Making My List...

The new year is rapidly approaching, and I don't know about you, but I'm a total resolutions kind of girl!  I have been thinking about them since mid-October so that I could get real clear on my intentions of what I want to accomplish this year.  I usually make my resolutions with a theme that tries to embody everything into one little word.

In 2010 it was...health

In 2011 it was...peace

This year it will be ...

{drumroll please}

CLEAN!

Clean?  What does that even mean in regards to my resolutions you wonder?  Well a lot of things really.  This year I want to clean up my act in a lot of ways:

I need to clean up around my house.  

Well, this one seems like an obvious one, right?  Things have started to get a little out of hand as I've lost my focus on cleaning and organizing around here lately.  I intend to get things back under control.  It makes me happy, my family happy, and my house happy when it's clean and organized around here!

I want to clean up my diet even more.  

I'm already pretty good about not eating a ton of processed foods and getting rid of processed sugars from my diet but I'm ready to take it up a notch.  Now I'm getting serious about how my meat is raised.  I want grass fed, free range, happy animals that got to live the life they were supposed to live rather than pumped full of steroids and growth hormones and bla, bla, bla!  I also want to get rid of the amount of my exposure to pesticides on fruits and veggies.   I also really want to start making my own sourdough breads and get more of the good bugs into my diet through homemade yogurts and kefirs.

Clean up my style

This means further refining my style to more accurately reflect who I am inside.  I feel like I made some huge leaps in this area this last year but there is still more I can do and learn.  A few of the items I would really like to do is to keep editing and upgrading my wardrobe, find an awesome pair of jeans and to play with scarves more to name a few things.

Cleaning up my spirit.

Aww! David Archuleta is such a cutie {with a dreamy voice}! And I'm a sucker for a good song and this one illustrates this aspect of my goals perfectly!  This is an ongoing goal as I try more and more to become more Christlike.


So there you have it!  Some of my goals for 2012.  How about you?  Do you make resolutions?  Care to share any of yours?

Linking to The Lettered Cottage

spray bottle, and cow via sxc

A Quick Christmas Recap

Well, the remodel still isn't done but we are on the home stretch.  The kids did get a small Christmas tree {finally} about a week before Christmas which promptly came down yesterday so we could finish painting in the room. 

Despite the remodeling mayhem, we had a lovely Christmas together.  I loved watching the kids open their presents and seeing the smiles on their faces!  We had to open presents in two parts though because church started at nine and the kids were still sleeping in at eight ~ we ended up having to wake them up!  {We are definitely not a family of morning people!  LOL!}

Just before heading out the door, my son gave me this fabulous red, sparkly present which required a quick change on my part because hello!  That is a totally fun red top!!!  How can you resist???

Earlier this month I had said I wanted something sparkly and this is it!  I may, or may not, have really stood out in the choir in this outfit though!  ~wink~wink~

Anyway!  

We had a lovely day being with family!  

I hope yours was just as wonderful! 

Merry Christmas!

I hope you have a fabulous holiday with your loved ones!

Enjoy this latest version of 

Where Are You Christmas?

by The Piano Guys!

Merry Christmas! 

However you celebrate,

I hope you have a safe and happy holiday 

wherever you may be!

Danger! Danger!

Today I found myself in a dangerous part of town.

I entered the world of Tony Caputo's Market & Deli.

A place offering dangerous regional, Italian and 

Southern European culinary delights

I found myself taste testing so many fabulous olive oils 

and balsamic vinegars!  

Oh my gosh!  

The flavors of good oils and vinegars are unbelievable!

You will never go back to the regular ol' supermarket varieties again!

I had to stop myself before buying the small,

perfectly aged {for 12 years!} bottle of $75 balsamic vinegar!

Someday I will go back for it!

So we ran away to another part of the store 

to buy some grass fed beef that

Canyon Meadows Ranch was offering.  

But along the way we found...

Chocolates!!!

From Chocolatier Blue.

The pictures do not do these chocolates justice.

They sparkle like jewels!

And taste divine!!!

Someday I will learn to make my chocolates

look and taste as fabulous as those!

I had the kids with me and they each bought

some special treats.  

I'm wishing we would have bought some of the

specialty hot chocolates to sip.

Guess I'll just have to go back!

Bummer.

Stores like this make me want to go to culinary school.

I absolutely adore fabulous foods!

If you were to go to a culinary school,

what type would you attend and where?

Look Kids! A Christmas Tree!

Sadly, it's not my own Christmas tree!  My kids are still sad we don't have our tree up!  But I found them one at our hotel we stayed at during our family medical crisis this week!

I ended up on kid duty while all the siblings attended to their mother in the ICU.  As a result, I found myself paying attention to the hotel decorations a lot. 

We stayed at my favorite budget friendly hotel in St. George.  Once they found out the reason we were there, they upgraded us to a suite so that we would be more comfortable.  Isn't that nice???

It's a beautiful little hotel with great rates and a really nice hot breakfast buffet where you can dine on eggs, omelettes, waffles {with a selection of tasty fruit syrups as well as your standard maple}, oatmeal, fresh fruits and more! 

One of my favorite things about St. George is that they have palm trees!  Yes!  In the hot, dry Utah desert!  They're not native, but they somehow survive down in that climate.  In fact, when I was a kid we used to drive down to California to visit my grandparents and we always looked forward to seeing our first palm tree because we thought we were getting close to grandma's.  Now I realize those first trees were in Utah and we still had a loooong ways to go to get to Pasadena!  Hey, I guess whatever helps make a long trip shorter then GREAT, I guess!  LOL!

If you ever need to make a stay in St. George, 

I highly recommend our favorite hotel:

Best Western, Abbey Inn

Christmas Miracles!

I eluded to this in my last post, but a few days ago we were rushing to Southern Utah to say our goodbyes and begin planning a funeral as my sweet mother-in-law was in respiratory failure.

But she's one tough cookie.

We were able to pull her off the ventilator 

and now we're discussing long term care!

It's a Christmas miracle!  

We're not out of the woods yet, 

but we have her here with us 

for just a little bit longer!

Sing with me now!

Let's hear the Hallelujah chorus!

{image via)

Where My Heart Is . . .

On this beautiful Sunday I'm

listening to the soulful tunes of the cello:

and enjoying the breathtaking 

scenery from my home state!

My heart is here today:

Some of my favorite people are in

Southern Utah right now and I

wish I could be with them today.

~ ~ ~

Check out The Piano Guys on YouTube.  

They are amazing!  You will be so glad you did!

Leg Warmers

At this time of year, there is nothing cozier than a pair of nice warm tights. I absolutely adore them! But tights AND stockings together? Even cozier! And if done right, I think they look tres chic!

{via This Is Glamorous}

I am now on the hunt for the perfect combination for my own individual style! It's hard to find boots and tights that aren't of the black, grey or brown variety right now.  I just want something a little happier ~ I'm trying to lift my spirits out of the dull colors of the winter landscape, remember? 

In my mind I keep imagining the most dreamy pair of buttercup yellow boots.  I'm not sure what the rest of my outfit would look like, but those boots won't leave my mind!  ~dreamy sigh~  I wonder if it would be easier to find buttery yellow stockings instead?  I mean, the layered effect kind of mimics a boot effect and looks ever so cozy and fashionable!

How do you plan to keep your legs warm?

Seen any fun colors anywhere?

When Christmas Comes To Town!

My poor little guy has been dying that we don't have our tree up or Christmas decorations out yet, so I decided I needed to get out at least a few things.  Our carpet is supposed to be in next week sometime {which is freaking me out because we are behind schedule now with the things we needed to get done around here first before it comes! {~gulp~} so once that is in we can get everything put back into place and get the tree out finally!

So in the meantime, here are a few things we have brought out to try and bring a little Christmas cheer to the remodeling mayhem, I mean, um, house:

These fresh evergreens were saved from the big storm cleanup.  They were smelling so festive and delicious that I stowed a few away in the car to bring home.  My little guy thinks the tall one looks like a tall tree, so we decided to use it like one and placed one of our nativity sets underneath it.
 

I created this little vignette for the piano:

The quote in the frame is a printable from Dear Lillie.

I also gussied up the light in the kitchen a bit:

The Santa hats and the bells for the doors

that I showed last year are out again too.

Last year I had decided to switch the Christmas decor to a chocolate, green and cream color scheme.  In fact, I even picked up a bunch of things for it on clearance after the holiday but I honestly just can't help myself ... I love the traditional reds and greens!  Plus I think the kids might revolt if I got rid of the door bells or Santa hats.  They love them!  Maybe next year, when I'm not in the thick of remodeling,  I will put the chocolatey stuff to use in a different part of the house!

Merry Christmas

from our house to yours! 

~ ~ ~ 

Want some more holiday cheer?  

Visit the following linky parties to 
ooh and aah and a fa-la-la with us!

A Thoughtful Place
The Inspired Room's Christmas Home Tours
Nester's Christmas Tour of Homes 2011

Baby It's Cold Outside!

This will be my first full fledged winter since learning to Dress My Truth and this year it will be a lot more colorful.  I never realized how much color impacted my moods before.  Every winter I have a tendency to get a little down because let's face it, it gets kinda dreary out there. I have vowed this year to wear more color and let it cheer me up!

Here are a few coats I have picked up for the season:

A cute blue trench coat with a little bit of brightness to it.  This year I have found some cute pink leather gloves and a fun polka dot scarf to wear with my different coats.

This is what I wore for storm cleanup the other day.  A basic chocolate brown coat with my pink garden work gloves.  Chocolate + pink is always a classic combination!

A fun light green trench coat with my new pink accessories!  This is the coat I am wearing in my new profile picture and header here on the blog. It is my favorite one of the bunch and I wear it almost daily whenever I go out!

The weather hasn't turned completely frigid yet {though the last two mornings have been in the teens so it is definitely on its way!}, and I still need to get a new coat for those really cold winter days.  I would love to get something fun like this:

 via pinterest

That looks pretty warm, cozy and bright, right?  I just need to find a super thin {and super warm} down coat.  I really don't like the puffy looking ones because they always make me feel kinda fat.

I also wouldn't mind finding a coat

that would go with this amazing scarf:

via Etsy

Yep!  Now wouldn't that scarf just brighten your day? 

~ ~ ~

What are you wearing to keep warm this winter?

Have you found any fun winter accessories?

Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful!

I feel bad for saying I wanted to go out and play in the wind the other day because I apparently live in a neighborhood who the storm seemed to skip over, while all the surrounding communities look like a hurricane ripped through it, {which apparently the winds we sustained could have been considered  hurricane force 2 winds}.

There is a lot of damage everywhere.  The cities have been re-landscaped by Mother Nature.  Fences have been ripped apart.  Roofs blown off.  Beautiful 100+ year old trees ripped out.  Sidewalks torn up.  So many golf courses lost 200-400 or so trees!  It is astounding!  Thursday was not a good day to be a tree.  :(

The neighbors house near a property we own had a huge old tree ripped out which subsequently took out the power with it. 

This is not uncommon.  Thousands have been without power.  This afternoon, our tenants finally got their power turned back on, three days later.

And driving down the streets is incredibly sobering.  We have spent the past few days helping clean up trees and putting sections of the roof back on at our place.

Tonight round 2 is supposed to hit.  Another high wind advisory.  Not as strong as the last one but made more dangerous because of the potential flying debris.  The governor advised everyone to stay home tonight to avoid the dangerous conditions and to secure as much debris as we could before the storm hits.

Lots of churches cancelled their services today in order to help with the storm clean up before the next one hits.  I am amazed at the kindness and goodwill of people during times like these!  Everyone is so willing to help.  There were even thoughtful neighbors driving around handing out cookies and hot chocolate to all the helpers.  {And btw, the lady that stopped by to offer us cookies was a fellow Type 1!  Woot!  High five girl!  I love you and had no idea you lived so near me!}

We even had a bunch of young kids we didn't even know help us unload at the cities drop off zone.

Look how amazing they are!

It warms my heart to see such kindness!

Now that's Christlike service in action!

High five to the youth!!!

Sights like this going down the road

are all too common right now!

Even the army is out in force helping out!

It has been quite sobering.  We don't live in an area that Mother Nature beats up very often.  We don't live in Tornado Alley, or where hurricanes happen.  I live in a landlocked state out in the West.  I guess I am just grateful that we are safe, that no one died in the storm and that my own house didn't sustain any damage so that we could be out helping others.

Stay safe everyone!

Mwah!

December Flowers

I can't believe it is December 1st and I still have flowers in my yard!  These babies are in a fairly protected spot up against the house and they just keep hanging on ~ which I truly don't mind ~ it's fun to look out my windows and see happy, bright colors still! 

Last night and today we have had some pretty crazy winds.  Some areas have hit up to 85-100+ mph winds!  Luckily, our house, yard and neighborhood haven't been hit too hard.  In fact, the sun is shining and the wind actually feels so fresh and invigorating out there!  I just want to go outside and play in it!

Unfortunately it looks like a windstorm has hit the inside of my house too and I really need to get things straightened back up.  I am living in chaos!  I can't wait until the mini-remodel is finished!  I haven't put out Christmas decorations yet {which is driving the kids nuts!} because we are just going to have to move things all around again to finish painting and to get the new carpets put in. ~sigh~

At least we still have those pretty flowers to look at!

Cranberry Heaven!

This is the time of year to stock up on fresh cranberries!  I like to buy a few packages and throw them in the freezer every fall.  Cranberries can be so elegant and are pretty versatile actually!  You don't need to just eat them on Thanksgiving as a sauce.

Here is another way to enjoy them this season!  This recipe is actually a bonus two-in-one recipe!   You make sweet and tangy sugared cranberries that you can add to candy bowls, your favorite apple pie recipe, as a topping on cheesecake, baked brie, pancakes or even on top of ice cream!  But wait!  There's more!  The sauce it cooks in becomes a tasty, spicy syrup that almost tastes like candy canes which is a fun addition to your holiday breakfasts this winter!

Sugared Cranberries and

Cranberry Spice Syrup

Sugared Cranberries

 Makes 3 cups cranberries

3 cups sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
3 cups water
3 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed
1 cup superfine sugar

Mix sugar, cinnamon sticks and cloves with water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer for 1 minute, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl. Stir in cranberries. Cover and refrigerate for about 8 hours. Drain cranberries. Reserve liquid, strain out cinnamon sticks and cloves and use as a simple syrup to add a holiday touch.

Place superfine sugar in a bowl and gently toss in cranberries, coating evenly. Place cranberries on a baking sheet to dry, about 1 to 2 hours.

Store in an airtight container.

To Can Syrup

Fill jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace and boil in water bath canner for 20 minutes. When serving, if you'd like a thicker syrup, simply add a little cornstarch before heating it up.

~~~

I hope this convinces you to buy a few extra packages of cranberries this season to give these a try!  They are delightfully festive and tasty!

Do you have any favorite cranberry recipes? 

Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving is coming up fast! Many of my stateside friends are gathering up all the ingredients for their own traditional Thanksgiving dinners.  I love that it is a holiday filled with tasty food traditions!  I love celebrating with food!

So today I thought I would share two of my favorite recipes that are always at our Thanksgiving meal.  To me, it just isn't Thanksgiving without them!

First up!  A scrumptious cranberry sauce!  Not your ol' goo from a can!  This is made from real, fresh cranberries and is chocked full of other fruity goodies!

Scrumptious Cranberry Sauce

1 cup water
1 cup white sugar {or sweetener of choice}
12 oz package fresh cranberries
1 orange, peeled and pureed
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
1 pear, peeled, cored and diced
1 cup chopped dried mixed fruit
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

In a medium saucepan, boil water and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to simmer, and stir in rest of the ingredients. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries burst. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Leftovers taste great as a pie, wrapped and baked in phyllo, as a crisp, spooned over ice cream or baked over brie, as well as more traditional uses such as on a turkey sandwich.

 ~~~

The next one is a family favorite passed down through the generations--my grandmother used to make this, my mom makes this and now I do too.  I don't have an old picture in my files of this one yet, but I will add one to this post after I make it this year.

Yams and Apples

6 sweet potatoes, cooked and sliced thinly
6 small apples, peeled and sliced thinly
1 cup orange juice, mixed
2/3 cup sugar {or other sweetener of choice}
1 stick butter
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Layer yams and apples in a buttered casserole dish. Combine ingredients for sauce. Stir and cook til thick and smooth Pour over yams and apples. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Waaaayyy better than anything with marshmallows on them! To me, this is the only way to enjoy yams! And for those that say they don't like yams, I always think to myself that they certainly would if they ever tasted this recipe!  These are not your average yams with carmelized brown sugar, or marshmallows on top but a delicious fruity blend with apples and orange juice!  I'm telling you, it is TASTY my friends!

What are some of your favorite

traditional holiday foods? 

Under Construction

I just realized that I haven't blogged in almost two weeks!  Yikes!  I admire those of you out there who seem to be able to manage frequent, sometimes daily blog posts!  I just find myself busy and forgetful!  This time I've just been pretty busy....

I have been living under construction.

What started out as simply repainting 

a few rooms before we get new carpets ...

Has turned into a minor remodel

where we have been knocking down walls...

And trying to decide what sort of trimwork to use.

We plan on beefing up the baseboards, and

I want to trim the openings out in 

something like this or this. 

My husband wants to trim them out

in something real fancy using

something more like this.

While I like fancy capitals, I"m not sure

they feel appropriate in this house.

I like the simpler, cleaner lines of what I chose.

 I hope my choices win out in the end!

{fingers crossed!}

We shall see I guess!

Only time will tell . . .

November Love

The other day on Facebook I declared November as my absolute favorite month of the year!  It truly is!

I love November because it finally turns crisp and cool.  It is high canning season to get the grapes, apples and other fresh things squirreled away for winter.  And the house is cozy and warm.  But most of all the air is filled with gratitude, thankfulness and thoughts of home.  I love that!

Today is a perfectly blustery sort of day!

{Say "perfectly blustery" real fast 10 times! I dare ya!}

 I hope you are all staying cozy and warm!

Organ and Tissue Donation

 I am helping out with a fundraiser for Organ and Tissue donation services and was passed over for a news interview for someone "more dramatic" than "just a cornea transplant".  I'm not upset about that {truly} because being on the news was kind of freaking me out.  But the attitude that tissue donation isn't as important as organ donation kind of bothers me.    Maybe it's just not as dramatic and sensational to draw people into the news piece and I guess that's ok, but it is every bit as valuable and important to those who receive tissue donations like myself.

I was at a very low point in my life with the loss of my sight.  It came right on the heels of having a premature baby born at 30 weeks with respiratory problems and heading into the winter time and RSV season.  I was confined to home with my medically fragile baby, and then confined to home again when my husband got home at night because I couldn't drive in the dark anymore.  I couldn't escape.  I had to rely on people to drive me everywhere.  My sight was so bad towards the end that I couldn't even drive during the day and I remember wishing they would just take my eyeballs out so I wouldn't have to worry about them at all.  I felt truly disabled.  I couldn't even smile and talk with the animation I used to because the slightest weird twinge of my eye would pop out my contact lenses that tried to help me see a little better on my distorted misshapen corneas .  I felt completely devoid of personality, like I had lost a part of myself and I was depressed.

Tissue donation is just as important as organ donation.  Sure it may not be as dramatic and life-saving, but for me it was.  Not only did someone give me back my sight when I received my cornea transplant, but they gave me back my expressions and my mobility and made me feel human again at a very dark time in my life. 

I will be speaking more about my story {if they still want me to} at the BeeCause Fashion Show to help raise money and awareness for Organ and Tissue donation on November 12th  if you want to hear more about it.

I will also be speaking about my brush with an actual organ transplant that placed me on the transplant list when my other child was born ~ I guess it's a little more dramatic than the  cornea transplant.  At least it includes some pretty funny hallucinations and conspiracy theories and the miracle of organ regeneration.  Because yes, livers can regenerate if you're lucky enough not to pass the point of no return, which for me I was fortunate enough not to pass.  I have been to the brink of no return causing my doctors to place me on the list and begin to organize transport for me to the transplant center and luckily {miraculously!} I stepped away from that precipice. 

Visit here for more details if you're interested in attending the event ~ it will be filled with fashion shows and concerts and will be a lot of fun!

Frightfully Fun!

Last night we handed out our traditional

hot chocolate for all the cute little
ghost and goblins of the neighborhood!

As usual we had a roaring fire going

to warm them all up!

My cute little guy was
Ironman last night!

I just love that little boys
want to be superheroes!!!

After trick or treating we

drank hot chocolate

sat around the fire and told "spooky" stories!

Little kids can tell some pretty scary ones!

~wink~wink~

But my mom tells a pretty scary version of

Little Orphan Annie!

LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE

by: James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916)

INSCRIBED WITH ALL FAITH AND AFFECTION

 

To all the little children: -- The happy ones; and sad ones;
The sober and the silent ones; the boisterous and glad ones;
The good ones -- Yes, the good ones, too; and all the lovely bad ones.

 

ITTLE Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,

An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,

An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,

An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;

An' all us other childern, when the supper-things is done,

We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun

A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,

An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you

Ef you

Don't

Watch

Out!

 

Wunst they wuz a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,--

An' when he went to bed at night, away up-stairs,

His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl,

An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wuzn't there at all!

An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press,

An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'-wheres, I guess;

But all they ever found wuz thist his pants an' roundabout:--

An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you

Ef you

Don't

Watch

Out!

 

An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,

An' make fun of ever' one, an' all her blood-an'-kin;

An' wunst, when they was "company," an' ole folks wuz there,

She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!

An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,

They wuz two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,

An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about!

An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you

Ef you

Don't

Watch

Out!

 

An' little Orphant Annie says, when the blaze is blue,

An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!

An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,

An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--

You better mind yer parunts, an' yer teachurs fond an' dear,

An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,

An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,

Er the Gobble-uns 'll git you

Ef you

Don't

Watch

Out!

I hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween!

Reader Request: Where To Get An Orchard Rack

The other day someone asked me where to get an orchard rack like the one I showed in this post about storing things in my "root cellar".

Years ago, people stored "keeper" crops such as apples, winter squash, onions and potatoes on rustic wooden racks like this one. The drawers are slatted to ensure good air circulation, and they slide out for easy access. For best results, the rack should be located in a cool, dark cellar or shed.

You can get them from

Gardener's Supply Company

as a

6 Drawer Orchard Rack

or a

9 Drawer Orchard Rack

You could also use baskets like these 

from Ikea that attach underneath a shelf:

I like these especially for apples.  Apples need to be stored in shallow layers so that they don't bruise each other plus it makes it easier to check on them this way. That's why I like the above two options, but half bushel baskets and slatted crates work well too.

They like nice cold temperatures, as low as 32 degrees, but can also be kept a little warmer, they just won't last quite as long. So depending on the temperature they're kept at you could possibly have fresh apples clear til spring. Wouldn't that be lovely?

But if they become softer than you'd like for fresh eating you can always serve them as baked apples or applesauce. Mmmm!

P.S.   Don't keep your stored apples near your potatoes. They don't play well together at all!