Speaking of apples, I'm on a hot oatmeal apple bake, kick. Which tastes amazing the next day. With the oatmeal bake we've tried a couple dairy-free whipped toppings. For the money, they should taste better.
Now I'm on the hunt for a quality stainless steel, aluminum-free whipped cream dispenser. Got my eye on a few. Haven't pulled the trigger yet.
In other news, right after Halloween, Christmas goes up. The tree looks pretty with all the lights. We also moved the couch and TV around, which is something we do twice a year. Winter-mode and summer-mode for the holiday snug. That's one room done.
Delightful.
In other, other news, we're moving the kitchen around as well. Got a box of donates headed out the door. Pans and bake dishes I loved for awhile and now don't use. They can go. I recently bought carbon steel cavity baking pans, mini muffin and regular sized for a killer good price.
I love these pans. Love them.
Lastly, we went to see Beetlejuice today, using our gift card during the early bird special pricing. Even better, we were the only two at the movie. LOOOOOVE THAT.
Today was an excellent way to kick off staycation. I loved coming home from Beetlejuice to see the Christmas lights and the snug in winter-mode. To Christmas I say, bring it on, I'm ready.
Cheers and Boogie Boogie!
I don't do Christmas decorations anymore and when I did I waited until December as one of my kids has a late November birthday.
ReplyDeleteNone at all, eh?
DeleteMy Christmas stuff always goes up Thanksgiving night or later. I'm all for people doing it when it makes them happy though. Glad you are off to a great start on your staycation. Enjoy the rest of it.
ReplyDeleteMe too, Ann! I'm all for whatever anyone wants to do. What I'm not okay with is when I hear folks who want to decorate right after Halloween, only they don't because they remain beholden to someone elses rule that it can't be until the last weekend. Balls to that nonsense. Do whatever anyone fancies.
DeleteI love it when you post because I always come away smiling. your blog is so HAPPY, and aptly named. I remember the joy of staycations back in the workdays of our life.. New people bought a house 4 doors over and the 2nd day when Beau and I walked by, they had the biggest Christmas tree that would fit in the ceiling height blazing with white lights. I love it. I will put my tiny tree in the nook soon simply because it makes me happy looking at it.. enjoy the rest of your staycation and stay Happy, we all need some Happy In Our lives and you bubble with it... the Santa art makes me leave with a grin on my face
ReplyDeleteI love small trees in nooks. Makes me happy as well. Thank you for the kind words about my cartoons. How goes the fence next door? Did they put up a new one? Wow on the tree to the ceiling. That's neat. Thanks for sharing that story.
DeleteThat's the best movie experience - no one else in the theater with you. Enjoy your time off!
ReplyDeleteYes! We love it!!!!
DeleteEnjoy your time off!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you. It was one for the books.
DeleteWow.. Christmas decorations already - seems early but I'm sure you are enjoying them. What's the story with the carbon steel cavity baking pans? Are they nonstick? Are they healthier? I'm looking to replace my teflon pans.
ReplyDeleteI'm still learning about them. This is my first set since years ago when we dropped aluminumm muffin pans and stuff like that. So far, I love these pans.
DeleteOh yes. Each year right after Halloween, Christmas goes up. The boxes are right next to each other in the storage space. I see no logical reason to come back again later in the month. Plus we love Christmas. So for us it's right on time. Just depends when Halloween comes down. One Halloween night we took everything down and boom, just like that it was Christmas at The Manor.
So fun!
Have a wonderful Staycation. They are always the BEST!!
ReplyDeleteOMG, Lori! was one for the books. Six days on staycation.
DeleteThat does sound like a great start to your vacation. And thanks for reminding me about the baked oatmeal. I've been thinking about trying that for awhile now, but with the warm weather, it escaped my plans. Enjoy your time off! Staying home can be the best,a s your first day sounded like.
ReplyDeleteHi Erika! Yes, right now we are more into staycations with small day trips and home for bed. Not a big fan of hotels. Baked oatmeal with apples, so good!
DeleteHave an AWESOME staycation, you two! I taped Holiday Baking Championship but haven't watched it yet. I recently got hooked on Crime Scene Kitchen, and have binge-watched the first 2 seasons and now am caught up on the third current season as well. It's a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteI think I've seen that. Not sure it's on The streaming service we have today. Is that the one where they have to make the dessert based on the leftovers aka, crime scene?
DeleteStaycation sounds great! So does oatmeal apple bake -- what a good fall food! (I know -- you're in spring but here, it's fall!) We have another holiday before I feel good setting up for Christmas and in any event, I can't set up a darned thing till after the art sale and the second bedbug treatment. I'm just hoping to get it all together by Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteHi Jeanie! My bad for not explaining better. We're in winter where I live. Heat on, Christmas up.
DeleteOatmeal bake is soooo easy and yummy. Happy Baking and Eating!
PS: Here's to a good art sale and here's to saying goodbye to bedbugs.
Hello! I am smiling as I read your post. Thank you for that! Thank you for sharing your love of all the Christmas! I am so excited for Holiday Baking Championship! Thanks for the heads up!
ReplyDeleteHi Billie Jo! such a fun baking show and I love the learning part too. Really cool. Do you also watch the Halloween Baking Championship? Those two are my fave.
DeleteEnjoy your long weekend.
ReplyDeleteSix day stry cation and it was fantastic. One for the books.
DeleteHappy staycation to you!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Hey, I made pizza dough during staycation. Oh my yum. Been way too long since I did pizza dough. How goes your bakes?
DeleteLove the energy and enthusiasm of this post! Thank you! Have a great staycation.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Happy New Week, Marie.
DeleteI enjoyed all of the happiness in this post...I hope you have a GREAT staycation (and it sounds fun so far) and that you accomplish things that you have planned for. Once again...I love your great enthusiasm...
ReplyDeleteThank you, It was lovely and whilst we didn't finish everything, we're both happy with what got done. A staycation for the books.
DeleteHave a WONDERFUL staycation.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sue!
DeleteEnjoy! I know you love this season!
ReplyDeleteWe really do.Thanks, Christine.
DeleteThis post shines happiness all through it! Staycation’s will do that. Enjoy decking the halls!
ReplyDeleteHi Debby! Staycations rock.
DeleteI'm SO ready for snuggle weather! Can't wait...Glad you both enjoyed days off together!
ReplyDeletehugs
Donna
Snuggle days are the best. Huggs back.
DeleteHave a lovely time, hugs!
ReplyDeleteThanks and huggs back.
DeleteI love Christmas very much, so I start to put things out end of November. It's nice that you are donating things you no longer want or need. I have been doing that as well. So far, three bags. Your oatmeal apple bake sounds wonderful. Apple desserts this time of year are so Yummy.
ReplyDeleteHappy November days.
~Sheri
It is great to declutter and give the stuff away when possible. Three bags ! Excellent work. Go you!
DeleteYes on the apples. We are a house of apple bakes year round. Apple sauce, all of it.
Hello. What a happy, cheerful post! I love it! Enjoy your staycation! Your hot oatmeal apple bake sounds wonderful. Have you tried a Greek non-dairy yogurt for the topping? It might be a good option. Have a great weekend! Curious... have you been to Barnes & Noble lately? We are hoping to stop by there tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteHello Julia! Oh yeah. Barnes is our go-to place. Did you get to go?
DeleteNon-dairy yoghurt on homemade granola with jam, oh my yum. Yes could work on the bake too. I haven't tried Silk Yoghurt in the whipped cream dispenser yet. Might work though may need thinned out. I'll find out.
How was Barnes?
Barnes was wonderful! We spent well over an hour there and honestly, I could've stayed much longer. They were putting lots of Christmas stuff out and it felt very festive. We bought a puzzle this time. I almost bought a rom-com book, but I'm a slow reader and recently started a new one. I'm hoping to stop by there again next week. I could spend the entire day in Barnes! Books, magazines coffee, and snacks - what more could I want?
DeleteSilk yogurt sounds like it could work. Good idea! You'll have to let me know if you tried it. Have a fabulous week!!
Hi Julia! Glad you had a wonderful time. We spend gobs of hours there. We write, read, draw, it's a fun place to go. If you have a kindle, Amazon offers many free cozy mysteries. I love real books for many things although for cozy mysteries and rom coms, I like the free ebooks. And if you have a Nook, Barnes used to allow free reading of their books in-store.
DeleteI'll try coconut cream and yoghurt. So far nothing foaming up in the cream dispenser. The experiments continue. wishing you a fabulous week, too.
Great post Ivy, loved reading it. I am in the process of emptying closets and donating things. Your oatmeal apple bake sounds delicious. I am always surprised how fast the year goes. Christmas decorations are going up and I am telling the hubs it’s time to start thinking about bringing the Christmas tree up from the basement. Happy weekend to you 😊
ReplyDeleteEmptying closets is a wonderful thing. Go you! Did you get the tree up from the basement?
DeleteI didn’t get the tree up yet. This weekend I hope😊It would be nice to get it done for Thanksgiving. Happy weekend to you!
DeleteA great start to your Staycation ... have fun and enjoy :)
ReplyDeleteOut and about earlier I did see a few houses decorated for Christmas ... it seems a little early but there is no hard and fast rule is there!
Wishing you lots of happy November days.
All the best Jan
Thanks, Jan. Six days away from work was just what was needed.
DeleteFor us its not early- We enjoy two full months of Christmas though I get that not everyone digs that. I just love it though. Lights so pretty.
I would not mind having Christmas lights up...I need to go find some...Oatmeal and Apple bake...are you talking like an apple crisp? That sounds delicious.
ReplyDeleteHi Rose. I love a good apple crisp. This though is oatmeal or porridge that gets made cold and then bakes over cinnamon apple chunks. Or apple slices would likely work too. As for lights. They're so pretty. Hope you get some up.
DeleteG'morning! I soooo love your enthusiasm -- who doesn't need a big gulp of cheer with their coffee! Because I want to eke out every smidgen of November's color wheel, I won't bring out the tree until December. That's okay, we're probably the last souls on the planet to take ours down mid-January.
ReplyDeleteHave a yummy day!
Hellooo! Sadly our leaves are long gone and winter trees are everywhere. We love autumn though. It was a great fall here. Love that you keep your tree out to what suits you! One year Ma put Valentine Day cards on the tree. It was a live tree that lasted many months.
DeleteWhat a fun and full of joy post today. I do need that every once in a while myself.
ReplyDeleteWish I had the Christmas things up already. Its so much work but completely satisfying after its done.
Keep on being your Happy Self.
Sue
Hi Sue. I agree, so satisfying. This year we kept both Halloween on the light side. Just a few bits and bobs to celebrate the spooky season and the Christmas fun. Thanks for stopping in.
Delete