*i ran around the house today and took pictures of 

how i've decorated for the holidays.

wanna see some?

i have a thing for bottle brush trees.

and fake snow,

and  twinkly lights strung through my displays.

my decor is super simple and i like to use whimsical little

characters and some of the antique dogs from my collection.

if i lived in the south i would only decorate with fresh greens and candles~

but it's such a drag cleaning up pine needles in january in mn.

so i stick to fake snow instead.

: )

this  fired clay nativity is one of my prized possessions. it was hand sculpted by 

artist reba brusek in alexandria mn. and when i unpack it each Christmas

it kind of takes my breath away.

 these trees didn't stay on the piano, i had just unpacked them and

they were standing ready to find their december home.

i saw this idea on pinterest and raced right to the thrift shop to get a rose bowl.

lucky me found the beautiful plate that day too. you have to find something

fun and small to put under your inverted bowl to complete the look- oh and don't 

forget the snow. mine has a very old, wind up tin dog underneath. i gave him a 
flannel scarf cause it made him even cuter.

i've never put my village in the kitchen but i did this year. it's fun to have it there because

i spend a lot of time there (not cooking mind you, just eating the caramels i keep on making)
 : ) 
and i turn the lights on more.

  it's makin me happy.

favorite new items this year are the antique red car with the old tree i tied on top.

Christmas cards are showing up in our mailbox just about every day

 and it makes getting the mail so much fun. i am going to address

mine up north at the lodge this weekend. i am going up for several days

and was hoping to snow shoe, but it's supposed to be so warm

that i bet our snow will all melt. i'm going to be so bummed if we don't

get new snow before Christmas!!! 
*no snow at Christmas will = a pouty faced me.
i live in minnesota. minnesota winters are beautiful, but they
are also brutal. what's really brutal is if there's no snow for Christmas
and then there's snow for many many months afterwards.
just not o.k. 

side note:

did you watch the TV  special about the movie

UNBROKEN?

our book club is reading the book (by laura hilldebrand) and the movie opens on 

Christmas day. it's the unbelievable true story of one man's

journey home from world war ll. i think it's going to be remarkable.

~ hope you liked seeing some of our Christmas decorating,

*and if you're reading this leslie kay kruger mohs- 

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

it's a biggie this year and i wish i could share a piece of cake with you today.

 i also hope we get to grow a lot older together, dear friend.
the day i met you was my lucky day~

peace & xo, 

beth

 norm and diane.

they haven't had photos taken together

since their wedding day almost 60 years ago.

i just really can't put into words how touched i was to

take these photos for them. they are surprising their

3 children and their families with them for Christmas. i can't imagine 

anything that will mean more to them can you?

you know that vow we take on our wedding day-

to love and to cherish in sickness and in health?

norm walks with a cane and when i asked him if he'd had

a hip replacement he said no and diane said "he's had seven back surgeries".

i looked at diane and said, well you sure look healthy and she said

"oh i am, i'm great"!  then norm softly said, "she's survived a brain tumor and

breast cancer with a double mastectomy", and diane said "and he's

also had heart surgery and a triple bypass. but we are doing just great!"

point is, i'm convinced they would never have brought this up if i hadn't asked.

they were just so happy~ they have obviously weathered some serious storms,

but walking side by side and as long as they're together, i think they really are

"just great".

i asked if they wanted to kiss for a picture and diane said,

"oh we kiss all the time", but norm giggled nervously and said,

"oh we don't need to do that here."  :  )

their love and devotion to each other was so sweet it made my heart swell.

i wanted to bring them home with me, get them snuggled under a 

blanket on the couch and bring them coffee. 

(and what is it about an older dude who wears brut? he smelled so good and when I told

him that, he chuckled again and diane said proudly, "that's the brut").

later that day as i was editing their photos, i started thinking about how

i wish i could take photos like these for each of my beloved aunts and uncles.

and anyone else their age who is lucky enough to still have their spouse.

so if you're reading this and you're interested-

call me. 

best gift ever.

enjoy your weekend and when life is throwing curve balls your way,

i really hope you have a lifeline to hang on to.

like these two do.

xo, beth

tis the season!

 the cooler weather and Christmas season have me

thinking more about cooking and in the last couple of weeks

i've tried two new recipes that i'd like to share with you.

the first is popovers.

is there anything more yummy than a piping hot popover?

i mean really, those big, custardy creations

are just so good. 

but only and i do mean only~ with honey butter slathered on them.

i have never had a real popover pan (i have used a muffin pan with limited success in the past.)

  i saw them at a popular local store two weeks ago for $24, so

 when i saw them at world market a week later

for $8.99 i bought one and wasted no time looking up a recipe and

getting busy.

i'm too lazy tonight to type out the recipe, so i'm cheating with a screen shot of the one i used.

they turned out just like i wanted them too! there are just two important tips to success
 after mixing them up and getting them in the oven.

 1. DO NOT open the oven to check on them.

just do not. it may cause them to fall. 

2. after you take them out of the oven, pierce the side of each one with a sharp

knife to let the steam escape. this too will keep them big and puffed up.

*now, get your honey butter on and enjoy!

popovers are really quick and easy to make~ and chances are on any given day
you have all the ingredients you need in your kitchen.
*p.s. and i used salted butter.

the second thing i've been having fun with is these caramels.

if you haven't heard about this new easy way to make them in the

microwave, you're going to thank me! 

in the past, i've always made them on the stove in a pan and it

involved a candy thermometer and about an hour of my time.

this recipe is about 10 minutes from start to finish and they

are every bit as good.

caramels

1/4 cup unsalted butter (i used salted- it's fine)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup sweetened condensed mild

1/2 tsp. vanilla

opt. coarse sea salt

combine all ingr. except the vanilla and salt in a large microwave bowl.

microwave on high for 6 min. stirring every 2 minutes.

carefully remove~it will be very hot, and stir in the vanilla.

pour into an 8x8 greased baking dish and if you want to add the salt, wait 

5 minutes and then sprinkle some lightly on top.

*cool at room temp. and then cut in squares and wrap individually in wax paper.

i just don't know anyone (unless you're my youngest and you eat so healthy

that you can "just say no") that doesn't love caramels.

*i want to mention that i made the caramels twice (and gave a bunch away), and then

decided to double the batch when i made them again. it just made sense

to me because i wanted to use the

whole can of sweetened condensed milk. like a dummy i only cooked

them for 6 minutes still and it wasn't long enough. if, like me you want to 

double the recipe, cook for 14 minutes, stirring every 2.

these are so easy to whip up and so good it's almost sinful friends.

they'd make really great gifts for neighbors, or the dentist

who does your crowns.

*

i told mine about them while she started my crown today and 

she was so excited i think she may have snuck in the break room 

and made them while i was in the chair.

xo, beth

well hello december~

there is no month that flys by faster for me than the one marked

by Jesus's birth-

there's still leftover turkey in the fridge- but the house is also

decorated for Christmas. lars and i went and got our tree last friday and

it only took me about 20 seconds to find what i was looking for.

i wanted the tallest, skinniest fresh tree in the lot.

every year my sweetie tries to talk me into a bigger one.

i start out with a pep talk on the way:

"so hon, i want a small, pretty tree this year, we just don't have room for

anything very big".  he nods in agreement.

then we get there and i spot one i think will work and he dutifully holds it up

and say's "nope too small". we look some more and he drags a few more

out of the pile and shakes em off a bit. "nope, still too big i say". 

some years i give in and we get one that's way bigger than really fits in our small space, but 

this year he kind of reluctantly agreed to the one he thought was too puney and

you know what? it's magnificent! it's all adorned and i love it! it's just big enough

and it is just beautiful all lit up in the dark. 

what is it about the tiny white lights glowing in the dark that brings

us such satisfaction... it's just magic to me.

i don't think i'll ever want an artificial tree. there's no smell, nothing unique from

year to year. i love the going and picking it out part, the helping lars get it in the

stand...even watering it every day. it's the least i can do for all the happiness it

brings us.

if i ever get to the point that i don't want a real tree- then i think i'd rather just have one

awesome spruce top in a small pot on my table.

i took some pictures in the back yard on saturday.

these are rose hips. all the roses of the future are in these

pretty colored pods

flowering crab apple berries

we have big woods around our cabin and i asked my sweetie to 

bring me home some evergreen boughs and some birch logs.

i was picturing short fat birch to use in my big pot, just as an accent.

when i saw what was in the back of the truck i suppressed a chuckle. 

he'd brought me the entire tree!

*(remember, this is the same guy who wants a church sized tree in our living room).

you know what though? us girl scouts know what to do in this

kind of situation~ i just decided instead of an accent, the birch would

be the main event.
they reach all the way to the roof~ and i like it!

and here's what i did with the rest of the tree he brought home for me.

he helped me and we tied the bundle of them to the deck and put white 

lights on them. sooo pretty right outside the door~

thanks hon!

look at the potato that rolled out of the bag on Thanksgiving morning! i love when i find

a heart shaped one...and even more special on Thanksgiving. thank you mother nature~

adria brought this yummy salad for our meal. there's no sugar in it so it was not only pretty but also healthy. it's seasoned with a bit of honey,fresh ginger and cinnamon.
the pom seeds made it extra pretty.

kenzie was in heat and duke was in love...so that resulted in us doing

our best to keep them separated. kenzie upstairs, duke downstairs.

thank you very much.

but, how cute is this little face peeking through the railings looking down at us?

i was a little late getting adria's annual birthday photo with her papa. better late

than never though right? i've been doing this all 31 years of her life and the lineup of them

together over the years is priceless. it won't be long now until he'll be walking her down the aisle.
( got lump in throat just writing that- Lord help me).

right before i headed to bed on Thanksgiving night, i looked over and saw koda

sleeping with his head pritnear IN the geraniums.

next best thing to tip toeing through the tulips huh buddy?

aaaaaaaand~
it's my seester's birthday today, so here's a

loving shout out to her~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAWN IRENE,

hope your family spoils you rotten today, because you deserve it!

WE LOVE YOU AND HOPE YOUR BIRTHDAYS

JUST KEEP ON COMING.

(and remember, i get to go first).

:  )

xox, beth