SpruceHill

The day after

Wow we got a lot of snow yesterday! The official Spruce Hill measurement is 20 inches. It has been a long time since we have had that much snow here in Maryland, and in December too!.

 
We woke this morning to blue skies and beauty everywhere.

Super Daddy had the snow blower out before 8am this morning.

It attaches to the lawn mower so he stays nice and toasty in there! What guy wouldn't want to take this around for a whirl?

Little E is having a ball outside!

The girls made a snow fort under the trampoline. It's the place to be out in the back yard.

  

Little E took some time out of her busy schedule to pose for some shots for me.  

We are keeping snug and warm in the house, baking lots of cookies and spending time together.

Happy snow!

Christmas Snow

We woke up this morning to 6 inches of snow at 8:00am.

As the day goes on, the snow keeps coming. Miss H has measured 13 inches, as of 3:00 this afternoon.

Everyone is having a ball!

I went for a walk and the snow was up past my knees!

 


The house looks as pretty as a Christmas card.

Super Daddy is on his second stage of snow blowing. He likes to do it in stages so he can keep a handle on it.

The dogs are good in small doses of snow.

 
But then it's good to come into the warm!

We are expected to get 20 to 30 inches of snow today and tomorrow. What a Christmas snow!   
   

Toffee Crunch Caramel Cheese Cake

Last week I asked Miss E what she would like for her birthday cake. I was really surprised when she said caramel cheese cake. One reason was that I have never made one before, the second is that she is my cake girl. She loves making cakes and decorating them. As soon as she said caramel cheese cake I was on-line trying to find a recipe. I didn't find one I liked so I made one up. Here it is

 The ingredients

• 32 ounces, weight Cream Cheese
• 4 whole Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tablespoons Whipping Cream
• ½ cups Brown Sugar
• ¾ cups Toffee Pieces
• ½ cups Caramel Ice Cream Topping
• 1-½ cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
• 4 Tablespoons Melted Butter
• 1 cup White Sugar Plus 2 Tablespoons For Crust

In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs melted butter and 2 tablespoons of sugar. After mixing well, press into the bottom of a cheesecake pan; set aside

I have to say that I just love my cheese cake pan. I know I am such a food geek but I do. It is made by Calphalon. If you do not have a cheese cake pan go out and get one you will not regret it.

In a large bowl, combine room temperature cream cheese, eggs, vanilla, whipping cream, brown sugar, and remaining 1 cup white sugar.

 
Beat until smooth and creamy. Add toffee pieces and mix together on low speed until combined with the other ingredients.

 
Pour batter into the cheesecake pan and cook for 1 hour at 350F.

 
It turned out to be so good! After I let it cool I took it out of the spring pan and poured the caramel all over the top. I just bought a bottle of caramel ice cream topping in a squeeze bottle. It is the perfect consistency for the cake topping. If you like you can make home made caramel but this was quick and easy and very good.

After we sang happy birthday to Miss E I did a quick photo shoot of my piece. It was a very quick photo shoot. I could not wait to eat it. Cheese cake is one of the easiest desserts to make. Do not be intimidated by the cheese cake, embrace it, enjoy it, eat it, you will not regret it.  

Christmas Card Traditions

 
I am loving this picture I took of Little E over the Thanksgiving weekend. I did my annual Christmas card photo shoot. This did not make the card but I really love it.

We have done a picture card every year since Miss H was born. I love doing them and Love looking back on the girls as they grow up.

This is a shot from two years ago. One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is checking the mailbox for card each day. I always like to see who sends our first card.

What are your Christmas card traditions?  Do you send your cards out early or are you a procrastinator?

Christmas/Holiday Gift Idea: Texting and Photography Friendly Gloves

While out trying to Christmas shop for my family and friends, I found these great techy friendly knit gloves. I saw another different design on Pioneer Woman's blog that were a bit pricey and set out to find a more affordable version. I found these gloves at Target for $10.99. They are so cute.

 
They come in an asortment of cute colors and allow you to have your thumb and forefinger accessible for those of use who are addicted to hand held divices-texting, twittering and facebooking on our phones and ipods. They also allow us die hard photographers to keep our little fingers warm while outside snapping pictures in the cold winter temperatures. 

Happy Shopping!