Nostalgia

I have been caught up in such a wave of nostalgia lately and have been seeking out some items from childhood Christmases that have always stayed with me. I think it is that I am still missing my Dad so much and it is so much harder that he is gone from our cherished holidays together. I will never forget receiving this Bewitched Samantha doll one morning in the 1960's. We didn't have very much money at all and there were 6 of us, but my parents always sought out the one thing that was really special to us and have it under the tree. The doll pictured here was not my original one, I don't know what became of all of our childhood treasures, they were probably left behind when we moved in 1971. This came from ebay, will have to keep looking for Sam's matching hat :)

Second holiday tree complete!

My kitchen tree is filled with bakery related items- gingerbread people, cupcakes, and various other sweets. I added some realistic looking gumdrop ornaments since I took this picture. Rocket is on the case in the second picture, checking out the gingerbread lady to see if she poses any threat to the family :) 

First Tree

Vintage retro aluminum pompom tree with a color wheel. Talk about a blast from the past! We had one of these back in the 1960's and begged our Dad for a real one instead. The color wheel made it slightly more interesting to look at, but not after the first couple of years. I picked this one up on ebay about 10 years ago and this is the first time I have displayed it. The ornaments are Shiny Brite vintage ones as well. Here's to you Dad, miss the good old days and family Christmases.

Googled!

Jim has just started work at Google, here he is in his Noogle beanie at training in Mountainview, Ca. We came out here to Washington for his work at Microsoft, and he was there for 14 years. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about MS and will always be very grateful to them for the beautiful life that they have provided for us here. The Bellevue/Redmond Wa. area has to be one of the most fabulous places to live in this great country of ours. Even with all of the rain, I am not sure where I would rather be. Well okay, maybe a beach house on the coast of North or South Carolina...
Here is to Google! Looking forward to our time with you.

Rocket and a review

 

How can you not fall in love with that sweet little face? This dog has completely captivated all of our hearts. He is affectionate, so intelligent, playful, and well behaved. A total delight is our Rocket :)

The Richest Season by Mary McFadden was a very enjoyable read, four stars.
Joanna is an empty nester, a corporate wife, and a very lonely housewife. Her husband's job as a successful salesman has had them uprooted too many times to count, and he gives all of his time to his career. Joanna finally decides that this is not the life she had in mind for herself and heads down to Pawley's Island, South Carolina, where she becomes the live in assistant of an older woman with a terminal illness. Her husband Paul's life is suddenly and drastically altered and he has more time to come to some understanding of what life has been like for his wife for the past couple of decades. Is it too late for a fresh start since Joanna has begun building a new life and relationships far from him? You can feel for all of the characters here. Somehow people just lose touch with the ones who should matter most to them while they are pursuing what they think should be making them happy or successful, when what really counts has been right there for them the whole time.

Two of my current favorite Cookbooks

 

I have a serious addiction to collecting cookbooks and loose recipes. If I live to be 100 I could never make a dent in the accumulated collection. The two cookbooks shown here are my faves du jour. The Back in the Day Bakery has the best baked goods recipes you will ever find. Somehow I missed this little gem of a shop when I was in Savannah but that won't happen again. Everything in this book is just old-fashioned, down home goodness. I only have made some of these things for special occasions since they are somewhat decadent. Nothing low-fat this or light that, we are talking full on splurge and worry about the calories tomorrow.

On a healthier note, The Italian Vegetable Cookbook by Michele Scicolone is phenomenal. Especially the Peach, Tomato, and Burrata Salad. Nothing terribly fancy in this book, just a lot of recipes that you will want to add to your daily menu. Delicious and good for you is a pretty awesome combination!    

Awesome Amish Baked Oatmeal

This was SO awesome! I found the recipe on Pinterest and followed the link to

Mostly Homemade Mom's blog for the recipe. Try it and see!