Wrap-Up: Christmas Eve Brunch

Let's just admit it. The best way to celebrate any occasion is with food. Well that's basically the law here in the south. 

My family already kicked off Christmas with "Pre-Christmas". The Brunch is the next scheduled Holiday event on the schedule. The Brunch is home to the best food that the Bensons can produce. This year was no exception. The spread was huge and the laughter was louder than ever. 

Anybody remember the game Telephone? You know its the game where someone whispers something in the person sitting next to them's ear. The message travels around. The message usually gets distorted because you can only say it once, everyone is giggling, and you're whispering. Yeah, we played it. Hilarious.  

The Best Hot Chocolate... Ever

I love Hot Chocolate. 

I kind of consider myself a Hot Chocolate expert. 

Mimi, one of my grandmothers, used to make the best hot chocolate. The best part about it was that it was not from a package. 

I never could replicate it. 

Martha Stewart, on the other hand, has done the impossible. 

Here is the link to her recipe. 

Its quite simple actually. 

I halved the recipe because I don't need as much as she makes. 

We whisked together: 

1 3/4 C sugar

1 C and 2 Tbsp cocoa

1 1/2 tsp salt

Put it in a jar and keep it for the cold weather.

Blessings. 

Wrap-up: Pre-Christmas

When I was younger it seemed as if Christmas came at an unbearably slow pace. Now it flies by faster than ever! This year I made it a point to snap as many pictures as possible. 

Heres what Christmas looks like at my house. 

A few days before Christmas we had a family meal. I call it Pre-Christmas. It was the kick off to family fest. 

Sidenote: My mom has been collecting her Christmas china practically since before I was born. This Christmas was the first time we've ever used it. She said that she was finally brave enough to let everyone use it. We didn't break or chip anything. 

Decking the Halls: 2

I love the mantle in my house. Immediately when I saw it, I knew that I could do fun things for Christmas. 

My roommate, Vannah, had these awesome large glass jars. 

We put the excess tiny Christmas ornaments in these bad boys. 

The one on the far left has sparkly pinecones. Love it. 

The one in the middle is empty and the smallest one has the sparkly pinecones and some tiny green balls. 

Also, I had Mr. Luke exacto some more scrapbook paper onto smaller letters like the first "Deck the Halls with..." post. 

I wanted to spell out something that was random and unusual but still Christmas related. 

Glad Tidings. 

The Campbells donated this wreath and I am so glad that they did. I ran out of lights because I put them all on my tree. 

Instead of buying more lights, I stuck in some feathers that I snagged from Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago. Also, love it. 

There's my little mantle. 

The stick tree is another favorite. My mom got this for me at World Market one weekend in Birmingham. 

I kind of want to keep it up all year round. After all, its not all that Christmas-y right?

Happy decorating!

Blessings. 

Guest Post

Hey Guys!

I wrote a Christmas craft guest post for Hello Dearie. 

Go Check it out!

It was my absolute favorite Christmas craft that I made. 


Heres a teaser of what it looks like: 

Blessings!

Decking the Halls: 1

Heres a fun little Christmas craft. I have been wanting to do this for a while now. This is one of those simple seen almost kind of everywhere crafts. I cannot take credit even though I wish I could. 

Materials Needed: 

Scrapbook Paper

Letters ( These are the thinner cardboard letters. They aren't the kind that stand up on their own) - make sure you spell it out right before you leave the store.  

Exacto Knife

Modge Podge 

Paint Brush

I am seriously considering leaving it up all year...

I definitely want to make more!

Blessings. 

A Few Snaps

As previously mentioned, Vannah (roommate) and I moved into a new duplex. I like to call it the Newplex --Mr. Luke came up with that. 

Anyways here are some random photos that I snapped from my phone during Furniture Fest (moving day)

Here it is! Its the one on the left with the open door. 

Now, here are some comparative shots from old space to my new pad. 

I am kicking myself for not taking photos of the old apt. It was always on my to do list, but it never got done. 

                         

This the size of the living room in the old apt. I used my body for the scale. Also, my shadow is amazing. 

Trust me, this is the whole space. Nothing is cropped out. 

This is new living room! 

Its so BIG! It has an amazing fireplace and we have lots of sitting room. 

The old Kitchen  

and dining room area to scale thanks to Mr. Luke.

 The New Kitchen and Dining room area!

I love it so much. 

I can't wait to have everything put in place. 

I love this place. 

Moving.

Hello Blog Family, 

I have written a blog or two about my tiny little apartment in the past. 

It was charming and fun to live in downtown Clinton with the BrickStreets in my backyard, but the shoebox apartment lost all of its charm when my roommate and I checked out a 2 story duplex a few streets away. 

We were able to move this past weekend. It all happened so fast! 

Needless to say that I have been pouring over Pinterest in my free time looking for decorating tips. 

I feel like my options are limitless!

We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but its going to be amazing! We currently have no power, but we have been moving things over in the daytime and working by flashlight in the evening. We were able to get out water turned on quickly and the power comes on Tuesday! We have been living in like pioneers! 

I have a few more boxes to move!

Pictures to follow. 

Recipe: Smores Cookies

Hiyo! Anybody like s'mores? 

If you've ever wanted to make s'mores, but don't have access to a campfire, here is the solution. 

I found these lovely little cookies on Pinterest a few months ago, but did not try to make them until a few weeks ago. Mr. Luke and I made these treats for my birthday party and they were a huge hit!

I found the recipe here.

This recipe made about 5 dozen cookies! It was enough to feed an army!

This time we halved the recipe... don't worry, there was plenty.

Ingredients: 

1 1/4th c flour

 1/4th c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 c mini marshmallows

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking soda

5 1/2 tbsp butter

 1 large egg

a few hershey bars 

 graham crackers  

1/2 c chocolate chips

1/4th tsp sea salt 

Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda into a medium bowl. Whisk it all together. 

In a separate larger bowl, mix the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together. 

Once the butter, sugar, and brown sugar are mixed well, mix in the egg and vanilla. 

Next, combine the flour mixture and keep on mixing

Fold in the mini marshmallows and the chocolate chips

Refrigerate for an hour

Pre-heat the oven to 350. 

Spread out the grahams on a cookie sheet and ball up the cookie dough. I had 2 baking pans full. 

After 5 minutes, take the pan back out, stick the other tray in.

With your broken up hershey bars, press them in the middle of the cookie.

Place the cookies back in the oven and bake for about 6 more minutes. 

Enjoy!

These cookies will melt in your mouth. 

Ushered In

This past Thursday marked my innaguration into true adulthood. 

I cooked my first meal in a crockpot. 

I received this beautiful red crockpot from my parents for my birthday and Mrs. Barb gave me this magical electric skillet. 

I love them both. 

I made enough chicken teriyaki to feed an army. 

Mr. Luke and I ate off of it for 2 days. 

I found a cool recipe here. 

I also sautéed zucchini,  squash, broccoli, carrots, and sweet potatoes. 

It was kind of amazing. 

In other news, Mr. Luke and I cruised around MC campus in this little beauty a few days ago. 

We are filming a number of things for some promotional videos that I am working on. 

You can see Mr. Luke sillouette  in front of the golf cart. 

I've driven my fair share of golf carts in my day, but I have never driven a stretch limo version of a golf cart before. I left a few skid marks in the grass... oops. 

Have a great day! Go make memories!

Coffee Station

I love coffee. 

Mr. Luke helped me revamp my coffee station in the kitchen. 

The Boring Before 

The Glorious After!

A few months ago, Mr. Luke and I found this wall ledge at Dirt Cheap for about $5. The original plan was to put it up in Luke's room, but we couldn't find anywhere to put it. 

I also found an old green curtain in one of our closets here at the apt. Curtain = mini table cloth

I love it so much!

It makes the kitchen look way cool. 

Whats your favorite part about your kitchen?