guest room in blue

Last year, we remodeled the addition, changing the colors, the floors, counter tops, etc. When it came to Christmas decorating, changes had to be made to accommodate that.

The guest room used to look like this:

guest room tree

We bought this house in 1994 and renovated it before moving into the house in 1996. The wallpaper, carpet, and colors were chosen then. So it was overdue for a makeover.

guest room

We painted in blues and white, with some cream and yellow accents.

guest bedroom

To the right of the bed is a lowboy dresser that used to be in the scrapbook room. Several pieces of furniture played musical chairs during the past few months.

lowboy dresser

On the top of the little dresser is an Advent box and a rosemary tree. The Advent box came from Target in 2008. They had several styles and colors. This one seemed just right for the guest room.

Advent box

To the right is the bookcase that came from DH’s family.

bookcase

On top the bookcase are lighted buildings that are replicas of the county courthouse and the historic jail house in my home town. The jail is now a county museum. The book “Tale of Three Trees” stands in front of three fir trees in silver flower pots.

on top the bookcase

And in front of the bookcase is the Christmas tree. The tree is placed there so it can be seen down the hall as you look into the addition from the music room (formerly the office, before the desk wandered off to the library…now the “music room” because the piano lives there).

guest room Christmas tree

refurbished Putz house

Turning to the right and facing the north wall, we see the north window, a small table, a vintage chair and a corner cabinet I found on Craig’s List.

guest room

I still need to put the doors back on the bottom section, but the cabinet fits perfectly in this corner. The cabinet was stained. I sanded and painted it for the guest room. The white glass lightning rod balls on the bottom shelf are from my husband’s family farm and the blue one is from the house my paternal grandparents lived in.

Craig's list corner cabinet

My friend Laurie made the drapes. Aren’t they beautiful? It was her idea to hang them over the door, as well, which preserves the look of the lovely beveled glass but also provides privacy for the guest room when the drapes are pulled over the door.

north east corner of the guest room

To the right of the door is another vintage chair, painted blue. and then the armoire, which you can see in the first picture of this post used to be stained, but is now painted white with a blue interior.

guest room

the armoire needs its doors back...

The dried hydrangeas on top the armoire are from our garden.

top of the armoire

Next is the comfy chair and the aluminum Christmas tree. The tree sparkles and shimmers in the sunlight coming through the south window.

comfy chair

On the other side of the window is a nightstand that had been in the attic. Works well here.

guest room

That brings us back to the bed. DH made the head board from a door his parents had acquired from their church years ago.

old door headboard

The guest room is so peaceful that sometimes I go in there for quiet time. Especially in the mornings when the sun is shining through the window. ~~Rhonda

house concert

What can I say?? It was a *wonderful* evening! We had so much fun and everyone seemed to enjoy the music and the accompanying Christmas cheer. After the concert, guests complimented the music with words like “comforting, relaxing, calming, soothing, delightful,” etc.

house concert

With 65 guests, we packed them in. They were sitting in the front hall and living room…

chairs even in the front hall

house concert

and in the dining room…

packed in the dining room, too

and up the staircase…

and up the staircase

The music was beautiful. Left to right: Nathan Clark George, Ross Sermons, and Mark Stofell.

house concert

You can listen to some of the music we heard on Nathan’s web site. A few of my favorites are “Remember O Thou Man,” “O Little One Sweet,” and “What If I Were in the Garden.”

And after the concert, yummy goodies. We served sausage balls, spicy cranberry meatballs, bacon wrapped dates, a veggie tray with beau monde dip, three cheese spread [I left out the chicken and mixed everything together except the tomatoes and parsley which I sprinkled on top] with crackers, fresh red grapes, a tray of cheese and meat picks with pickles and olives, Chex Mix, and four kinds of homemade truffles. We had hot spiced punch, cold punch and hot coffee. With temps below freezing, it was a good evening for something hot to drink. I prepared all the food, except the veggie tray, the day before. Worked out great! The meatballs were kept warm in a crock pot and the sausage balls and bacon wrapped dates were kept in covered dishes in a warm oven during the concert, so they were ready to go when it was time for refreshments. Very easy menu.

yummy goodies

everyone seems to gather in the kitchen to chat

After the concert, there was an opportunity to meet Nathan, purchase CDs, and even get an autograph if you were so inclined. 🙂

Nathan George

A lot of our guests stayed for an hour and a half after the concert, visiting and enjoying the goodies, as well as savoring the Christmas atmosphere.

post concert visiting

There were three babies at the concert. So sweet! Christmas and babies…two of my favorite things.

what a joy this baby is!

Thank you, Nathan, Mark and Ross for another wonderful evening of Christmas music! We so enjoyed it!

Today I’m relaxing. I think I’ll finish Christmas shopping (via the recliner and amazon.com) and maybe I’ll take a nap this afternoon. Sounds good! ~~Rhonda 🙂

macro mondays

I haven’t posted a Macro Monday for a while. This week’s challenge was “drips, drops and splashes.” Here are some shots I took for the theme.

I like the way the stream gradually turns into drops.

dripping faucet

drips

This one has drops in the middle, falling into a frothy splash.

frothy

My favorite shot is this water crown.

water crown

I don’t know what next week’s theme will be, but I’m looking forward to it. ~~Rhonda

Christmas open house

As usual, we did not take nearly enough pictures. We were having too much fun visiting with our company. My son took many of these shots for me just as the party was getting underway.

Living room

Christmas open house

A gaggle of great guys in the living room.

Christmas open house

And time to catch up with friends.

Christmas open house

Dining room, with the table pushed against the south wall.

Christmas open house

Library / family room, with "It’s a Wonderful Life" on the TV. The stained glass windows were made by our dear friend Gary.

Christmas open house

Used to be the “office,” now it’s sort of called the music room, for want of a better name. It’s where the piano lives.

Christmas open house

Addition hall, looking toward the guest room.

Christmas open house

Guest room, with a few extra chairs for chatty guests.

Christmas open house

Upstairs hall…these are the last walls in the house that need to be repainted. Those dull vanilla walls don’t jibe will with all the color in the rest of the house.

Christmas open house

Speaking of color…DD#3’s room…

Christmas open house

My crafting/scrapbooking room

Christmas open house

DD#1’s room

Christmas open house

Looking from our bedroom door toward DD#2’s room.

Christmas open house

DD#2’s room

Christmas open house

The "glass" tree in our bedroom. All the ornaments are made of glass. The tree has more than 250 prisms and crystal bead chains from old chandeliers.

Christmas open house

That’s a quick overview of the decorating, though we missed the kitchen. I need to take more pictures for a detailed tour. And I still wish we’d taken more pictures of the guests!

This morning we woke to a very light dusting of snow, but it didn’t last long. I had a long quiet day which was very nice after being so rushed the past week. Tomorrow will be a bit busier as I begin to get ready for the house concert Thursday night. So I’m off to bed.

home sweet home

~~Rhonda

sugarplums

This is such an easy recipe! And delicious. And so pretty when rolled in sparkly sanding sugar.

sugarplums

Sugarplums

1 c. almonds
3/4 c. walnuts
3/4 c. dried apricots
3/4 c. diced dates
3/4 c. raisins
zest and juice of 1 orange (may substitute a few tablespoons of bottled orange juice)
gold sanding sugar or white table sugar, optional [Sanding sugar is a larger crystal than table sugar and has a beautiful sparkle.]

Process the ingredients in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add orange juice (original recipe says 1/4 c. but I found that to be too much) and pulse until the mixture sticks together. Shape into balls and roll in gold sparkling sugar, if you like. Store in fridge. Makes 24-30. At least that is what the original recipes says. It came from the “Family Fun” magazine, p. 24, in the Dec./Jan. issue of 2002.

I don’t have a food processor, so I do it in a blender.

I mix the walnuts and almonds together in one bowl.

sugarplums

In another bowl, I mix the dried fruit and the zest of one orange.

sugarplums

sugarplums

I process about a fourth of the recipe at a time, and always put the nuts in the bottom so the mixture doesn’t gum up the blades.

sugarplums

It ends up looking like a coarse meal.

sugarplums

Add enough orange juice (I used the juice of one medium sized orange) to make the mixture hold together.

sugarplums

Form into one inch balls and roll in sparkling sugar. I used gold sugar which I purchased at The Baker’s Kitchen.

sugarplums

sugarplums

They can be made without the sugary coating, but it does add a pretty sparkle. 🙂 ~~Rhonda

menu plan monday ~ december 7, 2009

We had a wonderful time at the open house yesterday. There were about 175 guests. The Putz display looked great on the cookie table. I think it will move to the corner of the kitchen counter after the house concert party this Thursday.

Christmas open house

Monday
Cheesy Potato Sausage Soup

Tuesday
baked ziti
homemade rolls
green salad

Wednesday
hamburgers / homemade buns
garlicky oven fries
coleslaw

Thursday
We’re hosting a House Concert this evening, so supper will be a quick sandwich.
I haven’t finalized plans for the appetizers for the party/concert, but am thinking about these:
cranberry sauced meatballs in the crockpot
veggie tray and dip
cheese spread with bagel chips
pickles and olives
meat and cheese on picks
red and green grapes

Friday
oven baked BBQ pork steaks
accordion potatoes
green salad
corn

Saturday
fridge food

Sunday
spaghetti
garlic bread
corn
peas
green salad

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

chocolate creams

chocolate creams

Chocolate Creams

1 pound semi-sweet chocolate
1 pound unsweetened chocolate
1 c. heavy whipping cream

2 pounds of chocolate

To make the cream centers, melt the chocolate. I use the microwave, heating the chocolate for two minutes at 40% power. Stir and reheat for 30 seconds at 40% power, repeating until almost melted. Stir until completely melted. Transfer the melted chocolate to a mixing bowl.

melting chocolate

melting the last little bits

In a small saucepan, over low heat, using a candy thermometer, heat the cream to 130*. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, heat the cream just until little bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan. Add the hot cream to the chocolate. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, whip for 3-5 minutes, or until thickened. Cover and chill 1 hour, or until just set. If they chill too hard to scoop, just set them on the kitchen counter and let them come to room temperature.

Using a melon baller, scoop up the chocolate mixture and roll into 3/4-inch balls. I scoop the entire batch onto the cookie sheet before rolling them into smooth balls. Using plastic/vinyl gloves to roll the balls keeps your hands clean. Place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and refrigerate or freeze until ready to dip.

ready for chocolate coating

Make the dipping chocolate. I use melted choc. chips and 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate to each bag of chips for chocolate covered creams or almond bark for white covered creams.

To dip, using a fork, dip the centers into the dipping chocolate, coating them completely. I tap the fork against the side of the pan with the dipping chocolate to remove as much extra coating as possible. Place the coated centers on a foil-lined baking sheet. Top immediately with chocolate sprinkles, if desired.

Adapted from 1001 Chocolate Treats by Gregg R. Gillespie, recipe #320, p. 172. His recipe uses 2 pounds of milk chocolate and extra steps in preparation that I don’t find necessary.

~~Rhonda

a few things we’ve been doing this week

After Thanksgiving dinner, we went to work on the living room tree.

tinseling the top of the tree

Buttercup slept near the tinsel.

more naps

Julie decorated the box grand in the living room.

decorating the box grand in the living room

I replaced the lights on this little tree. All better!

new lights...all better

We decorated the front porch.

making picks for the front porch

And Buttercup slept on ornament storage boxes.

napping on boxes of Christmas decorations

I made chocolate creams.

chocolate creams

I wrapped my babies’ pictures.

the kidlets

Buttercup slept on the couch.

nap times

I received a package in the mail! The ornaments from the Christmas Notebook’s ornament exchange. This is just one of them.

Christmas Notebook ornament exchange

My sister and friends from church cleaned my house! Thank you, thank you!

wonderful helpers

Buttercup slept on the vent.

warm naps

I started a new house project.

another house project

I made sugarplums.

sugarplums

And DD had her hair cut.

wet hair, before haircut after the haircut

And Zak slept with her.

~~Rhonda ::going back to work!:: 😀

menu plan monday ~ november 30, 2009

Here’s one of my Putz houses nestled in the guest room Christmas tree. This one was too big for the display stand. I’d like to make more of the houses to put on the tree.

Putz house in the Christmas tree

This is the busiest week of the year for us. So much to do to ready the house for our annual Christmas open house next Sunday. The menu for the week is quick and easy to accommodate our schedule.

Monday
lunch
sandwiches
chips
grapes

supper
pork loin sandwiches
fresh fruit

Tuesday
roast beef in the crock pot / sandwiches

Wednesday
tortellini with ham
green salad
rolls
corn
peas

Thursday
cheesy potato sausage soup

Friday
beef stew in the crock pot

Saturday
lunch
sandwiches
chips
fresh fruit

supper
pizza

Sunday
sandwiches
chips
grapes

You will find more menus and recipes at Menu Plan Monday.

More pictures later this week, as I have time! ~~Rhonda :)2

silver and blue

guest room tree

The Christmas tree in the guest room has a silver and blue theme, with a lean toward a vintage feel. The tree has white LED lights that have a bluish cast. The tree rotates. So much prettier in person, but you get the idea. 🙂 By the way, this is the tree I spray painted last year. Worked great!!

You can see more Christmas decorating ideas at The Inspired Room. Scroll down that page for links to other sites where homes are being readied for the holidays.

~~Rhonda ::busy decorating the living room tree today::