At Home for the Holidays & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #304

December 6, 2022 / 40 Comments

We are right smack in the middle of the holiday season and a long overdue shift in perspective has finally happened. After years of dreading the holidays and harboring an overall disdain for this time of year, I finally felt the holiday spirit seep into my soul and I am thoroughly enjoying all the preparations and the family time.

I have never liked the over commercialization of the holidays and I have always felt the pressure of the expectations of others. Those two things alone are enough to damper the holidays. Then add in the uncertainty of planning things when you are a military family and the holidays take very unique turns over the years. Now that we are in the Army-retirement years, we have been enjoying quiet holidays at home.

This Thanksgiving, I cooked for just the four of us. I made Peking duck as a little tribute to A Christmas Story, a roasted turkey breast, and a few easy side dishes. We ended with enough dessert for 12 people which we managed to eat all ourselves before the weekend ended.

Cheeses and Italian Meats with Baked Brie and Apple Slices (L); Baked Cinnamon Apples (R)

Peking Duck which I turned into Duck Soup the next day. The soup recipe calls for smoked duck. I did not smoke my duck but the soup still came out amazing!
All the extra stuff.
Roasted Turkey Breast
Jeff made a pineapple upside cake without cherries because we forgot to buy them. But we remembered to buy all the other desserts!
We rounded out Thanksgiving weekend by making our first 4 batches of Christmas Crack (a.k.a. Saltine Toffee Cookies). We make all sorts of variations of this recipe. Pictured here from left to right: Cinnamon Chips with Crushed Walnuts, Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips with Blue Raspberry Candy Canes, Cream Cheese Chips with Slivered Almonds, S’Mores (Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, Marshmallow Fluff, and Crumbled Graham Crackers). Don’t be afraid to be as creative as you want with this super easy recipe!

My sister, her husband, and two of their grandchildren were planning to visit us over Thanksgiving weekend but due to some travel issues, we had to postpone those plans. Instead, we spent the weekend cleaning out and putting up our Christmas decorations. Ralph found this snowman hat from when he was a baby and we had a good laugh trying it on his much larger head.

Three years ago, we got rid of our artificial tree because it was so old it stopped standing upright and was developing quite a pronounced lean. It was the same Christmas that George, our big fat floppy eared bunny, joined our family and his cage has taken up permanent residence where the Christmas tree always stood. So for the last two years, we have gotten tiny little 3 foot tall potted trees that sat on a tabletop in the living room.

This year the kids were over the business of teeny tiny Christmas trees so we bought a new 7 foot artificial tree and moved some furniture around to accommodate it. The star tree topper we have doesn’t work on this tree for some reason so we have temporarily replaced it with Archie’s orthotic helmet from his infancy. We actually used the helmet as our tree topper until Archie was old enough to ask for a star. We figured the helmet cost $3500 and he wore it for less than a year before his head outgrew it and the process was complete. But that’s a lot of money to just toss aside at the end, so why not find some secondary use for the thing. Recycle, repurpose, reuse!

Anyway, here are a few thousand pictures of our 2022 holiday home decor including our new frosty tree (which is going to look really cool next year when those walls are teal).

The view from outside…

“Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.”

Peg Bracken

“As we struggle with shopping lists and invitations, compounded by December’s bad weather, it is good to be reminded that there are people in our lives who are worth this aggravation, and people to whom we are worth the same.” 

Donald E. Westlake

“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.”

Hamilton Wright Mabie

By the way, if you have wondered what 5 feet of snow melting looks like, it looks something like this…

Inside my living room…

“Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts.” 

Janice Maeditere
My kids love chilling by the tree.
This stocking belonged to my mother and has been Ralph’s Christmas stocking for the past few years. I keep telling him he can pick out a new one, but he likes this one. That makes me happy!
This stocking is straight out of 1968! My sister has the matching one. This one has been handed down to Dave, the cat.
My sister also has this bloomer stocking from 1968. They crack me up!
Jeff has the Penn State stocking, of course. And the fancy buttoned boot is mine!
This is a really old Nativity from my childhood. I honestly don’t even know when it came into my possession. I found it in a box when we were cleaning things out. I usually set up my mom’s Lenox Nativity in this spot but I changed it up this year and left the Lenox packed away.

“Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It’s discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values.” 

Thomas S. Monson
I made some twine garland with ornaments for my inside doorways. I love how it turned out!

Into my dining room…

“When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things – not the great occasions – give off the greatest glow of happiness.”

Bob Hope
Easiest centerpiece ever…just a basket filled with cheap ornaments and pine cones!

Peace on earth will come to stay, when we live Christmas every day.”

Helen Steiner Rice
Jeff’s grandmother’s Nativity

“For it is in giving that we receive.”

Francis of Assisi
The bottom line on this sign that is blocked reads, “Never mind…I’ll buy my own stuff.”

I don’t know if any of you remember the Adventures of Naughty Rudolph from two years ago, but NR is back at his old Christmas shenanigans again including a fishing expedition last night when he caught Ralph’s axolotl Zeus!

Also, if you recall I mentioned earlier this year that my kids are at this prepubescent stage where penis jokes are the funniest thing ever. When we were sorting through Christmas ornaments, I walked into this display at one point…

It drives me crazy and I have tried to fight them on it. But then I remembered that I had a similar fascination with such things when I hit puberty. And I figured I am never going to win this battle. And when you can’t beat them, sometimes it’s best to just join them. Like Naughty Rudolph did the other night…

Oh my.

We attended Jeff’s company Christmas party on Saturday evening. It was a really fun time with some really weird folks! I didn’t take a single photo of myself either. Pictured below are Jeff and two of his co-workers, Roman (a real life Naughty Rudolph) and Eric.

And in case you haven’t seen it yet, you should definitely check out my dear friend Monica Hayworth in Season 21 Episode 57 of Dr. Phil on the topic of Cult Vibes. It was a great episode and it is the only episode of Dr. Phil that I ever watched!

This is where I am going to leave off for today. I hope you all have a holiday season that is filled with much love and laughter.

“At Christmas, all roads lead home.”

Marjorie Holmes
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Shelbee

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I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.

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40 Comments

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      December 7, 2022 at 10:22 am Reply

      Thanks, Sally! The twine garland came to me when I was sorting through all the ornaments. I got rid of all the broken ones and then sorted them by style/genre. When I had them all laid in a row, this garland idea became clear and it was easy as can be to do. Maybe next year, I should prank my kids with penis garland! Hahaha

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Anne M Bray

    December 6, 2022 at 12:45 pm Reply

    Yay for renewed Christmas spirit!
    I, too, have felt grinchy about ALL the holidays that start in October. For YEARS! And there MIGHT be a change in my attitude as well. Severo got some light up Christmas bulb necklaces at a Venice Holiday Lights event, so there’s that.

    Loving all your seasonal pix (even the penii haha). Your first, with the Fire Video above the dark fireplace – LOL.

    Merry merry and happy happy!
    xo

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      December 7, 2022 at 10:19 am Reply

      Aw, thanks so much, my friend! My kids slowly got me into the Halloween spirit and now Christmas is making its way into my heart, too. I am so glad someone noticed my fire over the fireplace placement! Haha. Our fireplace is currently out of working order and on the list of things to do when I paint the living room. So for now, a television fire is what we’ve got! I love that Severo picked up Christmas bulb necklaces. Now all you need are some crazy hats and scarves and you will be completely suited for “holiday spirit”!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Nancy

    December 6, 2022 at 2:30 pm Reply

    Wow,I want to spend Thanksgiving with you! What a gigantic menu! It looks so delicious. I loved to see all the photos and get a idea of how you spend the holidays, and showed it to Gerben too. We had to laugh out loud about the drawing of course. Gerben said, at least it is a happy dick!

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      December 7, 2022 at 10:06 am Reply

      Thanks so much, Pamela! We tend to get the most snow when the weather is still warm-ish. One little dip in the temperature with precipitation will pull all the warm water off of Lake Ontario and then dump feet of snow on us. It is an astounding phenomena to witness. But it is also a giant pain to clear away!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Suzy Turner

    December 7, 2022 at 6:22 am Reply

    I love that you’re really getting into the Christmas spirit this year, Shelbee, and your home looks so beautiful and inspiring. Sadly, I’m struggling to get into it this year. I think it’s because my MIL is no longer with us, and Christmas was always so much about her. Her husband is coming to stay over Christmas though, and he hasn’t left England for over 30 years! It’ll be interesting, and hopefully we can make Christmas a little special for him.
    Big hugs
    Suzy xx

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      December 7, 2022 at 10:03 am Reply

      Thanks so much, dear Suzy! I imagine this Christmas is going to be difficult for you all. I am really glad that your MIL’s husband is coming to spend the holiday’s with you. It will be nice for you all to be together. Sending much love and healing energy your way, my friend.

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Joanne

    December 7, 2022 at 7:27 am Reply

    I love your new tree! The house looks so festive. I am also loving those saltine toffee varieties; we tend to add a huge cup of PB to ours and sprinkle with various things from M&M’s to Heath bars… and now I want to mix up a batch!

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      December 7, 2022 at 10:00 am Reply

      Thanks, Joanne! I have used peanut butter chips on our cookies but never actual peanut butter. Now I must give that a try, too! I like salted caramel chips melted with crumbled pretzels on top, too. I tried it with pretzel crisps in place of the saltines but it turned out a mess. A delicious mess, but still a mess. So the second time, I went back to saltines and crumbled up pretzel sticks on top. That would be good on chocolate, too. Yum. I just ate a stack of these darn things for breakfast! Ugh.

      xoxo
      Shelbee

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      December 7, 2022 at 9:56 am Reply

      It is so fun to try different combinations of flavors! White chocolate chips with strawberry candy canes tastes like strawberry milk. And I do one with salted caramel chips and crumble pretzels on top. You need to tweak it further for your dietary restrictions though. But I think any time you combine brown sugar and butter, you get deliciousness no matter what you put it on!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Amy Johnson

    December 7, 2022 at 9:12 am Reply

    I’m so happy you found the Christmas spirit. Your Thanksgiving meal looks incredible. And oh my, 5 feet of snow melting. I hope you’re not experiencing any flood issues.

  • Mica - Away From The Blue

    December 7, 2022 at 7:38 pm Reply

    It’s so nice to see all your christmas decorations, and your tree looks beautiful! 🙂

    Thank you for the link up! Hope you are having a lovely day.

  • Marsha Banks

    December 7, 2022 at 8:35 pm Reply

    Your Christmas-y house is perfect! I love all of the old merged with the new! I really like your flocked tree with the oversized ornaments! I can see why your boys want to hang out there. You definitely have a way with decorating your house, Shelbee! I can’t wait to see your room painted teal, too, though I like the tree against the white (?) walls. We have a nativity we bought the first year we were married (does that make it an antique, I wonder). It’s so threadbare, but it has such meaning for me so I keep it. I have to keep it up high because Jack thinks Mary is quite fun to gnaw on! Thanks for the link party, too!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      December 8, 2022 at 6:21 am Reply

      Aw, thanks so much, Marsha! I do enjoy decorating but then I also get so overwhelmed by the decorating decisions that I don’t want to do it! The walls in my living room are like a bland cream color that I absolutely hate. It shows every little dirty hand print and all the other stuff that somehow manages to get on the walls. I am cracking up at Jack’s special fondness for Mary! LOL

      xoxo
      Shelbee

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      December 9, 2022 at 5:59 am Reply

      Thanks so much, Emma! Oh my goodness, I just laughed out loud about your husband’s surprise drawings! My husband just sends me GIFs with these things because he proclaims he is not very good at drawing! Hahaha.

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Gail

    December 10, 2022 at 3:04 am Reply

    Could I invite myself round for Thanksgiving next year? The duck and everything else looks mouth-watering! So glad you’re in the festive vibe. Nice when it happens. No decorations up at Mutton Towers yet, but hoping the vibe will find me! Thanks for linking

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      December 11, 2022 at 6:01 am Reply

      Gail, if you are in New York next November, you are definitely invited to Thanksgiving at my house! I never made duck before but everyone seemed really pleased with the outcome. Ralph loved eating the wings and legs. I wasn’t a huge fan of the duck by itself but when I made the duck soup with roasted mushrooms and truffle salt, it was like an explosion of heaven in my mouth! I hope you have a lovely holiday season at Mutton Towers…with or without decorations!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Ellie

    December 10, 2022 at 12:16 pm Reply

    I am loving all your Christmas decorations!! The white tree looks fabulous and how fun is the twine garland with all the forest creatures! So glad you and your family enjoyed decorating for the holidays. It gets harder for me as the kids get older and never seem to have time. I want to make decorating the tree a familiy affair but we haven’t had a chance yet, at least my son and I finally got our tree brought up from the basement so right now at least we have a lit up tree. Hopefully we can decorate tomorrow!!
    So much melted snow!!!

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      December 11, 2022 at 5:50 am Reply

      Thanks so much, Ellie! If my kids didn’t get into helping decorate, I probably wouldn’t have much motivation to do it either! At least you have the lighted tree up. I love the soft lights of a Christmas tree with my early morning coffee. So I usually take down all the decorations on January 1, but leave the tree with just the lights up until February when it starts getting a little lighter in the mornings. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, my friend!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

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