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Christie’s Cookies

This past Christmas my neighbor and friend Christie Halverson brought by a beautiful box of cookies for the kids and I to enjoy. They were almost too pretty to eat but eat them we did and let me tell you, they are the most delicious, crave worthy cookies I have ever had! Such delectable sweetness must be shared so Christie is opening a bakery in her native Texas where we can all get our fill of her unique confections in the store or online, thank the Lord! I’ve asked Christie if she’d be willing to be a guest contributor and share a Valentine’s inspired cookie recipe with us all and she graciously obliged. So without further ado, here’s Christie!
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Holidays 2017: New Years

Night Before New Years Eve Party
For the last five years my mother and I have hosted a “Night Before” New Years Eve party at our ranch partly inspired by Jeffrey Katzenberg’s “Night Before” the Oscars party. Though his party is all about raising money for The Motion Picture and Television Fund, ours is more about the avoidance of hosting a big New Year’s Eve bash and all that that entails. The night before the big ball drop doesn’t hold quite the same pressure for off the charts merry making and allows for a quieter, more relaxed friends and family vibe. We’re still celebrating the season and ushering in a New Year with joy and laughter just without all the popping champagne bottles, riotous countdowns and forced smooching. I look forward to it every year and start planning menus and decor early November.Continue Reading

A Badlands Birthday!

Katherine Heigl, Nancy Heigl and Meg Heigl-Beltran
July is a month where I get to celebrate the two most important women in my life. My mother and my sister. With their birthdays just a week a part I kinda have my hands full planning parties, dinners or some type of celebration that honors them. This year my sister was able to make it up to the mountains to attend my mother’s party at the ranch and while she was here I managed to plan a fun pool day party to celebrate her birthday as well. Two parities in one week had us eating more than our share of cake but it was well worth it to get to show the women I love just how much they mean to me. Here’s a look at my mother’s party. I hope my ideas will help inspire your next fete!Continue Reading

Heavenly Harvest Dinner

Katherine Heigl holding a fall accent plate
I recently stopped in at Pier 1 and was totally taken with some adorable fall accent plates. So I couldn’t resist buying them for an intimate family dinner I was hosting. The accent plates, though fantastic, really needed to accompany dinner plates, so I had to buy some of those too. Then I realized I needed glassware to go with it all, and of course I needed napkins, placemats, and Oh silverware also…. OK I may have gotten a little carried away but I had so much fun mixing, matching and creating an original and beautiful table setting that I’m tempted to go back to the store and do something totally different for my Christmas dinner table!Continue Reading