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Kamis, 26 Desember 2013

Christmas 2013 Recap & Setting the Table

Hi guys! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and that Santa was very good to you! ;) We started the day with a son stirring at 6:30 a.m. and quickly went downstairs to see that Santa had come! James is really into Star Wars right now, so his big gifts from Santa were a 3-foot tall Darth Vader and a giant Darth Maul light saber. He was very impressed that Santa left a thank you note for the milk and cookies. This really is such a fun age!

My family came over and my brother brought his toy (a deep fryer) so we made hot chicken wings as appetizers and had Cajun fried turkey with dinner. The grandparents brought James a giant arcade-style basketball hoop game that was assembled in the driveway. I tried to take a bunch of photos throughout the day, but it was hard to get too many while I was cooking and chatting and drinking.

I did snap a few pictures of the table set-up process that I did the day before. I like to semi- set the table complete with serving platters and serveware so I'm not scrambling at the last minute. I do this with the appetizer area and dessert table too. This year, I set the table to coordinate with the aqua and mint dining room decor.

The table setting wasn't anything elaborate, just a burlap runner, aqua placemats and napkins, with silver chargers and china plates. Two mercury glass candle holders with teal candles and an inexpensive centerpiece finished it off. On the menu was beef tenderloin, cajun fried turkey, scalloped potatoes with bacon, jalepeno creamed corn, sauteed green beans with toasted almonds, cranberry sauce, and Hawaiian rolls.

I used small sticky notes to indicate where everything would go and also for who would sit where.

I found this basket of live greenery at Wal-Mart for $10 and added some ornaments. I hear you can go to hardware stores and collect their tree clippings for free though- next year!

My son is out of school for two weeks, so we'll be relaxing and playing and cleaning and organizing in preparation for the new year soon. I'm really looking forward to 2014 and excited for the fresh start January always brings! See you soon!

On Honey We're Healthy: 10 Resolutions for a Healthy New Year

We have planted ~~540 550 576~~ ~~595 618~~ ~~654 674~~ ~~807~~ 836 trees! We are SO CLOSE to my 1,000 goal. Thank you so much- YOU ROCK! If you want to plant a tree, all you have to do is click the photo below and "LIKE" New Life Energy on FB.

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Senin, 23 Desember 2013

Feliz Navidad / Merry Christmas

Que esta Navidad convierta cada deseo en flor, cada dolor en estrella, cada lágrima en sonrisa,

cada corazón en dulce morada.

¡Feliz Navidad y mis mejores deseos a todos los que os pasáis por aquí, que tengáis unas felices fiestas!

via

♡ ♡ ♡

Gracias por tu visita ¡ Vicky

Our Christmas Announcement

This year's Christmas card is extra special to us because it came with exciting news...

That's right, we are having a baby in June. It was a longer road to get here than planned but God's timing is always perfect and we are beyond thankful and thrilled.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas filled with Christ's love.

xx,

Marianne

Christmas Tree Card Display

Just two days until Christmas and I want to slow it all down so I can savor it longer. Do you feel the same? I have completed my gift shopping and most of the wrapping and really have only the grocery shopping left, which I'll do today. We'll be having my family over on Christmas afternoon for an early dinner and everyone will pitch in on the food, which makes it even better. My sister-in-law made the best jalapeño creamed corn for Thanksgiving and I've been craving it ever since, so she'll be making it again. My brother will bring his fryer over and deep-fry a turkey and my Dad is bringing some desserts. I still need to set the table too- I want to do something that coordinates with the decor in the dining room.

In the kitchen, I made a little holiday card holder in the shape of a Christmas tree out of red bungee cord (from the craft store), command hooks, and mini clothespins.

I traced the tree onto a piece of poster board, cut it out to make a stencil, then put it on the wall to mark where the hooks would go.

This wall in our kitchen is the perfect spot for displaying Christmas cards because you can see them so often. Our cards went out very late this year. And I'm such a dork because after I ordered them, I realized I forgot to put our name on them. So they just say "JOY" on the front with photos of our son (that he chose). Nice. Also, I ordered a square card, which requires a .66 cent stamp. Live and learn. :)

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Thank you to everyone who entered the Stella & Dot giveaway. The winner of the Stella & Dot Nora Pendant necklace is Rachael Bloomer! Congratulations!