Deck the Halls

The party was a great success, and I'm even (mostly) cleaned up. I think this is the first time I've been ready enough for a party that I could easily show off both my office/guest room and my bedroom. Next time, I need to remember to not just double my baked spinach dip recipe, but triple or quadruple it. But for now, I'm just curled up on the couch with the afghan my mom made me. Harvey is beside me (and under the afghan, just like she likes has to be under the covers of the bed at night, because she is a weird dog), and I'm munching on a bit of leftover party food and watching some no-name TV-movie-of-the-week.

Since I was planning to post pictures of my decorated house anyway, I thought I would participate in a little Christmas decorating blog tour.

Once the house was clean and decorated, I took some pictures to post over the next few days. Here are the first:


The front entry is pretty simple, though even this is more than I've done in the past. There are also candle lights, that you can't see, in each window across the front. Between those and the lights of the tree through the living room window, I really like the view when I pull into my driveway at night.


I love, love, love the way the living room is decorated. My tree is a collection of every ornament I have, and I love it that way. I don't need a pretty tree - I'd rather have it be full of memories. I've held back so far this year, and only have three new ornaments - an adorable reindeer one from the dollar store, Santa holding two dogs (to commemorate Harvey's first year with me), and one I made at our ladies' Christmas party.


I've used a lot more garlands this year - they just seem to finish things off, and are really easy to use. I still need to add photos to the stocking holders, and I bought them last year! I've got photos of the dogs picked out, I just need to print them.


Last year, I hung these stars on a red bead garland, but I love them on the pine garland even more.


This is one of my projects for this year - I printed each letter and cut them out on Christmas scrapbook paper I already had, using a rubber mat and Exacto knife. I used black and frameless frames that I already had, so the only real cost for the project was a few additional pieces of cardstock. My mom gave me all the pieces to the Nativity several years ago, but I think next year I need some kind of backdrop so it doesn't just blend in with shelves so much.


Another project - I found these white plates at a thrift store and glued the black buttons on. The scarf and Santa hat each came from the dollar store.

I'll post more pictures tomorrow, especially of my dining room (I really, really love how it turned out), but for now, here's my hot spinach dip recipe. Its from Pampered Chef, though I take shortcuts to make the whole process simpler. And I usually double this.

Hot Spinach Dip (or Hot Artichoke & Spinach Dip)

1 jar (6 oz) marinated artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped, optional
1 pkg (9-11 oz) frozen creamed spinach, thawed
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 small garlic glove, pressed or garlic powder
1/2 cup (2 oz) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375°F. Coarsely chop artichokes, if desired, and add to baking dish. Add spinach, mayonnaise, and sour cream. Add garlic and Parmesan cheese, and mix all ingredients together well. Bake 20-25 minutes or until heated through.