Holiday Cheer

This holiday season was full of family fun. We celebrated Christmas and New Years in Bayonne. Here are some pics of the good times!
The festivities started in Westfield...

Mom helps me string the lights and plug in our favorite angel with the lights under her dress.


Rachel and Mom unpack the keepsake ornaments...one for each year!


Mom continues the tradition of Auntie Alice's Kruschikis.


And Rachel made her first ever Buche de Noel.

Things got a little crazy in Bayonne...

Me and Charlie cook up a storm.


The original Potluck Crafters by the tree.


Nothing brings a family together like good food!

And New Years Eve was a blast...dinner, drinks, fun and games with loved ones and Dick Clark!

Just a few minutes to go!


Rockin in the New Year!


Ringing in the New Year with pots, pans and sparklers!
I hope you all have a very blessed New Year and keep on crafting, making things with love and celebrating something every day!

Things to Celebrate

1. Charlie and I celebrated our 3rd Wedding Anniversary in the Poconos.


2. I have a husband who takes me antiquing and likes it.


3. I finally updated the wreath on the front door.
Goodbye sunflowers, hello glittery birds.
l

Crochet Projects Galore

My friend since childhood is having a baby boy, she's due in early December. We grew up together and when I think about our friendship, it seems like we were just playing board games, making prank calls and fighting with our moms about the clothes and makeup we wanted to wear. Now she's going to be a mom...

I bought a book about crochet edging on fleece and I gave it a try for her shower gift. I made a blanket, hat and mitten set. It came out cute and the technique was easy once I got the hang of punching holes in the fabric.

The fleece is so soft and snugly; I hope they get a lot of use out of the set.

I'm also working on something special for Potluck Designs. It's a copy of a blanket my mom's Aunt Alice made years ago. I love cross stitching the pictures onto the crochet blocks. I'm having fun copying Aunt Alice's design and adding my own touches.

Finally, soon to be for sale on etsy is a festive winter garland! It's so cheerful and perfect for this time of year. Mini hats, mittens and stars are strung from a snowy white crocheted strand. I just have to get the photos in order and it's ready to go.

Now that Rachel's in Grad School, we haven't spent much time together cooking and crafting. Hopefully we'll find the time to keep up with our blog, she spends most of her time reading. I, on the other hand, have no excuse!
Kisses
Sandra

Nothing Says I love You Like a Meatloaf

A heart shaped meatloaf that is...

And it was delicious!

Happy Birthday Mom

We had a party today for Mom's birthday, it was great to have everyone together! I made ribs and flan for the first time, they both came out really good...what a relief.


Rachel made her famous cake that takes hours of preparation and it was worth every minute...so moist and melty.


Ryan had fun roaming around the house, he doesn't come here too often so there's a lot to see and do in a short amount of time.


Stephanie came to PaRtY and she is great at talking to Grandma so we love having her company.


Grandma had some laughs with her great grandson


My favorite part was the decorations...I love a festive house!
And life is good!
Love Sandra

Reminiscing about Brimfield

I finally sorted through all the buttons I bought in July at the massive antique show in Brimfield MA! They are separated by color, grouped by style and strung on wire for easy access.


I realized we never blogged about our trip to Brimfield so here's a little recap of our time. Mom, Rachel and I were stricken with exhaustion from lack of sleep and extensive heat and sun exposure which led to uncontrollable laughter and tons of hilarious situations.

Like when our mom, wearing her new Bakelite Scotti Dog pin, found a linguine noodle in the bottom of her bowl of broccoli...


I laughed so hard I cried...



We had so much fun digging through piles of vintage table cloths, scavaging for deals on Pyrex and Stangl, and admiring all the beautiful things we could never afford.


I can't wait to go again next year!

Jamin' Out

This morning I woke up and ate a peach from a basket we got from the farmer's market on Saturday. It was so delicious that my knees actually gave out a little underneath me. I finished breakfast and put on a huge pot of water to boil because I knew right then, these were the jam peaches I'd been waiting for.

Oh but this guy was in the bag. His nose was so cute, he got spared from the jam pot. He's for breakfast tomorrow instead.

My jam came out pretty delicious, it tastes just like those fruit nectars you can buy in cans at the grocery store. The only problem is that it didn't set well. It's thick enough, but you'll need a spoon instead of a knife to get it onto your toast. I'm not sure what my problem is, but this is the 3rd jam I've made that hasn't set up for me. I followed a recipe, and used pectin to help it along, but no luck. I need to read a little more about it to figure out where I'm going wrong.

Only 6 lovely peaches and I got these three jars, plus one that's only half filled so I didn't can it... just stuck it right into the fridge for right-away-eating!