A Cold Winter's Night ....Finally !

                                                                    Hey Y'all!

{magnolia topper because its the South y'all}

'Tis the season & I've been busy job hunting, crafting & Christmas'ing! The cold weather is finally here {freezing point tonight!!} & I've got a cupp'a hot cocoa to keep me warm.

I hope y'all are having a wonderful Christmas season thus far! The roomie {A} + I put up our tree last weekend after getting festive at Christmas Made in the South ... It was my first time going to it and I must say I did find something for my Sister+B.I.L. -- always love to support those small businesses and craftsmen!

I've also been on a gift-making spree ... the *bests* presents were made tonight & shall be wrapped carefully and mailed in the next day or two. I want to post pictures but, well that would ruin their surprise! I'll post photos in about a week :)
Momma+L's present was partially made tonight, a "green" project that came about from using a piece I found at a local antique mall {my favorite, 3 miles from home...dangerously close}... working on something creative for my Daddy, Handsome Man and the Grandparents!

As {A} said when walking into my room "I love coming in here - it's so whimsical" ... she probably meant whimsical as in I'm covered in Martha's glitter ...used paint brushes all over the floor ... random patterned ribbons strewn about ... I do love to make a good mess :)

Gator/Nole Picture Frame + Antique Key

The job front has had some action, but nothing terribly promising until today when I received an email asking me to come for an interview with a {great} non-profit on Friday!! I'm terribly excited but also armed with questions of permanency, as the last {"great"} non-profit turned out to be less than stellar. Prayers are welcomed for this position, it's an Event Coordinator and will incorporate some of the athlete type activities I've done with Ironman back in the day. This is really a great shot -- will keep y'all posted!

I'm excited to be home in just over a week for Christmas {a week early} & then off to celebrate New Years with Handsome Man.

March 2012 First Birthday Dreamboard

Oh and I have officially copyrighted my small biz name and logo, as well as being registered with the state as a sole proprietorship!!! The website will be up as soon as I get my "gallery" of events uploaded. I'm thinking January will be a great time to launch Sugar Bean Event Studio. Very excited about what God will bring me through some contract business ... oh! and I have my first booking for 2012 for a sweet former college roommate's son who will be turning 1... really looking forward to sharing about Sugar Bean's adventures!

That's it for now y'all ... time for the red flannel polka dotted jammie pants and slippers. I wish everyone a beautiful December!
     xoxo
B

Weekend in Pictures

Hey Y'all!

Happy Sunday & I hope each of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving and Black Friday, and Small Business Saturdays ... & all that extra stuff!

I was home for an entire week, which was quite lovely -- although only possible because I'm currently unemployed. I'll take it as a blessing though, to spend the extra time with family.

Momma and I ventured out Friday morning to breakfast, Kohl's and another little store -that's all the Black Friday shopping we did! And it was all after 9 a.m. :-)

Gator Cakes

Once I got back home to the BigCity - the roomie, A & I hosted a few friends over for the Florida - Florida State game on Saturday. Here's a picture of the Gator cupcakes I made, as well as our whole table spread {mostly Nole stuff}

Before all the Goodies got there!

Today we ran around during the afternoon and went to a holiday show called "Christmas Made in the South" - then went to pick up some pinecones {people that pay for pinecones are a bit crazy, in my book} and our plan is to bake them {to get out the bugs} and then make them sparkle using my Martha Stewart loose glitter.
I figure we can even tie them upside down and hang them in the doorways with some greenery.
Either way, they'll be super fabulous since they'll be glittered!!



A & I put up the tree and slung a garland up on the entertainment center. It was really fun to listen to Christmas music and put together the tree :) Tomorrow's goal is to find a huge sparkly magnolia to top our tree. The previous years' magnolia tree topper just is too tiny for our tree now -- I'm sure we won't have a problem finding something big and blingy for the tree!!

 

 

 

Antique Ornaments & Gold tendrel ribbon

Prayers are welcomed for an interview both tomorrow & on Wednesday. 

xo

B

Do-It-Yourself Season

Hey Y'all!

Hope you are each enjoying some cooler {if not down right cold&snowy} weather this week!
Even though we're in 'South Georgia' - it's been mighty cool... I shall not be grumpy that this week's high is 80 .. psh.

Anyway - y'all know I love to do me some DIY and lately it just hasn't been happening due to my event / fundraiser in October and all of the madness leading up to that.
Now I'm shuffling my belongings again, just down the road to live with a sweet friend of mine. I'm looking forward to having a roomie again :)
My hope is to be pretty settled by Christmas and have a wonderful season of baking and DIY gift-making!

I had to share some of these sweet ideas with y'all ~

Paper Trees - to compliment the colors of your decor! Not overtly Christmas'y so they would stay up in my house probably til January!
{www.u-createcrafts.com}

Greenery Wreath with a Monogram {of course!} Tie off with any ribbon that matches your style ...
{lookiewhatidid.blogspot.com}

This would be a precious wreath / gift for a grandparent! Easy peasy directions to follow at {thecraftingchicks.com}. . . I could see my grandparents loving this one!

I'm so loving hand-made gifts - if you're on my list, you'll be getting at least 1 handmade goodie :)

Happy Crafting~ I have a mirror to work on ... this beauty ...

Scored her for $20 @ a shabby beach antique store. Love!

Happy Tuesday!

xo
B

Cozy Warm Snacks

Well y'all - I hope you're hungry because I'm posting recipes today - the kind that make you feel all cozy warm on a winters night! 
{or when you have to crank the a/c down to 60 to pretend its winter}
Ashamedly enough, I really do not love to post recipes because I feel they are "my secrets" to delicious happiness and if you want that same delicious happiness, you'll have to ask me for it!
......But, I'm going to share - so hush up & be grateful!



S'mores Hot Cocoa {Handsome man hasn't taste-tested this one yet, but I'm sure he'll agree it's a winner. We've been on quite the s'mores kick lately - doing them over the grille since a fire pit isn't an option right now}

One packet of hot cocoa mix {I'm a Ghiradelli fan, myself} 
2 tsp. Fat-free non-dairy powdered creamer
2 tsp. Unsweetened cocoa powder 
2 tsp. Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips 
20 Mini marshmallows (about 1/4 cup)
2 Low-fat honey graham crackers (half a sheet), crushed

Place cocoa mix, powdered creamer, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips in a large mug. Add 1 cup very hot water, and stir until ingredients are fully dissolved, melted, and combined. Top with marshmallows.

Now here's the fun part...
Using a kitchen torch, toast the marshmallow layer for 5 - 10 seconds, until slightly melted and cooked to your liking. Allow to cool slightly, and then top with crushed graham crackers.


Cinnamon Bun Popcorn {Great for a movie-night at home with a fire in your hearth, or to give away in cute packages to co-workers. Guaranteed they will think it's "Moose Munch" from Harry&David!}

12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)*
1 C roughly chopped pecans
1 C brown sugar
3/4 t cinnamon
1/4 C Karo syrup (I prefer honey as a healthier substitution)
1 stick real butter (1/2 C)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
3 squares almond bark 

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a big, microwave-safe bowl. Chop butter into chunks and place on top of sugar mixture. Pour corn syrup (or honey) over the top of everything. Microwave on high for 15 seconds (to soften) and stir to combine. Return to microwave and heat for 2 minutes. Remove and stir, then microwave for 2 more minutes. Remove from the microwave and add in vanilla and baking soda. Be careful not to over cook the sugar mixture - at a certain temperature, it will turn into a hard candy and won't spread well over your popcorn!  Pour it right over the popcorn and pecans. Stir right away, and keep stirring until everything is well coated {just keep swimming, swimming, swimming...}
Spread popcorn mixture onto a foil-lined jelly roll pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 250 degrees, stirring every 10 minutes. Gently melt your almond bark and drizzle over cooled popcorn.

  

Cozy up and enjoy your treats!

xo

B