HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Peppermint Brownies!

Someone gave me a jar of Peppermint Brownies by Skip To My Lou for Christmas.   

I am SO glad she did.  

These are REALLY good.  I would never have tried them otherwise as I'm not real adventurous.
Kaela was having a sleep over and I didn't feel like pulling out a recipe and baking.  What is easier than a box mix?  A JAR mix.  You don't even have a box to throw away!
Anyway, I made them.....I tried them.....and next year, I'll be the one giving them away as gifts...they are THAT good!  (Not to mention making the for myself throughout the year!)

I have a link to her blog so you can check it out.  There is even a cute label to go along with the recipe so click HERE to go to her link, you won't be disappointed.   I used her original photo below so you can see how they are presented....so cute!





They are slightly minty and chewy and just about TOO rich....perfection. (cue: large glass of milk)

And BTW, if you've got a hankering for those Girl Scout thin mint cookies but can't wait  'til February, then try THESE instead.  
Truth be told, I may never buy thin mints again!

hugs and kisses....

 Christmas brought us many hugs

and at least a kiss or two......

hoping your family had lots of hugs and kisses too!

Merry Christmas!

Thank you for stopping by this year.
May the magic of Christmas bring you peace and happiness and may God bless you and your household.

Merry Christmas!

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, 

everything is softer and more beautiful. " ~Norman Vincent Peale

'Tis.....

'Tis Christmas Eve day and our daughter is sick
With a low grade fever, sore throat and  "ick."
She sleeps on the sofa, covered up with a blankie
The rest of us hovering with trash can and hankie

When what do I remember but the photos from last night?
Before some virus foiled the night?
Photos from travels to see Christmas lights
Photos of places and yards lit up bright.

Then off to the park to see all the trees  
Too many to share, about 43!

 Each school in the city has it's own
All decorated with love to share with the town

A small little space in our little town square
When we arrived, there were lots of folks there!

Looking in windows, all decorated brightly
This small little space is lit up nightly

So parents and children can come take a walk
Wander the sidewalk, sit and just talk

Some, like us, take photos to share
To prove that St. Nicholas really was there

Much to our dismay, our evening cut short
When Kaela, poor thing, she gave a great snort!
A sneezing spat followed, she 'bout blew off her head
So we dashed on home and we dosed her with meds!
She ate some soup so we knew she'd been fed
Then I gave her a toddie and sent her to bed!

That was last night, this is today
I hope that this virus doesn't long stay
For tomorrow is Christmas and we've things to do
But no matter, for now....

Merry Christmas EVE to you!

warmth....

Warmth is snuggling on your favorite place during the cold holidays...

or jumping into the dryer while someone is folding clothes.... 

Warmth is baking fresh Christmas cookies with your daughter while Christmas movies play in the background....

and using cutters and sprinkles

 to make someone happy as he samples every new batch. 

Warmth is knowing you made enough so everyone can have one of each shape....

Warmth is making Kaela's favorite so she could take them to a sleepover and share...

Warmth is a surprise brought by the mailman...

Warmth is making something new.....

Warmth is knowing there is a bucket of goodies, already made and wrapped....ready to hand out when needed.

Warmth is knowing that tonight you are going to make hot cocoa and drive around with the windows open while looking at Christmas lights!

      Hoping you are enjoying the warmth of the holidays with your family!

I'm still craftin'...

I made a few more ruffled scarves before calling it quits for this year.  I am pretty slow making these but it is good because it is a new skill.    I have read that you start losing brain cells if you don't use them...so thought this would be a good way to keep at least a few of mine! 

This is for someone who works with Dean...

 and this is for a friend who wears this color scheme all. the. time.

Then Matt showed me how to make these cute little origami hearts.  

He makes them using dollar bills but I thought they would be cute ornaments...and would fit perfectly inside a Christmas card....

We used wrapping paper since that is what we had on hand.  I think these would be precious as a little paper garland around Valentine's Day....just gotta find some pink paper!

How snow cones are made.....

A birthday weekend!

For her 15th birthday, Kaela wanted to do something special so she invited two girlfriends to spend the weekend with her.  Dean kicked things off Saturday morning by making chocolate chip waffles for breakfast... and then we all went into New Orleans for the afternoon.

For an early dinner, we went to her favorite restaurant, Superior Grill......it was as amazing as always but since I was driving I skipped my usual margarita (safety first y'all!)

And then we walked around the French Quarter, letting the girls run into the shops along the way.

We worked our way through the Quarter and ran into this guy...who posed with the girls.   

Needing sustenance, we had some beignets at Cafe Du Monde which made the girls happy!

Then we walked around some more to make sure we hadn't missed out on anything...

We got home around 9 pm and then she opened gifts...and had MORE sugar!

After all that sugar and excitement, they changed into pjs and played the Wii for awhile before crashing for the night.....

I can't believe the baby in the family is 15!!!!