Headband Story and a Giveaway

While I continue to recover from this past week-end, I will entertain you with a short story about a headband.  And then give you a chance to win your very own.  Because I am awesome.  And Mindy is awesomer.  (That’s a word.)

What am I recovering from?  The following photo may help you understand…

Oh, family. 

Don’t you just love my headband?  Yeah, me too.  Here’s the story…

A couple of weeks ago I received a package in the mail.  I had won a giveaway from Mindy's Etsy shop!  Mindy was one of the very first loyal readers of Décor and the Dog.  She’s obviously very trendy.  I was very excited to receive one of her creations!

I opened my package.

Nate:  “What’s that?” (Asked all nosey husband-like.)

Michelle:  “I won a giveaway.  It’s a headband.”

Nate:  “How do you keep winning crap?  And you aren’t really a headband type of girl.

Michelle:  “I don’t know how I keep winning..  And I win good stuff.  Not crap.  And I’m a headband type of girl now.  Look how cute it is.”

I am kind of in love with this thing.

Would you like to win a darling headband of your very own?  And how about a necklace?  Mindy is offering up a "Michelle" necklace and headband set to one lucky reader!

The "Michelle" headband comes in navy blue chiffon and is backed with felt in a coordinating color. The flower measures about 2 inches in diameter and the center is studded with an ornate jewel. The bloom sits on a thin sleek plastic band. The Michelle headband can be worn with a casual tank and jeans or can be dressy enough for a bridesmaid. Michelle is very versatile.  (Of course she is.)

The "Michelle" necklace can be worn with everything! The navy chiffon flowers are feminine and dainty. They sit on a shiny link chain to add a bit of toughness. The blooms are backed with felt in a charcoal grey. Each flower measures about 2 inches in diameter and the center is studded with an ornate jewel. The “Michelle” necklace can be worn with a casual tank and jeans or can be dressy enough for a bridesmaid.

Only one of you can win but all Decor And The Dog readers can enjoy 15% off of all purchases by using offer code "IKE15".  (That code name melts my heart.  This is one of the many reasons that Mindy and I are blog buddies.)

• PRIZE: One "Michelle" necklace and headband set
• TO ENTER (required):  Visit the Finding Silver Linings Boutique and tell me your favorite item.  If you have some extra time you can also tell me about your favorite gift that you gave and/or received.  Your comments keep me entertained at work.  (Oops.)
• GIVEAWAY CLOSES: December 31st at 11:59 PM CST (Get your entry into before the end of 2011!)
• NUMBER OF WINNERS: One
• OTHER STUFF: The winner will be selected using random.org and announced on January 1st (Happy New Year!).  Check back to see if you are the lucky winner!

Pajamas

Ike and I are having a hard time getting out of bed this morning.  Christmas was too much fun.

I have to be a productive member of society today.  Ike, on the other hand, has decided to stay in his pajamas all day….

Lucky!

The blog may be a little quiet this week.  I spent the past 6 days away from home and I am now buried in laundry and gifts.  I’ll hopefully put together a few giveaway posts to get us through to the new year!  Deal?  Deal.

Anyone else out there struggling with the post-holiday sleepiness? Did you receive Christmas jammies more awesome than Ike’s?  I didn’t think so…

Happy Holidays!

from Shutterfly There are so many fun things to share on this blog in December that I almost forgot to share this year's Christmas card!  It's definitely hard to get a decent picture of the three of us but I'll take this one. I love how annoyed Ike looks! Hope you enjoyed your Christmas!

Ike Loves Christmas

Does your dog have a favorite holiday?
 
Christmas is at the top of Ike’s list.

What makes Ike so happy at Christmas?  Is it the presents?



Nope.  Guess not.

What about the tasty treats?



Maybe…but he’s not supposed to have people food.

How about the Christmas lights?  Everyone loves Christmas lights?

 



Guess not!  (No worries! We quickly unplugged the lights when he decided he was done being our model.)

So what is Ike’s favorite thing about Christmas?  Spending lots of time with Nate and I, our families (and his dog cousins), and our friends.  What a sweet boy!



Happy holidays from Décor and the Dog!  We hope you enjoy it all…the presents, the treats, the lights…and most importantly, the time with your loved ones!  Merry Christmas!

Favorite Christmas Treats

If you’ve been reading long enough, you know that I’m generally only allowed in the kitchen to clean. Cooking is bad news. 

I am, however, a pretty decent baker. **Pats self on back.**

Today I would like to share with you four of my favorite holiday treats.  I’m doing this for two purposes…1. You will love them all.  2. I will know where to easily find these four recipes next year.

Let the Sugar Only diet begin!!

Chocolate Cookie Bark (via Kraft foods)

• 2 Tbsp. PLANTERS Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1 pkg.  (6 squares) BAKER'S White Chocolate, melted
• 10 OREO Cookies, coarsely crushed, divided
• 1 pkg.  (8 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

ADD peanut butter to white chocolate; mix well. Stir half the crushed cookies into each bowl of melted chocolate.   DROP spoonfuls of the chocolate mixtures onto waxed paper-covered baking sheet, alternating colors of chocolates. Swirl with knife. REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Break into pieces. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Chocolate Candy Cane Blossum Cookies (via Zupas)

• 1/2 c butter
• 1/2 c shortening
• 1 c sugar
• 3/4 c cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 2 tbs milk
• 1 tsp pure peppermint extract
• 1 1/2 c flour
• 1 package hershey’s candy cane kisses

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine butter and shortening and stir for 30 seconds.  Add sugar, cocoa powder, and baking powder and mix well. Add egg, milk, and peppermint extract. Add flour a little bit at a time. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour covered. Form the dough into 1 inch small balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Immediately after taking out of the oven, press in a candy cane kiss, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Chocolate-mint Truffle Cookies

• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. peppermint extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup baking cocoa
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 pkg (4.6oz) mint Andes candies, chopped, divided
• 2 tsp. shortening, diveded
• 1/2 cup vanilla or white chips

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter and 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Remove from the heat. Stir until smooth.  Cool slightly.  Stir in the eggs, sugars, and extracts.  Combine the flour, cocoa, baking power, and salt. Stir into chocolate mixture.  Fold in 3/4 cup Andes candies.  Roll rounded tsp of dough into balls.  Place 2 in apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until tops appear slightly dry.  Cool for 1 min before removing to wire racks to cool completely.  In microwave, melt 1 tsp. shortening and remaining chocolate chips. Stir until smooth.  Melt vanilla chips and remaining shortening.  Stir until smooth.  Dip half of the cookies in the melted chocolate mixture, dip remaining cookies in melted vanilla mixture.  Immediately sprinkle with toppings of your choice.  Let stand until set.

Best Sugar Cookies You Will Ever Eat.  Seriously.

• 1 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flout
• 2 tsp. baking poswer
• 1 tsp. salt

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Cover.  Chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).  Preheat over to 400.  Roll out dough on lightly floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter.  Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 6-8 minutes in preheated over.  Cool completely.

Best Frosting for Best Sugar Cookies

Combine:

• 2 Tbsp butter (softened)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ~1 Tbsp milk (more or less)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

What’s your favorite holiday treat?  Share a link if you have one!

My Colortopia

Do you struggle with picking out paint colors?  Do the terms flat, semi-gloss, and eggshell make you all nervous and confused?  Do you have a beautiful rug that want to match and coordinate colors to but you're not sure where to start?

The newly launched site, My Colortopia, is ready to save the day!

  

Click here to head to my ad free blog to learn more about the site and be one of the first to take the "My Life, My Colors" quiz that will help you discover colors that suit your personality and lifestyle.

Let me know what you think of the quiz and what colors represent you! 

Keeping Up with the Griswolds

Is your house on fire, Décor and the Dog?
No, dear readers, those are Christmas lights!

The LEDs are blinding.  I’m pretty sure you can see our house from space.  True story.  If you are flying over the Quad Cities this holiday week-end (space ship or regular ol’ jet plane), let me know.

Do you decorate the outside of your home?  Is there such a thing as too many lights? I’m trying to talk Nate into setting them to music next year.  A bit much?  Nah.

Cutting Edge Stencil Winner

The winner of the Cutting Edge Stencil giveaway is…

Congrats, Martina!  Please share your stencil project when it’s complete!!

Night Lights

Today I thought I’d share with you our house at night.  I really don’t think I am going to be ready to take down our trees and lights in 2 weeks.  I like how cozy the house feels with them on.  Maybe I’ll just keep them up so I’ll be prepared for next Christmas. I’m always thinking!

We’ll start in the dining room…

Nate was trying out bokeh.  Fancy.   I think bokeh is fun to say.  I just learned it this week-end.  I think Nate is regretting teaching it to me.  Bokeh!

I love the ambiance in our kitchen.  Ambiance is also fun to say…but not as fun as bokeh!

And now for the living room and stairs….

I bet our families are happy to finally see some presents under the tree. I should be wrapping more instead of writing this post…but there is plenty of time for that later.  Right? Right.

Here’s one of the gift that keeps giving…

This gift was angry because we were withholding dog bones from him.

Hope you enjoyed your night tour of our house in it’s holiday clothes!

Are you done shopping? Wrapping?  Who’s with me on leaving the tree up all year?

***I’m also guest posting over at The Blooming Hydrangea today.  Ange asked some random questions. I answered.  Stop by and say “hi”!  Be sure to check out all of Ange’s fun projects!!***

All About Ike

I now know that about 92.8% of your read this blog for this guy…

I can’t blame you!  Look at that face.

Here are the answers to all of the questions Ike related….

Have you always had pets, or is Ike your first love?  I have always had pets.  I grew up on a farm.  Nate had a few dogs during his childhood years.  My two favorite childhood pets were my duck (Roger) and my cat (Ralph).  Roger won Best Pet at the 4-H fair one year.  She was a great duck (Yes, Roger was a she.  It’s hard to tell the sex of a baby duck.)  Ralph was my other pet love.  He passed when I was in college at the age of 17. He’s was the funniest cat.  So much personality. Can you believe I was once a cat person?

Does Ike play well with others or is he a loner?  He loves to play with other dogs…if they are smaller than him.  He likes to beat other dogs up.  He doesn’t like to be beaten up.  (Smart dog.)  He actually plays really well with most dogs.  He is getting older and tends to get grouchy when he’s tired.

Did you do a lot of research on the type of dog you wanted before you got Ike?  Yes.  I think it is very important to research the breed of dog you plan to bring into your home.  We knew we wanted a smaller dog..but not too small.  We wanted the dog to be big enough to accompany us on walks/hikes.  We also wanted a dog that didn’t shed.  We knew that Wire Fox Terriers were high energy dogs.  This energy makes them a challenge and you have to make sure to keep them constantly entertained.

You always talk about how awesome Ike is, but what about the naughty things he does. I know my two pups get into all kinds of trouble, from getting into the trash to running off after a squirrel.  Ike is definitely naughty.  Our friends and family reading this are probably nodding their heads.  He was a super naughty puppy. He was always into things, chewing on this, etc.  We just thought that was a normal puppy but looking back, I’m not so sure.  He entertains himself better now but still will get into things if he’s not supervised.  He likes to steal food from children.  He likes to bang his food dish against the wall….even when there’s food in it.  I think he does this just to irritate Nate.

My kids want to know what Ike's favorite treat is. They love pictures of Ike! :-)  Ike loves treats.  He will do anything for treats.  He’s not really picky.  We buy him Milk Bones because they are reasonably priced.  Treats are the key to all of those cute Ike pictures!

What is your absolute favorite thing about having a terrier? Don't they just have so much personality?!  Our favorite thing about Ike (and most terriers) is his energy and excitement for life.  Every second is the best second of his life.  He definitely reminds us to focus on the now!

Do you have to get Ike groomed? How often?  Ike does need to be groomed.  He usually goes every couple of months.  We took him a couple of weeks ago.  We didn’t have him cut as short because we thought he might be cold.  But as you can, it looks like he is going to need another trim soon!

How old is Ike and is he ever going to get a brother or sister? (fur or human!)  Ike will be 5 in February.  They grow up so fast.  *Tear*  And no plans for another fur sibling.  A human sibling is still questionable!

There you have it.  All of your Ike questions answered!

Tomorrow I’ll share some night photos of our house!

***Don’t forget about the stencil giveaway from Cutting Edge stencils. Enter here!***