................................

Christmas Tour of Homes 2008

WELCOME TO SNOW WHITE'S COTTAGE!


I had so many things to show, I had to do it in three posts!

Check out this one (about tiny touches) and this one (about ornaments) for more:-)










(Real classy of me not to turn off the tv for a pic, huh? I live with three males.....do you know how hard it is to get a shot of the t.v. withOUT ESPN on?)














(I have just discovered these clip on bird thingys.........and they are my new favorite thing. Next year I want to have clip on birds on EVERYTHING!)




This is where the Gingerbread Men hang out:




Candle Rings:


I was searching for small wreaths to hang in the windows and came across these "Candle Rings" that are really supposed to lay flat with a big honkin' candle in the middle. They come already decorated so it's much easier than buying the little wreaths and re-inventing the wheel!

(My parents payed for nine years of piano lessons and pretty much all I can do now with a piano is decorate it.......and play "The Spinning Song" over........and over.........and over.........all dad ever wanted to hear was "Bring In The Clowns" and I still haven't learned it for him! Maybe it will be my New Year's Resolution?)

Cranberries and pine cones!

(Ornaments aren't just for trees!)

Mrs. Reindeer:

The Snowman village: (along with Mr. Flamingo that R decorated at Bible Study)

Here is my tree skirt that my Mother-in-law made me. The boys put their handprints on it in red every Christmas, then she stitches around it and has them sign their name in Sharpie. This item is one of those, "If my house were burning, what would I grab" kinda things. I love it.

And this thing?...............................................

Don't ask............it's a long story.

THANKS FOR VISITING! SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

Ornaments Are Not Just For Trees

This year I decided to do something a little creative with some of my favorite ornaments.

Often times, when I just stick them all on the tree, I can't really "focus" on them since they are all in one big lump of happy holiday hullabaloo in the corner of my dining room.

I took all the ornaments out and pondered what I could do.............here is what I came up with:

I made an ornamental "Sports Tribute" to the sports in our lives (those are golf balls, in case you can't tell from the flash) over the kitchen table. Why? You ask? Because behind, around, beside, and under, and sometimes even on top of the kitchen table is where all 568 pairs of sporting shoes live most of the time.....I felt it was an appropriate place.

Then, I took my favorite Santa ornament in the whole wide world and hung it on a ribbon on a lamp.


Now, on to the "Fancier" things.........................................

I have been blessed with a Mother-In-Law that loves loves loves to buy me ornaments!

Over the years, she has given me so many beautiful crystal ones that are so sparkly and fancy schmancy! I bought some really thin ribbon and hung them over my dining room table.

I feel like I can finally appreciate them since they aren't hidden on the tree with all the others!

She also loves loves loves to give my boys a Lenox ornament every year (beginning 8 years ago).

I took them all out of their boxes, talked to them a little bit, asked them how their summer was, gave them a drink, and lined them up in yearly order on a shelf, thinking that would look cute........but it looked a little "flat"..........

so I dug down deep into my "inner-Martha" and tried to make them into a cute little grouping.

Drum roll, please.................................................

CAN YOU BELIEVE I DID THIS!!!!!!! Don't feel bad, I'M SHOCKED, TOO!

(And......after I completed this task, I had a strange urge to go put on some lipstick, high heels, an apron and make dinner..............but then I stopped and took a little break until the feeling went away)

(R's 2003 Moose ornament lost 1/2 of his antlers in a bad fall last year as you can see from the above picture. I dropped Someone dropped him in the mad rush to pack up all the Christmas stuff last year the day before Valentine's Day. He's okay, you just have to make sure you look at him when you talk and he tends to lean to the left when he walks.)

(I even included what is left of R's 2001 ornament that I dropped someone dropped on the floor last year)

So............there you have it. Ornaments are NOT just for trees!

Where else can I hang some? (ruthie just heard me say that and ran under the bed........)

Addiction

I am totally addicted to these little things:

They are .50 each at Hobby Lobby and since I have discovered them, I am intimidated NO LONGER with Holiday Decorating.

You can stick these things ANYWHERE and VIOLA! they make everything a little more festive and lively.

These little "whippies" jazz up everything from an ordinary lamp:

to a pair of golf shoes in the middle of the floor..........

and EVEN the stack of junk that lives by the phone! (not to be confused with a pile....piles are something totally different).

These little jewels can even make a crabby Grandpa of a cat with an attitude say, "Happy Holidays!"

(T's number one rule when we bought the pool table was: NO CATS ON THE POOL TABLE..................Rascal doesn't really agree with that rule)

PeeWee looks festive....................................

(T's number two rule: NO DOGS ON THE COUCH.......hahaha)

Ruthie looks..............well..............as festive as Ruthie can look................

(She's festive on the "inside")

You can EVEN hang them on regular boring, typically UN-Festive like household items and now EVERYTHING in your house is ready for the holidays!

(Sadly, the kitchen is probably the most overlooked room in holiday decorating.......

you really have to look for those little spots that are screaming out for some holiday lovin')

BUT WAIT..............THERE's MORE!

You can create a whimsical husband display......................

or EVEN a teenager-in-a-computer-coma vignette!

All I know is....................thank goodness I have found these things. I now have probably around 4,357 of them as you will see tomorrow in the Christmas Tour of Homes on Goldilocks blogsite.

See you tomorrow!