Happy 2011 ya'll

Happy New Year everyone ~ The hubby and I spent New Years day down at Tybee and it was a blast! You never know what you are going see ..



New Year's babies with a pitcher of Bloody Mary's



A dancing penguin family



a little Mexico with spider man and the Wendy's girl



Checkout grandma and her grand daughter they almost match with their boots & hats and did you notice granny has her bloody mary.. lol
Love the little fairy ..



and these Jellyfish girls were awesome they danced all over the beach..



Family of rubber ducks, devils, dragons, angels, and inter tube man. Spider man & his friend couldn't get enough of all the fun they laid right there in the sand and took it all in.



Hubby's friend Frank in his Elmo drawers



and streaker boys which was a hoot to watch most people acted as if they didn't see them at all.



While the fog rolled in I kept thinking thank you lord for a new year may it bring peace, joy and happiness to my family and to each of you. The last 2 years have been rough.. I lost my father very unexpectedly on Christmas day he was everything to me. He never met a stranger and was loved by all ... Here is a sweet message from one of his nieces that pretty well says it all ~

He was the best brother ~ the best uncle, the best friend, the best husband, the best father, the best grandfather, the best great grandfather, the best teacher.... The best and the list could go on. Uncle Ollie has already preached his own funeral, no one can do it better. He preached it through the life he lived and the love he gave to others. You will miss him but you will always love him and he will always be with you by the things he taught you. You don't know how many times you are going to find yourself saying daddy did this or daddy said that or daddy did it this way. What a wonderful gift to leave someone, the gift of love ~ and he left it on Christmas Day for you. You will have it forever.

Thank you so much to all of you that have been here with us through these tough times. To the girlfriends, old friends, new friends, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces & nephews we couldn't have made it through without each of you. Thank you for all of your prayers & support I can never thank you enough just know I love each of you .

Sending New Year Blessing to each of you ... May each new day bring sunshine your way!

it's Mosaic Monday over at Little Red House come join the fun !
Hugs from Savannah ya'll, Cherry

How can you pick just one ?

With so many gorgeous colors of Poinsettia available how can you possibly pick just one ! Beth and I took off up to Shawnee, Georgia to Rahn's greenhouses to see this years selections and we almost didn't have enough room to bring back all of the ones we choose .


Strawberries & Cream Sure caught my eye in a large quantity they were beautiful.



This light lime colored was so pretty



and the salmon colored ones in the right setting would be beautiful



and then the pretty speckled ones !



With several greenhouse full of all the different varieties of poinsettias it was really hard to decide what I wanted because I wanted at least one of each ..







and look what was sitting among all those pretty poinsettias the prettiest flower of all Beth's granddaughter Miss Addie .... doesn't she remind you of a Kewpie doll with those big blue eyes and Kewpie lips .. lol



This one came home with me




and so did some of those burgundy ones top left and a pink one as well as a few others. Do you use poinsettia in your Christmas decorating ? What colors do you like ? Do you stay more with the traditional Christmas reds or are you more adventurous ? It's Outdoor Wednesday come see what everyone is sharing over at Miss Susan's ~ A Southern Daydreamer ...hum mm time to get back to a baking & a wrapping .. Christmas hugs from Savannah ya'll, Cherry

Brown Sugar Apple Cider yum with Praline Drizzle

I have been playing with this recipe for years and this year they are purrrfect !

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup of shortening
  
• 3 cups all- purpose flour * divided in half
  
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoon buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup apple cider infused Golden raisins ~ drained **
  
• 1 cup chopped pistachios
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup chopped dried cranberries
  

Cream together butter and shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high for 30 seconds or till softened. Stir in about half of the flour. Add brown sugar, egg, buttermilk, vanilla, baking powder, soda & salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of the bowl occasionally.

*In a separate bowl toss together the cranberries, drained raisins & all the nuts with the remaining flour coating everything well then add fruit, nuts and remaining flour to your wet batter stir just till mixed .

Cover bowl with plastic wrap refrigerate for at least an hour.
preheat oven to 375 degrees bake for 8 ~ 10 minutes or till edges are firm. Cool on a wire rack. Once cookies are cooled place them on wax paper close together and drizzle with the warm praline.

I like to use a small cookie scoop to keep the cookies uniform in size but if you would like you can roll the dough into logs before refrigerating and then slice and bake.

** A few day's before you are going to mix these soak 1 cup of golden raisins in a good apple cider


Praline Drizzle

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
  
• 2 Tbsp. orange juice
• 1/4 cup light cream
• 1 1/3 cups sifted powder sugar
  

in a small saucepan combine brown sugar, butter, orange juice & cream.
Heat and stir over medium heat till mixture comes to a full rolling boil. Boil 1 minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat whisk in powdered sugar till smooth but be quick it will start to harden quickly you can add a few more drops of orange juice if needed to make drizzle consistency.

The batter can be refrigerator for up to 3 days or wrapped well and put into the freezer for up to 3 months.

The original recipe is Praline brown sugar rounds from Better Homes & Gardens Old Fashioned Home Baking Cookbook which has a lot of wonderful recipes in it, so if you happen upon it, grab it... It's a good one..

I'm joining in on The Incredible Christmas Cookie Party over at Aly & Ash Where I have already seen some really great looking cookies...
I will also be joining All Things Merry & Bright over at All Things Heart and Home
Miss Robin has already shared her Oatmeal Dolce de Leche-Marshmallow Cookie Pies and they look out of this world yummy.. Now if you can't get enough cookies at these two parties come join us at Pleasant Home for more wonderful yummy goodness...



Christmas Hugs from Savannah ya'll, Cherry