Skip to main content

House Aglow


Our house is aglow with Christmas spirit after today.  I spent yesterday putting away the Thanksgiving decorations and spent all day today putting out the Christmas stuff.  I was able to get all the Christmas decorations done in one day because we put the tree up last week which really helps.  I put up lots of lights this year because those copper wire lights that I discovered last year are still my ultimate favorite things.  They are on the fireplace mantel




and in the dinning room table centerpiece.




These are the copper wire lights that are run by batteries but there are also ones that you can plug in.  I have that type at the entrance way,


in the kitchen,


and in the bathroom.


These lights really eliminate the need for candles which is fine by me.  Or you can use the battery operated candles which I also like using.


I have a couple in the windows in our front, main floor guest room


and we plan to put more in the three windows upstairs so all our front windows will have those flickering battery operated candles.  We also have a faux garland with built-in lights that gives the second dinning area a nice glow.  


After spending the whole day decorating the house, what better way to end than with homemade turkey soup made with leftover Thanksgiving turkey bones.


Throw in a nice loaf of crusty french bread and you have a scrumptious meal.  I used my 
turkey stock recipe and mixed in some soba noodles.


We have enough turkey soup now for a couple dinners and for some lunches, too. A full day completed.  Happy Holidays!






Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Oatmeal, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don't have very many gluten-free cookies on my blog because quite frankly, I usually don't like gluten-free.  But occasionally, I do find a good recipe and this is one that is from the back of the Trader Joe's oatmeal and it's a good one.  My friend brought some over to our house last weekend when Nick and family were here for our birthday celebrations  and we all loved them. My friend lives a few blocks away and we walk the neighborhood together on weekends.  We can easily go 5 miles in no time, talking non-stop.  She loves exploring our neighborhood as much as I do and we discover so many favorite little spots.  We even found a property with a horse (or more like a pony, I should say.)   The views are always quite lovely, too.  Bruce and I had our thirty-ninth wedding anniversary on July 18th and I made a point of walking past the house where we had our wedding reception.  I told my friend, "Thirty-nine years ago today, t...
2 comments
Read more

Meatloaf by Mark Bittman

Once again, I turned on the television yesterday and saw that Mark Bittman was on the Today show and was making his version of  meatloaf .  This must be meatloaf season.  It was surprisingly similar to the  Pioneer Woman's version  who was also recently on.   I was a little surprised of his version because Mark Bittman is into healthy eating and has lost a lot of weight and improved his health by changing his diet which he writes about in his book,  Food Matters .  His meatloaf recipe also included bacon and cheese!  I must be doing something wrong.  The thing to remember, which he writes about in his book, is that you can eat healthy without going extreme or changing your whole life.    If you don't know who Mark Bittman is, he is a food writer and a four star chef with multiple cookbooks who loves to eat but changed his food philosophy to improve his health.  He tells his story in Food Matters and provides ...
5 comments
Read more

Two-Bean Soup with Kale

This hearty vegetarian soup warms up chilly nights.  Use any type of canned beans you happen to have on hand and add chicken or Italian sausage for a heftier dish, if you prefer. Makes 4-6 servings 3 Tbsp. olive oil 1 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup chopped carrots 1/2 cup chopped celery 1/2 tsp. salt, divided 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 cups vegetable broth, divided 7 cups stemmed, chopped kale (about 1 bunch) 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed, drained and divided 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary or 1 tsp. dried rosemary 1.  Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add olive oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Add onion, carrot, and celery, and saute 6 minutes or until tender.  Stir in 1/4 tsp. salt and garlic; cook 1 minute.   2.  Stir in 3 cups vegetable broth and kale.  Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simme...
3 comments
Read more