Happy New Year, friends!

Happy New Year!

I hope each and every one of you had fun ringing in the new year, and I wish you the best possible 2013!!

My attempt to revamp my blog and really try to post more regularly began in October of 2012, and I am still trying to get into a groove. Some weeks I get to 3+ posts, and other weeks I get busy and don't get to 1!
I want to start using the auto-post scheduling Blogger feature more often, and try to have themes, like my Things I Love Thursdays.

Anyway, I so appreciate you reading and supporting my little blog, so THANK YOU!!!
It really means a lot!

Here are some of the most popular posts of 2012!

http://sotherebyamy.blogspot.com/2012/01/let-it-snow-let-it-snow-let-it-snow.html

http://sotherebyamy.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-stocked-up-on-pillsbury-grands.html

http://sotherebyamy.blogspot.com/2012/10/all-dressed-up.html

http://sotherebyamy.blogspot.com/2012/10/blue-moooooooooon.html

http://sotherebyamy.blogspot.com/2012/10/bringing-forest-indoors.html

Happy 2013!
So there.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas...

Merry Christmas everyone!

Love seeing all the pretty lights all around town.

And my little festive light I hung in my apartment.

I am loving my winter "tablescape" (In the words of Sandra Lee! Oh my god, you guys, have you caught her new show on the Cooking Channel?? She's so epic. My mom and I are obsessed. She's a riot).

Anyway, I started by mixing some green, silver and gold glitter ornaments with some cinnamon scented pine cones in a couple different large hurricane vases. Then, I have my yarn wrapped beer bottle and sweater wrapped vase that I made from Pinterest tutorials.
Finally, the pièce de résistance: my friend and I spend a recent morning, over scones and mimosas, making the festive, wrapped cone Trees! I wrapped one with a faux fur skinny boa, one with burlap and a vintage-looking gold beaded garland, both from Michael's, then, made the third one out of strips of wax paper. How cute are they?! I love them. I mean, who doesn't want a fur tree!

We used this tutorial here:  Handmade Christmas Trees from the lovely Shauna Mailloux.
She has so many great ideas, plus Pinterest has so many others, as well. These are so fun to make!

While I was at Target the other day, I saw this bin of the cutest ornaments...then realized these all would be SO easy to DIY! Take that, Target!!

Those little reindeer on the right are just yarn wrapped plastic animal toys, same as how I wrapped the beer bottle above.  The big sweater ornament balls on the left would be easy to craft, same as my sweater vase above.  And the little silver glitter reindeer guy behind those is just like This Tutorial I was going to use to make some decorative bookshelf trinkets (also can be ornaments or book ends).
Sorry retail shops, you've been found out thanks to Pinterest!! Ha!

And, check out my little twine clothesline card 'tree' I hung on my wall to display all my holiday cards!

Happy Holidays, everyone!
Thanks so much for supporting my little blog. It means so much!
So there.

Season's Greetings

You guys, I decided to MAKE my holiday cards this year. Like, start with blank cardstock and a pile of crafting materials, make them.
It was quite a bit of work, but they turned out so cute!

I used buttons, rhinestones, metallic paint, burlap, twine, ribbon, scrapbook paper, pieces of old holiday cards, and Chevron print glitter tape adhesive ribbon. Plus Elmer's Glue and hot glue. And went to town creating my own layouts and design ideas.
I used the end of a pencil, and a wine cork to do the painted dots.

What do you think?
Hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!
So there.

Espresso Truffles

It's that time of year again...I'm making Peppermint Bark!!  It seems to get a bit easier every year I make it.  Still a bit imperfect...we'll call it rustic-looking; but hey, I guess that is what makes it different from, say, This Peppermint Bark. 

But I also have something special to share...

My first Guest Post!

I have so many crafty, foodie friends, I'm always asking them to do a guest post with their great creations!

Today my friend Molly is awesome enough to share her amazing truffles she makes every year! 
Don't these look amazing!? Also, her food photography puts mine to shame!  I need to hire her just to come over and be my photographer while I'm cooking and crafting!! Enjoy :)

Espresso Truffles

Truffles are an elegant candy that are perfect as a special holiday party treat. They might appear intimidating, but are easier to make than you think! You can have fun with the coating too, whether it's nuts, crushed Oreo cookies, coconut, cocoa or drizzled chocolate of a different variety. Package them up in gold truffle wrappers and your friends will think you picked them up at the local candy shop! 

Although there are a couple steps involved, as long as you have some room in your freezer and plan ahead, the actual result is beautiful and well worth it. 

See the full recipe here:

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/espresso-truffles-10000000608415/index.html

Merry Christmas!
Molly

Things I Love Thursdays

Time for another Things I Love Thursdays!

1. First of all, my bestest friend since 6th grade has been living in London for the past 2 years, and is home for the Holidays! Hooray!!
We obviously had to go to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Avila's El Ranchito in Costa Mesa. Yum!

Check out her amazing website dedicated to Vivien Leigh & Laurence Olivier and her great photography blog, Days in Mayfair.
 

2. This Jar Opener from The Container Store is the best $9 I ever spent. It works on any size jar, from the tiny hotel size jam I stole was given, to a big jar of sauce. It is so easy to use!

3. These frozen pasta meals and soups from Bertolli are actually really good! Thanks to my Momma for telling me to try them, and to Vons for finally having them on sale for $5! This one is a creamy, cheesy tomato soup with spinach, basil, chicken, and tortellini. YUM! Just add a cup of water, and heat on the stove like canned soup, until it thaws and is warmed through. Tasty!! And so perfect for this "I guess it is FINALLY winter in Southern California" weather we're having lately. Brrr!

  

4.  You know you are finally in a nice apartment complex when the leasing office and mailboxes both have Holiday craft and recipe tutorials posted! How adorable is that?! I'm going to like it here...

                              

5.  And finally, thank you to the always witty Urban Outfitters for the To-Do list that we all REALLY need, especially around the holidays.

 You're welcome!

 

So there.

Thanksgiving Leftovers Grilled Cheese

I may have made the greatest Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich ever.

If I do say so myself.

I was inspired by this fantastic, amazing blog:  Grilled Cheese Social.

A whole blog dedicated to nothing but grilled cheese recipes? Um, she's a genius.

While staying at my parents' house this past weekend, I rummaged through the fridge for everything Thanksgiving, plus everything grilled cheese. Plus avocado. Because it's awesome.

They didn't have any stuffing or mashed potatoes left, but there was turkey and cranberry sauce galore.

Let the sandwich making begin!

I took 2 slices of white bread, spread mayonnaise on both sides, then layered turkey and some Muenster cheese. (I actually made this twice...I know, I know...it was that good, and once used shredded Jack cheese instead. I recommend either. or both!) Then, added a layer of sliced avocado, and topped with spoonfuls of chunky cranberry sauce.

Then, carefully closed the sandwich, and buttered both outsides of the bread. Listen, mayo...butter...I didn't say healthy, low-fat Thanksgiving leftovers grilled cheese. I said AMAZING. So, just do it. The butter makes the outside so much toastier. Yes, that's a word. So there.

Grill in a pan over medium heat, until bread is toasted, and cheese is melted.

Slice diagonally like us fancy people do, and enjoy the amazingness.

YUM!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family and lots of food!

I sure did. Isn't my hometown, where my parents still live, just so pretty? I was loving all the fall leaves!

Lovely Auburn, CA.

ALSO, In other news, Trader Joe's said they should be re-stocking the long sold out Honey Roasted Pumpkin Ravioli and Pumpkin cereal bars after Thanksgiving, and low and behold, they weren't lyin'!!

And now my kitchen is restocked with all this pumpkin goodness!

Hooray!

So there.

I have linked up over at Inspiration for Moms' Throwback Thursday Linky Party!
http://www.inspirationformoms.com/2013/11/throwback-thursday-linky-party-11.html

and over at Crafty Allie's Friday Follow Along Linky Party TGiF!
http://thecraftiestallie.blogspot.com/2013/11/friday-follow-along-linky-party-tgif.html

The Liebster Blog Award!

I've been nominated for The Liebster Blog Award by Mariely Velez from Sensational Creations!  Thank you so much Mariely, you are so thoughtful!

The Liebster Blog Award is given to bloggers who have less than 200 followers. “Liebster” is German for “favorite”. So this is the “favorite blog award”.

[I am not certain that these blogs don't have way more than 200 followers, but they just are some of my favorites!]

So, you need to start with 11 facts about you, answer the 11 questions asked of you by the blogger who gave you this award, nominate 11 bloggers (let them know you have nominated them), and then come up with 11 new questions for the bloggers you nominated.

11 Facts About Me

1. I grew up in the forest of Northern CA.

2. I don't like most dogs.

3. My sister is my best friend.

4. As much as I obsess over pumpkin everything in the fall, I am allergic to pumpkin seeds (pepitas).

5. I love making up new dinner recipe creations.

6. I am still terrible at remembering to take photos as a complete a recipe.

7. I wish I had an outdoor patio or garage so I could refinish some of my furniture with all my Pinterest ideas.

8. I don't like soda, and have never drank a can of soda.

9. I am terrible at walking in high heels.

10. I love wine.

11. The best cookie I ever had was called a 'ranger cookie' with coconut, oatmeal, chocolate chips, and more!

Questions from Sensational Creations:

1. How long have you been blogging?

Two years, but only recently have I taken it more seriously.

2. Why you decided to join the blogging world?

Because my mom says I am a funny writer, and I was posting WAY too much on Facebook, haha.

3. Movies or TV series?

TV series.

4. What's your favorite food?

Shoot. Always hard to pick just one!

Cheese?

5. Name some of your hobbies.

Used to dance. Wish I still did it more. Now I like to cook, craft, and I make hair clips that I sell on Etsy.

6. Favorite actor or actress and favorite singer.

Julia Roberts.  Steven Tyler.

7. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

I think here, in OC. :)

8. Do you have any pets?

1 crazy black cat, Fiona.

9. What's your favorite color?

Yellow.

10. What are you afraid of?

Not heights, but falling.

11. What's the best thing that's ever happened to you?

My sister and family :)

My Nominees are:

1.   Kendra with Days in Mayfair
2.   Jacquelyn with The Howard Bunch
3.   Lindsay with Every Single Day
4.   Megan with Nutrition Transitions
5.   Adrienne with The Hicks Family
6.   Megan with The Pink Flour
7.   Meg with Big Red Clifford
8.   Barbara with Chase the Star
9.   Raquel with Organized Island
10. Mary with Let's Play OC
11. Emilia with Confessions of a Tanorexic

And my questions to you:

1.  How long have you been blogging?
2.  Why did you decide to start blogging?
3.  What are you thankful for this year?
4.  What is your favorite thing about the holiday season?
5.  What is your favorite restaurant?
6.  Do you love Pinterest as much as I do?!
7.  What is the best thing you bought lately?
8.   If you could only eat 3 foods for the rest of your life, what would they be?
9.  What is your favorite tv show and all time favorite movie?
10. What is your favorite color nail polish to wear?
11. How do you spend your free time? Hobbies?

Go check out all my favorite (Liebster) blogs! Congrats to all the nominees! Don't forget to save a Liebster Blog Award image for your blog!
Thanks again for nominating me Mariely!