Christmas day, what a blessing! It is snowing heavily where I am and I am so thankful to be safely inside. Please remember to pray for those who may still be on the road.

Luke 2: 1 – 20

¹And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

²(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

³And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

⁵To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

⁶And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

⁷And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

¹⁵And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

¹⁷And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

¹⁸And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

¹⁹But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Here are some pictures from the Christmas Eve table for Tablescape Thursday (since these pics didn’t make it earlier)

And, the scene outside on Christmas eve:

Wishing you peace and goodwill in your heart and home and a very Merry Christmas!

Today’s Lagniappe: Eggnog French Toast
Something yummy for Christmas morning and for Foodie Friday with Gollum!

Christmas eve at Mama’s house is special. We’ve set the table and will have a lot of fun laughing and sharing the special season of Christmas and honor the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ!

I’ve got some technical issues on Mama’s computer (which being her techie daughter, I get to address tomorrow) so I’m posting some past pics that she took from a dinner they hosted as well as some from my home.  Once I get some of these technical taken care of, I’ll post more!

Merry Christmas!

What mansion would that be? The Palace on the Prairie, the Marland Mansion in Ponca City Oklahoma. My mother and her husband, Chester hosted a party for all the church staff in the Kay Baptist Association at the Marland Mansion this week. Chester is the Director of Missions for the association. They have had this event at other places before but the past few years have been at this beautiful landmark.

According to the Marland Mansion website:

The dream of oil baron E.W. Marland was to live in a palace. This magnificent mansion reflects the elegance of the affluent days of the oilman, who lived lavishly and entertained in the same style.

The Marland Mansion

This National Historic Landmark took three years to construct, 1925 to 1928. The mansion is 78 feet wide and 184 feet long, and contains 43,561 square feet distributed over four levels. There are 55 rooms, including 10 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, 7 fireplaces, and 3 kitchens. It takes 861 light bulbs to light the mansion.

Come with me to the bottom of the Grand Staircase

Grand Staircase

There were just over 50 guest. The guests were entertained by a very talented pianist (I’ll tell you more about him before Christmas). They dined on delicious Mexican food and sang along to the Christmas Carols.

Mama took these pictures the morning of the dinner.

Isnt' it beautiful?

Lovely

The globes on tables held green and red pillar candles and were wreathed with holly. There are also songsheets on the tables for the carol-along. The napkins (which she didn’t send me a close up of) were decorated with poinsettias.

Reports tell me that a fun time was had by all. You can read more about the Marland Mansion and see more pictures on their website.

Okay, now back to my humble abode

We are having potato soup and cornbread tonight and it will be serve yourself in the kitchen!

Looks like the decorating fairy has visited my kitchen cabinets:

Here is another peek at my Swarovski Santa and sleigh:

Another look at the fireplace:

P. S. Come join us at my new Facebook page for A Southern Life. Either follow the link on the left of search for “A Southern Life” on Facebook!

Today’s Lagniappe:  Chocolate Coffee
This sounds like a yummy recipe for after a fun time in the snow (which it looks like we will have this Christmas eve!). From santaclaus.com

4 heaping teaspoons of cocoa mix
1 scant teaspoon of instant coffee mix
cinnamon

Makes one serving.

I love going out in the cold December nights to drive around and look at Christmas lights. Here are a few pics I snapped this past week:

When we got home from checking out the lights it was such a clear and beautiful night that I decided to get a picture of the stars. After I downloaded the picture, I used the auto-tone option on photoshop and it turned out like this:

I thought that was so spectacular. You can just see the tops of the trees  in the bottom of the picture. They are somewhat illuminated by a street light.

Merry Christmas eve, eve, eve!

A little outdoor red for Outdoor Wednesday with A Southern Daydreamer and Rednesday! with It’s a Very Cherry.

Today’s Lagniappe: The Best Party Mix – Ever!
My mom used to make this party mix when we were growing up. It is spicy and delicious. I think I could actually live on it (for a while anyway). You’ll never find this version in a bag at the grocery store!

1 box rice chex
1 box wheat chex
1 box corn chex
1 large bag pretzel sticks
1 box cherrios
1 lb. pecans
1 lb. cashews

1 stick of butter, melted
1 cup cooking oil
3 tablespoons tobasco
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoon onion powder

This makes a whole lot, so you will need large pans for this.

Pour all of the chex cereals, pretzels, cherrios and nuts in a very large mixing bowl (may take more than one) Mix them up and pour them into shallow pans Mix, melted butter, oil, tobasco and all the spices together. Pour the butter mixture evenly over the cereal mixture and stir to coat.

Cook 1-1/2 hours at 250 stirring every 15 to 20 minutes.

Oh, Christmas Tree
Oh, Christmas Tree
How lovely are thy branches

For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called
Wonderful,
Counsellor,
The mighty God,
The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.

Merry Christmas to all! Check out today’s lagniappe for never fail divinity.

Deck the Halls with Thoughts from Over the Rainbow

Home for the Holidays

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday

Blessed with Grace’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

The Gypsy’s Corner’s Three or More Tuesday

Today’s Lagniappe:  Never Fail Divinity
I had a little trouble with my divinity this past weekend. My wonderful friend from high school Tamara Gouge Ketter sent me her recipe for Never Fail Divinity. Tamara says, “This recipe was contributed to THE NINETIES COOKBOOK by the Garvin County, Oklahoma Extension homemakers by May Lacy.  I made this for my dad who was a divinity aficionado and he loved it.” Thanks so much Tamara – no more trying to beat egg whites in the Southern humidity!

I’ve been really busy this weekend.

I’ve turned this:

Christmas Cooking Ingredients

Into this:

Christmas Goodies

Christmas cookies and candies

Now, we can enjoy time with our family with the goodies and their wonderful loving company. What could be better than that?

Metamorphosis Monday with Between Naps on the Porch

I’ll be posting Christmas things all week. Hope you’ll come back! Merry Christmas!!!

Today’s Lagniappe:  Broccoli Gratin
After all those sweets, I really feel the need for some veggies!

• 1/4 cup butter, plus more for the baking dish
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more as needed
• Pinch nutmeg
• Black pepper
• 2 pounds broccoli (about 4 heads), cut into small florets (about 8 cups)
• 1 cup grated sharp Cheddar (about 4 ounces)
• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. Butter an 8-by-8-by-2-inch baking dish or an 8-cup gratin dish.

Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the milk, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and nutmeg and bring to a boil while whisking constantly. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the white sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with pepper. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, bring about 1-inch of water to a boil in a large saucepan and set up a collapsible steamer on top. Put the broccoli in the steamer and season with salt. Cover, and steam until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Put the broccoli in the prepared dish, sprinkle with half of the cheese and pour on the sauce. Cover with the remaining cheese.

Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Cover the gratin with the bread crumbs. Bake until lightly browned and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Join Chari at Happy to Design for Sunday favorites and Charlotte and Ginger at Blogger Spirit for Spiritual Sunday and enjoy your Sunday

From Christmas Day, December 25, 2008:

Luke 2:11

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

I am grateful for the Christ child who came to bring life and light to the world. I pray for those who do not know Him.

I am thankful for so many things. I am very thankful to have a roof over my head and a warm home. I pray for those who do not.

I am thankful for food to eat. I have been baking cookies and goodies for when the family visits. I pray for those who are hungry.

I am thankful for clothes and shoes to wear. I pray for those without.

I am especially thankful for friends and family who love me and who I love in return. I pray for those who are lonely.
What are you thankful for?
Merry Christmas!

Mama's snowman cookie jar and salt and pepper shakers

Let’s have some fun in the kitchen for Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum and a first for me with Show and Tell Friday with My Romantic Home.

Some of the best recipes I have found come on the label of the package for one of the ingredients. I love the chocolate chip cookie recipe on the back of the Nestle chocolate chip bag. Here are a few recipes for Christmas munching from some great Southern ingredient websites.

From White Lily Flour:

Snowflake Cookies

Ingredients:
•    3/4 cup shredded coconut
•    1 cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tbsps., divided
•    1 cup butter, softened
•    1 large egg
•    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•    3 cups White Lily® All Purpose Flour
•    1 teaspoon baking powder
•    Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
•
FROSTING
•    9 cups powdered sugar, sifted
•    1/4 cup dried egg whites
•    2/3 cup water
•    Paste style food colors

Instructions:

1.    COMBINE coconut and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in small food processor. Pulse until coconut is finely chopped; set aside.
2.    BEAT butter and 1 cup sugar in large bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well.
3.    ADD flour and baking powder; beat on low speed to combine. Add coconut; mix to combine. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
4.    SPRAY baking sheet with no-stick cooking spray.
5.    CUT dough with snowflake shaped cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheet..
6.    BAKE 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to rack to cool completely. Frost and decorate as desired.
FROSTING
1.    STIR together powdered sugar and dried egg whites in large bowl. Stir in just enough water to make a spreadable consistency. Divide into several small bowls. Add coloring.
2.    BRUSH frosting on each cookie with pastry brush to coat top. Spoon remaining frosting in small decorating bag. Pipe on cookies to create designs.

From Duke’s Mayonnaise

Baked Artichoke Parmesan Dip

Ingredients

* 2 (10oz.) cans quartered artichoke hearts, well drained
* 6 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
* ½ cup Duke’s Light Mayonnaise
* 2 tsp. Sauer’s Garlic Powder

Preparation

* Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine all ingredients and pour into a small baking dish or pie pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is bubbly and browned. Serve with crackers or French bread.

From Tobasco

Cheese Crisps

* 1 (10-ounce) package pie crust mix
* 1/2 cup finely shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 teaspoon Original TABASCO® brand Pepper Sauce
* Water
* Poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place pie crust mix in a medium bowl; stir in cheeses. Add TABASCO® Sauce to water called for in package directions and stir into pie crust mix with a fork until dough forms.

Shape dough into a disc and place between 2 sheets of waxed paper. Roll into a square about 1/8 inch thick with a rolling pin. Cut pastry into 2-inch wide strips and cut strips into triangles with a floured pastry wheel, pizza cutter, or knife. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake 5 to 8 minutes or until browned.

Makes 2 to 3 dozen.

I’m ready to do some final Christmas baking this weekend. Can’t wait for the fun!

Today’s Lagniappe: Butterscotch Pecan Cookie Mix in a Jar
A yummy gift to give from Domino Sugar

1 1/4 cups – all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon – baking soda
1/2 teaspoon – salt
3/4 cup – firmly packed Domino® Light Brown Sugar
1 cup – butterscotch chips
3/4 cup – chopped pecans

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Spoon into 1 quart, widemouthed canning jar. Layer remaining ingredients in order given, making sure to pack down each layer firmly. Clean inside of jar with a dry paper towel after each layer. Decorate lid by cutting fabric into a 7-inch wide square or circle. Secure with a rubber band and tie with a decorative ribbon and accents.

Attach these instructions to the jar:
In a large mixing bowl, cream together 2/3 cup softened butter or margarine, 1 egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla until combined.

Slowly add contents of jar and mix well. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375°F for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Wow, Thursday, December 17th is my 1 year blogversary. One year ago, I had never heard the term blogversary!

A little over a year ago, I had been thinking that I would like to have a blog. I had taught etiquette courses and I collect etiquette books and cookbooks and have a pretty good collection of decorating books. I also love to garden and was a Master Gardener for three years. Although my professional life has always revolved around teaching computer programs and information technology, I really wanted to get back in touch with my more creative side. I even went as far as purchasing my domain name (asouthernlife.com).

As it happens, I unfortunately, or actually fortunately, as it turns out, lost my last IT job. With a little time on my hands, I started the blog that I had been thinking about so long. I never imagined how many wonderful people I would meet in blogland and how much fun it would be getting to know everyone. The first couple of weeks, only my family even knew about and read my blog, but things soon began to pick up. I started visiting more blogs and interacting with everyone and that was just the best thing in the world. I have been so inspired by so many of you.

It is fitting that it is time for Tablescape Thursday. Tablescape Thursday was the first blog party I every participated in. What a fun time it was. This is still my favorite party. Thanks Susan for all your inspiration and the opportunity to see what kind of tablesettings everyone has. As someone who had several tablesetting books and enjoyed just going through them and looking at the pictures, this was right up my alley!

Okay, I had a lot planned for my blogversary that will have to wait for now. I have been meeting with potential website design and search engine optimization clients this week and preparing proposals and, blah, blah, blah. Unfortunately, that had to take priority and I didn’t get everything done as I had planned. Stay tuned though, because it is some fun stuff!

Alright, on with Tablescape Thursday!

Something for Christmas!

On the piano is the sheet music for White Christmas from when I was taking piano lessons as a young teen. I still enjoy playing it.

From the outside, looking in:

Today’s Lagniappe: Spiced Pecans
I added the lagniappe (a little something extra) on January 8th of 2009, a little less than one month into blogging. I have really enjoyed this part of the blog. I hope you have too!

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 cup pecans, cashews, walnuts, or mixture, toasted*

Combine sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, butter, vanilla and water in saucepan. Cook stirring constantly, until a small amount dropped into cold water forms a soft ball, about 236° on a candy thermometer. Stir in toasted nuts. Remove from heat and stir until no longer glossy. Pour into buttered baking sheet and spread thinly. Cool, and break into pieces.

*To toast nuts, spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in a 350° oven, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes. Or, toast in an ungreased skillet over medium heat, stirring, until golden brown and aromatic.

et’s do a little more visiting tonight with some of the family and see what kind of Christmas decorations they’ve got going on.

First, we’ll check out an outside picture from Mama’s house.

Verry pretty!

Let’s go inside and have a look at their tree:

Oh, and are those nutcrackers up on the shelf?

Hmmm, I really like that ornament, let’s get a closeup:

Very sweet.

Now, let’s got to my little sister Linda’s house and have a look at her tree – or should I say trees?

Is that a present for me in that bag?? What other trees do you have, Linda?

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Thy leaves are so unchanging;
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Thy leaves are so unchanging;
Not only green when summer’s here,
But also when ’tis cold and drear.
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Thy leaves are so unchanging!

A little outdoor red for Outdoor Wednesday with A Southern Daydreamer and Rednesday! with It’s a Very Cherry and today’s lagniappe is a great idea for Crockpot Wedneday with Dining with Debbie.

Today’s Lagniappe:  Clarence Moody’s Odor Punch (NOT FOR CONSUMPTION – just to make the house smell good!)
This recipe was sent to me by sweet Kim Reddmann from over in East Arkansas. Kim says, “I know this isn’t a “food”, but my Mother always had a sauce pot on the burner with this simmering in it. I’ve also done this for years, makes the home smell like love!!” – Debbie, I think this would be wonderful simmering in a crockpot!

1 qt. pineapple juice
1 qt. water
1 qt. apple cider
4 pieces of ginger
3-3″ sticks of cinnamon
16 whole cloves
1 t. allspice
1 or 2 t. pickling spice

Place all ingredients in a large cooking kettle and allow to come to a boil for several minutes. Then simmer. Add water as needed

I seldom have whole ginger, the powder works just fine. As does ground cinnamon and ground cloves. Great recipe to clean out the spice rack each season!

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
Kim

I love Christmas cookies and candy. They are fun to make and even more fun to eat. We can worry about the pounds in January! These are a couple of my favorite cookbooks for Christmas treats.

Peppermint Meringues

2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 cup sugar
6 drops red food coloring (optional)
1 (6 oz.) package semisweet chocolate morsels

Combine egg whites (at room temperature) and peppermint extract; beat until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. (Do not underbeat.) Fold in food coloring, if desired, and chocolate morsels.

Drop mixture by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 200 degrees for 1 hour or until dry and set. (Cookies should not brown.) Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: about 2 1/2 dozen.

Gingerbread Cookies
Perfect for making gingerbread men that you can decorate with sprinkles and raisins and candy

cup packed brown sugar>
1/3
cups dark molasses
2/3 cup cold water
7 cups all-purpose flour
2teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

In large bowl, beat brown sugar, shortening, molasses and water with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon, until well blended. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease cookie sheet lightly with shortening or spray with cooking spray. On floured surface, roll dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut with floured gingerbread cutter or other shaped cutter. On cookie sheet, place cutouts about 2 inches apart.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar, vanilla and half-and-half until frosting is smooth and spreadable. Add food colors as desired. Frost cookies; decorate with raisins, chocolate chips and candies.

Santa Kisses

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1 (9 oz) package chocolate kisses
powdered sugar

Beat together butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add flour gradually until well blended. Stir in pecans. Chill dough about 1 hour. Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Mold about 1 tablespoon of dough around each chocolate kiss, covering candy completely. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet until they just turn golden around the edges, about 10-15 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet. Cool on wire racks. When completely cool, dust with powdered sugar. Store in airtight container.

We can have some of these cookies while we look at the Christmas village at Mama’s house.

Check out these blogs for lots of Christmas fun and head on down to the bottom of this post to see a Christmas cookie cocktail for today’s lagniappe.

A Holiday Cookie Exchange with A Fine House

Deck the Halls with Thoughts from Over the Rainbow

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday

Blessed with Grace’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

The Gypsy’s Corner’s Three or More Tuesday

Today’s Lagniappe: Mexican Cocoa
I found this recipe at The 12 days of Christmas Cookie Cocktails. Looks like some yummy accompaniments to those Christmas cookies!

1 tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch of chili powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper
3/4 cup almond milk (can substitute Irish Crème, coffee-flavored liqueur or milk)
Splash of agave nectar (can substitute honey or maple syrup)
1 oz. Silver tequila
Paprika
Cinnamon stick

In a saucepan over low heat add the cocoa powder, cinnamon, chili powder and cayenne pepper. Toast until spices begin to release their aromas, about a couple of minutes. Using a small whisk or wooden spoon, slowly incorporate the almond milk. Raise the temperature to medium-high and bring to a slow simmer. Stir in the agave nectar and remove from the heat. Rim a mug by dipping into a saucer of water, blotting and dipping into saucer of paprika. Pour in tequila. Add hot cocoa mixture. Stir with a cinnamon stick and serve.