A Snugly Gift

LOOK what I recieved in the mail this week!

A snugly gift and I don't mean that wrap around blanket.

Christmas came early for me.  ;-)

A beautiful hand knit cowl from Kristi at The Speckled Dog blog.

It is SO very soft and warm.  Plus the perfect color for me!

Kristi is a sweetheart and offered up a contest on her Facebook page for one of these.

Instead of one, she sent 4 fans their choice.  How awesome!

Kristi sells these lovelies at her Etsy shop, so you too could have one.

We are like sister's separated at birth! well, except I don't knit. ha!

Check out how crafty she is...

and she shops the Goodwill, putting together clever outfits for her teen at a fraction of the cost.

Total J. Crew knockoff outfit for less than $20!

Swoon.

Ya know I love me some Goodwill shopping.

So be sure to check out The Speckled Dog and say "HI" to Kristi.

It is 30 degrees this morning in Georgia, PERFECT for cowl wearing.

The gals at the office are gonna be jealous this week!

Thanks again Kristi, I LOVE it.

Now can you teach me to knit? ;-)

Making a Unique Wreath

My cell phone rings at work last week, it's my Mom.

She wants a different, 'unique' wreath for her store front.

I have an idea.

So we head to the local Home Depot for a 1x2 piece of 'white' light weight wood. 

Cut, nail the wood together then spray painted green.

A quick stop by Hobby Lobby to pick up garland at 50% off ($3.99).

Mom also purchased a half off roll of ribbon.

At first I thought we would wrap the garland, however it has a thick wire base.

So another idea hit me upside the head.

Does that ever happen to you?

We bent the garland and stapled it to the 'top' part of the frame, then cut sections stapling it to the inside for a full look.

I simply LOVE this inexpensive garland from Hobby Lobby!

I purchased another strand to use on my mantle this year.

It pulls apart like a silk tree.

For a beautiful and different wreath style base.

Like the hot tub 'table'? We watch deer play in the backyard from this spot in the evenings.

Weather is getting chilly enough for a nightly dip.

Back to the wreath.

The wired ribbon is simply wrapped around the frame and Mom made the beautiful bow.

Then we hunted items around the beauty shop for several tools of her trade, added with floral wire.

Along with a few on hand silver Christmas ornaments.

Still needs a bit of bling.

Red glitter ting ting here and there, silver picks in one corner and white added behind the bow.

One custom made beauty shop wreath.

Extra ribbon turns their doors into presents with Mom making a couple of smaller bows.

A small town Beauty Shop all decked out for the holidays, complete with a tree inside and icicle lights.

Brings to mind scenes from Steel Magnolias, imagine all the gossip about a rectangle wreath!

You can put together your own unique wreath inexpensively.

The base breakdown:

Wood - $1

2 strands of garland - $3.99 each

Spray paint, nails, staples (on hand)

Cost $9!!

Add your own Christmas ornaments, pine cones, etc.

What style would you shape for a wreath?

I would love to see yours!

Linking our project in on some fun parties, find all the great blog inspiration here.

Thanks to Stephanie for the feature of my project on her blog!



Chocolate Trifle @ Thanksgiving

Hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving!

We did.

I tried a new dessert recipe to share in my $2 yardsale trifle bowl.

Found this trifle bowl back in September and have been waiting to create a trifle.

The recipe was found at AllRecipes.com

I pretty much followed the recipe with one slight change (in bold)

1 (19.8 ounce) package brownie mix

1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1/2 cup water

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (1.5 ounce) bar chocolate candy (which I opted out of using)

Directions
1.Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and cool completely. Cut into 1 inch squares.
2.In a large bowl, combine pudding mix, water and sweetened condensed milk. Mix until smooth, then fold in 8 ounces whipped topping (I only used about half the cool whip) until no streaks remain.
3.In a trifle bowl or glass serving dish, place half of the brownies, half of the pudding mixture and half of the 12 ounce container of whipped topping. Repeat layers. Shave chocolate onto top layer for garnish. Refrigerate 8 hours before serving.

This dessert was easy, delicious and richly chocolate!  I cut the cool whip down on the pudding layer because of comments on the recipe at the website.  You could use brownies or any chocolate cake mix. Personally, I liked the chewiness of the brownies in it.
   **** Linking in to a few great Food blog parties, check them out on my Blog Party tab at the top!

Check out all those yummy sweets!

Oh and we ate well otherwise too....

pssst...see the dressing? Made it! ;-)

This was the lunch serving table.

Then there was supper at my niece's new home.

Yes, the window IS up!  It was a warm and absolutely beautiful day in Georgia.

I thought my son wasn't going to make it, but he surprised us before going into work.

My son and my mom.

I have to say this was one of the BEST Thanksgiving's I've had in years.

Love shared with family and friends.

A lot to be thankful for...

Now it's time to get ready for Christmas!

Coming up on the blog:

 ~ A unique homemade wreath

~  Homemade gift ideas 

~ Decorating 'lite' this year 

Thanksgiving Week Menu

A week full of family, thankfulness and food!

A new dessert and old faithful recipes in the mix for the big day.

The lunch menu:

Maple Brown Sugar Ham (slow cooker)*

Turkey

Chicken~n~Dressing*

Potato Salad

Deviled Eggs

Sweet potato souffle (Mom's recipe)

Green beans

Pintos

Desserts, which includes a Chocolate Trifle,* I am making.

Photo from All Recipes

The * items are what we will be cooking up!

Then there will be dinner at my niece's home.

I am taking potato salad and pistachio salad.

The new recipe last week, Garlic Chicken Pasta with sun dried tomatoes was a simple recipe that packed tasty results.
I made mine without green onions. I do not like them. ;-)
Also, I followed the recipe on garlic and it would have been better with a bit more; otherwise this was a satisfying meal.  It will be on the menu rotation.
We are eating lite this week until Thursday for obvious reasons and because I am off from work.
Monday - Dinner Out
Tuesday - Breakfast (we will be making up dressing, so a few extra biscuits with eggs for dinner)
Wednesday - Baked Potato Soup (crock pot)
Thursday - 2 Thanksgiving meals!
Friday - Lots of leftovers
What's on YOUR Thanksgiving menu?

Homemade Holiday Gift ideas

I was featured by sweet Robin at...!



when I linked up my post from last Holiday season on homemade gifts.

I do plan on making a few gifts this year and hopefully will be sharing them over the next few weeks.

Most will be small, simple and most important this year...frugal!

One of the items I made last year was a HUGE hit and will make a repeat appearance on this years gift giving list.

In case you want to whip some up yourself, here is a quick 'review'.

Silky luxurious lotion on a dollar store budget.

You can see the full tutorial and 'secret' recipe HERE.

Are you making gifts? or have a favorite homemade one?

Please share in a comment and I will stop by to check EACH one out. :-)



Sweet~n~Salty Treat and The Menu Plan

Candy corn and peanuts.

Sweet ~n~ Salty Goodness!

I picked up some clearance Indian candy corn this weekend.

Add salty cocktail peanuts

and you have a bowl of yummy mix.

Do you have a yummy easy treat mix?

Since we can't eat this for dinner...here's what we'll be having this week:

Sunday - Pork chops and veggies

Monday - Salmon patties, biscuits, mashed potatoes and English peas

Tuesday - Breakfast for dinner

Wednesday - Dinner out

Thursday - Garlic Chicken pasta with sun dried tomatoes (new recipe)

Friday - Veggie soup with cornbread

Saturday - Rotisserie style baked Chicken

For now, let's have another handful of this:

For more menu ideas, check out Organizing Junkie's Monday Menu blog party.

Menu Monday



I finally made the new chicken roll recipe after changing up the menu for two weeks.

They were delicious with ranch dressing for 'dip' and they reheated well. I had the leftovers for lunch the next day.  Easy and quick.  This recipe would be awesome for a Super Bowl Party.

BBQ Ranch Chicken & Cheddar Rolls 

This week's menu is a repeat of favorites:

Monday ~ Chicken Salad with apple slices

Tuesday ~ Taco Soup

Wednesday ~ Leftover soup

Thursday ~ Crockpot pintos and cornbread with baked sweet potatoes

Friday ~ Leftover pintos with potato salad

Saturday ~ Chicken (probably baked) with veggies



So what's cooking at your house this week??
Need more menu ideas and recipe links?  Check at Organizing Junkie!

Autumn's Blissful Beauty

From the North Georgia Mountains;

to my own back yard.

Autumn dances softly amid the leaves of color;

leaving her blissful beauty for us to enjoy.

Soon they will all be blown away,

as Winter slips in to take her place.

Sharing at Sweet Shot Tuesday,  Outdoor Wednesday and Watery Wednesday.

Hello November & Weekly Menu

November:

Cooler temps,

time change,

and a reminder to be thankful.

Meet "Tall Tom"

Yeah, I know what you are thinking.

No, he won't be on our Thanksgiving Table.

He is our new barn 'pet'.

He follows us around and goes gobble, gobble.

We don't eat the animals, but we do eat a lot of chicken eggs!

We are looking for him a Miz Turkey.

This week's Menu plan

Sunday - Brunswick Stew

Monday - BBQ Ranch Chicken n Cheddar Rolls (didn't get to them last week)

Tuesday - BBQ Chicken Sliders with Mac~n~Cheese

Wednesday - Veggie Soup and cornbread

Thursday - Loaded Baked Potatoes

Friday -  Homemade Nachos

Saturday -  Dinner out

What's for dinner at your house?

Need more ideas?  Check out Menu Plan Monday at Organized Junkie.