Look what came today

Remember this? My beautiful find from the Craft Fair a couple weekends ago? I told you the matching earrings were going to be mailed, and they arrived today! Love, Love, LOVE them! Janet did a wonderful job with them. So pretty!!

It's so exciting to find a great big envelope in the mailbox! :)

If you get a chance, you really should check out Janet's website. She has beautiful pieces, at VERY affordable prices. You won't be disappointed!

Turkey and Dressing - for Halloween!

It's after 5 PM and you just got home and you want a quick meal before the Trick or Treaters start ringing your doorbell - What to do? If you have these ingredients in the pantry and the fridge you can have a fantastic meal in thirty minutes! Rachael Ray would be PROUD! Here's what you'll need:

Turkey breast Cutlets
Stuffing mix
Whole berry cranberry sauce
Applesauce
flour
salt and pepper to taste
Canola oil

Salt and Pepper cutlets. Dredge in flour. Heat 1-2 Tablespoons of Canola oil in a large frying pan. Place the floured cutlets in hot oil and brown on both sides.

Next, open the cranberry sauce and add approximately 1 cup of applesauce to it. Stir together and warm over low heat. While this is heating, prepare the Stuffing mix according to the package directions.

Remember those Bolillo rolls from our pizza the other night? I had a couple of those left, so I sliced them in half, buttered them, sprinkled some garlic powder and Parmesan cheese on them and stuck in the oven at 400 degrees until they were brown.

The turkey is ready...

And here is the finished product!

Plated up...

I managed to cook all of this with one hand while taking pictures with the other! Larry isn't the only one that thinks I'm crazy! To think, before I started this blog I used to just cook, never giving any thought to whether that would look better setting over here or over there...

BooMama's Souptacular Crockpotalooza

Just in time for cooler weather! Hop on over to BooMama's blog today and check out the fabulous recipes being shared!

Individual French Bread Pizzas

Want something simple to fix for supper tonight? Here's a quick idea. You will need:

White Bolillo rolls (in the bakery section @ Walmart)
1 jar Ragu Pizza sauce (enough to make 5 rolls=10 pizzas)
Parmesan Cheese
Pepperoni
Mozarella Cheese


Line a cookie sheet with foil. Cut the rolls in half, and arrange on the cookie sheet.

Using a tablespoon, put sauce on the roll. I use the back of the spoon to spread the sauce evenly.

Next I sprinkle a bit of Parmesan cheese on.

Pepperoni is next, followed by the Mozarella cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is brown and bubbly.
You could use whatever toppings you like. This would be a fun meal to get the children involved! Let them build their own pizza.

Hot Spice Tea

When the weather gets chillllly like we are experiencing this week, we like something warm to drink that will take the chill from our bones! This recipe is easy to mix up, and you can have on hand for those cool days. It stores well in an air-tight container. I've even made a large batch and given as Christmas gifts!

Hot Spice Tea
1 1/2 Cups Tang
1 Pkg. Koolaid ready mix Lemonade
1/2 Cup Instant Tea
2 to 2 1/2 Cups of Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Cloves

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mix well. Use 1 to 2 teaspoons per cup of hot water.

I think you could easily substitute Sugar-free Tang and Splenda to make this a little more diet friendly.

Happy 51st Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!
I love you!

Do you think I'm pretty??

Would you believe that this...

Could become this?

You will need a few supplies. A pair of scissors to cut your ribbon, some wired ribbon and a pair of wire cutters.

Two packages of copper pot scrubbers. Six Individual scrubbers.

The container of your choice. I got this one here. It is called the Renaissance Hurricane, item 40804 on page 25!

Your choice of fall foliage. Go out in your yard and get some clippings from trees! I don't like bugs, so I went with fake - thus the need for wire clippers. Trim the ends once you have the shape you want. I just kept adding a stem, one at a time, building a "bouquet" in one hand. I bent the stem where I wanted it cut and then trimmed them all at once. If the thought of this scares you, buy a ready made bouquet!

Unroll those scrubbers! Kind of like unrolling a pair of pantyhose! Push down in the center and the wire should pop loose fairly easily. Line the glass cylinder with the scrubbers, leaving room in the center for your stems. If you are using fresh flowers, I would put half of the scrubbers in, arrange your flowers, and then fill in with the remaining scrubbers.

Cut the wired ribbon to your desired length, and tie a bow! I like the ribbon with wired edges because it is much easier to get the bow to stay how you want it! Wasn't that easy? You can do it!

Welcome to our Home!

I've been busy getting our house dressed for fall. I like to have seasonal decor around "just for us", but we will be hosting Thanksgiving this year, so I really want everything extra special! I tend to choose decorative items that can work throughout a season, not holiday specific. So you won't see a lot of Ghosts and Goblins, but you will see a lot of pumpkins and gourds.

Here is what greets you in our entry (foyer if you want to be all fancy!) The hutch was my Grandma Anderson's. I got it when she moved to an apartment and was "downsizing" after my Grandpa died. It is very special to me. It works perfectly here!

A bucket of flowers... This is mostly left over stems from other arrangements I've made. I stuck them in here sort of as an afterthought, and I liked how it looked!

Here is the centerpiece I made for our Dining room table. I like to have the table set all the time. It's a great way to show off your pretty dishes!

Our family room is where we spend the majority of our time. This is on the right side of the room as you come down the steps.A little wider view...Working our way around the room to the right, our fireplace. The weatherman says we'll be needing this soon, maybe by the end of the week...

Here's the coffee table. All around the room I have deer antlers setting about. This is one room in our house the Handsome Prince has been very vocal about likes and dislikes. We've lived here for 18+ years and he enjoys hunting in our woods. He can tell you stories about each and every set of the horns! Those "mossy" balls were a craft project that was a lot of fun! A trip to Hobby Lobby, styrofoam balls, a bag of moss and a hot glue gun = good times.

That will conclude our tour for today. I hope you enjoyed this - leave me a comment and tell me what you think!

Happy Birthday Lisa!

Today is my good friend Lisa's Birthday! Happy Birthday Lisa! I hope you have a Wonderful day. Here she is with her daughters, Angela is on the right, and Lindsay on the left.
Lisa is a very talented lady. She makes personalized gifts and monograms fleece, towels, aprons - just about anything you can think of, she can embellish! Here is an example of a bag she has made. If you have an occasion that you would like a personal gift to give, Lisa could help you with a special, custom gift!

Happy Birthday my friend!

Baked Chicken Breast

My Mom shared this recipe with me and it is one of my favorites! It is NOT diet food - very rich, but filling. I make a big pot of rice and a veggie and dinner is served.

Baked Chicken Breast
6 Boneless, skinless chicken breast (thawed)
6 slices bacon (not cooked)
1 package dried beef (I use the jar of Armour brand - usually by the tuna at Walmart)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups sour cream
8 ounce cream cheese
pepper to taste

Pepper chicken breast (do NOT salt - the dried beef and bacon will take care of that for you). Wrap bacon around each breast. Place a layer of dried beef in the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish. Place chicken breasts on top. In a saucepan, mix soup, sour cream and cream cheese together. Pour over the top and cover with foil. Bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours. Remove foil and brown. Serve over rice.

Sorry, no pictures - I didn't have time to cook last night!

Craft Fair - part two!

Saturday afternoon I took my Mom out to a couple of the craft fairs. It's easier for both of us to walk on a level surface, so I took her to the Convention center and the Frisco Station Mall. Naturally, I found a few more things to bring home!

I had seen these Friday night and really liked them, but I wanted to be sure they would work where I thought I wanted them. I purchased two floral/feather arrangements from these people last year, and did not get a business card either time! I decided they would work, and here's where they went:

Sorry this is a little blurry, the morning sun is coming in the family room windows. I had just the two baskets of "plants" on top of the Entertainment center, and was never really satisfied with that look. I wanted something else with some height, because we have ten foot ceilings and I wanted something besides the TV to look at!

Here's a little closer look. I really like how this looks now. There isn't a big hole in between two fake plants! Nester probably would not approve of this, but since there aren't any decorating rules and it's my house - it's staying!

I got a little Bling for myself! This was created by Janet Bujarski of "Coup de Rouge" (that means "A touch of red") here from Lebanon, Missouri. The matching earrings will be mailed out this week. The pearls are a champagne color, with Swarvarski crystals and onyx beads. The pendent is Cubic Zirconia. It's gorgeous and I can't wait to wear it!

Here's where the wall hanging with my verse went. It's in our bedroom, just inside the door so I will see it everyday! This was made by April Turner of "The Added Touch" She had some beautiful things in her booth They were here from Rose Hill, Kansas.

Well that's it for Craft Fair Loot 2008! I hope you enjoyed the tour.

Huh?

Can someone PLEASE explain this commercial to me? The one with Brooke Shields talking about women having babies to buy a Volkswagen? Am I the only one that just doesn't get this? Is it me, or are commercials becoming more annoying and just plain stupid? I want to go back to the days of good commercials - like the people gathering to form the shape of a Christmas tree to sing "I'd like to teach the world to sing"

Craft Fair Weekend

We live in Northwest Arkansas. The third weekend in October is known as "War Eagle Weekend". I love, Love, LOVE this time of year! Our population increases by upwards of 40,000 people for this one week in October. Crafters from all over the country come to our area to buy and sell hand crafted items. Most of them will book their room at the hotel this year for next year! Car loads of women plan their annual "Girls Only" weekend to come here for the fairs. Unfortunately our road construction hasn't quite kept up with the growth for this area, but it is MUCH better than it was when we moved here in 1983!
For a few years, I sold some of my hand made items in a booth along with things my Grandmother had crocheted and my Aunt usually had a few things she had sewn. They would make the trip down from Iowa and spend the week with us. You only have a certain amount of time that you are allowed to set up your booth. We had to haul tables to display our items and chairs so we had a place to perch all day, plus all the things that we had spent hours creating. Did I mention it almost ALWAYS rains?? We would sit out there in a tent all day and I would inevitably get sick soon after. I have much admiration for the craftsmen that make their living going from one festival to the next.

So all of that to say, now I enjoy going to the festivals and supporting these artists while doing my part for the economy! Larry and I were able to get to the John Q. Hammons convention center tonight after work. I scored! Check out all this loot:

WHAT are these you ask? I'll come back to this...

Chocolate brown velvet crinkle skirt, brown shawl made from the softest yarn I have ever felt - I can't wait to snuggle up in it!! Black rhinestone tshirt and gold Necklace/earring set. All of these from the same booth!

Thermal knit black shirt with LONG sleeves, bronze, gold, silver, red and blue rhinestones. Love this!
I got so excited when I saw this I squealed! Right there in the middle of the aisle. Larry walked on ahead of me then, but I made him come back. I rarely find things I like with "My" verse on it. So it had to come home with me. Larry even paid! Maybe he was ready to go...

And WHAT are those three weird looking things?

You snap them on to any can and it keeps the bugs from getting in and the fizz from getting out! AND, you don't have to drink from the metal can. They are even dishwasher safe! Pretty cool, huh? I bet you wish you had some!