Out with the old, in with the new!

We are out celebrating but we want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!!

P.S. There may be a few surprises in store tonight to share soon.....

Party Time: Food

This New Year's Eve we will be heading over to some friends' house for a party. Are any of you in need of a great appitizer / dip recipe to take to your NYE party? Here is the recipe for one of our favorite dips that we will be taking to ring in 2010!

3 Cheese Dip
2 cups shredded Colby cheese
2 cups shredded sharp Chedder cheese
2 cups shredded American cheese
4oz jar pimento
2 tablespoons mustard
2 cups mayo
1 tablespoon dried onion
Garlic salt to taste

Mix mustard, mayo, dried onion and garlic salt. Mix cheese with pimento. Put 2 mixtures together and chill.

After Christmas Sales

Lee and I were up early and at the good Target a little after 8:00 the day after Christmas. (The roads were still not the greatest here so Lee agreed to be my driver for the morning...thanks again Lee!) All the Christmas stuff was 50% off and I found some great stuff for next year!

I found this tube of silver ornaments for $5 and this ball of 28 silver and cream ornaments for only $5. These are very neutral and pretty so we will be able to use them for many years to come.

I bought these to go on our tree next year. I think the ball ornaments are very pretty and elegant. They were a little more expensive at $3 each but I couldn't pass them up! I already bought 4 of the hanging jewels earlier for our tree and really liked them. So at only $0.50 each I bought 4 more to add next year.

Next year I plan to make an Advent calendar. I saw it on one of my favorite blogs Bower Power (link is on the left sidebar) and fell in love with it. I bought a couple ornaments last week at Michaels for 50% off and found some more good ones on Saturday at Target for this project. The peace letters and deer were only $0.50 and the star (my favorite) was $1.50. I have a good star to this project now.

We also made a stop at Pier 1 on our way home. I have had my eye on these napkins but didn't want to spend that much money on them. At 50% off I snatched them up! I picked up two red ones and two white ones for under $8! I definitly think I can use them for more than just Christmas too. It was a successful trip and I can't wait to decorate next year!

Merry Christmas!

We hope you all get to enjoy time with family and friends and have a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Shopping

The Christmas shopping is almost done in The Cody House. We just have a few gifts left to buy (yes, we know there are only 5 days until Christmas!). Some gifts always end up getting left until the last minute. We work better under pressure. After a weekend of shopping here is what our tree now looks like…..

Our four days left of shopping are going to get cut short. We may only be down to two days. Iowa is supposed to get snowstorm #2 starting on Wednesday. Just in time to possibly ruin most of our holiday travel plans. Let’s hope the storm takes a turn and misses Iowa completely. We have enough snow and we definitely don’t need any ice!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas (Part 3)

We are back for the third and final Christmas decoration post. We have a few more decorations to show you. We bought our first wreath this year to hang on our door. I found this one for half price at Michaels. It was just a plain evergreen wreath. To make it a little more festive and pretty, I bought a roll of this ribbon (also half price at Michaels) and just tied a bow around the wreath. I figure since this wreath is a blank slate, I could do something different each year to jazz it up.

Next, we have this simple arrangement on our kitchen counter. We have lots of counter space and I like to do something different in this corner every season/holiday. This Christmas arrangement cost a total of $0! The white serving platter was a wedding shower gift. I already had the bulbs and jingle bells from last year that I picked up super cheap. The candles were part of our wedding decorations. I just set the candles on the serving platter and placed the bulbs and jingle bells around them. I love to come up with new ways to use what you already have.


Finally, we have our white Christmas table setting. Like the counter arrangement, this table setting cost $0. The white pillar candles were from our wedding. I bought the white feather tree a few years ago on an after Christmas sale. The taper candle holders are from a November trip to Ikea (only $0.49 each!). I already had the silver bulbs on hand from a few years ago. (Side note: I have seen many Christmas decorating posts on other blogs using silver bulbs. Pick some up on an after Christmas sale if you can….you will definitely be able to use them for many years to come!) I arranged all these things in the middle of the table, pulled out the black placemats, and set the table. I pulled out our toasting glasses (zebra-like-print glasses) from our wedding since they fit the color scheme. I think this table would easily work for New Years as well. Happy Friday!!

A Delicious Treat

I absoutly love these Reese's cookies.

Step 1: Grap the cracker
Step 2: Peanut Butter on the knife
Step 3: Spread the peanut butter on the cracker
Step 4: Place another Ritz cracker on top to make a sandwhich
Step 5: Remove excess peanut butter with finger and eat
Step 6: Dip cracker sandwhich into chocolate almond bark melted with a double broiler
Step 7: Place cookie on wax paper to cool in fridge or freezer
Step 8: Eat

I have been known to eat a plate at a time. Easy and delicious!!!

-Lee