Merry Christmas from Shoestring Elegance

"....For behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for ALL people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you; you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."  And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace....." 

Merry Christmas to you all. Many Blessings, I pray for you all, today & everyday.  

~Theresa 

"What to do Weekends" will return next Thursday! I hope to see you then.

Nova Scotia Style Shortbread Cookies for Your Recipe Box

I make these wonderful cookies every year, These are my personal favorite cookie. Truly, very "Nova Scotia style" Shortbread Cookies. As I did last year, this year. I made both the plain and the ones with some chocolate drizzle for my friends that are not real use to a cookie without alot of sugar. I hope you enjoy them!

I want to tell you that, for me, this is "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year"! Even as January creeps closer. I love this holiday time, celebrating the Birth of Jesus, and having "special time" to spend with my Loved ones. I truly believe, and wish people would have a little Christmas in their hearts all year long, present company Included!!

Last year, I called all my Sisters, Nieces, Grand Nieces, In-laws.... basically, every female member of my family to start things off with a "Begin Ladies Baking Day!" the Saturday after Thanksgiving!! (it was a Smashing success, by the way!) I want to share some of the things we made with you! Some of the decorations and arrangements I've been working on with you over the next month. I simply can not, prepare, decorate and post Holidays and occasions a month ahead of when they actually are! There! I've said it! Most Bloggers do this to help provide Inspiration! They all do a wonderful job at doing just that! For me, however, it is not practical (and I feel like I miss out on the here and now).

I have been doing alot of baking, decorating and spending time with friends and family! I can think of no better way to spend my time!!
I am my Blog's photographer, writer, creator, and editor. It takes a bit of work and time to share these things with you and I love doing it! But, I often find myself doing or making something fun and thinking I should have took a picture of that "before" so I could show you how to get the same end result. What can I say, "I am doing my level best!
Sorry, back to the Baking Day!! Every year My mother, I and a sister here and there make a Bounty of Christmas Cookies, Breads and Candy! This year I wanted to start our "Baking Day" as a means of having and cherishing time with my Family, but also to alleviate the pressure of all these goodies from my Mum's list of to do's! We make A LOT!

In the last couple of weeks, I made these yummy "Shortbread Cookies", that are, wonderfully, commonplace for most of my Canadian Family and represent special memories, for me, of my Grandmother. Shortbread Cookies are not really as enjoyed here as much as others, and I wanted to do something about that!! I made a beautiful batch of these Traditional Nova Scotia-style Shortbread Cookies, the day before my families baking day to be decorated and include in what we all have to share.

This week, I made another batch. This time, with a little more dimension, to share at a Christmas Tea with my Women's Group from Church. So here's the simple trick I did to make them more appealing to most!

They usually are a very basic 3 to 4 ingredient, no frills, delicious buttery cookie. That, in my opinion cannot be beat to have with tea! But to make them universally appealing and festive, I simply melted some chocolate in a double boiler, about 1/2 cup of semisweet chocolate and about a teaspoon of flavorless oil (like canola) The oil helps maintain the nice color and shine!

Then, you just take a fork, and on a wire rack OVER wax paper, have fun drizzling the chocolate back and forth over your shortbread, it couldn't be easier!! But what a difference! They were a big hit at my Christmas Tea and with friends and family.
(Note: I never work on drizzling more than 6 cookies at a time, or you lose the beautiful way the chocolate overlaps the side of your cookie)

Here's the recipe. I hope you will enjoy it with your friends and family, as well.
Recipe: Traditional Nova Scotia Shortbread Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Vanilla ( not traditional, but I love vanilla!)
2-1/3 cups All purpose Flour, sifted twice
Wrap and chill dough at least 1 hour, 2 is better
Roll to 1/4 inch, make sure to fork your cookies well, or you get air pockets (which really does ruin the cookie)
Cut cookie as you like!
Bake in a slow oven, 300-325F/just until the edges get a very light golden, no brown here.
Cool on rack & enjoy or finish with chocolate or raw sugar.
Many Blessing to you all.

          

Today I'm sharing with: 

Cedar Hill Farmhouse  Dwellings~ The Heart of Your Home Yesterfood    Kathe with an E  My Romantic Home  Life On Lakeshore Drive  It's Overflowing

 

File under: traditional Nova Scotia Shortbread Cookies,  Shortbread cookies, Christmas cookies, basic shortbread  Foodies Cookies 

What to do Weekends #103 and Our Features

Yes, It is in fact that time again!  I can't wait to see what you've all been up to!

  Before we get on with the party, I'd like to share with you  Mine and Linda's Picks to be Featured this week! Although, we have pinned many. We decided that we would each pick two of your wonderful projects to Feature here!

So, on with it, right?

My picks  here @ Shoestring Elegance, were:

The Lou Lou Girls Beautiful Newspaper Wreath

and 

Making My Apartment a Home's

Thrift Share Thursday! She really Scored with some of her wonderful decorations! I especially like these

Linda @ Crafts a la Mode Features were

Christianity Cove's

Adorable Cupcake Paper angels

And, Pleasure In the Simple Things

Salt Shaker Snow Globes

If you were featured Feel free to Grab our new Feature button for your blog!

 We have Pinned all the Features, as well as several others! Please follow common courtesy of the Party and Follow and/or Link back to us in some way! And, don't forget to visit your neighbors with some Blogland Love.

Now, let's see what you have for us this week!

An InLinkz Link-up

What I've Been Up To ~ Birthday & Christmas 2014

Hi, Dear Friends. I am sorry I haven't shared more with you since the "What to do Weekend" Party. I've been a little busy. I'm pretty good at multitasking, but this week, was a lot even for me. I hope you follow me on Instagram Here
or on Facebook. Then you may have a little idea of my week.

First of all, and not all that important, but it kept me busy, I celebrated my 49th Birthday on Monday. Well, actually, we started celebrating on Sunday! My brother and his wife traveled to town as did one of my nieces, both of whom live quite a distance away. My Mum & Dad, Sister and the wonderful out-of-town family had a wonderful celebration on Sunday, before they had to head back to their respective homes. The celebration continued on through Monday, including a manicure in the morning and a wonderful lunch out. So, here's a terrible picture of me being a goof on my Birthday!

The nice thing about getting older, is you care much less about looking like a goof in pictures! Atleast, I had some makeup on and my hair was slightly done, after the storm did it's job on it, that is.

While the birthday celebrations were going on and after they finished, I had very precious little time to get my shopping, decorating and baking done.

So, I got to work!

First on the list was to start getting the baking knocked out! 

I started with my Toffee Squares, pictured below (which I subsequently needed to make an extra 5 dozen for a cookie exchange!)  Than these 4 dozen for my family and friends.

Next was the Rocky Road 

and then on to Fudge! (All 5 Pounds of it!) 

  Now, next, but certainly not last, tonight (after braving the stores during a rainstorm) I have just finished one of my family's, and maybe your's, favorites! Whether you call them snowballs, mexican wedding cakes, or like us, Betty Crocker's Russian Teacakes these little cakes are always a must in our household.

As tonight comes to an end, I am just going over my list, one more time. It looks like a few more batches of cookies and some breads, one more gift to get, the wrapping to do, and the house to ready and I should be set!  Would you believe me if I told you, that "I love this!?" Every single moment is a treasure to me! I have Christmas tunes playing in the background, tonight I was listening to White Christmas playing on the television. I'm starting to get word from family on their arrivals to town and so excited to see and enjoy them all so much. 

I will be back to co host "What to do Weekends"

 with Linda tomorrow, but that's all for now. Thank you for popping in on my Christmas preparations. I hope you are finding the Joy in these days leading up to the celebration of the birth of Our Lord. 

Many Blessings to you and your Family!

~Theresa

Sharing with:
Katherine @Katherines Corner   Cindy@ My Romantic Home Courtney @ French Country Cottage

"What to do Weekends" #102

This is my first time joining forces with Linda @ Crafts a la Mode to co-host her wonderful Linky Party, "What to Do Weekends"!! I'm excited and a little bit scared. However, I'm sure it will be Great! We want to see what you all have been up to! 

If you haven't already been to Linda's Blog, you can pop over right here:Linda @ Crafts a la Mode's "What to do Weekends"

Feel free to grab our party button and proudly display it on your own Blog! (just copy and paste the button somewhere on your blog!)

If you can link back to our Blog's or follow us in some way, we would truly appreciate it! 
We'd love to have you follow us on our Facebook pages, too, so you won't miss out on all the highlights!
You can Like and Follow Linda on her Facebook page @ Crafts a la Mode:Here
&
Me @ Shoestring Elegance: Here

 I hope you are enjoying this Christmas Season! You all know me, I need to share some little Christmas Bling before we get started.

I just love these rose mercury balls!

Many Blessings,

Theresa

Now On with The Party!

An InLinkz Link-up

We love to hear from you, won't you leave us a comment.

Anything Can Be An Elegant Centerpiece~2 Christmas Edition

Awhile back I shared a post with you all, entitled "Anything Can Be An Elegant Centerpiece" you can view the original post here. It has been the MOST read, viewed and pinned post I have ever shared with you. The funny thing is, it's still true. Every day, in my home I use the same things to make every little part of my home a little more "elegant" a little more "special" for me, my friends and family. It appears that you like that, too. 

Therefore, I wanted to give a Holiday update to that, so that maybe it will inspire you to create something elegant in the little corners or centers of your homes! 

You may think this is a bit familiar. You first saw it like this:

It is so special to me, that I still fill it with Baby's Breath when it is readily available. If you didn't see what this little rummage sale find looked like before, be sure to click on that link above and take a look.

The point of that post and this one wasn't that you needed to find a great piece with metal lace on top or spend a lot of money, it was that almost anything on hand, when put together nicely and with love, can be the Perfect Centerpiece for you and for pennies!

Here's an example of one of my favorites from the last few weeks, that, consequently has done very well on Instagram! 

As a matter of fact, this little arrangement doesn't even look the same today! I brought down some more of my decorations and these lovely little mercury balls got some company!

I love having fun making my house more beautiful for all that visit, but for myself, too! Courtney @ French Country Cottage was one of the main reasons and Inspirations for why I started blogging, and she held a party every Friday, called, appropriately "The Feathered Nest". So, what do you do to Feather your nest? It doesn't have to take much as you can see. I enjoy sharing with you all so much, you have helped enrich my life by your lovely comments and likes. Thank you so much for visiting me! 

May you have a wonderful week and be blessed.

~Theresa

Where I'm partying this week:

Treasure Box Tuesday A Delightsome Life's Return to Loveliness Kathe With An E's You're Gonna Love It Tuesday Dwellings The Heart of Your Home Between Naps On the Porch From My Front Porch to Yours Katherine's Corner Posed Perfection Imparting Grace Shabby Art Boutique French Country Cottage Fridays Unfolded My Romantic Home

Peanut Butter~Chocolate Krispy Bites

Happy December to you all!!  Thanks for popping by! It's finally here!! Yes, I am doing my Happy Dance. I know I make some people a little sick with my "all-things-Christmas" excitement! But I just can't help myself.  

Did you all get to check out my Holiday Apron transformation for under 10 bucks?! I have to say I am pretty proud of that one and yes, I am wearing it, while I bake!  Like my Grandma use to say, "if you're not going to use it, what's the good in having it?!" I try to live by the example she left, in that respect..

Now that I have my apron and my baking ingredients stocked up, it's time to start some serious baking!  I love that it has been cold and rainy here.  Just exactly the right weather for putting on Christmas music, a pretty ruffled apron and getting to work in my kitchen on all our Christmas Goodies to share!

How to Make Your Own Holiday Apron For Less Than $10

This is the perfect time to move onto all the Christmas fun, decor and baking if you haven't started already.  I am, truly, so excited at this time of year, so much to do, so much beauty to see, family and friends all around and so much to be thankful for!  I love it, even more, that you can deck your halls from top to bottom and spend very little doing it!

This year, I thought I would start by making a Holiday Apron (that I've been meaning to do for quite a while)!! It really couldn't be much easier.

Happy Thanksgiving

Last one just out of the oven!

How happy I am to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!!! 

I pray that you are with Family and Friends enjoying the day, or maybe for some, the football! 

For me, I will Thank the Lord with all my heart for all the Blessings He has bestowed on me every day.

(source)

May you all be Blessed beyond all your expectations.

~Theresa

My "Gratitude" Tree

Happy November! Boy, I am getting excited and very into the Spirit of the Season this year!

Yes, I know!.... this early?!  You bet!  I've been working hard, bargain hunting and putting the last touches on several projects, that I will soon be sharing with you! 

On this one, I will admit,  I completely copied the idea! Yes, I'm honest enough to admit it and, actually sorry,  I hadn't thought of it on my own, first.  However,that being said,  they are drastically different. The idea is all that is similar.  Have you ever made and kept up a Gratitude tree?  If you have, Yay for you.  I am impressed! I keep up a Gratitude journal, but I have never before made a Gratitude tree, one started in the beginning of November so it can be added to daily!

What an awesome way to remind ourselves, and all that visit, how very Blessed we truly are, as we ready are house and cupboards for Thanksgiving!

This is how my Gratitude Tree came together!

I rather like it a lot! It makes me smile and "count my blessings" several times throughout the day, as I pass by it.  I have even taken to asking friends and family to fill out a tag of whatever they are grateful for and to add it to my tree. So far, everyone was pleased to do so!  There you go, another thing I'm grateful for!

If you Google "Gratitude Tree" or "Thanksgiving Tree" you will see, there are as many different ways to make one as there are things to be thankful for.  So, this is my way! 

A Christmas tree is only a Christmas tree if you decorate it to be such. This cute little burlap wrapped pine tree I thought fit the bill just perfectly for my little Gratitude tree! I hope you and enjoy it and find some way to remember all that you have to be thankful for. If you don't find yourself in a thankful place, well then, you have my sympathy and prayers.

Many Blessing to you, Friends!

~Theresa

So happy to tell you that this post was featured by Richella @ her beautiful Party Grace At Home!



I'll be sharing this post with:
Courtney @ French Country Cottage, Cindy @ My Romantic Home, Natasha's Say G'day Saturday, Kerryanne @ Shabbilicious Friday , Sherry@ The Charm of Home  Alison @ Nancherrow's Fridays Unfolded  Ramona @ Create With Joy's Friendship Friday  Sarah @Holiday Frugal Tips  What Mommy Does'Weekend Wind Down Jamielyn @ I Heart Nap Time Beverly @ How Sweet The Sound   Aimee@ It's Overflowing  Cheri @ It's So Very Cheri Vanessa @ Nifty Thrifty Things    Kim @ Savvy Southern Style: WOW us Wednesday   Marty @A Stroll Thru Life
Pamela @ From My Front Porch to Yours:Treasure Hunt Thursday  Nici @ Posed Perfection: Creative Ways  Richella @ Imparting Grace: Grace At Home

File under: #thanksgiving, #gratitudetree Thanksgiving, Gratitude Tree Thankful DIY thanksgiving tree crafts decor holidays seasons celebrations faith

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins~A Healthy Twist

Happy November!  Are you enjoying the Fall? This time of year is so exciting for me. I'm loving the cooler weather and all the changes that come with it! I hope you are enjoying it, as well. Ok,  on with Recipe! You know, there all kinds of fancy desserts on the internet, and heaven knows I am tempted to go for the WOW factor, as well.  The truth of the matter is that the best recipe I have to share with you in this month's Peanut Butter challenge, or for the Fall weather for you and your Family to enjoy, for that matter, (as mine does) is a muffin.

It's my own recipe, I have tweaked here and there over the years. It is really quite simple. No appliances necessary, just a good, hot oven. 

Reminders and Save the Date!

Good morning, friends! I hope it is a beautiful morning where you are, too!! Just a quick post with a couple reminders!

That's right,  next Thursday I will be adding a new recipe to an incredibly gifted group of fellow Bloggers!  There is still time, if you want to join in on the fun! We have grown, already! As a matter of fact, I think we have almost double from last month!  So, if you want to join in you can either contact me or e-mail Miranda at miranda@cookiedoughandovenmitt.com and request to join the Peanut Butter Bash Facebook Group! The first Thursday of each month we will post a dessert using Peanut Butter and a mystery ingredient! 

One other piece of news to share, not one that should be surprising, but more of a gentle reminder. 
Yes, it is this weekend!!

I am hoping to be back later today to share another fun little project I just finished up for my sister! Have a wonderful Thursday!
Blessings always
Theresa


file under: Fall, Autumn, daylight savings, #pbbash, cooking, decor, 

New Blog Look & A Blessed Day

Good Morning! Well, It feels a bit strange, here. For those of you who are new, I have just radically overhauled the look of my Blog! And, for those of you who have been with me for quite awhile, what do you think?

I have received more than a few comments and/or e-mails that Shoestring Elegance's "old" blog background was dark, and perhaps very difficult to read, especially for those of you who were viewing from Mobile devices. So, I dived in and changed to a lighter background with dark print. 

I'm feeling a bit like a fish out of water! Very new and different for me to get used to. With that said, I'm not sure I am done yet! The trials of being an OCD'er!  I would love your feedback about the change. It is far more for your reading pleasure than for me, personally. 

None the less, today is a wonderful day! Yesterday and today I have been honored and Blessed with the task, of once again, handling Decor for my church's Baptismal Celebration dinner!! So once again with great pleasure, I got to play with roses, I mean, arrange some absolutely beautiful roses for the tables at the celebration dinner! Aren't they stunning? Who would not want to play, ahemm, arrange such beauty?!!  

I hope you you all enjoy the new look, here! Please let me know in the comments.  I am off to finish up with my decor for the celebration. I hope you are all enjoying a beautiful Saturday! Oh my goodness, I almost forgot to tell you, IT'S RAINING, here, this morning!!! Gonna definitely have to do some dancing it, while I can! :)

Many Blessings to you all, and much gratitude for you taking time to come over for a visit! I appreciate you all so much!
~Theresa

Sharing with:

I Heart Nap Time's Link Party Palooza  The Charm of Home  French Country Cottage  The Heart of Your Home  Create With Joy  Yesterfood  Between Naps On The Porch

Savvy Southern Style  The Ultimate Linky  From My Front Porch To Yours Katherines Corner Imparting Grace   My Romantic Home

By the way, if you were wondering, the beautiful new header on my Blog was created by and offered free, from the extremely talented Linnea, at Vintage Made For You.


file under: Fall, Autumn, decor, faith, roses, beauty, new blogs, blog looks, headers, templates

Shoestring Is Under Construction! Please be Patient!

Shoestring Elegance is getting a new, and hopefully, Reader-friendly look! 

"Under Construction"

Please be patient with me, while I turn a few more screws and make some adjustments.

Thank you,
~Theresa

Dipped Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies "Peanut Butter Bash"

Good Morning! I was recently asked if I was interested in joining a cooking challenge group.  The challenge was,  to join a Peanut Butter plus an additional ingredient recipe link up event.  I love to cook and enjoy a good challenge, so I thought, why not? This, now, from this point forward, will be  called "The Peanut Butter Bash". I get to link up with some other awesome Blogging ladies and cook and share what we made. Kind of exciting! So, here is the hitch: the additional ingredient! This month, I must say, was fun for me, because I picked "CHOCOLATE" to be the additional ingredient for the month. 

How To Make A Beautiful Fall Harvest Bushel

Have you ever noticed when you start doing crafts, or celebrating the Seasons more, around your home,  that you find inspiration everywhere? Things that you may not have looked at or thought about twice before now come to life in your imagination?  I certainly have found that to be the case for me & I love it.  

Just a Fun Saturday Morning Share!

I don't usually post quick little fun Daily things, here.  I share them over on Shoestring Elegance's Facebook page!

But, that being said, this was too much fun for me not to share with you!

I'm always so excited to see a store go all out with their decorations! (especially, if its actually the right Season)!

So you can imagine my delight, when I popped over to our local Safeway, yesterday and came upon this display!

What a truly pleasant surprise!

I imagine it's good for business, but I think it was so Family friendly and innovative, that who really cares?!

Go take a peak around your town today and see what's out there that makes you smile! This sure did for me! 

Happy weekend blessings, Friends!

~Theresa

By the way, I am in no way affiliated with or speaking for Safeway.. My joy and opinions are my own!

File under: Halloween, Fall colors, Harvest, decor, #trickortreat #safeway

Welcoming Autumn & It's Not A Wreath!

Happy Autumn!! Well, it will be, actually, Autumn, the day after tomorrow, for those of us, here in the United States. I think I long for this Season all year long!  The beginning of cooler days and nights, blankets, baking, sweaters and, of course, Lots of decorating!! Fall seems to be the kick off for all the wonderful celebrations ahead. What can I say, I'm a sucker for traditions. Even if they're new ones. Which kinda brings me to this post. I have welcomed Autumn for the past 2+ years by sharing with you my Autumn Wreaths. I have loved every one of them. 

Here's the teaser I posted on Shoestring's Facebook page.

This year, however, I was drawn to decorate my front door in a different way to 'Welcome the Fall Season' in.   Ready.....??   It's a broom!  Well, not a broom you could sweep with, but just the same a broom! I love it. I haven't seen many others and thought it would be a wonderful change and a thrifty way of using all my old and still beautiful blooms and leaves (with a few new ones). If you don't know me, I'm all about less cost, for the highest beauty. So here it is!  What do you think?

This wonderful broom, that serves as the base for this door hanging, was all of $2.99 @ Michael's & I got 50% off, so, yeah, a buck fifty! I did by one new group of stems that were regularly $6.99 but they were 60% off,  and this awesome Red edge-stitched cloth ribbon (for the bow), that was also 60% off of $6.99, I believe I can very easily say that in all total, this Autumn Door Decor still came in under the $10 mark!

After removing the tags, It was just as easy as this. I attached my hanger to the back and then laid the foundation of Fall leaves down, attached them and then just added from there until I had what I was hoping for.

Don't you just LOVE the stitching on the edge of the bow? As soon as I saw it, I knew this was exactly what I had been looking for.

Here it is last night hanging on my open front door, while I was finishing up the final little "tweaking"

And..... here it is this morning, in all its glory hanging on my front door to greet all who enter. The day's weather here, in Northern California, is playing along with me, (for today, anyway) It is cool, the wind is blowing and really is beginning to feel like a Fall day!! I'm not looking at the forecasts anymore!

I hope you have found a fun way to welcome Autumn/Fall into your home. For yourself,  and your guests!  I always think it's a nice way to say, "You are welcome here" & "I even decorated for you!" Plus, it makes me smile! There really isn't a price tag for that! I hope this will Inspire some of you to embrace and welcome the Season, your friends & family, with some of the Beautiful colors of Fall!

Many more colors of the season to come! 

Thank you for taking the time to pop in on me and let me share what I've been up to with you.  Many Blessings,
Theresa