Neighbor Christmas Gift

I really liked the gifts I gave out to our neighbors this year. They turned out so cute!! It was very inexpensive and so easy to throw together. I bought a bunch of hot chocolate mixes at the store. Taped a tag on the front that said, "Wishing you a 'warm' and wonderful Christmas!" Tied on some hot chocolate stirrers and then delivered. I hope they enjoyed them. 

For the stirrers I just bought a bag of the big marshmallows, some milk chocolate chips, candy canes and christmas sprinkles. 

In a microwave safe bowl melt your chocolate chips in 30 minute increments, stirring after each one.  While chocolate is melting stick your straws into each marshmallow.  Throw some candy canes in a bag and take out your frustrations on them with a rolling pin, crushing them until they are pretty small.  After the chocolate is melted roll your marshmallow in the chocolate and then the coating of your choice.  Then set on a piece of parchment paper to harden.

Don't these look YUM!?

After the chocolate has hardened and they aren't ooey gooey anymore, bag them up in a cute bag and tie them up with cute ribbon.  Give them away with your favorite hot chocolate.

Here's mine all done.  I put my Christmas cards on the front of a couple of them.  How cute is that?!  My great friend, Candis, at C &C Paperie made them for me.  She is so talented!  If you want to check out her work, go HERE.  :o)

So glad I got them done quickly.  Thanks to my sweet boys.  Check out this face!!!  I could just kiss it right off!!

Here's wishing you a Merry MERRY Christmas!  We love and appreciate all of you!!  Have a fun and safe Holiday! 



Digi Day

Ack! Christmas is only 3 days away! Are you ready? I am getting close but still have a few things I need to cross off my list. We have really enjoyed being home and being with family.

I wanted to remind you of the Holiday Sale over at JessicaSprague.com. If you are looking for a last minute gift then check this out. The classes are fun and educational. I love having computer skills. :) Get more info. Here!

This week I did a layout using Pink Paislee's Snow Day Paper Pack and Element Pack. I used a template by Antonia Krajicek in the Template Tuesday Series. You can find it HERE. It's Free and it's super cute!

I love how this turned out. Full Credits Here!

That's it this week. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas! 

Peanut Brittle-Repost

This is a repost of my famous Peanut Brittle.  I love this stuff!  I haven't had the time to make any this year, but i'm hoping I can atleast get one batch done before the season is over.  Either that or i'll whip up a batch in the spring time.  How random would that be?!  Have a great Tuesday!!

Yes...it's just me, Erica, today.  Let's just say Moni had a little mis-hap with hers with smoke and sparks involved...lol...and she will be posting tomorrow. 

We are doing these a little early in the Christmas season, because my sweet sister will be home this weekend and she wanted to get her neighbor gifts out before she came.  I can't wait to see her!!!  I think it's great to give them out early though, because it seems like I get a lot of sweets the week of Christmas and throw quite a bit of it out...Sorry, but it's true.  If I got a plate full of goodies today, they'd be gone by now.  :o)

I decided to make my Peanut Brittle.  I've been making this for a few years now.  It's so deliciously yummy and it seriously melts in your mouth.  It's just a few simple ingredients, but you need to have patience in making it.  The results, I promise, are worth it!  I hope my neighbors were happy with my treat this year.  I will be making more for my family, cause it's so good, it needs to be shared.

Here's the recipe~
2 c. sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. water
1 c. butter, cut into pieces
2 c. raw spanish peanuts
1 tsp. baking soda

In a big saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup, and water.  Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and mixture comes to a full boil.  Add butter; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until candy thermometer reaches 280 degrees or small amount of mix dropped into ice water forms a pliable strand, 80-90 minutes.  Stir in peanuts; continue cooking, stirring constantly, until candy thermometer reaches 305 degrees or small amount dropped in ice water forms a brittle strand.  Remove from heat and sitr in baking soda.  Pour mixture onto a big buttered cookie sheet or two small cookie sheets.  Spread and let cool.  Break it up by hitting it with a knife or something hard.

This stuff is so hot, so keep your kids away.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!  Stay tuned for Moni's part tomorrow...I hope!

Menu Monday

Is it really Christmas week?  I can't believe how fast it came.  I can't wait for it!  It is so much more fun with little ones.  I'm sure this week will fly by like the rest of the month.  Hopefully my family gets over this nasty sickness we've been fighting for too long.  I am so tired of it!  Here's my menu for the week.

Monday
Taco Soup

Tuesday
Hotdog Boats

Wednesday
Sloppy Joes

Thursday
Biscuits and Gravy

Friday
Homemade Pizza

Saturday
Breakfast for dinner

Sunday
Christmas dinner at the in laws!  Can't wait!

Have a fun filled week.  Hope it's full of treats, love, and family!  The best part of the Holiday season!

Brown Sugar Cookies

I haven't made cookies for a loooooong time.  I was getting sick of the same old, and wanted something different.  I was browsing Tasty Kitchen one day and came across these. I had to try them!  They only made about a dozen cookies, but I think maybe that's a good thing, so I don't eat them all week.  They are awesome!  I thought I would healthy them up a little bit, and put in half wheat flour.  My son gobbled them up.  Try them...TODAY!  :o)

Brown Sugar Cookies
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. white sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 c. flour or you can use 1/2 wheat and 1/2 white like me
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 c. sugar, to roll your doughball in

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add your egg, and vanilla and mix well.  Add dry ingredients.  Mix until well combined.  Scoop out dough with cookie dough scoop to form a nice ball and roll in the 1/4 c. of sugar.  Place on cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes.  Let cool 2 minutes and then let them cool on cooling rack.  Scrumdiddly!  Enjoy!!!

Digi Day

Last week I told you about the big Holiday Sale over at JessicaSprague.com. Well, it continues! Digital, Hybrid, and Photo Editing Classes make great Christmas presents. Check out these two new bundles. I know a lot of people who would love the photo editing bundle.





These are on sale right now!!! More info. HERE!

I also told you I'm working with Pink Paislee this month. Next Monday they are releasing a super cute, versatile kit called Circa 2012. I love the color palette on this one.







Stinkin' cute. Here is my layout using this kit.

This girl has a smile I could die for. She is such a happy baby. We love her to pieces.

Have a happy Tuesday!

Digi Day-Quick

I wanted to make sure you knew about the Holiday Sale over at JessicaSprague.com. Stock up on digital scrapbooking kits from your favorite JessicaSprague.com designers during the Holiday Sale. Save 35% off of the regular price. Complete your kits, fulfill those wishlist orders, or indulge in some new kits from our designers while the prices are hot.

Also, ALL online classes are 35% off! Woot! Woot! There are some really interesting and fun classes coming up. Plus, lots of hyrid and digi scrapping classes.


Find out more info. HERE.

This month I get to work with Pink Paislee. They are a big company in the scrapping world. First traditional and then now in the digi world. I'm excited to play with their product and will have a layout or two to show you next week. I have to leave you with a little eye candy though. Here are some previews for your viewing pleasure.








I love the colors in this kit. :)

You can find their full digi store HERE and their website HERE.


Hope you are enjoying your Holiday Season. I know I am. I love this time year. Have a great weekend!

Chubby Hubby Bars

There's this thing called Pinterest.  It is the place to go when you want to dream about delicious foods, fill your brain with crafts to create, dream of what you want your home to look like, and laugh at some interesting things.  I found these bars on there and they have been in my brain ever since.  Monica was here visiting, and I thought this would be the best time to whip them up, since she was wanting to try them too.  Plus, we needed to take a thank you plate of goodies to a friend of ours. 

We whipped these up pretty easily.  I was a little worried when I pulled them out of the fridge.  The caramel hardened up and made them very hard to cut.  So, Monica suggested I leave them out to get to room temp.  I did, and they were 100 times better and easier to cut through.  I think next time we want to try to use the caramel you put on top of your icecream.  Much more of the good and melty texture that I was hoping
for.  :o)

Chubby Hubby Bars
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup softened butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp coarse salt
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pretzels
1 (8oz) bag of Reese’s Mini cups, or 2 cups of coarsely chopped regular size Reeses.  (It took 1 bag)
1 (14 oz) bag of caramels, unwrapped
1 Tbsp water
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips, melted

Preheat oven 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 13x9 dish.

Chop up your pretzels and Reeses. 
In your mixing bowl beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add your eggs, and vanilla and mix until just incorporated.  On low speed add your flour, baking soda, and salt. Mixing until just combined.  Pour in the pretzels and Reeses and stir until evenly combined.  Spoon into your pan and spread out evenly.  Baked for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let them cool completely.

When cooled, melt your caramels in the microwave with the 1 Tbsp of water, stirring in 1 minute increments until completely melted.  Pour over cooled bars.  Refridgerate until caramel is set up a bit.

Melt chocolate chips in a double broiler or in the microwave and pour over caramel.  Refridgerate until set up or eat them now!  ;o)  Cut them into squares before serving and enjoy!

Source-Cookies and Cups

18 days left until Christmas!!  Are you ready?! 

Blogging will probably continue to be slow until this Holiday season is over.  We will post some of our favorite yummy Christmas treats and i'm working on a couple crockpot recipes for those busy nights.  Have a great day!

Menu Monday

Miss us yet?  This past week was a whirlwind with my sister being here, finishing up my Christmas shopping, potty training, and dealing with 2 sick boys.  I promise I will try to make it up to you this week. 

Monica's visit was short, but so much fun.  We didn't do much, but we did visit and we did get to eat dinner together every night for almost a week.  Can't wait for her next visit.  :o)

Hope you all had a great and safe weekend.  Here is my menu for the week. 

Erica's Menu

Monday
Chicken BBQ Ranch Wraps

Tuesday
Tacos

Wednesday
Ham and Potato Soup

Thursday
Homemade Mac and Cheese and Hotdogs

Friday
Beef Gravy over toast

Saturday
Ham and Cheese Bagels

Sunday
Simply Done Chicken Legs

Have an awesome Monday! Stay warm!