Some people can’t wait to get the holiday decorations out right after Thanksgiving – or even earlier if they dare. They seem to relish in the process of completely transforming their homes, inside and out, for December. They create stunning creations of garland, greenery, ornaments and lights – not just on the mantel but in multiple locations. They fearlessly pin holiday decorating ideas and crafts on Pinterest – and actually try them out.

God bless them and the beautiful holiday world they create. I, however, am not one of those people.

Here’s what I like: I like it when our Christmas tree is up and decorated. I like it when our stockings are hanging on the mantel along with my small collection of Santas. I love it when my favorite Christmas decoration of all time – my vintage silver tinsel tree — is set up with brightly-colored antique bulbs and a sparkly star topper. I even like it when we have a few lights out on our front porch, welcoming me home from work every day and brightening up our little cul-de-sac.

I like all these things when they are done.

Here’s what I dread: Pulling all the decorations upstairs from the basement, and trying to make sure I’m not missing anything that I want to set out. And even though I know it doesn’t really take that long to drag everything upstairs, I still don’t look forward to it. I just don’t.

Weird, right?

But the fantastic news is, my house is decorated for the holidays now! I spent a couple of hours Friday night, Saturday afternoon and again Sunday afternoon making our home look festive. Not over-the-top festive, mind you. But definitely  noticeably festive. And I must say, I actually had fun putting everything together (once those darn boxes were upstairs!) and it really did put me in a holiday mood. So much so that I even spent some time playing Christmas songs on the piano when I was done.

I’ve posted a few photos from my decorating efforts plus an easy Cinnamon Cream Cheese Coffee Cake recipe I made over the weekend that is simple and delicious – and it just might be my go-to coffee cake recipe to bring to my in-laws for Christmas Day morning.

With all this talk of decorating, Christmas music and baking, what puts you in a festive holiday mood?

I love blues, purples, silver and whites for Christmas. They don't work in too many rooms in my house but they are perfect for our four-season porch! (Can you see my image taking the photo in one of the bulbs?!)
I love blues, purples, silver and white for Christmas. They don’t work in too many rooms in my house but they are perfect for our four-season porch! (Can you see my image taking the photo in one of the bulbs?!)
Hands down, my FAVORITE Christmas decoration - my vintage silver tinsel tree. I received it as a gift from my father-in-law, who found the tree in its original box in his basement. It is over-the-top and fabulous! This year, I went with all green vintage bulbs, mainly because that's the only color I had left after decorating our real Christmas tree. :-)
Hands down, my FAVORITE Christmas decoration – my vintage silver tinsel tree. I received it as a gift from my father-in-law, who found the tree in its original box in his basement. It is over-the-top and fabulous! This year, I went with all green vintage bulbs, mainly because that’s the only color I had left after decorating our real Christmas tree. 🙂
Three of my favorite hand-blown glass ornaments, a cow, a turkey (of course!) and music.
Three of my favorite glass ornaments, a cow, a turkey (of course!) and music. I love collecting vintage and new glass ornaments and have many favorites!
And here's our real Christmas tree - a beautiful Fraser Fir we bought at the Rustic Garden in Buffalo. I love Frasers because they don't lose their needles - at least not too fast - and that's important because our tree is up for about a month.
And here I am by our real Christmas tree – a beautiful Fraser Fir we bought at The Rustic Garden in Buffalo. I love Frasers because they don’t lose their needles – at least not too fast – and that’s important because our tree is up for about a month. Usually Teacher man and our son help me with tree decorating, but this year a hunting trip and a sleepover, respectively, turned tree duty solely over to me. I didn’t mind actually – with a glass of wine nearby, I enjoyed a quiet Friday evening decorating our tree.

And if you made it this far, your reward is this recipe for a yummy coffee cake! (Recipe adapted from http://www.goboldwithbutter.com)

My true confessions: I did not use the pecans at all because I don’t really like nuts, but I’m sure (if you like pecans), they will add some great taste/texture. Also, I didn’t pay attention and ended up adding 1-1/2 cups of sour cream to the cake mixture (instead of the 1-1/4 cups it calls for) but the cake still turned out delicious – with no detrimental effects that I could see or taste. 🙂

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Cinnamon Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

Crumb:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans
Pinch salt

Cream Cheese Swirl:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Coffee Cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream

Directions:

To Make the Crumb: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix with a fork until mixture resembles crumbs. Set aside.

To Make the Cream Cheese Swirl: In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and brown sugar until fluffy. Mix in vanilla and cinnamon. Stir in pecans. Set aside.

To Assemble the Cake: 
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9”x13” baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined after each addition. Mix in vanilla.

Gradually add dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Stir in sour cream and mix just until combined.

Transfer batter to prepared pan. Top batter with spoonfuls of cream cheese swirl. Use an up and down motion with a knife to swirl. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over top of cake.

Bake 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

0 comments on Cinnamon Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

  1. Good for you for everything done! We’ve barely started…

    I’ve been searching for innovative gift ideas and came upon your blog. In terms of gift-giving, if you need ideas and want to support local art and deserving charities, I’m a Sydney-based artist and have some innovative gifts in my shop here (www.etsy.com/shop/letsgolescophotos). There are some pieces for families, some for men, some for kids, and quite a few for women too. Plus there’s a special sale happening where any photo can be made into a print for only $20! A portion of all sales is going to charity, as well.

    Good luck with your gift-giving and happy holidays!

    Wishing you the best.

  2. Wonderful Lara and you & I share some of the dislikes about decorating for sure. But all done, I love it too. I bought some great napkins, a gal all festively dressed holding a massive cooked turkey saying “He plugged in the lights, I did everything else!” Fits our household PERFECTLY. Enjoy your blog so much 😉

    • I think I need to find me a set of those napkins – love it!! 🙂 And agreed about the decorations – I came home from work today and just had to smile at my silver tinsel tree. Once all my decorations are out, I do love it. I bet your house is beautiful and full of homey Christmas touches! Looking forward to seeing you in Fargo in just a couple of weeks!

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