A little afternoon "pick me up" with hot beverages....

It's a cold weekend with snow in the forecast!

It's Peach Season!

Peaches

Peaches bring back memories from my childhood, especially when I was in the 6th grade.  We had about 5 or 6 peach trees in our front yard and my Mom spent days making peach jam, peach pies, peach crisp, and anything else she could think of so that none went to waste!  They are currently in season so here are a few recipes to enjoy:

New Year's Eve....

Nothing fancy here for New Year's Eve as it was just the two of us, eating some chili and later drinking Huckleberry Mimosas as we watched TV!

I set a simple setting of MacKenzie-Childs Highbanks dishes and white bowls.  These enamel dishes are the perfect "winter" dishes with a snowy scene and an icy blue Tartan plaid rim.  

Tartan is a Scottish word that means plaid. Each color of Tartan was traditionally named for the clans that they represented. 

The salad/bread and butter plates have a ring of snow covered pine trees:

And even though our snow has mostly melted, my favorite snowman sat with us!

I tried a new chili recipe and it was pretty good - the link is below.

Chili recipe

Later in the evening we enjoyed Huckleberry Mimosas:

The rims of glasses were dipped into the syrup and then into crushed huckleberry candies ....

...Huckleberry syrup was poured into the bottom of the flute...

...and champagne was poured over the syrup:

      

Cheers to 2021 - May this year bring you good health, lots of happy days and many wonderful surprises!

Raw Rutes -

Raw Rutes just sent me a few packages of their products to try!

I was thrilled to open the box and find these fun pics and spoons!

You may remember a few photos I posted with their products:

The Tree Bunch Gourmet Cocktail Pick is perfect for a Bloody Mary.  As you can see, they are sturdy enough to hold a chicken wing, as well as a piece of celery, a slice pf pepperoni, a slim beef stick, a grape and a piece of cheese!!!  These hold your Happy Hour snacks, so no need for a tray of nibblers!  Be creative, I can imagine a little hamburg slider, meatballs, bacon, pickled green beans - the ideas are endless!

Wouldn't these also be cute for children in their glass of milk with donut holes?

or cookies....

Raw Rutes is a Buffalo, NY based company, on a mission to help you celebrate the homegrown and homemade in your life. Many of their products are made right in Buffalo, with the remainder being supplied by craftsmen from across the U.S. and countries like Poland, Italy, and Slovenia. Their staff live and breathe the time honored slow-food traditions that were pushed aside for Instant Noodle Cups and TV Dinners. Whether it's harvesting, dehydrating or fermenting foods, they like to be involved in the process and they are there to help you do the same! 

The Cocoa Caribou Hot Chocolate Buddies are so much fun, not only for children, but adults, too!  Who doesn't love a cup of hot cocoa loaded with marshmallows?  The picks also can hold chocolates, soft mints, pastel pillow mints, even a few soft cookies!

What child wouldn't enjoy coming home from school to this snack?

AND

They are also awesome in cocktails.... a few little treats with a Rum and Coke: 

The first gift they sent was a set of Gin-iper Branches.  These will be so much fun to use in the summer with berries and chunks of fruit!  Today I made a cocktail with Blueberry Vodka and Sprite....

...and I filled the branch with blueberries and a sprig of mint!

**************************

This is such a fun way to make a cocktail special and tastier!

*********

The Dessert Spoons are just adorable and quite unique, They remind me of the Hoodsie Cup spoons from my childhood that were made from wood, but much sturdier and more versatile....

...perfect for ice cream....

...and I can even imagine using these little penguins to serve or spread cream cheese dips, peanut butter onto crackers or encouraging children to try new foods!

The Nifty Lil Narwhal Martini picks are also very versatile.  Perfect for Manhattans and Martinis - OR - simply to add a little lemon flavor to your water: 

The larger Nifty Narwhal Picks are perfect for Mojitos, holding mint and limes OR sinking a lemon in a Gin and Tonic:

They also carry the cutest Garden Tools and I want to order the Kitchen Herb Hanger, which is so reasonably priced!  They have clever Kitchen Tools, and if you make a lot of tomato sauce in the fall, you might need this !

To receive a catalog, click HERE

All opinions and ideas are my own!  Raw Rutes supplied the products.

We are ready for Holiday Happy Hours for Two!

My bar cart is dressed for the holidays.  

I made the bottle toppers over 30 years ago out of felt!

Over the weekend we had simple cocktails of cherry vodka and cokes....

...and the straws were dressed for the season!

I try to buy mini bottles before buying large bottles  - to taste and see if it is something we like !  Three Olives Cherry Vodka is delish with Coke!

He likes red, I like white.  

I painted the base of these Dollar Tree wine glasses last year:

Here are a few Holiday Cocktail recipes for the season:

and to take the 'chill off':

Cheers!

Keep calm and party on, but be responsible!

Add a little more flavor to your cocoa ...and how to assemble a Cocoa Station

It's so easy to set up a Cocoa Station and to make it special, you can make a few white chocolate spoons...let me show you how!

These Sweet Spoons are very easy to make!

All you need is some chocolate buttons to melt, a few sturdy plastic spoons, and some cinnamon candies, crushed peppermints or sprinkles!

Simply dip the spoons into the melted chocolate and sprinkle with the candies, then lay the spoons on waxed paper.

I wrapped each in "pretzel bags" (I cut them a bit shorter).

All you have to do is stir one into a cup of hot cocoa for added flavor!

To set up a Cocoa Station, all you need is a tray, or area in your kitchen to gather your mugs and supplies needed to prepare a cup of cocoa.  I chose a round tray and 4 mugs:

I bought marshmallows at Trader Joe's (they are the best!!) and put them in a jar and placed some peppermint sticks in a glass:

A bowl of cocoa packets and a jar of peppermints are also on hand:

My handmade spoons are also in a large apothecary jar:

So I can just grab a mug and enjoy a cup of cocoa whenever I catch a chill and add some more flavor if I am in the mood!

If you want to make your own Cocoa mix, here's an easy recipe:

ENJOY!

There's a little bit of irony in this sign for 2020!