In this weeks’ New & Notable Mentions #20, I have the usual types of links and they’re the last holiday links of the season.
There’s 2 beautiful Christmas tree, several crafts, yummy recipes, and a couple of books that are coming out next month.
Decorating:
Joanna Anastasia showed her 2021 Cozy Holiday Home Tour.
She wrote on her blog: “Welcome to my Cozy Holiday home tour! I’m so happy you’re here! Not only because it’s the best time of the year and I get to decorate for my favorite holiday- but also because it’s our second Christmas here in our new home in the forest and we have come so far since last year’s tour!”
Eleanor Rose Home showed how to wrap pretty presents to put underneath her Christmas tree.
She wrote on her blog: “I’ve compiled some of my tips and tricks for gift wrapping that you can use to help you this season to ensure your gifts are wrapped beautifully. For those of you that don’t love to wrap gifts, maybe this will help you to get into the spirit of gift wrapping! And for those of you that love wrapping, I am happy to be in the same club with you!”
Simple Holiday Decorating:
Miss Mustard Seed showed a simple and natural-looking way to decorate her door and front porch.
She wrote on her blog: “The style of this particular house makes decorating for the holidays pretty easy. I can just address the porch and it’s festive enough to leave the rest of the house alone. So, I focus on creating a casual Christmas porch that can transition nicely into winter.”
Sanctuary Home Decor displayed her front porch decorated in a similar fashion.
She wrote on her blog: “This look was inspired by a trip to my local nursery where I found some beautiful potted winter greenery. A large cypress tree, a small Italian spruce tree, and a rosemary topiary were all I needed as a base for this look.”
Crafts/DIYs:
Our Vintage Farm showed how to create a gingerbread house garland.
She wrote on her blog: “I’ve draped my houses along the mantel and over our kitchen dresser. This gingerbread house garland would also be super sweet in a kid’s room, draped along the range hood in your kitchen, or as a decoration in your pantry.”
My 100-Year-Old Home showed how she created her own wrapping paper in red and white.
She wrote on her blog: “I love to wrap gifts. But finding cute wrapping paper is sometimes hard to do. So I made my own Christmas red wrapping paper and I love it.”
Food/Recipes:
Add A Pinch made her own brand of tacos.
She wrote on her blog: “The Best Tacos are easy ground beef tacos that are family favorites! Ready in minutes, more delicious than takeout for a classic taco recipe everyone loves!
Healthy Recipes made a Brussels Sprouts Casserole and it looks delicious!
She wrote on her blog: “This wonderfully flavorful Brussels sprout casserole is topped with shredded gruyere cheese and crushed pork rinds, then baked until hot and bubbly. It’s a tasty keto casserole that you can feel good about eating!’
Rocky Hedge Farm made homemade dinner rolls that would be a great addition to any meal.
She wrote on her blog: “Try these homemade dinner rolls made from scratch, simple to make using just a few pantry ingredients. Soft, buttery, and sweet, this is an easy yeast roll for beginners recipe.”
Books:
Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner will be published on January 25, 2022.
A twisty, whip-smart debut thriller, as electrifying as the #1 New York Times bestseller The Girl on the Train, about impending motherhood, unreliable friendship, and the high price of keeping secrets.
Helen’s idyllic life, a handsome architect husband, gorgeous Victorian house, and cherished baby on the way. begins to change the day she attends her first prenatal class. This is where she meets Rachel, an unpredictable single mother-to-be.
Rachel doesn’t seem very maternal: she smokes, drinks, and professes little interest in parenthood. Still, Helen is drawn to her.
But her increasingly erratic behavior is unsettling. And Helen’s not the only one who’s noticed. Her friends and family begin to suspect that her strange new friend may be linked to their shared history in unexpected ways.
The Last House On The Street by Diane Chamberlain will be published on January 11, 2022.
A community’s past sins rise to the surface in New York Times bestselling author Diane Chamberlain’s The Last House on the Street when two women, a generation apart, find themselves bound by tragedy and an unsolved, decades-old mystery.
1965 – Growing up in the well-to-do town of Round Hill, North Carolina, Ellie Hockley was raised to be a certain type of proper Southern lady. Enrolled in college and all but engaged to a bank manager, Ellie isn’t as committed to her expected future as her family believes.
She’s chosen to spend her summer break as a volunteer helping to register black voters. But as Ellie follows her ideals fighting for the civil rights of the marginalized, her scandalized parents scorn her efforts, and her neighbors reveal their prejudices.
And when she loses her heart to a fellow volunteer, Ellie discovers the frightening true nature of the people living in Round Hill.
“What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future.” – Agnes M. Pahro
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Those first two Christmas trees are stunning! The books sound interesting, too.
Lovely links again, Brenda. Those cheesy Brussels sprouts look so good!
Love Joanna’s home. Very similar taste in decor as me. The gingerbread garland is so cute too. Have a good week as we wind down to the big day. xoxo
I agree with Cindy’s observation. We Readers can become attached to our favorite Blogs and are concerned like a good neighbor when it abruptly stops or is made ‘private only’. When we see them commenting on other blogs, we wonder what happened. I wish they’d say good-bye and then leave their last post up for awhile to inform their readers that they have only retired and not expired.
P.S. I too like to support women bloggers who earn income. If I read the latest post then go back and read several older posts, do you get credit for only the one entry I clicked on?
I thought the tip about wrapping presents as you buy is a great idea. Do I do it? NO! And it’s a little late to start this year!
I enjoyed all of those blogs and the look into their homes. Thank you for showing them.
I keep thinking about your move. You must be getting so anxious, but in a good way.
Brenda I have been thinking about your post from a few days ago about making money on your blog. I am all for helping you as much as I can and I’m sure others who enjoy visiting you every day would also. Please explain if subscribing helps. If we click on the ads that pop up helps. I am unfamiliar with the specifics. Another thing I’ve wondered about is when a blogger doesn’t post but I go to their blog to read a blog for that day that they read. Sometimes when I read one of these the original blogger will comment but not have posted in a long time. I wonder how these ladies are doing. Thanks and everyone stay safe and enjoy your week.
You don’t need to do a thing. When you go to my blog, the ads automatically load, and I get paid when they load. You’re very sweet, and I appreciate your caring. But I’m good! I didn’t understand that last question…
So I will read Mary’s blog (name made up). The last time she had a post was 9 months ago. I can still see where the blogs she reads are coming in and I can click on to them. Sometimes on those blogs “Mary” will make a comment so I know she is still around. When “Mary” doesn’t post for months and I don’t see her comment on another blog, I wonder if she is okay. Thanks for clearing up my questions Brenda.
I really don’t know. Many bloggers have stopped blogging. And many of the ones who still blog don’t put dates on their post so you won’t know when they last posted. Many I think just do Instagram now.
Brenda, happy week before Christmas! I love all of these links, so many talented ladies out there. The flocked trees look fabulous. I always wanted a flocked tree, this though was not the year with all of the shortages.
I hope that you have a wonderful week. Thank you for sharing all of these fabulous finds.
I bought a flocked tree a few years ago. It was stunning!! However, it was the messiest tree I’ve ever had, and I decided I’d never buy another one.