Coffee Break with Liz and Kate » Entries tagged with "holidays"
Mardi Gras 101 – Kate’s Escapades
Today is Mardi Gras. Don’t live in New Orleans? Never celebrated Mardi Gras? No worries. My philosophy is Never let a good holiday go to waste. So, just for you, dear readers… Mardi Gras 101. What is Mardi Gras? The Romans’ Lupercalia festival was held in mid-February to honor the god of fertility and agriculture, Lupercus. The party had definite Mardi Gras-like qualities, including drinking, feasting and “pleasures of the flesh”. During the Crusades, the carnival-like Lupercalia became adopted as a “last fling” of indulgence before the 40-day Lenten period of penitence. ~Mardi Gras on the Net How did New Orleans become the Mardi Gras capital here in the U.S.? Some think the French explorer Sieur d’Ibervilled introduced Mardi Gras when he landed in what is today Louisiana in 1699. Others say that early French settlers … Read entire article »
Filed under: Headline, Kate's Escapades, Let's Celebrate, Let's Eat
Kate’s Escapades – Snow Day
This is my facebook status update from 11:27pm on Dec 20, 2010 (the eve of the last day of school before Christmas Break). “10 1/2 inches (according to my son’s ruler) and it’s still coming down. Enough already. I’m sort of afraid to go to sleep for fear of what I’ll wake up to tomorrow morning. (KY friends…this much snow and we still won’t get a snow day out of it. Not one single cotton pickin’ snow day in the 11 winters we’ve lived here.)” Allow me to sidetrack for a bit here. Ahhhh…my Kentucky friends and their snow days. You see, I spent most of my school years in Kentucky, where a kid can expect many a snow day every year. One or two inches equals a snow day for sure. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Headline, Kate's Escapades, Let's Celebrate
Merry Christmas from Liz and Kate – Our favorite Christmas songs
Well, here we are, Christmas Day, 2010. As you know, we’ve been offering up some of our favorite Christmas songs over the last few days. It’s difficult to imagine Christmas without music, so as you celebrate this day with family and friends, check out some of our favorite songs or pull out your own favorites. Just be sure to add some musical magic! “Let It Snow” by Doris Day “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” by Bare Naked Ladies Winter Wonderland by Eurythmics “The Christmas Song” by Johnny Mathis “Stille Nacht” by Mannheim Steamrollers Liz and Kate wish all of you the merriest of Christmases. May God bless you and the ones you love. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Headline, Kate's Escapades, Let's Celebrate, Liz's Rants
Kate’s Escapades: Our favorite holiday music
It’s Christmas Eve, folks. Rush, scurry, wrap, cook, clean, spend 5 minutes with us listening to some great Christmas tunes, then back for more rushing, scurrying, wrapping, cooking and cleaning. And don’t forget to ENJOY the wonders of this Christmas season. Happy Christmas Eve! “Hallelujah”, by Kathy Mattea “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams “Sleigh Ride” by the Boston Pops Orchestra “Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire” by Michael Buble Enjoy! What are your favorite Christmas Songs? Leave a comment below and tell us. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Headline, Kate's Escapades, Let's Celebrate
Liz’s Rants: Our favorite holiday music
Back by popular demand Kate and I bring you a few of our favorite songs of the season. We like a little bit of everything music-wise – old, new, sappy, peppy, traditional, edgy – you name it! And if truth be known, I suspect we’ve both been listening to Christmas music since waaay before Thanksgiving even arrived. Stop for a moment and try to imagine what the holidays would be like without Christmas music. So many of our traditions and memories are tied to the music of the season. With that in mind, we’ll be featuring a few of our all-time favorites, in no particular order, today through Christmas. And we are probably gonna think of another 3,000 favorites as soon as we post these. Nevertheless, here are a few … Read entire article »
Filed under: Headline, Let's Celebrate, Liz's Rants
Kate’s Escapades – Candy Sleigh
We’re down to the wire here, Christmas lovers. The big event is only days away. Here’s a super cute 5-minute craft that makes a great treat you can give to your neighbors, or that your kids can give to their friends. Or you can just make some to keep for yourselves. Candy Sleigh Supplies: full size chocolate bar mini candy bar with a picture of Santa on the front assorted mini candies paper to wrap the chocolate in 2 candy canes glue gun Directions: ~Kate Enjoy your coffee break! … Read entire article »
Filed under: Get Crafty, Headline, Kate's Escapades, Let's Celebrate
Christmas Craftdown, week 5
I guess you realize Christmas Day is days away. Well, not me. I’m in denial. Still a ton of things to do. Like craft some more creations. This week, we’re featuring five crafts or edible ideas so let’s get to it! Susan’s Chicken Tacos Holiday Wassail Candy Crackers Pine Crafts Bowls made from vinyl records m m My cousin Susan has been quite an asset to our craftdown. This week, she sent in a recipe that sounds great for those busy holiday nights. It’s perfect for the family, or a dinner party: Susan’s Chicken Tacos 1 cup frozen corn 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained 16-ounce jar mild salsa 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 1 1/2 pounds) Place first 3 ingredients in a slow cooker and stir to combine. Arrange chicken on top. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Remove … Read entire article »
Filed under: Get Crafty, Headline, Let's Celebrate
Kate’s Recipe of the Week – What the fudge?!
Ridiculously Easy Microwave Fudge
A few days ago one of my daughters noticed some bags of groceries on the counter and peeked inside and saw packages of chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. “Mom! Yay! You’re making fudge! Wait…it’s for your website, isn’t it? Thank goodness you have a website because that means I know we’ll have something good to eat at least once a week.” What?! Did she really say that? I fix dinner every stinkin’ day of the week, well, except for Fridays when the Dominos down the road can expect a call. And most Saturdays when life is just plain chaos. And every other Sunday when my mom cooks Sunday dinner. But other than that, I can safely say that I feed my family on a mostly regular basis. So here’s my recipe for … Read entire article »
Kate’s Escapades – I’m a cotton-headed ninny-muggins.
Yep, that’s what I told myself over the weekend after I let my son convince me that we needed to try Buddy the Elf’s favorite delicacy, spaghetti with syrup. “We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.” ~Buddy the Elf Somehow last year I was able to avoid fulfilling the oft repeated request until the Christmas season was over and Buddy the Elf’s strange eating habits were lost in the shuffle of the New Year. This year I was not so lucky. My son caught me at a weak moment, and before I even knew what had happened I was standing at the stove cooking some spaghetti noodles. He added some syrup and topped the dish off with a crumbled brown sugar poptart. Sounds … Read entire article »
Filed under: Headline, Kate's Escapades, Let's Celebrate, Let's Eat
Liz’s rant: You’ll shoot your eye out!
Can you guess how our family kicked off the Christmas season? If you think it involved A Christmas Story, you’d be right! Except that we didn’t watch the movie. On Sunday afternoon, Colton and I, along with Mom, Dad, my brothers, sister-in-law and nephew, hit the road and headed to Actors Theatre in Louisville for the stage version of the story I consider a staple of the season – a classic Christmas story (ergo the name?) that’s a must-watch at least a dozen times between Turkey Day and Christmas. We were convinced that it would be a great afternoon, leaving us with plenty of Christmas spirit and even more to talk about. It didn’t hurt that our tickets were on the first, second and third rows, either. Most of us were … Read entire article »
Filed under: Headline, Liz's Rants
Craftdown to Christmas, week 4
Just when I’m ready to give up faith in humanity, you guys pull through with another splendid idea for the Christmas season. I knew I could count on you guys. This week’s fare features both edible and non-edible goodies. I recommend making the eats first, so you have something to munch on while completing the other project. A glass of that Cranberry Wine could be a nice touch, too. Anyway, on to the craftdown. My cousin Susan submitted this great idea for personalizing Christmas cards. Her idea reminds me of Sandra Lee’s cooking show – both of these fine ladies know the art of taking store-bought goods and making them their own. Thanks, Susan! Low Cost Christmas Cards To me a Christmas card without glitter is just not worth sending. Fancy glittered boxed … Read entire article »
Filed under: Get Crafty, Headline, Let's Celebrate
Liz’s rant: Shop ’til ya drop
OK, people – it’s time to get serious. We’re T-minus 27 days until Christmas and I’ve not yet begun to shop. How many of you can relate? Maybe we should call it what it is for me. Procrastination. Avoiding the inevitable as long as possible. Because as my kids get older, I find it increasingly harder to stay within a reasonable budget. Which means I tend to put off spending the money. What if they change their minds on what they want? What if I find something on sale for a better price next week? Don’tcha just hate the what-ifs of life sometimes? Anywho, I started thinking about what the “big ticket” items were when I was a child versus the “big ticket” items of the 21st Century. My, how times have … Read entire article »
Filed under: Headline, Let's Celebrate, Liz's Rants
Get your party on: 11/28-12/4
Can you believe the first of December is upon us already? Time flies may be a over-used cliche. Nevertheless, it’s true – especially when you have strange holidays to commemorate. That said, let’s jump right in. Ready to deck the halls or do a little baking, but you just can’t seem to find the time? Fear not. Stay Home Because You’re Well Day lands on Nov. 30. Think of all the things you could accomplish with a holiday like this. You could sleep in an extra hour, trim the tree, make a batch of cookies, do a little shopping, and still have time to create one of the crafts featured on our Craftdown to Christmas! Hopefully, Stay Home Because You’re Well Day will hold you through until the end of the week, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Headline, Let's Celebrate
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