Holiday House 2011

What a great weekend!  On Saturday, my mom, sister, my oldest, C, my niece, K, and I went to the big Christmas shopping extravaganza known as Holiday House.  It's a large craft show put on by the Junior League of Little Rock.  My mom, sister and I LOVE to go, but this is the first time our girls have gone with us...BIG MISTAKE!  UGH!  They are sooooo staying home next year.  Anyway, I just thought I would share a few pictures I took.  I know it is probably strictly forbidden frowned upon to take pictures of the booths and I probably should have asked instead of totally sneaking shots snapping photos, but I just couldn't help myself.  So sorry.  I promise to never to do it again (until next year).  Sometimes it's better to apologize afterwards than to ask permission, ya know?  Especially if you are pretty sure they're gonna say no.  Hee Hee!  So, because I was totally sneaking shots with my iphone, some of them are a tad bit out of focus.  Again, so sorry. 

This is what greeted us when we walked in the door.  Isn't it fabulous?  Love the flocking with the red and green.  So pretty!

Love this tree!  Some of my favorite colors - red, green and aqua.  LOVE!

Okay.  Weird shot because the little green tree is in front of the big tree I wanted to show you.  That's what happens when you're trying to be sneaky.  Aren't the colors fantastic?  Purple and magenta. 

But, it wasn't just Christmas decorations, there were also lots of gift items. 

This wine bag cracks me up!  After all, I do love my Jesus, but I also enjoy beer with my pizza.  Hilarious! 

Aren't these beaded serving pieces adorable? I love them!!!! I think my SIL knows how to make them. Gotta get with her on that. 

This is the sock monkey booth.  So many cute things and...

even a Thanksgiving sock monkey.  See his pilgrim hat on that one sock monkey?  And the lunchbox?  So cute!

There were also several booths with wonderful clothes and home decor.  I forgot to take pictures of all but one booth though.  Wanna see the one I managed to sneak?

I love that mirror in the back!  Hello gorgeous!  And those pillows!  Wanna closer look?

Cute, right? 

So, we concluded our shopping day by eating at On The Border.  I always vote for Mexican food when we go out.  YUM!  White cheese dip and tacos (again, with a beer - MMM!) - one of my very favorite meals!! 

Thanks mom and sis for an awesome day together!!! 

Fall Foliage and Roses

So, I've been an absentee blogger lately.  You see, I used to do the bulk of my blog writing and reading during the day, but I've been working during the day and my Hubby has totally been hijacking the computer every night.  UGH! 

So, today Hubby and I were off to go to J's field trip.  The field trip required a road trip, which gave me a chance to look at some pretty fall foliage. 

I love those pretty red maples.  This picture was taken at a local mall parking lot, as you can tell.  But the tree is pretty.  Meanwhile, in my grown up weed infested flower bed, this is what is growing...

Really?  Is that normal or do my roses just not know what season it is?  Hmmm.  Not sure. 

The Weekend is Over, Bring on Christmas!

Well, my weekend was very busy.  As I mentioned, I had a craft show booth this weekend.  We had lots of traffic, but only two sales.  I heard from the other vendors that they had about the same luck so I'm trying not to take it personally.  I had a GREAT time and I met some fabulous people so that part was good.  My daughter, C, put some of her items in the booth too.  She makes collage style journals and sock monkeys.  Her art teacher was sweet enough to come by and buy a journal.  C was so excited to see her favorite teacher and was so happy when Mrs. S called C her "star student".  She smiled from ear to ear the rest of the day. 

So, as I said, not many sales, but the good news is that E has four new outfits to wear.  Woo hoo!  That child has been clothes poor since it cooled off.  As for the rest of it, it will be on my etsy site this week, or maybe a giveaway is in order?  Hmmmm. 

So, now that this craft show is OVAH, all I can think about is....Christmas.  I've GOT to get something done for the front door.  Maybe I could make a pretty wreath.  I love this one:

Of COURSE, I saw it on Pinterest.  Love the monogram!!

The kids would love this, especially C.

etsy

I also love this:

Blue Cricket Design

I love the frame and of course I love the red and aqua with the green.  It look just like the kids' bathroom colors!  But, silly me, I asked Hubby's opinion.  WHY do I keep doing that???  His response, "Um.......no".  Okay, moving on.  Of course, it has to be something frugal because after all, I am not rich.  In fact, I am the exact opposite of rich.  So, it's got to be free or inexpensive.  I've got some ideas.  I'm working several days this week but hopefully I'll get some time to work on it. 

Also, I am very excited that I was one of the lucky winners from Tracy's blog.  I won 25 Christmas cards from Shutterfly.  WOO HOO!  Now I've just got to take some pictures.  I've got the card all picked out.  Thanks Tracy!!!

So, what about y'all?  Are y'all itching to get your Christmas decor out? 

Getting Ready for Christmas Already

Well, I saw my first Hallmark Christmas commercial this morning.  Let the tears begin.  Christmas is less than two months away.  Time flies!  My week has been filled with preparing for our school's annual silent auction.  Each class is responsible for making a themed basket.  I am room mother, so I was in charge of making our basket.  Our theme this year....CHOCOLATE!  MMMMM!  So, I collected money from parents went shopping and begged for a few donations from local businesses.  I even made a small kitchen towel for the basket. 

Why zebra in a chocolate basket?  Well, I was looking for a big beverage tub to put everything in, but I couldn't find one big enough that wasn't a TON of $$.  So, I went to Gordman's where I found a big basket with a zebra liner.  So, our theme became "Wild About Chocolate", and therefore the zebra towel.  I also found a green giraffe insulated cup.  I secretly wanted it for myself.  I gotta go back and get me one of those.  So cute!


This is what it looked like:

Also this week, I've been preparing for a craft show this weekend.  I've been crazy busy trying to get some things sewn up and watching over the new puppies.  I'll let ya know how it goes and I'm hoping to have a new tutorial up next week.  See ya then!  Gotta get back to sewing.

Halloween and Puppies

Well, Halloween is over and I feel like I almost missed it.  It's been so crazy busy around here, I didn't put up any Halloween decorations.  It just never happened.  I thought I would post the kids in their costumes, but you have to promise me something.  You see, because I've been so busy, my house is a wreck.  So, please excuse the background of this photo.  We recently switched satellite companies too so ignore all the wires and manuals on the mantle as well as the cable boxes on the floor.  I'm so embarassed!

J is Luigi (AGAIN!), E is a butterfly pixie, although you can't see her wings very well, C is some sort of skeleton thing with a red cape(all her creation), and L is Charlie Brown. 

C's matching skelton sock monkey she made. 

So, our other news is that my Emme had puppies on Saturday.  She had seven little girls (one fawn, five flashy fawn and one white).  They are healthy, doing well, and PRECIOUS! 

Emme and the girls

Sweet face!

So, how was your Halloween?

So, It Seems We're Having a Baby

Okay, so maybe that title was a wee bit misleading.  I am not actually having a baby, but my precious Emme is having puppies ANY DAY NOW.  While my Hubby has been breeding boxers off and on for 25 years, I haven't.  This is my first experience with my baby having puppies and I am a nervous wreck.   

E and Emme  (notice how I've nearly killed my mums? - UGH!)

So, y'all say a little prayer that our puppies get here safe, healthy and soon. 

Buffalo Chip Cookies

So, last weekend we went to a family reunion with the "favorite cousins".  We traveled to the small town where my mother grew up, where I used to visit my cousins and dig for taters and slam the screen door.  There is something wonderful about walking into a room full of family members that you've known your entire life.  There is something soothing about the smell of the same recipes you eat year after year - dumplins, Myrtle's homemade yeast rolls, coconut cake, Sock-It-To-Me cake, fried chicken, the list goes on and on.  This year was no different.  The food was fantastic as always.  I always bring some kind of dessert.  This year I brought two.  One of them is an old favorite, one of them is a new favorite.  Today, I'll share the new favorite - Buffalo Chip Cookies. 

When I was trying to decide which dessert to bring, Hubby suggested Buffalo Chip Cookies from his family cookbook.   He insisted that we had made them before and I, of course, argued that I had NO IDEA what he was talking about and that I had never had them.  He found the recipe, which verified to me that I had NEVER had these cookies and that he must be thinking of some other girl who had tried these cookies before.  It wasn't me.  BUT, he insisted that they were AWESOME and I had to make them.  So, reluctantly, I agreed.  You ready for the recipe?

Buffalo Chip Cookies

Blend:

2 cups melted butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups white sugar

Stir in:

4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Add:

4 cups flour
2 tsp. soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Mix well and then add:

2 cups oatmeal (I used quick oats)
2 cups Post Toasties (I used Corn Flakes)
1 large pkg. chocolate chips (24 oz)
1 cups pecans, chopped
1 cup coconut

Using an ice cream scoop, put 6 cookies on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees on lightly greased sheet for 12 to 15 minutes. 

Okay, thanks to my Hubby for talking me into making these cookies.  They are my new favorite.  YUM!  In fact, they have Corn Flakes in them so, I'm thinking they make for a healthy breakfast.  Right?  Okay, so maybe I'm justifying just a little bit, but they are soooo gooood!  YUM!  Thanks to Hubby's cousin Sandra for the recipe!!! 

Now, doesn't that look like a healthy breakfast to you?  No?  Well, I tried.  By the way, in case you didn't get it by the "ice cream scoop", these cookies are HUGE!  I have one more cookie left in my tupperware container so I better go eat it before someone else realizes it's there.  Wink!