Monday, December 20, 2010

Being Jolly (by Golly!)

This is my entry for the holiday blogfest. You can see the master list of participants (and it's a big one) here.

First, some pictures of my decorations. I went fairly minimalist this year, since I didn't know how the kittens would react. Turns out it was a good thing. 

Also, I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. Hopefully Santa is bringing me a new digital camera (that isn't 7 years old): 

The Wreaths

This wreath hangs on the storage closet in our hallway. It's my little homage to the naturalist in me.  


This wreath was originally intended to go outside, but I decided I liked looking at it too much, so it's inside the front door. I made both these wreaths with stuff from Hobby Lobby. 


The Living Room


This was the first decor I hung, just a simple garland & ribbon across that weird short wall thing between the kitchen and living room areas. 


This is the faux mantle piece, sitting on top of our entertainment center. Currently the cats' favorite thing to chew on...(please note my SHE-RA dvds!)


This is a totally precious decoration I found at Pier One and filled with scented potpourri. Love it! 


And finally, my three amigos. They're on top of the TV. 


The tree is pretty minimalist this year. Pinecones, bronzed snowflakes, and gold shatterproof balls, all to keep the kittens from making it any worse than it already is. Same reason that the gifts are wrapped, but not ribboned. They won't be ribboned until they're safely at my in-laws' house Christmas Eve and I find myself with 30 gifts to ribbon...


The Food!

My favorite holiday drink is a tie between egg nog and mulled wine. 



However, my favorite holiday foodstuff was easy. This is something my mom has been making for as long as I can remember, and I've made it a few times myself. It's a bit of a pain to make, but totally worth it when you're shoving these things down your gullet hand-over-fist:

Martha Washington Candies


Here's the recipe:





2 (1-pound) boxes powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups flaked coconut
2 cups finely chopped pecans
**optional: 1 12-oz package of semi-sweet chocolate chips for dipping**

Combine powdered sugar, butter, sweetened condensed milk, coconut and pecans together, mixing well. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on a waxed paper lined baking sheet. Chill (I usually freeze.)

If you want to dip these in chocolate, prepare the chocolate with a double-boiler and coat each ball, then chill (freeze) again. Personally, I find the chocolate a bit overwhelming, but it's good to just drizzle or maybe dip half.


Anyway, thanks for stopping by! Can't wait to read all the other entries.

Happy holidays!

58 comments:

PK HREZO said...

Mm. sounds yummy. I'm a sucker for some nog, myself. Hope you have a fab Xmas! :)

Matthew MacNish said...

Lovely decorations! Does that SoCo egg nog come with booze in it? If so that's awesome.

DEZMOND said...

love your decorations especially the wreath!
Here in Europe it's a tradition to decorate the tree and the house in the morning of the Christmas Eve and not before, so I'm currently shopping for decorations and Christmas lights :)

Guinevere said...

Nom, I love eggnog (and alcoholic egg nog has seen me through many a, erm, exciting family holiday). I might have to try those cookies - I have all teh ingredients.

Love your minimalist decor for the kittens! Such a good idea. Have they been climbing the tree?

DL Hammons said...

I gotta have your potpourri basket, and your three amigos!! GOTTA.HAVE.THEM! I'll trade you some dancing sugar plums for them.

I love your decorations (such a purdee tree) and I'll no doubt get fat on your recipes!!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday!

Kimberly Franklin said...

Absolutely love the tree! Very pretty! And that cute little Pier One present.... I must get one! :)

Lola Sharp said...

YUM. MarthaWashington cookies dipped in dark chocolate are one of my faces. (I love coconut and dark choc. together)

Your 3 amigos are adorable. :)

Unknown said...

You are going to have a fun Christmas keeping the kittens and the baubles separate ;)
You have some lovely Christmas decorations, the wreaths are so beautiful. I'm looking forward to my first glass of eggnog for this holiday season.
Merry Christmas.

K M Kelly said...

Thankls for the recipe - I'm going to try those!

Nicole Zoltack said...

Love the decorations! Your house looks so festive. Merry Christmas!

Lisa Potts said...

The candies look yummy and your three little reindeer are adorable!

Hobby Lobby is one of my favorite stores. Wishing you and the kittens a wonderful holiday season!

Ellie Garratt said...

Happy Christmas to you and your family!

Southern Comfort Egg Nog? Why haven't I heard of that before? It sounds wonderful.

I loved all your decorations; so beautiful.
Be Jolly By Golly

Tara said...

I so want one of those potpourri containers - how pretty! And your tree looks great.

We went tree shopping in 25 degrees and rain, so we just grabbed the first one we got to. It's pretty sad: crooked, skinny, and about 3 feet shorter than we usually get.

Old Kitty said...

The tree is gorgeous!! And the three amigos are just fab!!! We love the three amigos!!!

Mulled wine - yum! Mulled ale - yum!! Mulled alcohol - yum!! LOL!!

Take care
x

Valerie Geary said...

I love your tree! It's elegant. Also the first wreath. Lovely, lovely.

Ann said...

Your tree is beautiful. The sweets look divine. I love mulled wine. The perfect tipple for a snowy winters day.

Meredith said...

I've copied that recipe down--looks amazingly delicious! I love your wreaths! I can't believe you made them yourself. You're so much handier than I am. They're beautiful!

Roxy said...

The wreaths and the tree are so pretty. The egg nog looks yummy, too. Have a wonderful Christmas!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Nice looking tree. And i could never make a wreath...

Charity Bradford said...

Love the Pier 1 gift! Thanks for sharing the recipe too.

Laura S. said...

Fun treat and drinks! Your decorations are lovely. I really like the wreaths!

Carol Riggs said...

Lovely wreaths! Are those little pussy willows on the one?! Cute. Nice tree too, though "minimalist." Merry Christmas!

Summer Ross said...

Your recipe looks amazing I love eggnog too I couldn't pick just one drink LOL, I love your decorations!

Tracy said...

Ooh, I love that little potpouri decoration you put together!! Making me wonder if I'm willing to brave a trip to Pier One this close to Xmas.

Merry Christmas!!

Sondrae Bennett said...

Love the reindeer! They are too cute! Have a great holiday!

Bess Weatherby said...

I'm so glad I stopped by your blog this morning. I found the blogfest and have been busybusy since! Merry Christmas!

~ Bess

Unknown said...

So glad I found this blogfest. Your decorations are beautiful. Merry Christmas.

Sarah Ahiers said...

i didn't even know about this blogfest!
We have a wreath very similar to your first one, but with more berries and less of everything else (except the twigs)

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

Three Amigos are my favorite.
Good luck with the ribbon.

Merry Christmas!

N. R. Williams said...

Animals think Christmas is just a toy for them. LOL Love it all, Summer.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, fantasy author

Unknown said...

I love me some egg nog! It's a shame my husband gags at just the thought of it. I haven't had it in over 6 years... Wow...writing that makes me sad.

I think I need to change it.

Great wreaths, my husband will tell you, I'm a fan of a good wreath! Holy Toledo! I can't believe I forgot to show mine to everyone!

Thanks for participating!

Crystal Cook said...

I LOVED this summer! Your house looks great. :) And SHE-RA?? Dude, you be reading my mind.

RaShelle Workman said...

Summer - I love the present that you filled with scented potpourri. And, your tree is amazing.

Golden Eagle said...

I love the wreaths, and the garland. :)

Merry Christmas!

Colene Murphy said...

You MADE them!? Amazing! They're beautiful!! I love your decorations. So cute and festive and NATURAL looking. Love that. (and the disney VHS's too. Woot!)

Merry Christmas!!

Anonymous said...

That first wreath is so awesome. I like that it is more oval than round. So unique. That cookie recipe sounds yummy. I'll have to give that one a try!

Michelle Merrill said...

I love your three amigos. Your cats sound like my kids. I never do bows and most of the time, my ornaments are all on the top half of the tree. Have a great Christmas!

Melissa said...

I love your mantlepiece and the potpourri present! They are gorgeous!

Eggnog, can't go wrong with eggnog!!

Those treats look really good actually. I need to bookmark this page so I can come back and write down the recipe (I feel like I am doing this a lot today!)

Thank you so much for participating in our blog fest!

Katrina L. Lantz said...

Mmm, sugar and coconut. Sold. I love your naturalistic wreaths. A woman after my own heart. And the eggnog. Mmm, the eggnog. Can't get enough of it, but my treadmill sure can.

I love that you have SHE-RA DVDs! Awesome! I'm a new follower, and looking forward to the Show Me Yours blogfest on January 3rd! Winter is officially blogfest season!

Merry Christmas!

Christine Danek said...

Love the decor. I have something similar from Pier 1. Love it. I'm all about the mulled wine. The cookies sound scrumpious.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

Denise Covey said...

Your decor looks lovely. Love the Pier 1 dekkie. Your mum's cookies look fabulous. Have a delicious Christmas!

Beth Fred said...

You're three amigos are so cute! And I like the sweater w/ the thumb hole. Not much of a chance to wear big sweaters here!
beth-project52.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

*sips mulled wine*

hmmmmmm

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Avalon Cat Cartoons said...

Headbonks and purrrrs for you and your cats.

Avalon the Cat
http://avalon-lion.blogspot.com

Vanessa Morgan said...

I thought about posting an eggnog recipe myself. It's still one of the best Christmas treats. Unfortunately, it's very rare here in Belgium.

Vanessa Morgan

Talei said...

Loving your decorations! And I'd definitely have some eggnog. Merry Christmas! ;)

Shannon said...

Stopping by for the blogfest...

Your place looks so festive! Love it (the wreaths, especially).

Abby Minard said...

Oh I love the wreaths you made! So pretty- I love the berries and branches in the first one. Your decor all goes together very nicely. Have a wonderful Christmas!

Kelley said...

I love your three amigos! They are adorable! And your wreaths are very pretty. Happy Holidays!
~Kelley

Michael Di Gesu said...

Love the three amigos! Too cute! Your wreaths are fantastic. How nice to keep them inside so YOU could enjoy them.

Goodies looks so tasty.

Have a Merry Christmas, Summer, to you and your family.

Michael

The Words Crafter said...

I could use some of that southern comfort right about now!

Looks great!

Unknown said...

I love your moose. Or is it mooses? Anyway, I think they're really cute.

Jemi Fraser said...

Love the wreaths and the moose!! Awesome :)

Danette said...

Enjoyed your "Be Jolly By Golly Blogfest" entry. The recipe looks good! In fact the recipe one could collect in this blogfest could make quite a feast! Merry Christmas!!!
Danette.Baltzer@gmail.com

Jennie Bailey said...

LOVE your wreaths! All of your decorations really. That Pier One potpourri box is too cool. I want one! Have a Merry Christmas!!

Unknown said...

OMG, Summer, is that first wreath made out of kudzu? I made a kudzu wreath the first Christmas we were in Georgia. We had no money back then, and the stuff was growing everywhere in the backyard. I wrapped a bunch of it, secured it with wire and let it dry out. Then I spray painted it gold and added greenery and bobbles. Every year, I add a ribbon or ornament from a package. It gets better with age!

Those candies look divine!

Sorry our shopping plans haven't panned out. We're recovering from the flu -- neither Cody nor I took medicine yesterday. Yay! But we're both still snot factories. *gross*

Happy Holidays, girl!

Maria McKenzie said...

Love all your decorations!

Brenda Drake said...

Awww love those reindeer and we drink the same eggnog (we add a lot of Southern Comfort into it). Your decorations are so woodsy, I love them! Thanks for sharing and have a Merry Christmas! :D