Simple Salad Dressing-Foodie Friday

     Thousand Island Dressing is my husband's favorite. Have you ever tasted that stuff from the store? Ick. When I was given this recipe a few years ago I was a bit surprised at what was in Thousand Island, but I made a batch anyway. It is so good. I don't usually eat this kind of dressing (except on Reuben sandwiches) but I love this. You can make it in just a few minutes and you will never want that bottled stuff again.

Ingredients:

1 cup real mayonnaise

1/3 cup ketchup

1/4 cup sweet pickle relish

1 chopped hard-boiled egg

    It all goes into a bowl, and you gently stir. That's it! Use it on salads or sandwiches. Enjoy! I am joining our hostess Michael @ Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday. Please visit her and check out all the delicious recipes you will find linked from her post.

Tablescape Thursday-It Isn't About The Dishes

     Life is getting back to normal and that means it is time for Tablescape Thursday. Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch is our hostess. Please take a moment to visit her and some of the other participants. You will be amazed at how creative people are in Blogland.

     I've barely had time to get the laundry done from our trip and put away the Christmas decorations. Playing with my dishes has taken a back burner this week. I thought I'd share with you my "tablescape" from Christmas Eve.

     The dinner plates and salad plates are Hallmark, as are the napkins. The flatware was black plastic. The relish tray and fruit bowl are from Publix. Note the creme brulee' cheese "ball" in the back right corner. It was much easier to make it into a spread rather than a ball, considering I whipped it up in a Styrofoam cup in the hotel room. I served it with graham crackers. The tablecloth was white plastic and the cheese board is from a travel bag that goes with us everywhere. My mom's ham loaf was in the microwave at the time I took the picture.

     This was the first year we decided to open gifts on Christmas Eve. My daughter worked on Christmas Day. Last year we waited until she was off work, went out to dinner and ended up opening gifts until midnight. It wasn't all that fun. So, this year she had Christmas Eve off and we decided to eat in our hotel room, open the gifts and have time to have fun!

     Of course we had to decorate our patios at the hotel. Sorry about the pictures, this is the best we could get!

     Now before you think, "I could never do Christmas like that" and feel sorry for us, I want to share a few pictures from Christmas Day.

     This is the view from my chair by the pool. It was close to 80 degrees.  When my daughter got off work, we went to the Walt Disney World Beach Club for dinner.

This is made out of gingerbread.

     Traditional? Not at all. But, we had fun with family and great food...that is really what counts! I've learned that as my children have gotten older, I have to "go with the flow" and be open to new traditions. I hope the new year is starting out great for you all.

Let's Talk Blogging...Q & A

     I started my blog the end of August. I had no idea what I was doing, or the best way to do it. The one thing I decided that would be the most important to me was to actually build friendships and create my own little space in Blogland. I've been truly blessed to have that happen and I found myself really missing my blog community over the holidays.

     I still find myself with questions about blogging and no one to ask. I realize there is a help forum, but that isn't always effective as some questions just aren't "the norm". So, I thought I'd try an experiment today. I'll start with a few questions I have, if you have answers...please share them in the comments. If you have questions...leave those in the comments as well and maybe someone will be able to help answer your question.

1. I use the updated blogger editor and I can't find spellcheck. Is there one?

2. How do I add my email address to my blog page (not just on my profile page)?

3. Just how much higher is shipping out of the U.S. I'm getting very close to my 100th post giveaway. I notice many people limit shipping to the states only. Some of my favorite people live in Australia, England, Canada...is it really going to cost me a fortune to send them something?

4. I've seen a few people offer discount codes for candles and other products. How does that happen? Do companies approach some of the more successful blogs and ask to be sponsors...or do bloggers approach companies? What about the giveaways from other companies. I've seen blogs where someone will say they are giving away something from "whatever" website...did the website approach them or vice versa?

5. Blogging for fun or profit? I am blogging for fun, but I notice there are many blogs with ads on them. I had Google Ads for the first few weeks, but they closed my account. Upon appeal I was told my account "poses a significant risk to our advertisers". How that is possible considering my blog is about cooking, decorating and basic living is beyond me. Anyway, there is nothing I can do about it...so, the question is, what now? I've tried another ad company and the ads aren't interesting at all. I tried Amazon Associates, which I thought was fun and looked great on the blog page...but no one was inspired to shop. While I certainly don't plan on making money blogging, it would be great to make enough to pay for some of those dishes I've been buying for Tablescape Thursday! However, I don't want anything on my blog that would clutter it up or turn off readers...because the visits from all of you are the most important thing about blogging.

Let's Discuss!

Smiling...and Passing It Along!

Geri @ Heart N Soul Cooking just made my day! She gave me the Sugar Doll Award, isn't that just the cutest name for an award? You really have to visit Geri, her recipes are to die for...and she has her blog all fixed up for Valentine's Day, it looks great! Now, there are some rules that go with this award. So far I've been avoiding the "tell 10 things about yourself" rule...but I guess I'll give it a try for Geri!

The Fabulous Sugar Doll Blogger Award—Rules


1. Post the AWARD.

2. Don't forget to mention the person who gave you the AWARD.

3. Tag and distribute the AWARD to 10 Fabulous Sugar Dolls.

4. Write 10 fabulous things about yourself that you want to share with other Fabulous Sugar Dolls.

5. Don’t forget to notify the your Fabulous Sugar Dolls about their AWARD and post a link to their blog.


Ten fabulous things about me? How about 10 things you may not know about me?

1. The music in my iPod is the same as my kid's music. Musically...I'm cool.
2. I've watched every season of the Real World.
3. I love to read...I always have a book within reach.
4. I started college in the 70's and graduated in 2000.
5. I'm a neat freak...most of the time.
6. I keep secrets, always.
7. I never tell a lie.
8. I live in blue jeans, but I like to dress up...sometimes.
9. This year I've found over 80 of my high school friends on Facebook...and love that!
10. I never dreamed I'd love blogging and the people I'm meeting so much.

I am sharing this award with the following Fabulous Sugar Dolls-please don't feel obligated, or pressured to play along.

Julie @ Being Ruby
Just Me@ Twenty Somethings
Gretchen @ Wooden Nickel
Rhonda @ Shellebelle's Tiki Hut
Barbara @ Purple Goat Lady
Mid-Atlantic Martha @ Mid-Atlantic Martha
Michelle @ Maddycakes Muse
Holly and Charisse @ Life Laugh Latte
Jenglamgirl @ Larsen Loves
Dee Dee @ d dzine

Worth It! Gilchrist-Gilchrist

     I'm sure that many of you are just like me. We read magazines, tearing out projects we want to make, recipes to try and places we'd love to visit. Often, the projects are never completed, the recipes never prepared and the trip never taken. Sometimes, if you actually follow through...you many find it was worth the effort!

     We generally stay in Nashville, TN on our way home from Florida. Last week, we didn't make it that far. A morning migraine and the traffic from hell slowed us down. We ended up spending the night south of Atlanta, arriving in Nashville around noon the second day. I generally stop at my favorite place to buy loose tea while in Nashville and that was already in the plans for the day. I also was armed with a torn out page from the December issue of Southern Living Magazine. The issue had featured the Nashville home of Genia and Glenn Gilchrist. It also talked about Genia's shop (she runs it with her mom) Gilchrist-Gilchrist...I knew I had to check it out.

     Lucky for me, the shop was only 2 miles from my "tea stop" and it was my wedding anniversary, so my husband wouldn't tell me we didn't have time. We pulled onto a cute little street of what obviously had been residential, to find Genia's shop and a few others. Genia was chatting with a friend when we entered and I immediately knew that she was the kind of woman who could easily be a friend. All I could think about when I walked in was how so many of my friends from Blogland would go crazy in this great little store. It was a sea of whites...both vintage and new. I don't even decorate with the shabby chic look and I wanted everything. Genia was very generous in letting me take a few pictures to share with all of you.

     Of course I didn't leave empty handed. I seemed to focus on trees, and was lucky it was after Christmas...so my tree purchases were half price. The other item I forgot to take a picture of was delicious Lip Balm from Tokyomilk in Opera Mint. If you have never seen this line of soap, lip balms and perfumes...check it out. The packaging alone is worth the price and the lip balm is wonderful.

     Gilchrist-Gilchrist is located at 2825 Bransford Avenue in Nashville, TN. They aren't on the web, but you can call them at 615-385-2122.