Monday, December 20, 2010

Be Jolly By Golly Blogfest!!!

You guys have been awesome! I'm over the moon on the amount of people that signed up (90+)! Melissa and I had a lot of fun creating this blog fest and we hope you all enjoy it!

Here are my holiday decorations! It was a lot of fun putting them together in the new place just in time for the blog fest!!

The Christmas Tree










The little tree in our bedroom









Snow on the tree (one of my favs)









One of our cats enjoying my handiwork









Lights along the banister









Holiday stocking holders! So cute!









My little town! I love them!






Now my two recipes... one is for delicious spritz cookies and the other is a traditional vodka slush my husband and his family make every year!! I've searched high and low for a picture of vodka slush so you'll have to use your imagination for that one!

Spritz Cookies (Picture below):
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional) - I don't add this
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Mix everything in a bowl, let it sit for 30 minutes (to help soften), roll into a log and place in cookie press ($20 at Target).

Oven 375 degrees, 8 minutes per batch, Making 84 cookies (about 70 for me)!

These are some of my favorite! It took two tries to get it right but I did it!











Now bring on the alcohol... I bring you Vodka Slush (Vicki knows it's good!) - No she is not a lush, she just used my recipe.

Ingredients:
1 - 6oz cherry jello gelation
2 - 12oz orange juice
2 - 12oz frozen lemonade
64 fl oz cranberry juice
Vodka

Directions:
Grab a big bowl (the ingredients don't look like much, but they are)
Make sure you have freezer room for this large bowl
Add 1-6 oz cherry jello gelation (dissolve in 2 cups hot water)
Add 6 cups cold water
Throw both frozen orange juice and both frozen lemonade
Add 4 cups of cranberry juice
Add 4 cups vodka
Freeze for 48 hours (stir every couple of hours - While working 2-4 times a day is fine)

Serve with Sprite in a wine glass! Voila!

Here we are! That was fun! Now I get to go see what other's make for the holidays! Join me!


94 comments:

Christine Danek said...

The recipes look yummy. Vodka is one of my favs. :) Your decorations are beautiful. My kitties love the tree too. Have a wonderful holiday!

DL Hammons said...

Hey...I make a holiday slush also, except mine is with Brandy. :) Love your decorations! This was a wonderful idea.

Renae said...

Love your decorations and the recipes sound amazing! Thanks for hosting such a fun blogfest!

S.A. Larsenッ said...

This is a remarkable blogfest. Not sure how I missed it, hon. Sorry. I'll post something on Friday. lol

Great photos! Enjoy your holidays!

(How appropriate. My word code reads: latessen. ahah...)

PK HREZO said...

Beautiful decorations! MM, I love sprtiz cookies... I make those too.

Have a wonderful Xmas!! :)

Diana Mieczan said...

Wow...all the decorations look so amazing:) I love the tree so much:)And I need to try this recipe..Sounds wonderful
Happy Monday,sweetie
I cant wait for Christmas:) Muah

Shannon said...

Your place looks great! Thanks for sharing the recipes! Fun blogfest!

Christina Lee said...

YAY!!!! I can't believe I don't own a holiday village yet!! I've go to get on it! THX Jen, this was fun!

Catherine Denton said...

So fun to see your Christmas decor! Thanks for the tour.

Katie O'Sullivan said...

Love your decorations - my favorite part of the blog is the second step of your slushie recipe - make sure there's enough room in the freezer!
LOL!
Happy Holidays
KatieO

Vicki Rocho said...

Great blogfest idea!

Love the decorations! (And the vodka slush of course!)

Angela said...

What fun. Merry Christmas!

Guinevere said...

Hey, we have the same cookies! Your decorations look great.

Thanks for hosting such a fun blog fest!

Kimberly Franklin said...

Love the decorations! And what a pretty apartment you have! Merry Christmas, Jen! :)

Unknown said...

You have some beautiful decorations. Those cookies look amazing so perfectly seasonal. Vodka and ice crushed with sage and lime is my favourite.

Anonymous said...

All looks very festive! Love the little town with the snow and the treats!

Stina said...

I've gained so much weight from the blogfest, it's not even funny. Guess I'd better go and exercise now. ;)

Have a great Christmas, Jenn.

Nicole Zoltack said...

Merry Christmas! Love the decorations, especially the little town.

Kelly Polark said...

Wow, Jen! You have your new place decorated already! Looks awesome! And that slush drink sounds mighty tasty!
Merry Christmas and thanks for hosting this bash!

Lisa Potts said...

Good for you getting your decorations up right after the move!

The recipes look fantastic. I'm having so much fun on this blogfest. Thanks for hosting!

K M Kelly said...

Fab decorations - and yummy looking food!

Lenny Lee said...

hi miss jen! thanks for doing pictures of all those cool decorations. i love your tree. its soooo pretty.
...hugs from lenny

Matthew MacNish said...

OMG your little town! How absolutelyfreakingadorable. Great other decorations too.

Ellie Garratt said...

I can't believe how many people are taking part!

I love your little town - so sweet. And as for the vodka slush, I'm adding the ingredients to my shopping list. LOL.

Thank you for running this awesome blogfest.

Erinn said...

This was an excellent idea and it's great to be a part of something so cool and happy.

Jennifer Hoffine said...

Oooo. That vodka slush does sound good!

Thanks so much for hosting! This is so much fun!

Laura S. said...

I love spritz cookies! We kids would help my mom make them every year. So fun! She still makes them; they're our fave!

Jillian said...

oooh Love the decoration Jen!!!!!

I just love Holiday cheer!!!!!

Carol Riggs said...

Thanks so much for hosting this blogfest! I'm having great fun already. Just might have to try your cookies (I'm gonna have soooo many recipes from this!), and your decorations look great. ;o)

Tara said...

Gorgeous decorations.

Such a fun blogfest. Thanks for co-hosting :) You and Melissa rock.

LTM said...

wow! Your kitty is so well-behaved! I didn't think to include the little trees in my daughters' rooms! Their Emmy gave them each a tree one year, and now they decorate them...

Is that your new place? Yay! And ooo trying that slush! Merry Christmas!!! Great fest idea, btw~ <3

Lola Sharp said...

I love Slush, but every friend who has served it to me, makes it differently. All versions have been yummy. :)

The kitty looks happy under the tree.

Lovely decorations, Jen. :)

Merry Holidays!
Love,
Lola

Meredith said...

Is that the new place? It's beautiful! I love those decorations. And thank you so much for the spritz cookie recipe! I can't wait to try them :) Have a very Merry Christmas!

Ann said...

Spritz biscuits/cookies added to the growing list of wonderful recipes. So enjoying viewing all the wonderful Christmas decorations too. Your tree looks beautiful. Enjoy!

Botanist said...

Cats and trees can be an unfortunate combination. Luckily most of ours are now too old or too fat to be interested in climbing! Great photos!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Four cups of vodka? Obviously it's a party drink. Unless you don't want to remember Christmas!

Emily White said...

Merry Christmas, Jen! Your little tree is sooo utterly adorable! :)

Summer Ross said...

Your decorations in the new place are just lovely. I have never put snow on the tree before, but it looks neat. Cookies look awesome! Vodka slush, sound yum.

Colene Murphy said...

This has been an awesome fest! You guys have taken over the bloggy world today!!

I LOVE your decorations!!! SO beautiful!! Your new place looks amazing too!!!

Great recipes. Yoinking them. Thank you!

Merry Christmas!

Melissa Gill said...

Your house looks great. And so do the spritz cookies. I'm imagining the slush is not bad either.

Talli Roland said...

Wooooooooooo! I love this blogfest, Jen and Melissa - thank you! And yum yum yum, you KNOW I'll be making me some vodka slush. Forget the cookies - gimme some vodka, baby.

Sondrae Bennett said...

I love your cat sitting under the tree. Thanks for hosting this blogfest, it's so fun to see everyone's decorations! Is that your new place already decorated?

Tracy said...

Thanks to you guys for pulling this together. It's a ton of fun to see everyone's pix.

I especially love the cat decoration under your tree. So very life-like ;o)

Merry Christmas!

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

Jen- There's a lot of work in all that decorating.
I haven't had Spritz in years--lucky husband.

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for hosting.

Heather said...

Your decorations are beautiful, I love them! Thank you for organizing this fantastic blogfest I've enjoyed it so much. I can't wait to try and make the Vodka Slush. The name alone is AWESOME.

N. R. Williams said...

Beautiful pictures of wonderful things and yummy recipe's thanks and this is a great blog fest idea.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, fantasy author

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

Oh my cats lurve my Christmas tree too! Too much. :)

Merry Christmas!

Katrina L. Lantz said...

Oops. posted on the wrong post. Okay, here's where I meant to post this comment:

Ooh, vanilla and almond. Those spritzes look delicious! And I love your decorations!

Thanks for hosting this blogfest! It's been so fun to participate!

What a great way to end the blogging year!

Abby Minard said...

The snow is pretty on your tree! Love your decorations- so cute! My mom always makes spritz cookies. She's going to make them with my daughter when she (my daughter) goes up to stay with her next week. I loved making those with her when I was little.

Kimberly said...

Great photos and yummy recipes - now does your cat ever take off the ornaments from the tree? When we had a cat, the bottom third of the tree would be bare every day after work. :)

Happy Holidays!

Talei said...

You had me at Vodka slush!! Love your decorations and those stockings! I want a pair! ;) Have a wonderful christmas dear lady! xxx

RaShelle Workman said...

Jen - Your little town and the penguin stocking holders are so much fun! Plus I so want to make those cookies. Just looking at the pic made my mouth water. =D

Thanks so much for hosting this fest. It's so much fun.

Mary Mary said...

Your slush sounds fantastic! Nothing like some good holiday cheer!

Michael Di Gesu said...

HI, Jen,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Your new place looks great. You accomplished so much in such a short period of time.

You decorations look awesome. Enjoy your holiday season.

I will have my post up after dark. Please stop by...

Michael

Golden Eagle said...

I love the trees! And the stocking-holders are so cute. :)

Merry Christmas!

Lindsay said...

Aww. That little tree in the bedroom is so cute!

Love the little sneak peak at your new home. :)

p.s. You and Melissa have done an awesome job with the blog fest. So much fun. :)

Bitsy Bling Books said...

After seeing your pictures I just realized I totally forgot to put up my Christmas village! I knew something was missing. *hand to forehead*

Charlie

Anonymous said...

I've got to get a cookie press. Those cookies look so yummy! All of your decorations are so cute. I didn't get to put any of my village up this year.
: (

Denise Covey said...

Awesome Jen. I like the sound of that vodka slammer but I've never heard of jello gelation? What is that?

Melissa said...

UMMM we have 110 people girl!! THIS is a successful blogfest for sure!! So glad I got to do this with you!

Umm, those cookies sound DELICIOUS! YAY vodka slush... it's like snow!

I love your village and the trees! Your new place looks AWESOME!!! I keep forgetting to check out the pictures on facebook but I want to see some more.

Jan Markley said...

Beautiful pics! I'll be right over for some cookies! that cat doesn't look like she'll be going anywhere soon!

Vanessa Morgan said...

I've really enjoyed this blogfest. Hopefully there will be another one next year ;-)

Avalon Cat Cartoon said...

Christmas purrrrs from the only blogging cat from the blogfest :)

Beth Fred said...

You have beautiful decorations.
beth-project52.blogspot.com

Southpaw said...

Gorgeous decorations! Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

You have a little town, too! SOOO cute!!! (just saw melissa's)

Merry Christmas!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Spritz Cookies look and sound yum! And I love the cat under the tree. My cat still likes to play with the decorations.

Heather Dixon said...

Those cookies look serious tasty.

Kelley said...

I adore you little tree, i wish i had one for my dorm! Enjoy those holiday cookies and drinks both sound delicious!

Jessica Lawlor said...

OMG- how have I never heard of vodka slush before?! This sounds incredible. Definitely just saved this recipe! Love the tree, also!

The Words Crafter said...

I love the little town!

Theresa Milstein said...

Now I've seen and know how to make spritz cookies. Very cool!

Jemi Fraser said...

Loving this blogfest! It's going to take me a few days to get to all the posts! Great pics - love the new place - enjoy it!! :)

Wild Child said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Wild Child said...

Spritz cookies, you had to lead with those... I love those. Have never made them, don't have the equipment for them, I can really only obsess about my springerle and can't fall in love with making another cookie. But, yum!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Great pictures!

Natasha said...

I love the snow on your tree, and the decorations (and your house) look amazing.
Thank you for hosting such a lovely blogfest.

Donea Lee said...

Wow, Jen! This Holiday blogfest has been a wonderfully amazing success!! I've had so much fun checking out everyone's great holiday posts ~ :) And some yummy recipes!! I LOVE recipes!!! Thanks, so much, for hosting. Your place looks great and I <3 your Christmas village. Merriest of all Merry Christmases to you!!

Jennie Bailey said...

I love the snow on your tree! Everything looks amazing. I'm so impressed. If I had just moved in, it wouldn't look THAT great! You rock!

Unknown said...

I love the little town!!
Thank you for the blogfest :-)

Anonymous said...

I love the snow on your tree! So pretty :-)

Michelle Merrill said...

Jen, I love all your decorations. Thanks for hosting this blogfest. I just got done going through each one and it was a lot of fun! I hope you have a Merry Christmas :)

By the way, I emailed you last month to interview you on my blog, but I never got a response. Either you really don't want to be interviewed or my email went to your junk box. I'm guessing junk box, but maybe it's a hopeful guess ;)

Anyway, I would still love to have you as my next guest. Please email me if you'd be interested and we can talk questions.
Thanks
Michelle michellemmerrill (at) hotmail (dot) com

Anonymous said...

Wow that's yummy Belatedly I have scheduled mine to post on 25th December. HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS :O)

Unknown said...

I've loved visiting all these blogs and seeing everyone's holiday decorations. I'll be the size of a horse if I try all the treats and drinks -- a risk I'm willing to make!

Happy Holidays, Jen!

Tiffany said...

my kitty did the same exact thing, curled up under the tree.

Elizabeth Briggs said...

Thanks for hosting this! Love your decorations, and I am going to try that drink!

^ said...

Love your decorations, the cats a nice touch. ;)

Your Vodka Slush sounds really good, I'll have to give it a try. By the way this blogfest was a great idea it's been really nice checking out all the other blogs and how they celebrate.

Stephanie said...

I love Spritz cookies!! Your drink sounds a lot like something we make in the summer called Sneaky Pete!

Luna said...

Great recipes! The decorations look lovely and festive. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!

alexia said...

This blogfest was great fun!! Thank you for hosting. I love your pics and that vodka punch sounds amazing! Merry Christmas!

Ashley Stone said...

yum cookies look delish.

Clara said...

What an awesome blogfest!! LOVED your xmas decorations, Jen! You have a gift, woman! And I will try the cookies, yayyy!

Maria McKenzie said...

What a great idea for a blogfset! Love your decorations and recipes!

Brenda Drake said...

This was an awesome blogfest, I'm still going through the list and it's like visiting Christmas all over the world. My cats and the dog sleep under the tree too, I guess it's just embedded in their minds. I can't wait (really) to try your slush recipe. Thanks for hosting and have a very Merry Christmas! :D