Christmas Decorating! ...and Nancy's Visit :)

We decorated for Christmas this past weekend, which was so much fun... I love pulling out the Christmas decorations!! We won't put the tree up for another couple weeks yet.

And Nancy, Ellie, and Bernadette came for a visit on Saturday! They were down visiting Christie and her family for a few days, and they're not too far from us, so they came up here for an afternoon visit. They got to see my new home, and I got to see Ellie's cuteness! She's such a little Nancy!
Ellie was a little scared of me, I guess... We tried to get her to smile for this shot, but I'm honestly not sure how much of this is a smile and how much is crying!
She liked the wicker rocker. :)
There's the happy Ellie!

Thanksgiving with the Deckers

For Thanksgiving this year, the four of us drove down to Lexington to spend a couple days with my parents. We even got to stay at their bed & breakfast! Mary & Rob also came, and Grandpa & Grandmom were there too. It was such a fantastic time together!! This was the first time Phil and Kiff got to spend any time with my family, so that was special for me. :) It was just a wonderful time of fun and laughter and gooooood food.

Dad's centerpiece creation.
Preparations.


Helping Grandpa up the walk and up the stairs. It took forever and we were laughing almost the whole time! I love how Grandpa has such a fun sense of humor, despite his physical limitations.
All of us at the table, sans Jeff who was taking the picture. And Phil is hiding behind me...
Dueling cameras.
Got Phil that time.
What a beautiful smile. :)
Grandmom & Grandpa... Grandpa's 92 this year!
The adorable Rob & Mary.
Homemade pies.
The next day, a fun game of Up & Down the River with Mom, Jeff, me, Mary, and Kiff.



Ever the score-keeper.
Hope your Thanksgiving was warm and memorable too! Let the Christmas season begin!!!

Pillows

I've been looking for the perfect pillows for our living room for weeks and weeks, and I just couldn't ever find anything that worked. The walls are a deep warm red and the couches are a cream color... I didn't want red because there'd be too big a chance that they would clash with the walls, and I didn't want cream because then they'd just blend in with the couches. And I just couldn't find a color print that I thought would work. I figured a black and white design might be classy... And then I remembered how much I like toile. So I looked and looked for toile pillows, but I couldn't find anything.

So I decided to make them myself! We had a few pillows that we didn't want to use anymore, so I bought a black-on-cream toile fabric on sale at Joann and made pillow covers for them!

You have to understand..... I know these are only pillow covers, not really all that much to get excited about, but I am so not a seamstress. I am a risk-taker, though. So I tried it, after not having touched a sewing machine in years, and.....

They came out pretty well! Don't you think? :) I'm super proud.

Weekend Sports

Just a few shots of soccer and tennis from yesterday and today... Kiff had a soccer game yesterday afternoon, and today after church Kiff and Jeff and I went to the tennis courts at the high school to hit a few balls around. Kiff and I got some good rallies going - which we were both surprised at! Jeff was our ball boy, photographer, and videographer. :)

Plus - Jeff is heading back to work tomorrow! He'll be working half days in the office and half days from home this week, in order to ease his way back in. He's doing great, by the way. He still gets a little winded at times and sometimes has irregular heartbeats, but it's nothing out of the ordinary for someone in his situation. Both will get better as time goes on.

And while I'm here - a little note about church. We are plugging in nicely! We went to a home group for the first time this past Friday night and had a great time. The people in this group are so laid back and friendly and genuine, and it was just a joy to fellowship with them in that small of a context. And this morning I played with the worship team for the first time! I also sang with the Voices of Blue Ridge which is a small singing group that performs special songs once every six to eight weeks or so. So great to be "back in the saddle"!

Gettsyburg

So Jeff and I drove up to Gettysburg for the day yesterday. I had never been to the battlefields there, and this week is Jeff's last week off from work, so we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went! It was gorgeous. :)

Recipes

So I'm giving heed to your requests, girls! :) Here are the recipes I featured in my last few posts. Enjoy!

Potato Tomato Soup
(I think I got this from allrecipes.com)

2 Tbsp butter
2 onions, chopped
4 cups peeled & cubed potatoes
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp corn starch
1 (14.5 oz) can tomatoes
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
2 Tbsp tomato paste
salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat; cook onions until tender. Mix in potatoes, celery, carrots, and garlic. Add Italian seasoning. Pour in milk, gradually add the corn starch, and bring to a boil. Mix in tomatoes, broth, and tomato paste. Return to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes.


Apple Pie
(Better Homes & Gardens; New Cook Book; Bridal Edition)

Pastry for Double-Crust Pie:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup shortening
8 to 10 Tbsp cold water

1. In a medium bowl stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea-size.

2. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp cold water over part of the flour mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to side of bowl. Repeat, using 1 Tbsp water at a time, until all the flour mixture is moistened. Divide in half; form each half into a ball.

3. On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten 1 dough ball. Roll dough from center to edges into a circle 12 inches in diameter.

4. To transfer pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin; unroll into a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate without stretching it. Trim pastry even with rim of pie plate. Transfer filling (recipe below) to pastry-lined pie plate.

5. Roll remaining dough ball into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Cut slits to allow steam to escape. Place pastry on filling; trim to 1/2 inch beyond edge of plate. Fold top pastry under bottom pastry. Crimp edge as desired.

Pie Filling:
6 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples (about 2 1/4 pounds) (I chose Granny Smith)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (optional)
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 cup dried cranberries (optional)
milk (optional)
sugar (optional)

If desired, sprinkle apples with lemon juice. In a large bowl stir together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add apple slices and, if desired, cranberries. Gently toss until coated. Transfer mixture to the pastry-lined pie plate and cover with the top pie crust, as noted above. If desired, brush top pastry with milk and sprinkle with additional sugar. To prevent over-browning, cover edge of pie with foil. Bake in a 375 oven for 40 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 20 minutes more or until fruit is tender and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.

Make sure you put something underneath the pie to catch the drippings! The juice from inside the pie will leak out.

Apple Pie

In celebration of the beginning of the World Series, Jeff and I made apple pie! He peeled and cut the apples. Oh, and he brushed on the milk right before we put it in the oven. I did everything else. :) But it's so yummy, and I decided that we should do this every year on the first night of the World Series! Great idea, right? I love traditions. :)

Phillies are winning 2-0 at the moment! Top of the 6th. But it's almost 10pm and I'm ready for bed.......