Hospitality 101 Part 2

If you go over to Grace-Works you will know why I am not posting very often. My life seems to be hovering in the realm of busy these days. I love every minute of it! Though I will say many important people have been neglected and that I utterly loath. Anyway… here is another part to Hospitality 101.

Shop garage sales for second hand table linens, napkins, dishes and centerpieces. I recently found an entire shoe box filled with a variety of napkin rings for $5 at Goodwill. Not to mention that most of my tableware is bought second hand. 

Have a centerpiece for your table for each season of the year. I recently found a roll of snowman ribbon at a garage sale for $1, along with an enormous bow. I used it decorate my Christmas table and could have left it for the entire winter. The snowman theme was versatile enough. I will admit it wasn’t my most beautiful décor but it was full of color and quite festive and very pleasing to the little person’s eye. 

Do as much of the preparation ahead of time. Set your table the day before. Prepare any part of the meal you can ahead of time.

Until being hospitable becomes an art for you try to have everything done and ready to serve about fifteen minutes before your guest arrive so that you can use the last few minutes to relax and set a peaceful environment for your guest. Don’t forget to throw on some lipstick; it always makes you look together no matter what the rest of you looks like. When you get more experienced you may just want to allow your guest to be with you as you prepare the meal, as long as it doesn’t cause you anxiety for others to be in your kitchen. It could be a wonderful opportunity for you to learn something new or for someone to learn something new from you.  

Though some would say you should never have your apron on when your guest arrive, I love wearing aprons! I have a collection and highly recommend them. Apart from the apparent reason to wear an apron I also think it signifies a servant’s attitude. It says to your guest that you are there to serve them. My last two aprons were gifts that I have so enjoyed! You can find an amazing apron like the black and white versatile one I am wearing in the picture  at Apron Allure!

 This one was a Christmas gift from "The Jewel"! We now having matching aprons! 

Well, until next time keep Making Memories, Elaine

Three Big Events

Go over to Grace-Works and check out these events that you don't want to miss!

Fettuccini

Knowing that our home is one of the most practical places to share the love of God and the fact that being hospitable is a Biblical mandate, I have been compelled through the years to learn as much about being hospitable that I can. I find that when someone is invited into the home in our culture it speaks value to them. It is so seldom that we open our homes to others because, let’s be honest, many of us are not in our homes often enough to invest the time and energy required to offer hospitality. I want to encourage you that it’s never too late to begin. Too often, we use the excuse of time restraint, fatigue, or lack of resources as to why we are not hospitable. I assure you that it is worth any effort you make. When I was younger I would get myself all worked up trying to make everything just right. The house would have to be spotless, and the meal extravagant. Through the years I have learned that the most important thing to my guest is my attitude toward their visit. If I am completely frazzled by the time my guest arrive then our visit will most likely not be pleasant and they will feel like a burden. On the contrary if I am relaxed my guest will most likely enjoy their visit.

I have a few suggestions I would like to share over my next few posts to help make showing hospitality a little easier:

Have your own special menu for each meal, one that you are familiar with and can throw together fairly quickly. For example my dinner menu would be; chicken, shrimp or crawfish fettuccini, green salad, green beans, yeast rolls, some sort of cake, tea and coffee. You can make this meal as expensive or as inexpensive as you would like. And remember, everything taste better with Tony's on it!

Here is my Fettuccini Recipe:

1lb. Uncooked fettuccini

2lbs precooked, Crawfish, Shrimp or Chicken

Tony’s Chachere’s Creole seasoning to taste

2 Sticks of real butter

3 Med. Onions

1 Bunch of Green Onions

1 Med. Bell Peppert

1 Stalk of Celery

3 Cloves of Garlic

¼ Cup of Flour

1lb. Velveeta Jalapeno cheese

1 Pint Half and Half

 Directions:

Boil fettuccini, drain, and rinse with cold water, set aside. Sauté in butter the onion, green onion, bell pepper, garlic, and celery until soft; add flour and cook for 15 minutes stirring frequently. Add Velveeta and melt. Add half and half, and meat or seafood, heat for 15minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fold fettuccini into sauce, pour into 9x13 pan, sprinkle with green onion or parsley and bake for 25-30 minutes.

You may want to try one of these “Welcome Home Casserole dishes and the casserole stand from my catalog.

It goes strait from the oven to the table and looks fabulous! You can find it and many other wonderful products to add to your hospitality tools at Celebrating Home.

If you decide to give this recipe a try let me know how it turns out.

Don’t forget to sign up as a follower and enter your name in the drawing on Feb. 1, 2010

Making Memories, Elaine

 

A New Year

 I am so blessed with this amazing family! Life is precious and short, and with the passing of each year I am reminded that my purpose is not to live my dreams but to live for God’s glory. What an ambitious pursuit! Imagine the God of the universe receiving anything, much less glory, from the clay of the earth. Now that will put me in my place.
It will make one year this month since I started blogging publicly! It’s hard to believe how fast the time has gone by.
A few things I love about blogging:

• Your sweet comments and email. Please keep them coming!
• The opportunity and inspiration to put my thoughts to words.
• That I am writing and how therapeutic it is. 
• The feeling of freedom and transparency that comes with making my life an open book.
• The fact that whether or not anyone reads, it is written. 
• I have broadened my mind.
• I have met some gifted and amazing people from across the country
• I am getting to watch my nieces, nephews and their children live and grow. 
• Keeping in touch with those who have moved away (when and if they would blog already!)
•  The inspiration I have gotten from other godly women. 

I could go on and on… Most of all I love that I have seen fruit in my life because I stepped out and did something I felt I was suppose to do, even though I was resistant. I was resistant because it was safer not to do it. Because I moved out of the comfort of my seemingly safe and private world … and I mean comfort…I have gained so many wonderful rewards. Though it was difficult in the beginning I am thankful I started this blog.
Here I am launching a new year with an excitement about what this land of blog has for me! You will see some changes. In case you haven’t noticed I sometimes lose my focus. So…I am trying to get back to my original intentions for this blog and those are, to share more about hospitality, decorating, and all things pertaining to home life. Though I am sure you will be hearing a bit about my faith and family here, I will be addressing those areas of my life over at Grace-Works. I will also use this blog to keep you updated about the wonderful products and opportunities I have to offer through Celebrating Home.
I invite you to FOLLOW as I step forward into whatever it is that awaits me!

Speaking of FOLLOWING, if you sign up to be a follower of this blog this month, your name will be put in a drawing for this amazing gift!

This is a "Veranda Dip Bowl and Seasonal Spreader Set" It offers a different spreader for each season of the year. I will be announcing the winner after the drawing February 1, 2010

Christmas 2009

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Here are a few snap shots of ours.

Great Accomplishment!

Over twenty-five years ago our oldest daughter Rebekah was diagnosed as Hearing Impaired/ Deaf. We were told by the professionals that Rebekah would never talk, learn to read or graduate from High School. Though some professionals may know best, this one didn’t take Rebekah’s determination and ability to persevere into account when making the prognosis. We believed that the Lord had a different plan for Rebekah. Among Rebekah’s many accomplishments she is totally oral, has learned to read, graduated from High School and this month graduated from Angelo State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in the Department of Teacher Education and Interdisciplinary Child Development. Woo Woo… Rebekah! We are so proud of you! (Sorry Dad missed the photo shoot because he was getting the car for us.)

 

Giving Thanks

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving week. B and JR arrived late Tuesday evening and we

spent the rest of the week enjoying one another's company.

Aunt B reconnected with the Little Jewel at breakfast on Wed.

Later in the day the Nertz games began! We played on and off all weekend but I can't tell you who the overall champion was

The Little Jewel having story time with Rusky!

 

Thanksgiving morning and T's  blueberry pancakes!

Chil-laxing before breakfast

I wonder what else we can put on these pancakes?

There were way too many people in my kitchen

Beka's sweet potato casserole, why so serious?

No matter how much work needs to be done some of us always make time for games

Uh...Oh ...somebody got caught testing the turkey

Nothing like being with family

Maime and The Little Jewel off in the kitchen testing the turkey

Our Thanksgiving menu consisted of: roasted turkey, corn casserole, sweet potato casserole, pea salad, rice dressing, veggtable salad, yeast rolls, pumpkin pie,apple pie, and homemade eggnog ice cream. I know...quite sinful. In my next post I will include the brand new recipes JR brought to share with our family. They were a hit. Thank you JR for sharing your traditions with us.

At dinner we went around the table and shared what we were all thankful for. My heart is so grateful for all that God had blessed us with, especially His presence in our lives. A wonderful time was had by all!

Friday morning we stayed in our pajamas and decided to shop online instead of fighting the crowds. We even found a few great deals!

 

The Little Jewel wondered if she would pop before all the food went away

On Friday evening some of my friends came over with their grown daughters and we spent the evening reminiscing. We had a great time with much laughter. Sorry no pictures.

On Saturday we celebrated Beka's birthday. I won't say how old just that she is old...just kidding...we cranked up the party with one of her favorite foods; chicken and sausage gumbo.

Now this is what I call a party

Wow! I wonder why your bowl is so small Mary?

After the meal Aunt Beka opened her presents

When the party was over we headed out to play a game of putt-putt

A great time was had by all...well...I think all...maybe... except...well...

Let's just say none of the guys won...even though they kept a close eye on the score. Love the scarf JR!

Pops tried hard to keep 

The Little Jewel's hat on

while Aunt B taught her a few dance steps

Later we returned home and had birthday cobbler to wrap up our celebration

Overall it was a wonderful holiday weekend but I must say that we did miss our Firefighter/Paramedic son-in-law. Though he was with us Thanksgiving Day he spent most of his holiday weekend serving our community. We are so proud of him!

Celebrating Home

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been spending some time praying about direction for some areas of my life. I am excited to announce that after months of research and prayer, some direction has come. I have recently become an Independent Designer for Celebrating Home! My experience of being a homemaker, caring for my family, being hospitable, and enjoying decorating, has presented an opportunity for me to do what I am passionate about—encouraging women to make their homes a place where they can enjoy their families and extend the love of God to others through hospitality.

When I stumbled upon this amazing company I was intrigued. Could it be that in one company I would find everything on my list of expectations? This is the case! Being an Independent Designer for Celebrating Home offers me an opportunity to go into a woman’s home and help her create an environment of warmth for her family and all who enter.

Three of the most common complaints I hear from women for not making their homes warm and hospitable are: “I can’t afford it” “I don’t know how” and “I don’t have the time.” Celebrating Home presents me with an opportunity to refute all three of those complaints. You can afford it! By inviting me into your home, along with your friends and family members, you can earn free and half price merchandise. If you don’t know how or don’t have the time, invite me over. I am willing to come into your home and help you solve all your decorating dilemmas as well as teach you some fun and exciting ways to serve your guests that won’t take a lot of time or resources.

I will be holding my Grand Opening November 29^th at 7pm. If you live in my area and would like to attend, all you have to do is leave me a comment with your name and email address and I will send you all the details.

If you are already enjoying your home but need a little sprucing up or some fresh ideas, I invite you to browse my catalog for all your decorating and hospitality needs. Celebrating Home has an array of quality items that I am sure you will be pleased with. Whatever you buy will be delivered directly to your door. All you have to do is click here or go to the side bar and click on the Celebrating Home button and begin shopping. Be sure to enter my party code (Elaine Russo 58007)if you shop before November 24th. If you shop after you can disregard the party code.

I am over the top excited about this fresh new adventure in my life and even more excited about sharing it with you!

Respite 2009

WARNING, YOU ARE ABOUT TO EMBARK UPON THE LONGEST POST OF ALL TIME. READ ONLY IF YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY BORED.

I took the weeks following B’s wedding off to rest and seek the Lord for new direction in my life. I have been thinking that it was time for some sort of change, apart from the typical ongoing change that we are all doing as we are being conformed into the Lord’s image. I have finally become convinced that all work and no play is not part of God’s plan for us. His word is very clear about the importance of rest in our lives. Well, rest I have done! I have spent time with my family, done some much needed projects, a bit of baking, organizing and I have also done a little traveling through the byways of west Texas, making memories with my sweet daughters and a few friends. Honestly I hope that this is only the beginning of my restful adventures. Life has been hard the past few years, filled with much service to others and I have come to realize that often it is that way because of my own doing. There is absolutely no reason why I should not occasionally schedule in some rest time for myself. When my children were young I would get away occasionally to regroup and get rejuvenated. I would always return a much better person. I guess when they got older and my nest was empty I had a hard time justifying a break. After all I was no longer raising children so I should have free time all the time, right? Wrong! It’s interesting to me how difficult it is to set good healthy boundaries for ourselves no matter what season of life we are in, all that to say, I thought I would share a few things I have been doing to get rejuvenated.
Rachel, Mary, Julia, and I took a trip to San Antonio. We stayed in a friend’s brand new cottage right outside of Boerne. The cottage was amazing! Sherrie, the owner, has a real knack for decorating with old pieces of architecture. Here are a few pictures.

We traveled from the cottage into San Antonio to the zoo. We had a wonderful time even though the weather was quite nippy.

 

 

We also spent some of our time shopping and eating at some yummy restaurants.

 

 

Recently I traveled to Salado Texas to meet one of my dear friends, Edie. Edie and her husband Brian are really special to T and me. Our lives run pretty parallel to one another. They have raised three daughters who are very close in age to ours.

We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast I have mentioned before, Stone Creek Settlement. The proprietor Jill and her husband have been in business for over eleven years. I highly recommend there B&B if you are ever in the area. It has some of the most charming cottages along with a sweet restful environment not found many places. The B&B is also available for retreats. They can accommodate about 32 people, and offer catering as well. It would be a great place for a small family retreat, or a church staff retreat.

 

I arrived a few hours before Edie and spent some time reading, reflecting, and napping. It was a sweet time. I was reminded of how invaluable a change of scenery can be to our overall well being.

After Edie arrived we had a late afternoon meal at Ambrosia Tea Room. You have also heard me talk about this wonderful place before. It’s worth a drive over just to experience it. It’s the best kept secret for all you lovely ladies who enjoy the entire tea experience! I had a wonderful dumpling soup, chicken salad on raisin cinnamon bread, fruit and the most delicious lemon and spice tea.

 Oh, and let’s not forget dessert, Queen’s cake, a light fluffy white cake with coconut and some sort of whipped icing.

We also had a late afternoon meal the next day at Adelea’s On Main, a Bistro with amazing food. Not to mention the ambiance! It is a neat house converted into a quaint eatery.

My visit with Edie could not be described adequately with words. All I can say is “Thank you friend for sharing your life with me and giving me time that you didn’t have to spare.My heart was encouraged!

I also took a day trip to a couple of small towns in west, TX with a two sweet ladies, Gwyn and Jill. Gwyn showed us some fun places to shop. We began our adventure in Sante Anna, where we visited “Pearls and Primitives.” It’s a neat little shop that boasts a unique blend of antiques, bling, and trendy décor. The owner is Carrie, but her mother, Betty Rae was shop keeper for the day. There was enough warmth in that place to make you want to pull up a chair and brew a pot of tea. I haven’t laughed that much in only God knows how long. Thank you Betty Rae for making our visit so welcoming that we had to stop back by on our way home!

 

 

 

We then traveled over to Brownwood, TX and had lunch at Steve’s Café. The wait was long, but well worth it. We didn’t realize it was homecoming week for Howard Payne University. I should have known, my daughter graduated from there. Their food is as tasty as tasty gets (in west Texas that is). The biggest treat of all was running into two friends that I share with my daughter B,  Sarah and Stacy. Those girls have some of the best hugs ever! It was almost as good as if I had gotten them from B herself. It was so great to see you two!

We then walked around the corner to the shop that drew us to Bwood in the first place, “Cheapo Depot.” I could not believe that my daughter lived in that city for almost four years and I never knew it existed. After spending time there I realized why she never told me about it. She was trying to save me from temptation. To bad B, I’m hooked. This little store is so fun. Everyone should visit it at least once in their lifetime, and if you can’t, that’s ok I will visit enough for you and all your friends. I can’t wait to go again! I know, I really should get out more.
Our time together came to a sad ending when I returned to Gwyn’s home only to be greeted by her husband who had a smashed cell phone in his hand that he had found in the driveway. Did I mention that I couldn’t find my cell phone all day and thought someone had stolen it? You guessed it! I dropped it in the driveway when I picked Gwyn up and rolled right over that cute little pink thing.

Now you know why I don’t have an IPhone! I guess this is why my hubby insists on having insurance on my phone! The company was sweet, the fellowship rich, the fun exuberating! Thank you ladies!

After a month filled with a wee bit of adventure I am settling in and getting ready to prepare for the upcoming holidays. I have begun to get some direction about the future but still not seeing as clearly as I need to. I will continue to rest, to hope, to dream and look to the Lord for His guidance.