Christmas – The Ocelots' Den

Chillin’ With My Gnomies

By Julia on 24 December, 2019

When ordering the elf cookie cutters around Thanksgiving, I looked around at other offerings (because I like to qualify for free shipping or spread shipping costs across a few things when I can). I stumbled upon these adorable Gnome and Snowflake cookie-cutters! I couldn’t resist, so I added them to my cart and offered to make them for the same party as the Spiked Cocoa Cupcakes. Little did I know, my girlfriend adores Gnomes! It was kismet.

I loved taking the time to create different designs on the hats of the gnomes. (Side note, does anyone remember David, the Gnome?) I also wanted to make a couple of designs for the snowflakes because snowflakes are all different.

One of my favorite frosting piping tips is the leaf piping tips. Piping all the leaves on the wreath was a blast. Then I got to add tiny red bead sprinkles and some slightly larger silver balls.

Then the next day, when my creations were dry, I dusted everything with various shades of luster dust (aka Christmas magic), and the cookie platter was ready for delivery!

Baked Goods | Christmas | Cookies | Winter

March of the Toy Soldiers

By Julia on 18 December, 2019

One of my coworkers has been looking for a giant Toy Soldier for several years to complement our drummer tree. In honor of that, I found a Toy Soldier cookie cutter as a surprise for her.

I also love making Gingerbread. I love it when it is soft, full of flavor, and has just a little bit of snap when you bite into it. I had to dive deep into my mind (and Pinterest) thinking of how I would decorate the Soldiers. I found myself a little stumped. Nothing seemed quite right.

Toy Soldier Standing Guard at The Jefferson Hotel
Richmond, VA

Then, by a stroke of luck, I attended our annual Holiday party at The Jefferson Hotel, where the perfect Soldier greeted me.

When I got home, I compared him to my adorable cutter, and I realized I had a small problem. My Soldier cutter has very short legs. I was going to have to choose boots or pants. I thought about drafting some renderings on my computer or sketching them, but I was eager to start icing the cookies.

I decided to try to make medium height boots and have a glimpse of the pants showing. First, I piped on some faces, and then I piped my hats and boots!

Before the hats had a chance to set, I added a flourish of holly berries. I prepped early in the season and made a couple hundred, so I could use them as often as I liked. (I LOVE feeling prepared).

I added the red jackets, blue pants, and some blue cuffs on the sleeves of the jackets. I thought there needed to be a touch more blue in the uniform (making up for the very short legs).

With the soldiers fully dressed, it was time to add details and embellishments. I tried a few different designs before finalizing. Gold cords around the cuffs, buttons, and shoulder tassels for the win! The other elements were a little too delicate for the amount of replication required.

I am also an Army veteran, so I got a kick out of lining up my soldiers in formation, boxing them in along with their squads, and deploying them. When they were dry the next day, I was able to draw on their faces (with a fine edible marker). A lot of Toy Soldiers have a mustache, but I’m not fond of it. So I kept a crisp, clean-shaven look.

Baked Goods | Christmas | Cookies | Holiday

North Pole Pizza Delivery

By Julia on 17 December, 2019

Earlier this Advent season, I made a few elves to welcome back my nephews’ scout elf, Truck. The cookies were a hit! The boys loved them. The youngest even exclaimed, “they looked like Truck!” I genuinely love bringing joy to their little faces. Seeing them full of joy, wonder, and excitement is one of my favorite things about being an auntie.

To keep going with the elves, I knew that sometimes the elves get into mischief, and sometimes they bring treats. I also know that sometimes parents are up so late doing the dishes that the elves don’t have enough time to make their trip back to the North Pole. I thought an Elf Pizza delivery would be a great way to help them out and a fun way for me to secretly contribute to the fun!

I’ve seen a lot of “pizza” cookies on Pinterest and Instagram made with royal icing. I prepared to do this but then really liked the idea of building the pizza with actual flavorful toppings.

The dough base is a gingerbread cookie, which I topped with deep red royal icing “sauce.” I shaved some white chocolate for the cheese and placed it on the wet icing so it would stick. Finally, it was time to make my crowning jewel, the pepperoni. To make the pepperoni, I used the backside of an icing tip and cut circles out of Fruit-by-the-Foot. When my cookies were dry, I used edible markers (black and brown) to put the spices on the pepperoni.

My final touch on the cookies was using my kitchen torch to melt the “cheese” and crisp a little of the pepperoni. I wasn’t sure how noticeable it would be, but it was fun!

To make the pizza’s official, I created a pizza box with my Christmas logo and cut small squares of checkerboard wax paper to line the tiny pizza boxes. (Love, love, love)!

Baked Goods | Christmas | Cookies | Holiday

Return of the Elves

By Julia on 30 November, 2019

I don’t personally have an Elf on the shelf. (Probably since I ~~think it’s creepy~~ don’t have children). I do enjoy all the fun things elves “do.” I also enjoy the magic and the fun in the season. Two of my nephews are local and love their elf named Truck. To welcome Truck back and kick-off Advent, I wanted to surprise the boys and make them some elf cookies.

*It’s a total secret. The boys don’t know that Auntie Julia is the one who made the treats.

Freshly Baked Elves Cooled and Ready to be Iced!

I lovingly whipped up my royal icing and methodically portioned it into four containers. And then as I mixed the red, then brown, and elf skin tones. I thought to myself, why do I have an extra container? What color is this supposed to be? And I promptly colored it yellow because I planned to pipe names on them and paint them with gold luster dust.

Immediate facepalm. I needed that white royal icing. I needed it to be white. I wanted a white collar and white accents on the hat. So, instead, I improvised. I piped the shape I was intending in red and covered them with silver sprinkles! Festive and fun. (If you are going to make a mistake, make it sparkle!)

It was also a new technique I hadn’t used. It was a HUGE sigh of relief that it worked. Once the elves had hats and collars, I added various “boy” and “girl” hairstyles.

It was time for the elves to get some skin and ears. I finally understood my best flooding consistency for my icing at this point. (Always learning lessons). The thicker red icing set too fast and left a texture.

While my ears were still wet, I added some coordinating gray “pearl” earrings to showcase the “girl” elves. I probably need to get some tweezers that are made for baking to place these with ease, but I threw caution to the wind and dropped them into place and hoped for the best. (Success!)

I added adorable button noses and some little accents to their pointy ears, but at this point, it was time to let my tiny masterpieces dry. I needed them to be smooth and hard so that I could draw the faces! Overnight usually works in my experience, but it is always best not to rush it.

These little elves fill my heart with so much joy! I used edible ink (fine tip) markers to sketch the faces, and I added a little luster dust to add the rosy chill from the North Pole.

Cocktails

Escape from Mundane Drinks: Light Your Fire with a Feuerzangenbowle

By Julia on 17 December, 2018

Almost every village in Germany has its own Christkindlemarkt or as American’s would say a Christmas Market. There are treats to delight, from one to ninety-two! There is kinderpunsch (a warm child-friendly Christmas Punch), Glühwein (hot mulled wine), a large assortment of food and gingerbread, beautiful crafts, and an abundance of toys.

When I was out shopping, several years ago, I found this beautiful feuerzangenbowle. I didn’t really know how Glühwein was made, so I figured it was how you make it. I was mistaken but happily surprised. A feuerzangenbowle (Fire Tongs Punch) is a traditional German alcoholic beverage where a rum-soaked sugarloaf is lit on fire. The Fire melts and caramelizes the sugar and it drips into mulled wine. The sugarloaf, Zuckerrhut (sugar hat) is a cone of sugar that you can make at home if you cannot find one.

Feuerzangenbowle

2	Oranges (unwaxed)
2	Lemons (unwaxed)
2 Bottles	Red Wine* (2 Liters)
1	Cinnamon Stick
5	Cloves
1 Dash	Ground Ginger
1 Dash	Ground Cardamom
1	Sugar Cone
2 Cups	Brown Rum (at least 54% alcohol)

Wash Citrus fruit, Pat it dry and slice into rounds. You can substitute the Lemons for an additional Orange.

In a large pot combine the red wine, Citrus, and whole spices. Slowly heat the wine, but don’t let it boil.

Remove the Pot from the stove and pour into your bowl. (The bowl should be able to be heated, like a fondue pot). Add ginger and Cardamom.

Place the sugar cone about 1″ above the surface. You can use special fire tongs, like I have, or you can use a wire netting to place the cone over.

Next comes the fun! Soak your sugar with rum and light the alcohol on fire. The sugar will melt and drip into the wine. Carefully add more rum in small quantities to keep the fire going until the sugar cone is spent. (I highly recommend using a metal ladle).

Tips:

Use a hearty dry red wine.

It is important that the rum is over 54% alcohol. To be safe, I always uses 151. It also burns better if the rum is room temperature.

To make a sugar cone you need 2 ingredients (granulated sugar & Water) and a cone shaped pilsner glass. Mix sugar with just a little water like a nice packing sand for sand castles. Add to your glass and tamp it down. Rough up the top of the surface with a fork between adding layers to ensure there aren’t seams that will break when you remove it from the glass.

Turn the glass over and pop out the sugar cone. If it breaks start over. If it doesn’t break, let it sit out and dry. It will solidify and you will be able to pick it up in one piece!

SAFETY: Be VERY cautious. You are handling alcohol and fire. Take the necessary precautions.

Den Decor | Holidays

‘Tis the Season: How to Deck Your Table & Not Break the Bank

By Julia on 15 December, 2017

This year for Christmas, we offered to host Daniel’s office dinner potluck and then went on an amazing Tacky Light Tour! We both had to work that day, so I went ahead and got the table set the evening before.

(Vicky is inspecting the table settings)

I found some beautiful placemats at The Dollar Tree and found some affordable chargers at Michael’s craft store, where I also found these adorable snowman baskets!

I made a few floral arrangements earlier in the week and put in these baskets (plus a couple more for the neighbors). I was so excited when I was at Aldi and they had perfect winter bouquets to create these!

Floral Arrangement for my Neighbors (Dollar Tree Elf Basket)

When it came time for dinner, I placed some wooden coasters (cut from that giant tree that fell this spring), added my white Corelle plates, and plain white napkins with a simple fold. I moved the flowers off of the table to make room for the food and because I didn’t want their scent to detract from the meal. Each guest’s place setting was marked by writing their name on a sprig of holly from the garden.

Cost Breakdown:

Item	Store	Cost
Placemats	Dollar Tree	$8
Chargers	Michael’s	$8
Snowman Baskets	Michael’s	$4
4 Bunches Winter Flowers	Aldi	$16
Elf Basket	Dollar Tree	$1
Floral Foam	Dollar Tree	$3
Total		$40

I didn’t include the taxes in the total above, plus I included our floral basket gift for the neighbors, but all-in $40 was a fantastic budget. I used additionally found items I already had; Sparkle berries, leaf cuttings from my own Holly, etc. to keep the costs down as well. Additionally, I know I will be able to use the Placemats, Chargers, and Snowman Baskets for years to come!!

Cocktails

Simply Crafted Cocktails: Who Spiked the Eggnog?

By Julia on 11 December, 2017

Eggnog is a polarizing flavor, but whether you love it or hate it, it’s a Christmas Classic. I am sure one day I will go the extra mile and learn the completely homemade technique, but this year I went to the liquor store and bought a delightful bottle.

Step one: Get a rocks or Bourbon glass
Step two: Pour chilled Eggnog into the glass
Step three: Dust the top with some freshly grated nutmeg (or just from your pantry)
Enjoy!

Den Decor | Holidays

‘Tis the Season! Trimming all the Christmas Trees

By Julia on 26 November, 2017

With Thanksgiving behind me, I am jumping with joy because it is time to decorate the Den for Christmas!

I like to start off by putting up the trees (yes, I mean multiple trees) the day after Thanksgiving, or certainly later that weekend.

A little history on how I came to have SO many trees

When I was in the army and stationed in Germany, I bought a small, 4′ tall Christmas tree for my barracks room. The whole time I lived in Germany, this was my tree, even when I moved into a house, I put up my petite tree. Now I still decorate it and fill it with all of our sentimental ornaments and more fragile pieces.

When I got married, I didn’t want a traditional guest book. I didn’t understand the point of it to be perfectly honest, but as a traditionalist, I knew I needed to do something. While I was on a trip to Dijon, France I found a bunch of clear, fillable ornaments and thought they would be the perfect guest book. Each guest could write a note, draw a picture, and fill it with wishes and ribbons. We were married a few days after Christmas, so I felt it was a perfect idea! When we moved back to The States, we found a really small tree in Daniel’s grandmother’s attic. I immediately knew it was just the right size for our “Anniversary Tree.” Each year as I decorate the tree, I laugh at the jokes and silly sentiments as well feeling the love that was shared with us on that special day.

Finally, last but not least, we bought a normal size Christmas tree. The largest one that would fit under our 8ft ceilings. Daniel adores a big Christmas tree, and it took quite a lot of persuasion to convince him we could only have a 7.5′ tree to leave some room for the tree topper.

Sweet Purrl pretending to be on the “Nice List”

I shouldn’t forget our outside Christmas Tree! We affectionately call him Charlie Brown because when we moved in, he wasn’t in the best shape. I had to trim a bunch of dead branches, and there hasn’t been a lot of growth on the bottom portion of the tree. However, it is a large tree that is thrilling ~~terrifying~~ to decorate with lots of colored lights!