Schwartz Family Christmas

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Christmas Stuff

Thought I'd share a few photos of our Christmas decorations. It's still a work in progress. Actually, I usually decorate until it's time to take it all down! I'm always tweaking and rearranging things. Because I'm crazy like that. I'll try to add more in a few days. After I've tweaked some more! Even though we're empty nesters, I still enjoy decorating for Christmas. It makes me feel festive to have the music on, the fire lit and the lights burning brightly. I went for a red and lime green theme this year. It's just so dang perky and fun!

Even Daisy gets into the Christmas spirit!
Cheers!
Andy

Oregon 2011

I made a little slideshow of our wonderful vacation to Oregon. We had so much fun!! It was just what we needed after several long months of stress and heartbreak. I was almost nervous before we left. I LOVE Oregon so much, and I was hoping that John would too. Thankfully he did! It was cool, rainy and so very refreshing. Eddy and John were perfect hosts, showing us their beloved city and state. We also decided before we left, that for once in our lives, we would fly FIRST CLASS. Oh my goodness, it's AWESOME!! Wine, food, and leg room makes for a wonderful flight! Enjoy the slideshow!

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Feeling all fallish and crafty and stuff

Pinterest is my new favorite obsession. It's the only place on the web where you can waste hours (really!) getting all inspired to be crafty and creative, only to realize that you've wasted the day away and actually don't have time now to do all the things you've discovered there.
So I found this cute idea on Pinterest, and decided I'd give it a whirl. It turned out okay! Yay me! So here's a gander at my Pinterest inspired front porch decor:

Also made a wreath and planted some mums. Now if only the weather would cooperate and feel "fallish" too!

Holiday Wish List

It's not too early to think about the 2011 Holiday Season! (and yes, I know that it's still 105 in Texas!) Just think refreshing thoughts of cold weather, hot chocolate and peppermints! There! Feel better now?So...How will you decorate? Are your Christmas decorations looking stale, bedraggled, and otherwise chewed up and gnarly?
Freshen up your Holiday decor with beautifully festive pieces from Willow House! You can view the catalog and shop online at my website! Come on! Christmas isn't that far away!

Weekly Deals!

This week's Willow House Weekly Deals are posted on my website. Here's a little sneak peek!

The Southern Living Homestyle Cookbook is just $9.96, this week only. Click that link and order your copy today.  Stock up for Christmas gifts, hostess gifts, bunco gifts, and of course, a gift for yourself!

These gorgeous Luminous Martini glasses are so beautiful! Use them to serve up special desserts, or your favorite icy beverage, Wine-a-Rita  for example. Pretty food served in pretty dishes...that's simply good design.

While you're at my website, be sure to look at the new Fall catalog from Willow House. Full of design tips, style inspiration, and fabulous things for your home, you'll want to place an order soon! Better yet, contact me and find out how to host a party and earn up to 70% off your favorite item in the catalog. Oh, and did I mention that it's double hostess rewards this month? Hurry! You can have a "virtual party" and earn the same benefits, with none of the work of having a real party. Contact me today and find out how!
Andy Schwartz-Willow House Catalog

Smokin' Sunday!

My husband is the KING of what we in Texas call "Aggie Engineering". In other words, he loves to remake and redo things in order to save money. (Sometimes that's actually a good thing). His latest project involved remaking an old, unused, little electric smoker that had been sitting out in our shed for probably 10 years or so. He was about to put it out at the curb, so he could purchase a new fancy-schmancy wood fired smoker, when his brain lit up, and that little, cheap lightbulb went off! Ding ding ding!!! He decided to retro fit that little old smoker himself. No fancy- schmancy needed here! No sirree! He found some directions online, (which I have since searched for and can't find) and was able to make a perfectly fine, perfectly sized, little smoker, just fit for two! I have to say. It's been AWESOME! No need to heat up my kitchen in this Texas heat! Yay! This Sunday, he smoked a brisket, and I just have to share his rub recipe.
2 T. Sugar
2 T. Kosher Salt
3 tsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. fresh chopped oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

On Saturday night, he sprinkled the rub onto the brisket and rubbed it in realllllly good. He wrapped it up in foil and it stayed in the fridge all night. Gettin' all spicy and stuff... Then on Sunday, out to the smoker it went. Daisy supervised. She's good like that.

He placed it on our little bitty smoker.

Daisy watched. She takes this smokin' business very seriously. She is hugging that little bit of shade by the fence! Poor baby...so hot right now. Ugh...

He had been soaking some apple wood chips for hours, and that's what he placed onto the already hot fire, to create the smoke. He just checked on the smoker periodically, placing new chips onto the fire. That smoke is the key to great barbecue!

Can you smell that smoke? That is pure deliciousness. I wish you had smell-o-vision.

Here's that beautiful brisket, after hanging out in the smoker for about 5 hours.

Oh yeah.

Sliced up and ready to devour. It was so tender and juicy and ridiculously good. I swear. It just made me Texas barbecue proud! Yum-yum!

I served it with a "semi-homemade" pasta salad. I just made a boxed pasta salad mix, and whisked in one generous tablespoon of prepared Basil Pesto to the dressing. I added the last of my fresh Roma tomatoes (sigh) and some mozzarella cheese, black olives, thinly sliced red olives and fresh basil. I let that hang out in the fridge all day, and it was ready to enjoy by supper time.
Enjoy! Take time to smell the brisket...

Making, Cooking, Drinking, Reading...

I just saw this on another blog and thought it was a great idea. Please copy and write and keep it going! It's a great way to catch up on what we're doing and what's happening in our own little corners of the world.

Making: A mess while I attempt to clean up my office.

Cooking: About to make some chocolate chip cookies. Or no bake cookies. It's too dang hot!

Drinking: Lots of water! Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! (of course I'll probably have a peach bellini from Wine-a-Rita a little bit later!

Reading: Just finished "Hissy Fit" by Mary Kay Andrews and loved it so much that I ordered her newest one, "Summer Rental". Just plain fun!

Looking: at the hummingbirds chase each other off the hummingbird feeder. Why do the little stinkers do that? There's plenty for all!

Playing: Danny Wright on Pandora. I'm an old fuddy duddy. But it relaxes me.

Wishing: It would rain. Oh how we need rain!

Praying: For rain. and cooler temps. It's. Just. Awful!!!

Liking: My new job at Wine-a-Rita. I'm actually looking forward to Monday!

Smelling: The delicious aroma from the smoker. John has a brisket on and it smells divine! I'm going to post a little how to and recipe later!

Wearing: My Sunday uniform. Chico's Zenergy pants and tee shirt. And no make up!!

Knowing: That my plans are not necessarily God's plans, but that He knows best for me!

Thinking: about how much fun dinner will be tonight when Greg and Sarah come over!

Giggling: about some of the crazy things I see on Pinterest!

Excited: about the new comforter set I ordered from Penney's. I've been looking far and wide for one for Amanda's old room, now the guest room. Can't wait to get it!

Feeling: Tired. Might be time for a nap!

Cinnamon Roll Sunday

If you've ever worked in retail, you know how hard it is. Feet hurt. Back hurts. Cranky customers make you want to run from the store screaming. So last weekend I decided to reward my coworkers at Chico's with some beautiful, homemade cinnamon rolls. I found the recipe at allrecipes.com, (which I highly recommend). Here is the link to the fabulous and easy recipe: Clone of a Cinnabon.

So, here's my photos, step by step. I started out, as the recipe recommended, by using the dough cycle on my bread machine. Hooray for bread machines! I also use mine at Christmas, when I make dozens of loaves of bread to give away as gifts. It's a time saver and works great!

After the dough cycle has completed, dump it out onto a floured surface, and roll into a rectangle-ish shape.

Make the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Spread your rectangle with butter. Lots of smooth, creamy butter! Real Butter please! Then sprinkle the rectangle liberally with your cinnamon sugar mixture. I used my flour sifter.
Roll the rectangle into this shape. Don't worry if it's not perfect. You can cut those ugly ends off, and bake them for your samples. I mean, you have to sample it right? You don't care if it's ugly, as long as it tastes good, right?
Here's my hint for slicing the rolls. Use Dental Floss!! Works like a charm, go under, criss-cross and pull. Makes for smooth clean cuts every time, and is better than sawing away with your knife.
Place your beautiful rolls into a BUTTERED pan. Yep, more butter. At this point, you can rise and bake as the recipe recommends, or cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. That way you can bake them in the morning! Just remove the wrap in the morning, and place into a cool oven, set the temperature to 350, and bake for about 25-30 minutes. Your kitchen will smell like heaven!
Ice the rolls while they are still warm from the oven. The cream cheese icing recipe is fabulous! I'd even use it on cakes. It's really yummy! Seriously, how gorgeous are these rolls? They tasted even better than they look! After making these, you'll never want to open a Pillsbury can again!

Friday Favorites!

Time for Friday Favorites!

A new feature of my blog: On Fridays, I'll be sharing some of my favorite things with you. Just for fun! And one of my favorite summertime treats is Tomatoes! Love me some 'maters. Nothing says summer like a fresh picked, vine ripened tomato from our little raised bed garden. Unfortunately, this heat has just about killed every living green thing, except for the bugs and worms, so not much of a bountiful harvest this year. I don't even have enough to can up a supply to carry us through the winter. Oh well, I'll enjoy the meager amount we have, and just eat 'em fresh! Yummmm yummmm!!!

One of our favorite ways to eat tomatoes, (other than slicing and salting them) is Bruschetta. I had some at an Italian restaurant recently and the server corrected my pronunciation of "brushetta" by telling me it's actually pronounced "brusketta". Whatever. I just call it delicious!

Simply chop up Roma tomatoes, a good size bunch of basil, one clove of garlic a bit of kosher salt, and a little olive oil or balsamic vinaigrette. (you can even add a bit of red onion to taste) You can serve it with crisp garlic toast like we did here, or actually place it on the toast, top with some parmesan or mozzarella, and pop it in the oven until the cheese has melted. Either way. WOW! A lovely taste of summer.

I use A La Carte Tuscan Roasted Garlic Dip from Willow House to make my Garlic Toast. It's seriously delicious, with huge chunks of roasted garlic throughout. Simply spritz your french bread or baguette with olive oil, sprinkle the Garlic seasoning on top and toast. You might also notice that pretty red appetizer plate. That's the Cinnabar Appetizer Tray, also from Willow House! You can order both of those products (and lots more) from my website!

Hope you try this idea, I'm sure it'll become one of your favorites as well. Please leave a comment, and share one of your favorite things!

Don't Be a Vulture

This whole store closing business has been quite enlightening. I've learned alot about human behaviour. The good and the bad. Mostly bad. And quite a bit of downright funny and foolish. So here's some do's and don't on how to behave as a customer during a "Quitting the Business Sale"

*Don't walk in saying, "What's free? Whatcha giving away?" We would actually still like to make a profit and pay some bills. Don't be a freaking vulture, coming in to pick our bones. Rude.

* Don't make offensive offers on our product. If something's marked $149, a non offensive offer would be, say, $135 or so. Don't come in and offer $99!!! Take it or leave it. We'll leave it , thank you very much. Rude.

* You might want to pay attention to all those GIGANTICALLY HUGE signs that say "Store Closing". So don't come in and ask us to order something, or ask when we'll be getting more in, or ask for a job! Get a clue people!

* Our quantities are limited. Most folks realize that. So don't get all pissy and throw a shoe across the room because we don't have your size. Yep. Some "lady" actually did that the other day. Rude.

* Quit asking why we're closing and say we're your favorite store blalalalalala, when we know you haven't shopped with us in like, 2 years! If we were your favorite, and you had actually shopped, we'd probably still be hanging in there!

And finally, it's okay to wish us well, and hope for the best etc. This whole thing is tough, and we're trying to put a positive spin on it. Your good thoughts mean the world.

Vent over.

Have a nice day!

What a fun waste of time!

I've discovered Pinterest. Granted, I'm a little late to the party, but wow! How I'm enjoying it. I used to find things on the web, and promptly forget what I found and where. But with Pinterest, I can create a virtual bulletin board, and pin the things I see. I'm hoping it will spark my creativity, and not just end up being another time waster. But if that's how it turns out, it's really fun! Want to see my boards and maybe join up yourself? Here ya go!

Andy's Pinterest Boards

And now for a little Happy!

Just thought I'd share some photos from Greg and Sarah's beautiful wedding. What a glorious day for a precious couple.

For more, please go to Ambient 11

Just a few more steps down memory lane...

Our Grand Opening. The result of countless hours of prayer, preparation, sweat and hard work. (Try unloading 10,000 pounds of steel weight off the back end of an eighteen wheeler that doesn't have a lift gate.)

We were: thrilled, excited, elated, terrified, exhausted, and so HAPPY!!

As a side note, most of our original work crew is pictured here. Including Sean Dugan, who somehow ended up with the gigantic scissors to cut the ribbon. Never quite understood how he ended up with that job, but oh well! Nice job Dugan!

There are lots more pictures of us hanging out at the store. This was actually my favorite time, when all four of us worked the business together. Nothing like family in a family business. We had fun, got on each other's nerves, bickered a little bit, but always worked together. I think my kids learned alot about people, business, money and the rewards of hard labor and prayer.

The Beginning of The End...

I've been a less than prolific writer this year. Sooo much going on, which I'll come back and write about later. Right now, our main attraction and focus is the closure of our beloved store. We opened up in 2004, after John retired from Wally World. It's been a bumpy ride for sure, full of ups and downs and stories galore. It's a business decision, but one that breaks our hearts.

For us, it's a loss. A loss of relationships, business and income, identity and the loss of a dream. It's hard. But we're both ready to move on. Sigh...I've been trotting down memory lane, looking at photos of when our dream began, the building of the store, the kids who used to work for us.

They made it fun for us. We employed alot of kids, most of whom were high school or college students. They worked so hard, and I'm proud to say we helped them reach their educational and career goals. They worked hard, but they played hard too. Volleypong anyone? Don't ask, it's a complicated game, and many pairs of sunglasses lost their lives. Our kids have pursued degrees and careers as a nurse, a counselor, a retail manager, a public relations manager, a coach, a theatre teacher, a photographer, and that's just the one's I can remember!

Here's a few more photos from the build out of our store. This first one was the day our sign went up. We were so excited! It had rained and rained and rained. Every thing was delayed, and we thought this day would never come! It was so wonderful to see that sign, because it meant we were almost ready!

That's John, hard at work before we moved into the building. We were so stinking proud! Literally stinking. It was hard, sweaty work! Oh, and did we ever tell you about the time the roof leaked and completely soaked the carpet before we moved in? Yeah, that was awesome.

John and Greg, hanging out at the store. I'm proud of the fact that our kids took as much pride in the store as we did. It was their's too!

That's John, Amanda and Hogan checking out customers. John always called Hogan "The Machine" because she was quick and methodical at the registers. She could sling weights and arrange counters as well or better than any of the guys we had working.

Hogan with our daughter, Amanda. Both of these girls could WORK! So proud of the young ladies they've become. I promise you, every time one of our employees left us for greener pastures, I cried. Every. Single. Time.

That's Kendal and Pugh. Little Pugh. We had Big Pugh when we first opened. (He's one of the one's I cried over) So several year later we hired his little brother. We called them the newbies when they stared and it kind of stuck. They've brought us many hours of laughter! Many. Kendal is one of the finest young photographers in Texarkana. I know she'll go far. Pugh's going to Alabama...we wish him well. John Mark works for us too. He's sneaky though, and I don't have a picture of him right now. I'll try and add one later!