Five Soups for Winter

Roasted Cauliflower and White Cheddar Soup

Slow Cooker Guiness Beef Stew

Roasted Tomato and Rosemary Soup with Kale and Potatoes

Gabrielle's Winter Tomato and Corn Soup

Winter Minestrone and Garlic Bruschetta 

How was your first December weekend?  We finally finished decorating for Christmas despite Jett and I being on the mend from our winter colds.  While the weather was perfect here in Georgia this weekend, I think I'm ready for some cooler temperatures that require heavy socks and piping hot soups.  Severely cold weather doesn't threaten us too often but when it does, I'm gonna be prepared with these hearty soup recipes.  Don't they look just scrumptious?  

Feed the Birds

Outside eye candy is scarce this time of year.   With the exception of my nandina bushes and my pansies, my yard is pretty bleak, and more recently covered in snow!

The bare branches of winter do provide for some excellent birdwatching though.  I'm always impressed with these little creatures.  They're so efficient and productive and you can't help but be motivated by their constant motion. We've kept our feeders full this week and have been enjoying a rainbow of color from the cardinals, bluebirds and finches.   

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

I hope you have a fabulous weekend and find some time to relax and unwind or if your like us, get out of the house!

Small Spaces

Being snowed in for the third day in a row has me feeling a bit claustrophobic.  I found these images to help brighten up the day!

Stylish Snowman

We spent the day playing in the snow again!

Christmas Surprises

Christmas was filled with surprises this year.....BIG, HUGE surprises.  Santa himself made a dashing appearance which my husband unfortunately missed since he was taking out the trash.  Oh well, maybe next year.

Our day was filled with family, food, love and laughter.  The boys got their fill of trucks, legos, books and board games.  In fact, my older son said during his bedtime prayer, "Thank you Jesus for filling Santa's sleigh with presents."  So sweet.

To top it off, mother nature graced us with a true white Christmas here in Georgia, something we have not seen in decades!

And one more thing.  I must have been a very good girl in 2010 because I'm typing from my new MacBook Pro, a (much needed) gift from my sweet, sweet, sweet husband.  My six year old laptop with only 80 GB was on the skids and not supporting my photography.

And the photos you see,  well, they were taken with my new Canon T2i, a huge surprise from my inlaws.   I'm still not sure what I did in 2010 to deserve such generous gifts, but I am truly grateful and still somewhat in shock.  Thank you Jesus!

I'm going through a HUGE learning curve right now with my new tools but expect some lovely things here in the future.   And if any of you Mac users have any tips, I would really appreciate them!

Plant your Pansies Now!

I remember asking my mother in law years ago what her favorite flower was and she quickly replied, "The pansy, because I love seeing their bright cheerful faces in the middle of winter." She's one of those people that openly admits to having Seasonal Affective Disorder. But honestly, when it comes to cold weather, most of us native southerners can only handle so much of it until we start begging for the heat waves to return.

This week I planted these beautiful pansies in containers and flower beds around the house. Although I'm still enjoying a variety of blooms, including roses, gardenias, azaleas and petunias, I know they'll be fading soon.

Planting your pansies now will help them establish a healthy root system while the weather is still mildly warm. You'll be glad you did when you see their colorful faces greet you in the midst winter. Also, now is the perfect time to plant spring flowering bulbs such as tulips, daffodils and lilies. There's nothing more exciting than seeing those little buds peeking out of the soil come springtime.  Happy Planting!