Re-Gifting

Every year, Aaron's dad tends to be the hardest person to buy for on our Christmas list. He's a man of simple pleasures: he likes to spend his weekends cutting the lawn or washing his car, or in the winter watching sports in front of his fireplace. He likes golf, cigars, and a nice glass of Scotch. Which means that any gift related to any of these activities has been bought for him years and years ago. So it's tough. But this year, thanks to Aaron's mum, the perfect gift managed to materialize.

As mentioned, Aaron's dad likes to relax with a nice glass of Scotch and I've long admired his special glass he likes to drink from: a vintage bar glass with pictures of pheasants on it (you know the type). Turns out, the pheasant glasses belonged to his late parents, which makes them all the more special. Well, Aaron's mom spied a matching ice bucket in a ridiculously overpriced small town antique store. So yesterday, we drove down and bought it. Perfect, no? The picture doesn't do it justice, but it is truly a beaut.

And yes, I did not blog yesterday. NaBloPoMo was in my sights and so close to the finish line I bailed. That said, I have a lot on the docket, so hopefully the frequent posts will continue into the upcoming months.

Hoot

I'm usually not the type to buy vintage stuff on etsy (I'm a thrill-of-the-hunt kind of gal), but I couldn't resist this little treasure that Tracy had in her shop. It's a napkin holder, but my plan is to keep in on the table next to the door so it can hold unsorted mail. I'm aiming to be tidier in the house (it's a challenge), so I hope this will do the trick.

I've been noticing a lot of owl-themed things in my house lately -- it's like etsy circa 2007. I'm not collecting, I swear. Maybe I just like Henry pointing to them and saying "Whoot, Whoot!"

Savory

Aaron's mum generously took the kids today and I spent my time doing some Xmas shopping and sequestering myself in the kitchen. With our holiday party only two weeks away and lots of busy times between then and now, I've got to prep while I can. Today, among other things, I made my mom's famous olive cheese balls. She's been making these for her annual Boxing Day party since I can remember and I've always loved them. I remember Christmases as a teenager where I'd steal a handful of these from the freezer, pop them in the microwave and make a Christmas day lunch out of them. Not healthy, but considering I was chasing them with holiday chocolates, I obviously did not care.

So, as a Thanksgiving gift to all of our American friends, here is the recipe. Try it out and let me know if you like it.

Olive Cheese Balls

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
36 (approx) pimento-stuffed green olives, drained

Mix cheese and flour. Add butter and mix thoroughly. Mold 1 tbsp dough around each olive and shape into a ball. Place on ungreased baking sheet and chill at least 1 hour. Bake at 400F for 15 to 20 minutes.

Favourite Things

Did you hear that Oprah isn't doing her Favourite Things show this year? Apparently, she's not (not that I'm a big Oprah fan anyway, but you know). So, in lieu, here are some random things I've been digging as of late:

Tetley Herbal Tea
Especially in the Soothe (ginger mint) flavour. I can't get enough

The Corner
This 2000 HBO mini-series was a precursor to The Wire. (Which is, of course, the best show in the history of television. This is not debatable. It is a fact.) I've been watching it on DVD and the characters are so multi-layered, and so sad. Not as developed as The Wire, but awesome.

The Onion's Best Of The Decade
Check it out here. The best of TV, movies, music, books and other media. I could hang out on here for days. On a side note, can you believe that the '90s have been over for 10 years? Seriously -- Y2K was a decade ago. I feel so unbelievably old.


Rosebud Perfume Co. Rose Mint Lip Balm
So good.

New Moon
Seriously dudes, I loved it. I do not think it was actually well-written or well-acted, but I loved every second of it. I especially laughed when Jacob Black took off his shirt and the entire audience burst out laughing. So awesome.

So, that's five. Americans, have a good Thanksgiving weekend. I'll see the rest of you tomorrow.

Attention Shoppers

My shop is open. The items are still very limited, but more will go up in the next few days, I hope. Also, on a slightly related note, I will be participating in Sew Mama Sew's awesome Giveaway Day this year. It's on December 2 -- stop by and comment on that day to win a prize.

In unrelated news, I'm have tickets to see New Moon tonight. I am inappropriately excited. This article kind of sums it up.

Deer Prudence

How the heck did I find time to make a felt Christmas ornament? I don't know, but I'm telling you, these things are addictive and I can hardly wait to make more. This is the Little Deer ornament from Alicia's Walk In The Woods kit. I started with the deer because it's the easiest of the patterns, and I managed to complete it over the course of one bad Canadian film and an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. I admit, I was a little discouraged when I realized that I should do all the embroidery on BOTH sides of the deer, but since I'm creating heirloom pieces here, people, I decided laziness was a poor course of action. So yes, Mrs. Deer has beautiful sequined speckles on both sides of her rump.

I'm really hot to trot on getting onto the other ornaments, even though there are more pressing things at hand. But I really want to get the rest made so I can decide which ones I'm willing to part with as teachers' gifts. It's hard. Maybe I'll just buy them some soap or hand cream instead.

Coconuts

Okay, maybe not the most appetizing picture, but proof that I've got another batch of cookies in the freezer! This morning I set out to bake as much as I could with the limited supplies in my pantry (my mission: try not to actually leave the house). First up, a batch of blueberry corn muffins for Ruby and Henry's school/babysitting snacks. Done (but to be honest, pretty meh tasting). Then I wanted to do a batch of Christmas party cookies. With very little icing sugar on hand and no nuts, my choices were limited. But I did have macaroons on my list and what do you know? They require very few ingredients and are super easy to make.

I love me a macaroon, but I've never attempted to make them. Soooo easy. You basically just mix some coconut with sugar and egg whites and then bake them for 15 minutes. This is, of course, the version from the Martha Stewart Cookie book, and I added in some chocolate chips for fun. Delicious. And easy. And making me feel like I'm accomplishing something. Hooray!