SHS Christmas All Through The House

SHS For the Love of Christmas Trees

HappyThanksgiving Everyone!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I have to admit, I enjoy decorating much more than cooking. My virtual thanksgiving meals were so attractive because they looked easy to prepare in one pan.  When I asked which one he wanted me to prepare he asked for a more traditional thanksgiving meal. There was no way I was going to prepare a big turkey just for the two of us.  I was thinking I'd purchase a Costco chicken if we needed a whole bird. But, I love him, so we settled on a turkey breast which he suggested. I prepared small portions of the sides and we were both happy. He still has his leftovers.  

So, here is my menu:

Turkey Breast with Celery, Green Onion Stalks and Creole Seasoning

Collard Greens Seasoned with Neck Bones and Onions

Cinnamon and Sugar Crusted Sweet Potatoes

Hawaiian Bread Stuffing with Raisins (boxed)

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy (boxed)

Cranberry Sauce (Can)

 

A combination of fresh vegetables and packaged stuffing, potatoes and cranberry made the meal easy to prepare and enjoyable. We'll try this again for Christmas.     

SHS Celebrating Fall

SHS Siera's Room

It's not often I get to decorate a child's room, but this year I've done two. Siera's room was previously decorated with a princess theme. After recently have her 9th birthday she wanted a change. She also needed more space. Many children are spending more time at home due to the pandemic and a room that reflects who they are and their needs can be important. A few of the projects I completed were with her help. You may want to try them yourself.

The calendar wall art is one I've used for years. I purchased the calendar and the frame from Dollar Tree. It was just a matter of trimming to the size of the frame and hanging.

Another easy project was using wall decals. The large decal of the girl on the bike was purchased on Amazon.  It just took a little time to apply .

The chalkboard decals were from Dollar Tree. Their selection varies from time to time and at different locations.  Because most wall decals are repositionable, we were able to reuse many of the ones she previously had on her wall.   

The bead curtain was made from pretend play necklaces. They came three in a pack. I attached two to obtain the length I need. I than hot glued them to a rod. The remaining beads were used to accent the lamp shade.

Watch the video to see more Ideas.

Legacy Tea Recipes

The time of day or the occasion of your Tea Party will likely help dictate you menu. The virtual tea event I participated in was 11:30 am, so we had a luncheon tea. Here are a few of the recipes I used.  

                                                                                               

Mini Cheese Cakes

Ingredients

2 Packages of Cream Cheese(room temp.)

1/2 Cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1 Tsp. Vanilla

1 Cup Graham Cracker crumbs (prepared as package directed)

Cherry or Fruit filling

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

In a large bowl mix the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla. 

Line cupcake tins with mini baking liners.

Place a spoon full of graham cracker crumb mix in each baking

 liner and press into bottom. Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly

 on graham cracker crumbs. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Cool and top with fruit.

 

Pasta Salad

1 12 oz. box of Rotini Pasta

1 16 oz. Italian Salad Dressing

1 12 oz. Imitation Flaked Crab

1 pint of Cherry Tomatoes (sliced)

1/2 cup of  green onion (chopped)

Directions

Prepare pasta as directed on box. Mix remaining ingredients together and toss with pasta. Cool in refrigerator 1 hour.

 

Chicken Salad

I pound of Chicken Breast (cooked and diced)

1/4 Cup of Chopped Onion

1/2 Cup of Celery

1/2 of Mayonnaise

1/4 Cup of Sweet Relish

Dash of Salt and Pepper

2 Dozen Mini Croissants

Mix all ingredients together and cool for  one hour. Spoon into croissant.  

A Legacy of Tea

 

Tea is a beautiful gift from God that nurtures both the body and soul.  It's health benefits, established traditions and etiquettes makes it one of the most popular beverages in the world.

Consuming tea began in Asia as early as 1500 and spread across multiple cultures and later became known to western civilization in the 17th century. Tea became popular in Britain and came to America with the early colonists. Asians consumed the tea luke warm from bowls. The British liked it piping hot so shallow bowls we know as saucers were used to sip small amounts for faster cooling, later handles were added to the bowl vessels mostly made from bone china. That resulted in the cup and saucer. 

The beauty of a tea cup or tea set and the heritage of passing them down in a family can be part of a legacy. The best teacup collections contain sentimental pieces that were inherited or acquired as special finds or gifts. View my video for more. 

 

Covid 19 Birthday Celebrations

Social Distancing has changed the way we do everything including celebrate. Regardless of how many people you celebrate with recognition is what's important.  For some delaying or postponing some celebration may be necessary because they are event you definitely want to share with love one, like weddings.  Celebrating something like a birthday can still happen and that's what I did.  My birthday is May 5, and falls on Cinco de Mayo so I had a Fiesta birthday celebration. I am going to show you how I made the Taco sever.  You can use this for any celebration. It's entertaining and easy to make.

                                            

Here's a list of supply I used: 
I large box 
Gift wrap
Mesh ribbons and Organza fairy shirt
Fasteners and Chenille ties
Glue gun
Garden Planter ( may be substituted with another box set inside to hold dishes)
Instruction:
Trace or Draw two half circles with bottom flaps. Glue the bottom flap on top of each other. Cover the outside with gift wrap. Cut the shirts open and glue along the inside edge on each side. If you are only using the mesh ribbons, scrunch  it together and glue to inside edge of cardboard. Cut  10" pieces of mesh, roll, tie at bottom and attach to inside edge of cardboard. Cover inside box with gift wrap and fasten to taco sides.

   

Watch the video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Am480bARbUU

  

Celebrate with Brunch

Mother's Day is a very special day set aside to let all the mothers know they are loved. Every day is mother's day in the life of a Mom ,but it's nothing like receiving special recognition. I celebrated this year with a brunch. There's a dish I hadn't prepared in a long while and I wanted something different.

It wasn't breakfast in bed for me, so I created my own celebration. View my video to see the full place setting.

Here are the recipes:  Quiche Florentine

1 9 inch unbaked deep dish pie shell
1 (10 oz.) package of frozen chopped spinach
1 (8 oz.) package Swiss cheese, grated
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup 2% milk
3 medium eggs
1/4 cup of green onion
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
4 Strips of cooked bacon.
Saute onions with butter. Beat eggs and combine with milk, flour, milk,salt and pepper and onions.
Pre-bake pie crust 12-15 minutes. Cook bacon and crumble on bottom of pie crust. Cook and drain spinach. Combine spinach, Swiss cheese and all other ingredients. Pour into pie shell. Bake 1 hour, at 350.
Yields 8 servings.

                                   Quiche Lorraine
1 lb. Sausage of bacon (cooked and crumbled
I cup of mild cheddar cheese
2 eggs
1/3 cup finely chopped onions
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 deep dish pie crust
Pre-bake pie crust 12-15 minutes. Combine and mix eggs, onions, milk, salt and pepper.  Fold in cheese and sausage or bacon. Pour into pie crust. Bake 1 hr. at 350. Yields 8 servings.

Great for Breakfast, Lunch and Brunch. Enjoy!

2

cups whipping cream or half-and-half

1/4

teaspoon salt

1/4

teaspoon pepper    

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Why Wear A Mask?

We are living in very scary times and how we respond to it can affect us mentally and physically. It's important that we help each other.  Wearing a mask is one way to do it.

I am not sure who the original author of this Facebook post was, but I have summarized it to share this information about autoimmune diseases and Covid19 . It is a disease where instead of your white blood cells protecting your body from invaders, they turn around and attack your cells, tissues and organs. I urge you to think twice before passing judgment and thinking our nation is overreacting to the extra measures being taken to curb the spread of this virus. YOU might be able to recover from it no problem however, carry it to someone with an autoimmune disease and that individual won’t be as lucky.

In honor of someone who is fighting Severe Asthma, Addison’s disease, Endometriosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, POTS, , Sjogren's, Scleroderma, Hashimoto Disease, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, Sarcoidosis, Hepatitis, Raynauld's Syndrome, Diabetes, Mold Illness, Celiac, CROHN’S, Ulcerative Colitis, Pemphigus, Psoriatic Arthritis, and every other autoimmune disease. 

PLEASE wear your mask, save a life.

We are all on a wing and a prayer and I find it comforting to pray. There's a prayer that really comes to mind during the time we are in. 

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
forever in the next.
Amen.

Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)

SHS Wing And A Prayer Giftware Women's Face Mask

Lemons to Lemonade

Lemons to Lemonade

As the earth brings forth the blooming of Spring with its annual flowering show I can't ignore celebrating it. This is one of my favorite times of year because the climate is perfect and the blooms and colors are spectacular. The phrase of turning lemons into lemonade is literally and symbolically. I know we are in the middle of a pandemic, so I am going to share some simple and environmentally friendly ways to incorporate lemons in your daily life.  Many of  the products we use for cleaning  have lemon or are lemon scented.  Here are a few good uses for lemons:

Lemon  is a great disinfectant for its citric acid and antibacterial properties.

Most stains such as red wine, grease, mildew, or berries can be removed with an application of lemon juice and salt. Add baking soda to create a paste and let it sit for awhile on tougher stains.

Infuse your water with lemons. It's a rich source of vitamin C, it can boost the  Immune system, help maintain pH balance and acts as a detoxifying agent of the body.

Spray fruits and vegetables with lemon juice before rinsing to remove pesticides.

Soak your apples or cauliflower into a bowl of water with a few drop of lemon juice to keep them from turning brown.

Spray your windowsills and  baseboards with a mixture of lemon juice and vinegar (no water) to discourage insects like ants, spiders and cockroaches from entering.

Most stains like red wine, grease, mildew, or berries can be removed with an application of lemon juice and salt. Add baking soda to create a paste and let it sit for awhile on tougher stains.

Add a few drops of lemon juice to the boiling water before you put the rice in, and it will prevent the grains from sticking together, or to the pot. 

Grind lemon peels in your garbage disposal occasionally to prevent it from smelling and building up gunk. Run water through your faucet as you're grinding. 

Hopefully some of these uses will be useful to you.  

My visit to the Philadelphia Flower Show, the largest flower show in the nation captures the gardens of the Mediterranean with beautiful plants, flowers, water features and sculptures.

The show transported and captured the allure of this part of the world's captivating costal region with sculptures, water features, tablescapes. The beauty of it all, is you don't have to go there to get great ideas for your garden. I am going to share a few quick tips I observed.

If you don't have a lot of space potted plants and flowers grouped together will create a beautiful display.

Create a raised plant bed in confined and poor soil conditions areas. Build up with new soil for optimum growth.

Add wrought iron or ornamental sculptures to your garden to give it character.   

I am excited to have a place to discuss creative ideas for home and life. As I share ideas for your home, I hope you will be inspired and share yours too.  As we rush through life, sometimes little things that can make a big difference tend to get lost in the shuffle.  Creating a better way of life within your home is important. Simple, easy and economic ideas can go a long way. Let your home and life reflect who you are?  Discover how it can function well for your family's life? I hope this blog provides you with inspiration, ideas and motivation.