SuperVeg

It’s no secret that I am an avid lover of noodles. For most of my life I grew up on spaghetti, ramen noodles, cup-of-noodles, and other types of noodles that I won’t get into here. I recently took a trip to Japan and it was a wakeup call for my tastebuds. More blogs to come on the details of what I experienced, but first let me start with the noodles.

First let me say, noodles look like an easy food to prepapre–but they are also very easy to mess up. Yes, people can easily mess up noodles, trust me. You’re listening to a professional noodle lover, so I know. When in Okinawa Japan I had some of the best noodles that I can remember. They call their noodles, Soba. The type of noodles I tried? “Soki Soba”.

Soki Soba uses pork and other ingredients that I was unable to identify. I did some research on this Okinawa News English website and got some information. There was some great food pictures of Japan and more, but msnbc ended up giving me lots of information on Japanese food in general.

Don’t be turned off by any of the food that looks unfamiliar. The thing to note about Japanese food is that it is unlike any other food in the world, but back to the noodles. Ok, these noodles were fat and yummy. They even pour Japanese Sake into the noodles I think. Some type of spicy Sake that they use as an ingredient. I can’t really explain it, you’d have to visit Okinawa Japan yourself to get the full experience. If you do be prepared for a tastebud treat. The food is wonderful, the people are wonderful, and the weather is wonderful. The only thing I wish I had while I was there, was more time.

If you want an alternative to a wreath for your door this year, you might want to try a few Christmas bough ideas. I have decided to do both, wreath and boughs for all my doors! (I am quite a Christmas decorating fanatic.) The boughs at RemodelingMySpace.com look lovely and there are a few examples on the site but the one I like best would be the very first example which has a red bow, some flowers and pinecones. I love how the pinecones have the white painted on for the “snowy” look. It’s simple but looks great on any door.

I have a wreath on my front door and put this bough on my side door. The front door is what people see when they first walk up to the house but in the winter, I use my side door most often so some of my friends have seen it and have made their own boughs as well. They are quite easy to make yourself and you don’t have to be Martha Stewart to figure out how they go together! I am sure you can find the materials for these boughs around the house. I used some branches from the tree in my front yard, some pinecones my two year old picked up from the park the other day and I have tons of bows and ribbon (I can’t seem to throw anything out!) and there you have it-a perfect recipe for the perfect Christmas bough!

The other day I was putting up my Christmas decorations and as I was hanging my wreath, I thought, it’s the same old thing, year after year. So, I went online and found this great new idea I’ve never heard of before … a grapevine wreath for my front door this Christmas!

It’s very unique and looks easy to make. I would imagine you can find the materials you’ll need at your local dollar store. If you want to go the natural route, you can probably pick up some greenery from any grocery store. They usually sell that kind of stuff around this time of year. 

This wreath is very versatile, you can make it as busy or as simple as you’d like. You can even add your own personal touches. The example they have on the site is decorated with skates. I am making one for my daughter’s bedroom door that will have ballerina slippers hung in the middle of it. I’m so excited and have so many ideas that I just might have a grapevine wreath on every door in the house!

With such a simple and unique Christmas decorating idea, you can’t go wrong! Your doors will look fabulous, your guests will be talking about it and you’ll save money by making it yourself! Happy grapevine wreath making!