merry christmas...

 i just wanted to take a moment to wish all of you a very merry christmas...

enjoy a day of memory making with your family and friends...

 

xo

angie



holiday happy mail swap {2013}

remember when i told you all about the holiday happy mail swap?

 

welp, i loved putting my gift together... my partner was jessie {a photographer from tulsa, oklahoma}... i mailed her package on december 5th and was told it would be delivered on december 7th... i was so frustrated to find that it was bit lost in transit... it finally arrived to her today... yay!

 

i had the best time gathering things that i thought she might like... cozy, polka dottie socks, altoids, a starbucks card, good earth sweet and spicy tea, washi tape, twirly lollipops for her kiddos, fun ink pens, a journal with a camera on the front, a tiny bottle brush tree and baby deer... and finally, a handmade garland... 

 packaging it all up really cute was my favorite part...





 

once the packaging was complete i tucked it all in a box and shipped it off...

i really hope it brightened her day...

 

the gifts that she sent to me sure did brighten mine...

 

check out this goodness...

paper straws, chocolates, decorative stickers, craft labels, trims, a mini frame... felt coasters, a meal planner, washi tape... a super cute "A" ornament that i love and pretty gift tags by rifle paper company...

 

thank you, jess!!!

 

linking up with thuy and hilari... thanks girls, for hosting... it's been awesome!

#holidayhappymail13 {just in case you're on instagram and want to check it out...}

 

have a happy day!



truffles... a christmas tradition

every year in the month of december, we head over to my friend sharon's house to spend the evening with her family...

 

we have pizza and chips for dinner... the kids play... and we bake...

 sharon's truffle recipe has always been our go to...

 

if you like chocolate, then this is a recipe for you...

 

chocolate truffles

 

ingredients:

 

1 devils food cake mix {and ingredients to make the cake: oil, water, eggs}

 

1 stick of margarine

 

1/2 cup of cocoa powder

 

1/2 cup of powdered sugar

 

1/2 cup of apricot preserves

 

dipping chocolates {we buy the chocolate discs in the produce department at our local grocery store}

 

directions:

 

bake a devil's food cake according to the package

 

once the cake is cooled, crumble it up into a large mixing bowl...

 

on the stovetop, melt 1 stick of margarine, 1/2 cup of cocoa, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, 1/2 cup of apricot preserves {now don't get nervous if your not a fan of apricots... i'm not either, but it melts down nicely... you don't even know it's in there...}

 

pour this mixture over the crumbled cake and mix until the cake is completely wet and no dry cake is showing...

 

roll into small balls and place on a foil lined baking sheet... place in the refrigerator to chill...

 

once chilled, use a toothpick and dip them into the melted dipping chocolate {we melt ours in a bowl over a small pan of water on low heat}, leaving a small circle of cake showing at the top...

 

drizzle the tops of the truffles with the extra melted dipping chocolate to make them look pretty... {we have found over the years that if you place the chocolate in a plastic bottle with a tip, it's SO much easier... we found ours in the baking aisle at michaels...}

let them cool before placing them in an airtight container...

i would love to share these all stacked up real fancy on a cute cake plate... however, they are safely tucked in my freezer so we actually have some left at christmas time... 

 

enjoy!

 

what's your favorite christmas cookie to make?



winner...

i'm having a

because i get to send this happy mail to one of you... 

remember this post from a few days ago...

 

last night the winner was drawn...

she said:

 

I love all the glimpses of real life you share with us...and, of course, the craftiness. As for my favorite things - coffee, a soft blanket, snuggles with my girls, peanut m&ms :) Congrats on one year, my friend!

 

 

yay, cathy!!!

 

please email me at oopsiemaizie@yahoo.com so i can send these gifts your way!

 

thank you for the nice comments from all of you who entered...

 

stay tuned... tomorrow i'll be sharing a recipe for truffles that you won't want to miss...



adriana trigiani... a fun night...

on tuesday night, i had the chance to go to a book signing by adriana trigiani...

 

it was SO much more than a signing... not only were there tasty appetizers and cake :)... there was a room full of fans ready to hear her speak... and most importantly laughter... like, for a couple of hours straight... {doesn't laughter just make ya feel better... it chases those cares away and puts you smack dab in the moment where you need to be}...

 

adriana... i had never been to see her before but i'd heard nothing but great things... and there she was... front and center in youngstown... she has quite a following and i can see why...

she's italian, she's hysterical and very relatable... like the type of friend you'd meet for coffee or dinner and talk with for hours...

 i enjoyed it so, so much!!! she shared stories about her life and family... talked about her new book, The Supreme Macaroni Company...

 and the release of her movie Big Stone Gap which comes out next year... can't wait to see it...

 

and a bonus... she signed our books and was so patient and funny while the guy trying to snap our photo took blurry pic after blurry pic with our phones...
this is the best one from the night...

i'm so glad i went!

have you read any of her books? 
{Queen of the Big Time is one of my favorites...} 



it's a giveaway...

11-28-2012 was my first blog post... that year went by speedy quick... it's fun to look back at things that we've done together, things that i've made... thoughts that i've had at different times...

 

i'm glad i'm sticking with it... while sometimes there are lulls in the amount that i post, i still love the fact that it's an online journal of our life... and the sense of community that blogging has is not quite like any other... it's fun to know that my words are reaching other people and that their words are reaching me simply by logging onto the computer... i find people's lives to be so interesting and when they open up and share glimpses of it through photos accompanying their words, i'm roped right in... connections and friendships are made...

 

thanks to everyone of you who take the time out of your busy days to read this little space i have carved out here... it means a lot to me!

now... for some fun...

 

how's about a little giveaway to celebrate my one year marker?  a holiday bunting, along with a couple of my other favorite things... i'd love to share these gifts with one of you... sending off happy mail makes me happy...

just comment below for the chance... how about you tell me some of your favorite things... or maybe topics that you like reading about here... or just say hey... it'll be fun!

 

i'll draw the winner on december 8th...

good luck to you!


*** giveaway now closed ***

creative make and take...

saturday was SO fun...

 

i had such a nice group of girls at my house for a get together to make things... supplies and tasty treats were provided... they just had to show up and be ready to create!

 

it was so much fun gathering all of the supplies needed to complete the projects and setting up the different stations for the girls to work at...

 

this was the bunting station... i love these colors together... 

they're so cheery! 

 

the second project for the night was this christmas tree canvas... the girls had felt and fabrics and trims to choose from to make their canvas their very own...

 

{this is the sample canvas that i made up}

 

and there was wrapping in a jar... which was one of my favorite parts of the night... i love to make gift tags, to hand stamp and to go through baubles and trims and put them all together to make something cute...

this neat, old storage piece had a bunch of ribbons, trims, bottle brush trees, deer, gift tags, bakers twine, ball fringe, to and from stamps...

craft stickers, patterned card stock, paper doilies...

 washi tape, letter stampers, etc. to choose from...

and tiny clothespins to add to their tags... some left them natural and some glittered them...

{this is the jar that i put together for marina's teacher... i'm going to tuck in a gift card, and some other little things for her... love the idea of making something so cute out of a recycled container}

 

everyone got to take home this merry and bright printable...

{you can find it here}

 

the night started off kind of quiet with everyone very focused on their projects...

it was fun to see what each girl chose to use from what was provided...

busy at work...

 

and in the end... they made some really cute things unique to them :)

i really enjoy having get togethers at our home... it was such a nice night for all of us to just relax, meet some new friends and make some cute things... can't go wrong with that...



i already can't wait to have another night like this... we might even have to break out the sewing machine :)

nice job, girls!

what are your favorite types of projects to make?