My favorite things

Melissa at 320 Sycamore is having her annual "My Favorite Things" party today. It's such fun to see what people like!

Now that winter's here, my skin care favorites are even more important than they are in summertime. I swear by two products, both very affordable and both made by Olay:

images courtesy of Olay.com

Want pretty skin? You need to do two things: moisturize and protect. And you don't have to spend a foturne. The body wash with shea butter is the most moisturizing, nourishing product I've ever tried. And Olay Complete moisturizer is a fantastic sun block as well as moisturizer. I have no affiliation with Olay, but I use these great products all the time.

image courtesy Google.com

As much as I love reading blogs, at Christmastime I like to have real books in my hands, and the Southern Living books have always been among my favorites. Lately I've enjoyed pulling out my old copies. I have Christmas with Southern Living 1985, which is from the year I got married. Now I've started looking for copies from the years my sons were born. It's such fun to see what was fashionable during those important times in my life!

image courtesy sncmusic.com

One of my favorite things to do during December is to listen to music. Two years ago, my guys and I saw Straight No Chaser live at Christmastime. Now it's an annual tradition for us! We'll see them in concert in Raleigh, North Carolina, this Saturday, December 17. They always put on a great show.

Lastly, my favorite thing to do in December is to reflect on the most precious gift ever given: the gift of God's son. In fact, I'm having a party on Monday, December 19, to celebrate ways to mark the occasion. I'd love for you to join me here for "Home for the Holy Days."

So what are your favorite things? I'd love to know!

My favorite things: a giveaway!

Darling Melissa from 320 Sycamore is having a Favorite Things party this week. I think this is a great party for Melissa to host, since she's definitely one of my favorite bloggers! Here are a few of my favorite things.

Beverage napkins. So useful, so pretty, so easy to keep on hand! Here's one of my favorite drawers in my kitchen:

It doesn't look too bad at first glance, but every one of those stacks contains four packages of napkins. . .

I may have a bit of a napkin fetish.

Welcome signs. Right now I have two on my front porch, one on my back porch, and one in my back entrance hall. I love the very word "welcome"; that's the feeling I try to evoke in everyone who comes to my home.

Snail mail. I love email and use it all the time, but there's just something about getting something out of the mailbox--something other than catalogs and bills, that is. So I like pretty notecards, too--like this beautiful one hand-made by Leslie from Goodbye House, Hello Home:

Books. I dearly love to read, both fiction and non-fiction. Some of my favorite books are like old friends. I read and re-read, underline and highlight. One of my favorite authors is Richard J. Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline and Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home. His books are just splendid.

Candles. I love candles and candlelight. Leather-scented candles from DeeJay's Candles are my all-time favorite.

Crosses. I have a collection of crosses that started many years ago with an Easter gift from my husband. Since then, I've enjoyed finding a special cross as a souvenir of the places I've traveled. My newest one is from Notre Dame in Paris! Most of my crosses are on display in my living room, with many of them on this wall:

That's my kind of gallery wall.

And if I need to choose a line from "My Favorite Things," I'd have to go for "brown paper packages tied up with strings." I hope that's one of your favorite things, too, because I'd like to send a package to one of you!

I've collected a few of my favorite things to give away--beverage napkins, a welcome sign, pretty notecards, a book by Richard J. Foster, some leather-scented candles, and a cross. It'll make a nice brown-paper package tied up with string, don't you think? Leave a comment to enter; I'll choose a winner one week from today. Just click on "Comments" at the bottom of this post; you don't have to have an account to post a comment. (If you're reading this as an email, you'll have to click on the title of the post to go directly to my blog; then you'll see "Comments" at the end of the post.) You can simply check "Anonymous" and leave a comment--but be sure to leave me an email address or some way to get in touch with you if you win! And you don't have to be a follower to enter, although I'd be honored for you to follow along if you like.

Check out all the Favorite Things posts at Melissa's!

My Mom Cave (in 200 words or less)

I am the only girl in a houseful of boys.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

Sometimes, though, I like to be by myself--to read, to write, or just to be. I don't have a whole room to myself, but I do have my own little corner of the world. . . in the corner of the kitchen. Like Cinderella?

No, not Cinderella. Just Richella.

Little things make it mine:

Books, photos, flowers, my blog logo.

My mom's jewelry box, now a caddy for desktop supplies.

And my favorite thing: my reading chair. This chair is where I sat and nursed my babies. Hundreds of hours I spent in this chair, a tiny redheaded boy in one hand and a book in the other. It's been re-upholstered since then, but its contours still fit just right. Oh, the memories.

It's just a tiny corner of the world, but it's all mine!

**Joining Centsational Girl Kate for her Mom Cave party!**

My very best side-dish recipe:Baked Apricots

Sometimes in life you happen upon a recipe that's just too good not to share.  Do you know what I mean?  That's what this recipe is.

We had out-of-town company this week.  I made a big dinner Tuesday night that turned out really well, thanks be to God. I served Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin (recipe here). Now I want to share with you the recipe for one of the side dishes I made. Of all the things I ever cook, this is the recipe that is most often requested. This is the side dish to die for. This is one of those recipes that my mother got from a friend who got it from a friend who got it from another friend--you know the kind. Simple but so good you could eat it with a spoon!

Baked Apricots

2 cans apricot halves, drained

1 1/2 cups crushed Ritz crackers

1 stick butter, melted

3/4 cup brown sugar

Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray. Place apricots, cut side up, in bottom of pan.

Mix crushed Ritz crackers, butter, and brown sugar together. Sprinkle mixture on top of apricots.

Bake at 300 degrees 35-40 minutes.

Oh, my word. These are melt-in-your-mouth good. They pair wonderfully with pork and poultry. My husband and sons like to spoon them over vanilla ice cream.

What's your favorite side dish?

Linking to: 

Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Thanksgiving Recipe Round-up at Serenity Now

Practice Hospitality party at Southern Fried Gal

Show Us Your Best Side Dish party at Kelly's Korner