Shredded Pork Deliciousness & My Top 5 of 2012

First of all, I have to share this recipe.  I made shredded pork last night for the very first time (or as my husband and children refer to it as "pork butt" as they snicker -- yes we are rather juvenile here.) from Pioneer Woman's blog.  It's made with Dr. Pepper and chipotle peppers.  We ate it on hamburger buns for bbq sandwiches.  It came out so deliciously moist, I would have never guessed.  Halfway through cooking, I was flipping it over and not liking the smell or the looks of things, but when it was finally done...to die for!  The only difference in mine was that I only had a 3 lb roast versus her recommendation of 5-7 lbs, so the Dr. Pepper was cut in half to 1 can, I only used a half a can of chipotle peppers, and the cook time was just 3 hours from start to finish at 300 degrees. 

Check out the recipe here. I was uber impressed that mine actually looked like the pictures when I pulled it out of the oven at the end.  Hubby was in heaven and ate like a pig.  Definitely a recipe that will become a staple around here.

Back to business....I can't believe 2012 is ending and we're on to 2013.  Where does the time go? My babies are growing up too fast.  I swear the older I get, the faster time flies.

What are you doing to celebrate? This is the first time in 3 years my two older children weren't in Oklahoma with their dad.  We're having a little party with Grandbea, my mother-in-law.  We will be counting down the hours with lots of games from my husband's  much-loved show, Table Top.

For eats, I've planned piglets in blankets (little smokies wrapped in crescent rolls), homemade dutch oven bread, crockpot mac n cheese, copycat Chili's skillet queso, homemade hot apple cider, and chocolate muffins (at the request of Miss Molly). Plus, some champagne for the grown ups.

Since we are coming down to the wire tonight, I thought it would be fun to post the Top Five most popular posts from my little blog from the entire year.

Top Five Sewing Chick Posts of 2012

#5 Fleece Sunflower Pillow Tutorial.  This tutorial I came up while actually making someone else's tutorial project.  It was a peony-like fleece flower. I kept thinking how bright and sunny a sunflower pillow would look, so I whipped one up and loved it so much I had to share. 

#4 Upcycled T Shirts into Rosette Embellishments  I'm always surprised at what's really popular on my blog.  This was the fourth highest on my blog.  It's a fun little embellishment.  I love to make these rosettes because no matter what, they always come out looking fabulous.

#3 Ribbon Flower Baby Headband tutorial.  I love these little headbands on Miss Molly.  I happened to be playing around with the ribbon to make an accessory to go with her outfit and I just loved how the flower came out. 

#2 Jointed Waldorf doll tutorial.  This is one of my most popular posts even lately.  I love to make these Waldorf dolls and it's fun to share my love with everyone else.  If you haven't tried one, they really aren't as scary to make as you might think. 

 

#1 Spiral Hot Dogs.  Who knew such a simple idea could make hot dogs so delicious?  I was surprised at the popularity of this post.  In fact, it was a spur of the moment that I decided to take pictures of my husband making them. 

Snow Day!!

As I've said many times, we're in Texas, which rarely gets snow. Funny thing, Mr E kept begging me for snow on Christmas -- like it was my decision, lol. And, when the meteorologists started saying last week, we might be getting a white Christmas, I did not believe them. Then, as it got closer and closer, they started increasing the amounts of snow that was going to happen.  Amazing, we woke up to a yard covered in snow and it was still falling. I think we probably had about 4 inches, which is amazing for here. 

I wanted to share my children enjoying the snow, so I can look back years from now and remember the time. Miss Molly has never seen snow or played in the snow. I think the last time there were flurries was when she was about 8 months old. I rushed her outside bundled in blankets and a hat and had my oldest hold her while I took a picture of all three of them.

 She LOVED the snow and begged to go out many times a day the past couple of days, until her shoes and pant legs were caked with snow and her little toes were red when I finally got her in and undressed. She calls her mittens her "mermits." I have no idea where she came up with that name, but she asks me to put her "mermits" on a hundred times a day. 

This is Mr E the minute he walked outside. 

This is Miss Molly picking up a snowball for the first time. 

This is when Miss Molly walked outside for the first time while it was still snowing. 

This is my dear Ms Em, who was just hit in the face by her brother, who you can see laughing like a crazy man in the background. Don't worry, she retaliated. 

Merry Christmas!!

Etsy Handmade Harvest - this weekend

I'm going to have my first ever booth at a craft fair this weekend.  I'm excited and terrified at the same time.  Thankfully, my darling sweet husband is coming with me.  He's my secret weapon because he is such a flirt and loves talking to women, which make him a great salesman. 

If you're local to the DFW area, it's with Etsy Denton for the Handmade Harvest.  It's Saturday from 10-4 pm at the Center for Visual Arts. 

You can find all the info needed here.