`
Travelin' Cousins
  • Home
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Media Kit
    • Press >
      • October 2018 Press
    • Contact
  • The "Almost" Daily Scoop
  • Travel Articles
    • Travel Adventures Articles
    • Throwback Thursdays >
      • Elisa's Throwback China Trip Adventure
    • Foodie Fridays
    • Travelin' The NYC Outer Boroughs with Elisa
    • Walt Disney World Wednesdays
  • Things To Do
    • Entertainment Reviews
    • New York Area
    • Southern California Area
  • Where to Stay and Things to Do
  • Where to Dine Vegan
  • Fun Fact & Travel Trivia Articles
    • Fun Facts List Directory
  • Tanya's Photo Gallery
    • Pictures from Auschwitz/Birkenau - WARNING: Mature Content/Depressing Images
  • Elisa's Photo Gallery
  • Travel Tips
    • Know Before ya Go

December 7th, 2014

12/7/2014

0 Comments

 

Baking and Gift Wrapping

Picture
Howdy!  I can't tell you how much I love Sundays when the kids have off on Mondays. Yep, no school tomorrow!

Fun Evening with Friends...

Had a fun time last night as me and Tedd and Denise and Marcelo went over to Maria (and Ed's) house for the evening.  Maria will be hosting the PTA's Christmas party in a little over a week and is still decorating and setting up her house for the event.  

Denise and I helped her with some finishing touches and we even put the men to work, hanging some garland outside on the porch. None of them were all too happy about this, but they helped out making it a productive night.  

As usually, Maria and Ed had a nice food spread for us, lots of wine and tons of laughs!! Unfortunately, Denise was taking most of the pictures and then had to leave early so she didn't make it into the pictures :-(
Picture
Me and Maria after decorating the mantle
Picture
Ed sitting down to his mini feast
Picture
Me and Maria putting garland around her railings
Picture
Tedd and Marcelo putting together a new table for Maria
Picture
Maria's Front door with beautiful boxwood and eucalyptus swags and wreaths
The men even helped by putting up the gorgeous tree she just purchased (sorry, my phone died so I couldn't take a picture. But, I'll be sure to take lots after it is fully decorated!!

All in all, Maria seemed relieved that her house was ready for the big PTA event and I was thrilled we were all able to help get the work done.
Baking Cookies...
We are going to make this a baking day today.  Gianna is all excited with one of the recipes she found for Italian Lemon Drop Cookies.  So, we are headed over to Denise's house to bake away. 
Picture
Italian Lemon Drop Cookies (Click Link for recipe)
Perfect day for baking - sunny, cold and wintery!

I originally wanted to go get our Christmas tree and new stand, but I'll take care of that tomorrow.  I think the kids will have a more enjoyable day baking and hanging with Denise's girls.

Christmas "To Do" Day 7...
Later this evening, I'm going to start wrapping my Christmas Gifts.  This year, we are going with a purple theme featuring whimsical angels. 

While I'm sure many of you are still in the midst of Christmas shopping, I thought I would give you some food for thought about "wrapping" your gifts!

I have always loved wrapping gifts!  Whether for a birthday or for Christmas!  But, for Christmas, with the sheer number of gifts, I've made it a tradition to do something a little different each year. So, here are some ideas for making your holiday wrapping more interesting and sure to be a hit with everyone on your list!!

* Theme Your Gift Wrapping
I LOVE themes and each year, I try to select a theme that coordinates both my Christmas tree decor and color with the gift wrap. Here are some of the themes I've done:
- Peppermint Candy - I wrapped the gifts in red & white striped tissue paper and used cello wrap over each one, tying the ends with ribbon to look like peppermint candy.  For the tree, I used red and white ornaments, with red and white garland wrapping around

- Emerald City - Using all emerald green paper and big, wide Gold ribbons, It was truly magical.  My tree had only white lights with gold and emerald green ornaments.

- Old Fashioned Teddy Bears - Everything was teddy bears - found an old fashioned paper that had gingham running through it and I finished off each package with a lovely gingham ribbon with a raffia bow for a very country look!  The tree, of course had tons of teddy bears of all sizes, with gingham and raffia bows.

* Have a Wrapping Party 
Get a bunch of friends together for an evening or afternoon of gift wrapping.  Let everyone bring scissors, tape and all the trimmings they want to use to wrap their presents.  Put on some Christmas music, serve some wine and you have the makings of a fun at-home ladies' night.
Picture
Bright Tape over Craft Paper (courtesy Country Living)
* Try Something Different
No one says that store bought gift wrap is the only way to adorn your presents.  One year, I got rolls of white paper and decorated them by using decorative stamps and ink pads.  Another time, I bought craft paper and using stickers and other scrapbooking materials, I personalized each present with a special scrapbooking look.  There's so many fun things you can do!

Country Living featured some great ideas as well. Check out these 14 Creative Gift-wrapping ideas.... Click Here.

Whatever, you do, remember to have lots of fun!!

Enjoy your Sunday - see you back here to tomorrow when I'll have a special Entertainment feature about the Broadway show, Love Letters.

-E
Picture

Another Celebration!

Wow, I am definitely coming off of a very busy and productive week! 
I know I've said it a few times already before, but each day has just been so full!
Picture
And like I told you yesterday, I would give you a run down of the weekend fun in today's Daily!

So here it is...
On Friday, I had seriously ran around from 7:15am - straight through until 9pm with ZERO breaks; and then come 9pm I was still hardly finished with everything I still had to do at the house! 

After hitting a obscene amount of traffic (some of the worst I've ever seen ANYWHERE in the world)! We finally did manage to arrive at the kids performance with the International Peace Choir at the Lakewood Annual Christmas Tree Lighting.
Dominic and Cosette had a duet together to open the show and I happened to forget my camera that night (realizing it when I was only down my street, but knowing that the timing was super duper Uber tight that day - I refused to turn back)! 

So there I stood trying to make room on my phone to snap a few pics of the kids at the event.
Picture
Picture
And then yesterday...
The earlier part of the day was packed full of the kids doing 2 sets and performing at 
The Santa Ana Zoo for the "International Holidays with the Critters". 
We followed that up by a lovely lunch, and then taking Dave B. & the kiddies Christmas shopping! 
Picture
Picture
Luckily they each had a bit of success, but that came well after I was beginning to get rather frustrated by each of their lack of focus on the subject! I could tell that both Dave and Dominic were trying, but it just wasn't working - they were like Deers in headlights!
And Cosette just wanted everything she saw for herself!

We had to head home...
It was time to wrap up the shopping excursion and then head home for me to finish cooking and for us all to have our St. Nicholas christmas ornament exchange!
Picture
Mika and Chaplin Being SILLY
Dinner was delicious if I may say so myself! 
12 of us sat around the dining room table and enjoyed a hearty meal of Fusilli Bucati Lunghi (my FAVORITE dried pasta) with a vegan Bolognese, and some amazing Stuffed Mushrooms (my Great Grandmother's recipe)! Mmm - my mouth is watering just thinking about them!!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Chaplin thoroughly ENJOYING her pasta!
Picture
Then came the exchange!!
And everyone was very happy with the thoughtful ornaments that they walked away with and will soon be hanging on the Christmas Tree!

Today we Celebrate... 
Dominic's west coast birthday, which means that I will be spending most of the day in the kitchen!

He has requested Chickun & Waffles for Breakfast,
"Clam" Chowder in Bread Bowls for Lunch, and Baked Ziti (his favorite) for Dinner, and a Red Velvet Cake for dessert!

He also wants to go bowling, indoor rock climbing, and go to the movies - so I've spread these activities for him out throughout the week. 
There's just no time to do it all today unless I wasn't gonna be a part of the fun! 
I just have no time to go with all the work I have in the kitchen today. 
So we'll squeeze in Bowling for today and that's about it. The movies will be tomorrow night, after another one of the kid's performances, and then indoor rock climbing on yet another (undecided) day! Whew!
I guess staying busy keeps us young!

I hope that you have a wonderful Sunday that's filled with much love, and I'll see you back here tomorrow!

-T

Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Our Blog 

    Travel around the world
    ​and the NYC outer boroughs everyday!

    Subscribe

    * indicates required
    /* real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups */

    Intuit Mailchimp

    Categories

    All
    15-cool-facts-about-lititz
    15-cool-facts-about-maui
    15-fabulous-facts-about-kauai
    15-facts-about-boca-raton
    15-facts-about-boston
    15-facts-about-bratislava
    15 Facts About Friday The 13th
    15-facts-about-luna-park
    15-facts-about-niagara-falls
    15-facts-about-norway
    15-facts-about-prague
    15-facts-about-sea-turtles
    15factsaboutstpatrick
    15-facts-about-st-patrick
    15-facts-about-st-thomas-usvi
    15-facts-about-st-valentines-day
    15-facts-about-the-grand-tetons
    15-facts-about-yellowstone-national-park
    15-fun-facts-about-horses
    15-fun-facts-about-lancaster
    15 Fun Facts About Pancakes
    15-fun-facts-about-paris
    15-fun-facts-about-potatoes
    15 Fun Facts For April Fools Day Around The World
    15-longest-running-broadway-shows
    15 Most Interesting Facts About Las Vegas
    15-things-to-do-in-mendocino
    15-top-facts-about-doughnuts
    15-top-unsafe-cities-in-the-world-for-female-travelers
    15-valentines-day-facts
    16-cool-facts-about-breckenridge
    16factsaboutmonterey
    16-fun-facts-about-death-valley-national-park
    16-fun-facts-about-moab
    16-nutty-facts-about-pistachios
    16-of-the-most-interesting-facts-about-montreal
    16-of-the-most-interesting-facts-about-quebec
    17-mile-drive
    1st-blog-post
    2016-in-review
    40-cities-in-2015
    52-places-to-go-in-2015
    5traveljournalingtips
    Adventureland-long-island
    African-american-museum
    Afternoon-tea
    Ahwahnee-hotel
    A-la-carte-cooking-school-long-island
    Alanis Morissette
    Alaska-national-parks
    Albany
    Albuquerque
    Albuquerque-balloon-fiesta
    Algarve
    Altitude-sickness
    Andorra
    Angelas-house
    Animal-kingdom
    Antelope-canyon
    Aquarium-of-the-pacific
    Arbor-day
    Arches-national-park
    Arizona
    Arroyo Seco
    Arthur-avenue-bronx
    Auschwitz
    Austria
    A-vegan-thanksgiving
    Azores
    Balloon-festival
    Barbados
    Barcelona
    Beach-day
    Being-happy
    Belgium
    Best-ski-resorts-for-families
    Bethenny-frankel
    Bethpage-air-show
    Beverly-hills
    Beverly-hills-hotel
    Big-apple-circus
    Big-sur
    Bike-nyc
    Bike-the-bay
    Biking
    Bilbao
    Birthdays
    Black-history-month
    Blog-anniversary
    Boston
    Boticas
    Bratislava
    Breckenridge
    Bridges-around-the-world
    Brontosaurus-roadside-attraction
    Brugge
    Bryce-canyon-np
    Budapest
    Butterfly-wonderland
    CA
    Canada
    Canoe-races
    Car-free-townsvillages
    Caribbean
    Carlsbad-caverns-np
    Carnac
    Catalina-island
    Chamonix
    Chateau-marmont
    Chaves
    Cheap-airfare
    Cherry-crest-adventure-farm
    Chicago
    Chicago-cubs
    China-cruises
    Chinese-new-year
    Christmas-in-florida
    Christmas-prep
    Christmas-time-in-nyc
    Christmastime-in-san-diego
    Christmasy-fun-things-to-do
    Christopher-byrne
    Cincinnati
    Cinnaholic
    Clearwater
    Co
    Colorado
    Colorado-bbs
    Colorado-state-capitol
    Community-service
    Coney-island
    Cortinadampezzo
    Cortina-dampezzo
    Cotswolds
    Crater-lake
    Crestline
    Croatia
    Crossroads-kitchen
    Cruises
    Cyber-monday-sales
    Cycling
    Death-valley
    Denver
    Dinosaur-ridge
    Disneyland
    Disney-world
    Disney-world-attractions
    Dog-sledding
    Dutch-wonderland
    Earth-day
    Easter
    Eastern-europe
    Eastern-europe-rail-trip
    Eclipse-2017
    Edinburgh
    Eiffel-tower
    Elisas-2014-christmas-card
    El-matador-state-beach
    England
    Eventsfestivals
    Expo-west
    Facts-about-halloween
    Facts-and-festivals-all-about-beer
    Fall-festivals
    Fao-schwarz
    Fire-cracker-ride
    Fis-alpine-world-ski-competition
    Fis-snowboard-world-cup
    Fitness-challenge
    Fl
    Flowers
    Foodiefriday
    Foodie-friday
    Fort-bragg
    Four-corners
    Fourth-of-july-celebrations
    France
    Friends-or-soul-mates
    Fun-stuff-to-do
    Galway
    Game-capture-adventure-in-the-s-african-bush-part-1
    Geneva
    Gladiator-rock-n-run
    Going-to-the-azores
    Goleta-butterfly-grove
    Grand-canyon
    Grand-cayman
    Grand-tetons-national-park
    Granfondo
    Great-salt-lake
    Great-views
    Groundhog-day
    Guadix
    Guest-blogger-jason-biondo
    Guest-blogger-kaye-perron
    Guest-blogger-oscar-waterworth
    Hallockvillemuseumfarm
    Halloween
    Harry-potter
    Hawaii
    Hawaii-national-parks
    Hempstead
    High-roller
    Hiking
    Holy-door
    Honduras
    Horses
    Horse-shoe-bend
    Hot-air-balloon-ride
    Hotel-travel-tips
    Hsi-lai-temple
    Huntington-gardens
    Iceland
    Idaho-falls
    Inca-trail
    Innsbruck
    Inspiration
    International-snow-sculpture-championships
    Ireland
    Irvine-global-festival
    Italy
    Jersey-boys-the-movie
    Jones-beach-holiday-light-spectacular
    Jones-beach-ny
    Joshua-tree-national-park
    Julius-sturgis-pretzel-factory
    Kakawa-chocolate-house
    Kalalau-trail
    Katy-perry
    Kauai
    Keystone-ski-resort
    Killarney
    Kings-canyon-sequioa-national-park
    Kings Of Leon
    Kirkwood
    Kitzbuhel
    Krakow
    Labor-day-weekend
    La-fair
    Lake-dillon
    Lake-tahoe
    Lancaster-county
    Las-vegas
    Lipsense
    Little-italy-bronx
    Little-italy-festa
    Locks-of-love
    London
    Long-beach-marathon
    Long-flight-tips
    Long-island
    Long-island-museums
    Loretto-chapel
    Los-angeles
    Los-angeles-county-fair
    Love-letters-broadway
    Love-or-fear
    Luau
    Luna-park
    Luxembourg
    Macaron-crawl-nyc
    Macaron-crawl-vlogs
    Macys-thanksgiving-day-parade
    Makeawish-foundation
    Making-a-difference
    Manzanar
    Maritime-museum
    Maritime-museum-of-san-diego
    Maui
    Memorial-day-wkd
    Mendocino
    Mendocino-ca
    Mesquite
    Michele-16-lemon-drop-cookies
    Michele-16-you-tube
    Midway
    Milwaukee
    Mlb
    Mlb-all-star-game
    MLB Spring Training
    Moab
    Moby
    Mono Lake
    Monterey
    Montmorency-falls
    Montreal
    Mont-st-michel
    Monttremblant
    Monument-valley
    Morro Rock
    Mothers-day
    Mountain Biking
    Mount-rainier-national-park
    Multnomah-falls
    Museum-of-the-city-of-new-york
    Muzeo
    National-balloon-festival
    National-empanada-day
    National-ice-cream-sunday
    National-parks-grand-tetons
    National-parks-week
    National-pretzel-day
    Neon-museum
    New Hampshire
    New-jersey-state-capital
    New-mexico
    Newport-beach-boat-parade
    Niagara-falls
    Nv
    Nv-to-anaheim
    Ny
    Nyc
    Nyc-columbus-day-parade
    Nyc-food-wine-festival
    Oahu
    Oakland
    Ojai
    Oldest-grocery-store-in-north-america
    Olympic-national-park
    Olympic-training-park
    Once-upon-a-time
    One-republic
    One-world-observatory
    Online-card-retailers
    Oregon
    Oregon-state-capitol
    Oslo
    Outer-hebrides
    Pa
    Packing
    Paris
    Park City
    Pasadena-rose-parade
    Pasadena-rose-parade
    Passports
    Patriot-day
    Philly
    Piazza-novona
    Pittsburgh
    Plunge-at-ganesvoort-meatpacking-nyc
    Poland
    Portland
    Portugal
    Prague
    Presidents-day-facts
    Puerto-rico
    Pumpkins
    Quebec-city
    Quebec-winter-carnaval
    Queens
    Quogue-wildlife-refuge
    Radio-city-christmas-spectacular
    Ramblewild
    Raynham-hall-museum
    Recap-of-2015
    Red-bull-air-races
    Reno
    Ring-of-kerry
    Rise-of-the-jackolanterns
    Road-trip
    Road-trip-reno
    Robert Plant
    Rock-center-cafe
    Rock-climbing
    Rocky-mountain-national-park
    Romance
    Rome
    Ronalds-donuts
    Roosevelt-field
    Route-66
    Rustic-wedding
    Sacred-sites
    Sad-sam-and-honey
    Saguaro-national-park
    Saint-malo
    Saks-fifth-avenue-holiday-window-display
    Salt-lake-city
    San Diego
    San Francisco
    San-marino
    Santa-barbara
    Santa-fe
    Sao-miguel
    Sapelos
    Scotland
    Scottsdale
    Sea-otter-classic
    Sea-otter-classic
    Sedona
    Seven-magic-mountains
    Seville
    Shark-attacks
    Silly-stuff
    Sixth-street-bridge
    Skellig-michael
    Skiing
    Skiing-on-a-budget
    Ski-resorts
    Small-business-saturday
    Snugharborinn
    Solvang
    Spain
    Stanford-inn
    St-augustine
    Staying-fit-while-traveling-is-easy
    St-kitts
    St-lucia
    St-maartenst-martin
    St-moritz
    St-moritz1c7c0e8bc8
    St-nicholas-day
    Stonehenge
    St-patricks-cathedral
    St-patricks-day
    St-thomas
    St-thomasc3d62a8e96
    Surprises
    Switzerland
    Tanyas-photo-shoots
    Taos
    Tbt
    Tbt-october
    Terceira
    The-audience
    The-butchers-son
    The-cyclone
    The-oscars
    The-press-at-ink-48
    Things-to-do-in-nyc
    Things-to-do-on-valentines-day
    Thomas-edison-memorial-tower
    Throwback-thursday
    Tiny-prints
    Top-15-facts-about-barbados
    Top-15-facts-about-puerto-rico
    Top-15-facts-about-san-diego
    Top-15-facts-about-st-kitts
    Top-15-facts-about-st-lucia
    Top-15-facts-about-st-martin
    Top-15-fun-facts-about-oregon
    Top-15-fun-facts-about-san-diego
    Top15placestovisitinireland
    Top-15-tips-for-disney-world-travel
    Top-6-activities-in-maui
    Toronto
    Traveling-with-kids
    Travelin-traditions
    Travelin-tuesday
    Travis-barker
    Trekking
    Tucson
    Turkey-hill-experience
    Turtle-bay
    Unesco
    Universal-studios
    Us-open
    Uss-iowa
    Ut
    Utah
    Vail
    Val-disere
    Vanderbilt-museum-long-island
    Vegan
    Vegan-airline-food
    Vegan Bakeries
    Vegan-beer-food-festival
    Vegan-festival
    Vegan-food-tour
    Vegan-food-tour
    Veganism
    Vegan Luau
    Vegan Road Trip
    Vegan-street-fest
    Vegan Treats
    Vegan-trip-planning
    Venice
    Veterans-day
    Vienna
    Voodoo-doughnuts
    W2gw
    W2gw-april
    W2gw-aprild35aa9cb07
    W2gw-august
    W2gw-december
    W2gw-january
    W2gw-july
    W2gw-june
    W2gw-november
    W2gw-november85b7ba28ba
    W2gw-october
    W2gw-september
    WCOPA
    Weddings
    Wengen
    West-coast-trail
    Where-to-go-wednesdays
    Where-to-go-wednesdays-june
    Where-to-go-wednesdays-september
    White-sands-national-monument
    Wild-horses
    Winnie-the-pooh
    Wondercon
    World-best-shopping-cities
    Worst-tour-companies
    Wynn
    Yellowstone-national-park
    York
    Yosemite-national-park
    Zermatt

    Archives

    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014

    Blog Directory & Business Pages - OnToplist.com
The Scoop Blog
Travel Adventure Articles
Travelin' the NYC Outer Boroughs with Elisa
Walt Disney World Wednesdays
Travel Resource Guide
Vegan Dining Guide

                                                      
Fun Fact and Travel Trivia Articles
Elisa and Tanya's Favorites
Travel Tips - Know Before You Go
​
About
​Contact Us 
​Media Kit 
​
All of the photos on Travelin Cousins are taken by the Travelin’ Cousins Photographers unless otherwise noted. If you wish to use any content from Travelin Cousins please credit and link to the source or request permission by email.
(c) Travelin' Cousins 2020 -2024 All Rights Reserved