Friday Favorites

Trying to jot down some of life's little happies this month...linking with Erika and Andrea today for their Friday Favorites party. I always aim for five. ish. 

Holiday Dinner Parties 

We had friends over for dinner Monday night. Yes Monday. I know!! But sometimes a spontaneous weekday dinner party works well for everyone. The weekends are filled with activity and a relaxed dinner with friends on a weeknight is really enjoyable. 

Hubs made a yummy holiday cocktail called Rudolph's Tipsy Punch and it was a hit (recipe linked here). Earlier in the day I opened a box in the garage looking for something and landed on these fun glasses we forgot we bought last year. Perfect for our gathering.

Bonus, hubs sugared cranberries to add to the garnish. 

I love a pretty place setting, Christmas dishes, candlelight, and friends around the dining room table. Question-do you post pics of friends on your blog without mentioning it to them first? I typically do not. 

I didn't take a picture of the main, but I made Pioneer Woman's Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp which was served over Pasta al Limone (recipe here) . I've made the shrimp before and normally just serve it with bread for sopping up the juices, but felt like we needed something more substantial to go with this meal. We loved the pasta and I'll definitely repeat this whole dinner. 

Including the pie, which I already posted on the blog once this week but it deserves another mention.

Holiday Fashion

In other holiday news, hubs bought me this cute sweatshirt and I love it. It's comfy, warm but not too bulky, and the sleeves are the right length. 

The sleeves! All my grands are listed there which makes me smile. 

Scattered Smothered And Covered 

Hubs had a doctor's appointment first thing Tuesday morning so I tagged along because he asked me to. We had a Waffle House date on the way home. 

Don't knock it til you've tried it. 

Christmas To-Do's Getting Done

It took me most of the day Wednesday, but I finally finished wrapping all the gifts I needed to send via the US Mail. I kind of wanted to do a little dance when I left the post office. So nice to have everything mailed that needed mailing. 

I had a completely free day on Thursday. Not a thing on the calendar which is so rare. Normally on Thursdays I volunteer, but a church had people filling the slot this week so I sipped coffee in my pjs til 9:30, Facetimed with my daughter, then baked cookies and dehydrated some oranges old school (aka in the oven) for a little project I have plans for this weekend. It was nice. 

A Cuppa and a Homemade Cookie 

Ended the day with a cup of tea in my favorite Christmas mug-

I'm off to the salon this morning. Today is 'make my hair great again' and that is for sure a favorite. 

Enjoy your weekend everyone! 

Ten on the Twelfth

So, funny story, or at least it's funny to me. 

Last week I saw Marsha post the topic for this month's ten on the tenth and I jotted a few thoughts into a post to save in my draft folder with every intention of joining. I was actually feeling pretty proud of myself for being ahead of the game. Ha! 

Here was the intro I had written..'playing along with 10 on the 10th this month because a) I remembered it was the 10th and b) I only have about 150 other things I should be doing so blogging seems reasonable.'

On Tuesday I saw a bunch of people posting their 10 on the 10th posts and I was scratching my head thinking why are they posting on Tuesday when the 10th isn't until Thursday??? 

Bother. 

December has been a whirlwind, and I'm going to participate anyway because why not? There are zero rules when it comes to your own blog. 

This month's prompt is-

Hmmm...which way do I go? Is there anything I truly dislike about the month of December? Doesn't each month brings its own mixture of sorrow and joy? I'm a bit like Pollyanna in that I prefer to focus on the joy, so here's what I really enjoy during the month of December. 

anticipation...

December, 2021

reflection...

December, 2019

family...

December, 2023

memory...

December, 1995

pretty food...

December, 2022

lights...

December, 2019

cookies -both the baking and the eating ...

December 2017

holiday parties...

December, 2021

little children...

December, 2018

And above all, the gospel story that never grows old or cold or irrelevant or is ever anything less than miraculous...

timeless

What would make your list of December favorites? 

Milk And Cookies With The Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. So glad you're here! If you've answered this week's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Comments keep you on Santa's nice list. Here we go-

1. What's one task you'd like a little Christmas elf to sneak in and take care of tonite? 

Hmmm...there are many. I'm going with emptying my pantry, wiping down all the shelves, tossing what needs to be tossed, and then neatly and logically restocking. It's on my list to get done before Christmas, but if an elf wants to take it off my plate I'm happy to hand the job over. 

2. What's your biggest challenge during the holidays? 

Managing my expectations. 

3. Are you a cookie baker this time of year? If your year had to be summed up in the shape of a cookie cutter what shape would it be? 

I am most definitely a cookie baker. In fact, cookies are probably my favorite thing to bake, especially at Christmas time. Have I baked any yet this year? No. But I will. 

If my year had to be summed up in the shape of a cookie cutter I'm going with...

...a waterfall. The backyard project was a big part of our year, so that feels appropriate. Also you can barely see the waterfall in this photo, but I wanted the tree at the top all decked out in Christmas lights in my pictures. 

4. Santa likes milk with his cookies. Do you like milk? What kind of milk is on tap in your house? (whole, 2%, skim, almond, oat, etc). What's the last thing you made that called for milk? 

I like milk but it's not something I drink by the glass except on a very rare occasion. I do put milk on my cereal, I like milk on my oatmeal, and I put a small splash of milk in my hot tea. I buy skim, but when it comes to my coffee half and half only please. 

The last thing I made that called for milk would be this Angel Pie, which is a meringue crust with a custard filling, topped with whipped cream and shaved German chocolate-

This pie is every bit as delicious as it looks and I generally make one around the holidays every year. We had company for dinner on Monday night and I served this for dessert. It's a favorite here for sure. 

5. Share one favorite line from a Christmas carol or holiday tune? 

From the carol O Holy Night...

"Til He appeared, and the soul felt it's worth..." 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

A lot of life is lived in a decade and there's nothing like a Facebook memory to remind us that is so-

December 25, 2014

"Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still." Dorothea Lange 

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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 581

Here are the questions for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog then hop back here tomorrow to add your link to the party. See you there!

1. What's one task you'd like a little Christmas elf to sneak in and take care of tonite? 

2. What's your biggest challenge during the holidays? 

3. Are you a cookie baker this time of year? If your year had to be summed up in the shape of a cookie cutter what shape would it be? 

4. Santa likes milk with his cookies. Do you like milk? What kind of milk is on tap in your house? (whole, 2%, skim, almond, oat, etc). What's the last thing you made that called for milk? 

5. Share one favorite line from a Christmas carol or holiday tune? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Weekend Holiday-ing

Good Monday morning to all and to all a deep breath. Christmas will be here in 16 days. Are you ready? Santa's asking. 

Linking today's recap with Holly and Sarah as per usual here on a Monday. We had a very merry weekend with lot of decorating and holiday fiesta-ing, beginning Thursday night with our holiday wine club event. 

The dinner featured a Spanish style menu and excellent Spanish wines. This was dessert and it was muy deliciosa! Olive oil tres leche pancakes with fresh berries and shaved chocolate. Yum! 

I am all about dessert. I'm the person who always looks at the dessert portion of a menu first. 

Friday morning dawned with several bins holding various bits of decor still waiting to be unloaded sitting in the middle of the hall, the dining room table under wraps, literally as that's where we wrap, and my Christmas dishes still in the cupboard where I store them as I haven't had time to make the switch yet. I had plans to get to all of that Friday but we had some errands to run in the morning and the day just flew right on by.  

We had tickets to a holiday show in the nearby city Friday night with dinner reservations beforehand. I also wanted to see the gingerbread houses on display in a downtown hotel lobby so we needed to leave the house by 4. 

It was frigid (for South Carolina) so we dressed for the weather. Hubs bought me this coat in Canada while chaperoning a show choir trip for daughter1. She was in the 9th grade. 

Quebec, 2003

In case you're new here she's now been married almost ten years and has three children of her own, so the coat's not new. Still a favorite though!  

England, 2024

Also time is a mystery too big to comprehend. 

There were almost 40 entries in the gingerbread contest and it was fun to see all the many bakers handiwork. Pecan halves for the rooftop...so clever! 

There was a category for professional bakers and another for home bakers, and some really cute designs. 

After voting we made the short walk to a fabulous dinner (Bricktops for locals reading here)...

In one of those small world happenings Daughter1's mother-in-law and sister-in-law came in to the restaurant with a group of friends right as we were finishing up, and were seated just a couple of tables away from us. So fun to run into them. 

The show was terrific. This is our third year attending and we look forward to it every December (Holiday at Peace, again for the locals reading here) 

It's put on by the symphony, but there's always a ballet number, a little humor, and someone reading The Night Before Christmas. There's a guest soloist each year too and this year it was Siri Howard. She happens to be a local resident and also a Broadway actress with a most angelic voice. She's beautiful to watch and her wardrobe was fabulous.  

After the show we walked across the street to see the lights in front of the AC Hotel. So many people were out and about, the city was aglow with holiday sparkle, and everyone seemed in a festive mood. 

Saturday we had yet another non-holiday errand to run before we hit the grocery store. Hubs doesn't usually accompany me, but since we were already in town he tagged along. He paid while I reorganized the bags (it's what I do) and I think was a bit shocked at what groceries cost. Aren't we all???

I'm trying to finish up my cards, so I put a movie on Saturday afternoon while I stamped and addressed. Have you seen One Little Secret (Netflix) with Lindsay Lohan? It's super hokey but I liked it. Kristin Chenowith is in it too, and she's always adorable. 

Saturday night was our neighborhood holiday party, a lovely dinner at a nearby club. There was a photo op, a jazz trio, and lots of laughs with friends who just happen to be neighbors. 

We have some non-neighborhood friends coming for dinner tonite so I buckled down Sunday and knocked out more decorating, all the laundry, made a meatloaf for our Sunday dinner, baked a dessert for tonite's dinner, addressed a few more cards, and prepped the cranberry jalapeno dip to serve as an appetizer tonite. 

While I did all that hubs wrapped. He was super Grinch-y about it, but he got it done and I'm glad. I need to get a couple of boxes mailed pronto, and these unwrapped presents have been piled in my bedroom closet mocking me every time I pass them by. 

In other happy news, our two favorite teams made the college football playoffs this weekend, which you might say was the proverbial icing on the cake. Star on the tree? 

So what kind of fun did you get into this weekend? 

Share Your Shelf-November

Hello Readers. It's time to for the once a month Share Our Shelves link up hosted by Marilyn (Memphis Bridges), Jen (Overflowing With Thankfulness), Joanne (Slices of Life) and Tanya (The Other Side Of The Road). Here's what I read in November-

 1. The Angel Answer Book by Robert J. Morgan

I found this book to be a little gem. If you have questions about angels or just a curiosity about the topic of angels, this is a really good book, written in an easy to read style. The author uses a question and answer format so you can take your time with one question a day or read the whole thing in one sitting. Biblically sound with a lot of scripture to back up his answers. Enjoyed this one very much and I feel like I have a new perspective about the spiritual world all around us. 

2. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck 

Our book club wanted to read a classic this year and we chose The Good Earth  as our January selection. Originally published in 1931, The Good Earth won the Pulitzer in 1932. I read it decades ago and was happy to see the story holds up, which I guess is what makes a book a true classic. The writing is beautiful. 

The plot is built around family life in an early 20th century Chinese village. The author grew up in China as the daughter of American missionaries, and she wrote The Good Earth while living there. Much of the story is drawn from her own observations of village life. The story follows a poor young farmer (Wang Lung) beginning with his wedding to a local slave girl (O-Lan), through the ups and downs of farm life, famine, land ownership, a reversal of fortune, child rearing, and on into old age.

I loved it. Five stars for me.    

3. The Last Flight by Julie Clark

This story is part mystery, part domestic drama and is told from two different character viewpoints.  Through a somewhat unbelievable circumstance, two women, both needing a fresh start-clean slate, make a deal to switch plane tickets and escape their current unhappy situations. Naturally their rapidly concocted plan does not go off without a hitch, but it does make for a pretty good read.  I gave it three stars. 

4. Mad Honey by Jodie Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

Not my cup of tea. At all. My book club will discuss this next week and I think it will be 'lively'. I'm following the Supreme Court case happening currently relating to the topic of children and gender transition. 

Finney-Boylan, Picoult's co-author for this book, is transgender and wrote the chapters of the book which are told from the trans character's point of view. Here's my Goodreads review-

"I know I'm in the minority, but honestly would not have finished this one if it were not our Book Club selection in December. I've read many Jodi Picoult books, and think she's an extremely talented writer. She tackles controversial topics and social issues, and doesn't feel the need to tie things up with a pretty bow. Mad Honey was different though. It started off strong, but took a turn less than halfway through. 

I truly dislike a book where the author shoves an agenda in your face, or hits you over the head with it page after page. Not just one agenda either, but every 'hot topic' in today's culture and public conversation was jammed into this one. Gender, transgender, gender transition, LBGTQ, suicide, race, abortion, domestic abuse, police brutality, the list goes on. And on and on. It felt like a huge one-sided lecture, and was completely off putting to me as a reader. I gave it two stars because I found the bee portions of the book to be quite interesting and something a little different too."

5. No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister 

A very original book! A book within a book? Almost a collection of short stories cleverly illustrating all the many ways a single book can touch readers and impact their lives. 

Young author Alice Wien writes and publishes her first book, a novel entitled Theo. We're given glimpses of the content but we never actually read the book ourselves. That's not the point. Once Theo is published we see how Alice's novel, in the hands of nine different readers, impacts each one in different ways. An imaginative, enjoyable, easy-to read tale...I gave it four stars. 

What about you? Tell me something you've read and loved recently. 

Relaxing With The Hodgepodge

Hello December and hello Hodgepodgers. I'm glad you're here. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post then leave a merry comment for the blogger before you. Here we go-

1. What's the best $5 gift to give someone? 

A fun mug, a book, a coffee gift card, fuzzy holiday socks

2. What's your favorite way to relax/unwind during the busy holiday season? 

I like to sit beside the lit Christmas tree with the rest of the house lights off. Early morning with my coffee or at dusk with a cup of tea or glass of wine. Sit-marvel-pray-wonder. 

3. How do you feel about gingerbread? Love it or no thanks? Are gingerbread houses a part of your holiday tradition? If you said yes, how does that look? Do you like ginger flavor in other kinds of dishes?

I like gingerbread, especially with a cup of hot tea. I also like to use ginger when cooking, particularly in Asian dishes. And I always ask for extra pickled ginger with my sushi. 

Gingerbread houses weren't really a part of our regular holiday tradition, but there were some years we made them happen. Do graham crackers count because we mostly made ours using graham crackers. They're easier to keep together.   

No matter their ages my girls took the construction very very seriously. 

4. December 5th is National Blue Jeans Day...will you be celebrating? Do you have a favorite brand? A favorite pair? Do you have a hard time parting with a favorite pair of jeans? Blue jeans-joggers-leggings-yoga pants...which one do you wear most often? 

Blue jeans are one of my favorite items of clothing and I definitely have a favorite pair. Yes it's always a little sad to see them go (first world problem I know). I like a few different brands but currently have a pair of Liverpool that I love. Of the 'legware' listed jeans are my most worn. 

5. As we head into this holiday season what's your biggest priority or goal for the end of the year? 

Be present. Keep Jesus front and center. Find a little bit of joy in each new day. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

When you decorate the tree do you do it yourself, have a little bit of help, or maybe a lot of help? If you have help do you move your helper's handiwork around to different branches on the tree when they leave the room? Asking for a friend.  

It wouldn't be December without my annual posting of this carol, my favorite version, with lyrics that are timeless...

 

Wishing you peace in your heart and home this Advent season.

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