After Parade Hot Chocolate and Cookie Buffet!

     In my little hometown, where we just moved back to this past August, they hold an annual Christmas parade on the 1st Saturday of December. There are craft fairs, and carolers, and often raffles. It is a fun day, so I wanted to share it with family and friends! I spent most of last week baking and decorating, all the while watching the 6 month old Nugget! I was tired by the end of the week, but everything was ready!

    I rearranged our sitting room to accommodate as many people as possible! I decorated our artificial tree, as it was a little too early to get a real one, then set up the hot chocolate buffet!

     I made hot chocolate from scratch using chocolate chips, cream, milk and sweetened condensed milk. (sooooooooo indulgent!) I set out little dishes with cocoa powder, crushed candy cane and cinnamon. There were also marshmallows that I'd dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with candy cane, mini marshmallows, chocolate chops, candy canes and whipped cream!

    
     The cookie table was groaning under all the goodies! I made gingerbread men and sugar cookies, our guests contributed red velvet white chocolate cookies, chocolate chip cookies, butterscotch gingerbread, double butter cookies and Oreo truffles!

Then we all donned our most festive gear and walked down to see the parade. (our apartment is right on main street!

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     It was a lovely parade, and it was snowing! You can't get better than that for the start of the holiday season! I met a few family members at the parade and invited them up to join us, everyone needed to warm up, it was VERY cold out!

We compared ugly Christmas sweaters!

 

 

The Nug got to try his first candy cane! I think he liked it,,,, hehehe!   

It was a fun day, and I hope to do it again next year! Have your Christmas festivities started up yet? I hope you are enjoying the start of the season too!

Granny Squares

     Hello! I hope you are enjoying your Saturday! It is sunny and mild here in Maine today, and Mr Evans and I are enjoying a day of relaxation. I am working on piecing the afghan squares that I have been making all year. I am hoping to give the blanket as a gift this Christmas.

     I have been bundling the squares together in groups of 20 as I have made them, aiming at getting 20 bundles, I have 13 so far, but decided to start putting them together, to see how big it is so far.

 
     I started by sewing each bundle of squares into a strip,

     Then I sew the strips together. It is looking nice and colorful so far. It's my first traditional granny square blanket, I am copying the one that my husbands great grandmother made, as seen here,

     I quite like this project, it has been a stash buster, using up all sorts of odds and ends yarn. Even the colors I do not really like are going to add to the bright and cheerful blanket. This is another project that is extra thrifty, as I am using a lot of yarn that was given to me, and end pieces from other projects, making it virtually free!
     Also, in other news, Mr Evans started his new job this week! WOOOHOOO! We are quite happy with it, as it comes with a raise, something we haven't had in years. Don't get me wrong, we have been VERY grateful that he has had a job through this awful recession, we are just happy to have been blessed with a new job that will make it less of a struggle to buy the necessities. He will be working at a small company that makes dough for pizzas, partly as a dough maker and partly as a delivery man. Coming home after his first day he brought in no less than a dozen dough balls of assorted flavors! I see a lot of pizza in our future! Oh gosh, this is going to murder my diet! But hey, we are still in a position where free food is good food, so I have been using up some of the dough in creative ways. Today, its a batch of cinnamon buns, YUM!

    
     Well, better head into the kitchen to make a pot of tea to have with the buns, I hope you enjoy your weekend! God Bless!

Christmas Crafting!

     Even though I have been very busy taking care of the little Nug, I have still been trying to slip some Christmas crafting in. I get Wednesdays off, so I spent yesterday afternoon getting stuck in to some sewing!

    
     I have been making some rice "socks", as they are lovely to take to bed during the cold Maine winters, not to mention they are a natural way to soothe aches and pains! I almost never go to bed without one, which I put down by my feet:)

 
     I am also sewing up some fabric ornaments, things I have had in my stash for a few years and have always forgotten. While I was in my stash I dug out some other, coordinating fabric, so if I have time I can try and use them up too!

     The fabric with ornament prints are from 78'!  Not sure if I am going to use them on a vintage themed tree or if I will make them into a wreath, we will see, I think I am going to have a candy cane themes Christmas this year:)

     I have managed to knit up 3 pairs of slippers so far, with the 4th almost ready to come of the needles. I am going to try and make as many pairs as I can, and they make a good all 'round gift.
     Pinterest has given me SO many ideas of things to do and make, but I am pretty sure there isn't enough time in the year let alone day, to do as much as I would like! I am excited that Thanksgiving is a little early this year, because that means I can start celebrating Christmas that much sooner! Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Christmas!!!! Are you making any gifts this year? Let me know, I am always looking for new ideas!

Christmas Preperations

   Hello my friends, I know, I know, I am a terrible blogger! I have been absent so much these last few months, but I HAVE been reading your blogs:) We are busy here, just like everyone else at this time of year. Today I have a couple of little Christmas pudding that I made in teacups, steaming away in my crock pot. I am working on a couple of gifts, knitting a pair of slippers for my younger sister, and a couple of rice "socks" for my father who has a lot of aches and pains that need soothing.

     Our kitties enjoyed helping us decorate our tree, as usual :) They are good girls as far as kitties go though, they have never broken an ornament, or tried climbing the tree. They do, however, have a taste for the tree "tea" that can be found in the tree stand, hehehe.
     This Christmas I have decided to make a gingerbread castle,,,, I have only ever made a gingerbread house once before, and it is a LOT of work, but oh so much fun. I was a little over ambitious though, and made the four sides a little large, and have nothing suitable for a base! Lucky my Poot is coming to the rescue, and bringing home some cardboard from work tonight. Hopefully construction will officially begin tomorrow! I'll try and post pictures when it is done, we plan on eating it Christmas day.
     We have managed to budget a little spending money for gifts this year, and both have gotten the other our main "want" plus a few little extra gifts. We actually ended up with a little extra money, and instead of getting more extra gifts we decided to get something we have wanted for over a year,

     a little electric woodstove. Now our fireplace is actually a fireplace, and it makes the living room so much more cozy. I absolutely LOVE it! We also got a lovely soft set of flannel sheets, which will be used for the first time on Christmas Eve,,,, ahhh, talk about pampered! 

     Well, I had better get back to work, I hope you have a lovely, relaxing Christmas!