Grand Prize - Pumpkin Decorating Contest 2012

Guess who won Grand Prize for their pumpkins at the the fair?

M (who is 6!) won Grand prize in the student division and surprisingly, I won in the adult division!

Mine is the bee and M's is the Charlie Peanut's Great Pumpkin Patch

Chef M

M got a chef set for Christmas. It was the perfect gift for her because she everyday she asks to help in the kitchen.

She loves sitting on the counter and helping prepare meals. I enjoy it too. Such sweet memories are made as we work together to prepare food for our family.

New Home Ornament

I love getting Hallmark ornaments to represent things that happen in our family throughout the year. Since we built our new house in 2011, I wanted to get a "New Home" ornament for us. Sadly, I waited too long to start looking and could never could find one at our local Hallmark store.

I was in Books a Million the other night (a store I rarely go to!) and they had a small display for Hallmark ornaments. They only had a few ornaments left and were marked way down.  I decided to go take a look just to see if they happen to have a New Home one.

To my delight I found one! Actually, there was only one left and I can't tell you how excited I was to find it!

The best part was that it was only $3! (Originally, $15.) I also think it is pretty cool that the house is green just like ours :)

My Favorite Flowers

These were waiting on the counter for me when I got home after being in town all afternoon. 

M had picked these for me and put them in a vase all by herself :) These are my FAVORITE flowers...the ones picked just for me by one of my little munchkins!

The time has come....

for E to leave for camp! She is so excited....

and I am full of mixed emotions. I am happy she has the opportunity, but sad that she will be gone for a week! I will miss her terribly!

I was so excited to win a giveaway over at Blissfully Domestic! I won a goodie pack from Demarle At Home that consisted of:
A petal mold bakeware 
 
 

 A Medium perforated baking dish

 

 
and a package of their Rosemary Shortbread Baking Mix.  I can't wait to use them. I know that Demarle has a great line of products and I am thrilled to now own some of the pieces for myself.

Forgotten???

I promise I have not forgotten about my blog! I have just been SO busy building a house. I am having so much fun, but it has been very time consuming!

I hope to get back on track SOON!

Carl and Michelle Photoshoot

My cousin Carl and his wife Michelle are expecting their second child in January.

I took a few pregnancy pictures of Michelle when we got together for the cousin photoshoot.

Cool Artwork

I saw this car recently at a local park and just couldn't resist taking some pictures to be used as artwork for B's room.

Which do you like better?

Hannah's Photoshoot

Today, I enjoyed taking some pictures of my cousin Hannah and her little boy, L.

Taking pictures is such a fun, creative process! I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

I Won!

Amy from Our Small World was giving away a $35 gift certificate to spend at a CSN Store and I won!

The past few days, I have been having fun looking through all the stores deciding what I will buy. I think I have finally made my decision and will show you soon!

Thank you to Amy for a great giveaway!

Free Subscription

Look what I got in the mail over the weekend.

My FREE Rachael Ray Every Day magazine!

Recently, Money Saving Mom featured this fabulous offer. It was a free year long subscription! You can't  beat that!

Milk Crate

I have had this picture saved in my mudrom file for a while long time now. I love the use of these old milk crates.

Well, guess what I got at a garage sale today? A milk crate...for $2.00!

Talk about EXCITED. I couldn't wait to get home and show Scot. He was just as excited as I was about finding it. I love having a husband who enjoys these things too!

End of Summer Deals

 E and I were out early Saturday morning and we stopped by Tar-jay to see if they had further reduced their summer items. Sure enough, everything was now 75% off!

We bought a few Picnic Blankets  for $3.24 each

and Table cloths for $2.24

and these Beverage Tubs for $3.24 each.

I bought all they had left because they are SO versatile. There were only 4 blues ones left. I really wish they had a red one, but for that price how can you be picky?

I am using one right now to hold all of our beach towels. I also plan to use one to hold towels in B's bathroom at the new house. (That is why I wanted a red one to use as an accent color!)

Speaking of beach towels, I bought a few more because they were only $2.24! You can never have enough beach towels that is for sure....especially at that price!!!!

There were a few other things I bought that I will show you later in the week. If you can, go visit your local Tar-jay and check out their summer clearance!

Canning Salsa

E and I are learning to can vegetables! It has been such a fun experience! It is not only learning something new that has been so great, but the fellowship (and working together) with friends as well! 

My friend Deana has a garden and she has so graciously shared her bounty with us. We went to our friend Connie's house to do the canning.

We canned salsa using her recipe here.

4 quarts (8 pints) jars chopped tomatoes

3/4 cup jalapeno peppers (either canned or fresh)
1 cup white vinegar
8 ounces canned green chili peppers
1 Tablespoon salt
1 cup chopped green onions (with tops)

We added cilantro this time and it was delicious!

Pulse in food processor being careful not to over do it!

photo courtesy of Connie

I can't wait to share what else we have been up too!!!!

Hydrangeas

I LOVE Hydrangeas and was so happy to have a nice mature bush in the front corner of the yard

here at the rental house.

We have enjoyed cutting the blooms and placing them around the house. Doesn't the house just feel so much more alive with fresh flowers scattered about?

The color variations are so beautiful!

So what is your favorite flower?

The Storage Cube

I got this great wicker storage cube from Wa*m**t. It was the last one in the clearance section and did not have a tag on it. I asked the cashier if she could tell me a price on it.

She gave it to me for $3.50! It pays to ask!

Flowers on the Porch

A friend surprised me today with 2 of these gorgeous pots to sit on my front porch.

Sometimes it is the simple things that brightens your day and brings joy to your life!

Mocha Coffee Slush

My sweet husband surprised me with a homemade mocha slush. It was very similar to this one, but nowhere near the cost!!!

Here is his recipe.


1 cup crushed ice
3/4 cup milk
3 T. mocha coffee drink mix
1-2 T. chocolate syrup
1/2 t. vanilla extract
whipped cream

Directions:
In a blender or food processor blend milk, coffee mix, chocolate syrup, sweetener & vanilla until smooth. Serve immediately topped with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. Enjoy!

 
 
The great thing about slushes or smoothies is that that you can play around with the different flavors to come up fantastic drinks!

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