My November

Hello friends!  First off, I know it's been a while since I posted a weekly review, let alone a monthly one.  What can  I say?  Life is just busy, particularly during the summer months!

Second of all, this isn't the most glamorous photo of myself.  However, I honestly do not bother with taking loads of selfies anymore.  At least we have a photo this time, I guess that's what matters.

September and October flew by in a whirl, it seems.  We did lots of fun things like haunted houses and corn mazes and painting pumpkins and so on.

November was a busy month for me.  I spent a lot of time preparing for the holidays.  Decorating for Christmas, and I also was responsible for our Thanksgiving meal which took about a week of shopping and preparation, not to mention some Christmas shopping!

Happy Thanksgiving

My menu for dinner went as is:

Dinner:  turkey, ham, dressing, mashed potatoes with turkey gravy, green beans, baked beans, baked sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, potato salad, macaroni salad and rolls.

Dessert:  banana pudding, dirt cake, cheesecake with strawberries, and apple crisp with cool whip on the side.

I did everything myself, all the cakes and salads and sides (besides green beans and rolls) were made from scratch.  It took two days to prepare everything but it really makes my heart warm to see everyone enjoy a meal I prepared myself.

I wanted to share my favorite Thanksgiving recipe with you.  It has been passed down from my grandmother to my dad, and now to me.  

Country Cornbread Dressing

Ingredients:

-2 medium sized pans of cornbread (I make my cornbread the old fashioned way with just mill, flour and water with some grease).

-2 boxes of stovetop dressing, any brand will do

-2 cups of celery, finely chopped

-2 medium size onions, finely chopped

-4-6 cups of broth from cooking the turkey (I drain as much as I can get from the pan)

-1 stick of butter, melted

Directions:

1)  Go ahead and put your cornbread in the oven

2) While you wait for the bread to bake, take your chopped celery and onions, put them in a small cooker with two cups of chicken broth and bring them to a boil, then allow them to simmer for about 20 minutes till they are soft (I know a lot of people just combine the celery and onions raw but trust me, you will end up with chewy, crunchy dressing and I prefer mine to sort of melt in my mouth so cooking them down works best).

3) Once the bread is finished, allow it to cool for a few minutes, then crumble it finely into a large bowl

4) Go ahead and get your two boxes of stuffing and add them to the large bowl of bread crumbs, and mix them in well

5)  You will need a large cooker to pour the dressing mix into

6)  Combine the dressing mix, the cooked celery and onions, the stick of butter and the 6 cups of turkey broth into the large cooker (if you do not have enough turkey broth from cooking the turkey, substitute what you need with chicken broth, also as you  mix things up, if it's too dry you may need to add extra chicken broth to make sure it's fully moist before you bake it)

7.  Mix everything up really well.  Your dressing should be fully moist and gooey, but not runny or thin.

8)  This amount of dressing makes two 9 by 13 inch pans, so go ahead once it's mixed and pour it into the two separate pans.

9) Bake on 400 for 45 minutes (or until it's really brown on top)

And that's it.  You will have a yummy, melt-in-your-mouth dressing for your meal!

I'm Dreaming of a Pink Christmas

My daughter and I also decorated the trees.  We have a big one for the living room and a smaller one in the kitchen.  I have been pining for a 'pink' Christmas for a long time and I just felt like this year would be a good time to buy all new decorations.  I purchased an 8 foot tree, over 200 ornaments, two sets of lights, all new decorations for the living room and kitchen...and all in the color pink.  I absolutely love it!

I think it's simple, as I didn't go overboard with putting things everywhere.  But, it's decorative and blends in nicely.  Especially with my kitchen, which is already decorated in pink and blue.

Anyway, I adore it.  As you know, I collect reborn dolls.  So I brought my three favorite girls out and dressed them in Christmas pink as well as two of my gorgeous ball joint dolls (one is pictured holding the mini Christmas tree).  My end tables, front door and stove in the kitchen is also decorated (but not pictured here).

I guess you could say, I am dreaming of a pink Christmas!

Vintage Holiday Reading

I am a sucker for old gothic romance books.  (A little secret, for about 9 years I ran a blog for gothic romance book reviews.)

This one is titled, Pictures of Fear, by Lucy Fuchs and is a very old edition that was originally released by Avalon books (a publisher of romance and other genres), which is no longer in service.

You can find this edition on Amazon.

Cover Summery:

Naomi Thompson was not the least bit frightened on her way to Wetherington House. Because she had no one to share her college Christmas vacation, she felt lonely and sad and perhaps resentful. But not frightened. In fact, she was relieved to have a two-week job at Wetherington House, typing some poetry for Elizabeth Amberly, a talented, eccentric painter and writer.

Things started to change for Naomi when Elizabeth told her, "This is the house of evil. It can change anything to hate." Then the girl saw Elizabeth's frightening paintings of the place and learned its scary history. Yet it was not until after she met Elizabeth's strong-willed mother and handsome nephew that Naomi's deepest fears took root.

I am only one-third of the way through, but it's a relaxing little mystery about an evil house and it's weird inhabitants.  And it's setting goes down during the holidays so it fits right in with my festive mood.  Avalon books were known for being short, sweet, and simple.  Which is what I like when I am looking for a relaxing read.  Its only 192 pages.

This vintage read was originally published in 1982.  I actually have a complete holiday reading list of more modern reads planned for a future post, so watch out for that!

Adult Coloring

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to color.  It's a major de-stressor for me.

I enjoy coloring books that are in season, when that is possible, and I just adore this little book!

It contains 32 images of cute cats in holiday decor.  They are simple, easy-to-color images.  Not of the complex or stressful variety at all.  The book even categorizes itself as 'beginner friendly' and includes 11 samples of finished pages.

This is my coloring book of the month for this Christmas and I am having so much fun with it.  I usually color while listening to an audio book and drinking a yummy cup of coffee.

You can purchase this book on Amazon as well.

Self-Help Book of the Month

I purchased this book about  a month ago and so far I am really enjoying the insightful, inspirational daily reads.  

Cover Summary:

With all the struggles of modern life, it's easy to get lost in a quagmire of stress, worry, and indifference. For thousands of years, monks rose before dawn to meditate and greet the morning with an open heart. But you don't need to beat the sun to start the day mindfully. With A Mindful Morning, you can channel this ancient tradition as part of your daily morning routine.

With 200 inspiring quotes and short, easy mindfulness exercises, you'll learn how to begin your day with a clear head and positive energy. These simple moments of awareness, healing postures, and meditations can help soothe your soul as you take on every day with tranquility, confidence, and composure.

You get an inspirational read each day and each one covers a different topic of mindfulness, spirituality, and creative living.

This book is currently available on Amazon.

And, as I go along my journey, always I am attempting to practice daily gratitude, mindfulness, and awareness.

So, I want to leave you with a little excerpt taken from the pages of the book A Mindful Morning (as described above):

We can all live vibrant, awake, fulfilled lives if only we look down into the deepest reserves of our souls and bring into the light the treasures that are stored within.  It takes great fortitude and courage to live with creativity and integrity.

Here is to another month of digging deep.  See you at the end of December!