In this episode we go deep into our pasts as we look at the holiday debate for the ages: buying a real Christmas tree every year or buying and reusing an artificial one? The argument is getting more one-sided every year. Which side do you think we're on? We also have some actual updates on the old farmhouse to share - yay! Plus a week of easy dinner recipes for winter, and some recent cool discoveries. Yeah, it's a good show!
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Christmas Trees - Live vs. Fake?
Above you can see our tree from 2018 - it's a live noble fir, one of the best for being able to hold a lot of ornaments. It also has fairly stiff branches for those heavier ornaments, too. Which of course makes it the most expensive in our area. (And isn't seeing Samson again great? We're sure missing him...)
Here are links to more of the Christmas decor I've shared through the years:
- Galvanized, Green & Buffalo Plaid Simple Christmas Decor
- Pottery Barn Inspired Snowy Galvanized Christmas Decorations
- Cottage Christmas Decor Ideas
- Christmas Home Tour: Green Plaid, Metallic, & Natural
Here's a vintage tinsel tree I found on Pinterest that looks a lot like the one I mentioned having for a number of years when I was growing up in California in the early 1970s. Even at the time I thought it was weird, but I guess there's something to be said for just embracing the fakeness, ha!
Here's a link to Episode 15 - Christmas traditions and memories where we first talked about our one experience going to a tree farm with the kids.
Farmhouse Updates
That's our master bedroom with the sheetrock on that emphasizes the tall ceilings (Sorry for the photo quality - we're in the middle of our gray, rainy season!). Our plan is to add wood beams to help bring it down to human level.
Above is the laundry room plan we spent so much time working out. It's not completely to scale, but it gives us the idea of where the fixtures will go.
You can see we're trying to fit a lot into this space - laundry, mudroom, freezer, storage, and a counter for seed starting. Not quite like our last huge laundry-mudroom, but with this plan, it should check all the boxes.
What's Cooking
Here's your real food Winter Menu for Busy Weeks:
Monday- Spicy Beef, Tomato and Corn Stew (make enough for leftovers for Tuesday), served with cheese quesadillas
Tuesday- Haystacks - spoon leftover spicy beef stew over tortilla chips and top with shredded lettuce, chopped onions, grated cheese, sour cream, and whatever other toppings you'd like.
Wednesday- Easy Lemon-Garlic Roasted Chicken and Vegetables, served with bread and green salad (roast extra chicken for Thursday)
Thursday- Thai Inspired Turkey or Chicken Vegetable Curry (using leftover chicken), served with rice
Friday- Greek Style Shrimp and Orzo Recipe, served with a green salad
Saturday- Burgers, fries, and cut vegetables
Sunday- OYO (On Your Own)
This is Really Cool!
Brian's: The Fiskars Titanium Shop Shears that makes him think he's getting away with using his mom's off-limits fabric scissors. Plus, they're really sharp and useful for cutting lots of things DIYers need.
Jami's: Vitamin C Glow Boost Essence with Hyaluronic Acid. No tingling or pain like other vitamin C products I've tried and I've been complimented on my skin a couple times since using it.
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