::SEWING FOR BABY::

A few months ago a friend in our Sunday school class found out her son and daughter-in-law would not be able to have children.  Her son and his wife have been married for seven years and had had their ups and downs with trying to get pregnant to no avail.

Not too long after hearing this news they decided to go the adoption route.  They knew it might be a while before they would actually be able to adopt.  To their surprise, things moved faster than they thought and by the end of the summer they were new parents to a bouncing baby boy that they adopted.

I wasn't able to attend the shower that was given for them, but I was able to make a gift for them that I hope would mean a lot to them.

I am a big fan of  Dee over  at  http://www.redletterwords.com/    While I didn't have the cash to purchase a canvas for this sweet new family; I did have a blank canvas, some paint and paint brushes.  I decided to make my own with scripture on it.  I also made a receiving blanket with a crochet edge.  Giving homemade gives me great joy.
                                Here is the canvas that I painted with 1 Samuel 1:20 scripture on it.

 I really lucked out finding this fabric at JoAnn's.   Love the faith, hope and love circles in different colors on the fabric and the crocheted edge just completes the whole blanket with a little pop of color.

What have you made lately?

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::FALL DECOR SNEAKY PEAK::

Here is a sneaky peek of my fall decor.  I am almost done fluffing up the nest for fall.  I wanted to have the fall decor up for a while so that we can enjoy it because I am already thinking about Christmas.  What can I say, Christmas is my favorite time of year to celebrate.  

Here is a  sneaky peak of the buffet in the entry

and a couple of  sneaky peaks of the buffet in the kitchen dining nook.

I have one piece that I am working on for the mantel and then I will give you full pictures of each area. 

I love all the colors of fall.  They oranges and the reds and even some yellows just get me to feeling all cozy.  It makes me want to  to curl up in a blanket with some hot chocolate.  Which by the way,  I have already done.  What is your favorite thing about fall?


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::HAPPY FALL and where I have been::

Hey all!

I know , it's been a month since I have posted.  I had been  busy filling in for a gal at work that was on maternity leave.  Long days made for a tired me during the week and on the weekends I usually spent half the morning cleaning and too tired to do projects to post.  On top of that, I got bronchitis and have been having a hard time getting rid of it with allergies to boot.  So, just trying to rest and get back to 100%.

Since I last posted fall has finally arrived.   While the trees don't change colors here in Louisiana until late December I have enjoyed the fall like weather we have been having.  So much so that it inspired me to fluff the nest with some "fall touches."  I finally changed up my  mantle that still had 4th of July stuff on it!  Yeah, I know, that is so sad that I still had July stuff up.  Cool thing is  that when I decided to fluff the nest for fall Hobby Lobby was having a 40% off  sale going on .  I ended up lucking out on getting a few things at a pretty good price.

I will be back later today with a sneak peak post of the "fall fluffing" around the house and a recipe that we have come to enjoy on a weekly basis that is perfect for a fall weeknight dinner.  It's a fast meal and tasty to boot!

Enjoy your day in your little part of the world!

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:::SIMPLE SUMMER FARE, THE DESSERT EDITION:::

Yeah, it's no secret I love dessert and if its mini, I love it even more.  I like to think that means I can eat just a little bit more of it.  (smile)

My birthday was back in July.  I have found the older I get the less I want an actual cake for my birthday.  You know how it is, a week later there is still half eaten stale cake sitting around in the fridge.  No thank you. Hubby was out of town and my son had to work.  It was just little ole me on my birthday.  So, I whipped out my Ina Garten recipe and commenced to baking chocolate ganache  mini cupcakes.  Surprisingly, they are so very easy to make.  I saw the word "ganache" and thought I would have to slave over these cupcakes to get them to be tasty, but that wasn't the case at all.  Want to see some of my birthday sweetness??? Yeah, I thought you would.  Because really who doesn't like dessert when it involves chocolate and it's mini to boot??

I am linking the recipe here as it is not my own,but Ina Garten's.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chocolate-ganache-cupcakes-recipe2/index.html

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:: SIMPLE SUMMER FARE...THE BREAKFAST EDITION::

Hey all!
Hope everyone is doing well in their little corner of the world.

Life has been full around here.  I went back to work before the end of Augsut and am working full time.  This old gal is getting old. Working eight hour days were kicking my butt, but  now I am in the swing of things.

So, I can still call it summer right?  It's still summer until September 21st, right?  Good.  : )
I wanted to share a simple, healthy breakfast that I have been eating over this summer.  A little bit of sweet and a little bit of crunch and a lot of color make this mouthwatering bowl the breakfast of champions.  Chopped golden delicious apple with mandarin oranges, craisins and walnuts for crunch.  Believe it or not this little bowl of fruit with a yogurt cup filled me up.

Tomorrow I will share simple summer dessert fare and it is YUMMY! So stop by to check it out and I will also share the recipe.

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::WE SURVIVED ISAAC::

I am happy to say we have survived  Isaac.  We were on the western side of the hurricane/storm and got mostly lots of rain and wind.  We had a few brownouts but never lost power.

Ufortunately, others weren't as fortunate.  Many lost their homes to flooding and still many are without power. 

Continue to keep those that are still in shelters, still without power and those that lost their homes in prayer.  While the hurricane/storm has passed they will be dealing with the after effects for quite some time.Pin It Now!

::BATTENING DOWN THE HATCHES FOR ISAAC::

Hi All!
We have been busy gathering necessities in prepartion for Isaac.  Keep us all in your prayers as well as the many others in FL and other states as well.

If I don't post for a while it's because we don't have power.
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The winner of Christmas in July giveaway #2 is 

Gail!

Congratulations Gail!

I will be sending you an email so I can get this cookie cookbook out to you.

and now on to todays giveaway.

If you like to quilt and you like to help others, than this book is for you.

With a husband who served in the armed forces it would be an honor to be able to  make a sawtooth quilt like the one below for a local wounded soldier.

or what about this one....

Having had two preemies it would be  oh so special to be able to make these for my local hospitals NICU unit.  This easy preemie pinwheel quilt is just precious.

source: all photographs by Thayer Allyson Gowdy

The book is well done, and beautifully put together.  They give you directions to make the quilts pictured; as well as organizations to be able to donate your quilts to.

To enter this giveaway please comment and tell me if you are a quilter and what organization you would like to help out if you could and why.

I will close the giveaway on Sunday at midnight central time.  I will announce the winner on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

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::CHRISTMAS IN JULY GIVEAWAY #2::

It's not too early to start thinking about Christmas.  This year I am thinking about it early and hope to get shopping, sewing and quilting done way ahead of time.

Sometimes though you just want to give a little something to a neighbor or friend around Christmas time.  That's a great time to give a foodie gift.

The giveaway for today  is a cookbook for cookies.  Cookies that can be made not just at Christmas, but any time of year.  It's the Great Cookie Book put out by the creators of the original Bundt Pan...NordicWare.

As you can see from my last giveaway, I don't believe in making you jump through all kinds of hoops to win something.  All you have to do is leave me a comment with your favorite cookie that you like to bake and why it's your favorite.  That's it!

I will leave the giveaway open until Thursday midnight central time.  After that the giveaway is closed.  I will post on Friday who won.

In addition to posting the winner on Friday morning, I will be posting yet another book giveaway.  It won't be a cookbook.  I will leave you with a hint....quilting! 

Have a great day!

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::GIVEAWAY WINNER!::

Thank you ladies for participating in my cookbook giveaway.  Since there was only three of you I put your names in a hat and picked the lucky winner.  The winner of The Pioneer Woman Cooks new cookbook is......

Suburban Prep

Congratulations!

I will be emailing you to get your info. 

Don't fret if you didn't win because tomorrow I will be giving away another cookbook.  So check back.

Have a great day1

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