snickerdoodles

for {Frolic!} ...

As promised to {Frolic!}, a rather fabulous blog.

Here is the kitchen at Birch Hill clean as can be and ready for company. I do prefer the tone of the wood in your image but this espresso hue worked better with our cork, except the colour is waay off in the first photo.    Disregard the piles of chaos on the computer desk...it's an ongoing struggle until we get my studio finished. 
I am adding {Frolic!}  to my inspirations blog list today, it's a wonderful place to visit.
oxo

One more shot just because the kitchen is rarely this pristine...

 

No Play Doh, not plasma slime experiments, stray toys or half-eaten snacks.  Ahh the glories of sitting your kiddos in front of a new movie! 

 Gingerbread cake with mason jars full of caramel sauce and preserved pears sit beside the stove until dessert.  Recipe to come tomorrow.
 

oxo
 

2010 here we go...

 

   
Happy New Year friends! 

 My boys are a little cuckoo over Christmas crackers so when they all went on half price after the big day I found neutral patterned ones and stocked up for New Year's Day.    They are the ultimate bribery tool in our house.  I might have to load up and use them year round!  A little snap, a silly toy, crown and joke can make a boy do just about anything! 

My folks brought a feast of Chinese food for New Year's Day so the boys and I collected all our Buddhas and made a Buddha centerpiece.   I dug out a set of blue painted tea cups with kimono clad lovelies and we used them for green tea.   The tiny honey tangerines are readily available now and we've gone through several boxes already...enjoy them while you can.  They also made nice little table gifts at each setting.

For dessert we ate the leftover cake from New Year's Eve.   It was a really unusual recipe, I've never baked a cake that had four cups of boiling water, but it was decadently moist and delicious.  I served it with warm caramel sauce, some of our canned pears and fresh whipped cream.  I will post the instructions tomorrow.

So far 2010 has been fabulously mellow.  Movies, eating, games and dancing.  Today was blissfully unscheduled.  Hubbie  was up and out early for work and after setting up the boys with oatmeal, bananas and a movie I headed right back to bed to hibernate. 

I do my best thinking in bed and I was determined to come up with a list of things I want to do this new year.  Not an easy feat.  Too many years have come and gone with my over-ambitious lists only being grazed over, 2010's list needs to be realistic.  There are lots of things to ponder still before I commit...but when I do I will definitely share.  Have you made a list?  Any resolutions?

 

Everything at Birch Hill is blanketed with snow and very serene right now.   The Okanagan snow is quite different than what we had in Whistler...it's very dry.  We actually haven't even had to shovel the driveway once this year, we've driven on it.   Today the boys and I spent several hours outside sledding, building a snowman and cross country skiing on the street.  We played with the neighbours and had a little outdoor picnic of treats and hot chocolate.  I do love our neighbours here and the ease of impromtu playdates and visits.  Hopefully this mild, lightly snowy weather will last.  Sunny, snowy days are heavenly. 

Now off to watch Marley & Me with my guys.  Here are some quick reviews of our recent viewings...

Christmas Carol...amazing graphics but loud and scary.  Thumbs down from me but my 11 year old loved it.

Old Dogs...funny and good for the whole family.

Bolt...such a nice story for pet lovers and all.  I loved the illustration style, music and all.

UP....oh my gosh so good!  Perfect to get you inspired for 2010 and change in general.  I was surprised by how moving and deep it was.

Land of the Lost...funny in a typical Will Ferrel way, makes my boys cry with laughter.

Coraline...very dark with a very disturbing plot for wee ones.  I do love Tim Burton though and his imagination and art style blows me away.

The Hangover...NOT for kiddos.  Really funny and soo inappropriate.

Hope you get to sneak in lots of movies with your family too. 

 

New Year's Eve...

  “…to make an end is to make a beginning.”
— T.S. Eliot

Tonight is the big night.  Have you decided what you are doing? 

I thought I would share a couple more ideas perfect for a New Year's Eve celebration.

Aren't these party blowers lovely?  The full instructions are available on Martha Stewart.com along with a whack of other craft ideas.  It's listed as an easy and fun craft but for me right now they seem to be easy and fun in the same way as a root canal might be.  No thanks.  I would gladly buy some ready made though.

These decorations are so pretty and if you have a circle punch this is quite simple.  Read on Martha for the full details.  I might have my kiddos do their own version.  This idea reminds me of the lovely glass hanging ball strings I saw at Momentum Interiors:

Here is another Martha idea I really like and will definitely use:

Lining a deep tray with gorgeous paper to set off the glassware and punch.  I have been oogling a simple punch bowl like this one at Superstore for months now, love the shape.
   

Hubbie will be off for the first time in many years.  We are staying home and having an appies feast, games and family disco party.  For desert I have chosen to make a gingerbread cake with homemade caramel sauce and fresh whipped cream. 

Are you still needing a simple dessert idea?

I will give you the secret to the easiest most impressive dessert I know.  I even saw a version of it done by bakery owner Rosie Daykin and featured in House & Home this past May in the entertaining section...   are you ready?

Cookies and Cream Cake

1.Go to the grocery store and buy a package or two of plain chocolate wafer cookies.  It's a blue bottomed box and the top is clear plastic so you can see the dark oreo coloured disks. 

2. Buy a large container of whipping cream and whip it with a bit of real vanilla or add the scrapings of a vanilla bean.

3. Flip over the box and look at the recipe shown for a chocolate log and do that...OR I like to use a  footed cake stand and make it in a circle.  Plop cream to anchor the first layer and keep layering and circling until you have a height/size of cake you like.  One large whipping cream will do a box and a half.

(I only remembered to snap a photo near the very end but you can get the general idea.  I had just started to cover the cake with cream when I took this.) 

4.  Use the remaining cream to frost the entire cake and let sit several hours before serving.

5.  Garnish with a mound of blackberries or baby tangerines or raspberries or even chopped candy canes.

6.  Use any leftover broken wafers to scoop up the last bits of cream in the bowl and share the beater licking with a cute friend...

By the time you serve it the cookies will have expanded with the cream and it will slice like a cake.  It will look like a very complicated torte and there won't be any leftovers.

Have a wonderful night friends!  Wishing you the Happiest of Happy New Years.

A great & do-able idea from Martha Dearest...

New Year's Champagne with Grapes

In Spain, revelers mark the New Year by quickly eating a dozen grapes at midnight. Why not adopt the tradition by serving them with a glass of Champagne? I guess I'll be headed back to the grocery store in the morning. I also need to pick up some Limoncello to make the cocktail recipe from last week.

The Blind Side...

 Last week I saw the new Sandra Bullock film The Blind Side and found it very heartwarming.  A perfect movie to cozy up to with your family during these days off before New Year's Eve.  I don't want to give any of it away but I'll just say that the main characters open their hearts the way we are meant to at Christmas and always.

just a teeny, tiny poster peek.   

another must have gadget...

   There's always room to squeeze one more doo-dad on the pantry shelf if it's going to make your life easier.  After my adventures making popcorn in a pot I am so excited to have found the Whirley-Pop.

 
 

The Original Whirley Pop Stovetop Popcorn Popper

Hand-cranked stove top popcorn poppers are the best way to make movie theater popcorn at home. Get your family together and enjoy popcorn and a movie tonight!

 

I found this dandy pot on the Wabash Family Farmssite, a wonderful place for all things popcorny.  Hopefully I will be able to source one locally.  It sells on line for only $25 and I think it would work so well for kettle corn recipes.  If you've tried one or seen one around please speak up....sometimes these things aren't as fabulous as they seem.

 

Right now I have the Cusinart popcorn machine as well but it doesn't work for sweetened recipes at all.  If you are a savory corn lover I would recommend it.  Mine is white but it looks a lot like this...

If you feel like making some kettle corn try the recipe from bigLITTLE I featured last week, it's delish.

 

oxo

photo catch up...

Before I forget, here is a quick snap of a wrapped Spiced Kettlecorn from last week's recipe below.  I also tucked in a big slice of the White Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake fudge from the week before's recipe.

Now for the new pets, here is Silver:

 and her new home decorated by Liam:

degu number one:

 
both degus are friendly with Silver, she shares her castle,

 
  they like snuggling in socks and giving kisses on the nose, much to Ry's delight.  And of course there is still Rufus who seems to be adapting fine to the new pet invasion:

He is just the most lovable dog...all our fur balls bring so much joy and laughs to us.

Now I am off to do a couple returns and try and get a cheap memory card at all the crazy sales this week.

sparkly lemon cocktails...

  Here is a drink recipe that's super sparkly I found in Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Get Togethers cookbook:

MAMA-osas...I am going to call mine Lemon Sparkles

1 shot of Limoncello liqueur

4 ounces dry champagne

Lemon zest for garnish

I serve them in a stemless martini glass with a sugared rim...yum!

Another festive cocktail I have been sipping is...

I shot Pear Vodka

Cranberry juice

dash of soda or ginger ale

This looks festive and is super light and refreshing after all this holiday feasting!

Happy sipping.

oxo

Love this... “What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace.”

— Agnes M. Pharo

merriest of Merry Christmases...

 
   3 naughty/nice little elves

Well friends,  the big day is finally here. Take a big,deep breath and enjoy every merry moment... because before you know it another Christmas will have come and gone in a wild whirlwindy way.

Sending you my sincerest holiday wishes for a Christmas filled with joy, love and fun from our house to yours!

 oxoooxo