Sweet ‘n Salty-Neighbor Presents

Pretzel rods will please even the pickiest pallet-or the neighbor you don’t know very well-but would like to. I know this idea isn’t new and you’ve probably either made, consumed or purchased pretzels rod sometime in your life.

They look so pretty all lined up and ready to be eaten.
For this decadent looking but simple to make treat is:
white and chocolate almond bark
a hammer
wax paper
peppermint candies
pretzel rods.

 

I wanted each household/neighbor to have 8 pretzel rods each. That meant that I needed 88 rods total. I picked out all the full rods from my bag, setting aside the broken nubs to be consumed by yours truly.

 

Next, I hammered all of the peppermints while they were inside of a thick waxed bag (cereal bag or something similar works great).

 

By microwaving the almond bark in a tall glass, the pretzel rods were easy to cover in chocolate, leaving about 2 inches at the bottom for a finger hold.

 

While the chocolate was still warm, I rolled half of my rods in the crushed peppermint.

The other half I drizzled with alternating types of chocolate.
Yum.

 

The leftover chocolate was used on my reject pretzel nubs, or eaten with a spoon by a certain Biceps and the mother of a certain Biceps.
So simple, so pretty and oh, so good.
Merry Christmas neighbor’s!

Makin’ a mess for the Neighbors

Biceps and I enjoy making food-type gifts for the neighbors and our tenants each year. Even some of our friends make the cut, and perhaps a few family members that insist on having a loaf of my “Beautiful Banana Bread“.

When they receive their nice little food package from us, they have no idea what a mess I had created in my kitchen.

 

40 Bananas-mushed.

 

To a pulp.

 

That’s forty banana peels. The recipe was octopled – scientifically, that means the recipe was made 8 times. Every bowl, measuring cup, spatula and bread tin was implemented in this all out food-fest.

After wrapping each gift, I added a card and our crazy Christmas Picture and delivered them one by one to my neighbor’s and tenants. This made it feel like Christmas.
So, Merry Christmas, everyone. Hope you enjoy tasty foods and seeing my mug standing on your front porch.

Merry Christmas-the inside scoop

Dear Readers:
Not often do I share my faith in God on this site. I know that some of you believe the same way that I do, and some do not. But, I want you to know why I believe in the one true God, in His Son that died on the cross to save us from our sins and from death, and the Holy Spirit who guides us and comforts us.

 

My journey with God has been long one. It has been very painful at times, but in the end-even the pain has been beneficial to my growing and to my present faith. Just like a child learning what “no” means from the parent’s lips, so have I learned what “no” means from my heavenly Father.
I have made major mistakes (still do) when I haven’t listened to him. Ones that have caused heartache for myself, for my family and for those closest to me. What I learned is that I am forgiven of these mistakes and my slate has been washed clean. And yes, I have been forgiven, but I still have to deal with the ramifications of my sins.

 

So, I desperately need God on a daily basis-He is my compass and the one I look to when everything around me is crazy. He is the one that takes those consequences of my sin and helps me learn from them, ask for forgiveness, and then move on.

Without God in my life, I would be a mess. An uptight, legalistic, selfish mess. Even with God, I trend towards this lifestyle on a really bad day. Just ask Biceps.

I cannot imagine the pain God had to feel when he saw his only Son die on a cross-to save me-a dirty mess. I can’t begin to know what it would feel like to loose a child, and not only loose a child, but to offer that child as a way to save the world.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

 

I am thankful for the God that knows me and my dirty mess-why I do things like dress up with curlers and take pictures hammering the air-and still loves me enough to die for me. There just isn’t any other way to live life. If you have questions about God, or want someone to talk to and pray with you-send me an email (rebekahgreiman at gmail dot com).

I don’t know everything, trust me. Like I said, I am on that journey myself.

But I do know that God is relentless, He will find you and love on you, if you’ll just let him.

I really hope this year you will receive the best gift of all-Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas.

Wooden Christmas Garland

Decorating for Christmas is something I look forward to all year-storing things away that I collect throughout the changing seasons-until I feel that first nippy bite in the air.
One of my neighbor’s had their visiting father-who I have come to adore-knock on my door this past spring. It was no surprise that he came to me with a stack of cedar chunks from a felled tree.
And to quote the father (with a severe southern drawl), “When I saw these, I just knew if anyone could do something with them, it’d be you.”
Apparently, my reputation precedes me….

And I hope I haven’t let him down or failed his expectations of just what I could “do with them”. For next to nothing, I have a unique garland made from reclaimed cedar wood that Anthropologie is probably jealous of…or at least, I’d like to think so.
I’ll be sharing the tutorial on how to make the cute little blue, brown & red trees next week.

 

Here’s what you’ll need to make your very own Wooden Christmas Garland:
Chunks ‘o Wood (mine were about 9″ in diameter)
Rope (I used 1/2 twisted nylon rope-blue hawk is a pretty good brand from Lowe’s)
Palm Sander and 80+ grit Sandpaper
Your favorite color paint/spray paint
Hammer & nails (not pictured)
Stencils
Blue Tape

Let’s get started!

 

Lightly sand the wood, going with the grain if possible. I sanded mine just enough to not have burrs or splinters. I wanted my garland to be rustic.

 

Choose your saying. I went with “Peace”, but considered “Boink”, “Poop”, and “Elephant”. I really didn’t have enough wood to do the latter and was outvoted on the first two by my visiting mother-in-law.

Tape down the stencils with blue tape, adding scrap paper if needed to protect the rest of the wood.

 

Spray away! I went with two coats, just to be safe.

 

Remove the stencils. Stand back. Ooh and ahh until the neighbor gets curious. Then tell them to quit snooping, this is a top secret project.

 

I gave the wood a light coating with a Crystal Clear Enamel, but you don’t have to. You could also add a layer of polyurethane instead. Either acts as a protectant and gives the wood a little sheen.
The “P” has been sprayed with it in this picture, but not the “E”.

 

Spray paint your rope, if you so desire. I went with shiny, shiny gold. I like gold things-they’re kingly.

 

Once everything is dry, use your hammer and small nails to tack in the rope to the back of the wood. I used two nails per chunk of wood.

 

Hang your Wooden Christmas Garland where your little heart desires and enjoy.
Then call your neighbor to tell them you just finished your top secret project and you also have some warm cookies to share.
I bet they’ll be over in two shakes of a kitty’s tail.