Christmasing my Michigan Home 2017

Next year I'll be back home in Wisconsin, so I decorated my home this year.  I didn't do anything like I did in years past, but it's enough for me.  Enjoy.  And have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

My Annual Christmas Week Baking Tradition

CINNAMON ROLLS

Not just any Cinnamon Rolls either...Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls!!  

They are the BEST and if you make the entire recipe, it makes lots of little round crinkled aluminum pans full...of yummy ooey, gooeyness!  And the recipe is so easy.  You can even make the dough and store in the refrigerator for 3 days, in advance of when you want to bake the rolls.  The rolls roll out easier and they turn out prettier too.

Alright, so how many of you would really care just how PRETTY these yummy cinnamon rolls look when they come out of the oven?  I do, because I'm that way.  I used to make and decorate cakes, including wedding cakes that served 500 people!  I had to care how those turned out and now I'm no different when it comes to always wanting baked and cooked goodies to look pretty too.

I LOVE these Cinnamon Rolls!!  So does everyone I give them too!

***This makes me remember how much my husband used to love these Cinnamon Rolls.  Tom, if you somehow are reading this, know I have thought of you often in the past years apart...and especially this Christmas, since it was to be your First Christmas back home.  I know everything got side-tracked and I don't know where you are again, but we'll be together in our hearts.***

I make a couple changes in the following Recipe from Ree Drummond....1.  Frosting, I eliminate the Maple Flavoring and the Coffee, I'll make my Cream Cheese Icing.  2.  The yeast she has Active Dry Yeast...I use Quick Rise Yeast.  It's quicker and turns out every bit as good. 

Enjoy!!

Now...before you begin the process of making these for yourself, click on this link and go to Ree's Blog, she shows photos every step of the way through the process and shares lots of good information!!!

https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a11914/cinammon-rolls/

OOEY-GOOEY CINNAMON ROLLS

  PREP TIME:  2 Hours

DIFFICULTY:  Easy

COOK TIME:  30 Minutes

SERVINGS:  8 pans full

INGREDIENTS

1 quart Whole Milk

1 cup Vegetable Oil

1 cup Sugar

2 packages Quick Rise Yeast, 0.25 Ounce Packets

8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Reserved) All-purpose Flour

1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder

1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda

1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt

Plenty Of Melted Butter

2 cups Sugar

Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon

CREAM CHEESE ICING

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

8oz cream cheese softened

8 cups confectioners' sugar ((about 2 lbs.))

1 tablespoon milk

 

In large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add confectioners' sugar and milk. Beat on high until smooth (30 - 60 seconds). If icing seems too thin, add confectioners' sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. If it seems too thick, add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time until icing reaches desired consistency.

 

For the dough, heat the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat to just below a boil. Set aside and cool to warm. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit on the milk for 1 minute.

Add 8 cups of the flour. Stir until just combined, then cover with a clean kitchen towel, and set aside in a relatively warm place for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the remaining 1 cup flour. Stir thoroughly to combine. Allow the dough to chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before using.  It's easier to work with this way. 

Preheat the oven to 375°F. 

To assemble the rolls, remove half the dough from the pan/bowl. On a floured baking surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 30 x 10 inches. The dough should be rolled very thin.

To make the filling, pour 3/4 cup to 1 cup of the melted butter over the surface of the dough. Use your fingers to spread the butter evenly. Generously sprinkle half of the ground cinnamon and 1 cup of the sugar over the butter. Don’t be afraid to drizzle on more butter or more sugar! Gooey is the goal. 

Now, beginning at the end farthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly towards you. Use both hands and work slowly, being careful to keep the roll tight. Don’t worry if the filling oozes as you work; that just means the rolls are going to be divine. When you reach the end, pinch the seam together and flip the roll so that the seam is face down. When you’re finished, you’ll wind up with one long buttery, cinnamony, sugary, gooey log.

Slip a cutting board underneath the roll and with a sharp knife, make 1/2-inch slices. One “log “will produce 20 to 25 rolls. Pour a couple of teaspoons of melted butter into disposable foil cake pans and swirl to coat. Place the sliced rolls in the pans, being careful not to overcrowd. (Each pan will hold 7 to 9 rolls.)

Repeat the rolling/sugar/butter process with the other half of the dough and more pans. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cover all the pans with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise on the countertop for at least 20 minutes before baking. Remove the towel and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown. Don’t allow the rolls to become overly brown. 

While the rolls are baking, make the maple icing: In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, butter, coffee, and salt. Splash in the maple flavoring. Whisk until very smooth. Taste and add in more maple, sugar, butter, or other ingredients as needed until the icing reaches the desired consistency. The icing should be somewhat thick but still very pourable.

Remove pans from the oven. Immediately drizzle icing over the top. Be sure to get it all around the edges and over the top. As they sit, the rolls will absorb some of the icing’s moisture and flavor. They only get better with time… not that they last for more than a few seconds. Make them for a friend today! It’ll seal the relationship for life. I promise. 

Busy, Busy, Busy

Busy, that's what I've been.  See??

My PuppyKids are with their new Family, yes, they were adopted on Saturday and immediately stayed with them.  They are doing very well.  Getting settled in their new routine and even have another furry sister...A CAT!  They're all getting along just fine.  I'm so happy these kind people, friends and clients of my massage therapist...decided to keep the little family together.  Thanks to all of you for your support and prayers through this difficult journey I've been on and am still going through. 

Since it seems today was going to be the best day this week to take care of a task I thought up yesterday, I figured I'd better tackle it.  It has to do with my Courtyard Wall.  Here's a photo.

You can see just the tops of my 2 wrought iron chairs sitting next to the side garage door.  The wall and gate are the things I wanted to get done today.  But, that meant moving about 2 tons of concrete block.  85 blocks @45# a piece!!

Well, I got dressed for the cloudy weather, the wind and dropping temps and got busy.  Within 90 minutes I had the job done.  I'm good, ya know?  It's been 3 summers I've hauled and moved those blocks, getting rid of alot of them and re-building walls and all.

Well, here's the final picture...without the wall and the gate!!

Quite a difference, I think.  I love it and I feel great!!!

My PuppyKids

I remember when I made this collage and turned it into a large photo on the wall in my home.  It was shortly after the last of my Pups came to live with me.  That was in 2013...and her name was Angel.  She arrived  just 3 weeks after my precious Pup, Benny died of a neurological incident.  He'd been with me for only a short 4 1/2 years, but saw me through the worst Bell's Palsy attack ever!  He helped heal me.  In between and before Angel & Benny, was Rosie...born on Valentine's Day 2010.  And the first Pup that came into my life was Jasper and that was when he was 9 months old in 2009.

I never thought that this day would ever come.  I thought I'd always be here for them...til they crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  But, partly due to my financial situation and partly because they don't get enough interaction throughout the day with only me here...I had to re-home them.  I started putting our "feelers" about a month ago.  Then...

Things happened so fast today.  My friend and Massage Therapist, Heidi, emailed me and said that she had someone that was interested in my Pups.  Actually 2 people.  She asked for my phone number and minutes later one of those people called me.  He said he and his wife were very interested in my Girls, who I really wanted to see stay together...but to bring along the Boy, too, because they'd really like to see the "family" stay together.  That was at about 2:30pm.  By 4:30, I had the things that I intended the new Mommy & Daddy to have for the Pups ready and packed in the car and was there by 4:20pm.  I spent an hour and a half with them and then asked the question.  Which pups were they going to keep.  They took all 3 of them!!  I know they'll take good care of them - they love them already.  Even after they oopst in the house instead of outside tonight...all 3 of them...not like them at all!!!  They're retired and have a nice home and a big yard, with the invisible fence.  I just know they'll love it there.

I left there crying and cried all the way home - only about an 8 minute drive...and I've cried several times since getting home.  While being ecstatic that they're all still together with 2 loving people, in a nice home...I'm missing them and probably will for a while...a long while.

Love you Pups!!!
Miss you Forever...
Mommy

My Kitchen - The Old & The New - Make-over

It's been a while since my last post...although I have started a few balls rolling, I still don't have any definitive answers as to what I will end up doing...with my home.  You can read the post where I talked about Things Never Staying the Same HERE. 

Right now, though, I want to share some photos from 2 years ago...Christmas 2016 in my Kitchen, Sitting Room {dining room} and Exterior of my home.  Then I will show you lots of photos of the way it looks NOW, since the Make-Over!

Kitchen

Kitchen Island

Cabinet [one of 2] on either side of my Range 

Sitting Room at the end of the Kitchen

[used to be my dining room, see next photo]

Old Exterior of My Home

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

November 2017

This is how the outside of my Home looks now.

New doors to my Home - Welcome

My New Hearth Kitchen

New Backsplash and Burlap-y Curtain Fabric blocks the view into my glass-front cabinets and hides the clutter.

New Samsung Range & Micro-Hood

New French Door, Counter Depth Samsung Refrigerator 

and my oldie, but goodie GE Profile Dishwasher

All new Ceiling Fans and Light Fixtures

including the lovely chandelier above the island

and a glimpse into my new Sitting Room

Kitchen looking into Living Room

Dinette Set at the end of the Island works well

I Love, love, love my French Door Refrigerator

and it only extends a few inches past the cabinets to the right

compared to 8 1/2" that my old refrigerator stuck out!!

You'll see more of my sitting room next time.

Hope you enjoyed this tour.

My Home Office...Make-Over 2017

Before I show you my Office as it looks now, Fall 2017, I thought I'd share a photo and the link to my post about my Office...

Office Fall 2016

See all the Pink?  The "pretties" and lace curtains...even some French items?

Believe me, when I say I changed my style, look and color palette this time around.  I even put the cabinet doors on my cabinets in my re-do.  And there is no more Massage Table.  You probably won't recognize the room!! 

Here is my New Office - Guest Bedroom 

This is looking in through the French Doors, which now have a Elderberry pattern window film added for privacy.  It was very easy to apply.  The most difficult thing about the application was making all the individual cuts for each window...10 per door.  I even added it to the window on the wall directly across from the doors, as the window looks out to the neighbor's lawn that grows a foot high before they cut it and the porch which was power washed about 4 years ago and allowed to weather since then.

I wanted a Guest Room, so I decided to add the bed, two nice tall tables and metal bed to the room I use least in my house...my office.  I have a laptop now and don't spend nearly as much time on the computer in my office as I once did, so this was perfect.  As you can see I have a pretty checked tan/light brown and off white plaid curtain valance, with my pleated privacy shades underneath on the windows.  I decided to decorate with horses, boots and some other items.

The clock was a gift from my son, Stephen many years ago...and it fit right in with the design of this room.  Again, another tall table, sunflowers in a Ball jar and a lamp...to welcome a guest or 2 or even to light the way for me, when I want to sleep in there.

This is the other side of the bed...with more boots and a metal and wood piece of art adorning that wall.

All of the lamps, tables and artwork, including the HOME base with greenery and the Sunflowers in the Ball jar all came from Kirkland's...my favorite shop.  The Valances were from Menards.  The beautiful Comforter and Pillow Shams were from Target and the Metal Bed came from Art Van Furniture.

In the photo above, you get the best look at the Film pattern on the window.  It's beautiful.

Here's my corner desk.  There's not much there and the cupboards are mostly bare, for visitors to use for their things.  I purchased a much smaller desk chair, one with arms that were able to tuck under the desk top and out of the way.  The tile on the backsplash of the desk is new too.  I've always wanted tile there...or wallpaper, and when I had the tile man here, and I had extra tile, he did this.  I love it.

As I stated at the beginning of this post...my tastes have changed and I've gone for a more relaxed decorating look.  Wait til you see the next room I'll be sharing with you.  You'll get a look at another room, decorated alot differently than it was originally.  That post will appear next week.  Every room in my house has been redone, from painting, to flooring and curtains, comforters and artwork and lamps.  So keep watching.  Thanks for stopping in today.

Announcement

Thursday night, my son, Stephen called me from Wisconsin to give me some wonderful news.  He and his wife, Lindsey - well, here, let me show you their photo announcement from Facebook.

Their Caption:

Expecting our little pumpkin March 2018 

I guess I'll be wearing a shirt like this soon!!

I couldn't be happier for both of them!  I can't believe I'm finally a