St. Patrick's Day

We tend to be traditionalist around here when it comes to holidays. So of course our St. Paddy's meal was corned beef and cabbage. But it doesn't feel complete without Irish Soda Bread.

Problem is, it was only 15 minutes til dinner time. There was no time to bake an entire loaf. I thought , "Why not make it in muffin tins?" It worked, and it was great.

Lost Christmas pics

Christmas day, Phil and I took Max and Dante' up into the mountains a bit to play in the snow. The teenage boys didn't want to come (big surprise) in case your wondering why they rarely turn up in our pictures.

I grabbed the camera for some prime photo opportunities. Or so I thought. Every time I tried to take a pic, nothing happened. We fiddled with the camera, tried warming it up- all to no avail. Or so we thought.

We were so bummed out about not having these pics. But yesterday I went to upload some photos and there they were.

As pictures go, these are hardly incredible. But they document a really fun day.

-EJ

Pictorial Update

What better way to celebrate the holidays than by dressing up your cat? See the festive glittery accents of this stunning scarf? A 'must have accessory' for any cat. Note his look of thinly disguised glee.



















Max plays blocks with Dante'. She's taking it rather well, I think.

Eating Cookies............

........by the Christmas tree, in the warm glow of the fireplace. Max is playing, Dante' is crocheting, I am holding my husband's hand. The older boys are playing video games downstairs and the house is quiet, peaceful.

For now we are happy, healthy, well-fed and free. We are blessed by God and will not take even the small things for granted. Wishing your family the same.

gratefully,
Ellen

Coastal Christmas Tree

About a year ago I saw this amazing Christmas tree in a magazine and wanted to do it myself. Someone who lives near the beach had done their entire tree in shells. It was gorgeous!

This year our family went for the same look and had a blast.

No, it was not expensive. Shells were less than $10 at Walmart.

No, it wasn't hard. We hot glued fishing line to the shells and hung them on the tree with regular ornament hooks.

It was fast, easy and cheap. And so cute.
The big question was, "Now that we've done this to the tree, what do we use for a tree topper? Then I had an idea. The two large, blue starfish we used to decorate Paxson's birthday cake would be perfect. (See the July 11, 2008 post named 'birthday party'.) So Phil took wire and fashioned a coil for setting them atop the tree. Dante' and I dumped loads of hot glue between the two of them with the wire in between. Thus, the tree topper.

Now, I'm pondering adding to it. Should I hang pine cones? Tie plain raffia bows? Any ideas?


Happy Holiday Season,
-EJ