Feelin' Festive

I love Christmas! I really love dragging out all of my decorations and dressing up the house. I love putting up the Christmas tree and hanging ornaments up with the boys. And I love the anticipation the boys have leading up to Christmas Eve and Christmas morning to see if Santa came for a visit.

We had a very productive week and weekend of getting lights up on the outside of the house (thanks honey!) and getting the inside all prettied up. I still have more I want to do, and a storage tub FULL of miscellaneous Christmas ball ornaments that I have big ideas for.

Here are some snapshots of what I have been up to:

Grandma's ceramic Christmas tree.

Ornament Weath (inspiration found here)

Stocking Hanger (inspiration found here)

 Here's wishing you the opportunity to feel like a kid again as the excitement for Christmas builds.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Every Thanksgiving, and sometimes Christmas, I make Pumpkin Cheesecake. The basis for the recipe I use is from the Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book.

Here is my adaptation of the recipe:

Crust:
1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Cheeesecake
2 8-ounce pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 cup half and half
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 eggs


Step 1:
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. For your crust mix graham cracker crumbs, 1/3 cup sugar and melted butter until well combined. Press in to the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9 inch springform pan. Place springform pan on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for 5 minutes.

Step 2:
Place all remaining ingredients, except eggs, into mixing bowl and beat until smooth. (Start slow with this as the half and half may splash, once it starts to get mixed up you can up the speed.) Once it is looking smooth and well combined, add eggs all at once and beat on low only until combined. If you overbeat the eggs in the mixture the top of your cheesecake will crack as it bakes.

Step 3:
Spoon filling into the crust. Place in the oven for 1 hour, the center should appear nearly set when gently shaken.

Cooling:
 This is the most time consuming part of making a cheesecake. Once removed from the oven place the springform pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes. Then loosen crust from the side of the pan with a rubber/silicone scraper and let sit 30 minutes more. After that, remove the sides of your springform pan and let sit for 1 hour. Finally, put the sides back on and cover and chill for at least 4 hours (I usually make this the night before I need it so I don't feel rushed).

Enjoy!!

Here's wishing you time to enjoy tasty treats this holiday season.

Wednesday Pinterest Top 5

OK, I have fallen behind on blogging the past couple of weeks. We have been playing hosts to ear infections, nasty coughs and otherwise yuckiness in our household since right after Halloween. We are all now on the mend and hopefully will be back to normal before the holidays get into full swing (knock on wood).

Here is this weeks top 5:

This is a pin that I completed recently, and I am very happy with how it turned out. I got the frame on sale and with a coupon at Michael's for $15, and just printed the letters out on regular paper with my color printer. (I was going to have 4x6 pictures printed of the letters, but tested it out on paper first and results were pretty good.) Here is the link to my previous post about where to find the letters.




Organized t-shirts - I did this with both boys' t-shirts and it is awesome!! Not only is it easier to get all their shirts in their drawers and close them, but now they can see all of the shirts they have without digging through the drawers and making a big mess.




Cable Control - I just saw this one today and I can't wait to do it. I have been storing (i.e. tossing) all our charging cables for the laptop, camera, phones, ipods, etc. in just an empty shoe box. This is so much prettier to look at, now to decide on what paper to use!



Drawing Starter - This is a way too easy drawing project for the boys. Glue a couple of eyes onto a piece of paper and let them got to town creating their own creatures. We will definitely be giving this a try.



I thought I would go through my "Words of Wisdom" board and see what kind of goodies I had saved there. I found that I had pinned a few quotes more than once, I guess they are the ones that really speak to me the most. This one is from a favorite movie and I think it makes a good point. We could all use a reminder to slow down and enjoy life a little more.

Here's wishing you time to slow down and enjoy life, but be sure to have some fun along the way!

Pinterest Top 5

A short and sweet top 5 this week:


We made this for dinner tonight. I slightly modified the recipe, I only used one can of cream of chicken soup and added a can of corn. Julian requested that next time we make it we add black beans, I think that was a great idea!

Chicken Tortilla Bake


This is a super yummy looking dessert from one of my favorite bloggers.

Nutella Cakes


I love these! You better believe that handyman of the house is going to get asked to make these. I think they would be great for the boys' rooms; clothes would be sorted nicely, and/or toys could easily be put away here too.

Storage Bins


This is what I am envisioning for my front yard next spring, at least my own version of this. We need something out front and is simple, but still makes a statement.

Corner Landscaping


I am going to give this a try next summer with fresh cucumbers.

Cucumber Salsa


Here's wishing you time to find something "PINteresting" to do with your time.

Kindle Fire Cover

I have slacked off again this week and missed the Wednesday Pinterest Top 5. So, in it's place I will post the details* on the cover I made for my Kindle Fire. I made this sleeve because I could not find something I really liked for my Kindle that did not cost $20 or more. I had all the necessary supplies, why not attempt to make something myself? So here we go, please leave me a comment with your ideas, questions, tips, etc.

Kindle Fire Cover

Here is what I used: upholstery fabric (khaki and red material) for the outside and fleece (gray material) for the interior liner. I wanted something durable for the outside and something soft that was not going to scratch the screen on the inside.

I cut the upholstery fabric first; 20" long and 6" wide (it probably wouldn't hurt to add 1/2" to both the length and the width) and laid it right side down on top of the fleece.

 

 

Pin the upholstery fabric to the fleece.

 

 

 Cut the fleece using the upholstery fabric as your template.

 

 

 Here is the 2 pieces of fabric cut out and still pinned together.

 

 

 Sew the 2 long sides and one short side, I didn't measure the seam on this. I just put the edge of the fabric on the outside edge of the presser foot (I know, really technical, right?).

 

 

 Here is the finished edge with the wrong sides out.

 

 

 Pull the rights sides out through the open end.

 

 

 For a little added stability I slipped a piece of chipboard (think cereal box) into the sleeve. This should be an inch shorter than your fabric.

 

 

 Stitch the open end shut.

 

 

 Fold the sleeve so that bottom meets with the top of the chipboard piece, this should leave you with the extra inch of fabric with nothing inside of it at the top. This will be flap that closes the case.

 

 

 

Stitch both of the long edges together on each side.

 

 

 

 This is what your finished edge will look like when you are done.

 

 

 Here is the finished product. I haven't decided what would work best for me as a fastener, it will either be velcro or small snaps.

 

*Please note: this is a tight fitting sleeve for the Kindle Fire, feel free to adapt this as you see fit. When measuring I would definitely error on the side of measuring a little big, not a little small. This is just my process, more meant to be guidelines and/or an idea generator for your to use to make your own covers for your tablet/e-reader.

Here's wishing you the time to get creative and make something instead of running out to buy it.

Wednesday Pinterest Top 5

What a long week we had last week, sorry for not getting around to my Top 5 last Wednesday. Now that Odie is getting back to feeling more like himself, I am getting back to the things I try to do on a regular basis during the week. I think some people refer to it as that elusive thing called "me time", working out, blogging, wasting time researching interesting things on Pinterest, attempting to make whatever pin has grabbed my attention, etc. It's hard when you are a mom, whether you are working outside the home or staying at home with the kids, to find this "me time". I think mine is buried in the back of the closets with the toys that are ever so neatly "picked up" by the little boys in my household.

Anyway, enough rambling. Here is my Pinterest Top 5 for this week:

What kid would not love to have their very own tent? What mom would not love an easy to create and set-up tent? Not to mention how little space they take up, you could slide it under the bed when it's not being used.

Simple Tents


These will definitely be making an appearance at out house this fall. The boys love making hand turkeys, and I think this is cute!

Hand Turkeys 2.0


I made these roll-ups this weekend. They are so easy to put together and are tasty too!

Salsa Roll-ups


I read this book this summer, I think I cried through the majority of it. It is a great book and really helps you put your life and daily struggles into perspective. Highly recommend it (and keeping a box of kleenex nearby too).

Heaven Is Here


Pretty sure I need to make one of these signs for my laundry room.

Laundry Schedule

Here's wishing you a chance to hunt down and find your "me time".

Wednesday Pinterest Top 5

On to this week's top 5. I am already noticing that a lot of recipes are going into these lists, I will try to keep a good balance between food and other items. I am also noticing that in doing these posts I am finding pins that don't have good links, so it is helping me clean up some of my boards. I will try my best to post links to the items that are in my top 5, and if it's something I really like and the link is no good I will let you know.

Now on to the list:



Chicken Enchilada Soup - I have been waiting and waiting for the weather to cool off so I can start testing out my new soup recipes (watch for more in the upcoming weeks!). This soup was really good and we topped ours with shredded cheese, sour cream and crushed tortilla chips.




Chocolate Dipped Granola Bars - I saw these on a recent episode of "Pioneer Woman" and think they look super tasty. I especially like that recipe does not use peanut butter, which so many granola bar recipes do. We are a peanut-free house and this would be perfect for us.



Easy DIY Ottoman - Unfortunately this pin is one of those with a link that is not helpful. The description on the pin is for a DIY ottoman. It says " Easy to make ottoman with plywood, double layer of foam, wood legs from Home Depot and your favorite fabric!". The link is to a store's website selling the ottoman pictured for $319! I'm pretty sure I can make one just like it for quite a bit less, I already have the wood so I am already ahead on the cost, I will post the finished product on here when I get it done.



Jayhawk-O-Lantern Stencil - We are going to have the coolest pumpkins on our street, need I say more?!




Pilgrim Hat Cookies - While I am thinking about the cool fall weather, I am pretty sure these will be making an appearance this Thanksgiving. I think this will be a good one to make with the boys.

Here's wishing you a happy (and cooler!!) fall!

Wednesday Pinterest Top 5

Here is the great idea I had in my mind that I mentioned on Monday. I am going to do a weekly post on Wednesdays listing my Top 5 Pinterest ideas of the week. These will just be things that I found interesting or that I would like to do. I will post my own pictures of the things I created that came from Pinterest ideas and will let you know how some of the cooking experiments come out. I am sure it will evolve as time goes, but here is my initial plan.

Here is what I plan for this Top 5 list to be:
*Recipes that I found that I am excited to make
*Recipes that I made and what I thought of them
*Crafty ideas that I hope I find the time to make
*Finshed products of Pinterest inspired projects
*Neat things that I will never make, but like nonetheless
*Cool tips or home organizing ideas
*Anything I want


And now on to this week's Top 5:

Carmelitas- I made these this week for a friends birthday. Not only were they pretty easy to make, they were super yummy!! I will definitely be making these again.

Carmelitas

Front Porch Welcome Sign- I think this would be great next to the front door. I would make a few different signs to change out with the holidays.

Front Porch Welcome Sign

Chicken Fried Rice- This is the easiest chicken fried rice ever! I keep pre-cooked, shredded chicken in the freezer, so I just have to toss everything in the pan and dinner is ready in a matter of minutes. We keep coming back to this one for a quick and easy dinner.

Chicken Fried Rice

Personalized Name Art-I found this website and already have started working on picking the letters to make our own name art. There are hundreds and hundreds of choices, which make it even more fun (and difficult) to create the perfect masterpiece.

Name Art

Single Serve Chocolate Chip Cookie-I have not yet made this one, but it looks awesome. I think this would also be a fun dessert to make with the boys. What could be better than a nice warm cookie all to myself on a chilly evening? (Maybe having with a big scoop of ice cream?!)

Single Serve Chocolate Chip Cookie

 

 

Here's wishing you time to find new ways to get your creative juices going.