Monday, December 31, 2012

Periwinkle's Birthday Party and Disco Dust Pops


Have you ever seen anything edible that is this pretty?
These were for little Adele's 3rd birthday party with her friends.

My daughter in law Audra made these and I walked in and
saw them and couldn't believe how gorgeous they are.

She just made regular Oreo Pops
and dipped them in pink candy coating and while
wet sprinkled on Disco Dust.  I had to order
some online.  These were just fabulously gorgeous.


Adele had just watched Tinkerbell's new movie
Secret of the Wings 
where Tinkerbell meets her twin, a winter fairy named
Periwinkle.

Well, Grandma found the only Periwinkle costume in
the state from what she could tell and surprised her
with this cute costume.

Adele looks amazingly like I did as a child.  It is magical to
watch her and wonder if that is how I acted and looked at the
same age that she is.


Yes, this is me around age 2.  We look a lot alike.




Wednesday, December 26, 2012

A Renaissance Christmas Eve


This year for Christmas Eve we mixed it up
a little and changed the Great Room into
a Renaissance dining room.


After removing the couch and some chairs and the coffee and sofa
table, we set up a long table in front of the fireplace.


About ten years ago we had created a Renaissance dinner
like this and my three youngest had dressed up as
serving girls and pages and served our adult friends
as we sat to dinner. 

We had Mannheim Steamroller music on the other day
and my two youngest boys were saying how much
they had loved that and wished they had been
able to sit at the Renaissance table.


So of course we decided to surprise everyone with 
a
Renaissance Dinner
for Christmas Eve this year.


We had a beautiful tapestry type fabric that we had used
for the first dinner and we placed it over two
folding tables.

The dinner was to be utensilless.


The center of the table was decked out with fresh
and silk greenery and three candelabras.


The look kept changing as the sun was setting, giving
such a pretty glow to everything.


I even captured some of the blue hour in photos.


We used an assortment of pewter goblets and
bowls.  They were so pretty with the reflection
of the candles and fireplace on them.


The soup was to be drunk from the bowls.

We had to laugh because the little children
didn't like that idea and
  ran to the kitchen to get spoons.
I thought they would love to drink their soup.


We served sparkling apple juice in the goblets.


It was fun to hear the oohs and aahs as they came through
the door.


A twelve foot table was a beautiful and grand presentation.


After the soup, 


they were served cornish game hens and potato wedges.

Once they understood that the game hens weren't baby chickens,
they loved eating this with their hands.


Our traditional Christmas Eve dish is king crab legs
and sourdough bread.  

We did allow kitchen shears to be used to help
with the crab.


It ended up being a very magical evening and it
was so fun to have all fifteen (plus 2 infants)
around the long table.  

Dessert was chocolates and  an assortment of goodies.

We finished with a live Nativity acted out by the children
and presents.


Merry Christmas from our house to yours.

I will be posting with




Monday, December 24, 2012

Mom, Pretend There's Room

This year as one of my special Christmas gifts
to my children, we typed up their journals that
I had written as they were growing up.  
My youngest is 18.  My first daugher-in-law had
been asking for my oldest son's since they were
married almost seven years ago and so I had
planned to do this, but hadn't gotten around to it.

As my Christmas message this year, I would like to
share something I had written in his journal.

From December 1987

"Tonight we had a family home evening and had read 
stories from the Old Testament.  As we were getting ready
to say the closing prayer Tyson ( who was 3years and 8 months old)
said he wanted to have "the Mary and Joseph story".  So my husband
said, "We'll act it out."  So my husband got down on his knees to
be the donkey and my oldest daughter who was just shy of 6 years
old pulled her shirt out to be fat and got on his back.  Tyson, the three
year old lead the donkey over to me (the inn keeper.)



 Of course there was no room
in the inn.

After the third time he said,
  'Mom, pretend there's room.' "

(Images from the movie The Nativity Story - Google Images)

I read that and wept.  I remember being moved to tears that
night as he in his child-like innocence knew that someone
 needed to make room for Mary and Joseph.
May we be that someone!


(This photo was taken a few years later when Tyson,
still as Joseph on the right was now ten.)

The Rest of Our Nativity Story

Mary now has four children, two girls and two boys.
Joseph now has 3 children, two girls and a boy.
The Wise Man now has one girl.
The Angel has graduated from culinary art school.
The babe has gone off to his first year of college.


May we all make room in our
hearts for our Savior and for all of His children that love
and caring and service might be the hallmarks of our
lives here on earth.

We wish you a very 
Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

On Angels' Wings


There is less than a week left and I know we are all
as busy as can be, but we have also all been affected
by the tragedy of the loss of so many sweet innocent
angels lives.

I was pondering what to do for my table, knowing I
wanted to do one in gold as that is our traditional
Christmas Eve theme when an angel, my daughter in law,
Audra showed up at my door with these beautiful
angel wings - a set of six.


This was the card she had attached and she said she knew I 
could do something with these beautiful wings.


It was right then that I knew I wanted to do an 
Angel Table
honoring all of the sweet angelic children, teachers
and principal who returned to God in the blink of an eye.

This angel crowned the top of my parent's tree as I was growing up.


She is a little thing, not even much taller than my goblet,
but in my childhood eyes she was huge and wonderful.

When both of my parents were gone and we were
cleaning out the house, she got tossed in the giveaway pile.

She didn't seem as magnificent as she did when we were
little.  I couldn't let her go.  I am so glad I kept her.  She
always has a place of honor at Christmas in my kitchen.

I adore her real feathered dress and real feather wings and
her yellow yarn  hair and painted delicate features.


She is surrounded by gold on our Angels' Wings table tonight.


Here are my chairs like the inspiration picture.

The wings were made to be worn and had elastic
on them, but Audra suggested punching holes through
the back, so that is what I did and tied them on
with a ribbon.  I moved these wooden chairs in 
from the kitchen to match the inspiration picture better.


Did you notice when you look at the inspiration photo
that they had similar trees on their table.  I noticed
that and got them out of the kitchen where they were
gracing the baking cabinet.




I found these beautiful napkins that match the tablecloth
quite well.  They are both painted with gold.


This is the only real china I own.  I didn't get any when we got married
and I bought these when I was pregnant with baby number 5.  I couldn't
get out of bed the last two months and so I never spent any money.
As the money built up in the account, I decided I wanted to 
buy some china from Spiegel Catalog.


I bought matching gold goblets at the same time from Spiegel.
They are the large, heavy ones in the
background and later found these similar ones
at Home Goods.


In my gold vignette in the kitchen I also have these beautiful
gold wings that were given to me as a present years ago.



Here you can see a close-up of the painted napkin.  
I found these at Home Goods


and they went so well with this much more pricey tablecloth
that I had purchased several years ago at a furniture
store - Four Chairs.


The plates top my gold beaded placemats that I have had
for years and years and some of my favorite wooden chargers.


Since I know Mrs. Claus personally, I was a little naughty and
brought out her gift to me this year, this wonderful gold flatware
that I  she got on sale from Horchow.com 
(Shhh!!!  Don't tell the kids, I don't ever let them use their gifts early.)

But really, they go so well with the table, don't you think?


You know me, I like to hang baubles from the
chandeliers, so here is a shot looking down through
the baubles on the chandelier in the dining room.


There is nothing as pure as gold as a little child and we all
have little ones that I am sure we imagined in our
heads and hearts, leaving that morning with a kiss
and a hug and never returning.

I am so grateful for my knowledge of the true
meaning of Christmas.  
While our hearts break, we can have peace in that knowledge.
I testify that Christ came
to earth and He atoned for our sins and the sins of others.
He felt our pains
and our sorrows and He can heal all things with His
love.  I am thankful for that knowledge and that He
promised the Gift of the Holy Ghost who can comfort
us.  May we all pray for those who have lost, that
they may feel that comfort  


and be lifted as if On Angels' Wings.

I will be posting this with


Sunday, December 16, 2012

Oreo Cake



We are busy little elves here at
Purple Chocolat Home
but things are getting wrapped up. 
 I hope you are doing well with all of your 
Christmas plans, parties and preparations too.


The month of December is always so filled with
parties and I am always looking for something new
to bring or to serve.

I needed a cake for a Relief Society Christmas Dinner
(our lady's church group) 
and I was on Pinterest the night before.

I saw this cake.
This was the comment under the picture
"Warning if you make this cake once, you will
be asked to make it again.  Possibly the most loved
cake I have ever made."

Sounded good to me.  The pin actually took you



It is simply two layers of your favorite chocolate cake
with an Oreo Cookie cream filling and finished with
a chocolate glaze.  Yum.

I am usually disappointed with the finished result when a
photo from a commercial site doesn't have the depth of 
filling they show.  Well, in this case, my filling looks
twice as high.  That should draw you in.


It really was yummy and went quickly at the party.

Chocolate-Covered Oreo Cookie Cake
(The great thing was that I had everything in the pantry and fridge.)

1 pkg chocolate cake mix - 
I used Betty Crocker's Triple Chocolate Fudge
or your favorite chocolate cake recipe
2/3 C. semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 C. butter
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 C. granulated sugar
2 C. Cool Whip, thawed
12 Oreos, crushed

Make cake mix according to package direction.  I baked
mine in 2 - 8 inch round pans.  Let cool completely. 

Meanwhile let cream cheese soften.  Beat the
cream cheese and sugar together until fluffy.  Fold
in the Cool Whip.  Then fold in the crushed Oreos.

Place bottom layer of cake on cake stand.  Spread the
filling onto cake.  Keep it from spreading over the sides.
The filling is really thick and easy to work with.  Smooth
out the filling.  Top with second layer of cake and press
down lightly.  Make sure cake is level.

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bowl at
30 second intervals, stirring in between each interval
even if it doesn't look like it needs to be stirred.  Spoon
the chocolate onto cake.  Avoid letting it drip down the
sides of the cake.

Keep cake refrigerated.  Let it sit out for 20 minutes
before slicing for the chocolate glaze to soften a little.


(Yes, this is a new feature! I have had requests
for this feature and haven't followed up, but now I followed
Yvonne's instructions (Stone Gable)on how to make a 
printable recipe and guess what - it worked.  Thanks
Yvonne!!  She had great step by step instructions that were
easy to follow.)




Since hubby wasn't invited to the Relief Society dinner
he has been asking for one ever since and he didn't even
get to lick the spoon, he just thought it looked incredible.

We will be making this one again really soon.

I will be taking this to these parties:

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Choose Joy - Not Tragedy

Choosejoytreewatermark


 
(Pinterest)
I saw this beautiful message from Stephanie at
Home Grown Hospitality and it touched my heart.
 
 
My heart is so sad for those who have suffered so
with the horrible tragedy of such senseless loss of
life from the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary.
 
Please pray for those who have lost their loved ones
and for those who have witnessed this and will forever
be scarred by it.
 
May we all do more good and inspire others to
do more good that our world may be a better place
to live and to raise our children.
 


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