Congrats to Mary DeBorde who has won a copy of The Lost Arts of Hearth and Home.

Congrats to Mary DeBorde who has won a copy of The Lost Arts of Hearth and Home.

Savannah is one of my favorite cities, so when I saw there was a book called Christmas in Savannah, I had to read it. This wonderful little book has photos and a few recipes. I wrote a review of it over at A Traveler’s Library and there’s a great recipe from the book as well.

Savannah is one of my favorite cities, so when I saw there was a book called Christmas in Savannah, I had to read it. This wonderful little book has photos and a few recipes. I wrote a review of it over at A Traveler’s Library and there’s a great recipe from the book as well.

Lots of us ask that question, and often the answer ends up being no! Not this year. Check out this piece I wrote for Completely You that offers some great tips.

Lots of us ask that question, and often the answer ends up being no! Not this year. Check out this piece I wrote for Completely You that offers some great tips.

I made this for a holiday party over the weekend and it was delicious!

2 tomatoes (I used tomatoes off the vine), diced

1 jalapeno pepper, diced

1/4 large onion, diced

1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 1/2 avocadoes, diced

1/2 to 3/4 cup cooked shrimp, cut into small pieces (buy the smallest shrimp you can find and cut into small pieces, same size as your tomato and avocado dices)

1/4 light sour cream

Serve with tortilla chips (I used blue corn tortilla chips). I love the added decadence of the shrimp in this!

I made this for a holiday party over the weekend and it was delicious! 2 tomatoes (I used tomatoes off the vine), diced 1 jalapeno pepper, diced 1/4 large onion, diced 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped 1 garlic clove, chopped 1/4 cup fresh lime juice 1 1/2 avocadoes, diced 1/2 to 3/4 cup cooked shrimp, … Read more →

Here’s a little holiday gift for my readers. The Lost Arts of Hearth and Home: The Happy Luddite’s Guide to Domestic Self-Sufficiency by Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger Henderson.  I’m giving away one copy to a lucky reader.

The book is not for people who raise their own chickens, weave their own clothes or forage on a daily basis. Instead, it’s meant for folks who live in the city or burbs and are looking for ways to do a little more themselves. About 3/4 of the book is about food – making, preserving, etc. Want to make your own soy sauce or mustard, or make dumplings from leftover bread? You’ll find out how here. There are recipes for things I’ve never heard of, like Beef Rindsrouladen and Durian. This definitely will expand your cooking routine and show you some techniques you might have been afraid to try (like pickling). The rest of the book has small projects like making a broom, making a quill pen, quilting, and sewing.

If you want to learn to do some projects around the house in an old-fashioned, low tech kind of way, you’ll enjoy this book.

The book was sent to me for review by the publisher without any expectations or requirements.

To enter, leave a comment on this post. You must enter by midnight ET on Friday, December 14, 2012. I’ll randomly and blindly select the winner by random number drawing (numbers assigned in order of comments here). Sorry, offer limited to U.S. addresses only and entrants age 18 and up only. One entry per person. Winners notified by email given when entering; not responsible for email transmission problems or postal delivery problems or failures. You are responsible for notifying me of your correct mailing address if you are selected as a winner. Contest closes at midnight Eastern time on 12/14/12. Prize is nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. I reserve the right to announce the name of the winner on the blog.

Here’s a little holiday gift for my readers. The Lost Arts of Hearth and Home: The Happy Luddite’s Guide to Domestic Self-Sufficiency by Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger Henderson.  I’m giving away one copy to a lucky reader. The book is not for people who raise their own chickens, weave their own clothes or forage … Read more →

I don’t make meatloaf very often and when I do, I often use ground turkey instead of beef to lighten things up. Recently I was in the mood for a really hearty, wicked good meatloaf. So I jazzed it up with bacon, caramelized onions and kale. It was awesome!

Meatloaf with Bacon, Caramelized Onion, and Kale

2 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces

1/3 sweet onion, sliced thinly

pinch sugar

1 lb ground beef

1 egg

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used gluten-free)

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/8 cup skim milk (I used lactose-free)

1/8 cup sweet and sour sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tbsp yellow mustard

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup frozen kale (see note)

3 slices Fontina cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook the bacon in a small skillet until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and add the onions with a pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat until onions caramelize. Place beef in a bowl and add bacon, onions, and all other ingredients, except Fontina. Mix completely and place in a loaf pan. Bake for an hour. Top with cheese and broil until it melts.

Note: I buy fresh kale, cut the ribs out, roughly chop it and boil it until it is tender. I drain most of the water out and I freeze it in ziploc bags, like frozen chopped spinach. You could use fresh kale for this, just cut the ribs out, roughly chop and boil, then drain. 2-3 large kale leaves will be the right amount. You could also substitute pre-made frozen spinach.

I don’t make meatloaf very often and when I do, I often use ground turkey instead of beef to lighten things up. Recently I was in the mood for a really hearty, wicked good meatloaf. So I jazzed it up with bacon, caramelized onions and kale. It was awesome! Meatloaf with Bacon, Caramelized Onion, and … Read more →

I wanted to share some articles I’ve written recently:

Should You Take Calcium Supplements?

This is something I’ve been wondering about myself a lot since there is conflicting research out there about what is the best thing to do. I was happy to get the answers!

Does Acupuncture Really Work?

It definitely works for me, but I was interested to hear what it is considered best for.

I wanted to share some articles I’ve written recently: Should You Take Calcium Supplements? This is something I’ve been wondering about myself a lot since there is conflicting research out there about what is the best thing to do. I was happy to get the answers! Does Acupuncture Really Work? It definitely works for me, … Read more →

I used to write a holiday letter each year and enclose it in our cards, letting everyone know what we’ve been up to, what the kids are doing, where we traveled, and what’s in store for the new year. I also always included a wallet size family photo. Several years ago I stopped sending the letter (and the photo), but kept on writing the letter. I still write one every year and keep all the letters together in a binder. Sound crazy?

I decided that anyone I really cared about already knew what was going on with our family and if I didn’t care about them, why was I sharing all the details of my life with them (after all, they could just read my blog!)? If they cared, they would be in touch enough to know what was happening. If not, what kind of connection did we really have anyhow?

I still like to write the letter because it’s a way for me personally to look back on the year. I like paging through the binder of yearly letters and remembering everything that happened in those years. It’s also a way to keep track of what happened when, which does tend to blur as the years pass!

Will I continue to write the letter once my kids have flown the coop? I don’t know, but I do expect that our traditions will change as our children create their own individual lives, and I look forward to the change it will bring into our lives.

I used to write a holiday letter each year and enclose it in our cards, letting everyone know what we’ve been up to, what the kids are doing, where we traveled, and what’s in store for the new year. I also always included a wallet size family photo. Several years ago I stopped sending the … Read more →

Ornaments don’t have to be just for trees!

I have a lot of ornaments. Over the years, I’ve come up with some ideas for ways to display them. A tree is the obvious choice, but I’m maxed out on trees! I’ve got our main tree in the living room which holds all of my special ornaments. The family room is the kids’ tree – each has their own ornament collection. The kitchen has a skinny tree with my food and cooking ornaments. And my office has a skinny tree with my book ornaments. No more room for trees at my house, so I’ve had to come up with some other ways to use my ornaments.

When we got married, we bought boxes of pink ball ornaments in different sizes to fill in the tree. I now have so many ornaments I don’t have space for those. I keep those in a basket in the living room, in front of the fireplace. I spray painted a basket gold and tied some pink ribbon and artificial flowers on it to dress it up. I also have a few pink and white ornaments I like to display in a small footed bowl in my dining room.

When my grandmother passed away, I inherited a lot of her ornaments. Her tree was blue, so her ornaments don’t match the color scheme of my main tree or living room, but blue works well in my family room, so I’ve got some displayed in a bowl on a table there. This year I also put some in a lidded glass dish that was hers (I managed to break one in the process of trying to get it full but get the lid to fit!). She also had some old pink ornaments that I’ve placed in a hurricane vase.

I like to hang ornaments in windows, so I’ve got blue star ornaments above the kitchen sink and 12 Days of Christmas ornaments in the eating area windows.

We added some garland to the light fixture above the kitchen table and hung some ornaments there as well.

This year we also created some chair decorations for the kitchen and used some ornaments there.

Ornaments can also be added to wreaths, garland, candle rings, stockings, or just strewn down the middle of a table.

Ornaments don’t have to be just for trees! I have a lot of ornaments. Over the years, I’ve come up with some ideas for ways to display them. A tree is the obvious choice, but I’m maxed out on trees! I’ve got our main tree in the living room which holds all of my special … Read more →

In addition to the new decorations, which I shared earlier, my existing collections have undergone some changes, mostly because last year I received some new items for them as gifts and did not display them until this year.

In case you haven’t gotten the hint, I’ve got a thing for trees, and I’ve also got a thing for pink. I’ve been working hard to update my collections to reflect those obsessions!

We have a huge mantel to decorate for the holidays, and I used to struggle because it needed height. My collection of tree toppers has solved that problem. They look wonderful grouped in front of the mirror. Last year we added some new pre-lit garland and I found two boxes of this amazing pink garland at an antique store that has made it gorgeous. This year I added some clip-on pink roses that have shiny ice or dewdrops on them. I think the mantel is looking fabulous. I would like to add a few more pink tree toppers to complete the collection.

I have a wonderful little collection of trees that sits on my grandmother’s chest in my dining room. That collection has been expanding as well and I received some beautiful ones to add to it last year. At this point, the chest is full, so unless I find something fabulous, I will need to put the brakes on this collection!

In my quest to update the dining room, I created this little display on a side chest as well. And my teacup collection has been changing as well. My grandmother bought me one teacup each year for my December birthday. When I was a child, it was a pretty horrible gift. I didn’t drink tea, I didn’t like them and didn’t care. As an adult, I still don’t really drink a lot of tea (and when I do, I prefer a mug to a tiny cup!), but I do like having a collection she started for me. One problem is most Christmas china tea cups are red. And, as I mentioned, I don’t do red, I do pink (I do have red in the kitchen, where it looks fine with the blue theme, and I have cranberry in the family room). My challenge in recent years has been to find cups that are Christmas, but are pink (or at least not red). My mom had a couple handpainted for me, which added to the collection. As you can see, I’m still working on getting the red out (so to speak!).

In addition to the new decorations, which I shared earlier, my existing collections have undergone some changes, mostly because last year I received some new items for them as gifts and did not display them until this year. In case you haven’t gotten the hint, I’ve got a thing for trees, and I’ve also got … Read more →