Pie in a Jar

Thanks to Facebook, which has a ton of great groups to join, I found a nifty little site that I"m hooked on, and who wouldn't be after reading how to make a little pies in a jar. How cleaver is that, you can make them ahead of time, pop them in the freezer and bake when needed. I just love ideas like this and I thought you might too, so check them out at Our Best Bites. This recipe with full directions was posted on Monday 9/28 but before you find that one, check out the pumpkin pie milkshake recipe up front, looks good! My internet problems should be no more, a tech had to come out yesterday since I was still having issues, he did his magic and so far so good. Keep your fingers crossed for me, as I have a lot of catching up to do! Now, head over to this great cooking site and join me in trying these cute pies in a jar, I just love this site!

Fall Home Decor

Autumn, such a magical season......it excites me like a child at Christmas! I took a day last week to decorate the house for the new season and it was the best day of the week! The weather was damp, cloudy and cool. Candles of pumpkin scent filled the air with a fall fancy and I took pleasure in making our home all cozy and festive. Muffins baked while I primed and propered the place and this is the out come.

My internet is still slow and in and out, it seems I'm last on the line to get new cables so I'm hoping this week will be the last of delays, because I haven't' been able to post photos at all, in fact, if this goes through, I'll be surprised. So, I've used the down time to do some sewing, started my bandana quilt from the post a couple of weeks ago, its so easy too. It only took me a couple of hours so I will be making all four grandkids one for Christmas and one for me! I've also got more stuff for my Etsy shop but I haven't' been able to post photos so as soon as they are done replacing the cables, those will be up for sale. Another fall giveaway will be starting soon too, so have a wonderful Monday and savor the season......autumn's magic!

Another winner, no losers!

As promised, I've got a winner first thing this morning for the first day of fall giveaway! Congrats to Christina from Nifty Thrifty Homemaker, send me your mailing info so I can get your giftie in the mail. Be sure to check out Christina's site, it's full of neat and thrifty finds. Another plus to hosting giveaways is you get alot more comments left which lead you to new blogs you may have never found on your own. That is always fun!

My internet seems to be almost back to speed, they are still changing out the cables but it gets more normal each day, at least I'm able to post. I spent the other day at home, decorating for fall. What a perfect day that was, pumpkin candles were lit, it was a damp fall day but the house is all cozied up for autumn. I truly enjoyed my day at home. Photos to come. Blessings do come in small doses sometimes. I hope you harvest many this new season!

First Day of Fall Giveaway

I know, this is late, not my fault! After replacing the tower for DSL, they had to replace the cable and I'm on day 4 of shotty service, in and out. Not their fault but so frustrating. I've been trying to post this since yesterday, so hopefully it will go through today?

To honor the first day of fall, I'm hosting a quickie giveaway. Since I have to mail out the Grandma giveaway on Friday, I'll mail this one too so you have it in plenty of time to add to your fall home decor. All you got to do is leave me a post here, anything about fall will do. I'll pick the winner early Friday morning, so good luck! More giveaways will be headed your way. I love fall and I love to give stuff away! Now, back to making my house all cozy for fall, almost done. Photos soon. Happy First Day of Fall, ya all!

Grandparents Day Winner

I'm late, I know. It's not my fault really. My internet has been down all weekend so they can change out towers, so I took the weekend off the computer, I had no choice. Plus, it was our 17th wedding anniversary over the weekend too, so we took off and headed to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Days, about a hour away. But it got rained out. That didn't stop us, just a short distance away was a Conservation area that we've never been too, and we enjoy checking them out. They are little state treasures. It was a nice mile hike in the light rain but very nice. Then we headed to the big city for a afternoon of shopping and a nice dinner at Olive Gardens. Our special day together was perfect!

So, since my internet is back, it's time to catch up and pick a winner for the Grandparents Day giveaway! I really enjoyed all the posts, being a grandma is special and there are some really special grandmas out there, hugs to you all! I wish I could pick you all but just one name must be picked from the old garden hat and that name is............PenPen! Congrats to you!! Send me your mailing info. so I can pop your giftie in the mail. Grandmas rule!

I've got more giveaways coming up soon so stay tuned, a fall themed one will mark the first day of fall, tomorrow! Life is good, isn't it! Hugs to all, and to all a good day!

New Bathroom from Old

It's the last room in the house to get a makeover and I knew it would be the toughest! It's the only bathroom in the house and I guess that is why we put it off till last, that and in seeing how the 4 college boys lived that rented this house before we bought it, as the before photos prove. The floor was the worse, water damage lead to some of it having to be replaced. A new toilet took 8 hours to replace due to damage once the old one was removed, thank goodness we live down the road from a nature park with a potty! The vanity had a missing drawer but a tin sign covers it up nicely. The room was grey and since the counter top was grey, I did keep a touch of it but painted the vanity a prim black and new nickel hardware replaced the cheap looking 80's handles. I painted the walls a cream color to lighten it up a bit since it has no window, which I don't like at all and one day will be added. The wall behind the toilet was to be wallpaper with a barn wood paper I had left over from our old house but since it's textured, I couldn't do that. So, I found some cedar plank paneling for $10 a sheet, it only took 2 and gave me the outhouse look since that is the theme of the room, brought from the old house.

Giving it a more rustic feel, I had hubby put up a old barn plank above the mirror. When we went to replace the old light fixture we found a hole too big for our new fixture, so this solved that problem plus gave me the look I was after. He also used a plank on top of the cedar paneling and will be making all the trim to match. I'm still debating on painting the grey shutter door black or leaving it grey, what do you think? Either way, it will tie in but I think I'd like to see it black to match the vanity? The flooring was left over from the kitchen, the new light fixture was a gift from one of the kids and the toilet was bought from the ReStore for only $30, brand new. Adding everything up, we re-did this bathroom for $142 mainly for paint, rugs, paneling and extras. I'm so happy with it, it's our outhouse in house!

I'm almost sad it's over, it means every room in the house has gotten a makeover from the day we got the keys and there's nothing left to remodel, paint, or redesign. But give me a couple of years, I'll find something to re-do, I can't help it! I find great joy in improving our house to make it our home, sweet home...

Seasonal Sewing

Are you a seasonal sewer/stitcher? I am, not sure why, I enjoy sewing and stitching but must admit I have more time for it in the fall and winter months. And I guess that is ok, I'd love to do more of it and have so many ideas and wants. I found this adorable and easy quilt that got me in the sewing mood early and will be a upcoming sewing project, I want to make one for each of the grandkids and then one for me! Isn't it cute? And only takes four bandannas, I've already bought my first four in pink and purple for my oldest granddaughter. I hope to make the first four for Christmas gifts then work on mine. You can find the tutorial over at I Have to Say, just look on the left sidebar for handmade quilt, a me and my girl tutorial for directions. I'm anxious to start this quilt and kick off my seasonal sewing sessions! How about you?

Grandparents Day Giveaway

I love being a Grandma, I only wish I had that special relationship when I was growing up, for we never knew any of our grandparents, they had all passed. I have a photo of my Mom's Mom who came over from England a couple of times to see me, but I was just a baby. We are blessed to have four grandchildren ranging from 2 to 9, three girls and one boy. All are a joy.

Today is Grandparents Day, so be sure to tell your grandparents how much they mean to you and give a extra hug or two. To celebrate this special day, I'm hosting a giveaway for grandparents, all you have to do is be one! Leave me a comment here telling me about your favorite thing to do with your grand kids and I'll add your name to the hat. I'll draw out a winner in one week, next Sunday. So, let's hear about those special times spent being a grandparent and enjoy this day set aside for us! Happy Grandparents Day!

Never Forget..

Some gave all, ALL gave some! God bless the USA!!

Fall Baking List

There maybe only 13 days left until the official start of autumn but it arrived here early and that only means it's time to make my fall baking list. I make lists of all sorts, I'm not addicted to lists but with age, life and obligations, they do help me stay on top of my game. Food lists are my favorites, fall and Christmas lists just excite me! I bake for the joy of it, and don't eat alot of what I bake, thank goodness but before I bake and treat the family, I make sure what I'm baking is good, somewhat healthy and fun. There are many ways to turn a not so good for you recipe into a better for you recipe. Take chocolate cake/cupcakes for example. I made a batch for our Labor day cookout, I always replace the veggie oil with canola which is much better for you. I never use lard/Crisco and have cut out veggie oil 10 yrs. ago. Olive oil and canola oil are the only oils I use and there are many more good oils out there too. For a moist cake/cupcake, I use applesauce in some but in chocolate I use coffee instead of water. It gives a richer taste but doesn't taste like coffee and I usually have a cup left over from the morning pot. Some flavored teas are nice to add to cake mixes in place of the water, I've used a pomegranate tea in a red velvet cake that was so moist and full of flavor. I also use orange juice when making a orange cake or lemon juice in a lemon cake, all replacing the water in the recipe.

As you know, I'm always on the hunt for a new, odd recipe and most times the name of the recipe calls to me. I'm sure you've all heard of monkey bread, right? Have you heard of it's cousin, Gorilla Bread? Well, thanks to Mommy's Kitchen this monster bread is a upgrade of monkey bread and full of gooey yum-ness!

Gorilla Bread

1/2 c. sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. butter (1 stick)
1 c. brown sugar
1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese
2 12oz. can refrigerated biscuits (10 count)
1 1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Spray bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the sugar with cinnamon. In a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well, set aside. Cut cream cheese into 20 equal cubes. Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon sugar. Place a cream cheese cube in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese. Sprinkle 1/2 c. nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan. Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter over the biscuits, and sprinkle on 1/2 c. nuts. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle the remaining sugar/cinnamon mixture, pour the remaining melted butter on top and sprinkle of the remaining nuts. Bake for 30 min. Remove from oven and cool for 5 min. Place a plate on top and invert. If you dare, you can make a powdered sugar glaze by mixing powered sugar, butter, vanilla and milk together till you get a smooth icing to drizzle on top.

I know what your thinking, wow that is sweet. But not really. Just 1/2 c. sugar. Since brown sugar has molasses in it, it makes it a bit better for you. And all that cinnamon is really good for you. Check out all the healthy options cinnamon has for your body and immune system. And in a recent report, it was found that butter has many healthy goodies for you compared to margarine. I've switched to butter after reading that and if you think about it, back when all we had was butter, heart disease was very rare, it wasn't until someone invented margarine that heart disease became popular. Plus, once in awhile, you gotta treat your loved ones to something sweet from the oven esp. for the holidays. So add this to your fall baking list and please share one of your favorites for fall baking.

Heart 2 Home

Fall is in the air and all over Etsy these days, and my little shop is re-stocked with new fall goodies and old fan favorites. I love this time of year for so many reasons and crafting is one of them, my inspiration has been in high gear and I've turned out alot of fall frames with more to come. Just check out my Etsy badge to the right or click here. Keep in mind, alot of the items listed can be custom made, like the clipboards or some of the framed wall art, so don't be afraid to ask.

The bathroom remodel is slowly coming along, of course once the old toilet was taken out, water damage was found, which was no surprise to us since we saw how the former tenants lived but with only one bathroom in the house, any delay will be "uncomfortable" to say the least. But, we have a nature park just down the road with bathrooms so we are covered. I'm still hopeful that we will be done by Monday since nothing is open as of now. After photos will be posted.

I hope everyone is having a much more pleasant weekend, and if your in the mood to add some fall cozy to your home stop by my little shop and check out my new goods! And do something a little crafty this weekend, find your groove and stay safe!

Sweet September

I had the privilege of staying home yesterday, something I haven't been able to do in months and boy have I missed it! So, I welcomed the first day of September by taking a walk around our 2 acre plot, and found many tame and wild flowers blooming just for me! And with the feel of October in the air, it was a perfect, sweet September day. I was content to stay outside all day but I had big plans for my day at home.

Were using this long Labor Day weekend to re-do the one and only bathroom in our house. It's the only room that hasn't been re-done since we bought the place last year. So, I've had plenty of time to come up with a plan and it will be easy and cheap. I'm sticking with my outhouse theme since I have alot of it, plus I love it. So, I got a jump on the project and painted the cabinets black to cover the ship grey that was once before. I replaced the old, ugly hardware with a nickel plated upgrade which gives it a little classy look. So far, I've only spent about $30 for paint and hardware and now I have a high end looking cabinet without all the mess of removing it and cost of replacing it. Before and after photos will come soon once the whole room is done.

My inner homemaker got busy in the kitchen while the paint dried and I cleaned out all the cabinets, tossing and organizing. I don't have a pantry but would love one, esp. like the one in my header. That is my dream pantry but till then, I have to make do with the storage I have, so after some heavy decluttering, I now have more room for canned goods and sealed containers for dried goods. The house was a mess and it took all day but I'm in the early stages of stocking up and it felt good to have a productive day at home.

My sweet September has stated off in a blissful state and totally domestic, I enjoyed the whole day, just wish it was longer!