Christmas Dress #2

This dress was also bought at JC Penney's last year. Just waiting for this season to arrive. (AND hoping that I had guessed the correct size!!!)

She has such an enormous array of facial expression!!

The joy of our life! Miss Emma Rose.

Here is our annual visit to Father Christmas:

We decided to dress in matching colors, as we couldn't decide if it would be a family photo or just Emma. It was a good thing we did! When we arrived at the mall, the line was huge! But, we stuck it out and I was pointing out the gifts, tree, lights, other kids, and telling her that she was going to see Santa. Reminding her that he said" ho, ho ho!"... Well... she was totally fine UNTIL I went to put her on his lap!! She flipped out! Writhing and wailing! So, our matching red and denim was a good thing! If you look close you can see the remnants of her crying bout! Red eyes and some tears... Oh well, maybe she will next year!

The Cutest Elf EVER

The title pretty much says it all... This is just one of her silly holiday hats.

Our Home Decorated for the Christmas Season... (Just a teensy bit late...)

Ok, here is the photos of our home decorated for Christmas. We went with a snowman theme. It seemed more appropriate this year. More child friendly than the more elegant tree we have been doing these past several years.

Thanks to Martin's sister, Sarah Jayne, we had quite the collection of snowman ornaments. She has sent us a pair of them for quite a few years now. Included on the tree was also other wintery ornaments, like Martin's skiing Santa, etc... I found white glittery snowflake picks in the floral section at JoAnn's. Tucked them in the tree here and there and it looked really cute! Steph let me borrow her tree skirt. (Tucked under the tree is my sock monkey collection. All of these but one are Christmas monkeys) I also had no tree topper and was in a quandary as to what to do... Sitting on the shelf beside the tree was a snow person, which had legs and a weight in it's bottom. I climbed up and sat it on top, and tah! dah! Tree topper! The snowman had a rag scarf and the final touch to the tree was strips of plaid fabric (ripped and raggedy) tied on the branches.

You can see some of the snowmen sitting on shelves and tables. The red stocking is for the cats!! The wooden (spindle) skinny snowmen I made several years ago after my BFF Katrina made some and sent a pair to me.

Our living room.

Here are the spindle snowmen that katrina made. Notice the tumbling snowmen. They were part of our Christmas decor growing up. Somehow or other I acquired them. They were so cute to put out with this year's theme.


Moving on to the dining room...


The dining room.
The snowman was found this summer at Goodwill. It had been a florist planter. Made a cute utensil holder for 79 cents.

Tucked extra bits of real greenery here and there. Here some is in the kitchen window, along with ripening Cherry tomatoes. They look like Christmas baubles. :)

Can you tell how windy it was that day?? Look at the swinging star lights!! Along with them, there was a straight row of white lights along the roof/gutter line. I made a wreath for the front door and used the leftover boughs and wired them along the fence for a garland. It looked nice for a few days and then we had horrid heat and no matter how often we watered it, it dried up and turned brown! YUCK!

Tucked a few sparkly snowflake picks into it. Normally I would add a large bow &/or poinsettias.

Pumpkin-Pecan Braid

Cake
3/4	cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/3	cup packed brown sugar
1	teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8	teaspoon ground ginger
1/8	teaspoon ground nutmeg
1	egg, separated
1/2	cup chopped pecans
1	can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or crescent sheet
Glaze:
1/2	cup powdered sugar
2	to 3 teaspoons milk
1	tablespoon chopped pecans

*Heat oven to 350°F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. In medium bowl, mix pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and egg yolk. Stir in 1/2 cup pecans.

*If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough onto cookie sheet; firmly press edges and perforations to seal. Press to form 13x7-inch rectangle. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough onto cookie sheet. Press to form 13x7-inch rectangle. Spread filling in 3 1/2-inch-wide strip lengthwise down center of dough rectangle to within 1 inch of ends.

*With scissors or sharp knife, make cuts 1 inch apart on long sides of dough rectangle just to edge of filling. Fold strips at an angle across filling, overlapping ends and alternating from side to side. Beat egg white in small bowl until foamy; brush over dough.

*Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until deep golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; place on serving platter.

*In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and enough milk for desired drizzling consistency. Drizzle over warm coffee cake. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon pecans.

VERY VERY YUMMY!!
I made this for breakfast the first week of December.

Chrsitmas Dress #1

Emma's first Christmas dress was purchased at JC Penney's last year on clearance. Her size 5 red shoes still fit! Fingers crossed that they last all thru December....

Such a cute expression! Not supposed to touch the ornaments tho'!


Such a little ham! I didn't get any "perfect' portrait today, but she's a cutie anyway!!


Here is Jazmine enjoying the Christmas tree (and the skirt). As I finally get December blogged, you will come across several photos of the cats under the tree. A nice place to hide out but still keep an eye on things.