Christmas!!!

You know what this time of year means???

TIME OFF WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!

I literally cannot wait to have all of my loved ones packed in my home once again this year for a hugondous Christmas lunch. It's 4 days until Christmas and I've done NOTHING to prepare...and I don't even care!

I hope you all have special plans with special people. Everyone deserves that -- especially at the holidays. If you do NOT have a place to be and food to eat, please get in touch with me, we'll have food aplenty!

Also, per our usual, we have no plans for New Year's Eve. I'm thinking we throw a massive party very last minute and beg people to show up ;-) Or maybe we'll steal away and dine somewhere fancy??

I'll leave you with a picture of my goofy husband that he actually gave away as a White Elephant gift at a recent Christmas party...

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!

Glad Tidings

The Melville home is where it's at during the Christmas season.

I didn't launch my blog until after last Christmas, which was my first as Mrs. Melville, but we went ALL out!

Most of this year's decor is a recreation. Here are some pictures of our home this season:

(J is the present-wrapper in our home!)

By the way, I married the King of Christmas. Jonathan got this love of Christmas naturally from his mother and his late grandfather. Here are some pictures from his parents' house this Christmas:

(This is a 9-foot tree! There is not a spare centimeter for another ornament, either.)

(J's lil sis, Honey)

Here is the Christmas card we mailed this year (in case we didn't have enough money to get you one!):

(Still a little sad we didn't have time to take a funny pic in ugly Christmas sweaters with our fur child, Chloe)

Hope no matter your plans, you have a VERY merry Christmas and a happy New Year! :-)

Happy Halloween!

This is my husband's holiday. He did this ALL while I was spending time with my two besties in Roswell Saturday night. Behold:

My neighbor's tree:

Happy holidays everyone!

July 4th-Part 3

Here is another installment on our recent holiday happenings. Thought I'd share some recipes from the delightful treats served!

Rita's Patriotic Trifle

(Yum-my — and you don't have to feel bad about eating it!)

Ingredients:

1 small can of lite peaches cut into halves (save the juice to pour over the angel food cake)

2 small tubs of lite cool whip

2 large boxes of sugar free vanilla pudding

vanilla extract

1 sugar free angel food cake

1 large tub of fresh strawberries cut longways; (pour a little water and sprinkle some organic sugar over strawberries to make a liquid mixture to pour over the angel food cake)

1 small tub of fresh blueberries

fresh raspberries

Directions:

Make the 2 vanilla puddings following the directions on the box. When cold to consistency, add about 3 tablespoons of vanilla and stir well. Refrigerate until other tasks completed.

Pull the angel food cake apart in small chunks.

Line the bottom of the trifle dish with the sliced strawberries, standing up all the way around the sides of the dish. Put a blueberry between every two strawberries for visual interest. Add some sliced peaches and peach juice over the angel food cake. Put some strawberries and blueberries on top of this. Next add some of the vanilla pudding, and then a layer of cool whip.

Repeat layers and continue repetition of pattern until you have the cool whip as the last layer on top of your glass trifle dish.

For a decorative, patriotic touch, use raspberries and blueberries to make a flag!

My chocolate mousse with raspberries:

Ingredients:

1 12-ounce can of evaporated milk

1 box instant chocolate fudge pudding mix

1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

raspberries (optional, but delicious)

Directions:

Combine evaporated milk and pudding mix using electric mixer. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into dessert dishes. Top with fruit. Refrigerate at least 5 minutes before serving.

Yes, it's really that easy.

Ellen's Pinwheels (my boss):

Ingredients:

2 cups Bisquick (plus milk to make dough)

Athenos crumbled feta cheese (I used garlic & herbs)

10-ounce package of frozen, chopped spinach, thawed

Make dough following directions on box. Roll out dough in thin rectangle on baking sheet.

Top with cheese and spinach.

Roll longways until you have what looks like a long snake. Bake according to directions on Bisquick box. Slice into thin sections when cool.

Now I just need to steal the recipe for Amy's Buffalo Chicken dip — I'm craving it just remembering how good that tasted!!

July 4th-Part 2

Now I will share a few pictures of the decorations from our Independence Day backyard bash. Hopefully they will inspire you to be creative the next time you entertain!!

(Our wheel barrow beverage cart! Crafty, ain't it!?)

(Good use for our potting stand. You can't have enough flowers — or citronella!)

(Our final patio set-up w/ everything in place)

(I even borrowed a bunch of plants from my mother-in-law!)

(Everyone should have a nifty drink dispenser. Sorry this pic is dark — it was raining! Tip: I used frozen lemons to keep the drink cold)

(My new obsession: paper poms!)

(Our festive backyard!)

(One more view. Confession: J spent forever putting the poms together and hanging them from trees. Then it rained a lot and now they're but soggy reminders of the fun we had!)

(Here's me pretending to help)

(One more of us in our backyard)

Stay tuned!

July 4th-Part 1

Jonathan and I had a LOT to celebrate this July 4th — like our nation's independence, almost a year in our house and our incredible friends and family. And we celebrated in grand fashion.

After a year of hard work — more like yard work — we feel like we have a home we can be proud of. This was our first big party in our home, and so it felt a little like a belated house warming.

Even though it rained almost the whole evening, we all had a lot of fun. Jonathan and I were grateful to everyone who stopped by! Here are my first round of photos from the big event:

(The soon-to-be Nortons!)

(The Kotrlas w/ their backward drinks)

(Strike a pose — not bad for a woman who only gets 30 minutes of free time a day!)

(The Barnards, Almons & Wallers all watching the parade with their kiddos)

(Backyard fun!)

(The hosts!)

(Here's a better view of my patriotic dress! Shout out to Carolyn for loaning me the shoes!)

This blog post will be followed by a blog detailing our decorations and a blog sharing a few recipe favorites from the evening. If you couldn't make it to this party, make plans to see us soon!