A Cabin Post-Christmas Get-Away

It may not look like much to you, but this little tree is really special to us. It's adorning our cabin for the holidays, and it has our favorite woodland animals on it.

We see lots of animals at our cabin, so we thought, "Why not give them a place of honor on our Christmas tree?" We have racoons, chipmunks, squirrels, owls, but so far, no snakes on our tree!

There's a grove of cedar trees taking over the abandoned road on the North face of our hill. Cedars are not desirable and can be a real problem for the land if allowed to flourish. We did our part this winter by cutting a few small ones and using them as makeshift trees in our flower box on the porch. They are going to be a prickly mess to clean out, I'm sure! Gloves?

This is our 2010 ornament in honor of our mama fox and baby cubs that were spotted in a dugout by our driveway this spring. We haven't actually seen her, but we have seen the opening to her den.

And this is the view we wake up to at our cabin, We actually prefer winter there to summer. We can see so much more terrain and it feels very woodsy, instead of jungly which is the summer scenery.

Update on the cabin: She is still ours! I know we thought it might sell, but apparently the buyers settled on a bigger one than ours. Which is just fine with us! We are happy here!


Always apologizing for my photos... these were taken with my cell phone. Someone forgot to put the camera in the car.

Crafts that are for the Birds!

 Christmas day was a low-key day for us, no company, and no family visits. So after we fed ourselves a Christmas Day plate of pancakes, Steve and I decided to put a little feast together for the birds, too!

 You really only need a few items to make a culinary feast for your feathered friends: strings of popcorn (unsalted), raisins or cranberries, some pine cones, peanut butter, birdseed and an apple we could spare!

 I learned to make these pinecones in girlscouts. It is easy-peasy, although can be a little messy. Make sure you tie a string to hang the pinecone from branches BEFORE you slather it with peanut butter. This cuts down significantly on messy fingers!

Then dip them in birdseed and use your hands to pack the seeds on firmly!

Here's our loot for the birdies (above) and below after we hung it on limbs of the trees! Kind of  festive, don't you think? And the birds will thank you, especially if you have snow on the ground!

A Santa Fe Christmas

Steve and I decided that instead of a traditional Christmas at home with the big tree and presents galore, that we'd take a trip together as our gift to each other. Here's a little photo synopsis of our trip. 

(Although I feel the need to apologize for the photos. Not only were we sick with food poisoning from the very first night there, but the winter light and overcast skies made it very hard to get hand held photos that were worth a darn. But I hope you will enjoy anyway... Despite the food poisoning, we enjoyed the trip as much as we could, sneaking in excursions in between bouts of nausea.)

Loretto Chapel

The legendary miracle staircase inside. 

The story goes that the chapel was originally built without a staircase and that an unknown carpenter arrived and built the stairs with only a few simple tools and then left without payment. No one knew him and he was not seen again. The stairs defy engineering principles and are said to have insufficient supporting structure.

We also visited Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel. Yet another miracle as the Mother of Christ appeared during the Spanish colonization of Mexico and revealed to the Mexican people not to fear the endoctrination into the Roman Catholic Church. Our Lady of Guadalupe is revered as a protector and saint.

Santa Fe is home to some of the most noteworthy and visited churches in America. The following is the San Miguel Chapel, the oldest church in America. It dates to 1610. It is still used for religious services. The exterior was under some maintenance when we visited, so my photos are only interior.

We did drive up the mountains to the ski basin and stopped at a few road side parks to get out and experience snow while there. We left on Thursday just before a snow storm was headed their way for a white Christmas. We saw all the snow to fill our yearning and were glad for relatively mild temperatures and no slush to walk through in town.

 There was a full moon over Santa Fe our third night there.

This is the plaza, all lit up for Christmas. Santa Fe has a colorful ambience. While I expected to see all white lights, I was delighted by the color which really reflects the art work of the area in my opinion. All over town, we smelled the essence of piñion burning and real evergreen swagged and wrapped on all the railings. Chile ristras hung from every overhang and luminaries along the adobe façades. It was really festive, yet natural and indicative of the cultural and environmental resources in the area.

And the window shopping was pretty cool too. Many unusual sights to behold...

 How about a trunk of turquoise for Christmas?

Or maybe one of these furs? I haven't seen anyone wearing real fur in so long, I had forgotten how luxurious it really is. Will it make a comeback? Hmm? I guess it never went out in Santa Fe.

We had an opportunity to go hear the Desert Choral at the Saint Francis Cathedral. It was really spectacular to behold. And the voices sounded like angels, singing without amplification, it was marvelous!

The exterior photos were taken about an hour before the doors opened for the concert. This memorial is in tribute to the earliest settlers of Santa Fe. This part of our nation had civilizations dating to centuries before the Spanish Inquisition or the French Settlers arrived. It is truly one of the most history filled areas of our nation.

 Inside the cathedral, before the concert began...

 The architectural style is French Baroque.

One of the "must do things" we heard about in Santa Fe is taking a class at the Santa Fe School of Cooking. And it was fabulous. We elected to take a demonstration class in lieu of a hands on experience since we'd been under the weather. Our chef was Michelle Roetzer and she was fabulous, funny and entertaining. It was a highlight of our trip.

And the class we took was about Tapas. It was the best meal we ate the entire trip. Let me say, there is not one item on this plate that does not have chile in it in some form or another. But every flavor was delicately balanced. Delish!

And a trip to Santa Fe would not be complete without a walk down the sidewalk outside the Palace of the Governors. The local Indians still sell their jewelry and other handcrafted items here. The Palace is also home to New Mexico's History Museum and since our last visit they have also opened a new modern wing. There are many museums in Santa Fe. You could get "museumed out" if you tried to visit them all in one trip. So go back more than once and see them all eventually!

I hope you enjoyed our little photo tour of Santa Fe at Christmas. I also hope you and your family had a wonderful and merry-filled Christmas yourselves!

Love Dana and Daisy

Easy, Fast, Deliscious Sugar Cookies!

I have been making these for decades and they are so easy and fast! It requires no chilling and no rolling and no messy cookie cutters. But beware, they disappear almost as fast as you pull them out of the oven! This recipe is out of my mom's Betty Crocker Cookbook, 1957 era I believe...

Stir N Drop Sugar Cookies

Beat 2 eggs, stir in 2/3 cup of oil, 2 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp grated lemon rind (optional but worth the extra effort). Blend in 3/4 C sugar

In a separate bowl, sift together, 2 Cups of flour, 2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Then add wet ingredients and mix well.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten cookies with the oiled bottom of a flat glass, dippedin sugar (you can color your sugar by shaking in a jar with a drop or two of food coloring beforehand)

Bake each tray 8-10 minutes at 400f.

Dana and Daisy's Fudge Recipe, Take 2

A couple of years ago we posted this recipe in one of our funny moods and we embellished the text quite a bit. It has been one of our most popular posts however, so; we decided to repost the recipe without all the drama... and here it goes....

The Smoothest Fudge to Ever Melt in Your Mouth

2 C sugar

1 small can Carnation® Milk

10 large marshmallows

1 stick of butter

a dash of salt

1-6 oz bag of chocolate chips

1 cup of chopped nuts of your choice (optional)
Nut options are pecans, walnuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, peanuts, whatever you like!

In a skillet over a low fire, melt sugar, Carnation® milk and marshmallows. Slowly bring to a boil over low heat while stirring constantly. Once it reaches a bubbling boil, continue cooking on the low fire, stirring, for 6 minutes.

Pour hot mixture over chocolate chips, salt and butter in a bowl and beat until smooth. Add nuts now if desired or top the fudge with them after spreading.

Spread in a buttered 9 x 13. Refrigerate. Cut into small bite sized pieces when firm. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Tips for better fudge: If you have trouble with gritty fudge, you may be cooking your sugar on too high a temperature, or you may be spreading your sugar too high on the sides of your pan which will form crystallized fragments in your fudge.  If your fudge is too soft after refrigerating, you did not cook your mixture long enough or at too low of a fire. I set my electric stove at 2-1/2 to 3. A candy thermometer might be useful but is not necessary. If you use one, heat sugar mixture to 248 degrees. It's okay with me of the fudge gets a little soft while sitting out, I just refrigerate it again and it is good as new! A really melt-on-your-tongue fudge will probably do that!

Enjoy! Love, Dana and Daisy

There's a little Narcissist in all of us.

Another Simply Elegant Idea.

Paperwhites for the holidays.

One planter

A little soil

6 bulbs

Place in sunny window and water.

Narcissus, or paperwhites... also in the daffodil family. The greek myth has it that the flower is named for Narcissus who saw his reflection in a pool of water and was so enamored with his own good looks, he lowered his head ever nearer to the watery mirror until he drowned.

But don't drown your paperwhites. A little water every few days. A small pot will be all you need to fill the home with their musky floral fragrance. They bloom in 4-5 weeks.

Merry Christmas, Love Dana and Daisy

My Simple Foyer

Another Simply Elegant Idea...

2010 was a year of cleaning out, paring down, keeping what works and redistributing what doesn't.

I kept my antique buffet.

And for Christmas, I pared down the decor on it...

One table runner

One candle in a hurricane

One decorative plate 

 One antique bird print

One small "group of three"

Tip: Instead of scattering small accessories across your home, group them in small nestled vignettes. It cuts down on the clutter, and makes cleaning a breeze!

My group of three includes a sentimental compote that was my Great Grandmother's, a bird ornament, and a sparkly cross.

Merry Christmas!

Dana and Daisy

A Simply Elegant Place to Sit

What I've learned about myself and a sofa...

1.  Neutral and light is what my heart longs for.

 2. In my world, certain shades of green and blue are as calming as neutrals, especially when they are comforting and beg to be touched.

 2. One interesting accessory trumps a room full of clutter.

3. You can never go wrong with a glass coffee table. Or white candles. Or a calico cat.