A Glittery Christmas, Banana Salad....and Some Thanksgiving Advice...

Happy Saturday, all! Hope you're all having a great time with family and friends today!

Just a few things for you today...how about some extremely glittery Christmas cards? These are both beautiful images that I purchased from Every Thing Creative...

I just love this peaceful, wintry village scene...I want to live there!

I cut out an oval shape out of some cheap cardstock to make a "mask"--then used spray glue (my new favorite thing!) on the outer edges of the image...then added Martha Stewart "snow" glitter--very chunky and marvellous! Another spray on top of that to add some fine, diamond sparkle--kind of a vignette-type of look.

I used SU! felt snowflakes, and did the same thing with them--a couple of coats of spray glue, and the two types of glitter. A little crystal rhinestone in the middle of each, and it's sparkle-tacular!

I love this velvet ribbon...it's a bit of a bear to tie a decent bow with it, though...oh, well!

Here's the other:

I really love this image--feels very Dickens, doesn't it? Beautiful faces, beautiful coloring, just...beautiful! Just typed up my own sentiment on the computer with one of my favorite fonts, "Christmas Carol". A little Snow-Tex and glitter over the lovely front door...

I used my new Martha Stewart pine bough edge punch--fun!--on the green paper edges--spackled on a bit of Snow-Tex, and some fine diamond glitter, of course! I popped up the pine bough-edged paper a big so it didn't cover the image as much...

Ah, vintage Christmas images....does it get any better than this???

I've been working on my menu planning for Thanksgiving dinner--how about you? Every year I try a new recipe or two, but this recipe I'll share with you today HAS to be included every year!

When I was growing up in North Olmsted, Ohio, our good friend down the street, Carolyn Smith, used to make this traditionally for her family. Somehow, we had it--can't remember what the occasion was, but it then became a tradition for Thanksgiving in our family. The few times it wasn't prepared, the head chef really heard about it!

I don't have a photo of it today--I'll share one next week, though, when I make...

Banana Salad

Custard:

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup light brown sugar

1 1/2 heaping Tbsp. flour

2 egg yolks, beaten

2 handfuls of mini marshmallows

Beat egg yolks and add to sauce pan. Add flour, milk, brown sugar and mix until smooth. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly until mix is thickened--be careful not to burn. When hot, add the marshmallows, stirring until melted.

Remove from heat, cool, and store in the refrigerator. Custard can be made a day or two ahead.

1 jar roasted peanuts, broken

6-8 bananas, sliced

In a trifle dish, layer the ingredients--custard, bananas, peanuts, repeat...until dish is filled. Can top with more peanuts, marshmallows, and maraschino cherries, if desired. Regrigerate until ready to serve.

My mother and I usually quadruple the sauce, just to make sure there's more than plenty--don't want a skimpy banana salad! Try it--I think you'll love it!

***So, now I need to know...what are your family's favorite Thanksgiving dishes? What can you NOT do without on that day of feasting and bursting at the seams??? I'd love to hear about your favorites!***

Lastly, a little advice from my Uncle Eric...I hesitated showing this picture, as it showcases me with some really bad "80's" hair, but--what are you going to do?!

This is me, about 1984-85, with my Uncle Eric and Aunt Janet...the card Uncle Eric holds is a turkey that says, "You are what you eat..." Good to remember with Thanksgiving less than a week away, huh?!

Have a wonderful Saturday, and I'll see you tomorrow!