Food and Drink – Page 14 – Karla's Cottage

Yummy Bread Machine bread – too, too good

Dew Drop, fairies, family, Food and Drink, Hens, paintings

By Karla Nathan / June 29, 2012

This week has been a hodge podge. I repainted a fairy, finished another, signed up a TON of people for the swap (yay! This will be a fun one!), babysat my own little fairies, and baked a TON of bread. I might just weigh a TON more now that I've experimented with my new bread machine a bit…

As the smell of fresh baked bread fills the house, my Sister-In-Law, Sandy, and I do all we can to stop ourselves from standing over it, each clutching a stick of butter in our greedy little paws.

You know you've baked too much, when you realize the 5 lb bag of flour is empty.

I'm not a measuring type, but I've tried to approximate measures, so that the machine will be filled with the right amounts, and not overflow. And I've learned that as much as I love the pure whole wheat flour, it can be a bit heavy for most people. I've switched to mostly whole wheat, and about a 1/3 bread flour. Its lighter and breadier.

Pure whole wheat does make a good, solid, filling peasant type bread though.

Here is my favorite made up recipe (sort of- my own measurements are eyeballed)

Yummy Bread (as Sugarwings calls it)

1-1/2 cup leftover coffee, still warm, not hot (I drink Starbucks Vanilla)

1/2 cup organic clover honey

3/4 cup dried mixed berries

1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds

2 cups whole wheat flour (organic)

1 cup unbleached organic bread flour

2-1/4 tsp bread machine yeast

Dump into machine in that order. From what I hear, you want the liquid on the bottom and the yeast on the top. I don't know why.

Bake on the whole wheat setting.

Stand by with your stick of butter so you are ready when the bread is done! (notice that I didn't add oil or butter to the mix? I forgot to, and liked it better this way, it was moist and soft, and I put enough butter on top while its hot, that I do not need any inside the loaf too)

Bread machines are too, too easy to use. It takes me less than five minutes to make a loaf of deliciousness. If I keep this up, I will become housebound, too big to fit through the front door.

On Thursday, it got up to 107 degrees. In June. Yes, 107. Dang!

I had both little girls here, and we really did try to play outside. We turned on the hose, made mud pies and stayed in the shade till almost noon. I was proud of myself for staying out that long. As soon as lunch time came, I had the perfect excuse to give up on the great outdoors and get into the air conditioning.

Then, we did the same thing we do on blizzardy days. We built a fort of blankets over the dining room table, filled the floor with pillows and climbed in to watch movies and read books. We also brought markers, and drew all over the under belly of the table. Sugawings traced her foot and I dated it.

It was too hot for the chickens today too, when I turned on the hose to water the flower beds, a couple of them dove in to cool off in the water.

There hasn't been a lot of time for making things other than bread this week. I did finish a few book covers for the swap, I need to keep on top of that and make a few here and there, so I'm not swamped with too many at the last moment. We are at about 60 or so right now.

I hope you'll join us if you haven't yet.

Believe it or not, I actually made time to list some millinery packs in the Boutique!

Including some Halloween/Autumn tones.

And one magnificent double white rose with white velvet ribbons!

Happy Birthday to my handsome husband

Food and Drink, Sugarwings, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / June 14, 2012

For my husband's birthday, I had some help whipping up homemade blueberry pies.

It was pretty exciting. But anytime Sugarwings does some baking, its a joy-fest.

I tried something a little different with the pies. We filled a shell with fresh berries, then topped it with a mixture of butter, organic brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour. We drizzled a little water over it, added a heart cut out of pie dough, and baked it. The berries' juices mixed with the topping as it melted into the pie, and it was really yummy. It left a slight, crispy top, but not the same as a crumble, because I used very little flour in it.

Along with the pies, I made fried chicken,(catfish for the vegetarians too) mashed potatoes, gravy, corn (fresh from the cob) green beans, coleslaw and rolls. Plus a strawberry cheesecake.

whew.

4 and a half hours in the kitchen, I made it all the old fashioned way, like my grandma and mom used to. What a lot of work. How on earth did they cook like that on a regular bsis???

It was a good party, and the kids gave Pop Pop a book to read to his littlest grand fairy, plus he got plenty of hugs and cuddles, so he had a happy birthday.

They made him some flower pots, and he got a mint plant and lime tree to grow his own garnishes for cocktail hour.

He's one hot grandpa, isn't he?

ps- you can still enter the drawing to win this collage by leaving a comment

Beads, Baubles, and peas

Food and Drink, give away, jewelry, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / June 10, 2012

This is the last of the four Tiffanys projects that I made in Cali. It was in my pal, Lonnie's class.

I brought quite a few of my own supplies, including the blue enamelled flower along with me, but she provided high quality, pretty things to work with too.

As a matter of fact, between what she gave us in the kits and what I brought, I was able to make two necklaces in her class. I didn't really master the techniques she was teaching, I kind of went off on my own, but she was a good teacher and had a great way of doing her examples that made it easy to follow.

One of the necklaces that I made will be for me to keep, and the other is a birthday gift for a dear freind.

This post was written before I went to Raleigh and Nags Head, and as I am writing it, I am snacking on the latest dish from my Summer of Salads.

Its a pea salad, that you can make with fresh, farmer's mkt peas, or frozen ones right from the bag.

about a 1/2 bag of peas
1/2 a sweet red pepper, chopped
about 1/2 cup of chopped purple cabbage
1/2 a sweet Vidalia onion, chopped
1/2 cup of fat free feta cheese crumbles
6 boiled eggs, chopped (mine were straight from the hen house!)
sea salt, garlic powder, and pepper to taste
olive oil based mayo, enough to moisten (I don't like a lot of dressing, so added mine a couple spoonfuls at a time till it looked right)

Another salad for the week was a simple fruity one.

one honey dew, cubed
one quart of strawberries, halved
juice of one lime
drizzle of agave syrup
a splash of pomegranate juice
two sprigs of mint leaves

My latest obsession is mint sprigs. Especially in this concoction-

one can of lime selzter water
a 1/4 packet of drink powder
pour over a pretty glass filled with ice
add a pink straw
top with mint leaves

I sure don't miss Diet Coke when I have one of these in my hands. I used to think that those drink powder packets were silly. Why not just buy a drink already made up? They are meant for bottled waters, and I really thought it was ridiculous to buy a drink twice. The water, then the powder.

But, I got a sample of them, and took some along on my last trip and they are nice to have around and taste pretty good. Especially if you use club soda with them, and only a tiny part of the packet at a time, I usually get four drinks from one. And since I usually mix my soda with juice anyway, it doesn't feel extravagant to mix this in like it would if I used it in a bottle of water.

Please remember to leave a comment if you want to be entered into the drawing for a collage giveaway.

And if you know of any good junking areas around Raleigh or Nags Head please email me with some shopping ideas!

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

Cooking up some paintings

Food and Drink, give away, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / June 5, 2012

Sugarwings and I decided to make our own paint. I'd heard you could make it with food coloring, cornstarch and water, but had no instructions.

But how hard could it be? So we gave it a try.

Each batch turned out a little different since we aren't the measuring types.

Our colors might have been a bit more festive if the head chef wasn't so thrilled with squirting out the food coloring. She practically emptied each color in to the first batch, which produced a deep black.

Using more cornstarch made a pastey paint that you could kind of mold, and was fun to squeeze. Less made a more paintable liquid.

Mix water, cornstarch, and food coloring in a saucepan, cook till thick. I used about a cup of water each time, maybe a 1/4 cup of the cornstarch, but it varied.

We used paper cups leftover from our Halloween party to pour the paint into, then set it in the freezer to cool off fast so we could get to work playing with it.

While it cooked, we thought it looked a lot like pudding. Of course, as soon as we were finished, we just had to make some pudding too! We decided to make the pudding into a fudgesicle ice cream cake while waiting for the paint cooled off.

We mixed the fresh made, chocolate pudding with a cup of vanilla ice cream. Half of that went into a glass bowl, over a layer of granola.

Next, a layer of vanilla icecream, then more granola. And a drizzle of Trader Joe's carmel sauce, then the rest of the pudding.

We slipped it into the freezer, then after dinner, sat the bowl into a pan of hot water for a moment to loosen the treat, and flipped it over onto a cake plate. It was as pretty as it was tasty!

I'll let you know if the paint comes out of the side walk next time it rains…. It did dry lighter than it was than wet, so I have a feeling that there will be a gradual fading away.

I kind of hope it doesn't. I like her little green hand prints all over the driveway. Of course, she has already left her prints all over my heart.

PS- a new friend, is planning a shopping/crafty class weekend in Sept. Its in St Joe, and you know, that city is filled with great junkers and wonderful stuff for sale. I'm always up for any reason to visit there. More details later…

Birdsong Two Shopping

antiques/junking, bird song art event, Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / May 7, 2012

Did I mention that there was shopping at Birdsong too?

I was floored by the response to the little shopping area we set up last year, so this time, we tried to expand a bit and make it less crowded. And we hopefully handled the frenzy a little better. Kind Karla was the cashier in another room to help lesson the crowding, Beth, Lisa and I tried to make piles and fill boxes for people, then Beth prewrote out tickets for the Peeps to hand to Karla to pay.

My garage was transformed!

Its surprising how much space was available in a single car garage. Beth, Lisa and I both sold out of that area.

Debbie was supposed to set up in the driveway under a tent, but the weather just was not cooperating with her, so I emptied out the breezeway and that seemed ideal.

Next year, I think we'll use the breezeway again, it was nice and light and airy.

Any place would look wonderful filled with Curious Sofa goods!

When dinner time drew near, I had to bail out on the shopping activities and attend to supper.

Sadly, the weather didn't cooperate with my plans for all 29 of us to sit down together outside for dinner. It was breezy and cold. Funny, after months of freakishly warm weather, we get a cold spell during my party. Oh well, the Peeps didn't seem to mind.

Here is our menu for the weekend:

Friday am– fresh muffins and coffee

Mid morning– oatmeal scotchies and chocolate peanut butter cookies/ fruit tea

Lunch- Prime rib (baked and sliced by me the day before), turkey breast, ham, and cheese platters/ sunflower seed bread/ citrus coleslaw, pita chips and hummus/ tea/ Belgian chocolate covered peanut butter balls

Mid afternoon- coconut chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies/ coffee and tea

Dinner- Vegetarian lasagna/ bread sticks/ turkey breast meatballs/ with pink champagne cupcakes and lemon cheesecake/ fruit punch/ wine

Saturday mid morning- coffee/ vanilla chai tea/ oatmeal scotchies

Lunch- Breast of chicken salad/ croissants/ twice baked potato salad/ chips and dip/ orange tea/ bird shaped sugar cookies and coconut almond nests

Galentines Day with the Gal Pals

family, Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / February 18, 2012

My husband was out of town for Valentine's Day, but I kept myself busy by planning THREE parties in one day. The dogs were my official greeters when guests came to the door, and I needed their help. When I opened the door to say hi, I realized that I had laryngitis!

Luckily, it wasn't an all day thing, my voice has been coming and going a lot since then, but I manage to keep talking no matter what.

I had one group of friends over for brunch, and another for afternoon crafting in the studio. We called it Galentines Day, had some goodies, and a lot of fun.

These little Valenine treats were simple to make, by the way. I like to serve easy things that look a lot more complicated to make than they really are.

For these, I cut puff pastry with a heart shaped cookie cutter, and baked them ahead of time.

After they cooled, I spread a bit of cream cheese onto them, topped it with a slice of fruit and drizzled melted chocolate over it all.

That evening, I got to spend with the kiddos. Any day I hang with them is one jam packed with lots of love!

Craft day was good for me. I'd lacked time or oppurtunity to be creative for a while and had hit a dry spell. so, a day in the studio with gal pals and time to just make stuff was exaclty what I needed. And I cranked stuff out, after I loosened up and got going.

First I started with something really simple, these vintage ceramic shoes were already cute to start with, and I just glued some crap to them to foof 'em up a bit. These kind of are along the style of Lisa's wonderful tutorial, but there isn't nearly as much to these little ceramic shoes.

Then, I moved on to something a little more complicated. It was nice just to be gluing and thinking about where things go. This is a teensy little box that a bar of hotel soap came in. The legs are bingo tiles and the Charlotte fairy is only 1" tall. (she is in the Boutique now)

I made a few more things that day too, but haven't got photos of them yet. I did get some pics of some things to add to the shop, I'll leave you with a selection of whats new. I hope you are having a great weekend and still enjoying your Valentine goodies.

The craftless craft day

celebrations, flowers, Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / February 6, 2012

Some friends came over for lunch Tuesday, and we almost had a craft day along with it. I'd planned an all day crafting day with lunch in the middle, but plans changed, so we enjoyed what time we had.

And I'll take any excuse to buy some fresh flowers for my kitchen. My local grocery store offers mark down floral bundles on Mondays, but I don't always treat myself to them. Or if I do, I'll buy one or two bundles. But for this special occasion, I splurged and got 7!

Did I mention they were only $1.99 each? And some of the ones available were pink roses, which are favorites of mine. I rarely buy the roses though, because I am a cheapskate, even at two bucks, I figure that the carnations will last 4 times as long, so I go for those.

Plus I feel kind of sorry for carnations, they are often unappreciated.

Sometimes I wonder about myself. Really? Too cheap to buy $2 worth of roses because they will only look good for a few days??

I was thrilled to have a reason to buy enough flowers to put all around the cottage.

Including the treat cabinet in the studio.

And the coffee cart next to it.

We didn't even end up making anything that day, but we did "retire to the studio" after lunch to have treats and spend an hour or so being creative.

We were so busy talking and laughing we never got around to crafting on craft day. I see Carol so rarely, and this was the first time Lesa has been out to visit, so we had a lot of catching up to do. My buddy, Angie was able to come by just for lunch, she had a client to meet with afterward.

I know that everyone is busy, so it means a lot to me when friends can make time to come and hang out for all day or for a short visit, whatever they can squeeze in.

One of the things we talked about was how nice it is to have other women to discuss business or family issues with. Its a topic that Carol has insight with, she has even started a blog that addresses that subject, called Good Stella where she offers encouragement and advice to help women on the road to achieving their dreams.

Carol is always generous with her time and experience. And has good advice to offer.

This bird topped tree is one that I made in another friend's class a few years back. Sheila makes the coolest stuff, and is such a nice person. I always set it out for Valentine's decorating.

This year, I've added an ephemera heart from Ginger Shrader, and liked her sweet idea so much, that I hung a few more similar hearts on the tree too. Its sitting on a vintage candy box, that I picked up cheap because the top wasn't very pretty and I thought I'd foof it up. But when I flipped it over, I saw that the back was much more attractive and I display it as is- upside down.

Hmmm, what was I talking about? Oh yes, friends. And how lucky I am to have time with them.

Working as an artist can be a lonely job. Which is why I love craft days, and classes, and other gatherings of creative pals. Now, I am not knocking being an artist. I can't imagine having to put on real clothes and leave the house to go to a real job every day. Well, sometimes I do day dream about those real pay checks… but heck, anyone who'd hire an uneducated, no skills person like me probably wouldn't pay much anyhow.

Working from home is great. And I have the Dorkies to keep me company, as well as visits online from blog friends.

But there is something extra nice about actually having people come to the house, sit down, and chat.

Wigged out for the holidays

celebrations, Dew Drop, family, Food and Drink, holiday decor, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / December 28, 2011

This is my favorite holiday photo from our weekend. Little Dewdrop snuck up onto the table while her elfish father was fixing dinner. He wore the hat and cape for most of Christmas and I thought it added a festive touch.

We spent a lot of our time in the kitchen, and having it be one, big open space was just great. Now, why didn't we think of this years ago? Its made our house such a cozier place.

We had one wonderful meal after another, and since the kids were staying with us instead of driving back to the woods and going to their yurt each night, we even went all out for breakfast in the mornings. On Christmas Day, our Gypsy made this fluffy, puff of deliciousness for us from a recipe we saw in the Sunday paper that morning.

Poor Sugarwings had been pretty sick all week leading up to the big day, and stayed here with us for most of the time, with her parents having sleepovers with her at our cottage. She rallied by the time Christmas Eve came around, but was still not quite herself.

We were sad to see her so weak and tired, but It was nice to have a houseful for the whole week, instead of just seeing them for the dinner and present times.

This year, between Sugarwings being sick, and me travelling, I was behind on gift buying. I did a whirlwind shopping trip, throwing things into the cart as I buzzed down the aisles. By the time I got home, I wasn't even sure what I had for who, I just hoped it was done. And for some reason, I bought wrapping paper, not bags…. silly mistake! If you wait till the last minute to buy gifts, there is no time for wrapping, those late gifts need to be slipped into bags.

That was NOT the highlight of my week.

But watching these little fairies tear through that paper was.

Dewdrop was very fond of her new toys. She was busy giving all the dollies lots of kisses and hugs.

She wasn't quite sure what to think about the dress up wig that her big sister got though.

I think it added a lot to the festivities, as she wore it to pass out the gifts.

We had two celebrations, all gifts to each other on Christmas Eve, and Santa's presents on Christmas Day. My husband's family has always done it that way, and it has become our tradition too.

I grew up with being able to open one gift the night before, saving the rest for the main event. I was always disappointed that the one preview gift was PJs every single time. I thought it was just plain old bad luck that I always picked the one gift that was not fun at all, when there was a sparkling pile of things waiting under the tree for me.

Of course, now I know that Mom planned it that way, so that I'd have new jammies on for Christmas morning when I woke her up at the crack of dawn. But at the time, I was crushed that once again, I got pajamas, not a Barbie on Christmas Eve.

Now, I am pulling my own version of the jammie trick, and let the girls each have one gift to open after dinner, before bath time and the rest of the gifts. Yep, they each had a new pair of matching PJ's as their sneak peek gift just like I did when I was a kid.

We had a third holiday bash on the day after Christmas, with the rest of the family (at least the ones in this part of the world) over for dinner, and all 26 of us fit into the new kitchen.

The house seems really quiet now with everyone gone. I've kind of gone into hibernation, with a good book and a box of kleenex (I caught Sugarwing's cold). I've not even checked out the post holiday sales yet, and don't know if I will. Although I keep thinking about all that clearance price Russell Stover chocolate…. out there, just waiting for me, all marshmallowey on the inside and shaped like chocolate Christmas trees.

But I'm kind of enjoying being snuggled up with a book and staying home in my jammies. I think I'll pass on the sales and go have another slice of that white chocolate peppermint cheesecake that I made instead. By the time I leave the house, the only thing that will fit me will be my elastic waist jammies.

If you are into holiday sale prices and don't want to leave your comfy home either, I have a sale in my Boutique and now on Etsy too. And yes, it covers tutorials, millinery, charlottes, and all of the other vintage goodness in my shops.

Everything is 30% off in the Boutique if you use THIS LINK.

And the small print says: The only catch is, that I won't be doing any mailing for a few days. You might not recieve your box till after New Years.

And if you click on the website directly, you can't get the sale price, its only available from THIS LINK

When you fill your shopping cart, you need to type in the words- happyholidays – then hit "recalculate" to get the special price. Its simple to do.

For Etsy, use the same code word- happyholidays -to get 30% off there too.

And by the way, a Very Happy Holidays to you all!

Pretty, pretty, pretty, I love Kim’s house! plus a Boutique sale and a giveaway

Food and Drink, give away, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, Travel, We're having a party, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / December 23, 2011

Everything at Kim's was pure perfection, she has major decor, design, and detail skills.

And the ladies who came to spend the day were such fun! I hope they enjoyed my two classes as much as I enjoyed sharing the tips with them.

There were gifts galore too. Kim gave us all the table decorations she used to foof our seats, I already have these wings on display in my own holiday decor.

And the generous attendees all included me in their swaps, even though I didn't have time to participate. (photos to come, you'll be impressed with their work!)

Kim's house was sooooo pretty. I said that word so many times, that I sounded like a broken record. Or a dimwit with a pitiful vocabulary.

Can you blame me? Pretty was everywhere.

Kim was attempting to show me around when I arrived, when I caught a glimpse of her studio through the open doorway and I was magnetically pulled into the prettiness of the room, with no hope of stopping myself. I just had to explore that space.

But it wasn't just the studio. The whole house is that great. This is the bedroom that Jessi and I shared, Kim's daughter, Kate, gave up her room for the whole weekend.

My main project was a wire wrapped wreath, with lace leaves and a nesting dove. I brought a table full of "extras" for everyone to play with. Ribbons, lace, beads,glitters, etc. When I teach a class, I think its only fair to include everything you need in the kits.

But- its good to have an option to personalize the piece and have some bonus goodies to dig through.

Don't we all love to dig?

Everyone's project was unique, no two just the same. Just the way I like it!

We also played with paint, and I explained some of the techniques for short cut painting tips that are on the side bar of my blog. I'll have some pictures of that later, as well as a bigger sample of the work. Kim and I painted her nightstands using the same steps that we did on the small wooden boxes that I brought for the class.

When I arrived, she had a pristine, newly painted, chalk board door.

And I had the honors of supplying its first drawing.

Kate has tamed a feral cat and it adores her. So, my thought was to add the kitty to the picture, and have it play with the ribbons dangling from the wreath that we were making that day.

I have more photos to share after Christmas, but for now, I really need to get shopping and wrapping! Sugarwings has been ill since I got home and a lot of my time has gone to snuggling instead of prepping for the big event this weekend. I hope Santa can find my chimney, because no one in this house should count on gifts from me…. I'm not prepared!

Speaking of gifts- don't forget that you have till Christmas to win a special, surprise gift from me. Any comment this week, any post counts.

Also, if you have Christmas gift cash to buy your self a gift, come on by the Boutique. Everything is 30% off if you use THIS LINK.

The only catch is, that I won't be doing any mailing for a few days. You might not recieve your box till after New Years.

And if you click on the website directly, you can't get the sale price, its only available from THIS LINK

When you fill your shopping cart, you need to type in the words- happyholidays – then hit "recalculate" to get the special price. Its simple to do.

Merry Christmas!

Book club holiday party gifts and decor and treats

Books, celebrations, Food and Drink, holiday decor, Kitchen remodel

By Karla Nathan / December 22, 2011

Last Monday, I hosted our annual book club holiday gathering.

All of the dining table chairs were moved into the living room for the guests to gather in a circle and the dining room table was covered in a vintage velvet quilt and filled with goodies.

If I didn't have old lady eyes and needed the over head lights on, I'd keep my house lit with ambient lighting instead! I love the glow of all the small lamps tucked around the room. And of course the Christmas trees add a beautiful glow to it all too.

December is the perfect time to add lots of little mini lights. I love to use them under old lace curtains on the buffet.

The fairy lights add a nice twinkle to everything sitting near them.

This little paper weight was a gift from my sisters. Bobbie Sue added a photo of the three of us to an old paper weight that Sissy had. She made 3, so we each got one.

For book club, we all wrapped up a book we'd enjoyed that year for a trade. I got extremely lucky! There was a book I'd read in my 20s that I LOVED and wanted to re-read. I've looked for it for 30 years, but didn't remember the author's name or title. And it showed up that night at the swap!!! Its from 1978 and is called "The Mirror".

The book I gave away that night was "Room" and its very disturbing, so I wrapped it extra nice and added a brooch to the package.

The night before guests came, my son's Gypsy Beloved helped me make some gifts. We whipped up goats milk bath salts with a vanilla rose oil scent, and some brown sugar scrub too.

Sorry, no real recipe, I kind of made it up as I went along. But each are sooooo easy to make, I'll give you the ingredients if you want to wing it:

Bath salts:

Box of powdered milk (goat or otherwise)

epsom salts (whole bag)

cup or so of sea salt

scented oil to your own taste

Sugar scrub:

Half pound of brown sugar

Full bag of epsom salts

cup of sea salt

about 2 cups of coconut oil

about a half cup of glycerin

scented oil to your own taste
The scrub is great for rough, dry, winter skin. And the milk bath is really relaxing. I use both regularly.

I wrapped them all in small plastic bags sold at Michaels in the cake decorating aisle, and tied up the bath salts with white lace and a mini bleached tree or wreath. The sugar scrub got wrapped the same way, but tied with rick rack and a tag made from an old Shiny Brite box.

It was wonderful to have my new, big kitchen to host a party in. I can't begin to tell you how much I love that room.

The treats that night were pumpkin cheesecake, fudge, german chocolate brownies, pumpkin muffins, a veggie tray, pita chips, flax seed chips and salsa.

And of course wine!

I hope that your holiday has been filled with special occasions and more to come. Its a festive season, and I can't get enough of it.

And please don't forget, I'm picking a winner of a Holiday Surprise gift.

Just leave a comment between now and Christmas to enter.