The Best Christmas I Ever Had

I am beaming with love and gratitude after this past weekend. This was by far the best Christmas I've ever had! It was so amazing to watch my little boy experience the joy and wonder of Christmas for the first time. It adds a whole new meaning for me.

My wonderful husband works very, very hard at a few jobs so that I am able to stay home with little Milton while I am pregnant with Ginger. This is such a wonderful gift to me as well as little Milton but it also comes with a lot of sacrifices. I can't remember the last time I had an entire day to spend with my husband but luckily on Christmas we did just that.  It was so wonderful to be able to just relax and enjoy time together as a family with no where to go and nothing to do except cook and play.

So on top of all of that my husband surprised me with a mini laptop AND cooked Christmas dinner for me. The past few years my husband and I have been very busy and very broke for one reason or another so we haven't exchanged gifts for about 3 years and this year was to be no different, so you can imagine how surprised I was when I received my mini laptop!! I am beyond excited and grateful!!! Normally I always blog from our home computer because that's all we had which usually means I blog late at night or when little M is napping because he almost always requires 100% of my attention. This will enable me to blog from bed or on the go and will help me out so much once little Ginger arrives. Plus it is just about the cutest darn thing I have ever seen! It's so small it fits right in my purse.  I'm so grateful!! Honestly, I had just an amazing day! 

Here's a couple shots of the chipotle, garlic roasted chicken my hubby made for Christmas dinner. We also had mashed potatoes and broccoli with a white cheddar cheese sauce.

Santa brought Little Milton a multitude of musical instruments and toys this year. For those of you who don't know my husband is a musician. He works at a music store, teaches private lessons and gigs a few nights a week so we are a VERY musical family. Little Milton got a professional children's sized drum set, a ukulele, and a DJ station for Christmas. All of these can be very fun and LOUD so we were also sure to take the proper precautions to protect his sensitive little ears and luckily he LOVES his ear protector headphones. Here he is being A*D*O*R*A*B*L*E

Here's little Milton in his GORGEOUS Christmas jon jon that his aunt Schanda made for him. Isn't it the cutest? Plus it's handmade by family......L*O*V*E

Unfortunately I had a very time getting any photos of Milton and I together. He wouldn't smile and I kept making horrible faces so here's the best one I could get. Merry Christmas from our family!!!

I always have gorgeous handmade goodies to give away so click HERE if you'd like to enter to win some.

 HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!! 

Handmade Gift Guide

I hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas filled with love and laughter, family and friends. I certainly did! I will share a few photos of our little family's Christmas over the next few days.Even though Christmas was yesterday I bet your still in the giving and receiving mood. I know I am. My hubby surprised me with a mini laptop and I hoped on Etsy last night and grabbed myself a handmade laptop case for it:) So, for all of you who still have shopping to do for others or yourself here's a little gift guide featuring all my amazing sponsors who I am so grateful for especially around the holidays. 

I'll take one of these GORGEOUS vintage beso handbags

These ADORABLE leg warmers for Ginger from Knotty Tots

These COZY fingerless gloves from DyNamo

This GORGEOUS little dress for Ginger from Up To My Knees In Crafts

This ADORABLE clutch from Charm Design. By the way, I happen to be giving one these clutched away right now. Click HERE to enter!!

This ADORABLE bib for Ginger from lillybelle Designs

A pair of these ADORABLE shoes for Ginger from KathyDee Cozy Toes

A pair of these CUTE leg warmers fromB:mod design

This ADORABLE pattern from So Tei-Tei

This GORGEOUS little hat from Creative Dragonfly

This BEAUTIFUL wooden puzzle from The Puzzled One

All of these gorgeous things are handmade!!! I hope you will consider buying handmade the next time you need a gift or something special for yourself. Handmade is beautiful and unique!!! It makes any gift E*X*T*R*A special!!! 

You can enter to win some handmade goodies HERE. I always have amazing handmade giveaways going on. I am so grateful to my lovely sponsors for this!!! 

Merry Christmas Lovelies

Little Milton and I have spent the day baking pecan pies and relaxing in our pajamas! Tonight we will set out the cookies and milk for Santa and in the morning I hope to see little Milton's eyes light up with excitement when he sees what Santa brought him this year! Christmas is such a wonderful holiday! 

Tomorrow we will eat cinnamon rolls for breakfast, open gifts and relax around the house all day. We'll cook a simple Christmas dinner to finish the day off. I hope all of you have a wonderful, blessed day with family and friends! 

M*E*R*R*Y   C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S   T*O  Y*O*U

Home Style Chicken and Dumplings

The other day I was surfing around the blogosphere and I came across this lovely cooking blog, Maggie's Country Kitchen. As I was browsing I saw this recipe for Chicken and Dumplings. This is a dish that I have only had the pleasure to eat a couple times in my life but remember it being a religious experience. But the trouble with this kind of dish is that you need a REAL, down home recipe to make it properly. You can't just google this one and expect it to come out tasting like a your grandmothers. So when I saw this recipe on Maggie's blog I knew that I found a gold mine and I was exactly right! 

I made this and it was one of the most amazing things I've ever cooked. I think my husband almost died!!! Seriously, it was that good!!! The broth is beautifully silky and the dumplings are like little bites from heaven. Little fluffy pillows filled with love!!! Ohhhhhh......seriously I can't get over it! A beautiful filling dish that I will make again and again. I am so thankful to Maggie for allowing me to share her amazing recipe. Please click HERE to visit her lovely blog, check out this recipe and the other scrumptious recipes she has to offer. THANK YOU MAGGIE!! I'm forever in love with this dish!!!

I always tend to modify things just a tiny bit. I followed Maggie's recipe to a T except I added 3 diced potatoes to the veggie mix and to make the chicken stock I started with chicken broth instead of water to make it extra rich. It was simply amazing! Here's a couple photos! 

The Stock

The Veggies

Ahhhhhh..........Melting butter for the roux

Flour for the roux

The roux coming together

Before the cream goes in.....look at that beautiful color....that's how you know you've made a beautiful roux

With the cream....almost done now.......just the bisquits left 

The mixing of the bisquits 

PURE LOVE!!! Look at those gorgeous little fluffy darlings:)

You have got to make this dish!!!

Perfection!! Again a big thank you to Maggie and her scrumptious RECIPE. I L*O*V*E*D every second of this dish and cannot wait to make it again!!!! 

Also, I'm so happy that I get to bring you all so many gorgeous handmade things......I currently have SIX  all handmade giveaways going on so please take a moment  to check them out HERE

AND 

 M*E*R*R*Y   C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S

eclu Clutch GIVEAWAY {NOW CLOSED}

Let me introduce you all to a store that you are going to fall in L*O*V*E with...............unique.handmade elcu.

 At eclu you will find gorgeous clutches and beautiful peony clips. You can design your own clutch and even have it adorned with a personalized inscription. 

Shop owner Jami even offers special pricing for bridal parties. This would make the P*E*R*F*E*C*T brides made gift!!!!! In fact I'm quiet upset I didn't learn about eclu until recently. I would have hands down ordered these with a personalized inscription for my bridesmaids. 

The clutches are chic, refined, elegant, and just make you want to put your dancing shoes on. I'll be quiet and let the bags do the talking..........

SIMPLY DIVINE 

I feel incredibly honored that shop owner Jami decided to sponsor a giveaway here on bouffe e bambini. Honestly her clutches are amazing! Jami has so kindly offered to give one of you very fortunate people one of her clutches. This is a $58 dollar value. YOWZA! She sent the clutch to me to have a little *peek* at first before giving it away and honestly I was blown away when I opened the box!!!! 

The fabrics used to craft this clutch are gorgeous!!! The quality is unparalleled. It is so chic and sophisticated! Honestly I would buy this clutch in a heart beat. Plus it comes with a beautiful handmade peony clip that is removable and can be worn as a brooch or hair accessory as well as a decoration for the clutch. It even comes snuggled up in it's own little dust bag. Love it!

I can't say enough good things about this bag. If you've been looking for an evening bag or gorgeous clutch I would highly recomend this shop.

So I am B*E*Y*O*N*D excited to announce that one of you is getting the chance to win the gorgeous clutch pictures below. 

YOUR PRIZE!!!!!

S*W*O*O*N   S*W*O*O*N   S*W*O*O*N

BUY IT.................Head on over to eclu and grab one of these GORGEOUS clutches. 

WIN IT........ENTER TO WIN THIS GIVEAWAY........RULES TO ENTER:

THE PRIZE:  The gorgeous peony clutch pictured above. $58 dollar value. WOW! OPEN WORLDWIDE!

 MANDATORY ENTRY. Go visit eclu and tell me which color peony clutch is your favorite.

WANT MORE CHANCES TO WIN? for addition entries:

1. Become a fan of eclu on facebook and leave a comment on her wall. Say whatever you like:)
2.Become a public follower of my blog via Google Friend Connect

3. Become a follower of bouffe e bambini on twitter 

4. Become a fan of bouffe e bambini on facebook

5. Tweet, blog or post to facebook this post

6. Purchase something from eclu and comment back here afterwards. (good for 3 entries, leave 3 comments)

7. Enter one of my other GIVEAWAYS and comment her which one.

You MUST be 18 years or older to enter

Giveaway OPEN WORLDWIDE!!!

You MUST leave separate comments for each entry and please leave don't forget to leave your email address

Giveaway will be open until January 6th at midnight

One winner will be chosen at random using random.org and contacted by me via email

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

If you like this giveaway....PLEASE come check out my others.......ALL my GIVEAWAYS are handmade and gorgeous!!!!!

Christmas Cookies for Santa

I can't believe Christmas is only three days away. I STILL haven't wrapped a single gift BUT little M and I did manage to make our first round of Christmas goodies today! We made good ole' Christmas sugar cookies. Nothing fancy here but I really like sticking with traditions that are not necessarily glamorous but don't worry because Friday I am making very glamorous pecan pie tarts with fresh whip cream.

Little Milton is not old enough to really understand Christmas and Santa Claus yet but I figure it would be fun to start the traditions now so I thought we would leave a plate of these out with a glass of milk and some carrots on Christmas Eve for Santa and his reindeer.  I will do my best to explain it to little M. 

I'd love to hear about any special Christmas traditions you have?

If your feeling in the Christmas spirit you should go enter to win some beautiful handmade gifts. Check out my amazing giveaways HERE. 
H*A*P*P*Y   H*O*L*I*D*A*Y*S!!!!!!