Edie Wadsworth

Christmas Breads, Breakfasts and Beverages::It’s a Party!

December 8, 2011 by Edie Wadsworth 13 Comments

We made it to Friday, comrades! I don’t know about you but I wasn’t sure I’d make it to Friday in the same size jeans. I’m still not sure. I have the stretchy variety on at the moment and I wish for all the world I could keep it that way. I must confess that it’s been the kind of week has you scratching your head saying, “Exactly what in the Sam Hill have you been doing all week? Your house is not decorated. And those Christmas cards aren’t gonna send themselves. And how many days are you gonna fool with that mantel sister?” But I defend my honor with this one photograph. I declare myself absolved.

By all the right standards, it’s been a good week 🙂

And YOU’ve made it extree special with all your calories!

So now, wow me again with your tasty treats! It’s time for breads, breakfasts, and beverages. I’ll be sitting {in my yoga pants} on the edge of my seat!

Christmas Sweet Treats::Party Style

December 6, 2011 by Edie Wadsworth 19 Comments

This is where I confess to you my absolute inability to resist homeade fudge. I briefly tried today to see how long I could make one piece last. My spiritual gift is not will power. It wasn’t pretty.

But fudge freezes so maybe I’ll put the bounty in the freezer. Not that that would really stop me either. This link party could drive me to the point where I throw in the towel and buy pants with a stretchy waist band. It wouldn’t be a very far drive. To paraphrase the Nester, my overzealous January self will loathe undisciplined December self. But all that said, I can’t wait to see your recipes! I’m still making my way through your delicious looking appetizers. Keep ’em coming!

All this talk of pants reminds me of a priceless video of a very funny hometown girl, Leanne Morgan, and her first trip to buy ‘low risin’ blue jeans’. It’s hilarious.

And now, it’s your turn!

Christmas Cheer::Appetizers (link party!)

December 4, 2011 by Edie Wadsworth 35 Comments

Welcome to the party! Merry Christmas Y’all!

This is a party of appetizers. You share (with links or pictures) your favorite appetizer recipe(s) for Christmas and then link up here (to your blog or Facebook page) so we can all get some new ideas for fabulous starter food. If Thanksgiving food is all about the meal then Christmas food is all about everything else—-the tapas, the sweets, the breads, the drinks, etc.
Monday (or now if you’d like)—-Appetizers
Wednesday—–Sweets
Friday—-Breads, Breakfasts and Drinks
Sounds like fun and I will participate myself sometime tomorrow when I get all this technical mumbo jumbo figured out.
Start linking tonight if you’re ready 🙂

Here’s the code for the party button if you’d like to display it on your blog. If will link back to the party and is kinda cute if I do say so myself. Just copy and paste the following crazy stuff into the HTML tab of your blog and magic will occur. If magic fails to occur, let me know. I’ll sprinkle more fairy dust.

Now let’s get cooking!

p.s. If noone shows up to the party, I’ll be forced to make full page collages of the foo dogs all week. And judging from your comments, some of you would be very afraid 🙂

p.p.s. I know some of you have had trouble with the photo button but I think it’s working now. You could also just drag the photo onto your desktop and then add to your post and make the photo a link similar to the way you’d make a text link. If you post the ‘html’ code I’ve given and then hit ‘publish’ without going again to the ‘compose’ tab, it should work though. For some reason when I switched between compose and html, it adds stuff to the html code which makes is then not work. See what I mean about blowing up the internets?

Cranberry and Onion Cheeseball aka Christmas Cheeseball

December 3, 2011 by Edie Wadsworth 14 Comments

I’m finally joining my own party. I had one of those long productive days that have you saying at 8pm, “Is this the first time I’ve sat down all day?”

The girls and I didn’t finish school until 5pm and I cooked and cleaned and decorated all day in between teaching/facilitating school.

Whew! I’m weary.

But I did manage to make my favorite cheese ball. I made it up a few years ago and make it every Christmas. Don’t tell anyone but I’ve already put it in the freezer for my company next week.

Yes, cheese balls freeze well. Pretty much everything freezes well. Other things I put in the freezer today, you ask? Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, homeade honey wheat bread, and meatballs.

I earned my ‘whew’ today.

So here’s what you need for the cheese ball.

8 oz package of softened cream cheese

8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded (don’t buy it already shredded–do the hard work and you’ll thank yourself later)

1 small can crushed pineapples

4 scallions chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries rough chopped

1 t. garlic powder

1 t. onion salt (or a little more if it needs more salt)

Mix together and let sit for a couple hours. Serve in a traditional ball shape or in the fun pineapple shape shown.

Invite all your foo-dog loving friends over to enjoy cheese and chinese legend.

Speaking of foo dogs (I know, I can’t let it go), my brilliant friend Annie reminded me of the ‘Chinese dog’ statuaries in Anne of the Island (3rd book in Anne of Green Gables). Anne adored them.

“Gog looks to the right and Magog looks to the left.” It’s all so grand and apocalyptic.

It’s the most brilliant timing ever. Now my foo dogs have names.

And I can tell them apart.

(Thank you Annie, you kindred spirit, you.)

Sisters, Foo(Dogs) and Food

December 2, 2011 by Edie Wadsworth 66 Comments

This is my favorite time of year with my girls. We tromp around hither and yon going to plays and antique stores and parades and Nutcrackers and all manner of Christmas-y field trips.

We also quietly and deliberately celebrate Advent in the evenings after dinner with Dad.

I love the contrast. The quiet reverence. The raucous joy. All neatly wrapped up in one chilly December day.

Oh if all days could sit at Decembers’ feet and learn to submit to the strain of this paradox.

And yet still, I haven’t shopped or decorated very much or even so much as made a December pan of fudge.

So far, it’s all basking in the Bright Light that has made their faces shine with salvation.

I know. Pretty soon I’m gonna have to do more than bask.

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Speaking of bright shiny faces…….

Are you familiar with the awesomeness which is foo dogs?

Well, these ancient relics of Chinese (Buddhist) legend have made their way into the hearts of eclectic home decorators everywhere.

They look like a mix between a lion and a dog and they’re so hideous they’re cute.

I’ve adopted an adorable very large pair from Greenville’s Antique Marketand and they have willingly converted to Christianity and agreed to celebrate Advent with us.

They are guarding my screen porch Christmas tree as we speak.

Did I mention large? And nearly the cutest things I’ve ever seen? In a hideous/cute sort of a way. May I add quite large? The size of an average toddler?

Okay okay, here they are! (I’m trying to give my sister a little time to *study* ( *see* them) in advance so she doesn’t totally lose it when she sees their glory in person.

I’m not gonna lie. They’re outrageous—– in the most wonderful sort of way.

See, you can’t take your eyes off them. You’re stunned. You’re not sure we can be friends.

Just don’t make any rash decisions today. You know you wanna like them. You know you do.

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AND NOW, you must concentrate because we have one item of business left.

I’m having a party next week and you’re invited. Make that 3 parties. 3 linky parties full of Christmas food.

I wanna wow the home crowd with goodies, new and old. I do.

So I thought next week, we’d link up some of our favorite December recipes. You can post a link or go all Pioneer Woman on me and post every last jot and tittle.

I’m giving you the weekend to cook something up and meet us here next week to swap ideas.

You can find last years’ cookie exchange here.

{I’ll try to make a cute party button like that soon!}

Monday–Appetizers

Wednesday–Sweets

Friday–Breads and Breakfast

I’ll try to get the linky working over the weekend and if all goes right, I won’t blow up the internet.

If you don’t have a blog, link to your Facebook page. Or better yet, start a blog over the weekend (it’s really easy as pie) and we’ll be internet neighbors.

Are you in? Or have the life sized foo dogs scarred you for life?

Do tell.

Thanksgiving 2011

November 27, 2011 by Edie Wadsworth 34 Comments

Thanksgiving in the new house was perfect in every way! The weather was mild enough that the young adults sat on the porch to eat and then enjoyed the fireplace afterwards. Caiti was a huge help this year and did lots of cooking and helping! (Thank you sissy)

I have the most wonderful family and am truly so blessed by them all!

Enjoy a few photos……
Grannie’s always in the kitchen cleaning up my mess!

We broke out the Thanksgiving ads after dinner but I totally wimped out on the midnight shopping run. My sister, on the other hand, is made of steel and shopped all night long. I’ve never been much of a black Friday shopper. I think I’ve been twice—both with my Iron Man sister—and I do love to go and drink coffee and people watch. But at midnight? At the Walmarts? That’d be enough to push me right over the edge on which I’m always dangerously teetering. We’re all better off if I sleep and then properly caffeinate before I’m allowed in public.

I did no shopping to speak of and no Christmas decorating. We’re trying to embrace the church’s calendar more and more every year and today is the first day of Advent. I posted on our Advent traditions here. We will slowly begin our decorating this week although I can’t find a spot in my living room anywhere to put a tree?! I have, however, found a perfect spot on the screen porch!

On Saturday, I took the girls to the Moscow Ballet’s production of the Nutcracker. Since they are performing in our local Nutcracker the week before Christmas (and my little Emme was chosen to play ‘Clara’), they literally sat on the edge of their seats and took in every detail. We had so much fun 🙂
And I close with this. In lieu of post Thanksgiving regrets and new resolutions for working out, I propose we all embrace the poncho. It’s the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” garment of fashion.

For all you know I had carrot sticks and water for Thanksgiving.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Hope your weekend was full to the brim!
xo,
edie