Substance of Living

Last year, when we had our new house built, we initially wanted a paver patio with a wall.  Then after further consderation, we opted not to have the builder install the patio.  We figured we would take some time and look around at patio flooring options. We are so happy with our patio; the shape, size, type of paver used.  It looks like stone but is actually a paver. We had the guys dig out an area completely around the patio so we could put in shrubs and other plants.  We still like that idea but now we are rethinking the wall. In this first picture, I like the shape of the patio.  It resembles our patio shape a bit.  The wall around the outside is nice for additional seating and distinguishes the patio from the yard. Source This next patio is nice with the vegetation on the inside of the wall.  This is nice since the patio opens onto the back yard but doesn't actually add additional seating.  This is something of what we were...

Are you looking at the Eggnog in your refrigerator or thinking about making/buying some? Now that you have some eggnog, what can you do with it besides drink it with or without alcohol? Kimberly at Poor Girl Eats Well came up with a delicious cheesecake that is perfect for parties.  Instead of drinking a shot of eggnog, how about eating one? Spiced Eggnog Cheesecake Dessert Shots Since we're eating our eggnog, over at Real Mom Kitchen , they are whipping up some eggnog french toast with some eggnog syrup ?  Want to meet me over there for some breakfast? Eggnog French Toast with Eggnog Syrup Nancy, over at A Recipe A Day came up with a delicious breakfast / snack / tea-time Cranberry Eggnog Streusel Muffins .  It may not be the proper thing to serve at a tea but I'd be happy to see it on the tiered plate.  How about you? Cranberry Eggnog Streusel Muffins Oh wow!  Take a look at these Eggnog Marshmallows created by She Knows .  I d...

Source 2013 is "The year of the Snake".  How will this impact our lives?  I don't have an answer and don't really know what that has to do with Downton Abbey or British movies in general. Then again, I couldn't bring myself to starting with, "DH and I....". Somehow, each year brings forth a new theme of movies for us in the Substance of Living household.  One year we were all about German movies, then Chinese, Japanese, Mysteries, Comedies and now we are engrossed in British films. (Here it goes) DH and I started out this last fall watching Alfred Hitchcock Presents from the very beginning.  We are almost through the first season which actually has 39 shows.  Can you remember when a season used to run from around September until May or June?  Then we had the summer off to play before resuming the story.  Or we could catch up with reruns throughout the summer. We had to take a bit of a break from Sir Hitchcock and found ourselves devourin...

Today's post comes to us via an email received and I hope you enjoy the s weet stor y as muc h as I did.   A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her small daughter was very sick with a fever.  She left work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication.   S he got back to her car and found that she had locked her keys in the car. She didn't know what to do .  S he called home and told the baby sitter what had happened.   The baby sitter told her that the fever was getting worse.  She said : "You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door." The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had been left on the ground, possibly by someone else who at some time had locked their keys in their car.     She looked at the hanger and said : "I don't know how to use this." She bowed her head and asked God to sen...

Happy New Year! So much has happened in the past few months that DH and I didn't always know which way was up or in what direction we were going.  Did it feel like that to you as well? A quick recap of last year before moving on ... Substance of Living was born out of necessity, sanity, and the longing to reach out and meet new friends. DH and I moved into our dream home and neighborhood. Parties were hosted. Parties were attended. Patio on our back yard was laid. Holidays were enjoyed with family and friends. We jumped right in and started meeting people next door as well as down the street and throughout our community.  We did this by inviting people into our home and attending activities.  We hosted a blind wine tasting; gathered friends one evening for dinner out, view Christmas lights, then back to our house for coffee and dessert.  We joined groups to go out to dinner; wine tasting; performing arts; themed events; and dances. What we've (more...