Our Christmas Mantel

We spent this Thanksgiving weekend like we always do...decorating for Christmas!!

I have never liked my fireplace, but I am absolutely in love with how my Christmas mantel turned out this year! Everything seems to flow, and it just makes me happy looking at it!

We've recently found out that Cooper has many allergies including many trees and grasses, so didn't want to take the chance with a real tree, or having any pine branches in the house. I used faux lighted greenery, but I love the little twinkle it adds, even during daylight.

I used the winning combination of mason jar/epsom salt/candles again, and added some small gold mercury glass tealight holders on different candle holders for some height. The bronze stars all came from Michaels.

These beautiful, large (and heavy) glass ornaments came from Marshalls last year.

I have a pretty porcelain Nativity that will probably not see the light of day for several more years, since I really don't trust my three year old around it. So, we have this super cute Little People Nativity from Fisher Price.

I made this banner in Photoshop, just like the Peace on Earth banner. I was going to be offering these as printables, so as soon as I have the time to figure out how to do that, I will let you know!

So there's my mantel. I just love how it looks at night, too!

I will be sharing my tree later this week, as well as my favorite ornaments, once I'm certain it's finished, that is! AND hopefully later this week my oven will be fixed so I can start sharing my favorite cookie recipes!!!

Thanks for visiting today, and I hope you'll be back soon! Make sure to stop by Gwenny Penny all this week and next for Haul Out the Holly. Gwen will be featuring different bloggers each day, and I'm one of them!!

I'm linking my mantel up with Layla over at The Lettered Cottage, and I'm looking forward to see what others have done with their mantels as well.

Also linking up to these great parties.
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Handmade Christmas Gift Idea

What do you get when you put this:

together with this:

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Root Beer Reindeer!

When I saw these on Fingerprints on the Fridge, I knew I had to make them. I have been trying to come up with something clever to give to Cooper's preschool teachers, and since there is a staff of nine who all work with each class, I knew it had to be something cute and on the cheap!

Total cost for this project:

$3.60 per six pack (on sale at Ralphs)

Packs of pipe cleaner, google eyes, and pom-poms (about 100 each): $10

Total cost was a little $40 for nine six-packs, or about $4.70 per six pack. 

Less than $5  per person and I have a super adorable treat for each of the wonderful teachers to show them our appreciation. It would be a great activity for the kids too!

Linking up to some of these great parties.
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I Was a Dollar Store Snob

My name is Kristin, and I am a Dollar Store snob. Or I was, at least, until I started blogging.

I have found such great inspiration on so many blogs with items found at the Goodwill or purchased at the Dollar Store, that I have turned my loathing of the Dollar Tree into love. Well, "like" at least...I'm still in recovery.

***WARNING, if you are one of those people who do not believe in putting up your Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving, please avert your eyes.***

I am aiming to have a simpler Christmas this year, with decorations as well as gifts. I would also like to have a little bit of Christmas in the majority of the rooms in our house. I have a very small budget this year, so I'm spreading out decor I already have or re-purposing items I have on hand.

 (looking at the photo, I should probably have taken the pictures down, but I was too lazy to go back and shoot more photos)

When I saw this sweet little tinsel tree in the Dollar Spot at Target, I knew exactly what I would do with it.

I fluffed it up, and straightened the branches. I place it in a burlap covered flower pot (stuffed some newspaper on the bottom), and covered the styrofoam with a little shredded brown crinkle paper and some silver tinsel. For the finishing touch, I tied a red gingham ribbon around the pot.

They also had tubes of ornaments for a dollar. I bought seven tubes, in various sizes and textures, and used three and a half of them here in a glass vase.

I read a post on The Inspired Room the other day about decorating with mason jars. I love mason jars, and this is something I've been wanting to do.

I filled the jars with Epsom salt and stuck a votive candle in - instant sparkle! I wanted to tie something around the jars, but haven't yet decided what that should be...ribbon, or twine, or just leave them as is...what do you think?

I created the "Peace on Earth" banner in Photoshop. I have a Joy to the World version that will be displayed on my mantle.

So there it is, a little bit of Christmas decor on the cheap.

  (He reeeeally wanted to be in a picture. He does make a great model, doesn't he?)

Cost breakdown:
Tinsel tree: $2.50 at Target
Ornaments: $1 a tube at Target
Flower pot with burlap: on hand
Ribbon: leftover from the Grandma-to-be-Party
Epsom salt: $3 for a large bag
Votives: 50 cents a piece
Banner: made by me in Photoshop

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I have an awesome, cheap, and easy gift idea coming this week. Can you guess what it is?

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Italian Sausage & Tortellini Soup

There's nothing like a comforting bowl of soup when the weather starts to turn cool. Our weather has been pretty crazy for fall here in Southern California, but the cool nights are here.

Tonight was one of those "what do I have in the fridge?" kind of nights, so I came up with a new soup recipe, and it was delicious. I once again got "the look" when I took a picture of it, but hey, something this good, just begs to be shared!

Italian Sausage & Cheese Tortellini Soup
1 package mild Italian sausage links
1 24 oz package cheese tortellini (from Costco)
1 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp minced garlic
8 cups chicken broth
1 can condensed tomato soup
1/2 can water
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp basil

Heat a large skillet and add sausage links with 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, flip sausages and cook another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and slice links.

Heat soup pot and add two Tbsp olive oil. Saute onion until clear, add garlic and saute one minute. Add sausage, broth, soup, water and seasoning. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add tortellini and cook to package instructions.

Ladle into bowls, top with parmesan or mozzarella cheese and serve.

Linking to some of these parties.
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Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Reindeer

I had a lot of ideas in my head of projects I wanted to try out this holiday season, and this is the one that has won out as my favorite so far. My Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Pumpkins were so incredibly popular, that I knew I needed to come up with some new ideas for Christmas...and probably for every season afterward! (Can you say, Chocolate Covered Peeps??? YUM!!!)

I am giddy with excitement at how cute these turned out!!!

Want to make your own?

Here's what you need:

Large Marshmallows (I prefer Jet-Puffed over the store brand)

Lollipop sticks, popsicle sticks, or pretzel sticks

Ribbon

Melting Chocolate (I prefer the ones you buy at the craft store for their smooth texture)

Cinnamon dots, Hot Tamales or Mike & Ike's Reds

Small Pretzels

Pearl Sprinkles (or other candies for the eyes)

Foam block 

First, set up your assembly line.

Break the pretzels in half. It was not an easy task to get them all to break properly, so make sure to have plenty on hand. You need two halves for each reindeer's antlers.

Snip just the ends of the Hot Tamales or Mike & Ike's, or count out your cinnamon dots. I used the Mike & Ike's because I'm planning to give these to Cooper's preschool class, and the cinnamon ones are a little too spicy for him.

Put the marshmallows on the stick, and push them into the foam block. This saves you from having to do that with melted chocolate on them. (Since this was only a trial run, I was working with what I had on hand. I'm going to purchase a larger block next trip to the craft store.)

I scored the tops of the marshmallows, hoping that would make it easier to attach the pretzel antlers.

Once your assembly line is set, it's time to melt your chocolate.

Place chocolate melts or chocolate chips in a microwaveable glass bowl. Microwave on high at 20-30 second intervals, stirring each time until chocolate is just melted, but not too hot.

Dip a marshmallow into the chocolate, covering it entirely. Use the backside of a spoon to smooth out the side and top, and to remove any excess. Place it back into the foam block and repeat the process on the next marshmallow.

After about five or six marshmallows, add the pretzel antlers, by gently inserting them into the scored parts of the marshmallows, and hold them for a few seconds to make sure they are secure. This took some practice!

For the nose and eyes, you can either add them when the chocolate is still wet, or finish the whole batch, then dab some melted chocolate onto each piece and attach it to the marshmallow to make the face. I did it both ways, but decided the second way was easier.

Once they are completely dry, tie a small piece of ribbon around the stick like a scarf.

These would make great treats for neighbors, teachers, classmates or as party favors.Wrap in a plastic treat bag, and relish in the oohs and ahhs as you deliver them to your friends!

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The Grandma-To-Be Party!

The Grandma-to-be party was a huge success and I'm so excited to share it with you all! The wind kicked up and it turned a bit chilly, but we managed to keep the rain away and everyone had a great time. The Grandma-to-be was very honored and blessed by gifts from friends helping her to stock her house for when her new granddaughter comes to visit (which will be often!).

The theme of the party was loosely based around "Little Red Riding Hood" or "To Grandmother's House..." with lots of red & white gingham and burlap, and touches of aqua.

To announce the party, we sent out invitations, including cards explaining the idea behind the gifts, and asking guests to fill out an advice card for the new Grandma.

We collected the advice cards at the party and put them together in a small photo album, which will eventually include photos from the party.

And now, welcome to the party!!

We had lots of homemade treats, just like Little Red did - cupcakes, pies, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate dipped pretzel rods.

We also had sweet treats like gumdrops, licorice, and other red candies.

Plates and silverware were placed in a picnic basket (think Little Red had one like this?).

For the decor we wanted to create a rustic, woodsy feel, so we used lots of burlap for the tablecloths (hint: this was $10 for a 24' roll at Home Depot!). The centerpieces were tall glass vases with Myrtle and curly willow (thanks Kat!!)

I used a manzanita branch decorated with red & aqua gingham bunting in a silver bucket for the centerpiece for the Grandma-to-be and Mom-to-be's table. We also covered the chairs for their table with red and white gingham fabric.

Gifts were collected in an old wheelbarrow covered with the fabric.

We played a few typical "baby" games (baby word scramble and baby animals).

Each guest got a small gift as they left. Tiny picnic baskets filled with white chocolate covered rice krispie treats.

(Picnic baskets came from Michaels)

So there you have it, the Grandma-to-be party. A lot of people have said, "I've never heard of that!" so I hope this has maybe sparked a few ideas for anyone out there with a grandma-to-be in their life, to honor them as well.

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