by Amy | Dec 20, 2012 | Blog, The Art of Adventure, The Art of the Moment
Christmas is a magical time, no matter where you are…but I’ve come to believe that it might be a little extra magical the further north you go. And in Practically Canada it’s pretty magical. I know we are still a long way from Santa’s house at the North Pole, but I feel closer than I’ve ever been.
Is it cold? You bet. So cold that I can’t feel my fingers if I forget my gloves after dark. So cold that 25 degrees {F} feels balmy and I think…”Oh good, I don’t need a coat.”
But the thing about North Dakota is that the cold doesn’t deter folks from having a good time. Christmas festivities {yes outdoor stuff too} goes on in full flavor.
Last week I went to a Christmas cantata in a barn held in the middle of no where. We sat on hay bales and singers wore jeans and cowboy hats. I’ve driven through parks lit with lights, shopped the precious downtown stores, been served hot chocolate and shishkabobs cooked on the sidewalk while strolling downtown.
Then…when I thought I truly knew what Paul McCartney was talking about when he sang the song, “Simply having a wonderful Christmas time…” it happened. The coolest Christmas event I’ve ever been part of. The Christmas Train.
Yes. This is as close as you’ll get to the real life Polar Express. Each year the Canadian Pacific train makes a pass across the northern part of the country. Stopping off at towns along the way, spreading holiday cheer and raising awareness for community food banks. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. My fingers were too cold to take video…but these folks took a pretty good one and posted it. You really need to watch this baby roll.
Was it cold? You betcha. Only 5 degrees with a windchill well below zero. But that doesn’t stop the masses in Practically Canada. Loads of folks braved the cold to see the lights, indulge in hot cider and cocoa…and partake in a sing along concert that took place on a stage that opened out of one of the train cars. Amazing.
And what would a Christmas train be with no Santa? Easy…the answer to that question is…LAME. So obviously the man-in-the-hat was there as well to dance on stage during the finally. Then, as sweetly as it arrived, the stage closed up, the crowd backed away, a whistle blew and the jolly express rolled away into the night.
See what I mean? Magical. I hope your December has been as special as mine has! For more info on the Holiday Train check out their blog here!
Amy
by Amy | Dec 17, 2012 | Blog, The Art of Gathering, The Art of the Kitchen
Last night we hosted our annual Jingle Mingle holiday party. Of all the parties I have the privilege of hosting every year, the one we host at Christmas is my favorite. This year I kept things simple by setting up a hot chocolate bar {with all the fixin’s} and of course cookies and treats.
Here are my tips for a stellar hot cocoa bar.
1. Set out a canister of hot chocolate instead of packets. {So guests can make it as strong as they like.} A recipe for my mix is below.
2. Offer a variety of stir ins. Crushed peppermint, whipped cream, marshmallows, cream, and Kalua are all good options!
3. Keep the milk hot. Don’t send guests running to the microwave. Keep the moo juice warm in a crock pot.
In addition to cocoa powder I also made those cute hot-chocolate-on-a-stick’s that have been cropping up all over the Internet. Now, don’t be intimidated. They really were not as hard as you’d think. I followed this recipe for the chocolate blocks…and used this Alton Brown recipe for the marshmallows.
Word to the wise…Homemade marshmallows are the bomb. So good! And don’t freak out if you don’t have a fancy Kitchen Aid mixer. I used a little hand mixer and it worked just fine.
When I poured the fudge blocks into my pan I sprinkled crushed candy canes on top to make a rich peppermint hot chocolate block.
When just stir into a cup of hot milk. Very tasty!
To make your own hot cocoa mix follow this recipe:
Mix all these ingredients together…
1 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder | 1 Cup powdered sugar | 1 tsp cinnamon
To make flavored hot cocoa mix these ingredients together…
3/4 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder | 3/4 cup powdered sugar | 2/3 Cup of your favorite flavor dry coffee creamer {like CoffeeMate}
Stir 3 spoonfuls into a mug of hot milk. Yummm!
If nothing else…make the marshmallows. Thank you to Make & Takes for the awesome idea that has swept Pinterest this holiday season. You rock!
See you tomorrow!
Amy
by Amy | Dec 13, 2012 | Blog, Crafts, The Art of Design
Hi guys. We’ve had a little COP. {Change of plans.} Today I’m giving you six…count ’em SIX free printable gift tags for all your wrapping needs. They were really fun to make. I like to punch holes in the top and string them on to packages. But they are just as cute taped on. Enjoy!
I’ve put all these tags into individual Google Docs. Just save the files you like and print them out. You can save paper by arranging more than one tag onto a Word document. The tags measure 3″ x 1.75″ but the files are high res…so you can make them a bit larger if you like. And, yes…they are free! All I ask is that when friends and family compliment them…you tell them that you got them here, at the very-fun-and-awesome Amy Allender blog.
Here is the Peace Love Joy tag…You’re Gonna Love This…Santa Asked Me…and the Something Awesome tag
And here are links for the You’ve Been Nice tag…You’ve Been Naughty…Ho3…Special Delivery
Merry Christmas. Now, I’ve got cookies to make!
Amy
by Amy | Dec 12, 2012 | Blog, The Art of Projects, the house
These weeks before Christmas always take a toll on me. You too? Most likely.
Because in all the holly-jollyness there are about a million things to do. Food to buy, gifts to wrap, crafts to make. Last night I crafted up a storm. Today I’ve got to fill empty cupboards and pick up a few last gifts {yuck…that means a trip to Wal-Mart.} Honestly, I feel like my house is in a constant state of chaos lately.
The upside is that it is frightfully cold outside. Which means that the thought of being outside is not too appealing at the moment. But we still have to go out to shovel.
It’s 10:30 a.m. and it’s -3 degrees outside. The windchill makes it more like -7. Oh. My. Goodness. But you know what? It’s beautiful. I love it here. Even though it’s cold. {Really cold. Nostrils sticking together cold.} I really do love it. I love the people. My house. The community. I’m quite smitten with North Dakota, Practically Canada. And I’m quite smitten with warm mittens too.
{We’ll see how I feel about this cold after it’s been below zero for a few months…}
See you tomorrow. Get excited…I’ll be showing you the latest progress in the living room. A super awesome solution for our cords and media equipment. And later…printable gift tags just in time for wrapping madness.
Amy
by Amy | Dec 7, 2012 | Blog, Devotional, The Art of Faith
Derek and I have been helping out at the youth group at our church. Together we are working our way through the book of Acts. Just a few verses at a time…slowly…but surely.
{This amazing photo is from L.A. Birdie Photography’s Flickr stream.}
This Wednesday we talked about chapter 8: 1-8. I’ve thought about it a lot since then. Here is the gist of the passage. The church is brand new and young. This had been going great, but suddenly Stephen was stoned for preaching and Saul {later, Paul} begins persecuting Christians. Violence breaks out. Believers are put in prison, beaten, or killed. The church then scattered throughout the region to avoid persecution.
And here is what verse 4 says:
“Those who were scattered preached the Word wherever they went.”
Wherever.
And you know what? The church needed to be scattered. The Good News, the Gospel, the Word…it had to move beyond the walls of Jerusalem. God allowed hard times, violent times to fall on His children. But, as always, His hands guide our paths and lead us to His purposes.
Often I feel very scattered. Uprooted, changed, challenged. Scattered. A lot of times when I feel like that I wallow. Like a hippo in a mud hole. I just wallow in it. Because, surely I’m the first one to feel uprooted and scattered.
But the reality is that this isn’t new at all. God uproots us all for different reasons at different times. Whether it means we move to a new house, a new town, or just change schedules or activities. We all get uprooted and challenged. Our responsibility is to carry the Word with us wherever we go. And not just to carry it, but to preach it too. {And I’m not talking about preaching in a street corner condemnation kind of way. But a loving, understanding, approachable way.}
Really, this is the meaning of life. Spreading His kingdom, preaching His Word, bringing Him glory. That’s what it’s all about. God has a plan in place to spread His kingdom to the ends of the Earth. And it involves you. And me. And everyone we come in contact with. His plan is elaborate. So elaborate, it may even seem unclear to our little mortal minds. But there is a plan. I promise you. There is a plan.
And that’s why you are where you are right now. Where you are living, what you are feeling, the struggles you are overcoming. They aren’t accidents. You are young to reach the young. You’re a mom to be relatable to moms. I work at the gym to reach those who want to improve their bodies, and who may need a little confidence boost. I live in Practically Canada to reach people here.
We are scattered from our comfort zone to better serve the LORD. Are you feeling lead to scatter? Have you been scattered? This is a blessing, friends. When He calls us to scatter apart, he calls us to a new mission field…with new lives waiting to hear from us.
Will you preach the News wherever you go? I sure hope so.
Amy
by Amy | Dec 6, 2012 | Blog, The Art of the Moment
Creating a solid Christmas cards has been one of my favorite traditions since college. Whether posting with my roommates or snapping a quick picture with Derek…the Christmas card is a magical thing.
This year, it occurred to me to spread the world of Christmas card possibility to some of my friends. I mean, I own a fancy camera and a production business…if cute photos aren’t a perk of the friendship, I’m not sure what is.
Lucky for me…my friends are simply precious. Get ready to feast your eyes on two cute couples {and one awkward couple}. Get ready to pin some sweet ideas for your own portraits.
Don’t Sean and Katie remind you of a Forever 21 ad? They are so beautiful. I just love their style.
Like that banner? I made it in about an hour. I cut letters out of poster board then taped wrapping paper to the front of them. Punch holes in the letters and weave yarn through. Easy as pie.
Now say a hardy “Hullo” to Mallory and Kyle. See, I told you my friends are cute! These two just had their first anniversary…congrats, guys!
Okay. Now a few portraits of an awkward couple. You guessed it. Me and Derek. Here’s the thing. I want photos of us that look this cute. The hard part is that I’m the photographer. So any portraits of us have to be shot on self timer. Boo. So, what ends up happening is, I find a cute location…I push the button…we have 10 seconds…and we choke. When that little organge light is blinking at us, we forget everything about looking good and cute…and we {I} look like a hot mess.
This particular time we chose a location full of weeds and grass to trip on. So, I pushed the button then began to run to meet Derek. I tripped multiple times, my hair got a little ratty and my eyeliner started to run. Smile. Click. Dang…I look awful. So I compiled these photos. The best of the bunch…but still a bit awkward, if you ask me.
The best ones are where I am NOT looking at the camera. But aren’t we always harder on ourselves? {PS…I’m not fishing for compliments here. Compliment my cuter, more photogenic friends instead.}
But if there is one thing I’ve learned in recent days {like with my Christmas tree} if you put some white lights on it and look at it at dusk…even the most awkward thing can look beautiful.
Here’s a napkin. You can stop drooling now. Don’t you just love romantic Christmas portraits?
Amy
by Amy | Dec 5, 2012 | Blog, The Art of Living
Who doesn’t love a good Christmas movie? I know I do. But after watching them year after year can get a little mundane. Watch the classics with new eyes this year after checking out this sweet list of things you never knew before. {Go ahead…impress your friends with your useless knowledge.}
1. Ralphie’s house in “A Christmas Story” is in Cleveland, OH…but many locations including the iconic chop suey restaurant were shot in Ontario, Canada.
2. Vera Ellen {Judy Haynes} isn’t really singing in White Christmas. Her voice is dubbed in every song, but she was cast since her dance moves are so killer.
3. “Christmas Vacation” is based on a short story titled “Christmas ’59.” The character of Cousin Eddy is based on a real man Randy Quaid knew in Texas.
4. Natalie Wood {the little girl, Susan Walker} in “Miracle on 34th Street” actually believed that Edmund Gwenn was Santa Claus throughout filming. It wasn’t until she saw the final film in theaters that she realize he was just an actor, like her.
5. The tape that Kevin watches in “Home Alone” is not a real film. It was footage especially created for the. movie. The faux movie was titled “Angels with Filthy Souls.” In the sequel “Home Alone 2” he watches a bit of footage the crew titled “Angels with Even Filthier Souls.” Merry Christmas you filthy animal.
6. Fred Astaire’s “drunk” dance in Holiday Inn was actually filmed while he was intoxicated. He took two shots of burboun before starting to shoot the scene and one shot after every take. They used the 7th take in the film. {You do the math.} I wish I could dance like that sober!
7. Jimmy Stewart had to be convinced of playing his role in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It was his first project after serving in WWII, and he didn’t feel up to acting. In hindsight, he later said it was his favorite role of all time.
8. {Bonus!} More than 6000 gallons of fake snow was used in production of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
9. The montage of Buddy the Elf when he first arrives in New York was achieved by driving around the city and allowing Will Ferrell to randomly interact with pedestrians in character. People seen on screen were given quick cash for their role as extras. If you look closely, you’ll see genuine surprise on a lot of faces.
10. Peter Billingsley {Ralphie from “A Christmas Story“} plays the brief role Ming Ming in “Elf.” He also directed “Couple’s Retreat” in 2009.
11. The role of Scott Calvin in “The Santa Clause” was written for Bill Murray. It was also offered to Chevy Chase before going to Tim Allen. How different would that have been?
12. “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was the first animated Peanuts feature. First and best in my book. Also, real children did the voice acting for the characters instead of adults acting as children.
13. In “A Muppet Christmas Carol” Kermit is voiced by Steve Whitmire. This is the first time he wasn’t voiced by Jim Henson.
Let the Christmas Movie Marathon begin!
by Amy | Dec 4, 2012 | Blog, The Art of Gathering, The Art of the Kitchen
What would Christmas be with no cookies? I guess it’d still be Christmas. A holiday celebrating the birth of Saviour of man kind…but there would be fewer stomach aches, and nothing to dip in your hot cocoa.
I digress…
Point? I. Love. Christmas cookies. Love.
So I was thrilled with a friend hosted a get together to make several yummy batches. The best part was that we all got to split the goodies at the end.
Upon arrival I found that our hostess {Wyrene} had been busy before our arrival. She had already prepared a crockpot full of hot cocoa and these AWESOME hot-chocolate-on-a-stick. I’m not sure what recipe she used, but they were amazing. How genius? Fudge+Marshmallow+Stick…stir it in a hot cup of milk for a delightful treat. Here is a similar recipe I found. Seriously…there were bomb.
Wyrene had also made sugar cookie and peanut butter cookie dough ahead of time, so we got to do the fun part together. We started with the PB. Let me tell you…these were my favorite cookie of the day! How adorable is that?
They’re reindeer!! Those are chocolate coated pretzels and M&M’s. Press them in place as soon as the cookies come out of the oven. How sweet would these be for a classroom party? If only I were in 2nd grade again and my mom knew these existed…
I like the brown eyed ones best. The others look a little zombie-ish. Especially that one in the photo with the glowing yellow eyes…But who cares? It’s Christmas and we are totally allowed to eat things that look like laser-eyed-sleigh-pullers.
Here is a photo of how we shaped the dough to get our heads just right.
So the cookies were delightful. But what really took the cake {or cookie, as the case may be…} was Wyrene’s two-year-old daughter. She is a laugh a minute. I am in love with her busy personality. Let me tell you…this is one spunky kid. And even though she’s a mini, she’s still a girl…entitled to her fair share of cookie making.
One of my favorite moments came when we were done rolling out the dough for the sugar cookies. We left the flour on the counter and next thing we know, this little one had made a giant mound of flour. She’d taken it teaspoon by teaspoon out of the canister. We had our backs turned until we heard a little voice yell:
“Look! It’s a mountain!”
Yes…a mountain of flour. In the photos above she had torn down the mountain and begun burying cookie cutters. Needless to say she was a mess. But a little flour seems an awful low price for a good laugh. {Notice that she’s in different clothes in the following set of photos. Wonder why?}
To me, no matter what kind of cookie…the best part is always decorating them. Whether that means slapping some pretzels in place as antlers or glazing them with bright icing. As you can see our best helper was very into this step as well. She did a great job. Seriously, are kids precious? Who wouldn’t want to accept a cookie from a cutie like that?
We had a great day. If I can’t be with my mom and sister and aunt and cousin to bake holiday treats, I’m glad I can be among a lovely group like this. My cookies are gone now, but let me assure you…they were indeed made with love.
Amy
