Jenn's Pen

I caught up!  Well, not really, but at least on here.

Every year we make a gingerbread house, and every year we make it a little easier.  First we made houses from scratch--two of them.  Then the next year we made the house you buy and assemble and then decorate. . . then last year we bought the gingerbread train you assemble and decorate (which stayed together better than the house).  And finally. . .



The pre-assembled ginger bread house! Maye next year we will buy it pre-decorated as well!



It was quicker and cleaner, but the kids still had a great time decorating the house.


That's really the part they like anyway.


And let's be honest, they don't assemble it anyway, Rob and I do (and not well, I might add).  So I really think it's a win win.

Movie of the night: One Christmas.  I am watching it now and will post back my ranking. . .

We admitted we aren't perfect. . .

Which is to say, we did nothing--or at least not anything on our list.  We spent the whole day tiling and working on our rental reno and then came home and cleaned the house a little and baked bread (another weekly tradition around here--can I just say YUM?. . .note to self: post bread recipe on food blog).

We did watch the second have a Farewell Kris Kringle (since we started it so late we hadn't finished it yet), but other than that. . . nada.

But on a side note, while we were watching TV in our dark, partially clean, kid free family room, we heard the strangest crinkling sound coming from our kitchen.  We paused the TV and Chuck got all in a dither and started barking towards the kitchen table.

Our first though was that we had a mouse.  Eww.

So we tiptoed over to the kitchen and held really still and listened. . . it was coming from the table. . . it was coming from the paperwhites!



They were literally popping out of their little bud husks and crinkling open.  Crazy.



Now they are blooming all over the place and staring to flop over.  I need to get some sticks and tie them back up again.  But they make it feel (and smell) like Christmas around here!



{Have you ever smelled a paperwhite in bloom?  They stink--my neighbor thinks they smell like bad breath!  But after five or so years of planting them at Christmas time the smell has a positive association now. . . sort of like the lake turning over in Utah used have (it signalled the start of fall and spring)!}

Mystery solved!

Rob, the king of dessert, has undergone some major lifestyle changes this year.  Well, major in that he no longer whips up caramel corn and cookies then leaves town--and me with a plate full of sinful temptation.  He has also been running fairly religiously.  As a result he is sorely in need of an entire new wardrobe about four sizes smaller.

So holiday baking has been at an all time low around here.  But midweek last week Rob looked at me and said:  "I am feeling the urge to make Christmas candy.  I don't think I can resist--we might have to have our annual Christmas Candy Contest."

The girls were, of course, thrilled.  Every year Rob and I each bake a treat or two and then all the kids taste them (we always have extra kids over) and vote for the best one.  Rob ALWAYS wins.  But he also always makes Penuche, which is essentially caramelly sugar cubes.  How can I compete with that!?  But I try.  I always try something different. . . and hard.



So this year when I said I was going to attempt English toffee, Rob looked at me and said, "Why try something hard that only works a quarter of the time?"

Good point.  I made peppermint bark.  Easy and yummy.



Then to mix things up, Rob suggested Hannah enter the competition.  She debated between popcorn balls and peanut butter rice crispy squares--and chose the latter. . . slathered in a layer of chocolate peanut butter frosting.



She also recruited two assistants. . .



Rob and I finished first and let the crew have the kitchen.



Their teamwork was pretty impressive. . .



Their enthusiasm could have won them bonus points. . .



But in the end--they didn't need bonus points.



They won hands down.  Rob even admitted their squares were pretty darn yummy.



Maybe next year we won't invite her back. . . or maybe we will have her make ALL the candies!

Remember this post? Well, my chance to see inside the coveted Farrell House has finally come.  I learned recently that the house actually did sell, much to my chagrin.  And the lady who purchased it is doing a major renovation.  But despite that, she decided to take part in the Holiday Home Tour this year.



Happy, happy me. . .  or at least until I actually entered.  Then it was envious, envious me!  Oh, how I love that house!  The charm.  The molding.  The history.  The porches! Sigh. . . and all that for a partially renovated 95 year old home.



I got so wrapped up in breathing in the atmosphere that I nearly forgot to take any pictures.


Then I pulled myself together and snapped a few quick ones in rooms that weren't too crowded.


They don't really do it justice, and she made a few choices I would not have. . .



but over all the house was lovely.  Just lovely. . .


There were also three other houses, one built in 1928 two blocks from the Farrell House, which was charming;


one newer home built in the arts and crafts style in 2006;

 and a mcmansion over looking the 19th green--impressive, but not my kind of breathtaking.

As a bonus, the Farrell House was decorated by four designers--one of which was the owner of Camas Antiques--and several of my (and Lisa's) pillows were included in the master bedroom decor.

But what I'm really excited about is seeing the home in the spring when the new owner hosts an open house to show off her reno--which I hope she lets me photograph.  And of course I'll share.

Movie of the night: Farewell Kris Kringle. I give it an 8.

For months I have been anticipating this day.  First Friday in Camas is filled with fun things to do, but the December First Friday is always the Hometown Holiday Celebration with a tree lighting ceremony, and Santa, and shops open late and other fun stuff.  I planned on it all week and when Friday rolled around I kept wondering what it was I was supposed to be remembering.



Around 6:00pm I remembered.  Then we rushed over to Camas.



We missed the lighting of the tree, but there was plenty of fun to be had.


Signe and I sat in on story time while Rob waited in line to see Santa.

We stopped by my booth at Camas Antiques and were thrilled to see a twin bed Lisa and I made over displayed in the window.



We milled about in the street with the crowds, listening to local school bands and kids choirs singing Christmas music.  It was pretty magical.    Next year I will put it on my phone with an alarm.  Perhaps then I will not forget!



As the night came to an end, the wind picked up and made it feel a little like winter. . . so we stopped off at Panera Bread for a little something to warm us up.

Movie of the night: The Santa Suit. I give it a 6 (Mostly because it had Santa magic in it--I go for less magic of the Santa variety, but this one was pretty good despite that).

We (and by we I really mostly mean me) finished decorating our family room.  We are decorating in increments and will hopefully have the place done before the week is out.  I started decking out my mantel a couple days ago and blogged about it over at House of White.  But my plan was to get flowers for the ironstone.  Which I did today.  I am liking the change from my usual red,white and silver decor.



I can't resist a little red though, so I have some in my living room still. . . which is half decorated, and largely empty since we moved the living room furniture into the family room (during my blogging hiatus we returned Addy to the spring rescue after discovering it was him that was giving me constant hives--but before he left he destroyed our family room couches and gnawed up the legs of the table and chairs in the kitchen).


So we have a new kitchen table and chairs, but have yet to agree on family room furniture.


Here's hoping we get the rest of the decorations up before the season is over!

Movie of the night: A Dad for Christmas.  I give it a 7.

We started our December onslaught of Christmas cheer with a little sweetness.  I had a meeting at my house with 12 ladies expecting refreshments so I figured we would kill two birds with one stone.  We made cookies together.  Of course I didn't take pictures of the process until it was all over and everyone had gone, so this picture is the leftovers!

The nice thing about having an eleven year old baking in the kitchen is she doesn't really need my help.  Hannah made the Sugar Cookies and I made the Cranberry Pecan Cookies (They are actually Cranberry Walnut but I had pecans) and Signe snitched dough and frosting, and helped me sprinkle.  And truthfully, it was a full kitchen because we had two extras, of course.  Jacob helped Hannah and Noah kept exclaiming: "Gross! I saw you eat some cookie dough!"  His policing was mostly to ensure no one got more than him, I'm pretty sure.

Rob got home late after a flight got cancelled, but when he got home we watched: The Town Christmas Forgot.  I give it 6.

Clearly I only post on holidays and major event days at this point.  But hopefully I will catch up and get my act together--because it's time for. . .