Under the Weather

My little honey is feeling under the weather. Nothing serious. She has a good old fashioned cold. She feels terrible, looks terrible and just wants to be cuddled and loved. My priority is my little honey, so I won't be posting again until Monday. Hopefully I can stop by while she takes a good long nap. One can hope anyway! Have a great day and come by for a visit next week!

Friends

I had the pleasure of spending Saturday afternoon with some friends from high school. There were six of us there. It was great time to catch up and see everyone's children. My dear friend, Angie made this cute sign for Megan.

Such a sweet thing for her to do! We are planning to try to get together once a year. I am looking forward to next year!

Welcome Fall!

It may not feel like fall, but it is starting to look like fall around here!

As you walk up the sidewalk this is what greets you.

I intend to add a bale of straw and some pumpkins once we visit the pumpkin patch.

I put this wreath together several years ago.

Please come in and take a look at some of my indoor decorations!

These welcomes you as you enter the front door.

I scattered around a few small pumpkins.

I received this ceramic pumpkin from my previous employer. It was presented to me with a container of ivy placed inside. I have used this in the past as a candy dish. This year I decided to arrange flowers that I found on clearance several years ago at Michael's. I am pleased with the results. This is the center piece for a kitchen table. I used a foam pumpkin and cut off the top. I then used my clearance flowers and cute scarecrow to make the center piece.
Sorry for the quality of this picture. I took several and this was the best. I placed my F.A.L.L. candle holder on the window seal flanked by mason jar candles (I saw this last year at The Homespun Heart.) and added some leaves. (Also part of my clearance find!) This looks wonderful and feels very cozy at night!As you leave through the back door these three little guys will see you to the back porch!
I hope that you enjoyed your visit. Please come back for a visit soon!

Oatmeal Kiss Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 1/4 cups quick cooking oats

1 cup nuts (I did not use so Megan could eat these)

72 kisses

In a mixing bowl cream butter, shortening and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add to mixture. Stir in nuts and oats. Roll into 1 in balls and bake at 375 on ungreased sheet for 10-12 minutes. Immediately press a kiss in the center of each cookie. Move to wire rack to cool. Yield: 6 dozen Enjoy!

Menu Planner

I was inspired yesterday by a post by The Homespun Heart. Monica basically talks about the effort put into simple things that make your home nice. I was inspired to make this.

I had been writing my menu in a notebook. Sometimes the notebook page made it to the frig other times it sat on the counter all week. Not too appealing on the eyes. I printed off a blank menu planner I then used my trusty contact paper to laminate it. Now each week I can use my dry erase maker to write my menu. Not only is it a little more pleasing to the eyes it is also better for the environment. Thanks for the inspiration Monica!

Megan in Action

Megan changes so much everyday that I am just amazed. Here she is in action.

Homekeeper in training. Give the girl a duster and she happy for a long time. You may be able to notice the spot on her nose. Last week she took a tumble and got her first ouchie! She had a nice rug burn on her nose. Poor baby!
Megan loves to "read" her books. It is so cute when I hear her babble to them.
She is a climber. I turned my back for a second and when I turned back she had removed the top from the activity table and climbed inside!
I then caught her again! This time she climbed on top.
She is not walking yet. She cruises furniture and will occasionally take a couple of steps. No serious walking yet. We are in big trouble!

Give Thanks Blocks

While in a craft/antique store several weeks ago saw block similar to the ones I made. They wanted $12.95 for the blocks. I thought I could make these.

I had Chuck cut scrap wood into the size I wanted. I then painted them orange. I printed out the wording in Word. I then placed the letter on top of the block and traced over the letters. It left enough of an imprint that I was able to fill in the letters with a sharpie. Not perfect, but that just ads to the homespun effect. The total cost of these.... FREE! I used materials I had on hand.

Sisters Swap Goodies

I received my swap box from Mary Ann last week. Saying everything was fantastic is an understatement! The box was beautifully wrapped. It was loaded with goodies!
This packet included tea. The back of the envelope was closed with a sticker that said "Your are tea-rific!" Too cute!
This is the front of the envelope.
She also included four hand sewn napkins and wrapped in tissue paper were two Beeswax candles made by her husband's grandfather. So special!!

I also received Martha Stewart's Good Things for Kids magazine. It is loaded with great party and craft ideas. A mason jar with home made kitchen spice potpourri. I love anything in a mason jar! A Pampered Chef cookbook with yummy stew and soup recipes. Just perfect for this time of year. I also received a bookmark and some cute scrapbook stickers. To top off this great box were two packages of M&M's. Perfect for snacking on while I read her sweet note! Thank you very much Mary Ann!!!

A huge thanks to Monica and Carrie for hosting this fun swap! I am looking forward to the next one. Your can stop by here to see other great swap boxes.

Pizza Friday

Most Friday evenings we have pizza for dinner. I have tried different recipes for the crust and just haven't been pleased. Last week I tried the recipe that was listed at Biblical Womanhood.

1 Tbs active dry yeast
1 c warm water (105-115)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in water. Add rest of ingredients and mix together. On floured surface knead until smooth. About 5 minutes. Roll out & press down on greased pizza pan. Add toppings and bake 12-15 minutes at 450.

I doubled the recipe for a deep dish pizza. Just in case you are wondering how two people could eat such a large pizza, here is a picture of the leftovers that went into the freezer.

This will be tasty for night when I have had a busy day. Enjoy!

Tea Time

This week has been busy and will continue to be so all through the weekend. I was feeling a little overwhelmed, so after Megan went down this what I did.

My intent was to drink my cup of tea and read my new Country Woman and look through the Gooseberry Patch catalog. Instead I sat down drank my tea, enjoyed the fall temperature and listened to the evening sounds. I am now feeling refreshed and ready for a new day.

I Like Surprises!

When Chuck came home last night he asked me to come into the garage. He said he had a surprise for me. I could not believe it when he carried this in.

A huge roll of brown craft paper!! I was so excited that I was clapping my hands saying "Look at all the Christmas wrapping paper!" Chuck's company was going to throw this away. Can you believe that? Glad my sweetie was in the right place at the right time. Who knew paper would make me so happy!

Remember & Honor

God Bless America and be all those who lost the ones they love.

September 11, 2001... We will never forget!

Tex Mex Sundae

While cleaning up Saturday I was watching Paula Deen. When I saw her make these I knew I had to make them as treat with our Mexican themed dinner.


They were easy to make. Fry tortilla in 1/2 of oil heated over medium heat. To about 300. Fry golden brown, about 1 minute on each side. (Use fork to press down tortilla if it starts to puff up.) Drain on paper towel. Sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar. (1/2 cup sugar & 1 tbs cinnamon)

Top with ice cream and drizzle with chocolate syrup. Paula topped her tortilla with homemade cinnamon ice cream and a cherry. I did not have any cherries and used regular vanilla ice cream. You can go here for Paula's complete recipe. Enjoy!

Food for Thought

While out running errands early this morning I saw this posted on a church bulletin board.

"A Bible falling apart belongs to a person who is not."

Hmm...... so true!

Home is...

Home is.... where sweet smells come from the kitchen.

Home is... where you feel snug and secure.

Home is... where a warm glow from the window greets you.

Home is... where you return to those you love.

Home is... where your heart is!

Fall Candle Holders

Now that Labor Day is gone I will start bringing out my fall decorations. This weekend I made these candle holders.


You can use any glass votive holder that has smooth sides. I used the square holders because that is all that was available at my dollar store. I then covered them with scrapbook paper. Using my computer I printed out the word fall and cut each letter out in a circle. I then attached the letters to a larger circle and attached to the candle holder. To make it look like the letters were thumb tacked on I used some scrapbook buttons I found on clearance for $0.50. I then tied a piece of jute around the bottom of each holder. I did not have four votive candles so I used tea lights.

I love candles and think this gives off a wonderful little glow!

Donuts

Sunday morning I made these. I used this to make the donuts. I used a large coffee cup to cut them out and then a small biscuit cutter to make the hole. Then they were fried in oil heated to about 300 degrees. Brown for about 2 minutes and then turn them over. I rolled most of them in powdered sugar. I made the chocolate glaze by melting chocolate chips and adding milk to thin it out. I need to work on it. The chocolate was a little too strong.

I remember the first time I made donuts in middle school Home Ec. We used refrigerated biscuit dough. Do you still remember your Home Ec cooking experiences?