I love Black Friday. I get the best deals and steals! I'm going to share with you my secrets. First, I stay up late on Thursday night. I put on the comfiest pajamas and watch movies late into the night with the oldest kids while the littles fall asleep around us. This year we discovered a ton of new/old movies (which I listed at the bottom). We all fell asleep in one big slumber party. Friday morning I don't get up until I have to pull together a leftover piece of pie and cookie breakfast for the kids. Or whatever is easiest to get to in the fridge that is stuffed full of leftovers. I chose a roll and a cup of coffee. Then we snuggle up on the couch again, fireplace still going and we watch movies, eat leftovers, laugh, nap, joke, hug and enjoy the entire day just like that. I get the best deals. I spend the entire day with my kids and husband. I stole hugs and kisses and stroked their cheeks and ran my fingers through their hair.They don't need a new toy or for me to get all my shopping done, they need me. Sleepy me in my pajamas snuggling them and making memories.
If you go all out for Black Friday, I support you 100%. Live and let live or in this case nap and let shop :).
Movies we suggest: The Burbs, The Man With One Red Shoe, Romancing the Stone, Maidentrip (it is half Dutch/English with subtitles and she used the F word once, which didn't need subtitles) and we started PBS's National Parks: America's Best Idea by Ken Burns. Everything is on Netflix. Enjoy! Oh and 80's PG is like today's PG-13, just sayin'.
Three Magee: Making the Ordinary Extraordinary. Party Planning, Recipes and DIY!
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Monday, December 1, 2014
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce {Make Tonight in less than 20 minutes!}
I love homemade cranberry sauce. Every year I ponder why I don't make more of it all year long. It's just that good. You can make your own in less than 20 minutes with only 4 ingredients, 5 if you count the water. Yep, that's right. So lets do this!
What you need:
1 bag of cranberries
1 cup of sugar
1 orange
1/2 tsp of Pumpkin Pie spice
1 cup of water
Grater or zester
Stove pot to cook with
Spoon
Strainer
Bowl for underneath strainer
Canning jars or container for storage
What you do:
First you need to zest your entire orange, you should yield about 1 tablespoon of zest. I use a Progressive Grater Pod, I love that thing, took me about a minute to zest the whole orange! But you could use a grater if that's what you got! Once you have your zest, squeeze out the juice from your orange, which should yield about half a cup. If you have a juicer, use it (thanks mom!). Combine all ingredients over a medium high heat for about 10 minutes or until your berries are tender and have burst open. Now is the time to do a taste test. If you want it sweeter, now is the time to add more sugar. I personally like it to have a little tart kick so this is perfect for me. Once the taste is just right, take off of the heat and spoon about 1/3 of the cranberries into the strainer over the bowl. Press down and get all of the juice out. Pour the juice you strained out into the bowl back into the pot, mix and store. This makes enough to fill 3 jelly jars!
Tips, tricks and substitutes:
Roll your orange to release the oil and juices. You will get a lot more by spending 20 seconds rolling your orange between your hand and the counter.
Don't have an orange? Use half a cup of orange juice, or even a spoon of orange juice concentrate!
If you are new to canning, make sure you heat your canning jars under warm/hot water before adding the hot cranberry sauce. Leave about 1/2 inch between the top of the jar and the cranberry sauce. My cans always seal themselves by putting the lid on right away, after cleaning around the top of the jar first.
Straining is optional! If you like a thicker jelly you don't need to strain. Also, if you don't like pieces of cranberry you can strain the whole thing, but that might take 30 minutes instead of 20!
This is a great thing to make with the kids too. They love to watch those berries burst and I've made homemade cranberry sauce lovers out of all of them.
There you have it! Easy, fast and better than the can!
What you need:
1 bag of cranberries
1 cup of sugar
1 orange
1/2 tsp of Pumpkin Pie spice
1 cup of water
Grater or zester
Stove pot to cook with
Spoon
Strainer
Bowl for underneath strainer
Canning jars or container for storage
What you do:
First you need to zest your entire orange, you should yield about 1 tablespoon of zest. I use a Progressive Grater Pod, I love that thing, took me about a minute to zest the whole orange! But you could use a grater if that's what you got! Once you have your zest, squeeze out the juice from your orange, which should yield about half a cup. If you have a juicer, use it (thanks mom!). Combine all ingredients over a medium high heat for about 10 minutes or until your berries are tender and have burst open. Now is the time to do a taste test. If you want it sweeter, now is the time to add more sugar. I personally like it to have a little tart kick so this is perfect for me. Once the taste is just right, take off of the heat and spoon about 1/3 of the cranberries into the strainer over the bowl. Press down and get all of the juice out. Pour the juice you strained out into the bowl back into the pot, mix and store. This makes enough to fill 3 jelly jars!
Tips, tricks and substitutes:
Roll your orange to release the oil and juices. You will get a lot more by spending 20 seconds rolling your orange between your hand and the counter.
Don't have an orange? Use half a cup of orange juice, or even a spoon of orange juice concentrate!
If you are new to canning, make sure you heat your canning jars under warm/hot water before adding the hot cranberry sauce. Leave about 1/2 inch between the top of the jar and the cranberry sauce. My cans always seal themselves by putting the lid on right away, after cleaning around the top of the jar first.
Straining is optional! If you like a thicker jelly you don't need to strain. Also, if you don't like pieces of cranberry you can strain the whole thing, but that might take 30 minutes instead of 20!
This is a great thing to make with the kids too. They love to watch those berries burst and I've made homemade cranberry sauce lovers out of all of them.
There you have it! Easy, fast and better than the can!
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Coloring Turkeys with Oil Pastels
Ellie's favorite art supply is oil pastels. They happen to be the perfect medium for creating her disguised turkey this year. This year she had to disguise her turkey as a famous Oklahoman. Being a little gymnast she chose Shannon Miller.
This year she had to write and essay in addition to simply coloring her turkey. She learned a lot about Shannon and I encourage you to check out her website. I especially loved that Ellie got to learn about life after gymnastics and to see a courageous woman who won the battle against cancer.
Oil pastels are a great tool for blending colors. When she brought it in to show us we were amazed at how she so many times, teaches herself by doing. My children never cease to amaze me in how they learn. Each are unique in what they are gifted at. It's really a beautiful thing to watch.
This year she had to write and essay in addition to simply coloring her turkey. She learned a lot about Shannon and I encourage you to check out her website. I especially loved that Ellie got to learn about life after gymnastics and to see a courageous woman who won the battle against cancer.
Oil pastels are a great tool for blending colors. When she brought it in to show us we were amazed at how she so many times, teaches herself by doing. My children never cease to amaze me in how they learn. Each are unique in what they are gifted at. It's really a beautiful thing to watch.
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| This years Thanksgiving Turkey disguised as Shannon Miller at the 1992 Olympics! |
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Lacy Burlap Fall Wreath
I really think that making wreaths is one of the most satisfying crafts ever. When you finish it you put it on your door and present your masterpiece. Perhaps that's a bit dramatic but I always feel accomplished putting up a great wreath. I have been using this same twig wreath for forever. I've definitely gotten my 7 bucks worth. I reused my sparkle corn cobs, feathers, leaves and beaded twigs from last year. I added some lacy burlap wire ribbon, my gold J and some gold pine cones, which I found in the Christmas section. Took about 10 minutes and I think it looks pretty fabulous.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Super Easy Fall Wreath
I think I maybe spent $5 making this wreath and its my favorite so far. I am still super frugal and cheap when it comes to wreaths. This is the only wreath I've ever owned, I just keep dressing and redressing it. I think I only paid $6 for it too! I got everything from Hobby Lobby, the corn on the cobs, glittery leaves, berry beads, feathery leaves and the letter. I have also used the same "J" I just keep spray painting it. No hot glue, I just stuck it in or tied it on. I spent about 20 minutes getting all put together while the kids took a cold swim in the pool. There was no way I was getting in there, but they had a blast filling up ziploc bags and splashing each other while I got my craft on. Who needs toys, right?
Friday, November 2, 2012
Thanksgiving Turkey Family Hands Craft
Last year we made a family turkey hand print. It was such an easy craft to make! I used ROY G. BIV to decide colors so there wouldn't be any squabbles. No more babies in this house, so there won't be indigo or violet! I also wanted to use the same colors each year so that we can see the kids hand size progression. I can't wait to get started on this years! My husband was the exception. He was brown for the base of the turkey and ol Roy doesn't have an appreciation for turkey color. After it dried I drew a face on him, the turkey not my husband, and we put each persons name, color and what they were thankful for on the back. So much fun and I love looking back at how little everyone's hand was and what they were thankful for. In just a few years we are going to have one fat turkey!
Join me over the next three weeks for my yearly Thankful Thursdays in November. I am really grateful for so many people this year and I love the time for reflection.
Join me over the next three weeks for my yearly Thankful Thursdays in November. I am really grateful for so many people this year and I love the time for reflection.
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