News from the Nest, November 29

A very Good (yet exhausted and chaotic) Monday Morning, my friends!

We just sent our last one back to school this morning, along with her rabbit and 75-lb puppy! What a trio they are! It was sheer bliss having both of my nestlings back home for a couple of days; we did our share of overeating and laughing and just enjoying each other’s company.

My daughter loves to help me decorate the house for Christmas, but I need to bite my tongue as I watch the clouds of dust that follow in her wake. I like to have a plan and she seems to thrive in chaos. And for someone who needs order in her home, my home is anything but orderly right now.

Open bins of Christmas decorations are scattered in just about every room. We need to move stuff aside to find a place to sit. The laundry is piled high. I haven’t sat at this desk in almost two weeks. And I couldn’t be happier! I’ll have time in the next few days to restore the order, but right now I am still comfy in the memories of the holiday weekend.

And let’s not even talk about the scale that is pointing its finger at me! I’ll start dealing with that over the next few days as well…that is until we head out of town again this weekend!

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• I am actually quite shocked about this, but I did get a new post published last week! Not sure when I did that but if you are looking for simple hostess gifts, make sure to print off these Christmas Wine Bottle Gift Tags!

• I had my nails ‘dipped’ two weeks ago for the very first time in preparation for the wedding. And now I am stymied, they look sooooo much nicer, but do I want to spend an hour every other week at the manicurists? That’s the kind of thing I just really don’t enjoy ‘doing’ but do like the end result. Ugh!

• It seems that many of you are including your 4-legged friends in your holiday baking plan this year! This 3-Ingredient Dog Treat recipe is the second most popular post over the past week.

• What was the most popular post over the past week? Funny you should ask. It seems that many of you are getting busy making Christmas gifts! This DIY Gifts that Don’t Scream DIY post is the most popular of all my 648 posts! Wow…I didn’t even know I had that many posts until I just looked now!

• Spending as much time in my kitchen as I need this past week made me realize how much I LOVE this apron! If you are looking for a gift for a cook, this is a great one.

• Jennie sent this kind review:

Just a quick note to say that I made the Rosemary Walnuts last night! What a hit! I’m glad I purchased a big bag of walnuts at Costco, so I can make more batches. Thanks for such a winner!

• If you are looking for another way to use Rosemary and Walnuts (and why wouldn’t you?), these Rosemary Shortbread Cookies are just really outstanding! As the self-proclaimed President of the I 💗 Rosemary Fan Club, I can easily attest to the fact that the Rosemary in these cookies gives them a delightful, yet subtle fresh, piney fragrance. Give them a try!

• And then there was this review from Elly!

Apple-Cider Doughnut cake was rec’d in my house with rave reviews. Just as good as the name suggests. We ate half of it and I’m freezing the other half for later this weekend when the pie runs out. Always great to have a fabulous dessert to whip out and wow the crowd when they least expect it! Thanks!

• Many, many heartfelt thanks to Elly and Jennie for writing in!

• It dawned on me as I unpacked ornaments to decorate the tree this weekend that I need to repack them differently at the end of the holiday. I like to put the bigger ornaments on the tree first and then fill in with the smaller ornaments. I found myself pulling out and setting aside the smaller ornaments while I searched for the bigger ones. I either need to just put all the big ones in one box (which is what I think I will do) or put the smaller ones at the bottom of the box and the bigger ones on top.

• Make sure to grab your Holiday Planner! It’s time!

• You have plenty of time to knit up some washcloths for gifting. Here are six free washcloth patterns for you to choose from.

Will you be making a fruitcake this year? I swear by my Grandma’s White Fruitcake! It is light, moist and fresher than the heavy dark fruitcakes (that my other grandma made!) I spent my youth comparing and contrasting the dueling fruitcakes and this one is my fav!

Leftover turkey? Try this 15-Bean Soup recipe, made lighter and healthier by using turkey instead of ham.

Well my friends…I am off to…well, I’m not sure what I’m going to do! Truly, I become somewhat immobilized by clutter, which is why I avoid it on a regular basis. But I need to start somewhere, so I think I’ll start in the kitchen and move from there.

I also have several posts that are very close to being published for you, including a Christmas Salad, a Christmas jam and Care Labels for you knit projects. Fingers crossed they all get published this week.

I’ll ‘talk’ to you next week from Asheville, NC! We will be up ther with friends visiting the Biltmore Castle all decorated for Christmas!

Hugs,

Thanks for making my day by SHARING!!