Easy & inexpensive holiday centerpieces

I thought I would share my ideas for easy holiday centerpieces. I had the privilege of preparing a large meal for my family and friends as our contribution to the holidays. I was (and still am) on a tight budget (since I have been laid off since October). So here is what I did.

First centerpiece...4 candle centerpiece.

1. One long narrow serving dish

2. Add four votive holders votive candles
(I already had red votive holders and white votive candles but you could use clear votive holders with red, green, silver or gold or any other color of candle that works for you.

3. Add a couple of sprigs of greenery
(I walked across the yard to the neighbors tree and whacked a couple of sprigs....well it was closer than my trees and it had better sprigs!)

4. Pour a package or more of fresh cranberries around the plate.




There you have it. A beautiful - inexpensive holiday centerpiece. Mine cost me the $2.00 for a bag of cranberries.


2nd Centerpiece - Taper Centerpiece

1. 1 large wide mouth glass vase

2. Add fresh cranberries about 1/3 - 1/2 way up vase

3. Place a couple of sprigs of greenery inside with berries
(Again from the neighbors tree :)

4. 1 votive holder
(Mine was clear but you can use any you have)

5. Fill votive holder about 3/4 full of salt.
(I used Sea salt)

6. Place taper candle into the votive holder
(The salt will hold it in place)

7. Place votive holder & taper inside your vase nested in the berries.



Again, another beautiful, easy and inexpensive centerpiece.

Holiday stress? What holiday stress?

If you are anything like me the holidays tend to be really stressful. Starts with the gift buying. You go and get all of the gift buying done and then you realize you forgot someone or you have been invited somewhere and need to take a hostess gift or exchange gift. Your child comes home and wants to get a gift for a couple of friends. You feel guilty because the gift you bought for Sally was more expensive then the one you bought for Mikey so you go and get something else for Mikey....and it goes on and on and on and by the time you are finished making all of the gift purchases you have exceeded your budget by hundreds. Now to wrap them all, tag them all and distribute them all. Humphh.

Then if your family is like mine, it is big and crazy! You have your family (you, husband, child(ren)) to celebrate with, your Fathers family (your siblings & children), Mothers family, Husbands family, then with your Fathers side of the family (your Aunts, Uncles, Cousins), Mothers side of the family and so on and so on and so on. By the time you are done, you have cooked 15 different things to take to the gatherings, spent more time in your car then time with the family traveling to each of these places all to get home and be completely exhausted. And good golly if you miss one of the events because then you will be cornered and told how you spend time with one side of the family more or how you never get together with this side and you should make more of an effort. Don't even think about leaving early either. You better plan on a full day for each because to leave one event for another....I don't think so. Now mind you this traveling does not include the school functions, holiday concerts, parties and social gatherings. Those are all in addition. Ughh, really some of us have all of these things to do too. Crazy I know.

So now that you have survived but barely, you sit back sometime after the new year and reminisce on the events of the last few weeks. You look at your bank account and/or credit card bills and say "holy bat crap I spent that much?" You have exceed your budget, your bank account is looking like you may be living on Top Ramen (that you get on sale 12/$1.00) until the next pay day and just think of the interest you will pay on the charges you made to your credit card. Now that $10 ITunes card you bought for Mikey is going to cost you $50 by the time you pay it off. You still try to find the bright side and think about all the happy faces you saw opening the gifts you purchased. Well, they were really happy faces while ripping the wrapping off, then those gifts you put a lot of thought into are now thrown under the tree only to be looked at when they have to be packed up to take home and probably not used, played with or appreciated in the future. Money well spent, again.

But hey it was all worth it. You got to spend more than you had, spent so much time in your car traveling that you now need another oil change and you just had that done before the holidays hit and try to appease everyone for everything. No stress in any of that.
So........after the last 15 years of this same "tradition" I have decided to try something new this year. No holiday stress! None! Nope, not gonna do it! I said NO! Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more!

How am I doing this? I thought you would never ask! Well easy. The only gift we are buying is for our son. I have allotted $25 for my husband and $25 for myself to buy each other stocking stuffers. $25 is not much when our stockings usually cost around $100 each (ridiculous I know). Now we have to be creative. We have told our families that we will not be traveling all over and making all gatherings this year and that we will not be giving gifts. We explained that we would really love to take the commercialism out of the holidays and just enjoy each others company, talking, laughing, playing games, eating snacks and watching football (for the guys). I'm taking the "no worries, it's all good" attitude.

What I decided to do was have a nice dinner for our family (those that were close enough to drive and not everyone decided to attend) and a few of our closest friends. There ended up being 12 of us total (14 if you count the two that showed up after dinner). I prepared a big meal, naturally. Do I ever really do anything small? Uhhh, no, seriously? I will tell you all about the meal in another post. We had a wonderful time, enjoyed a great meal and I even did it with a limited budget. We got to spend time with most of the "most important" people to us and created another wonderful memory without any stress (well except for my husbands 5 minute freak out - but he got over it and we moved on).
"Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays" I say. I love my family & friends and could not have been happier nor could I think of a better way to spend the evening (well except in Tahiti maybe).

Job? Who has time for a job?

For the first time, really in my life, I find myself feeling like I am living in "The Land of the Lost". I was laid off from work on October 14th after having hours reduced from 32/week to 10/week back in May. Since then I have been religiously looking for a job. As anyone will tell you, it is like finding a needle in the haystack to actually get a job right now. So you may ask where "land of the lost" comes from....Well, you see there has always been a reason I have had a job. Bottom line is....I'm a better Mom, wife and person when I am working. I am more productive and I am just happier. Since I have been at home I have had to come up with ways to kill the urge flee for some retail therapy or worse HSN/QVC therapy (yes you can get food from them too). I've been feeling quite lost with this change that I am forced to face, it is really unfamiliar territory. Who knew it would be so difficult? It never was before. As the saying goes, drastic change calls for drastic measures. So it goes.......

I have always loved to bake & cook, but have only done basics. You know what I am talking about - soup out of a can, grilled cheese, tater-tot casserole, tacos, pork roast, chicken with rice..you get the idea. It has only been in the last couple of years that I have really started to experiment with food and baking (yup, some gets thrown away because even the dogs won't eat it...but not much).

I started to make homemade bread when I figured out it would save us between $40-$50 a month....just on bread (this includes loaves, rolls, bagels, etc.) Wow...that is a great savings and I will know what actually goes into the bread I make (kinda makes you think eww doesn't it?). Well as luck would have it, I actually like making bread. I've made white, wheat, honey-wheat, oatmeal, dinner rolls, sandwich rolls, slider rolls, cinnamon rolls, bagels, baguettes & french. I started out by using my bread machine to make the whole thing (yes a faux pas to those who spend hours and muscles kneading by hand - craziness I say), moved onto just using it for dough and now everything is made in the kitchenaid (unless I am crunched on time) and baked in the oven. Kitchenaid = the best invention since sliced bread! I have a couple new recipes bookmarked to try: English muffins & brioche. Maybe this week.

I can't forget autumn/winter transition. 'Tis the season for pumpkin. Oh, how I love anything pumpkin. I have an incredible recipe for pumpkin cookies (that seem to disappear faster than I can get them finished) and just found a great pumpkin muffin recipe. Yah, they don't last long either. Boys eat a lot when they are teenagers. Speaking of pumpkin, I made a fabulous pumpkin soup with bacon, toasted pecans & blue cheese....I know sounds kind of yucky, but it was really tasty. Two teenage boys and one happy husband gave the green light to make it again. Trust me I am just as surprised as you are.

So, I got really lucky in my life. I have one fabulous boy who pretty much eats everything, literally. When I say everything, if you looked in my fridge and cupboards, you would understand. Why didn't anyone ever tell me that teenage boys have two hollow legs? Seriously? The best part is it makes it easy to try new things. The only things I have found that he didn't like were the butternut squash ravioli and butternut squash soup....I think it might be the butternut squash, huh. Oh and the crazy thing he won't eat...tacos. I'm not sure if he really is my child because that just happens to be my very favorite dinner ever. Was he switched at birth? Not likely since he looks just like his Dad. Call me crazy, but who doesn't like tacos? That is just plain wrong. Whatever, he is missing out. I guess to his defense he really eats everything else, even stuff I would not dare try...I'm kind of a sissy with some things. Yes, it is true, I admit I am a complete wimp when it comes to some food items, think slimy or wild.

Anyways, as I said I have been experimenting a lot lately. Tonight is was the pumpkin soup, two nights ago it was homemade Cinnamon-Pancetta Carbonara. Now when I say "homemade" I really mean it. The only store bought pasta you will find in my house is orzo or fusilli (you know the cork screw kind for salad) or maybe once in awhile penne. I have been making my own pasta for a couple of years now and once you make your own, the store bought stuff just doesn't do. I do have to admit I use the kitchenaid with the pasta attachments, much to the dismay of a very dear friend who's Italian heritage finds that to be just shameful. But alas, it is the way I make it and I have not had any complaints, just ask the teenage boy who ate four helpings, a stuffed husband, sister and father. I am really expanding my food repertoire.

All of this just to say that I have enjoyed being in the kitchen preparing savory meals, sweet concoctions and breads, lots of breads. Really it all just started because I'm a terrible stay at home person and needed to find an outlet without breaking the bank. So now I ask, do I really have time for a job?

Excuse for a day of rest.

Sometimes the best plans don't come to fruition. Like today for example. My big plan? Well, to help stack firewood on the deck, clean up outside for the winter (that is supposed to show itself tomorrow), start the Halloween decorating and of course cook an amazing dinner. My, my how life tends to take you in a different direction then you desire. So my fabulous plan for the day ended up laying with me on the recliner. Instead of productivity, I stayed in my pj's, drank Gatorade, blew my nose and reclined all day. Yup, you guessed it, I received a gift courtesy of some unknown individual with bad, bad germs. And like a good girl, I gladly accepted, unbeknownst to my conscience self. Seriously, who has time for this kind of junk? Apparently I do and I am using it for my excuse for a day of rest.

Where is the manual?

As a Mom of one 13 year old boy we have had many times in his short life that have tested everything I have and everything I am to "keep it together, be rational and remember he is just a kid". Sometimes I wonder how many times I have to repeat the same thing. Well, I am finding out that there are some things that you can not repeat enough....like "brush your teeth and wash your face". Questions like "did you feed and water the dogs?, are your chores done - the way they are supposed to be?" Ugggh. That leads me to the "remember he is just a kid" part. As I (we) try to teach basic, but utterly important life responsibilities, there are many times that I have treated him like an adult and have forgotten, he really is just a kid. I know it is not an epiphany, but a gentle nudge to myself to remember he is just a kid and only has a brief amount of time left to be just that. My wish for him is to grow up, be a loving, caring and responsible member of society. I guess if I remember the "big picture" those little reminders really are no big deal.

I am one of the lucky Moms. I have a kind and respectable son. He is loving and he still kisses me and tells me he loves me - everyday! (Don't tell anyone I said so, he is 13 after all and that is totally uncool.) He has great manners and really is learning about the responsibilities of life, even if I sometimes wonder.

Tonight's question. Where is the manual? I think that darn nurse forgot to leave it with me when I was wheeled out of the hospital that day in 1996.

So for all of the Moms (and Dads) that are on the same journey, finding their way along with their kid(s), here is to hoping we don't screw them up too bad as we write our own manual!

Is there ever enough fresh bread?

So lately I have been on a HUGE cooking/baking streak. (I really don't see any weight loss in my near future.) On Saturday morning alone I baked the best sticky buns I think I have ever had. My Dad, son and husband will happily agree, since they ate most of them. Not only did I bake those, I also ventured into the world of baguettes. Not as hard as I had thought, but still very time consuming since they do raise three different times. Turned out pretty darn good for my first try. After that was the homemade jalapeno dip to go with the fresh baguette. Seriously, the bread lasted a whole hour till it was gone! Nobody waited for the dip to be done.....hummmm. Remember that was just Saturday morning.

For the past two weeks I have been baking a ton of different breads. White, wheat, bagels, french bread, more wheat, sticky buns, cinnamon rolls, more white and baguettes. None has gone to waste and I am having a blast and really saving money too! Now just to clarify, I have not eaten all of it, nor has my husband or son. We shared the baguettes and one sticky bun, oh and a slice of french. Ok, so we are complete bread people. What is wrong with that? Really!?

Cool part is I get to trade homemade wheat bread for fresh garden vegetables! Yahoo! What a great deal. Yup, I do eat vegetables too. Lots of them actually. You have to have an accompaniment to go with the bread - right? I am so very excited to see where all this baking will take me, other than the gym.

So my question...Is there ever really enough fresh bread?

If you have the baking bug or any thoughts....please let me know. Send your favorite recipe or post your best advice.