Christmas dishes...

Some friends gave us a set of Christmas mugs and dessert plates and I love them!  Aren't they fun?  I'm not a huge fan of santas and trees on dishes, but I think these are just christmas-y enough.  We've been drinking tea out of the mugs every night.

Leftover candy cane idea...

I had a bunch of candy canes from something, so I decided to make mini candy cane cupcakes.  This is a really easy, cute dessert.  Just make mini vanilla cupcakes, frost them, then roll them in crushed candy canes.  You don't even have to worry about the frosting looking good because the candy canes cover it.  Enjoy!

Holiday candy...

If you are in Denver this season, I highly recommend a tour of Hammond's Candies. I am only a little embarrassed to admit that I am a big fan of factory tours, and I think this is one of the best. They make classic candy canes and ribbon candy and lots of other things... 

Take the behind the scenes tour... they let you make candy and it is really fun.

This will end up as a candy cane!

Yes, you have to wear a hairnet but it is worth it (and as far as hairnet pictures go, I actually think these are kind of cute... the hat really adds something!).  You also leave with a giant bag of candy that you can't possibly eat but it is definitely worth it.

Their website is fun too.  I just found these candy stirrer sticks that look like so much fun for a party... I have some baby showers and bridal showers coming up and I am definitely putting this on my idea list.

Enjoy!

Holiday hostess gift...

We have had a lot of holiday parties this year.  I have sort of mixed feelings about homemade hostess gifts, but I have the best recipe for sweet-hot spiced nuts that is worth sharing.  It is really good and really easy.

I also had a bunch of little metal cannisters that I had been saving for something that turned out to be just the right thing for nuts.  So I printed out the recipe on a little card, calligraphed the recipe and our names, taped the card on the cannister and tied it all up with a nice bow... an easy, cute holiday hostess gift.

Working on Christmas decorations and cards...

More posts to come soon!  In the meantime, here is Chica the Christmas dog to get the celebration started:

Isn't she cute?!  (Reindeer headband from the Target $1 bins for anyone else who enjoys dressing up their pets...)