No resolutions.

Plans.  And a little bit of whimsy thrown in.  But lots of cleaning.  Sorting.  Deciding.  Purging.  Donating.  (None of which was a “resolution”)

I cleaned the spare bedroom which was full of piles of my stuff, Christmas presents (!), empty Christmas boxes and miscellaneous unused items.  It’s always good to have that room in relative order in case an overnight guest should pop in.

from http://mysocalledjunkylife.blogspot.com

And then there’s my studio.  I’ve started calling it my studio rather than my office.  I’m almost done with it!  95% done and a few tweaks will make it 100%.  I’ve taken pictures along the way because it’s going to look nice when it’s done.  I promise to share.

These images are of other creative people’s studios.  I guess mine wasn’t that far off the mark. (Hah, it was.  Far off the mark…)

Studio Space of Artisan Originals

Christmas is done and the decorations are down and stowed.  Catalogs are sorted and recycled.  Next is the kitchen.

Cue horror movie music.  It’s the kitchen.  I’m sensing a major purge and reorganization…..

Someone hold me.  Or pass me a glass of wine and a Xanax.

Our neighbors at the end of the street decorate for every holiday on the calendar.  I admire their commitment and creativity.  I really do.  They really like the vintage, plastic “light -up” lawn ornaments.  As in “They Really Like the Plastic Light Up Lawn Ornaments” 

They decorate for holidays that are only a mention on an Elementary School calendar.  President’s Day?  Yep, they have a bust of George Washington.  They do Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day.  And then they really hit their stride.  Because they can decorate for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas in rapid, rapid succession.

And let me tell you, it is rapid and very, very timely.  Friday morning after Thanksgiving, they are full-on, completely decorated for Christmas.  I’ve never watched them tear down and put up decorations but I imagine they hit the front lawn at midnight to do all of the tedious, extension cord running work.

We live in an old neighborhood with postage stamp size lawns.  The patches of front lawns are approximately 15 feet deep by 25 feet wide.  Not a whole lot of room for “The Plastic Light Up Lawn Ornaments” you’d think.  But then you’d be wrong.

They have so many of “The Plastic Light Up Lawn Ornaments” that they have to hang some out of the 2nd floor and attic windows of their home.  Yes, they do.

So, here’s where it gets good.  Two years ago,  across the street and two doors down, two very nice gentlemen moved in.  They decorate like it’s their job and they are the President of the United States of Christmas Ornaments and Decorations.

In their first year of decorating, they eclipsed “The Plastic Light Up Lawn Ornaments” people by a factor of four.  Seriously, they rocked the ridiculous Christmas Light, Light Up Fan Driven Lawn Ornament contest.  Except there was no contest.  I think their light display was so bright and ridiculously flashing that the neighbors may have told them to turn it down.  It was that crazy.

It’s only gotten more crazy and ornate over the remaining years.  They not only decorate the front of their home, they decorate their fence and gate and their detached garage.  Next year they may even try to decorate the air space above their home.  Too bad for them that we’re in the landing pattern for the airport, they could add lights up to the outer layers of the atmosphere.

BETTER

So, the rest of the houses on this end of the street have really amped up their displays.  And the “The Plastic Light Up Lawn Ornaments” are now in 3rd place.  3rd Place, at best.  I kind of feel sorry for them.  They win though, the rest of the year.  Because really, except them, who has Plastic Light Up Lawn Ornaments for Arbor Day?

BEST

I have a post for you.  I wrote it with a pen on actual paper.  In part it’s inspired by Tavi.  She’s delightfully creative, quirky and frankly, a little strange.  Which is why I think I love her so much.

And I’m in line for the scanner at work, so I’ll post it when I can.  Until then, enjoy the pretty pics.

It was a whirlwind of parties, dinners, lunches and girl’s time. DD and I were invited to visit our East Side friends, then to a consulting group buffet. We got home at 11 pm on Saturday after, literally, a full day.

Sunday rolls through with girl’s afternoon and a little kitchen fun. I was half way through making popcorn balls when I realized that I haven’t made popcorn balls since I was 15. And I was making popcorn balls for a party.

What the Hell was I THINKING? Isn’t there a general rule?

Don’t try out a new recipe for the first time & attempt to serve it or take it to a party.

So that’s exactly what I did. I took popcorn balls to my party. The stuff that didn’t actually turn into popcorn balls stayed at home for the guys and football. So, I ended up serving the brand new, untested recipe at two separate functions.

So here’s what I did:

I popped two large bowls of popcorn.  I grated carmelized ginger, and also decided to use sesame seeds & chopped raisins as garnish.

Then I  lined two cookie trays with parchment paper.

I melted 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup corn syrup & 2 Tbs margarine over medium heat & allegedly stirred constantly. As the syrup started to cook, I kept stirring until the sugar melted & the mixture darkened.

Then came the tricky part.  I poured the boiling mixture over the popcorn & began to form the popcorn balls with my hands.  I’m a fan of greasing my hands with butter or margarine to do this.  Less sticky and less burny too.  I rolled the popcorn balls into the add-ins.  I let the balls cool on the parchment paper & wrapped them in small decorative bags to display and serve.

Any popcorn that doesn’t seem to want to be rolled into balls can be eaten as caramel corn.  Delish!

And this, after 2 parties, is all that’s left!