Some of my favorite Christmas Ornaments

Thought I'd share just a few of my favorite ornaments. (There's not enough room to share them all!) I have a lot from different artists--from swaps, some I bought and some were gifts. I love them all--each one is unique!

This is just one of many ornaments I have from Helena at Snowpond Primitives

I bought this one from Penny McAllister at Christmas Village last year

This is a glass bead garland I bought at Big Lots one year...I only bought 2 short strands and now I wish I had gotten them all! I've looked for some more for the past few years with no luck!

  
This one is from Annette at Huckleberry Arts -- a little painted gourd!

Got this one at a neat place called Eddie's in Henagar, AL. He decorates his shop for Christmas every year. I missed going last year--need to go this year! Well....I could do this all day. These are just a VERY FEW of my favorites!

 

 
 

The Tempting Christmas Tree

Strawberry has been so good about leaving the tree alone....until the past few days! You can see here he just sits there with the ornaments touching his head until he can't take it anymore. ha! I'm not sure, but I think he tries to use the needles of the tree as dental floss. Hopefully my tree will make it until Christmas. I stopped using tinsel of any kind after I got my kitties. I don't use tinsel garland or those little icicle things. I think my tree looks just as good and I don't have to worry about the kitties eating it. (Just in case you don't know....it can be very bad if your pet eats one. Just ask Pumpkin, who ate a string once. It wasn't good...it can make them sick just like a string or other foreign object....dogggies too!)

Magnolia in Create & Decorate!

Check out my new project in Create & Decorate magazine...this is Magnolia. She's in the February 2010 issue. If you can't get a copy, you can click here to buy it. Also have some snowman noses here .... hoping to have even more Snowman making supplies soon!

I put up my Christmas trees and decorated for Christmas before Thanksgiving got here. That's the first time I've ever done that! I didn't mean to wait so long to share pictures of it! I put up two trees--one in my living room and one in my bathroom. If the cats weren't so curious about them, I'd have one in every room! They can't be in the rooms with the trees unless I'm in there--they climb the tree, knock off ornaments and chew on the limbs. Sookie has even tried to carry off a few of my ornaments! Jackson enjoys the trees too-- as soon as he gets to my house he points at one tree and says "lights on". When I get that one lit, he runs to the one in the bathroom and says, "lights on!" Then any other Christmas decorations that light up have to be turned on too!

  Also wanted to share a yummy new recipe for brussels sprouts!

Creamy Brussels Sprouts

Nonstick Cooking Spray

1 medium onion, quartered & thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 T. butter

2 lbs Brussels sprouts, trimmed & halved (or green beans, trimmed)

1 t. snipped fresh thyme or 1/4 t. dried thyme, crushed

3/4 c. chicken broth

3/4 c. whipping cream

1/2 c.  shredded parmesan cheese

1/4 t. salt

1/8 t. ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly coat baking dish with cooking spray.

2. In a skillet, cook onion & garlic in butter over medium heat for 3 minutes, or until softened. Stir in brussels sprouts and thyme. Cook 4 minutes or until onions start to brown. Add broth & bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until broth is nearly evaporated. Add whipping cream. Cook 4 minutes, or until mixture begins to thicken. Transfer to baking dish. Stir in half the cheese, all the salt & pepper. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

3. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until brussels sprouts are tender. Makes 8-10 servings.

Elvis

I'm sad to say that Elvis died Thursday morning. I have no idea what happened to him.....but I'll miss him a lot! He was born here in the attic above my bedroom. He would have been 5 this spring and he spent his whole five years here! Its a hard thing to lose a kitty so young and so unexpectedly. I'll miss having him to greet me when I come home or go outside....or hear him running around on the roof. It will take a while to stop looking for him when I go outside......

Road Trip to Paint Rock Valley

My husband and I took a drive down to Paint Rock Valley when the leaves started to change so I could take some pics. I didn't get a lot--my batteries went dead and we ended up driving all the way to Tennessee to get more so it started to get dark on the way home. I did get a few good ones to share with you....its such a pretty place!

Notice I'm putting some Christmas music on here for you to enjoy--if you prefer not to listen to it, look for the link to my playlist at the top left side and you can turn it off there. But I hope you enjoy it!  And enjoy my pics below.

Cotton Field.....

   

Meet Owen!

This is Owen...he's been hanging around my house for a while and I've been dying to pet him. You can see why--he's so pretty! I assume he and the other tabby here (Luke) are littermates because they showed up at the same time, are about the same size, etc. Luke let me pet him a while ago, but Owen has been really scared. Lately he's been coming to eat with the other kitties every night and he  sleeps in the front yard now. He finally decided I could pet him, after he gave me a good swat to keep me in line! He's still scared, but doesn't he look like a big teddy bear? Like you could pick him up and snuggle with him? Maybe one day....maybe after visit with the vet coming up soon..... ;)

Hope y'all all had a good Thanksgiving! I ate too much. Besides that, it was a good one. We ate at Momma & Daddy's house and had way too much food. But I like to eat cold leftovers the next day (and the next, and the next....) We took a lemon pie to my husband's parents' and ate some of that with them. Of course I  wasn't hungry, but I ate a piece anyway! We stayed there late--it was fun to catch up and not be in a hurry!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you have a happy Thanksgiving....and don't eat too much!