Month: December 2011

a touch of Christmas sadness…

Published on by Mae @ Rainydayinmay5 Comments
i’m watching the Bishop’s Wife while catching up on some things computer related… Is it wrong that I want Cary Grant to win and I think her husband is a putz? Probably… Oh well. I don’t care. Cary Grant will ALWAYS win, in my book… 
Have I ever told you that for my golden birthday (28th) my husband threw me a 1950’s style Cary Grant dinner party? It was AMAZING! Truly incredible… One of the best nights of my life, for sure… 
My husband… He is quite the man. As sick as I have been, in the past 5 months, he really has been amazing to pick up the slack with pretty much NO HELP. He works tirelessly for a company that claims to notice, but doesn’t seem to. He gives and gives and gives and truly remains the nicest and most giving guy. 
My point is pretty much that my husband is my Christmas wish. That something good happens for him. Something really, really good. He deserves it. the last 4 years have been SO HARD on him and I see how much they’ve taken their toll on him. These days he is tired and my heart just breaks for him. It feels like nothing happens easily for him (especially where work is concerned- and as far as work goes- he’s been moved into the position of work consuming 95% of his energy/time) and I see him getting more and more ready to just give up a bit. I hate the thought of him being in the position…
in a lot of ways the Bishop’s Wife is making me think of that. Unlike her putz of a husband though, Chw is my leading man. Even if the angel of Cary Grant rang my door bell tomorrow- Chw is the one for me. I would express my heart for my husband though, and continue wishing that the corner to turn, is in site soon… 
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by the chimney with care…

Published on by Mae @ Rainydayinmay3 Comments
So yeah, that’s a lie. 
No chimney. 
No fireplace at all, actually, much to my serious dismay… 
We had an amazing stone fireplace/mantel when we lived in New York and then again, a beautiful marble fireplace and wooden mantel when we lived in Michigan. 
Here in Idaho- we get zilch along the “stockings to hang” scheme of things… 
Anyway, I don’t spend a lot of money on Christmas decor. I find a piece that I really love and I’ll add it to our “collection” (which is small.) This ICE (glass) valance and the advent calendar are my two FAVORITE things… {i love that star too. I do have a bitter one that hangs on the wall at Christmas time as well.} 

And, not that I’m bitter or anything, but those of us who are mantel-less have to be creative and just pretend anyway… 

And, even though the Army has him stuck in Germany, Lucas’ stocking is hung by the- er, classic literature with care… 
And lastly, more ever green garland, (which smells AMAZING, since we do an artificial tree) and snow flakes over our dining table… 

Post note… i love dangling, glittery snow flakes. Just thought you should know that. :) 
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Oh Christmas Tree…

Published on by Mae @ Rainydayinmay6 Comments
If you’ve been reading Rainy Day in May long, you know that I love to throw parties… i especially love Christmas parties. When one isn’t a practical solution, I at least opt for a good 1960’s style cocktail/dinner party. This year though, with all of the sickness and some family issues- Chez’ Wagner remains holiday party-less. 
Le Sad… 
The reality of this fully hit me when I realized that we would be decorating for essentially ourselves. Depressing, no? 
I mean, what’s the point? 
Which is sad, and shows where my priorities are when it comes to such things… 
So anyway, silly vanities and insecurities aside I decided to take the lemons of this particular holiday season and squeeze them into a nice rich glass of egg nog. In other words, as I blogger- i decided i’d share our decor {which plays out more on the minimal side of the spectrum} with you…
After my youngest grew out of the need for familiar ornaments upon the tree, we started getting a bit creative with how we adorn ours. Last year, at her request, we went a little crazy and bought a white artificial tree which we donned with pink and grey lovelies. This year we decided to make a black and white tree based on our year. We wrapped it in shimmering glass garlands, used black, white, grey and silver ornaments as a “back drop” for our focus ornaments- which were clear glass balls that we placed black and white photos of special 2011 moments… 

Over all, we’re pretty happy with how it turned out… 
My inner interior designer is super OCD and I have to make sure that the gifts beneath the tree match our tree so all of our papers, this year are black and white, or red. 
Besides our tree, there are only a few more things we adorn. I’ll post them tomorrow… 
Thanks for letting me share… :) 
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Winter’s Tail…

Published on by Mae @ Rainydayinmay22 Comments
If you aren’t familiar with the film Dolphin Tale, it is a beautifully crafted movie specifically about a young dolphin named Winter, whose tail is compromised in a freak accident and has to be removed. Throughout the journey, and against odds, Winter is given a prosthetic tail thus greatly increasing her quality of life and her odds of survival. 
Not so specifically it is a story about attachment. It is a story about bonds. It is a story about love, and life, and will. It is not about inspiration- everything about it is simply inspiring… 
So, are you with me now about how completely awesome this movie is? 
Great, because here’s the thing- the DVD is being released on the 21st and I’ve been asked to host a giveaway! You could win your own copy, and when I say I am jealous of this- i mean I am WAY jealous… 
So, to enter, just leave a comment with a way to link back to you… The giveaway deadline is December 21st at 12:01 a.m. 
Then, in the meantime, to get a Winter fix that will warm your heart, you can watch her lovely live webcam… 
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Cookies…

Published on by Mae @ Rainydayinmay7 Comments
So, maybe I had a half a dozen, or so, people disappointed to learn that I’m not technically a food blogger when they became acquainted with me through the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. I’m sorry if that’s you… I heard about the swap, initially, on another (non-food) blog and my youngest daughter Genny emphatically felt that we should take on this challenge together. 
Did you read that last word??? 
TOGETHER… 
I am not a big fan of baking. I LOVE to cook, and I hear I do it well. I especially love to have people over and cook for them. Baking though, I don’t know. I can make some beautiful coffee cakes and about 45 different (and equally perfect) cheesecakes. My baking confidence ends there though… i get nervous, and impatient. 
Two things though, about this swap, intrigued me. 
1} spending torturous time in the kitchen, baking a batch of cookies and ending up with three different kinds. 
2} doing it with Gen. 
It was not until after I received my first update email, from the swap, that it even dawned on me that it was a food blogger swap. 
if there is anyway i can clause in as an honorary food blogger for the sheer reason that I subscribe to more food blogs than any other type- that would be swell. 
Moving on… 
Due to many unforeseeable events- our cookie making morning was not only pushed off until the last possible minute- BUT it also became MY cookie making morning. Genny was sick. I became depressed. It was all ugly and sad, but I survived and have lived to tell the tale- complete with photos and the recipe. 
Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies… 
  • 1/2 cup, plus 6 T. unsalted butter, softened. 
  • 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
  • 1 t. baking soda
  • 1/2 t. salt 
  • 3 cups old fashioned oats
  • 1/2 c. chopped chocolate or chocolate chips
  • 1/2 c. white chocolate peppermint morsels
  • 1/4 c. chopped candy canes
Heat the oven to 350. 
in a large bowl/mixer, cream butter and sugars. 
Add eggs, one at a time, beating each until blended. 
Mix in Vanilla.
  
 Gently wisk dry ingredients (except oats and mix ins) together in a seperate bowl and then add to creamed mixture.
{this is when i checked on her and she was pasty, grey and deeply sad that she- who loves to bake- was in bed reading while I slaved away over tasty cookie dough in the kitchen. Life truly is not fair.} 
 Stir in the oats. 
 When the dough is well blended, add in the chocolate and candy pieces. 
Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls on to ungreased cookie sheets. 
Bake 8-10 minutes, or until golden. 
 While they baked and cooled, I made up little Christmas cards to accompany the cookies. 
 Ta da! Not so bad… Actually, this recipe is one of our family’s FAVORITE Christmas cookies. I am not sure how fresh they stayed, or how well they shipped, but we love them here at home… 

Also thought i’d share with you the blogs of the three amazing bakers who sent us DELICIOUS cookies! Kathy Can Cook, Girls Can Tell and My Fiance Likes it…… 
And the three bloggers who I sent to… CakeFYI, Urban Sacred Garden, and Azucar Means Sugar. {and yes, all things considered- I really was intimidated and sure my humble little cookies were far inferior to anything they make!}

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