Mr. Awesome Sauce and I are finishing up the last few preparations for our annual New Year’s Day gathering but I wanted to take a moment to wish you all a happy New Year and to say thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me throughout 2014. It was an exciting and fulfilling year, and I was honored to share it with you all, both near and far. 2015 is sure to be even better, and I can’t wait to share more of Riley and her adventures a with you :-)
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
…or at least it would if it hadn’t been in the high sixties all weekend. As much as I enjoyed the beautiful cloudless sky we had yesterday and the wonderfully balmy weather, I’ve got a hankering for some decidedly wintry weather. I’m not usually a fan of snow*, but I’ve been in the Christmas mood for almost a month now and the cheery sunshine is starting to put a serious hamper on my festive feelings. Still, the weekend was filled with lots of holiday doings – we helped my mum put up both of her Christmas trees on Saturday afternoon before coming home and getting a start on our own decorating.
Mr. Awesome Sauce was a trooper and spent most of Sunday hanging lights, making trips to the hardware store, and hanging garland. He makes a great Santa’s helper, and even the kitties got in on the festive activities, and helped us pick which ornaments to put on the tree. There are still one or two things to do around the house, but for the most part we are all set for the holiday season.
I just love how it sparkles!
I’m happy to say that I’ve also got most of my holiday shopping done, including the gift for my Secret Santa recipient at work, though I’m still faced with shopping for the most difficult person on my list – my dad. I miss the days when I could just get him a Disney tie and call it good. His gift is going to require some more thought. Hmm.
And finally, I’m working on making Christmas stockings for Mr. Awesome Sauce, our fuzzy minion kitty, Sammie, and myself. Somehow we’ve made it this far with stockings for the other kitties, but not for Sammie and ourselves. I’ll post pics once they’re done, promise.
What have you guys been doing to get into the holiday spirit?
* possibly the world’s largest understatement if Mr. Awesome Sauce is to be believed.
Thanksgiving Recap
Happy Monday boys and ghouls! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and have fully recovered from your turkey induced comas :)
Mr. Awesome Sauce and I spent the weekend with family enjoying far too much good food and better company, and I even managed to squeeze in some writing and craftiness.
I finished a cute elf couple embroidery piece I made as part of a Christmas gift. It still needs a border and some quilting, and will end up as a small table mat.
After the elves were done I got started on another embroidery project that will also be turned into a Christmas gift.
I made some fall cookies to go along with our dinner on Thursday. They’re a delicious cross between a sugar cookie and shortbread, and are even suited to baking at high altitude! If you’re interested in making them, I used this recipe. It’s super easy, and they came out perfect!
I also finally got around to baking my Christmas cakes. Rather than making one large cake I decided to make two smaller ones. I’ll decorate one the traditional way with a layer of marzipan and fondant icing, and will finish the other off with a simple lemon glaze. The best part of course, is the weekly dose of brandy they’ll get until the week of Christmas. Yum!
My fuzzy helper, Silas, wanted to get in on the baking fun too so I made a kitty loaf ;)
And finally, I got my first piece of fanmail. Can you believe it?! I almost cried.
Words From The Void 