Southern Living Magazine. December issue.

I just finished reading the December issue of Southern Living Magazine and now my brain is bursting with ideas. I feel like a little nutcracker ready to go to work. There are nuts to crack! Things to cook. Ideas for decorating. Gifts for......someone.  It's awesome. I needed something to get my holiday juices flowing. 'Cuz they weren't. I just wasn't in the spirit.

This seems to be happening more and more as I get older. Which is totally uncool when you have a little beacon of light living under the same roof - bursting with holiday joy!

It's a good thing I (still) work for an ad agency with a bunch of comp (free) magazines in the mail room. Because I still like reading magazines. There are some things I like to read online. But I really like reading magazines. I save them. I mark pages. I tear out pages with recipes or decorating ideas, and eventually toss the rest of the magazine to be recycled. Otherwise I would save every issue and not have any room in the house to walk. Trust me. I'm a saver. A few pages is better than the whole thing.

I like reading all the stories and different articles. Especially in Southern Living. They cover everything from decorating, cooking, travel, health, beauty - all with a lovely southern twist.

I think some magazines are making a bit of a come-back. Circulation of all print media took a drastic nose dive a few years ago, which caused some publications to close. Gourmet Magazine closed down last year. Very sad.

I love the convenience of media on the internet as a resource and research tool. But in my opinion, nothing beats the original printed piece. Unless you have an iPad, it's hard to get cozy with a 17" laptop on your lap. It's just not made for reading while snuggled under the covers.

So now I  have a small pile of ideas that I ripped out of the magazine.

 

• Milk Chocolate Peppermint Bark recipe. Yum.
• Potato Gratin with Rosemary Crust. To serve with a holiday ham. mmmmm. 
• Spicy Cheddar Cheese Straws to serve while having cocktails. Uh huh. 
• Pomegranate 101 guide. Did you know that when selecting a pomegranate, the heavier the fruit is, the juicier it will be. See. Bet you didn't know that. Now you do. 
• Plaid is in this year. Didn't know that. 
• I now know how to make a pretty window decoration with sprigs of boxwood, eucalyptus and lemons. Excellent. 
• And step-by-step instructions on how to make a smoky eye look easy. It's pretty idiot proof. I think even I could figure it out. Now I just need to be invited to a party.
• Cute reading nook idea for Elli's room (pictured below.) So cute. Elli would love this.

**Picture from Southern Living Magazine

You can link to all the recipes in the December Issue here. That's the kind of thing I like about the internet.

Now if only my house would be all decorated when I got home tonight and have that yummy smell of pine needles and cinnamon candles......wouldn't that be nice?

What have you been doing to get in the holiday spirit?