Thankful for the little things

I had a busy week last week (and the week before) and was touched by so many little things that wanted to share some of them.

A sister who brings soup by and stays to rubs my head when I have a horrible headache.

A friend who made me Neiman Marcus cookies because she knew that I had been having a tough time and wanted to treat me to something I enjoy (or because I guilted her into making them!).

A Mother-in-law that offers to watch my daughter extra for me so I can get some work done before the holidays roll around.

A few new creative blogs that I have come across like this one Fryd + Design and Cheeky Magpie (one Christina sent me the link to).




Ideas that bloggers share like making a Thankfulness tree or garland. So many have shared these that I don't even know who all to give credit to! I know Just a Girl linked to several if you want to check it out here. I took my crow off my tree and we have been writing down things we are thankful for at dinnertime and putting on the tree.

A 3 year old that is learning what it means to be thankful. She has already gone through the basics like "Mom and Dad" and "food" so it was time for her to be thankful for....


~Victoria~

Have Hamburger, Need Recipe

Hi Ladies!! I need your help. I'm in a hamburger rut. It just seems the same 'ole recipes come to mind over and over again. I am going to make Victoria's "homeschool food" tonight, but what about next time? Any great ideas?




We usually use ground beef in burritos, shepherds pie, various soups, and chili and we even had this deliciously different meatloaf recently.

I would love to hear from all of you wonderful ladies. Give me your best ground hamburger recipes. I can rock a chicken and even lentils and beans : ), but ground beef.....I need some inspiration.

A New Home to Fluff

Our parents are moving into a new home. They were able to get a deal on a casualty of the economy and a huge plus is that it is just next door to my brother John and his wife Michelle. They have a large piece of land, which is a must for my dad, who Chloe calls a farmer. He has chickens, goats and cows and is going to clear trees for a large garden. There is also and a beautiful long winding driveway to get to the house. It is especially pretty right now with all of the red and amber colors of fall lining the way.


beautiful fall leaves on their property

I get to be a part of this new house by helping my mom decorate. I hope to show you all little bits and pieces as we move along to completion. In this post I am sharing a few things that I just snapped pictures of as we were unpacking. The decor with be mostly very traditional as they have some beautiful old pieces. I hope to share a really cool story about some of the beautiful antiques they acquired as a young married couple.



Chloe and I spent the whole weekend there working, moving furniture, walking the property with my dad and helping to catch chickens and guineas at dusk to keep them safe from owls. Even though it is only about 25 minutes away from our house, it was just easier to do that and it was enjoyable. My parents are always busy, so it was nice to be able to spend some real time with them, not just a hi and bye.



In some ways they are downsizing and in some ways they are not. The living area is large, but not quite as big as the old home place. But they do have a full basement which they did not have. And they are trading a formal living room for a bonus room and there is also a large screened porch which will be a new space to have fun with.






They house was on the market for awhile and someone dumped some things on the property. Of course we had to go though it. : ) My mom and I went out and unearthed a wicker settee that is in decent shape. A little glue and some spray paint will fix it right up. We also unearthed a small metal table that will be perfect for the porch.



Hope you all are having a wonderful Monday!

GrosgrainStore Giveaway

Oh my you must go over and check out Grosgrain Store if you have not already! She designs darling little clothing and she is giving away a GC to her store.
GrosgrainStore.com Grand Opening & Giftcard Giveaway!!!!!!!!

Hope you have a wonderful blessed and restful Sunday.

~Victoria~

Homeschool Food

My Mom and Dad were both teachers that decided they did not like what the school system (even private school) offered in the early 80's so they pulled us out of school to homeschool us. This was back in the day before homeschooling was so widely known and somewhat accepted so they were pioneers of sorts. My Dad was a basketball coach and wanted his kids to have the opportunity to play basketball as homeschooler's so he started the first sports program around Atlanta (now there are SEVERAL!). It is interesting to me that so many people that criticized their choice then are either now homeschooling or seeing their grandchildren homeschooled.

Anyway...my hubs was also homeschooled and one night for dinner I decided to make BBQ Beef Cups, one of my childhood favorites. He came in the kitchen and said "we're having homeschool food?". You see he associates BBQ Beef Cups with something that only jumper-wearing homeschool Mom's from the 80's made. :)

I love BBQ Beef cups (and so does he) and I definitely think it's a easy peasy recipe worth sharing. So...if you've never tried any "homeschool food" before here's your chance. :)

BBQ Beef Cups
1lb ground beef (turkey, venison, etc)
BBQ Sauce
Cheap canned biscuits
Cheddar cheese grated

Brown your ground beef then stir in enough BBQ sauce to coat meat. Separate biscuits and push one biscuit into a muffin pan and press to sides and bottom. Spoon meat into biscuit and bake at 350 till biscuit starts to brown.


Remove and top with cheddar cheese and either let stand for cheese to melt or put back in the oven.

I am sure many of you already do this but since I usually buy my hamburger meat on sale in large quantities, I go ahead and brown it then freeze it. This helps me save time as I can just pull it out of the freezer and make my dish. This is a huge help on Tues and Thurs when I work and am tired when I get home.


~Victoria~

Owl-a-mania

Is everyone tired of owls yet? I hope not! I just love the little guys and wanted to share some more of them.

I found this one at a yard sale Sat and bought it for a quarter.


I bought Sweet Girl this jacket at Tarjay this year partly just because of the owl!

I love these from Pottery Barn!



I started making one for Sweet Girl's room using some of this fabric I bought at a yard sale. I'll have to show a picture when done.




Finally, we have been having "school" at our house as of late where my daughter does a couple of the Hooked on Phonics letters and then we make a craft. I used the owl mat we gave away as my design for our owl craft this past week and I thought he (all owls are males to me) turned out so cute.


If you are ever looking for ideas for your little guy or girl I came across the site No time for flashcards the other day and enjoy perusing it for ideas!


~Victoria~