Snow is on the Way!

It's Saturday morning, and snow is on the way! I love snow! I don't want a blizzard as it could conflict with my husband's business, but I do love a good couple of inches and that is what the tv weatherman is predicting for us North Fork Long Islanders!

I wanted to share a few special photos from Christmas~~I got some lovely gifts and very thoughtful ones too! It's so appreciated when someone gives you a gift and you realize that they purchased it for you or made it for you because they KNOW you. One of my husband's sisters prepared a beautiful basket for me filled to the brim with craft supplies! I was stunned when I opened it for I thought it was a basket of cheese and candy when it was still wrapped! Come to think of it--chesse and candy describe me too.....To my surprise it was filled with eveything from new shears, to a new glue gun, felt, pipe cleaners, ribbons, embroidery floss, thread, fabric glue, craft glue and bag after bag of decorative buttons and appliques. She gave me decorative buttons and affixes for all the seasons--everything from gingerbread men to hearts to snowflakes and sunflowers! What an amazing gift, and she told me she had so much fun putting it together :)  What great use it will all get over this Winter. I have lots of projects planned!..but that's another post :)

Some other gifts I loved were this beautiful owl, which was one of the gifts my Mom gave me. She knows my love for owls which is actually a new collection I had started about two years ago. ...although roosters are still my favoriotes :)   I got one of those too from another sister-in-law----who also knows me VERY WELL and knows I love birds. Each year she has given me a gift with a cardinal. Last year she gave me a beautiful Yankee Candle cardinal birdhouse and this year she presented me with a beautiful wheel barrel with cardinals! I haven't found a place for it yet but for now I have it in front of my bench in the family room.  We'll see after Christmas! I got a beautiful "Welcome" planter filled with winter greens from my son. It is a planter for my porch that you can use all year 'round. He also got me a flag with another of my favorite birds on it---black capped chickadees! Yankee candles and several dvds of old tv shows I like too--he purchased it all with the money he made from working with my husband last Summer. My son loves to give gifts and make people happy. He may be only 13 years old but he knows what someone likes and does his best to find it!

 

I thought my Christmas ham looked amazing so she deserved a photo! It was delicious!

 

 

 

 Our Christmas Day menu began with a pasta dish from one of my favorite blogs, October Farm; it's a farfalle pasta with a pink tomato sauce that has with browned sausage. I have made this recipe several times now and everyone loves it! I knew my nephews would love it too so I made a batch as a starter and it was big hit. Traditionally, Italian meals begin with a a pasta! We then enjoyed ham, roasted potatoes, zucchini augratin (from the Neeleys show of Food Network) REALLY GOOD!, broccoli / cheese casserole, applesauce, corn, fried asparagus and glazed carrots!

 

The desserts were too numerous to name! I made mini cherry- topped cheesecakes, we had home made cookies, Napolean cake and  others that I must keep my distance from ;)  My sister received, at her Christmas Eve dinner, a gingerbread layer cake from the famous Magnolia Bakery in NYC. One of her guests brought it and she gave me a piece to taste. What an incredible cake. I felt as thought I needed a really BIG fork to eat it! It's so fun to have something different at the holidays. I know I would never be able to afford the Magnolia Bakery but it was a treat to taste something from it!

 

Before I go, I have to tell you about my Christmas bargains! Yesterday when I went to Walgreens, I saw that the Christmas lights were 50% off. Great! My husband had said that when we take the tree down this year to dispose of the lights because we had them several years, and we don't want to be risky and next year put our tree up and have the lights go out! So next year it would be all new lights...okay, sounds good. I don't want to live dangerously! So I got 10 boxes of multi lights for 2.14 each! YEAH! That's a good start for next year! But wait! It gets even better!

 

 As I was putting ten boxes of lights into my cart, the manager of Walgreens, who I know from my frequent visits, says to one of the employees "Mark down those pre-lit trees that are left!  $5!"   Hurray! I got a  pre- lit 4 1/2 ft tree that originally sold for $24.99 for only $5! (I'm jumping for joy here). It's going somewehere in my house...either in front of my big kitchen window OR it is going into my family room in the basement by my fireplace! Where ever she goes, she was $5!!!!!  I also picked up red and white lights to add to her (even though she's prelit, I wanted to add some red)  and a couple of packages of red bead strands as well! Too bad I have to wait till next year but it will be fun collecting and making ornaments to decorate it with over the next months!I'm thinking I may go with a food/candy/cooking theme if she goes in my kitchen. What a bargain...good thing I'm a good eavesdropper!

 

Well, time for me to get started with my day and wait for the snow! Have a great one!