My 2013 Word

  I was talking to another blogger this morning and she asked me if I planned to post a word for 2013.
 I told her I had'nt given it any thought but that I would and I did.

 my word is :: HOPE

    Since I also plan to take the Owl as my totem animal this year, this graphic was perfect for me.

 the words and the image say it so well, there's really no need for me to say more.

 I wish HOPE for all of us~!

 thinking of you and wishing you Hope and Happiness.
 many blessings
 Sonny

Christmas Cookies~ Low Carb

  As many of you know me and my daughter both suffer from food allergies.    This has made the past year a real learning experience for me as far as cooking and baking are concerned.

    So many new techniques to learn as well as different ingredient choices have made it possible for us to eat a variety and yet not set off the allergies , migraines and severe mood swings that plauged  us for several years.   Changing our eating habits was far more helpful than expensive medications we could have ever taken, plus unlike the meds, this worked.. I am grateful to all those who tested and shared the recipes with us.  If you experience mood swings or migraines or BOTH- please look into your food choices and make some changes..  You wont be sorry and this can drastically improve the quality of your life and the lives around you ~ since they have to put up with your cranky moody self , lol..

   here is my version of Christmas Cookies.
 photo source- I dunno:) but isnt it pretty and whats a post without a pretty picture. My cookies are yummy but not not nearly this cute.

Ginger Snap Cookies (using almond flour)

Update: You may want to cool the dough at room temperature or place it in the freezer for a few minutes to keep them from spreading when they bake.

Ingredients (makes about 22 cookies)

• 2 cups of blanched almond flour
• 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/3 cup of honey or  1 cup splenda- which is my preference
• 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, ghee, vegetable shortening, or coconut oil, melted
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon of cloves
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans/ sprinkle on top before baking

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F convection setting, or 300 degrees F at a regular setting.
2. Blend all the dry ingredients together and then add the honey and butter, and blend well.
3. With a spoon or your fingers, create small, balls of dough, about an inch in diameter, and place them on a greased baking sheet (or a baking mat on a baking sheet). They don’t spread when baking, so place each cookie about an inch apart on the baking sheet.
4. Press each cookie to flatten it using either the palm of your hand, or the back of a fork. To get the hatch pattern, criss-cross the top of the cookie down with the back of a fork. Optionally, sprinkle some sea salt on top of each cookie.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.
6. Turn the cookies over and lower the temperature of the oven to 175 degrees F convection (or 200 degrees F regular setting), and bake for another 15 minutes.
7. For an even crunchier cookie, leave them in the oven for another 10 minutes or so, or just leave them in the oven until it’s cool. To get the snap back at any time, pop this in an oven for about 10 minutes at 200 degrees F.

I do ice mine using   splenda   3/4ths cup  and 2 tablespoons of water.. mix in a bowl and drizzles on cookies with a spoon after cookies are thoroughly cooled.
   I hope these will make the holiday brighter for those with allergies // on a low carb diet  1.2 per 3 inch circular cookie 1/3 inch thick// or if you are staying away from wheat products in general.    They are also nice to have at  a party in case you have a guest who cant have traditional  wheat and sugar desserts.. Now they wont feel so left out when others are having Sweets:)     

    Coming in  2013:::
  I will be sharing 1 recipe per week for allergy folk and low carb folks that I test in my own kitchen.    

 

Deer Silhouettes for Ya'll

  I know many of you like deer art and you also use silhouettes..

 When I saw the original on the Graphics Fairy blog,    I wanted to see if I could make a silhouette of it to use as art on my gallary wall.  ::: go to the link above if you'd like to have the original art.. She is always so kind to share her finds..:::

   I did and I wanted to share it with you all.

 These are png files-- capible of enlargement to 10 x 12 if you wish to make it that size in any standard personal printer... Large if you have a machine to do so.

    Just sharing, lets call it a small Christmas present from me to you, or my tiny act of kindness for today.
  Enjoy.
ps- it is NOT on a grey background..  it rests on whatever background tone you choose.  IF you decide to save it as a jgp instead - it will then have a white background.

 Merry and Bright and God Bless US, every one.

WOW Party 

Ivy and Elephants party 

Touches of Blue

 I've had some quiet time these last few days.  Please know I was thinking of you ALL.  Right now I just feel the need for as much peace and serenity as I can get.   I know you all understand .

   I wanted to share these lovely holiday spaces with touches of blue. I managed to loose the Source of them , sorry.
 

   May Peace and Love fill your heart and your life.

God Bless US, Every ONE.

Holiday Breakfast Table & Chairs redo

   I put out some soup and bowls but as you'll notice, they wont be eating any cake lol.. oh well, the moravian sugar cake is in the cabinet and thats more than enough dessert.

 This is just a quickie scape I did while my guests were busy watching Homeland, that was taped last night. I just used more fresh greens as a base and added to it from my green storage stash..

 This is the table and chairs I redid months ago--  this pic is how it looked originally.  I could'nt handle the oak chairs , but they were the same shape Ballard had for sale so it was worth my time to mix up some faux chalk paint :::   1 cup of pure white-  1/4 cup plaster a paris mixed well with lukewarm water- add those together and Paint.. no sanding or anything..:)   gotta love that.
anyway- here they are originally.

I changed out the table with one I found on craigslist for 25.00.   It had the same legs as the chairs so that was a whole new breakfast set for me for less than 100.00..   the chairs at Ballard were 189.00 Each- not in my budget for sure.

 Here it is now- painted with the faux chalk paint and the seats covered in drop cloth fabric.  The original seats hurt my butt bone so I poofed them up with a double layer of quilt batting- aaaaaaaaaaa much better..
  I waited 2 weeks for the paint to seal itself and used a coat of Johnson and Johnson car wax.. yep, car wax.. I put it on- let it totally dry and buffed it off. It gave a nice mellow appearance and I can just wipe them off with a barely damp rag..   I need a blog called The Lazy House Keeper   rolf..   

  
 I have a Lantern fetish:)  there is at least one in every display I do- sometimes more than one. I used a pilar candle in glass from the dollar store in it.  Gives off a nice glow and makes ZERO mess:)  did I mention- Lazy HouseKeeper ....

 One more shot of my, new to me, soft white chairs.  I'm tickled with them and thrilled with the hundreds I saved to use for something else...  Lazy and Frugal .... giggle
 Each chair has a wreath like I made for my Copy Cat post..It spells out  N O E L  my daughter loves it cause thats her name.
 I copied Kathy
you can click on her name to see her original post
My Copy Cat Wreath

Playing at :::: Ya'll go see all the pretty post at this parties.  You wont be disappointed~!
TTT party at Marty's

Sarah Dawn Designs Pintastic Monday Party 

Brenda's Party at Cozy Little House 

Pattie at Ivy and Elephants 

 Thanks so much for visiting me.  I love having ya here..
Merry and Bright to each and everyone of ya~!
ps~ I promise to have cake or at least cookies next time 

Holiday Copy Cat Wreath

  Hi Folks..

 its been quite a day and I am thrilled to be online:)     I woke up to my beloved toshiba fried and died and unrepairable.     I found a new one-- unfortunately the only choice was Windows 8.. ugg. this will take some getting used too.  Plus I went from a 19 inch screen to a 26 cause thats what came with the full pc package and it was twice the cost to buy it piece by piece....
 anywhooooooooooooo.. I got it all hooked up, made adjustments enough for me to download my art program, my camera and get internet up and running.
  ***************************************************
   I was so worried I would'nt get to play at DebbieDoos Holiday Knock off Party

  I spied Kathy's chair wreaths the other day and knew instantly thats what and who I was going to copy..
 Thanks Kathy.. I love yours~!   Her letters are wayyyyyyyyyy prettier but I had to use the ones I had onhand..  
click the link below to see her whole post with a tutorial..

http://creativehomeexpressions.blogspot.com/2012/12/christmas-chair-wreaths.html


here's mine.     I had the grape vine wreaths,the letters, the bow, the pinecones and the beads.. Got the greenery from my neighbor.. 
  I did get my table done but it got dark before I could get any pics of that.. Havent had a working computer till an hour ago so I'll take pics later and show off my dining table and chairs I redid as well as my holiday table.

 

 Here's one shot of Kathy's but she has lots of great pics on her site so be sure to go and visit her.

 Thanks for the party Deb  and thanks for doing such a great holiday wreath for me to copy Kathy~!

Make the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill 






thanks for visiting me....   Ya'll are the Best..
Merry and Bright to each and every one of ya.

 

Thank You~! I'll be back soon

  I'm on my way out for another day of seeing and shopping.   This time we'll be hitting some thrift store around the Black Mountain NC area.. Thats about 40 minutes west of asheville, so who knows, we may get there too.. No time for a Biltmore tour but the local shops are fun to see.

  I wanted to THANK YOU all so much for visiting my early morning family room and for understanding if right now,  I'm unable to answer every comment individually. I feel bad about it but so many folks around and so much to do- so I just can't be on the computer,cause its sorta Rude:) 
  I do appreciate your visits and I hope you know that. 

 I decided since we'll be in the kitchen quite a bit I needed to do a little display beside the coffee pot.   I cropped out the machine so ya wouldnt have to see it.   Holiday electronics just "aint purdy" lol..

 

~Merry and Bright to YOU and YOURS ~

Quiet Morning Christmas Tree

My guests are here but they are all asleep.   I thought I'd share a quick photo of what my view is, in the early morning as I have my hot mug of coffee.
 I have the fire going and apple cinnamon muffins are in the oven.   It wont be long before that scent has everyone waking up..
  The sun is just coming up and it looks like it might be a hazy winter day with temps only in the low 50's..
 We're going to see some of the local sites and who knows where that will lead us, so if I dont get to stop by your blog for a visit, thats why.

 The birds are just waking  and coming to the birdbath for their morning sip of water.  Its soooooooooo quiet..  Wish you were here~!

   I hope you all have a wonderful day~!
ps~  I was sitting at my desk when I took this photo.    behind each loveseat there is a desk and chair. The sofa's keep that part hidden and with the lamps they just appear to be sofa tables..  Just thought I'd explain that :-)  It allows us to play on our laptops without anyone ever realizing this also functions as an office for 2....

Christmas 2011 Copy Cat Cup

 I participated in the Copy Cat challenge over at DebbieDoos blog last year .   That party is so much fun and you will be amazed at the creative talent you find in the posts..
  I love this party and I hope to get something done so I can play too.  I hope to see lots of you there ~!

here are a couple of photos of what I did as my CC last year..  the link to see the full post and all the photos in below.

See full post and all Photos ~~ HERE

 Merry and Bright to You and Yours~!

 

Christmas Entryway

  My guests will be a day late so that gave me time to get another area of my home decorated- a little:)

 This room is only used as a pass thru to the rest of the home and mainly how one gets from the front door to the  family room/breakfast room/ kitchen area..  Which is, of course, the HUB and where All  rush too..     I think often of how much a Large Family would enjoy all these rooms and all this space but thats a topic for after the holidays, that maybe I can discuss and get some opinions about from my bloggy pals..


 As I said in a former post, my plants and pretty much other decor stays where it is and I just added holiday touches in small amounts.
  I hope you like it.

  Fresh greenery swag came from Whole Foods.  I love that place~!  The smells , the sounds the food and specialty selections.  That's one of my favorite places to browse and I always seem to meet up with folks I know, especially in the vitamin and herb section ..  I was even able to get myself a few fresh mangos.. YUM

  I used white and gray beaded picks, some sheer white ribbon and flocked pinecones. Nothing fancy and just enough to be attractive without going over the top.    This year, the quieter decor suits my needs.

  I also have a sofa table in this room and the newest Reindeer from Hobby Lobby sits on it with some fresh greens.     My daughter saw this while shopping with her pals and got it for me.  This one piece sorta set the tone for this room and I love it.

 I'm playing at My Front Porch to Yours- Pam's Party

Ivy and Elephants linky party 

 do go see all the great Holiday posts for many inspirational ideas , Plus- those folks will be so tickled to get a visit from you.  I know I sure am~!

 Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to come and visit me.  It wouldnt be nearly as much fun for me if I couldnt show it to Ya'll.
Christmas Blessings to ALL of you.

Reindeer Family Room

 I just wanted to share the reindeer who seem to have taken over my family room.  They are sneaky and seem to give birth to more lil deers at night while I am sleeping ..  giggle

We're having company this week , so I'm not sure how much more I'll get done in the other rooms.

 If I manage to accomplish anything, I'll sure post it.

  I'll hush and just show the photos , which is what ya really came to see, Right :)
Marty's Tabletop Tuesday Party== go take a peek~!

 I sure am enjoying all my visits to YOUR holiday decor.    I have seen so much pretty its amazing.
 Thanks for always being such a wealth of beauty and enjoyment to me.
see ya soon~!

Santa and Seashells

  I found this little Santa at goodwill. He was sitting all alone and looking mighty sad.  Dirty and crayon marks on his , then colorful coat as well as old wax stuck to his insides.   I decided I could take him home and he could have a wonderful Christmas with us. :: sorry, I forgot the Before photos:: just trust me- it was pitiful looking..
 I used a mr. clean magic sponge and that got him all cleaned up.. Dried him off and outside he went for a coat of white spray paint.   Once dry I used my magic pen and touched him a little..  Now he's just like new and very happy in my coffee table display.   I believe in magic and I think he smiled at me while I was taking his photo..
  Merry Christmas to All.

  I keep out my normal decor in this room and just add a few holiday touches.   My plants wouldnt be happy with me if I took them away from their happy spot in the warm sunlight.

 Old books tied with twine. some snowy edge pinecones and a few of my favorite shells.  

thanks so much for visiting me.  I know your time is valuable, especially this time of year.

Kim's having a Mantles and Vignette party HERE
  Hurry on over and see all the great posts.

 We love having you in our home and sharing our Christmas with you..
much love and big hugs'

Sneaky Peeky Treat for Ya~!

 I cant believe how many folks said what tease I was for sneak peek no. 1 :-).... So on that note, I thought I'd be sweet and bring ya'll a Sneaky Peeky Treat...
 There's iced tea- hot chocolate or coffee with 9 different flavors of cream for those of you who do not Imbibe ...
    Now please notice the bottle is full.. as Sheriff Andy Taylor would say " I've not had nary sip of it, not nary one"     hehehehe
  I think some of ya know I live about 19 miles from Mount Airy , which was Mayberry in the tv show. I do have to pass by Pilot Mountain,  or as they said Mount Pilot to get there..  A friend of mine has a Holiday display in a local shop in the downtown area and I just have to go see what she's created this year..
 Her craft style is quite rustic and doesnt really work in my home but I love looking at it anyway and I still have some extended family in that area so I'll stop in for a few quick visits..

  We are all so stressed and busy so I thought I would leave you this lil treat..  Now go easy, this stuff is rather Potent- heck its REAL POTENT..  I found this reindeer at goodwill and just could'nt pass him up..
His antlers are a bit askew, but heck so are Mine lol lol

  Enjoy in Moderation...thank you, The Management :-)
luv ya bunches
ya'll come back to see us, Ya Hear~!

Christmas Sneak Peek

 I wanted to show ya'll a little sneak peek of whats going on with our Holiday Decor for 2012.

  I still have lots to do but it all seems so much easier once I choose a color and theme for the year.

We'll have lots of aqua, silver, and Grey.. yes Grey :)    I've made some of the ornaments and tweaked others I found on sale - at thrift stores or goodwill.  I have to admit I've had a lot of fun making my snow balls:: showed ya'll those last week-   more sweater balls , like I made for 2010, as well as faux mixed with real mercury glass.   For me this is just more interesting than going to stores and buying whats on the shelves and I am blessed with extra time to be able to do this.  Back when life was more hectic, store bought was my only choice..
::: just google- faux Mercury glass and dozens of great tutorials will come up for you:::

 so here's a tiny sneak peek of what you'll be seeing in my holiday posts this year...

 WOW Party @ Savvy Southern Style
 party starts around 8 pm..   see ya there ~!

 thanks so much for stopping by.   I love and appreciate your comments ..
see ya soon.

Christmas Tabletop ~Past

I wanted to Party with Marty over at A Stroll Thru Life

Ya'll make sure to go visit her and see all the great posts others have made.  Lots of fun and inspiration for ya.

 I dug up a couple photos of Tabletops I had done in Christmas Past. 
  Just so ya know, there'll be no red this year :)

I hope ya enjoy going on this trip down memory lane with me.

 Thanks so much for visiting me. I always like having you here.
 Grab a cookie ~!
Sonny

Christmas Past in Music

 Good Morning Folks

 I've been holiday decorating for a few days off and on , so I thought while I took a break I'd show a little Christmas Past of my music theme in 2010, or was it 2009, I forget, lol..  We really enjoyed this white and shades of brown , though I havent done it again.. I have it all saved in containers for Someday.  :-)

  I have so many newer followers so I wanted to share a bit of it before I started this years Holiday posts.

 I hope you enjoy it..

Happy Monday.. 
Wishing you a wonderful day.
Sonny