Oooh, {it's a} Christmas Tree!

Tonight, we took the boys to see "the Christmas Tree" in Austin's Zilker Park (really a tree made of long strings of lights, ziplined from an enourmous star in the sky). From the city, you could see the colorful lights for miles as well as shimmering on "Lake Austin" (really a river  they call it a lake).

One of the best parts of "the Tree" was spinning in circles underneath, staring upwards at the sky. With just a few spins, you instantly felt dizzy and giddy. The boys and I each took turns to see who could last the longest.

I lost each time!

Before we knew it, they were skipping around the tree's edges. No one in our transplanted family seemed to miss the tree at Rockafeller Center one bit.

And truth be told, "The Christmas Tree in Zilker Park" was every inch as spectacular. So tonight, a new (and different) holiday tradition was born...and we were quite at home, in Texas.

What are some of your family traditions in your home town?

a Canned Christmas

I've never been happier this Christmas. 
And the reason?  I have rediscovered the simple joy of making homemade Christmas gifts.  Pre-K, (i.e. pre-kids), I'd spend months happily sewing, baking or knitting my presents.  Ahh, then the three Bodwell boys came barreling into our life and POOF… time quickly disappeared.

With newly found free time, I decided I would send friends back in New York, a Taste of Texas.  I went back to my roots (and my family recipes) and started making jellies, jams and pickles.  So, this Christmas, let the canning begin!
Starting with our garden fresh, green tomatoes and jalapeno's, Brad and I made our own compilations of:

• "Grinchy Green Pickled Tomatoes",
• "Happy Jalapeno Jelly"
• "Rhubarb the Red Nosed Strawberry Jam" (my grandma's favorite!)

Here is my recipe for the Jalapeno Jelly.

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped red bell pepper
• 20 chopped jalapeno peppers
• 15 cups white sugar
• 4 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 3 (6 fluid ounce) container liquid pectin

Directions

1. Remove stems, veins and most of the seeds of the bell and jalapeno peppers. Mince peppers in a food processor.
2. In large pot over high heat, combine bell peppers, jalapenos, sugar and vinegar. Bring to a rolling boil; boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.
3. Stirring constantly, add the pectin and let mixture continue to cool for 2 minutes more. Now stir for 1 minute.
4. Pour into hot, sterilized jars and top with sterilized lids. Secure lids with bands and allow jars to cool slowly, creating a vacuum seal.

I am now on a canning tear, and am eager to make salsas, jellies and more pickling!  I found it relatively easy and ridiculously tasty. 

Ha! Move over Ms. Martha, here I come.

Christmas Perfection

We recently moved to a neighborhood in Austin where Christmas lights and mistletoe are hung just so, and living room tree's twinkle with white lights and color coordinated decorations.  One neighbor's tree has a color palette of only hot pink or silver.

So while beautiful and magazine ready, our homemade cacophony is a sweet tribute to my kids and our family traditions.  We still hang the homemade paper cut outs, next to our flea market glass ornaments.  Brad and I insist on color lights for no other reason than we grew up with them (And, oops, we didn't get the memo about the universal change!)

So the Bodwell tree may not win any design competitions or get on magazine cover, we think our tree is perfectly imperfect.  Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?

Merry Christmas to one and to all a good night!  Or something like that!

Toys that don't talk!

All I want for Christmas is...

A quiet moment with my boys!

Is that is truly possible with 3 energetic and curious boys?  From the moment they race through the door from school until they drop off to sleep, our home is a flurry of activity and noise.  Which is why I've always preferred toys that don't make a sound.

So here are my top 10 Classic Gifts of all time:

1. Basic Legos 
2. Lite Brite
3. A Doll Cradle
4. Classic Baby Doll (To play with the cradle!)
5. Build Your Own Anything (Rocket, Doll, whatever!)
6. A Collection Box (anything to put your marbles, rocks and unique bits of stuff)
7. Piggy Bank (always can teach the art of savings)
8. Poga Stick (a great way to send the kids outside to burn off energy)
9. A Bike
10. Wooden Stilts (or a pair of tin cans with ropes for handles!)

Take a peek at this classic toy list and tell me your favorite toys from your childhood.  What are we missing?

Winning the Christmas Cookie Competition

I married into a family of amazing bakers. And I always think you are either a baker or a cook.  I am barely a cook yet do find myself wanting to bake around the holidays.  

Oooh the pressure.  How to avoid my husbands family comparisons and memories of decorating Christmas cookies with his mom and biting into the powdered yumminess of an almond wedding cookies.  (I still think that it takes YEARS to perfect the icing decorations alone.)  

So this year, a friend gave me this recipe that is not only super easy, it's unbelievably decadent.   So hear is one for the Christmas Cookbooks!

Truffle Cookies

• 16 oz Oreo cookies
• 8 oz  Cream cheese
• 8 oz Semi sweet chocolate

Crush the Oreos in a food processor until fine crumbs.

(Reserve 8 of the cookies and crush for the coating)

Mix in the cream cheese until smooth. Make balls out of the mixture. 

I put them in the freezer at this point so that when you dip them into the chocolate, it will harden quickly.

Melt semi sweet chocolate and dip the balls into it to coat. I used a chop stick to hold the mixture. This part can get pretty messy, so be prepared to be a bit covered in chocolate!

Roll the coated truffles in the balance of the crumbs, there you go!

So yummy, impressive and easy, I think I can make them for the entire block!   Do you have a recipe you could share?  I would love at least 5 more!