Christmas Gift Guide - Ladies Edition

This was fun.  I like gifts.  I like giving them (and receiving them, of course).  I rounded up a few ideas, most reasonable, others a splurge, that I think most ladies would enjoy.  Let me know what you think and maybe you'll see a men's gift guide in the future drawn up by the Mr.!

Source List:

1 - $7: Essie Nail Polish

2 - $2: Good Earth Sweet Spicy Tea

3 - $29: Nars Illuminator - Orgasm

4 - $35: Jcrew Glittens

5 - $10: Bando Heart Clips

6 - $20: Penguin Classic Clothbound Books

7 - $18: Paper Coasters

8 - $78: Jcrew Pajama Set

9 - $24: Russel + Hazel Binder

10 -$386: Claire Vivier Handbag

11 -$25: Gold Mousepad

Thanksgiving Tablescapes

Looking for inspiration with Thanksgiving literally days away? I've got your back.  We're not hosting Thanksgiving this year, but nevertheless I rounded up some ideas to stow away for future years, or to inspire you to get your creative kick on. 

For the dreamer in me..

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Now, lets get real.. or at least realistic. 

Place cards - good idea, especially if you're serving a large number of people.  It's always fun to shift people around from who they'd normally sit by. Helps strike up more interesting conversations. 

Oh, and personally, I would spray paint these pears gold (on a gold kick right now, and I can't help it).

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Alright, now Martha's people have got the right idea with these gold pumpkin place card holders.  I found little pumpkins like these at Trader Joes for about 60 cents a pop.  (Sidenote: Does anyone else say 'punkin' instead of 'pumpkin'?)

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Charger plates: The non-useful plates that go under the actual useful plates.  They are charming in my opinion - a complete waste to many others.  (we found some gold ones at Walmart last year on sale after Christmas)

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Flowers.  Yes, please. 

 

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Candles. I would personally add in some tall candles with this mix of low, but it's still a great table :-)

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A cute idea for a kid's table.  

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Now, lastly - make sure to leave room for the food.  

 

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That was fun.  What did I miss? Do you have any Thanksgiving decorating traditions you'd like to share? 

Spiritual High-Fives

This past week I had some interesting spiritual conversations.  One of which consisted of a guy announcing he was for sure going to hell and is fine with it (which completely breaks my heart because I believe in the magnitude and epic torture of hell).  The other conversation was with a different person that said he wasn't necessarily 'religious' but that he was maybe interested in spirituality again.  He mentioned however that he didn't want to be a "Chreaster", christmas-easter church attender.  I can definitely respect that and I shared with him that I agree being lukewarm is definitely not the answer. 

What was interesting though is that these conversations were both held in a church.  An old church converted into a modern-day brewery, that is. 

I started thinking: why is it so easy to brush off the magnitude of God?  Yes, He gives us our will to act in accordance with our desires and plan.  But, when did there become this shift in our culture that having a choice between living for something higher versus living for ourselves became such an easy choice? 

Maybe when isn't the important question.  Maybe how, is.  How can we bring back the sweetness and goodness of God's plan to people's lives?  To the lives that are broken, and hurting, and looking for and trying all the ways to fill that void?  I see the hurt everyday.  I feel it.  I hear it.  My heart breaks.  And yet it is so easy to go on with my day to myself 'getting my job done'. So here's to being determined to give a few people spiritual high fives in the coming weeks.  I'll be praying for boldness, courage and the words to spill out of me as I try to encourage, and share with people something bigger, higher, and better than anything they've ever encountered before. 

Recipe: Scrambled Eggs in Puff Pastry

This morning I didn't have the energy or desire to go to the gym, so I did one of those old school crunch fitness videos (circa 90's) on Netflix.  Brian was awake so I asked him if he would do it with me (you know extra motivation!).  He declined, so I persuaded him that if he would do just 5 minutes I would make breakfast.  Well, 5 minutes he did. I understand he likely stopped as it was mostly women in the video class, there was a lot of coordination/movement, and the only man was in the back and scrawnier than most.

Regardless, onto breakfast - I knew we should have eggs, and I had bought puff pastry last night to make some more prosciutto palmiers, so I tried my hand at putting them together.  I found a few recipes online, all similar, and so this is adapted from those. 

Ingredients:

* 5 large eggs

* Salt and pepper to taste

* Butter for pan

* 1 sheet puff pastry (was probably 9x12'')

* 3 T. cheddar cheese

* 3 T. diced peppers (optional)

* 1 T. diced onion (optional)

Directions:

- Whisk 4 eggs together with salt and pepper.  Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat and add peppers & onions if desired.  After peppers & onions soften, add the eggs and cook while gently pushing, lifting, and folding them from one side of the pan to the other until they are nicely clumped, shiny, and wet, 2 to 3 minutes.  Transfer eggs to large plate and place in fridge to cool.

- Whisk remaining egg and brush half over the puff pastry.  Divide the chilled scrambled eggs, cheese into two equal portions. Arrange one portion of the scrambled eggs, and cheese over the bottom half of the pastry, leaving a 1/2 inch border at the edges. Fold the top half of the pastry over the filling and press down with a fork to seal the edges. Repeat this process with the remaining puff pastry sheet, eggs and cheese. Transfer both pastries to a rimmed baking sheet, wrap lightly with plastic wrap (or set foil overtop), and refrigerate until firm, 15 minutes.

- Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the pastries from the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap/foil, and brush the tops with the remaining beaten egg (I also sprinkled some seasoned salt on top). Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Cool and enjoy!

Beds, beds, beds.

Moment of honesty? I did not sleep well this week, in fact I tossed and turned each night in the hotel.  For some reason they put me in a room with double beds (I reserved a king room), but they felt smaller than twins.  I pushed my laptop off the bed twice in one night. Why did I have it there in the first place, and why did I put it back on the bed after it fell you may ask? I don't know.  It has me dreaming of my own bed, and these lovely upholstered beds in the images below. 

{Note: I know there are people that don't even have beds to sleep on and I shouldn't be complaining.. but hey give me a little grace here, ok?  thank you :-) }. 

Images via my pinterest bedroom board

DIY Pom Poms

As the holidays quickly approach, what better way to decorate than with pom poms?  Last year, I made a few pom garlands, but after chatting out pom makers with my sweet friend,  I'm itching to make a few more for Christmas.  Looking for inspiration? Check out Erika and Lauren's rendition of the pom garland.

Images from here

Holiday Gift Guide

I am loving the Gifted Magazines Holiday Gift Guide 2011. Bet you will too. 

Quick check-in and a Soup Recipe

This morning I kept clicking my header to refresh my blog, hoping that a guest post, or something new and exciting would magically appear.  ha.  Not going to happen.  I know my posts are intermittent and not always so personal, but I hope they keep you mildly entertained and at least inspired. 

This week was incredibly refreshing, a blessing that I take pretty seriously.  I was home with Brian, we made meals together, we hung out with friends, we had some friends in town, we had some events at church that were mind-blowing (yeah, I'm for real), and I was able to have some me time.  I even got a hair cut.  Now that's a special treat.  We've been working on our Ikea Rast Hack that I'm hoping to finish up this weekend.  I tell you, we are snails, people. 

On another note, you know how I've been praying for joy lately?  Well this week it was granted.  And I say that not like God withholds it some weeks and not others, but I'm learning (daily) what it is like to come into agreement with Him and experience the joy (and peace) that comes along with. 

I read this quote this morning. 

"The Bible talks plentifully about joy, but it nowhere talks about a ‘happy Christian.’ Happiness depends on what happens; joy does not. Remember, Jesus Christ had joy, and he prayed ‘that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.’”

- Oswald Chambers

In other news, I am really desiring some delicious soup. I'm thinking of making this:

Image via pinterest

chunky veg soup

recipe adapted from Donna Hay and found via this blog

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

2 stalks of celery, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

1 tbsp fresh thyme

sea salt and fresh ground pepper

2 x cans of chopped tomatoes (14oz)

1 1/2 litres of water or stock

1 cup of pasta (your choice)

 In a large sauce pan over medium heat add the oil, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme and salt and pepper and cook until just soft. Add the tomatoes and water and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the pasta and cook for another 8-10 min. Serves 4-6.

**Do any of you know of a vegetarian stock?  I'm curious how this soup would taste with the water even though they say it's fine...

Grace

Found this on another blog this morning and had to repost.  Here's to starting a week with grace, not perfection.

via pinterest

Homebound.

Hi lovely friends, guess what? I'm home for a whole week next week.  My heart is doing a mini dance right now.  I've had a few weeks home since March, and I love each one so much more than the last.  Now, while I have no major angst with traveling, and I am blessed to have this job and the people in it, I can't lie and say I don't love being home.

Our project over the weekend will be to revamp some IKEA Rast tables I picked up this week.  I'm pretty excited, I must say. We also have another mini-project I'll show you someday, but that will likely take another year to finalize (we are snails when it comes to these projects). 

I must say, I love this time of year.  The fall is so incredible, and Christmas is just simply my favorite.  I also found it particularly odd how my heart skipped a beat when I saw that Starbucks changed over their cups.. I know, I know, lets not pass over Thanksgiving, but oh that red cup! It makes my heart happy.

Leaving you with some image inspiration today.  Be blessed today my friends (oh and still praying for joy for all of you).