I {Heart} Monday

Things I am loving on this wonderful Monday morning are:

{Christmas Speciman Art from Gretchen at The Pike Family}

 

Remember that bat specimen art craze back in October.  Well, genius Gretchen has created some wonderfully adorable Christmas specimen art!  I just love the noses on the reindeer, such a cute touch!

 

{Twitter}

I told my husband I would never join Twitter, but on Friday I did.  Something another blogger said, convinced me, for the life of me now I can’t remember who or what.  It’s been a fun new adventure.  It’s kind of like a Google Reader, but smaller and more condensed.  Find me {HERE}

 

{This AMAZING frosting}

It is amazing in two ways.  One, it tastes good, light, fluffy, creamy, like heaven on a cupcake.  Second, it is so crazy the way you make it, and it all just comes together.  I don’t think I have ever made frosting without powdered sugar, but this recipe calls for regular granulated sugar.  Thank you Best Bites for changing my life.  More on this life changing experience to come!

Ruffled Purse

You’ve had a birthday shout “Horray!”,

We’re going to sing to you today. . .

My friend Mindy recently had a birthday.  I wanted to get her something special, because she is super special.  Mindy loves purses, so I thought that would probably be the road to go.  For some reason I thought it would be a terrific idea to make the purse myself . . . Things went well, for the most part.  I found this great tutorial by Tam from Sew Dang Cute, who was guest posting on Ucreate. 

So I trucked my tush to Hancock Fabrics, where everyone was so nice and helpful.  We recently moved here and I’d been going to JoAnn’s because that was were I went where we lived before.  But honestly some of the people there where sort of cranky, not to me directly but to other costumers, which made me very scared to ask them questions.  And now they are going out of buisness, (interesting correlation, huh?) so I decided to try Hancock. 

I wasn’t sure what colors I wanted until I saw this wonderfully lovely yellow, white, and grey flower print. 

It was way outside my comfort zone of colors, but I decided to go for it.  Sadly this was the only picture that I took, and it wasn’t even finished, or that great cause I took it with my phone.  But this was the best and cutest part:

To find the tutorial click {HERE}

Some things of my own that I would add if you try to make your own. 

• Buy a leather or some type of heavy duty sewing machine needle.  I asked the ladies at the fabric store if the thought I would need one.  They highly recommended it, so I went for it.  I’m glad I did.  I broke TWO leather needles.  I can’t imagine how many I would have broken if I’d used a regular needle. 
• I had a TON of vinyl leftover.  I could make a whole other purse . . . not sure how this happened . .
• I almost ran out of fusible interfacing. 
• The darn pocket was a pain in the neck!  I sewed it on a million times and it kept going crooked and bunching the lining . . . I think it would have been much easier if I would have just used two pieces of cotton rather than a piece of vinyl and a piece of cotton. 
• I also had a hard time sewing the two pieces of vinyl together for the strap.  I don’t know how this could have been easier . . .

I’m So Excited, I Just Can’t Hide It!

Our 50 free cards from Shutterfly, came today!  I have been anxiously waiting all day!  I love them!  They turned out just how I wanted.  It was worth the eight-ish dollars I had to pay for shipping. 

Shutterfly was great to work with.  See, I made a dumb mistake and didn’t check the shipping address.  I was having them shipped to our old place!  BIG WHOOPS!  But I contacted them, they promptly responded and kindly fixed the address with no extra charge. 

I know I choose a totally different card than the options I originally had proposed.  But they had this fun layout inside that I really liked. 

And the front:

Do you love the picture on the front.  My great friend Heather took it.  If you are looking for a great inexpensive talented photographer, and you live in Utah County.  Choose her.  She is awesome.  Check her out {HERE} and {HERE}.  She also does graphic design if you are looking for someone to help you out in that area. 

Now the hard part begins . . . gathering addresses, addressing and licking envelopes, and sending them out before Christmas!  (Did you know that Shutterfly will send them out for you, for a small extra charge.  Now that is awesome!)

Read With Me Wednesday: Two More Favorite Christmas Books

Again today I am sharing with you two of my favorite Christmas books, there just aren’t enough Wednesdays before Christmas to squeeze them all in!

 

A Christmas Dress for Ellen
Written by Thomas S. Monson
Illustrated by Ben Sowards

On Christmas Eve, 1927, in the prairie town of Hillsspring, Alberta, Canada, a young mother, Mary Jeppson, was getting her five small children ready for bed. Her heart was full of sorrow, for there was nothing to fill the stockings, and there would be only a little much for breakfast. Mary had written to her sisters in Idaho, asking for help with such necessities as wheat, yeast, flour, and cornmeal. She had also asked for clothing and some old, used quilts, for all of hers were thin and full of holes.

At the close of the letter, she had written, "If you could just find a dress that someone has outgrown, I could make it over to fit Ellen. She is far too somber for such a young girl. She worries so about the family and about our needs. She has only one dress that she wears all the time, and it is patched and faded."

Her letter had gone unanswered, it seemed, and their Christmas would be far from merry. But George Schow, their mailman, had a surprise in store. Could he brave the coming storm and bitter cold to deliver a Christmas miracle? And would there be a special present for Ellen? Find out in this classic tale of Christmas sacrifice and service.

About this book: President Thomas S. Monson told the story "A Christmas Dress for Ellen" at the First Presidency Christmas Devotional in 1997, and an adaption of his address was published as a Christmas booklet in 1998. The story was related to President Monson by Marian Jeppson Walker (now deceased), a daughter of Mary Jeppson, the mother in the story. Sister Walker and her husband, William, also exchanged correspondence about the story with President Monson over the years. Additional details were obtained through correspondence with descendants of George Schow, the mailman who delivered the long-looked-for packages to the Jeppson family on Christmas Eve. In addition to other family members, those descendants include Mark Schow (now deceased) and Gayla Woolf Holt. The help and information from all these family members is acknowledged and appreciated.  (Amazon.com)

 

 

The Forgotten Carols
Written by Michael McLean

Michael McLean's touching Christmas tale has become a timeless classic. It tells the story of a nurse whose empty life is changed by her patient, John, who expands her understanding of Christmas. The Forgotten Carols are original songs from the perspective of characters such as the innkeeper who turned the young couple away or the shepherd who slept through the angel's announcement. Their personal accounts, until now, have been overlooked or ignored. Together, John and Constance discover what the world has forgotten about Christmas. (Deseret Book)

If you read the book, you also have to listen to the music, it is beautiful.  If you ever have a chance I would highly recommend attending a performance, my husband surprised me with tickets one year and it was one of the best presents ever!

 

One of my favorite songs from The Forgotten Carols.

 

Thanks for your suggestions last week, I’m reading and loving a few of them right now.  Any other “must reads” at Christmas time?

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

These Enchiladas are oh so good and easy to whip up.  They are my favorite dinner to make and we eat them like every-other week. 

I first had them at my good friend, Angela’s house.  We used to have Sunday Dinner every Sunday and would rotate between us three friends.  It was awesome A) because I only had to cook dinner every three Sundays.  And B) because my two friends are fabulous cooks and would always cook something tasty, so I got lots of new recipes.  Sadly we no longer live close to each other, rather I moved away from them, tear . . . So one Sunday Angela made these enchiladas and I told her she had to send me the recipe.  I waited until Monday night to send her a kind Facebook message reminding her I really wanted the recipe!

The message might have sounded something like this:

Not to sound naggy or impatient, really I know you're busy, but I REEEAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYY want that recipe! I can still taste the goodness! Oh so good! In case you need it my email is: ashlie.fackrell@gmail.com, that's ashlie {dot} fackrell (as in my name with a period in the middle {at} (as in I had this delish chicken enchilladas at your house and I must have the recipe) gmail {dot} com. Ok that's all. See you soon.
Love ya,
Ash

To which she replied:

Um wowzers calm down chicka! ha ha I 'm glad you liked them.

Which might be code for “I think you are crazy and might casually avoid you from now on.”  But I didn’t care, I HAD TO HAVE THAT RECIPE!!  And she gave it to me, so that was all that mattered. 

I tell you this quaint story so you’ll know how good they really are!!

 

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

{Ingredients}

6 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons lime juice (3 small limes)
1 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I use 2-3 chicken breasts)
8-10 flour tortillas
1 pound monterey jack and Colby Jack cheese, mixed and shredded

1 1/2 - 16 ounces cans green enchilada sauce
1 1/4 cup heavy cream

{To Make}
Mix the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour.

Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce with 1/4 cup heavy cream on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan.

Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese and drip about 2-3 tablespoon of the mixed sauce (green enchilada sauce and heavy cream) and roll. Fill pan with rolled enchiladas.

Save about 1-2 cups of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the remaining cream. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with leftover cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes and then broil for 2 min to brown the cheese.

 

Now enjoy life as you know it before you make and eat these, because after that life will NEVER be the same!

 

Photo Courtesy: Whipped Cream On Top

Mini Santa Hats

Some people are so so creative!  Do you see those miniature edible Santa hats?!  Can you guess what they are?  Think about it, I’ll give you a sec. . . . . . Bugles, mini marshamllows, white nonpareils, and red chocolate melts. 

Hello, genius!

Find the complete recipe and how-to’s {HERE} at Cookies and Cups.  She has a wonderful easy to follow tutorial, complete with lots of pics.

While you’re there you should probably look around, she has lots of great ideas Christmas-y and not. 

Read With Me Wednesday: Two For One Special

Since I am a day late posting this, I am having a “Two For One Special”!  Two of my favorite favorite Christmas books, Snowmen at Night and Snowman at Christmas.  Both are fun magical stories snowmen and women coming to life.  One of my favorite things about these books are the illustrations and the hidden pictures in them. 

Snowmen at Night

Written by Caralyn Buehner

Illustrated by Mark Buehner

Not since Frosty paraded through the village square have snowmen enjoyed such a slip-sliding good time as they do in the Buehners' (Fanny's Dream) latest flight of fancy. When a boy observes that the snowman he built the day before now looks droopy and disheveled, he imagines what happened to his snow creation during the night. Soon the boy pictures all the neighborhood snowmen gathered in the park for "ice-cold cocoa," a snowball fight, a round of making snow angels and more. Surely a full night of play and a long glide back to their homes must be the explanation. The rhythm of the rhyming text sometimes matches the rollicking spirit of the snowmen's wintry pursuits, but occasionally stumbles: "Then the snowman games begin: They line up in their places,/ each one anxious for his turn in the snowman races." The glee comes through at its most infectious in Mark Buehner's oil-and-acrylic paintings of the merrymakers, who look so delighted in their revelry that readers won't be able to help smiling in response. Bringing the brisk snap of the season to the fore, his scenes feature a natural light show, depicting an inky night sky and fluffy snow that glistens beneath moonlight and (street) lamplight, and eventually, the gradual brightening of dawn. Children will like being in on the secret here and eagle-eye readers will relish finding hidden figures in the shadows, clouds and snowdrifts.  (Publishers Weekly)

 

Snowmen at Christmas

Written by Caralyn Buehner

Illustrated by Mark Buehner

One of the more charming new books of the holiday season, this reintroduces the jolly snowmen (and women) from Snowmen at Night (2002). This time they are enjoying the Christmas season, venturing out during the moonlit night (while children sleep) to gather in the town square. It's not what happens here (primarily a visit from a snow Santa and some carols 'round a tree) but the rich art that makes this special. As in the previous book, Buehner does magical things with light in his paintings. From the cover, where snow people frolic in the moody blues of evening to the scene of a city street where holiday lights cast a mellow glow to the quiet picture of a lightening morning sky, children will be enchanted by the hues of the acrylic artwork. The text is sprightly with a to-the-point rhyme scheme that only occasionally verges on singsong. Little ones, especially, will enjoy the celebration as the snow people relish their special night. (Ilene Cooper, American Library Association)

What are YOUR favorite Christmas books?  I’m looking for a few more to wrap up and add to our countdown to Christmas/open a Christmas book and read it each night basket, and would love to hear your favorites!