Christmas Home Tour

I snapped some pictures of our Christmas home decor last night. Sorry for the iPhone quality!

Panorama of our living room & dining room. Excuse the air filter behind the couch ;)

The recessed lighting is new. You can't tell from the picture but the wires are showing on the top so we're getting crown molding after the holidays.

Christmas ornaments hanging in our bay window.

Santa's outfit!

Pets need stockings & treats, too!

Merry sign from a local shop.

Happy Holidays pillow from Pier 1.

"T" towel from Kohl's - on sale 2 for $6!

Hope Joy Peace sign

"T" ornament from Pottery Barn

Props to the husband for decorating outside!! Last year, I made those two trees with tomato fences and lights.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of our little house.

I can't believe Christmas is a week away. This year flew by so quick!

LOL

Fall Decor & Butternut Squash Recipe

If you haven't heard of Paper Source, I highly recommend it. They have awesome paper products, gifts & decorations.

I recently bought this "give thanks" garland kit and we put it together last night and added it to our fireplace mantel.

Currently, we are getting these steps replaced to create a bigger platform on top which is much more convenient with Murphy and winter/trekking in snow, dirt, etc. The town wouldn't let us do a mini deck which we really wanted but new steps will have to suffice. They were old and needed to be replaced.

The "T" kind of looks like a "J" but oh well ;)

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Do you like butternut squash? It's my favorite kind of squash. I'm not a fan of spaghetti squash and to me, zucchini & summer squash is so blah. However I did find and make a great recipe on Pinterest for zucchini ricotta cakes. Wouldn't you agree that cheese makes everything a bit better?

Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, about 3 lbs.

4 cups chicken broth

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tbsp butter

1 yam or sweet potato

1 apple

1/2 cup applesauce

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp corriander

1 tsp nutmeg 

1 tsp curry powder or paste (optional)

1/2 cup heavy cream or coconut milk (optional)

Chopped walnuts (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Chop and saute the onion in the butter for 5 minutes. Add curry and cook for 2 minutes. Peel and cube butternut squash (you can do this ahead of time or buy pre-cut). Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 15 minutes. Add to crockpot with all other ingredients except heavy cream and walnuts. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Process in batches in food processor until smooth. Add back to the crockpot with the heavy cream and simmer for about an hour. Top with walnuts and enjoy!

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Lastly, me and Murphy just chillin' on Sunday.