Chunky knit sweater

Sister sent a picture of a sweater she saw online and was wondering if I could knit one for her. No yarn, no needle size, pattern. Well.....I pulled it off!!! And in 3 days! I used Lions Brand Quick Knit yarn and size 13 needles. 

 I was able to finish it in time.....I made a little tag for it and was able  to send it out with the boys when they went to see her in Vail for Presidents Day/ Valentine's Day weekend. She loved it :) She spoils me and the kiddos so much....Just a little something to make her happy too!!

The Christian Beck Band goes to Nashville!!

Well.....The Christian Beck Band made their first trip to Nashville!!! It has been Chips dream to play in a country band....And after putting this band together 2 years ago with an ad on Craigslist.... Here they are!! Thier first stop after arriving at Music City was Sirius XM  The Highway Happy Hour with Buzz Brainard. They got on the air and had a bunch of pictures taken....then we went to a few places on Broadway.....Can I just say Nashville = A Frat party for adults. Lots of music, fun and Fireball goin on down there!!

 

Then Chip took us to The Grand Ole Opry! At first when he told me ( Cuz you have to remember.....I'm not all that into country) I was like.....Yeah, all right. But after being on Broadway for a little while I was getting into it :) A highlight for me was when they played Good Ol Rocky Top....a favorite of my Dad's when I was little. I hugged the guitar player from little Big Town out on the corner after the show too. After my sister in law handed him one of Christians CD's!!

We had a great day walking around Music Row and browsing through the shops on Saturday....I got a hat....You know Thetreatgirl loves her hats!! And Chip got a gorgeous leather jacket at the Boot Barn. We had an amazing dinner with Lin and Tony at Merchant Grill......Then over to Rippys to hear a few bands play.

But the highlight of the trip was Sunday when the guys played at Tootsies on Broadway!!!!!!

Christian had the crowd rocking from the first song...

And I was just so proud to see Chip having a great time!!!

 Having Lin and Tony with us for the weekend was FAN.TAS.TIC!!!! I will remember my first trip to Nashville forever :) Thank you soooooooo much for coming along!

After the show the guys headed over to The Honky Tonk for a while to tip a few back and have a little fun!!!!!

Happy January!!

Well.....Am I the only one who is sad the holidays are over? I really am. I think I may be one of the few who plan and get ready for Christmas almost 12 months out of the year. I get a jump start on things in those days right after Christmas. Snatching up great bargains right after Christmas when things are 50-75% off and stashing them away for the following year. And then in January I start working on some crafty things, knitting and ornaments. This year I may even work on a cross stitch I found down in my craft room from back in my cross stitch days.

But at least leaving my snowman tree up and this pretty collection I put together for the middle of my kitchen table makes me feel better.

I saw something similar on Pinterest a few weeks ago...and pinned to to my Christmas decor board. But I walked around my house and pulled this together all by myself! Wintery, glittery and snowflakes. Love it! 

Elf Beers

Just in time! I had a merry little Christmas party over the weekend and these little beers were a big hit!!

A friend introduced them to me at a party a few years ago. I remembered them a few days before my party so I made a another stop at the liquor store to get a bottle of 43. I also stopped at Party City to get those little clear plastic shot glasses you use for jello shots. Well....the morning of my party it came over me that I NEEDED to go to my Goodwill.  You all know how I looooove my GW! I wasn't dropping  anything off or on the hunt for anything in particular....just wandering around when I came across the tiniest little beer mugs. PERFECT for  my elf beers!!!!!!! They make me so happy :) Just pour the 43 in and top them off with a tiny bit of heavy whipping cream.  They taste just like vanilla ice cream.  One of the things on the code of elves list is "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear".......and I am adding... Then passing around elf beers! :)

Peppermint Cream White Chocolate Cheesecake Cups

These cutie patooties were a BIG hit at the Christmas parties I went to this past weekend. They were soooooooon super easy....but look like you spent all day :)

So here we go!

Filling ingredients:
24 Athens mini Phyllo cups
3oz white chocolate- melted
8oz cream cheese- softened
1 tsp peppermint extract

Topping ingredients:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp peppermint extract
1/2 cup powered sugar
Crushed candy canes

Open up the packages of the cups and set them aside. Melt white chocolate,  then mix in softened cream cheese. Add peppermint extract.  Stir until smooth
That's the filling.....fill the cups and place them in the fridge until you're ready to top.

For the topping I used Minnie...My pink mixer.  Whip the heavy whipping cream with the vanilla,  peppermint extract and powered sugar. Spoon into a piping bag and decorate with pretty swirls. Top them off with the crushed candy canes just before serving. Keep refrigerated.

Yield 24  12 servings

Cherry Pie Moonshine

I'm makin Moonshine!!! I've been seeing it everywhere....the liquor store, Pinterest, bars, parties.....so I thought it would be fun to try. Well......It's really suuuuuuper easy. I  mean it! 10 minutes easy. 

You just need a few things....The recipe calls for Everclear....but I made the executive decision that 100 proof vodka was strong enough, 2 cans of cherries, 2 jars of cherry juice, and a half of cup of sugar.

You just bring the cherries, juice and sugar to a boil in a large pot, then add the bottle of Vodka. 

And pour it into Mason jars. One batch makes about 8 8 ounce jars. You can drink it right away....but it tastes best after a few weeks. Drink it straight.....in little sips :) Or with a mixer....Sprite or Club soda. 

I gave a few jars away to my Soul Sisters.....I'm happy to share my Moonshine! 

A Soul Sister Birthday Luncheon and Some Beeswax

How blessed I am. Really blessed. To have these wonderful girls as my Soul Sisters. Thank you, thank you for such a wonderful birthday luncheon Marzipanmom!!! A delicious greek salad with grilled chicken and warm flat bread to go with it.....and THEN CAME THIS GORGEOUS DESSERT!!!! I'm not even going to attempt to say their name :)   But I will just call them Heaven Here on EARTH....topped with whipped cream and berries. Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmm!!!

Jennifer Juniper and Marzipanmom all smiles on her gorgeous porch. It felt like a 5 star hotel. Honestly....it really did. I could move right in.

And Ms. Joy, another birthdaygirl. 

My gift to Joy was homemade Limoncello, a framed print and cute little apertif glasses from the Goodwill.

Jennifer and I love Salt Power Yoga....so I made her some yoga straps, cute bracelets...and added a little lucky bamboo.

Just when I thought the fun was going to end....Joy announced she had a quick little craft for us! Yeah....you know how we soul sisters love our crafts :)  She brought beeswax from her husbands bee boxes and we made lipbalm and cuticle cream.

Really super, duper EASY!!!!!!!!

Just warm up vitamin E oil, coconut oil and the beeswax until they are liquid and pour them into the containers.

My new FAV lipbalm!!!!!!!!!!!! Burt....watch out! Thanks again for the lovely day!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pretty Pink Peonies

Trying saying that 3x fast! Just look at these lovelies :) They make me so happy....perfectly simple in a Ball canning jar.

Gluten free chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache

This was hands down one of the easiest,  most decadent desserts I've ever made! !!!! You use ONE bowl. I didn't even have to get my mixer Minnie out :) My first ever gluten free thing too. We were invited to dinner to celebrate my nephews girlfriends graduation, and I volunteered to bring the dessert. Trust me....This one's a keeper. I found it on Pinterest.... Here's the link http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/one-bowl-gluten-free-chocolate-cake/   Hurry up and try it...I guarantee it will be a big hit!!

Happy Easter, Peeps!

I think Spring may have finally arrived around these parts. There are buds on the trees, the birds are chirping, things are starting to bloom, and I'm getting the urge to wash my windows :)

I also treated the kiddos to these sugar loaded Peep donuts!!!! Yuuuum! Happy Easter everyone :)

Make Your Own Coffee Creamer

I saw this on Pinterest and wanted to try it. I use a lot of Coffeemate French Vanilla creamer and was thinking about all of the chemicals in it. This recipe has only 3....compared to 15+ in the Coffeemate.

It's just 3 cups of whole milk, 1 can of fat free sweetened condensed milk and 1/3 cup of a flavored syrup. My family really likes it and I won't be buying Coffeemate any more. Try it and let me know what you think....

Vail!!

 

Chip's company had a meeting in Vail last month and of course I had to tag along :)  I haven't been out to visit my sister in FOR.EVER....so it was the perfect get away. My mom came up from Florida to stay with the kids. The temperatures were frigid the whole time she was here....She didn't appreciate them at all.

Sister has been living in Vail for over 20 years and I wish I could get out there more often. It is sooooo beautiful in the mountains! We took a few hikes and the skies couldn't have been bluer.

Chip got to hang out with us for a few days before his meetings started.

 

I have two cousins who live in Colorado now....and they both had babies this past year. It was great to spend a day with them and visit!!!

Here I am with Sister the day we went skiing. If I lived out here I would definitely get heated mittens and boots like hers :)  The day couldn't have been more perfect!!!

And NO. This isn't a postcard....It's a real picture I took. Gorgeous, huh?

Here is the covered bridge in the village. The snow was really coming down....They got 4 ' the day/night before we were supposed to leave. Yep....you read it right. Four feet. Of snow. For real. We got stuck for 2 extra days. But I loooooooooved it. You know the Treatgirl loves a good storm. I spent the time doing a little more knitting and organizing Sister's kitchen. May sound boring to you....but not to me. Can't wait to go back. 

One More Little Treat for Me!

In case you haven't noticed....I love Santa! I got busy on this darling little Mr. & Mrs. Claus last week at my ceramics class....and finished them just in time as a special treat to me :) I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!!!

A Peek at Some New Things I Have For the Holidays This Year.....

It seems like I've been getting ready for Christmas for months...and I guess in a way, I'm getting ready all year long!! I've really gotten into ceramics this year.....and several of the projects I've worked on have been Christmasy things just for me :) 

My favorite movie of all time is It's a Wonderful Life...This summer I won the lighted village of  Bedford Falls on Ebay.  It makes me so happy to see it glowing by my tree.

I have added some trees and people from the Dollar Tree to make it even better!

My mom had a tree like this when we were growing up....I called to ask her about it last year to see if she still had it, but she got rid of it when she moved to Florida....And this is how my ceramics passion started, I needed to make one for me. 

A few Santas....

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And a pretty candle centerpiece for my table....

Of course a couple of new ornaments too....Here is one that will always be special.

I love the original Grinch, and watch it every year.....with, or without kids. I got this Grinchy green glitter frame at Michaels and made cute little sign for myself. 

I hope you've had some crafting fun this holiday season too :)

Soul Sisters Annual Ornament Exchange.....2013 edition

Hello! Happy December!! Happy almost Christmas! Trust me....I have had the best intentions of posting some wonderful things on this blog for weeks now....but as you can see, the days have been flying by and I'm only just now showing you our annual Soul Sisters ornament exchange. I was really looking forward to spending the evening with my sisters....We met at the restaurant where we celebrate every year and got a private room!! It was soooooooo nice! We were all tucked in for the night and didn't even realize we shut the place down :) Well.....on to the the super cute ornaments we created for each other this year....I am really still amazed at our talents! They all look soooo special on my Soul Sister tree.

Marzipanmom created this little, delicate tree from wire and beads. Very lovely!

 

Jennifer Juniper got the inspiration for this melted snowman from a cookie she saw on Pinterest. You can check out her really famous blog Hopestudios for step by step instructions. Love him. I can't wait to make a bunch for my nieces and nephews next year.

I handpainted these adorable Mr. and Mrs. Claus ornaments at the ceramics class I've been going to almost weekly. And I love it that I actually painted them back in January so I wouldn't have to stress about doing them in these crazy weeks before Christmas :)

And look how I wrapped them up....In these cookie jars from Hallmark from the Goodwill that I collected randomly throughout the year. Crazy! 

Megan collected these exquisite feathers from her hens all summer and placed them in a clear ball. I didn't realize how beautiful hen feathers could be???

And Joy used real tools and lots of hot glue to make us these fantastic stars. She was inspired by a page from a design magazine. That girl is so inspirational!

We had a lot of laughs and the evening flew by waaaay to fast! I'm looking forward to January so we can get together again!