Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all (4) of my readers!!! Thank you for helping House On Clover Ridge get started these last several weeks! Here's to hoping for a successful 2014 and a growing audience and a house full of joy to share with you!
Cheers!

Buca!

I just wanted to share that our family had such a wonderful experience at Buca di Beppo on Christmas Eve.I have absolutely no affiliation with them, they didn't sponsor this post or any fancy thing like that.  Just a satisfied customer! As many of you know I have food allergies and follow a very specific food program. Including being vegan and having an allergy to nuts, dairy and honey. So going to restaurants can be challenging here in KY where there isn't exactly a thriving alternative lifestyle community!
For a few years now we have gone to this amazing family run little italian place called Karlo's, after Christmas Eve church service. White table cloths, family atmosphere, food made to order. So I could special request what worked for me and it was no biggie. But sad to say they closed this year, bringing our little family tradition to a screeching halt. I looked online for another resraunt that was similar in a similar price range but just couldn't find one that was anything close to as nice. Finally I lowered my expectations and called Buca. I had never been so really wasn't sure what to expect. But I spoke with the chef and he assured me they could take care of my special requests with no problem. Even being willing to make pizza for us using soy cheese we brought in with us! I also brought in a vegan red velvet Christmas cake and they put it in the fridge during dinner and served it for us! They took reservations which was important to us and even let us pre order our food so we would know that it was safe for me to eat.And went the extra step to make a special dish for me using our suggested ingredients. You just don't see much customer service these days. And certainly not on this scale!

This is my darlin husband and I enjoying our soy cheese garlic bread!
The one small improvement I wish they had was cloth napkins!! And white tablecloths. It really makes the experience feel special! I do miss that about Karlos! Ah well, it still was a lovely evening and we were ever so well taken care of!! I couldn't help but share our vegan red velvet cake balls with our server Justin and the manager and chef who all took such great care of us!

Elves Can Spell!!!

Still visiting family and enjoying the holiday season so here is a post I wrote before Christmas and hadn't shared! 






Just another day of the saga of elf mischeif going on at our house here on Clover Ridge. Our elves left a message for our sweet boys, spelled out in candy of course!

Elves are Silly Sacks!

It's On! The contestants are pimping out their sacks with a little trash talk and gearing up for the big race!

A little Ricky Bobby humor by our Mipsie

Santa is ready for the big race but I think Nutcracker has something to say about that!

oh, oops!

Even teddy is getting in on a little smack talkin'!

get set!

Keep your eye on the finish line!!!

And it looks like Mipsie will win the race!!!!!!!

Elfish Nonsense!

hey y'all. The elves got up to no good again. They were busy playing robots and tp'ing the bathroom while we slept! The boys were more then shocked when they opened the door to discover this little mess!

Naughty or Nice List

Hey y'all. Today I want to share a craft I made a few years ago when my babies were closer to being babies.  Mostly because I think it is cuter then a specked pup but also because I think it makes a great little keepsake!

It's just an old cd, these were actually the free ones advertising internet service. I picked them up at Target, I don't think they do that anymore but any old cd would work. I covered both sides in Christmas paper. Took pics of my kids with nice and naughty faces and had prints made. I cut them out and added nice on one side, maughty on the other and decorated them with these cute little scrapbook file folders I found at the craft store! slapped on a sticker and hot glued on a hanger loop and I use them as a barometer of how the kids day is going! This year I hung them on the wooden growth chart in our family room!

S'more Elf Magic

Elf's just love sweets and our little elves decided to make some sticky marshmellow s'mores for a little snack!

Aren't they cute???

Very Dangerous Paper Chains!!!!!!!!

I have the sweetest little beagle who also happens to be the saddest chicken shit dog you have ever met. Last night our elves up to their usual nighttime hijinks decided to decorate with a ginormous paper chain! They linked loop
             
                    after loop
                                    after loop
                                                    after loop.

Then they started getting silly, swinging from the ceiling fan and hooking the paper chain over it. One even got caught in it.

And the poor dog was absolutely sure the chain was going to devour her if she walked anywhere near it. In a small family room that is somewhat challenging. This is where she ended up

so very pathetic, isn't she?

Teacher Gifts for Christmas

I never know what to give teachers for Christmas gifts. I know they sure as hell don't want another apple anything. And are probably sick to death of 25 kids bringing them Christmas cookies.

 So I was cruising the internet looking for ideas and saw some cute profession Christmas ornaments and decided to give something like that a whirl. I picked up a couple blank porcelain ornaments the other day and painted these for gifts for some of the special people in our life here on Clover Ridge.
A very sweet fifth grade teacher, a absolutely wonderful social worker and a behavioral therapist who is kind of fabulous too

They aren't great art but I think they are cute! And I gave our case worker, for our special needs child, hers on Friday and she loved it!

Christmas Cookies are a Food Group

I can't believe how cute this is!!! Our elves led by Mipsie baked some cookies for the kids last night while we were sleeping!

I love Mipsie in his chef hat and apron!!!!! It was a wine bottle packaging kit I found! FOR $1!!!!!!!!!!