How to decorate a Christmas tree

It's not even December yet and I've already decorated FOUR Christmas trees this year. I did my own tree last, so the first three were pretty much just practice. I think at this point I am a qualified expert on Christmas Tree Decorating. I might even make myself a Certificate. And yes, I do have that much time on my hands.

OK, step one is Get Prepared! You are going to need a snack and a beverage handy. I decided on popcorn and a Kahlua milkshake. You will also need music. I decided on Drake. Most importantly you need a tree and decorations. If you don't have those, hit the dollar store for decorations and the forest for your tree.

Then, get your tree all set up and test the lights. Everything's working? Great, You were born for this! Now we are ready to decorate! Time for some swag!

Step 3. You're going to want to start with some kind of garland or maybe ribbon. If you've collected any Mardis Gras beads this year, that's great, because you're going to need them! You'll want to string the beads about a foot apart around the tree. I am not too careful with this step as the ornaments will disguise any sloppiness.

If your tree is thin in parts like mine is, you can stuff it with tulle or sneak some ribbon in there. If you like the Charlie Brown look, you can leave it bare.

Wait did I mention you need a helper? If you can't enlist a human friend, your fur friend will suffice.

Step 5 - Spread your ornaments everywhere so you can see what you're working with. You should start with your largest decorations. Space them evenly around the tree. Next, put up any special or unique decorations. From there I start with matching sets and spread them around the tree. 

Uh oh, you broke something? Just pretend it's part of the tradition and yell OPPA! If you borrowed your ornaments from your Mom, remember to tell her The Cat Did It. Also remember to buy her a really good Christmas present.

How's it looking so far? Still have lots of decorations left but think your tree looks great? You are wrong. Keep going. No decoration shall be left in the box. Your tree should look like Christmas threw up all over it. 

If you're having trouble finding spots to hang stuff, remember you can go in deep! Adding decorations towards the centre of the tree just adds depth! 

Are you covered in sparkles yet? No? Then keep going! Yes? Ok, good news. You're almost done.  If you haven't put up your star yet, go for it!

Put down a tree skirt... What? You don't have one? *Face Palm* Put down a blanket or a towel and cover it in sparkles so it looks fancy! Ta-da! Congratulations, your tree is complete. Now it's time for the big reveal. Plug your tree in and turn the lights off and revel in the glory that is Christmas!

Homemade Potato Skins

Cheese, bacon, potato. What's not to love? Throw some green onions and a dollop of sour cream and you've got yourself a well rounded meal. Forget about the calories and just eat yourself happy!

I decided to make a double batch of potato skins because I had two dinner parties last weekend. Let me tell you, they got scarfed down in rapid succession. If I concentrate really hard I can still taste the cheesy bacony goodness.

I really don't even think this requires a recipe.. But here's a willy nilly instruction set...

Bake some russet potatoes and let them cool. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the middles, leaving about a 1/4 inch of potato. If you like them skinnier, scrape out more potato. Keep the skins in the fridge until you are ready to use them. If you want to make them ahead, pop them in the freezer in ziplock bags.

Preheat your oven to 400. Line a pan with tinfoil. Place the potatoes upside down, so that the skins are face up. Brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Bake for about ten minutes until they are quite firm.

Take them out and flip them akin side down and sprinkle your favourite cheese in each one. Don't be skimpy, there is no such thing as too much cheese! FYI: I used a tex mex mix. Next sprinkle them with bacon. It's obviously best if you fry the bacon and crumble it up, but pre-made bacon bits will do the trick.

Put it all back in the oven for ten minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Sprinkle them with chopped green onions and serve with sour cream or greek yogurt!

Shelly's Shepherds Pie

This is the very first shepherds pie I've ever made... which isn't that surprising because I've only liked shepherds pie for about a year! I used to hate my food touching, so shepherds pie was my worst nightmare. To this day, this food-touching anxiety creeps up on me and I have to talk myself down from the ledge and remind myself that it's my a big deal.

So the shepherds pie idea came to me out of pure necessity. I made potato skins last week and had a huge bowl of mashed potatoes to use up! Someone suggested shepherds pie, to which I gave them my yuck face. However, the idea grew on me, so I conducted some google research and decided to give it a try. Here's what it's all about...

Shelly's Shepherds Pie (Recipe adapted from Simplyrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
2 tbsps butter
1 white onion chopped
1 head of garlic minced (what? I like a lot of garlic!)
1 lb ground chicken (or more if you want it really meaty)
2 pkgs beef bouillon
1/ cup water
2 tablespoons Worcestershire (what a dumb word)
3 cups frozen mixed veg (peas, carrots, corn)
Salt and pepper
Mashed potatoes (I whipped mine with sour cream, then salt and peppered them)


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400•. Sautée onion and garlic until translucent, then add in chicken and cook until no longer pink. Add in Worcestershire and bouillon and season to taste. Then throw your vegetables in and let them cook for a couple of minutes. Throw the meat mixture jnto a 9 x 11 glass baking dish. Next is the in part, spread the mash potatoes over the meat and smooth it out or make it swirly, whatever you want. Bake it for 30 minutes. You can broil it at the very end if you're looking for a crispier top. Enjoy! Here's some pics...

Project New Bathroom Faucets

I've been living with my cruddy bathroom faucets for far too long. Now that my counter tops are pretty I figured it was time to get new taps. I scoured the interweb and found some reasonable priced ($50 a piece) easy-to-install ones from Home Depot. I've been careful to never do anything with plumbing so I was pretty nervous. I asked around for some advice, watched some YouTube Tutorials and then I studied the instructions for an hour. I felt well prepared to install this new faucet.

I opened up the bathroom cupboard and tentatively turn the water shut off valves off. There's a million terrible scenarios running through my head but turns out they are unwarranted/ the water shuts off with no scary business. Phewf.

Next I try to unscrew the plastic washers that hold the old faucet on. I can't budge either one of them. At no point in my imaginings did i think that taking Off the old faucet would be harder than putting in a new one. I try and try and then hurt my shoulder and give up. I decide (for lack of options) to wait until Nick comes over for the weekend.

I spend the next three days gazing longingly at my new chrome faucets sitting in their boxes. I tell them their time is coming soon, but they don't seem convinced.

Saturday afternoon, Nick arrives at Chalet Shelly. I point to the taps and ask him to have at 'er. In hindsight, I should've made him read the instructions. I also should've taken inventory on tools. Nick spends the next hour cursing. We dismantle the entire faucet head unnecessarily. At some point I go next door and ask Wendy if I can borrow some wrenches, which she so kindly lends me. (Note to Santa, I don't have any good wrenches or needle nose pliers!) Armed with the appropriate tools, swearing decreases immensely and progress increases rapidly. Win-win! Nick gets kind of soaked which is kind of funny, but other than that it all goes smoothly.

The next morning we work on the second bathroom which is almost a breeze and viola! my bathroom faucets are in and working and beautiful and I'm happy! Nick, on the other hand, is sore from being crammed under the counters for so long and claims he is going to have nightmares. But don't feel too bad for him, I made him a delicious grilled cheese sandwich for lunch!

Okay here's some before and afters. Try to contain your excitement, will ya?

 

Cranberry Banana Oat Muffins

A freezer full of bananas and a bag of frozen cranberries lead me to this delicious recipe. They are super moist and packed with flavor. I ate them as a snack at work and didn't feel bad because there isn't really much sugar or fat in them. This recipe made about 24 small muffins. Give 'em a try, why don't ya?

Cranberry Banana Oat Muffins (Recipe adapted from food.com)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup oats

2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1 3/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (5-6 bananas)
1/3 cup butter or 1/3 cup margarine, melted

Zest of one orange or lemon
1 cup cranberries

Combine the first seven ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Beat together egg, mashed bananas and melted butter or margarine until smooth. Add to dry ingredients. Stir to blend. Stir in cranberries just until combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan, filling almost to the top. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched.

Project Countertop Resurfacing

I've spent a lot of time and energy hating my blue laminate bathroom countertops over the last few years. I wanted to replace them with granite, but it's way out of my price reach.

Recently, I came across a local company (Almega Resurfacing) who refinish counter in a granite-like look. It's essentially a resin that goes over top of your existing counters. For a reasonable amount of money I had both my bathrooms redone from the gross dusty blue color to a speckled black granite look.

I was ecstatic. Shiny and black and new.

The next day I went in to stare at them and noticed a smudge mark. I figured it was just dust. Nope, it was a paw print. I looked harder and there were a dozen of them and even some claw marks. Apparently Miss Watson didn't like my new counters.

I immediately fell to the floor crying like a child. When I had pulled myself (mostly) together I called my counter guy and told him what had happened. He was not happy about it but told me he would come try to fix it.

I shut the door and tried not to think about it.

A week or so later he came by and sanded out the paw prints and put another couple of top coats on it and they are all fixed! Even better, he did it free of charge. Here's some before and after pics...