Apparently, I sew now. Plus… How Pinterest saved my Christmas.

{Linking up with Liz from a belle, a bean, & a chicago dog, KLZ from Taming Insanity, Michelle from The Vintage Apple, and Jamie from This Kind of Love. Go check out these creative, hilarious, and beautiful bloggers!}

Back in November, I decided that I wanted to try and do a mostly handmade Christmas, or at the very least, buy locally. I’d say the ratio ended up around 70/30. My hubby really needed socks and new pajama pants (which turned out to be too small. crap.), and an alarm clock. So I didn’t make anything for him but some delicious cookies, which he is still enjoying.

One of my gifts was supposed to be hand painted mugs, but I discovered that the pottery place in town had closed due to increased lease payments, and I had NO idea what to do. Enter Brooke‘s Facebook post and Pinterest, and my Christmas was back in full swing. Thank you, Brooke!! I *can* sew! Who knew?

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(I actually loved it so much, I’m making one for me, too! One went to my bestie, Kerry, and the other is en route to… well, I can’t say. It’ll ruin the surprise.)

The girls’ birthday was  a great success thanks to some more brilliant ideas I found on Pinterest.

The Hot Chocolate Bar (I bought the bins and the silver buckets at the Target Dollar Spot.)

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The Ornament Cupcakes (These were supposed to be a healthy cake, but I ran out of time, so we threw these together super fast. They came out great!)

Caramel Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Smash cakes I dreamed up on my own.

Molly's Smash Cake

Lily's Smash Cake

I think they loved them!

The gorgeous table!

I’m telling you, Pinterest is my home girl this year. Without her, I’m not sure that I could have stuck to my homemade bonanza.

I also gifted three people with my new 2012 Planners! I made one for my sister, mom, and mother-in-law, and they were thrilled with them! And thank GOD! I was literally still running around Christmas Eve trying to get them bound and finished. Everything that could go wrong with them, did. The paper jammed, I printed an entire month incorrectly, I ran out of ink on Christmas Eve Eve with only December left to print… it was insanity. It was so satisfying to see the looks on their faces though, and worth every drop of sweat and worry. My friend, Ally of Daisy & Elm Jewelry and Rosaries also contributed some handmade clips that I just LOVE. They added an fantastic personal touch and made the whole gift come together. Each planner came with a color coordinating pen in their favorite color and their personalized clips.

Thank you, Ally!

For my out of town friends, I made a delicious white chocolate bark and chocolate dipped pretzels. One of my besties, Caroline, really wanted some peppermint pretzel rods that we used to sell at SBC (addiction on a stick). They turned out beautifully! But let me tell you, pistachios are a *bitch* to shell. I ended up using a garlic press to help me out. My thumb is still calloused. Moral of the story: Use the garlic press and/or buy shelled pistachios.

White Chocolate Bark (adapted from Ina Garten’s recipe)

• 1/2 cup whole shelled salted pistachios
• 16 ounces good white chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries and cherries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a pencil, draw an 8 by 10-inch rectangle on a piece of parchment paper. Turn the parchment paper over so the pencil mark doesn’t get onto the chocolate and place it on a sheet pan.

Place the pistachios in one layer on another sheet pan and bake for 8 minutes. Set aside to cool. (I chopped mine to get more of the green color to show and then strained them to get rid of the small powdery chunks.)

Place three quarters of the white chocolate in a heat-proof glass bowl and put it in the microwave on high for 30 seconds. (Time it with your watch for accuracy.) Stir the chocolate with a rubber spatula, return it to the microwave for another 30 seconds, then stir again. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second intervals until the chocolate is just melted. Immediately stir in the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it’s completely smooth. (If you need to heat it a little more, place it in the microwave for another 15 seconds.)

Pour the melted chocolate onto the parchment paper and spread it lightly to fill the drawn rectangle. Sprinkle the top evenly with the cooled pistachios, the cranberries, and the cherries. Press the nuts and fruit lightly so they will set in the chocolate. Set aside for at least 2 hours until firm or refrigerate for 20 minutes. Cut or break the bark in 16 pieces and serve at room temperature.

I also made these adorable wreaths for Christmas. This was one of my favorites as a kid and Ryan had never had them, so I had to make them this year. Most people use red hots, but I like M&Ms better. (It’s chocolate, how could I not?)

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I hope you all enjoyed your holidays! Our Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the girls’ birthday have been the best I’ve had.

Merry Christmas! I can't wait until we can all look at that camera at the same time.

P.S. I updated my Food Fodder page so now all of the recipes are in one place! Go check it out and… Enjoy!