Gingerbread Process (Courtesy of Grandma Jan)

From the time I was a kiddo, I remember hearing stories from Mike about the Gingerbread Houses that he and his family made.  I was always in awe of this because I LOVE gingerbread and the houses were always so beautiful.  Another thing that was enticing was the cups of different kinds of candy that were always spread out on the kitchen table to decorate with...as many of you know I have a major sweet tooth! 

Side note in all of this: In high school I went over to Mike's house to do something...for the life of me I cannot remember what (pick him up to head to Dr. Munchies, do homework or one of those things you do in high school, but I have the best memory of seeing all the candy cups on their kitchen table and thinking what a wonderful tradition.  I want to make amazing gingerbread houses with my own family some day.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would actually be with Mike's family - I am so lucky how that worked out!

So now that I am married into the family, Grandma Jan has shared her tradition with me.  I am so excited.  Last year was my first year of participating in this tradition and it was so much fun! 

Okay I will try to remember everything, but Grandma Jan if I forget anything, let me know:

1.  Find a recipe and plans for the type of house you want to make.  I found several gingerbread websites out there and I am sure there are more, aside from the quick google search I did.  This is one that I found that had a recipe and a blue print: http://www.celebrating-christmas.com/recipes/gingerbread-house.shtml

2.  Cut stencils out of the house parts.  I traced them onto paper and then cut them out of cardboard.

3.  Make the gingerbread dough.  Refrigerate overnight.

4.  Roll the dough out (we did it on my mother-in-law's Silpat) and then cut out the dough in the shape of the stencils.  For the house we are building (which is called a moon house) we needed two front/back pieces, two sides, two roof pieces and one base.  We cut a hole in the base to put a light in (the kind of light you see in those porcelain Christmas Houses).  And we  cut holes in the sides for windows and on the front panel we cut a door.  For the holes we used the smallest round cookie cutter I own and Grandma Jan free-handed the door cut.  Make sure to try and straighten the sides prior to baking.  Also spray the cookie sheet with a bit of PAM or however you choose to grease your pans so the pieces do not stick.  Then we baked the pieces at 350 degrees F for about 12 minutes. 

5.  Prior to next weekend's assembly I have errands to run:

• Pick up any candy that looks good for decorating (Small colorful items) - Grandma Jan keeps the candy in a tub in small clear plastic cups with saran wrap over them.  She also has the plans, lights, cardboard cake rounds and doilies in that box so it is ready to go.
• Get sugar ice cream cones as they look great as trees when you put some icing on them and then roll in dusting sugar.
• Buy some more tips and couplers at the cake decorating store (Grandma Jan has the piping bags and one tip/coupler in her tub. 

5.  Next weekend we will assemble the houses.  I will need to make the cement icing and because our kids are little, I will assemble three sides of the houses the night before so the kids can decorate the inside of the house without it falling over. 

6.  Then we will put on the front and roof - then we can go crazy decorating the outside of the house and the "yard."

7.  I will update you on the assembling of the houses after Sunday.

Here are some pictures from last year's assembly:

(Putting the finishing touches on Tommy's 2009 house)

(The finished product - Tommy's 2009 Gingerbread House)

Lindsay's Requests

So here is Lindsay's email that was previously discussed...she gave me her permission to post this hilarious observation of my life and then hopefully I can respond to it :)

"OK, Steph...
I know we haven't hung out in like 20 years but let's cut the crap, woman. You know you need to make your blog about cooking and general homemaking. Recipes, videos, a calendar of what to do and when to do it for holidays, birthdays, basic hostessing greatness. I'd imagine you're a wiz at gardening or something, too. It's very clear from not just your posts but the responses from your friends, that a) you guys love food b) people look to you for good recipes and what to do c) you are active in community activities and general knowing what's going on-ness.

Now, I read you make gingerbread I think 1. damn, i've been meaning to do that this week and haven't gotten to it. 2. I want the recipe Steph uses. 3. I want to see pix of the final product. And possibly a little bit of 4. How the hell does she do all this and if she weren't so freaking nice I'd probably like her a bit less. And I'm not the only one.

Start with my bow video. Then the recipe, blueprint (scan 'em in) and final gingerbread houses pix. I'm sure you're doing crazy things with holly and tree swag this season. Don't lie. Then invite your friends to send in their info, too. Pix of how their versions of your stuff turned out, as well as your edited versions of ideas/recipes they send you.

Lastly, you aren't fooling anyone. You were born/made to do this. So get to it (with all that free time of yours). You know you're going to do it anyway, you might as well make the rest of us happy and fill us in on your secrets.

Truly yours,
Lindsay"

 

So here it goes - I will try to do better on posting pictures and recipes that we do here at Casa de Leeper.  And I have promised the bow video by the end of the week.  As far as the rest goes, I will definitely post pictures of gingerbread house assembly.  I am going to post the gingerbread detail in a separate post because it is pretty lengthy. 

 

I also let Lindsay know that I am far from a "Martha Stewart" type person because my house is generally in total chaos and needs to be cleaned, I always have laundry to do and I am also addicted to nighttime television shows, so while I should be cleaning up/doing laundry I am usually watching TV.

 

So please also feel free to ask me any questions...I did not know people wanted to know all this stuff :)  And I would love people to post replies/their own ideas as to how to do things.  As I am a new person to blogging, I am not sure if you can do this here or not, but I will ask my technologically advanced husband how to do this and let you know.

 

Have a great Monday morning everyone!

Advent Wreath

Okay so I made my first Advent Wreath today at Church (we attend Christ Church in Lake Oswego).  After the service today, for a donation of $10, we were given all the supplies to make an advent wreath.  There are 4 green plastic candle holders that are put into a block of oasis (think florist foam) taped into a pie plate.  Then you fill the oasis with all sorts of greenery.  I did not do that much variety because a) I had two kids next to me - at least one of them was running around with Mike chasing after them and the other was attached to me and b) I did not know I needed to bring gardening sheers to church with me - but I will be more prepared next year.  Anyhoo...I put as much greenery as I could in the oasis and then Tommy helped me choose the decorations.  You light one candle each Sunday of Advent (today is the first Sunday of Advent) and the it ends up at Christmas.  They even supplied me with prayers for each time your light the week's advent candle.  So here is a pic of how it turned out...not my best work, but since it was my first I am pretty proud of it.  So happy first Sunday of Advent. 

New Goals for this Blog

Okay so my new goals (as requested by my friend Miss Lindsay)include taking more pictures of stuff I do and sharing more recipes of items that might be of interest to anyone who actually read this blog.

One item to come shortly - I promised by the end of the week- is a bow tying instruction video (Lindsay has requested this item first). 

If Lindsay gives me permission, I will share her hilarious email with you because I could not stop chuckling when I read through it.  She tells me that I need to share my: "Recipes, videos, a calendar of what to do and when to do it for holidays, birthdays, basic hostessing greatness" - So I will work on this...I am not sure what I have to say will interest anyone and I learned all of it from other people in my life: my mother, my mother-in-law, etc., but I will work on it and you can let me know if you want to keep reading or if you want me to just blubber about my day to day life.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Day Weekend!!

Thankful :) - I know shocking title for today's holiday

Today there are so many things to be thankful for...healthy kids, a husband that made it home safe from Asia, a mom who came up to Portland last night to help me with everything that needs to get done for dinner tonight, a warm cozy house - I seriously could go on and on. 

I am thankful for all my friends that help me through my day-to-day life (and that includes you FaceBook friends) as well as my friends that I do not see/talk to all that often, but I know think of me often as I do them.

I am most thankful for ALL of my life's experiences.  I have had experiences all over the board - good: wonderful childhood, great parents who were involved throughout my life, graduating from both a great high school (GO SAXONS) and an outstanding college (DePauw University);  bad: losing my wonderful father way too early and getting caught with my fake i.d. when I was 20...but I would not change these experiences for anything since they make me who I am today.  And I really believe that you have to life your life in the moment...because it can all be gone in a second. 

So I am thankful for how each and every person I meet and each and every experience that happens to me has shaped me.  I look forward to the next year to have much more to be thankful for!

Wherever you may be when you are reading this, know that I am thankful for you and how you are involved in my life!

Commitments

Michael will tell you all I have too many commitments in my life.  However, I disagree.  I just wish I could accomplish more!  There is so much in this world that needs to get done (even if they are small little mundane details).  Whether it be for my family, my friends, my neighbors or me...there is always something that needs to be done. 

I guess the part that I need to figure out how to balance my commitments.  It is and always will be a balancing act, right?  Why do I not remember this balancing act as a child or even a teenager?  I guess that is what good parenting does for you; it seems to be another one of those "ah ha" moments in life where you actually recognize all your parents have done for you.

So as the week of thankfulness starts, I thank my parents for not only making commitments a part of my life, but also for showing me that helping everyone around me makes me a better person.  I hope to pass those values onto my children.

Task Lists

Okay so those that know me well, know I am a list maker.  I make lists for the grocery store, for parties I am throwing and finally the dreaded to do lists.  That is what I have made today, but today's list is different...it is made solely for the purpose of keeping my darling husband awake.  He is arriving home from his trip to Asia this morning...we are headed to the airport in a mere matter of minutes.  We do have a lot to do today, but for the most part my list is there to keep him away from our really comfy Heavenly Bed! 

So here it is: pick up a fresh turkey from the Beaverton Farmers Market, go pick out a Christmas Tree and tag it for pickup in early December, Costco (this is the iffy one because Lord knows Costco is going to be CRAZY today), snow tires resurfaced from the back of the shed (although not sure if we will get them on today, just getting them ready) and then anything else I can think of to distract the walking zombie who will be my husband.

I tell you the lengths I go to try to get him back to normal schedule!

Inital Post

Hello!  I have finally entered into the world of blogging.  Not really sure what I am doing and why I am doing this, but I figured people were tired of listening to my diatribes in my status on FaceBook...so here I am. 

So who am I...

I am wife to Michael Leeper and mom to Thomas (Tommy) Evan and Morgan Elizabeth.  I feel so thankful for my wonderful family.  Prior to having children I worked at a nonprofit organization (Pioneer Courthouse Square, Inc.) in downtown Portland; I mainly worked on event organization and absolutely loved it.  However, when my children came along, I decided I did not want to have to chose between my work life and my family life on a daily basis, so I became a stay-at-home mom.  I was a bit shaken in the beginning of my new career, but now I absolutely would not give any moment back! 

Both Mike and I are from Salem, Oregon.  We currently live in Tigard, Oregon and Mike works for Columbia Sportswear.  We have been happily married for 11 years.

I have a wonderful family and amazing friends.  Hopefully I will be able to keep this blog up and entertain people with my crazy rants. 

So cheers to my first blog entry!