hope~

                                            click on the photo below

hope.
 it's such a great word, so full
of possibilities.
i hope today was good to you
my dears.
it was to me.
not every day is great...but i hope you have more good
days than bad, i hope you are more happy
than sad.
* that is my wish for each of you*

xo, beth



wednesday randoms

my sis had foot surgery today. sis needs florence nightengale don't ya think?

cue me.

i'll be heading west day after tomorrow to hang with her. we'll play cribbage, i may or may not cook-

(girlfriend hates to cook actually), we'll knit, we'll look at each others Christmas cards, we'll sit with our laptops on our laps-and we'll talk. we shared a room the whole time we were growing up. we are as comfortable together as two old shoes. not as stinky though.

there are goodies in this basket for her. goodies like food, magazines, catalogs,

    candy, gifts and yarn. don't tell her tho, i want it to be a surprise.


 

the red and green wreath came off the front door today and this cozy new one went up. don't you love it? it's made out of strips of old wool.

this is one of my fab Christmas gifts, i'll be cracking it open at the seesters

i had just enough flowers left from a bouquet to make this tiny little one for the bathroom

i'll leave you with this last random photo...look at the ribbon i scored for 60% off at michaels. it's burlap, it's for next year, i love it.

 i went shopping for something new to wear today. can i just say aaagggghhh? can't say i ever really "score" in that arena. i go full of hope and anticipation. i wear easy off clothes, i pee, i eat a granola bar, i make sure i'm well hydrated and rested... i picture myself looking all cutsie and stylish. i go, i try on, i put back, i get more, i try on, my hair starts to stick straight up with electricity. i get hot, i get hungry, i decide my underwear clad body looks a whole lot scarier in their mirrors than in mine, i lick my fingers and try to get my hair to lay down. i start to dance- not because i'm inspired by the canned music, now i have to pee! the closest bathroom is 3 miles away so  i buy a couple things and come home. i try them on again and think "really"?
* i hate returning even more than i hate shopping though, so i'll keep them.
in the meantime i dream of a closet full of darling clothes that fit right and
make me feel like a million bucks!


ever feel this way?


:  )


xo, beth



they all hate to have their picture taken~



 and girlfriend loves to take pictures... so i didn't get a whole lot but this is the best of what i've got to offer you from our family's fun Christmas.


my girl loves to hear her brother tell stories, so when i saw this shirt-i laughed out loud

 always so grateful- here's seth  giving dad some love

ms. adria



easy to please-"das boot" made birthday boy cole grin from ear to ear



lars



santa delivered some wax lips to these two lovebirds



 the boyfriend's dog kenzie was a guest too, she's a good girl and kind of stole the show from our old boy blaze. sorry blaze, there were no pictures of you this Christmas. * if you hadn't been sulking downstairs it could have been a different story*


the holidays can be exhausting

 under this blankie lay my youngest. he turned 23 on the 25th and it wore him out. if you were hoping to see a picture of me-sorry. any and all photos taken of me were heinous. this is my blog. i do not have to post heinous photos of myself on here. : )   cool news tho- one of my gifts was photoshop...so from now on (after i learn some tricks)  i will just edit pics of myself-add a head from some other photo, maybe of some other person- you may never recognize me again. LOVE IT!

  so, that's a wrap for Christmas 2011, i hope yours was as blessed as our families. xo, peace out

braided bread~

one of my traditions is to to make this braided Christmas bread. i think i tried it for the first time in the late 80's and have hardly missed a year since. in the last few years, i've made a couple of extras to share with friends, and one of them asked me to teach her how. i said "i'll do a blog about it and then you'll have a step by step tutorial-how about that?" so this ones for you cindy lou who~

so you start with frozen bread dough. (fetting's is not, nor have they ever paid me to promote their products. i think they should consider it though don't you?) i take it out of the freezer and let it thaw in the bag overnight in the fridge. it should be starting to raise some when you start to use it. next separate the loaves . for this tutorial, i laid 2 loafs side by side and started rolling them out on a flour covered counter.( lucky me, my hubbie remodeled our kitchen and put in granite counters for me a few years ago and they are marvelous for baking).

so now you roll them out, attempting to make a long rectangle, it does not have to be perfect~ then slap some softened butter on the bad boy and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and sugar.

           use as much or as little as you want. this is what mine looked like

now the skilled part starts my friends, if you don't already have an apron on-get it on and get your hair in a ponytail! so you take a scissors ~wash it please if you've been using it to do Christmas crafts : ) ~ and start snipping in on the edges. i am not a perfectionist. i have never in all the years i've made this counted or measured how many snips a side gets. just cut in about 1/3 of the way into your rectangle, in about 1/2 inch slices and you'll most likely end up with about the same number of tabs on both sides. if you don't, just get creative and wrap two tabs at a turn if it's uneven!



here's another peek at this cool part of the fun-it's like bread dough origami!

now you start at the top and start wrapping the two sides in, one over the top of the other and press the tabs down lightly as you intertwine them. i love this part! like i said, if you see one side is getting left behind, just be bold and use two tabs from one side and play catch up.

when you get to the bottom, leave the last 2 tabs to connect your wreath on the pan. now you've got this cool rectangular braid right? but-we're making a wreath, so spray a cookie sheet with pam (or gladys if you're out of pam) and gently pick up your braid and transfer it to the pan, shaping it in a circle as you lay it down. now use the 2 end tabs to tuck it together.

if your pan is really old, i think it tastes more authentic-more homemade

this picture was totally unnecessary, i just liked it.


 now cover it with plastic wrap and let it raise and double in size- this takes about an hour. preheat the oven to 350 and bake app. 20 minutes, until it's firm when you tap on it and getting slightly browned. take it out of the oven and let it set until it's cooled and then get ready to frost and decorate.

********************
 i'd suggest you make a cup of coffee and get a jar of maraschino cherries. my powdered sugar frosting is just basic ~ start with about 2 cups of  p. sugar and add enough milk to make it spreadable. i add a tbsp of soft butter and a tsp of almond extract (very important). spread it on your wreath and then decorate with cherries, diced in half.

if you think it looks pretty, just WAIT until you taste it!

maybe this looks like a lot of work but believe me-it's really not. i'd say it takes less than 12 minutes to get it from the rolling out step-to shaped and on the pan. it really is a crowd favorite so be brave-give it a try- seriously yummalicious!

xo, beth

from our house to yours

  *WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS*



yes, this was the best picture of the fam from 2011. seriously ~

ERIC WAS LAYING BACK TO MAKE SURE HIS LITTLE SISTER SHOWED ON THIS PICTURE. IT KIND OF CRACKS ME UP. SO US-SO LARSON-SO WHAT E V A R!

WHATEVER IT TAKES TO FILL YOUR HEARTS WITH JOY-I HOPE YOU FIND IT TODAY,  XO BETH

no snow? just decorate with white~



i'm in awe





a table top tree-how darling



too pretty to eat!



can this be my playhouse in the woods?





here we go with more of the red and white theme i've fallen for~



these are made from black olives and cream cheese. the feet and beaks are carrots. wouldn't they be the hit of any buffet?

it's a good thing it's almost Christmas, i'm almost out of fab ideas for you!
if i have time tomorrow i will upload our christmas picture for you to see~
i'm off now to run to the mailbox and get the last of the
mail before christmas, hope there are a few more cards
waiting for me---love them!
xo, beth



the queen of random

 i woke up early this morning. earlier than i needed or wanted to. pretty sure i have adult a.d.d. and this is some of what was running thru my head:

i need one more gift for eric~
i have to remember to get the rest of my groceries~
i wonder when friend leslie flys in~
i wish i could go back to sleep~
is there ANY chance for snow yet before sat.?~
why is the dog awake?~
i wish i could go back to sleep~
i wish i had good hair~
i don't think i got enough stocking stuffers for eric~
oh NO, i forgot to buy a silver ornament for my Christmas boy~
i'm hungry~
i'm thirsty~
i must have been snoring~
man it was magical going to sleep listening to ava maria~

i love my bed~
i think i need one more fab little gift for my girl~
is it Christmas yet?~
i wish i could go back to sleep~
pretty sure i'll never dare wear my new socks with fur on the top~
this is for sure the year i will get serious about yoga~

you are fabulous, i have a.d.d. -have a nice day!

xo, beth

a wedding in december

remember a few weeks ago when i had the pleasure to design the flowers and take some wedding pictures? well the bride and groom graciously said yes to me sharing some with you. this wedding was special for a lot of reasons. linda and bernie were planning a wedding in 2012 on myrtle beach  over the 4th of july. then linda's sweet mama found out she has a stage 4 cancerous brain tumor. linda wanted her mom to be there on this special day, walk her down the aisle, share in their joy. to make that happen they changed their plans and decided to get married here in MN, in dec. at the assisted living home where linda's mom now lives.  there's not a lot of weddings here friends~the staff and other residents could not have been more excited to hover around and watch the magic unfold! : )


the bride's bouquet





the dress goes on~



how gorgeous is she?






the mother of the bride

 




linda with her mom and sister

 

finally! a glimpse of the cute groom~ it

was obvious they are caaa-razy about each other. (sigh)

it made the bride cry when she watched her~ soon to be~ hubbie sign the marriage license right there
on the old pool table. : ) now that's a memory.

 pretty sure there wasn't a dry eye when marie (one day out of the hospital) bravely walked her daughter down the aisle.

                                      husband and wife- their faces radiate joy eh?

 it's not their 1st rodeo guys, and they have 6 children between them

    there were tears, there was laughter, there was cake and sweet, sweet dancing. it was a sentimental, beautiful wedding. thank you for letting me be a part of your day linda and bernie. be happy!   xo beth