Whimsical Candy Tree

It's Thanksgiving day and the house smells amazing!  The turkey is baking, the family is down at the beach with the cousins, and I'm enjoying my second latte of the day.  I have the inside and outside of the house all decorated for Christmas which has been our family tradition for the last 15 yrs or so that everything is done by Thanksgiving day.  About 9 years ago we started putting up a second tree for our girls, it's known around here as "The Candy Tree". It's got all kinds of really yummy looking candy ornaments, it's fun and festive!  This year we found the perfect spot right at the top of the landing on the stairs so you can enjoy it as you go up and down throughout the day (about 100 times, no kidding)

If you've thought about adding a second tree, you might want to considering a "Candy Tree" it can add a little whimsy to your home!

Thanksgiving Yumminess

I've been so busy getting my home ready with Christmas decorations that I kind of put Thanksgiving on the back burner.  I had family come into town this week and we have made more food in the last few days than I have made in the last few weeks, but that's part of enjoying the holiday season. One of my fav's is the No Bake Pumpkin Cheese Cake that my Mother-in-law makes. It's quick and easy and taste oh so yummy.

what you need

1

pkg.  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1

cup  canned pumpkin

1/2

cup  sugar

1/2

tsp.  pumpkin pie spice

1

tub  (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

1

 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.) Or Homemade like mine:  2 sticks of butter and two sleeves of graham crackers(crushed) Bake at 350 for 15-20 mins

make it

BEAT cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar and pumpkin pie spice with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in 2-1/2 cups of the whipped topping. Cover and refrigerate remaining whipped topping for later use.

SPOON cream cheese mixture into crust.

REFRIGERATE 3 hours or overnight. Serve topped with remaining whipped topping. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

It's time to Deck the Halls, Fa La La ♫ ♪ ♫

I admit, it may be a tad bit early to start talking about Christmas when Thanksgiving isn't until next week but I am feeling a little like Christmas.  The weather has been cold and blustery the last few days so it feels more like Winter, yeah, that's it!  This will be my 1st Coastal Christmas and I'm looking forward to decorating with a few starfish and other seaside inspired things.

Last night I started designing Christmas card ideas and I'm getting the Christmas decor out of the storage closet on Sunday.  As I start to decorate I'll post some pics and maybe, just maybe, you might start a little early too!

Clothes Swap Party - One Girls Trash is Another Girls Treasure

Well, I finally did it!  I finally Hosted my very first "Clothes Swap Party"  This is an event that I've wanted to do for several years but never made it a priority.  Several weeks back I sent out an Invite to several of my friends and starting planning.  I was excited for several reasons but first, I was looking forward to having some girlfriends over to eat a little and laugh a lot! Secondly, I was getting bored with some of the clothes in my closet, some I rarely wore, others I hadn't worn at all.  As I was picking things out for the Swap Party I realized I like to buy belts, earrings & bracelets

I'll share a few tips on how to prepare for the Swap Party as well as a few things I would do differently.

As far as your preparation, an invite is a necessity so you can have an idea of how many people will attend, the amount of munchies to provide and how to setup the Swapping area giving each friend her own space to display her items.

                                        Here is the Invite that I created and emailed to my friends.

You can include date, time, etc or just add it to your email message like I did!

I starting getting my home ready the day prior to the Swap Party because I'm a Type A and like everything to be just right, if your not, you probably won't need as much time. Here are some things I did to make the event pretty, fun and sort of like a boutique in my living room.

I had a name plate for each person so others knew who's stuff it was, I designated a bathroom and two additional rooms as  a "Fitting Room" so we could try stuff on to see if it fit.

I asked each person to bring a min of 10 items in good, gently used condition but more is better if you have them.  I confess, I had more like 50 plus items but that allowed for more "Swapping"

Having Party Rules is important so everyone knows what to expect. I decided to go with a one-to-one barter and used raffle tickets, the right of refusal with no hurt feelings.  When your guest arrive, give them a ticket for each item they brought.

Lastly, have a "Donate" bin so any unswapped items that your guest do not want to take home can be Donated to a local charity

Finally, a few of the things I would do differently: Make sure it's not a long holiday weekend, that did not work in my favor. I would also give a little more time between the day I emailed the invitations and the day of the event.  All-in-all it was successful, I had a great time with friends, got some new stuff,  and can't wait to see how my friends style and accessorize the new pieces they got from me!!  

I hope you get inspired to Host your own "Clothes Swap Party" -- Jo Ann

By popular request

 So, after I blogged on the "Better than Panera" post I had several people ask about the soup. It so happens that I had just made another one of my Fav's when the temps dropped to 42 degrees this past week.  This time around I made a potato, cheese and corn soup. It's quick, easy and almost from scratch!  Try it out and let me know how yours turned out!

I start out by using Beer Creek soup mix  it calls for 8 cups of water but I use 4 cups water, 2 cups low fat milk and 2 cups fat free half & half.  This combo makes for a really creamy and delish soup!  Make the soup per the directions then add in additional potato, onion, corn (if you can add fresh cooked corn cut from the cob that's an extra flavor bonus) and cheese, I used cheeder & havarti. Let it simmer a little longer than the directions indicate as you need the added potato and onion to cook until tender.  I add a little salt and pepper to taste, pour into a pretty cup, top with a corn chip and sour cream! Enjoy!