The Mint Needle

Merry Christmas!       "Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas time." ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder Don't forget to leave out the Reindeer food! The glitter will glisten & help Santa and his reindeer find your house, and the smell of oats will guide them:0) And I know you've heard this one before..... Wishing everyone a happy end to 2012 and a positive, enlightened, energized, loved, full of health, happiness, and laugh till your belly hurts 2013:)   Happy Trails to the New Year:)  

Christmas tree your here....(actually a couple of days ago). And it was sooo fun picking you out!.......   Every year, we enjoy the great experience of picking our tree at Fry's Farm. Located just a couple miles up the road, they've restructured old buildings into a little town right on the property. It's a true visit back in time as you walk through a school house, post office, a farm, & various specialty shops. Our favorite is not only the honey, but the wonderful handmade toys. I share with you, a little bit of our visit,  the tree, & one of the coolest interactive musical sculptures. Everyone is playing with it:)         Picture taken through a hole in the door. Our Tree! Oh how we love you!!!   Isn't she just gorgeous? I love that every piece tells a story. The girls had such a blast decorating. They loved re-findin...

Pomander - a ball or bag made of perfumes; an early form of aromatherapy.     Winter is one of the best times of year to do projects and crafts galore. From handmade ornaments to cookies and garland,  I've decided to keep the Christmas cheer going at our home with the historical and wondrous smelling homemade potpourri!   For this, you'll need some clementines and cloves. (I cannot believe I'm going to say this, but I actually remember making these in grade school.) They smell super delicious and are great to use as ornaments or car & room fresheners.   Start off with a couple clementines and poke them with the ends of cloves. Make sure to use enough cloves. You want a little citrus juice to leak out. After you got your design and 'dots' in place, put them in a Ziploc bag that's filled with cinnamon & give them a good shake. Take your divine smelling fruit out and wrap them in burlap, netting, cheesecl...

 Hip, Hip, Hooray for gingerbread cookies! The house is filled with an amazing bubble of cloves, cinnamon, & ginger. Today, I'm sharing with you one of my favorite recipes from Taste of Home . Tried & true for many years, here's how it goes! ~ 3/4 cup butter ~ 1 cup packed brown sugar ~ 3/4 cup molasses ~ 1 egg ~ 4 cups flour ~ 2 teaspoons ginger ~ 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon ~ 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves ~ 1/4 teaspoon salt   Mix your butter & brown sugar until it's whipped to a fluffy cream. Then, add the remainder of your ingredients. When your dough has formed, I like to place it in saran wrap. I don't like to leave it in a bowl covered...because I do believe it dries out....a smidgen. Refrigerate it for a couple hours. The recipe calls for 4, but we've been getting away with two:)   We roll our dough into tons of shapes, making sure to poke holes at the top to use some as ornaments for our tree. You could ...

December, how you come so quickly..... And where is all that snow?       The decorations are slowly make their way out of storage. The warm weather in Ohio has made cutting a tree down not that fun. Am I really gonna say it? We need snow! We are holding out for one, or two more weeks & praying for white. I just can't picture getting our tree without the usual fun of ice cold hands, snow packed boots, and hot chocolate on the way home. Plus, our tree must last well into the new year to celebrate our Orthodox Christmas on January 7th. By the 8th, usually the tree is parched with bristles galore decorating the floor of our family room which was held warm and cozy by a non-stop woodburning stove. So today, I'm sharing with you one of the little ways we get the spirit of things moving in the home, besides Santa's and stockings.  Here's a project I made with my little Kindergartner. It helped practice workin...

    It's happened. I've been suckered into the spirit of Christmas fabrics and prints. Yes, yes, yes, I know... I'm eating crow as my hubby would say. I said I wouldn't do it..... and yet here I am. Santa and all. You can see that I came across a replicated vintage Santa pattern and couldn't help myself. I immediately saw the potential for an adorable hostess apron, which led to one, two, five more aprons! All of these have a new home in The Mint Needle Etsy shop. Just take a look at how adorable they are!      To spreading holiday cheer!   

Happy Thanksgiving to all!       Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds. ~ Theodore Roosevelt     

   A little green is exactly what I got at my local garden center.....and some fresh air. I took advantage of the free time that I had, while the girls were in school, & headed to the nearest greenhouse available. I should have been Christmas shopping, but couldn't help myself.  Immediately, I was engulfed with flowers, greenery, and warmth. Now, I know that one of my recent posts talked about this house looking rather green itself, but I just needed a little pop of color by the kitchen window, (ya know, to make doing the dishes a bit more dazzling).  And of course, I couldn't leave with just one plant. I had to give the once over in close-outs to see what plants I could save. Check out these beauties! An African Violet, Kalanchoe, and a baby fern. And yes, that is the cutest square planter. It's also biodegradable!        With days being short, any bit of color could ...