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Holly Bloggy Christmas Tree Event

December 14, 2009 10 Comments

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Today is Day 2 of the Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash, and we are sharing trees! If you have a Christmas Tree to share with us, be sure to link up over at A Baby Changes Everything. (And I’m also linking up to the tree event at Thrifty Decor Chick.
This year we moved our tree from the living room to the kitchen. We have a large eat-in kitchen, and I was able to place the tree in front of this china cabinet, positioned in between the actual kitchen and the dining area.

Now allow me to introduce my assistants: This is Rebel. Actually this picture was taken before the decorating got started. Rebel loves the Christmas tree skirt, and although he knows he’s not allowed on the counter, when I placed the skirt and some other things up on the counter it was just too tempting for him. I walked in and caught him taking a nap on it. (I think he was under the impression that I placed the skirt up there just for him. lol.)

And here’s Dixie Belle. She supervised the decorating, though she’s generally more of a “hands-on” worker. She and Rebel are also our resident taste testers, and apparantly fake trees are pretty delicious!


And here she is inspecting the final product:

I pretty much used the same ornaments as last year, except for a couple of new ones I got, but I did make a couple of changes. The star from last year doesn’t light up anymore, so I’m going to have to pick up a new one. In the mean time, I decided to top the tree with this big blue bow-thingy. (It was either that or some poinsetta sprigs….and the poinsettas just didn’t match very well.)


Another addition to this year’s tree is some garland. I bought a bunch of garland on sale last year. If you came by and saw my home tour post the other day, I’m sure you’ll remember the garland over my kitchen cabinets. The same kind is on our tree. It’s very bright and rainbow colored. Very festive!


Here’s some of our ornaments: The first one is the “Cookie Doe,” made of minature cooking utensils. I just love him!


Having grown up in the 80s, I’m a huge Care Bears fan:

I have a huge collection of mice ornaments. The mouse with the box of candy is one of my favorites.

This is a vintage Snoopy & Woodstock ornament. We had a bunch of these on our tree when I was growing up, and last year they were given to me. Not really sure how old they are. The last copyright date on it says 1965, but I’m thinking they were purchased in the 70s.

More mice….(and obviously I have a thing with fake candy and dessert items.)

Rainbow Brite, Twink, and Starlight:

A Gingerbread cookie ornament. I love these! His body is an ice cream sandwich!

Another one of my favorite mice ornaments:

….And more tree pictures:


Thanks so much for stopping by to see my tree! Hope to see you here on Thursday for the recipe linky!

-Jerri

Filed Under: Christmas, Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash

Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash: Homemade Gifts

December 14, 2009 13 Comments

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Welcome to Day 1 of the Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash! Today Jen at Tater Tots & Jello is hosting our Homemade Gifts Event! So head on over to Jen’s place and link up. We can’t wait to see your homemade gift ideas!

Also, don’t forget to stop by A Baby Changes Everything tomorrow as Teresa hosts our Christmas Tree event!


For my Homemade Gift post I’m sharing the Christmas Candy Boxes I made last year. I just love making Christmas candy, but I admit it can be a hassle sometimes. Fortunately I was able to select a “menu” of items that weren’t too difficult to make and easy to multitask and make together.

I basically spent an entire evening making and baking everything—that’s not too bad considering the amount of stuff I made, and considering that I did it all by myself. And in all, I believe I spent about $20 on all the ingredients, plus 6 containers. (And I had a lot of candy left over…probably enough to do 3-4 more boxes if I’d wanted.) So it’s an awesome value for the money and time I put into it.

Everyone liked them so much that I’ll be doing it again this year (except with different treats). Here are the recipes I included in last year’s Christmas Candy Boxes:

–Rocky Road Candy

–Cake Mix Cookies

–Rice Krispy Treats

-Chess Cake (Recipe will be posted here on Thursday for the Christmas Recipe Event!)

I started with these lovely plastic containers. I got these at Wal-Mart for $1 each! And then I just lined them with red tissue paper I had on hand.


Before stuffing the containers, I made all my sweets so I could get an idea of how to divide it all out equally. Here’s my dining room table covered with all the goodies:

Put the goodies and the festive containers together, and you have a lovely package that’s perfect for gift giving!

For my assortments, I included 3-4 pieces of chess cake, 4 pieces of Rocky Road Candy, 3 Rice Krispy Treats, and 6-8 Cake Mix Cookies.


After dividing out all the goodies, I finished the project, placing name tags and bows on top of the containers.

-Jerri

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I’m also sharing this post for TMTT at Blessed with Grace, TT at Beauty and Bedlam, Newlywed’s Holiday Treat Week and WFMW at We Are That Family.

Filed Under: Christmas, cookies and candy, desserts, Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash

Christmas Tour

December 11, 2009 17 Comments
It’s that time of year again! As Lucy would say, time to “deck them halls and all that stuff!” This year I’m happy to be participating in Christmas Tours over at Southern Hospitality, Hooked on Houses, and The Nester.

As you look through the post you’ll notice there’s no tree…..I got so carried away with the pictures that I decided not to put any tree pictures here. But for the record, I do have a tree and will be featuring it in a separate post later on. By the way, if you’re one the ladies sharing your trees and decor, don’t forget to stop by A Baby Changes Everything on Tuesday and link up your Christmas Tree post for the Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash. (And link up at our other events too. Go here for more details.)

To begin our 2nd annual holiday tour, we have a very special treat! This is photo of our house decked out with real “Alabama Snow!” Isn’t it glorious?

For some reason, I find it nearly impossible to get a good pictures of Christmas lights, regardless of the outside lighting or camera settings, but I did my best!



We begin our tour in the living room where I have a couple of displays and items to share, starting with our 3 snowmen here. When you go through this entire post, you’ll probably think that I’m obsessed with snowmen….but actually most of them were gifts. Over the years I seem to have acquired quite a collection! (And I must admit, they are quite cute!)


The snow village…..


Last year I decorated the entertainment center in blue and silver, but this year I went with red and gold. I just love these cone shaped trees! I wish I had a whole forest of them!


This village is an easy one piece set up. I have an entire box of villages out in our storage building…but it takes so much time to set up. Maybe one day I’ll put them out, but for now I’m loving this one…

The stockings were hung on the China cabinet with care…..

A couple of cute pieces.


Last year’s dining room centerpiece is now at the top of the China Cabinet.


Kitty Cat Stockings…..

Last year this wreath was adorned in mice ornaments, but this year to keep with the red & gold theme, I decided to just add some gold accents and ornaments that came off a predecorated Christmas tree.


A couple of Hallmark special animals…..


And some Hallmark Sock Monkeys…..

Moving On To The Kitchen……..


After Christmas last year I bought some new garland and balls to put over the cabinets. It really adds a lot of color….and fun to the room. (Note all the snowmen items hanging from the drawers above and the snow men towels hanging on the stove below…not to mention a couple of snowmen on the counter.)


I saw so many glass containers filled with Christmas balls last year on the tours that I decided to do a few of my own.


The “Kitchen Tree”

If any of you are in to antiques or “country kitchen stuff,” I got these out of the Lakeside Catalog. (Note once again, the snowmen.)


My stepmom painted this plate for us two Christmas’s ago.

Some close up pictures of the garland and balls over our other two cabinets….


….And the following two pieces actually don’t go together. One is a card hold and the other is just an ornament. I couldn’t find a good place to put the ornaments, so I hung them here….so that’s the story behind that. (But at least they both feature snowmen, and they’re both from Hallmark…okay, maybe this looks a little weird…)

More Christmas Balls in glass containers. (I told you I liked the idea!)

And the kitchen table decked out in what else….snow men!
This Christmas Tree plate is one of my favorite pieces. My husband bought it for me 2 years ago.

….And more snowmen.

….And even S’more Snowmen!

Thanks for stopping by for my Home Tour. Don’t forget to come by next week for the Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash! We’ll have some great events and great prizes to give away!

Have a Merry Christmas!

-Jerri
Filed Under: Christmas, decorating

Simply Sweet Home Holiday Gift Guide

December 3, 2009 1 Comment
Finished with your Christmas shopping yet? Don’t worry if you haven’t—-I’ve barely started!

This Holiday Gift Guide features items that I would be happy to give or receive this Christmas. Look it over and see if you can find something for that hard-to-buy-for-person on your list. Or at the very least, maybe this list will give you some inspiration to get started!

Organic Beauty Products from Lamas Beauty. I’m an indepedent representative for this company, and they have a wonderful line of skin care, hair care, and bath & beauty products! The Chinese Stimulating shampoo promotes healthy hair growth and removes debris. It’s incredible!

Here’s something perfect for the mother or grandmother in your life: A family Circle Necklace from RHB Designs. RHB Designs offers incredibly beautiful handstamped jewelry. It’s the perfect personalized gift, and you’ll find that there’s literally something for everyone here!

Who doesn’t need a planner? This one also includes stickers, filing pockets, and tear off shopping and to-do lists for each week. Look for it at Calendars.com

Know someone who collects ornaments? Rock Candy Vintage has an array of handmade Christmas ornaments that are perfect for gift giving. While there you can also check out jewelry from the Tree Candy line and all of the vintage clothing. And from now until Christmas shipping on all ornaments and jewelry is FREE!


Christmas just won’t be the same without a copy of the latest Harry Potter movie. (I asked Santa for one myself, and he said I’d get it—as long as I’m good!)

For your sweet tooth or the person on your list with a sweet tooth, order your Christmas candy, cookies, and treats from Millie’s Place. She has a fine selection of goodies, and everything is made fresh when you order it!


I love argyle! My husband just bought me one of these sweaters for my birthday from Old Navy. And they have them in all styles and colors for the whole family!

I just love these 3 in 1 cookbooks. This one features Jello & Cool Whip, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, and Baker’s Chocolate recipes! Yum!


For a hot cocoa or cup of coffee anytime, the Back to Basics Cocoa Latte Hot Drink Maker from
Bed Bath & Beyond makes a great gift.


I love checking out all the shirts and merchandise over at CafePress. That’s where I found this adorable Cupcake Tote Bag. What a perfect gift for the child or adult in your life that loves cupcakes!

-Jerri

Filed Under: Christmas, shopping

Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash

November 22, 2009 10 Comments
**Please see my updated post with prize information.**
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Join us for a cup of good cheer December 14-18 at the Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash! Simply Sweet Home along with 4 other amazing blogs will be hosting the event, and we’d love to see you there for all the fun and festivities!
Prizes: Everyone who participates in the week’s events will be elibible to win prizes! I’ll be announcing some of the prizes in the coming days leading up to the event! Also, I’m still looking for event sponsors. If anyone’s interested in being a sponsor, please send me an email, so we can get you lined up!
Now here’s the schedule of events for the Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash:

Monday, Dec. 14 – Homemade Gifts – The best Christmas gifts come from the heart. Whether you sew, bake, paint, or glue, a homemade gift is always special and unique to those who recieve it. Come join us over at Tater Tots and Jello and share something that you’ve made, or share something that someone made for you.

Tuesday, Dec. 15 – Christmas Trees – It’s so amazing to see all the different decorating styles people have out there. And we can’t wait to see yours! Share some photos of your Christmas tree. Do you have a special theme? A favorite ornament? Post your link at A Baby Changes Everything.

Wednesday, Dec. 16 – Christmas Crafts – Christmas is a wonderful time for crafty people to show off their skills. Do you make your own Christmas decorations? Ornaments? Cards? Scrapbooks? Gingerbread Houses? Something else? Come on over to Blue Eyed Blessings and share your creations with us!

Thursday, Dec. 17 – Christmas Recipes – Food and the Holidays go hand in hand. Come and share your favorite Christmas recipes over at Simply Sweet Home. Whether it’s an appetizer, a dessert, a drink, a side, or the main course, I’m sure we’ll all be hungry for seconds!

Friday, Dec. 18 – Christmas Memories & Traditions – We all have our favorite Christmas stories, from the sweet and sentimental to the unforgettably funny. Tell us your favorite Christmas memory. Or tell us about a favorite Christmas Tradition that your family has. Then link up over at Tidy Mom.

Sounds fun, huh? I hope everyone will stop by and participate!

Grab a Button: Feel free to right click and save the graphic above if you’d like to post on the event, and/or use the code from one of the buttons below and place it in your sidebar and in your event posts if you wish. I’d really appreciate everyone’s help in promoting this event. And to say thanks, everyone who has the HBCB button in their sidebar will be eligible for additional entries in all of this month’s giveaways!

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-Jerri


Filed Under: announcements, Christmas, Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash

Big Blog Announcement

November 3, 2009 Leave a Comment


Hello Everyone! I’m happy to announce that the 2nd Annual Simply Sweet Home Christmas Festival is coming up December 1 through December 25. Throughout the month of December I’ll be hosting and participating in some really fun Christmas events, and I hope you’ll all come by to join in on the festivities. Here are some of the event’s highlights and features.

Highlight:

  • Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash – December 14-18. Simply Sweet Home and four other blogs will be hosting the Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash. Each blog will be hosting a different themed party/meme, and everyone is welcome to participate with their own posts and link up. More details on this to come!

Other Features:

  • Christmas Recipes

  • Giveaways

  • Great Gift Ideas

  • Decorations

  • Crafts

  • Christmas Meme

  • Tour of Homes

  • Movies and Music

  • Holiday Traditons & Memories

Sponsor the Event:

I’m currently looking for shop owners to sponsor giveaways for the Christmas Festival. If you’re interested, send an email to simplysweethome@hotmail.com and we’ll work out the details. This is also a great time to purchase ad space on the blog because it’s the holiday shopping season and because the blog will see a surge of traffic in the coming months.

Spread The Word:

I’d love everyone’s help in promoting this event. If you’d like to do a post on the event, feel free to save my graphic and place it in your post. You can also place the Christmas Festival Button on your site. I’ll also be posting a graphic and button for the main event, which is the Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash. Look for the in the coming weeks!

-Jerri

Filed Under: announcements, Christmas

Wishing You A Joyous Christmas!

December 25, 2008 1 Comment





Filed Under: Christmas

Twas The Tour Before Christmas

December 22, 2008 3 Comments
I’m really enjoying attending all these blog parties and seeing all the lovely Christmas foods and decorations. It’s really inspiring actually. I’ve gotten so many good ideas for next year, more than I could ever actually use!

I’ve seen so many lovely things, I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorites with you. There are so many beautiful things, it was hard to decide which items to feature, but I managed to narrow it down to about a dozen.

Thanks to everyone for inviting us into your homes. I hope that everyone else will enjoy and be as inspired by these decorations as I was.

This yard at Chris’s Corner. I haven’t seen a lot of light displays on these tours, but I thought this was very festive! The inside of the house was very pretty too. Even the bathroom was decorated nicely!

This wreath at Our Life As We Wait for Lilly Rae. Actually the entire front of this house was just beautiful. It’s my favorite architectural style, and the decorations make it look just stunning.

This banister from Take 90 West…and Set this Circus Down. I love this garland! My mom has some little red pajamas hanging on her tree, but I would have never thought to use them like this. This page had a lot of other cute decor as well, but this was my favorite.

This mantle from Imperfectly Beautiful. I just love this! It’s so fun & colorful and very unique! I just love mantles! And I saw a lot of elegant mantle decor, some simple decor, and a lot of other things, but nothing like this one. In fact all of her decor is just beautiful and unique! You should check out her door wreath as well. Very cute stuff!

This mantle from Creations from my Heart. I thought this had a real elegance to it, and it goes very well with the tree. Just lovely! The garland on her staircase was beautiful as well. Great home!

This tree at Fiddle Dee Dee – Our Sweet Southern Life. I love–LOVE this tree. One thing I’ve discovered from looking at these tours is that I love peppermint stuff! I like this tree because it looks very elegant, but it’s also fun. And look at the topper! Great colors too, and a beautiful home!

This dining room from Beveral “Sand”hills. Her whole house was great, like something you’d see in Country Living magazine. I love the bright colors here, and it looks so cozy! The chandalier is beautiful, and I like that the table is decorated rather simply with the wine glasses and the bowl of balls in the middle. It’s a nice touch. (and also, I want to say that I have a red bird pouring picture just like hers, which I thought was kinda neat.)

This beautiful doorway from All Occasions by Cynthia. I like all the different colors used here, and I especially like the little ornaments dangling down from the garland above the door. This is a really stunning home, and all her trees and decor are so beautiful.

This doorway at Southern Fried Dreams. I just love this doorway. I like the material used, and the way the light green and dark red blend together. Very festive.

This topper at Tiaras & Tantrums. Now that is a topper! I loved the whole tree, but the topper was just the best! I love the gold butterflies, and the red balls give it a really good base. The little “chutes” that go up are cute too. I’m thinking this must be the latest style in toppers, because I’ve seen several with the chutes at the top. I wish I could find one for my tree.

This scrappy tree at Marleyblog. What a fun craft! Again, I love the colors of this, particularly all the different designs in the scrap pieces and how they all blend & contrast with each other. I simply had to feature this, not only because it’s so cute, but because it’s unique. I haven’t seen anything else like it.

This tree from A Picture is Worth A 1000 Words. You would have to see the post to fully appreciate this tree. This tree had very few ornaments on it, but she livened it up with some ribbon and some embellishments. I could hardly believe it was the same tree. The best part is the little white feathery things, and the little red bead-looking things. Again, not sure what these are exactly, but I wish I had some for my tree.


-Jerri

Filed Under: Christmas, decorating

Recipe of the Week: Cake Mix Cookies

December 18, 2008 15 Comments


A lot of the times when I want fresh-baked cookies, I just buy cookie dough and bake it, because it’s so easy, especially now that they have the break-and-bake stuff. But for gift baskets and parties, I like to have cookies that I can truly say were made by me.

Here’s an incredibly easy cookie recipe that I just tried for the first time the other day. These are so sweet and delicious, I could hardly wait to share them! The best thing about this recipe (besides the taste, of course) was that I had all the ingredients on hand already. I just hate finding a new recipe and not being able to make it because I’m lacking ingredients. As soon as I found the recipe, I got up immediately and had them made in minutes. Perfect!

I’m planning on making cookie & candy gift baskets for people, and these are definitely going in the baskets! I’m also submitting these to the following carnivals: Cottage Magpie hosted a cookie exchange this week, and My Kitchen Treasures is hosting a Homemade Christmas Gifts event. I’m also posting these on The Happy Housewife for the dessert portion of the Bloggy Progressive Dinner and to the Eat Christmas Cookies event at Food Blogga.

Happy Baking!

Recipe for Cake Mix Cookies:
Ingredients:
1 Yellow Cake Mix
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup oil
1 egg
candy sprinkles (optional)
Directions: Mix eggs, water, oil, and cake mix. After well mixed, add sprinkles. Roll into balls and place on greased cookie sheet or cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Place about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. (Makes 2 dozen cookies)
Tips & Suggestions:
-After baking, cover with additional sprinkles or dust with powdered sugar.
-If you’ve got a real sweet tooth, upon cooling, cover cookies with your favorite icing.
-Try this recipe with other flavored cake mixes, or change it up by adding nuts or chocolate chips.
-To keep dough from sticking to your hands, cover your hands in powdered sugar.


-Jerri


Filed Under: Christmas, cookies and candy, recipes

Spreading Christmas Cheer With Less Money

December 17, 2008 5 Comments


When money is tight, you have to adjust to those circumstances. A lot people find this difficult, especially around the holidays. But you don’t have to spend a lot of money to be happy this Christmas. Here’s a list of activities that you can do and your family can do for little or no money, along with some other ways that you can spread Christmas cheer without breaking the bank!

Fun Christmas Activities:
-Go to Christmas concerts, plays, and pageants at a local school or church.
-Decorate the tree or house as a family.
-Go look at Christmas lights. Usually you can find whole neighborhoods with great light displays, and some places hold large light displays that you can walk or drive through.
-A lot of people have a “Santa’s Village” set up where kids can participate in different Christmas games and activities.
-Read Christmas stories.
-Watch Christmas movies.
-As a family, sit around and tell stories about favorite Christmas memories.
-Make Christmas cookies, candy, or gingerbread houses with the kids.
-Make ornaments or crafts with the kids.
-Listen to Christmas music.
-Have a cookie exchange.
-Encourage you kids to put on their own Christmas show, either singing Christmas songs or putting on their own little play.

Save Money On Gifts
-Rather than buying gifts for each other, get together with friends for some kind of charitable activity, like making Christmas boxes, or adopt-a-family.
-Instead of exchanging gifts, agree that you’ll volunteer your time to each other. You could help each other out on specific task like baking Christmas candy or wrapping gifts or cleaning out the garage, or you could agree to go out and do something fun together, like go shopping or go out for lunch.
-Focus less on the amount of money spent and more on the thought behind the gift.
-Draw names or play some kind of gift swap game.

Saving on holiday food:
-Serve appetizers and desserts rather than a big meal.
-Have a potluck.
-Think of how much food you had left over last year, and try to downsize if you can.

Making your home look festive without spending a fortune:
-Wrap the front door in wrapping paper.
-Purchase an expensive one or make your own.
-Place a string of lights over the mantle, a buffet, entertainment center, or other furniture.
-Or dress up these same areas with a little garland.
-Make a simple flower arrangement with poinsetta & berry sprigs.
-Place Christmas balls in a bowl or basket.
-Display all of your Christmas cards.
-Dress up your table with some placemats or a festive table cloth.
-Place a small Christmas tree in the middle of your table or buffet.

For other great ideas, visit Rocks in My Dryer.


-Jerri


Filed Under: Christmas, saving money, Simple Solutions
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