COCKTAIL ANYONE?

Well I did it!  I'm pretty much totally decorated for Christmas.  Just a little tweaking  here and there.  Good thing, too.  I'm hosting Bunco tomorrow night, and I had to have the house ready.  It should be a fun night.  Our group hasn't been together to play in over a year!  

Sangria

We'll be having a fun evening of dice play, cocktails and hors de oeuvres, a little "Dirty Santa" ornament exchange, and just plain ole girl-hanging-out fun!  

Champagne and Cranberries

Of course I'll be serving Cosmopolitans, my signature drink.  But it is the Holidays, so we need to jazz up the bar a bit.  In searching for some pretty, and yummy-sounding, Holiday cocktail recipes, I came across a few to share. 

If nothing else, the photos themselves are just gorgeous and festive.

A definite on the cocktail menu will be Candy Cane Martinis.  It's the recipe used at the Four Seasons in NYC.  It was prepared on the Martha Stewart show a few years back, and I knew I just had to try it.  It was a big hit!  I think it deserves a repeat performance ;o)

Candy Cane Martini

Candy Cane Martini (recipe makes one)

2 ounces Strawberry Vodka

4 dashes (around 1 teaspoon) White Creme De Menthe

2-1/2 ounces Cranberry Juice

Rim glass with crushed candy canes and garnish with a mini candy cane.

Below is a cocktail that will make it's debut at my home.  Rudolph's Tipsy Spritzer from Southern Living, December 2008.

Rudolph's Tipsy Spritzer (recipe makes 9-1/2 cups)

5 cups Orange Juice

2 cups chilled Lemon-Lime soft drink

1-1/2 cups Vodka

1/2 cup Maraschino Cherry Juice

1/4 cup Fresh Lemon Juice

Stir together all ingredients; serve over ice; garnish with lemon slices and fresh rosemary sprigs.

Rudolph's Tipsy Spritzer

I keep reading punches are coming back.  May have to break out my Grandmother's punch set and serve some up for Christmas.

Champagne Pomegranate Punch

Egg Nog Martini

Jingle Juice

 Mmmmm . . . chocolate . . . 

MexiCoco

 Beautiful glasses.  

Anything would look appetizing served up in those beauties.

Pineapple Wassail

What's your favorite drink ~ alcoholic or non ~ 'round the Holidays?

Thanks for visiting! 

Leave a comment so I can get to know you.

QUICK CHRISTMAS CARDS

Happy Sunday Morning!  

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving with family and friends.  Our family's Turkey Day was very, very nice.  It was especially nice having Son No. 1, John, home from college for a few days.  He arrived late Tuesday night, and flew back last night.  Seemed like he was leaving as soon as he got here :o(  He'll be back in about 3 weeks for his long winter break.  Can't wait to have him home again.  And, as in typical CosmoGirl fashion, I took not a one picture throughout the whole T'giving prep, dinner, family visits, etc.  You know, sometimes I just don't feel like fusing with the camera.  I really wish someone else would play "photographer" for once!

I've been on Christmas decor mode for a couple weeks now.  I'm vowing to get all my decorating done by December 1st.  You see, I admittedly go a little overboard when it comes to Christmas.  I like to almost transform the entire house into a Christmas showcase.  I just love it!  Hubby thinks it's a bit much, but honestly, I don't care what he thinks ;o)

These first two cards I made multiples in an "assembly-line" manner.  
Click on the pics to see detail better.

Last weekend, a good friend hosted a few of us girls at her place near the beach for a girl's weekend away (you guessed it - no pictures!) of scrapbooking, crafting, relaxing, whatever. 

Thank you, Donna :o)!!!  

It was tons of girlie fun!  Like a big girl's sleepover.  

Last year I never got round to making OR sending Christmas cards.  

GASP!!!!  

I still can't believe I let that happen.  So I decided while at Donna's place, I'd work on Christmas cards for this year.  A whole day of creating, and into the wee hours of the next morning, produced almost enough cards for everyone on my card list.  

Since I'm always looking for new card ideas, I thought I'd share what I made.  Super easy and quick cards using some rubber stamps, pretty papers, trims, buttons, dimensional stickers and a little bling.

These next two cards were "one-of-a-kind" creations.

I'm off to finish up the last bit of the Christmas decorating.  Three trees down, two more to go!

Thanks for visiting! 

Leave a comment so I can get to know you.

EASY WALL ART ON THE CHEAP!

As some of you may remember, I've been on a marathon . . . a l-o-n-g marathon . . . redoing my master bedroom.  You'd think I was having new pieces of furniture made to order, and rich, delectable fabrics and textiles custom made into designer one-of-a kind window treatments and accessories.  Or maybe the time's been spent patiently waiting for a skilled artisian to complete a faux finishing or wall mural in the room.  

Alas, I can not blame the snail's pace of a redo on any of the above. Only on myself, and my laziness, and at times, empty wallet! LOL  

But, it's getting there! :o)  

Little by little!

I shared a snippet of the room a few months ago when I painted a few pieces {below} with that yummy paint color, Malted Milk, that I just adore.

Today, I'm sharing the back wall of the room ~ the wall that's seen as you walk through the bedroom door.  What I'm most excited about and it doesn't take much to get me excited sometimes is the "wall art" I created with re-painted frames found in my frame graveyard in the basement and scrapbook paper.  

I actually purchased this particular pack of matching papers at a convention this past summer specifically to use in my bedroom.  The colors in the patterns of these papers works perfectly coordinating with the blues, greens and browns I've chosen for the room.  

Oh, I know it's not a unique idea, and I know we've seen this done all over blogland.  Heck, I was inspired by Angie at Echoes of Laughter for this very project.  Even though it's not original, I'm just so tickled with how the whole wall "vignette" turned out, I just had to share.  

So for practically pennies, I was able to fill a "hole" on the wall with something quite appealing.  

I snagged this super-cute wall hanger,
door knob thingy at Pier 1 on clearance.

New window treatments were finally sewn and mounted, but I'm not entirely thrilled with how they turned out.  I may be adding some large covered buttons or some trim to jazz them up a bit.  You'll have to wait for their big debut.

  

There's still quite a bit left to do.  The bed-side tables and a chest at the foot of the bed are going to get a fresh coat of Malted Milk paint. A few more walls need to be addressed, a couple pillow covers still to be sewn, and the room will finally be done.  Then, I'll share it's big total reveal with before and after snaps.  But, as in my oh-so-not speedy fashion, those final projects will have to wait until after the Holidays. ;o)

Thanks for visiting! 

Leave a comment so I can get to know you.

MY SWAP GOODIES

As promised, I'm sharing all the lovely goodies Nerina sent me.  She had everything individually and neatly wrapped in tissue.  I just kept pulling little wrapped treasures, one after the other, out the box.  It was like Christmas!

She sent such a fabulous assortment of items. 

(So sorry for the shadowy pics.  Blasted daylight savings!  By the time I get home from work, unwind, make dinner and clean up, it's dark.  No natural light.  I thought a strategically placed lamp might be better than the flash ~ not so sure now!)

Items for crafting ~

Glitzy, sparkly ornaments and a cute little plaque ~

Primitive, country ornaments ~

Fun sticker tags ~

Notice the cute "cosmo" tag???? ;o)

So many cute, fun things!  Unfortunately, there were two casualties :o(  Even though Nerina took such good care to wrap the breakables in bubble wrap and tissue, a few still perished.  

Thank you so much, Nerina, for sending such a great assortment of goodies.  You really took the time to put together a package filled with all the things that make me smile :o)

And a big thanks to Marsha for coordinating the swap.  She's been a great communicator and very caring, making sure that all her participants had a good time.    I really appreciate the time you spent on this swap.

Thanks for visiting! 

 Leave a comment so I can get to know you.