In the mood

"Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful" 

A perfect description of my life right now. We have a wood burning stove in the living room, and it is so cozy to sit by in the winter. It is perfect for getting me in the mood for Christmas.

How is are your Christmas preparations going?

So far I have bought the materials to work on presents for the people in my life, but I still need to make them. I am hoping to make a necklace like this for one of my friends. We always joke about being two peas in a pod. I bought the Sculpey clay for it, but I'm not sure how to bake it. Does anyone know?

Well I better get back to work. I have a lot of stuff left to do if i'm going to be ready for Christmas.

Christmas Treats

Every year my family bakes like crazy in preparation for Christmas. Everything is frozen until Christmas Eve when we take it out and devour it while we receive our presents from our "Secret Santa".

As we are now in the month of December it is time to start the baking! So I decided that each week I will share with you one of our family recipes, and if you aren't much good at baking and would still like to try the delicious goodies than you can! I will post a link to where you can buy each treat off of etsy.

To start us off, English Toffee. One of the best loved candies in our house!

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Recipe

• 
  
• 2 cups butter
• 
  
• 2 cups white sugar
• 
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 
  
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 
  
• 1 cup finely chopped almonds

In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Allow to come to a boil, and cook until the mixture becomes a dark amber color, and the temperature has reached 285 degrees F (137 degrees C). Stir occasionally.

While the toffee is cooking, cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.

As soon as the toffee reaches the proper temperature, pour it out onto the prepared baking sheet.

Sprinkle the chocolate over the top, and let it set for a minute or two to soften. Spread the chocolate into a thin even layer once it is melted. Sprinkle the nuts over the chocolate, and press in slightly. Putting a plastic bag over your hand will minimize the mess.

Place the toffee in the refrigerator to chill until set. Break into pieces, and store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Hello

Hello!

After hearing about it from hundreds of my fellow Etsians, I have decided to start a blog!!

I can't wait to see how this goes!

Some of my plans for the blog so far are too:

Have giveaways!

Post reviews and features of my fellow etsians.

Share with you little tidbits about my life.

Have a place to display the amazing things I find through etsy land!

I can't wait to start, and I hope you are as eager to read my posts as I am to write them!