May Your Days Be Merry and Bright

Pi Day at the Hayley House

We love quiche. Quiche is pie, right?

Merry Christmas

Celebrating the Fourth on the Third

Kelly and I went to Addison's Kaboom Town last night.

It's somewhat sad that we've lived in Dallas (off-and-on) for 16+ years and I worked in the Addison area for 11 years, but we'd never gone to Kaboom Town before last night.

What's up with that?

Apparently, Kaboom Town is one of the top five fireworks displays in the United States. When reading through the list, I realized that I've been to two of the five - perhaps I see a future 101 list goal of attending the other three?

Anyway, it was a lovely evening - pleasant temperatures (unusual for a Texas July day) and we sat outside to watch the air show.

Then the fireworks display.

Watching fireworks reminded me that our country has been through difficult and divisive times before, and survived. I hope my fellow Americans can remember that as well.

And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;

O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Happy Fourth of July!

The Christmas Spread

Just a quick look back at our Christmas meal spread from a week ago...

Too bad I forgot the mashed potatoes. But otherwise, I think everyone had everything they could have wanted - including three kinds of protein.

As well as a mountain of treats and desserts (including two pies not pictured).

This just reminds me that I really need to get in some extra workouts and eat raw foods for a while. Carb-detox is in order.

Holiday-Related Pinterest Fails

A couple of Pinterest things that I wanted to do over the holiday season were epic fails.

First, I wanted to make a gingerbread house. Specifically, I wanted to make this one:


Source

 So I made a batch of gingerbread, cut out an Eiffel Tower shape and baked according to instructions.

Then I made royal icing and went to work...and that's when the wheels came off.  Here's the result:

Clearly, decorating isn't my thing.


Second, I wanted to make candied almonds. I've done this many times in the oven, but I was intrigued by the simple instructions for making them in the crockpot from this Pinterest tutorial.



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Unfortunately, the simple instructions not only burnt my almonds but also melted the crockpot liner bag and cracked my porcelain insert.

What I wanted vs what I got:

I think we'll stick with the tried-and-true oven method from now on.

From Us to You

 

Fresh and Festive

These festive thank-you gifts are fast and easy to make with a few roses and fresh cut greenery.

 

And it's fun to find other places to stick the leftover greenery.

It's still the only holiday touches on display at my home at the moment. I'd better get cracking!

Thank Goodness for Christmas (Espresso)

Finish the Sentence (Holiday Edition)

Thanksgiving is...


...beautiful, crowded chaos.

...food. Too much food.

I bruleed the top of the pumpkin pie...great idea, Martha (Stewart)!

...turkey coma movie-watching.

...at least one family health issue.

{We're praying for a speedy recovery, Grandma!}

Its Labor Day

Sowing. Reaping. Harvest.

Work comes with a price, but yields a priceless reward.

Happy Labor Day!

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An Interesting Email

This weekend, while idly checking my email, I told The Boy about an interesting email that had just arrived in my work inbox.

It was from Santa Claus.

Specifically, it was from a professional Santa Claus, introducing my company to his services should we want to hire a Santa (we won't - we have a wonderful employee who plays Santa Claus every year).

However, this was The Boy's response:

Well, I don't think I need to tell you that this is the time of year

when Santa is known to reach out to naughty girls and boys,

letting them know it's not too late to get their act together.

Very funny.



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The Hayley Year in Review

I didn't get around to sending out Christmas cards this year - no surprise there given all that's gone on lately in our household.

But I couldn't let the year end without sending a greeting of some sort out to the world. And I also wanted to teach myself to make an infographic, since I love them so much.

So here it is - the Hayley Year in Review:


Click to enlarge

Up in Smoke

Do you know what would be fun? I asked The Boy.

Do I care? he replied.

I ignored him.

I think it would be fun to do a variation on the Festivus tradition of Airing of Grievances. Instead of talking about how we've disappointed to each other, let's air our grievances from the past few years. It will be therapeutic.

And I was right. It was.

We gathered friends, a candle and strips of paper to burn for each grievance shared.

We soon realized that we needed a lot of paper.

We aired grievances category by category: Family. Work. Relationships. Physical. Spiritual.

And at the end....tons and tons of ashes and a pleasantly purged soul. Sometimes you just have to air a grievance to stop brooding about it.

PS - we saved the ashes.

Holiday Wrap Up: Part 3

Ok, last holiday-related post:

The Boy and I, because of multiple reasons, didn't really feel very holiday-ish this year. Lotsa drama, plus The Boy's DI...it was hard to feel in the mood.

Shopping was done at the last minute (very atypical for me). Decorations were only partially hung. We didn't drive to look at lights and I never bought a peppermint mocha from Starbucks (or a peppermint hot chocolate for that matter).

We were walking a very fine line into Grinch-land.

Then a week before Christmas, we attended Michael W. Smith's Christmas concert at Dallas' Meyerson Symphony Hall. We go every year, but it's fair to say that if I hadn't purchased tickets in September, we would have opted out of this year's event.

But we had tickets, so we went. And....something happened.

Unlike previous year's, there wasn't a backup musical act. No "modern" instruments or special guests. The concert was Michael W. Smith, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and a local church choir.

The music was simple, pure, majestic and holy. Instead of holly jolly, the music was holy holy.

Somehow the we-didn't-want-to-go-to-concert reset our Christmas spirit. Perhaps, like the Grinch, our hearts grew three sizes that day?

Holiday Wrap Up: Part 2



Here's a fun idea (from Pinterest!) that I used to creatively wrap these:

 

Run a bead of hot glue on the inside of a jar lid.

Hold the gift card in place until the glue sets. Allow to fully dry (about 10 minutes).

Add a sprinkling of glitter - not too little, not too much - inside the jar.

Fill with water.

I added some sparkly ornaments for decoration, then fastened the lid securely. Tie on a little piece of curling ribbon and Voila! It's a handmade gift card holding snow globe.

A couple of notes:

1. I would use a clear jar rather than a quilted glass next time - easier to see into.
2. The Boy pointed out that recipients have to destroy the snow globe to actually retrieve their gift...oh well. It's the thought that counts, right?!?

Holiday Wrap Up: Part 1

Limestone, prairieland, birds in flight, rolling hills and snow...it must be Christmas in the Flint Hills of Kansas:

Slippery, slow, white-out, giant fluffy flakes...must be a post-family Christmas drive home through Oklahoma:

And 2" of snow on the ground at home...must be a White Christmas at the Hayley House (a first for our area since 1985!):

A Holiday Miracle

Do you love eggnog? I do.

I do not love eggnog's calories, however. Seriously, have you looked at the nutritional information.

It's shocking: 220 calories for an 1/2 serving = 1 glass of eggnog for me all holiday season.

Bah, humbug.

Then I found this:

It's wonderful. Absolutely delicious. Maybe not quite as thick as the "real" thing, but amazing all the same.

Even more amazing:

That's right. Just 90 calories for a 1/2 cup serving.

BRING ON THE EGGNOG!!!

This Isn't Elf on a Shelf Trouble...

This is furbaby trouble, plain and simple:

I told them that Grandma Mo made that tree skirt for me - they didn't care.

DIY Holiday Coasters

Bridget and I decided it would be fun to make some festive drink coasters for the Christmas season.

 

You'll need felt sheets (inexpensive at any craft store), fabric craft glue, scissors and felt ornaments. I picked up several packages of the ornaments for 75% off in last year's Christmas clearance sales.

Enjoy how soft and colorful the craft materials are...

Really, Bridget - this is ridiculous. People can't learn how to make anything this way.

Ok (getting serious now), liberally apply fabric glue to one side of the ornament and press the ornament onto the felt sheet.

Allow the glue to dry (I gave it two hours to make sure everything was set), then trim the felt sheet flush with the ornament.

Aren't they cute? And so so cheap to make...

I love them!