Monday, December 24, 2012

A Gift for the Mail Carrier!!

I did a LOT of my shopping online this year. So my mail carrier had a lot of packages to bring to our house. What better time of year to say thanks and Merry Christmas too!
Nothing fancy here, just a little bag of peppermint covered pretzels, but I hope he (or she) will feel the love! (To be honest I'm regifting it from one of my students!!!)

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!!

Friday, December 21, 2012

Finally, my Christmas Decorations!

Since my Christmas decorations have been up for almost an entire month, and Christmas is just a few days away, I think it's time to share those with you!

Welcome to our house. We put up strands of lights around the top of our house and plan on getting more lights for next Christmas when they all go on clearance!
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And our lovely tree:
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I found that star on the curb a year and a half ago :)

The Barbie and Kevin ornaments are from my Grandma, how cute, right?
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The pickle is a tradition my in-laws introduced me to. Someone hides it on the tree, and whoever finds it first wins a small prize or something. And the gold and silver ornament is from the ornament exchange I participated in. I love it! I forgot to take a picture of the ornament that I sent my partner. 
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My husband LOVES nutcrackers. (And doesn't that reflection of the lights on the tree look cool on the picture!)
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 And, of course, we have stockings :)
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I realized after I uploaded this picture, that I took it from behind. But I got this little village at a thrift store for 10 cents after Christmas a couple of years ago!
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Finally, my mom found me this nativity scene and I absolutely love it!! I did break one of the wise men when I was unwrapping it...but he was easily repaired with some super glue! Can't even tell. Next year I need some more decorations for this shelf.
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Linking up!


Sunday, December 16, 2012

Pink Glitter Color Block Shoes

I've had this pink Glitter Blast Glitter Sprayfor a while and decided it was finally time to do something fun with it. So I decided to spray paint some shoes.
Pink Glitter Color Block Shoes
I don't even remember where I got these shoes, but they were old and I didn't like them very much. They had a strap across the top which I cut off (you can see it if you look close, but otherwise not noticeable).

First step: Tape off the top and cover areas of the shoes you don't want to be spray painted. 
Pink Glitter Color Block Shoes - step 1

Second step: Spray paint shoes (after you shake the spray paint for a good two minutes and you're feeling pretty good about that arm work out)
Pink Glitter Color Block Shoes - step 2

Third step: Wait about 20 minute, take the tape off and let dry for 24 hour before you wear them. And that's it! Super easy and super fun.

Pink color block glitter flats 
 Spray Painted Color Block Flats
Spray paint is my favorite! If I do this project again on another pair of shoes, I would put the tape higher up so more of the front is painted, but I think these look nice too :)

You can buy this spray paint usually at any craft store, like Michael's. In my experience, they don't usually go on sale but are around $8 (and you could always use a 40% off coupon!). Or, you can buy them on amazon- some colors are very reasonable! 

(My Christmas decorations have been up for a while and I finally took pictures today, so I hope to get those together to show you all soon!)
 

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Chocolate Peanut Clusters

I love this time of year. I love everything Christmas! :) I have also been enjoying doing my ONLINE Christmas shopping. Went to the mall today and didn't even end up getting anything because I didn't want to wait in line...will continue to look for deals with free shipping. ha

Anyway, I did a cookie exchange at work with some of the other teachers and aides. (Whoever first thought of the idea of a cookie exchange deserves a prize, or at least an extra cookie!) I love trying all different kinds of cookies without all the work. Plus, now I have some pretty sweet recipes.

I made chocolate peanut clusters, which, if you read this title, you probably already figured out. They have four different kinds of chocolate in them, so yeah, you're going to love them!

And I made them in the crockpot! Crazy, I know.
chocolate peanut clusters in a crockpot
It's super easy too. Dump everything (as seen in the above picture) in the crockpot, peanuts last. See/print/download my recipe here - I got the recipe card design somewhere and can't find it - if I find it again I'll post a link to the template!
Chocolate peanut clusters recipe

Cook for 3 hours and don't stir it until you are done. That was hard for me....so it's a great time to work on your patience.
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Once your 3 hours are up (or close enough) stir and spoon on wax paper. 
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Oh, and if you don't have wax paper, empty out your cereal boxes and combine them together or put the cereal in bowls for the next day, and cut up the wax paper bag to use. Totally worked like a charm and I didn't have to make the hubby run to the grocery store for me. And...a greased cookie sheet works...but they are much more difficult to get off.

chocolate peanut clusters
 crockpot chocolate peanut clusters
They were delicious. Everyone loved them! I forgot to take a fancy plated picture for you, so this is what they looked like after I spooned them all out, but I had a lot of compliments that they looked like Fannie Mae chocolate peanut clusters. I love fancy, simple things. Plus, this makes over 100 - so perfect when you need something for a lot of people! What's your favorite Christmas cookie/dessert to share?


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