Christmas Carols: Homemade Egg Nog

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

Just like the ones I used to know

Where the treetops glisten,

and children listen

To hear sleigh bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

With every Christmas card I write

May your days be merry and bright

And may all your Christmases be white

I really am dreaming of a "White Christmas," but as the chances of that are slim, I made our most snow-like drink today: My Mother's Egg Nog. But it looks as if you poured it for Santa himself :)

Before we get started, I need to say this:

I HATE EGG NOG!

(From the store)

It's like the texture of raw eggs blended up. It has some weird chemical aftertaste, and it has a mouth coating effect similar to that of pepto bismol. And those little flecks? I am not entirely sure they're spices. I'm just saying...

But that was all before I tried

THIS EGG NOG

And I am not the only one. When my mom first began making this egg nog at Christmas time, we all became converts of the most religious kind. This egg nog is an absolute STAPLE in our holiday menu now, and gets requested every year. By everyone. It's seriously that good. And NOT AT ALL like the store bought variety.

This egg nog is non-alcoholic.

You will have to hunt down brandy flavoring at the supermarket

(This is easier said than done. I will tell you our Kroger/Smiths/Frys stores do carry it, but WalMart doesn't)

Any YES, it uses raw eggs. You can buy pasteurized eggs if that bothers you, but I just use regular grade A eggs and I have never had a problem, so you decide for yourself.

Old Fashioned Egg Nog

By the mother of the BeBookBound-ers.
Adapted from her Grandma's more boozy version...

6 eggs
1/2 bottle of Brandy Flavoring
1/2 Gallon Whole Milk
1 C Heavy Cream
1-2 cups Sugar
Fresh Ground Nutmeg

Throw 4 eggs, and 2 yolks in a blender (Reserve the other 2 whites to whip with a couple tablespoons of sugar) At this point I like to remove the chalazae from the eggs. (That's the technical name for those umbilical cordy things in the eggs. Yucko.)  Now add the Brandy flavoring, and transfer to a large pitcher. Add the milk, cream, and a cup of sugar. You can adjust if you want more sugar at this point. Grate in some nutmeg. I use about a quarter of a nut's worth. Just do it to your personal taste. In a separate bowl, whip those egg whites and sugar we talked about earlier, just until they form soft peaks. Spoon the whites onto the nog, and top with a dusting of nutmeg.

Enjoy!

Sharing at . . .

Thistlewood Farm
French Country Cottage 
At the Picket Fence
Stuff and Nonsense 
StoneGable 
Cedar Hill Ranch
Homestories A to Z

Huckleberry Finn: Tablescape

" It was kind of solemn, drifting down the big still river, laying on our backs looking up at the stars, and we didn’t ever feel like talking loud, and it warn’t often that we laughed, only a kind of low chuckle. We had mighty good weather, as a general thing, and nothing ever happened to us at all"

-The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

To celebrate Huck Finn, I wanted to create a rustic tablescape in greens and browns to look like a river. I am not so sure that it looks anything like a river, but I had fun with it in any case. :)

I made fresh Blueberry Limeade

3 limes
1/2 C sugar (to taste- my limes were sweet)
1/2 C Blueberries
2-3 C water

Squeeze limes, add sugar to lime juice, press blueberries through a mesh sieve, add water and stir, stir stir! Serve over ice, garnished with lime slices and blueberries.

Made a little sleeve out of ripped packaging paper for the silverware

Added a lantern

 Made a centerpiece out of a galvanized container filled with the grass that seems determined to steal my garden from me...

And set a framed quote on the table. It's a lovely, calm quote.

And there you have it. Honestly, roughly 800 times during the writing of this short post, I have had some little person come to me with a massive crisis that I had to attend to, so it feels like I have been typing for hours. I better go before someone breaks another bottle, cries because their food fell on the floor, or steals a toy from a sibling. Happy Friday!

Linking up:

Funky Junk Interiors - Tatertots and Jello - Twigg Studios - Between Naps on the Porch

Little House on the Prairie: Lemonade Bar

'Is your lemonade sweet enough?’ Mrs. Oleson asked. So Laura knew that it was lemonade in the glasses. She had never tasted anything like it.

~ On the Banks of Plum Creek, Laura Ingalls Wilder

It is roughly, oh, 8 MILLION DEGREES here right now! Cool lemonade is a welcome respite from the unrelenting heat all around us---even if we made the mistake of setting this up outside. 

I made a couple of carnival booths for a birthday party recently, but they work perfectly as lemonade stands too, so I set up a "Lemonade Bar." I started by pureeing a bunch of fruit and pouring it all into mason jars.

Then I printed these letters onto packing paper using the free font "Showboat":

Then I strung jute through them...

(You could hang this from your patio, or even from two dowels stuck in the grass)

And I printed the name of each fruit or mix-in on more packing paper

 (Again, with the showboat font) and wrapped each paper around the corresponding jar...

I made some delicious lemonade, 

added some fresh mint and vanilla syrup to the spread, 

and we all had at it!

 

My favorite combo was Strawberry Mango lemonade with Mint leaves.

This was a ton of fun. 

You might even end up with a lemonade server if you wait around long enough :)

I can't recommend this enough---especially for a 4th of July party.

Best of luck!

Linking Up:
Tutorials Tips and Tidbits at StoneGable

Thriving on Thursdays at Domesblissity
Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage 
Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch to Yours 
Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm
Strut Your Stuff Saturday at Six Sisters' Stuff
Weekend Wrap Up at Tatertots and Jello 
Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie 
Tutorials and Tips @ Homestories A to Z 
Tuesday's Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Cowgirl Up! at Cedar Hill Ranch 

Jane Austen Month, Day 18: A Mocktail Soiree, Part 1

We asked our fantastic little sis, Katie, to do a guest post on her most recent "Mocktail Soiree."  It is fitting that she take on the social side of Austen living for us since she is more popular, more fun, and more "well-connected" than either of us.  We're just hoping that one day we can be worthy of attending one of her most esteemed evenings of entertainment . . .

Here's Katie . . .

 

My siblings would tell you it is because I have a yellow personality. I would say that I was born with it. Wherever it came from there is some deep desire that lies within me that gives me an insatiable need to party! I have always found any excuse I could to have friends over. There is nothing I love more than to enjoy a night of entertainment, socializing and good food. It must be the Austenesque ideal that has been ingrained in me since I was a very little girl. I have always dreamed of attending soirees filled with beautiful dances, dresses, and unassuming glances from the dashing suitors across the room. Though my romanticized ideal may never be realized in quite the way I would imagine (I guess I would look a little silly showing up to my friends birthday party in my favorite empire-waisted dress with tight tendrils framing my face), but I have managed to throw a party or two that Jane would have been happy to attend herself.

Being that I don’t drink alcohol, I thought it might be fun to have a ‘mocktail’ with some of my dearest friends. It was a smashing success, starting with the drinks.

I figured out how to create mixed drinks that would still taste great without the alcohol. May I suggest (this site) http://cocktails.about.com/od/mocktailmocktail/Mocktail_Recipes.htm as a great resource? It is full of recipes.  Here are a few favorites:

via

Virgin Mojito

crushed ice
8 mint leaves
3 oz lime juice
1 ½ oz sugar syrup
2 oz club soda

Directions
Fill a pint glass 1/3 full with ice, then add mint leaves. Lightly mash the leaves together with the liquid using a muddle stick or wooden pestle, being careful not to tear the leaves. Fill the glass with more ice, then add club soda. Garnish with mint or lime, and savor!

via

Virgin Daquiri

1 14 ½-ounce can pineapple chunks in juice
1 12-oz bag frozen strawberries
2 tablespoons superfine sugar
2 medium limes, juiced
fresh strawberries, optional, for garnish

Directions
In a blender, combine pineapple, frozen strawberries, sugar, and lime juice and puree until smooth. Pour into glasses, garnish with fresh strawberries, if desired, and serve immediately.

via

Virgin Cosmopolitan

2 ounces cranberry juice
Splash Rose's sweetened lime juice
Club soda to taste
Lime wedge or twist to garnish

Directions

Fill highball glass with ice. Pour in juices and top with club soda. Alternately, fill cocktail shaker with ice and shake juices until chilled, then pour into martini glass and top with club soda. Add lime garnish.

After I created my shopping list, my husband and I hit the store, getting all the things we needed.

If you are planning your own, the must-haves are: club soda, a variety of syrups, garnishes like olives, cherries, and mint, and some plastic glasses for everyone.

Tomorrow we'll talk about the hors d'oeuvres for your soiree. In the meantime, get mixing!

Linking Up!
French Country Cottage
Common Ground
Stuff and Nonsense
At The Picket Fence 
Shabby Nest
Fingerprints on the Fridge  
One Artsy Mama 
Tatertots and Jello
Lolly Jane Boutique
Family Ever After
Funky Junk Interiors
I Heart Naptime
Flamingo Toes