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Cottage Life

We worked on decking the cottage halls today. We started this morning. I should say, the Bearded one started this morning. I was lagging a bit behind. He went around gleaning the forest for cedar boughs to make our much talked about garland. He gathered a wheel barrow full and we sat down on the porch and began the process. At first I had envisioned a long swooping swag across the front and then swirled around the porch posts. After about an hour of clipping, bunching, and making stacks of garland foder, it became clear that either I should downsize my vision or run to town and spend $40 on the pre made variety. While the bearded one kept bunching, I began to pace and ponder the situation until we finally came upon the idea of running two of our strands of white twinkle lights across and down where the garland was to go instead. We would then shorten the amount of garland needed from about 35' to about 10' total. One 5' strand on either side of our door, topped off with a bit of fanciness. I know. We, or should I say I, wimped out. I actually like how things turned out. The lights give a lovely glow, the swags will be a little more sheltered from the wind, and the Bearded one didn't have to spend the entire day bunching greens in the cold.

The "Bearded One" bunching...

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Out door garland with festive sparkly gold trim

While the "bearded One" gathered garland fodder I climbed the ladder inside and put the new christmas tree in it's place above the kitchen. I love having that little loft there for decorating. I can put a lot up there and we get the ambience without taking up any floorspace.

A ladder's eye view...

Since I was on the ladder I decided to shoot the view out the front windows...

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Looking out at the Bay

A little Christmas Cheer

I've been craving some serious eggnog... Found this link from Savory Sweet Life just click on the link to find some amazing recipes. I will be making mine sugar free. Doesn't this look marvelous?

{Holiday Cheer} Eggnog Latte Recipe

eggnoglatte1

I have a confession -I’ve been drinking Eggnog lattes from home for a few weeks now. But being that today is Black Friday, the Christmas Holiday season has officially begun! Now I can share my favorite drink with you without shame. I love eggnog lattes but they can be quite expensive at Starbucks and elsewhere. Instead I prefer to make mine at home for a fraction of the cost. Although technically you need shots of espresso for the drink to be considered a “latte”, you can still make a faux latte by using super concentrated coffee (or instant coffee packs like Starbucks VIA).

Enjoy this classic holiday drink at home and keep all those extra dollars you’ll be saving for celebrating Christmas. Enjoy!

Eggnog Latte – Eggnog Coffee Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
2 shots espresso OR 1/2 cup of double/triple concentrated coffee
2/3 cup eggnog
1/3 cup milk
sugar
*optional whipped cream and nutmeg
Variation: If you want to make this as an evening cocktail, add a shot of rum.

DIRECTIONS:
Pour espresso/concentrated coffee into a mug and add steamed eggnog/milk mixture. If you prefer your eggnog latte sweeter, add a little sugar. Top off with whipped cream and a pinch of nutmeg. Happy Holidays -Enjoy!
*If you don’t have an espresso machine, do what I do most often. Just warm your eggnog/milk mixture in the microwave. Cook times may vary but I prefer heating mine for 2 minutes.

Before and After

If you know anything about me you know that I like to shoot things with patina and age. Okay so this is a little beyond patina. I love it. It was taken in an old shipyard building in Astoria, Ore.

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I actually like this as is. It's a little dark and I'd like to artz it up a bit and bring out some of that patina... I mean dirt.

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