As T:ime Goes By

A Favorite Christmas Cookie

2011-11-30T11:34:00.005-05:00

Berry sage thumbprints have become a must have on the cookie platter around our house. This is my husband's favorite Christmas cookie so I especially enjoy making them. The fresh lemon zest paired with sage, tart blackberry and the slight crunch of yellow cornmeal is delicious and refreshingly different.

Berry Sage Thumbprints

2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup yellow corn meal (not self-rising mix)
1 1/2 tsp. dried sage, crushed (mine is a powder)
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup blackberry preserves (I use b. berry jelly because I don't like the seeds)

preheat oven to 350 degrees

combine flour, cornmeal, sage and baking powder. Set aside.

Beat butter for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and beat until combined, scraping sides occasionally. Beat in egg yolks, lemon peel, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour.

Shape dough into 3/4 inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Lightly press the tip of your thumb into the center of each ball. Fill the centers with about 1/4 tsp. of the blackberry preserves. bake about 10 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool completely. Makes about 60.
From Better Homes and Garden's December 2001

Hope you enjoy. Maybe this will become a new favorite in your family too.

Turkey Handprint Shirt

2011-11-11T15:28:00.009-05:00

Reposted from 11-2009

A few days ago I went to Made with Love and Glue and pulled up Rachel's archives from 2008. I remembered that she made 4 of her 5 kids Turkey Hand Print shirts last year (see picture below) and wanted to make my Sweet Girl one this year. (Picture courtesy of Rachel at Made with Love and Glue)

Aren't these adorable??? Love the little one below...

I turned the shirt right side out, traced Sweet Girl's hand on paper, cut it out and pinned it to the front of her shirt.

I sewed around the outline of her hand print.

Yes, my turkey legs are a bit small compared to the body. :)

Being very careful, cut a slit in the t-shirt...then cut out the design.
Sew a button on...

and voila (well 30 min later) you have a Turkey Handprint Shirt!

The sick girl modeling her shirt...

Have a wonderful weekend!

~Victoria~

Yes, I'm "bats"

2011-10-28T13:14:00.007-04:00

Bats, bats, bats.
We don't normally decorate for Halloween but recently I saw this picture on Pinterest and loved the bats on the wall. We decided to cut some out and my husband had the idea of them coming out of the fireplace.

His first idea was to have me stand against the wall and have them coming out of my ears but I wouldn't stand still long enough. ;)

Just having a little fun with my family and enjoying this beautiful Fall season!

~Victoria~

Take Heart

2011-09-21T09:43:00.002-04:00

Sorry about the earlier unfinished post...I am using a laptop and it does things all on it's own. ;)

This morning I read the blog Take Heart and read about her adoption fundraiser. What a wonderful opportunity to support this family on their road to adoption AND have a chance to win some incredible items. Seriously, you have to see these bundles! There are FIVE so be sure to look at them all!

Go on over and check it out - hurry though, today is the last day to take part!

~Victoria~

Corn Jumble

2011-07-24T15:10:00.001-04:00

Looking for a new summer side dish to try? This family favorite is sure to hit the spot.

Corn Jumble

24 oz. frozen whole kernal corn, thawed and drained

3/4 cup diced cucumber

1/4 cup finely diced sweet or red onion

2 small tomatoes, chopped

Dressing:

1/4 cup sour cream

2 T. mayo

1 T. apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. dry mustard

14/tsp. celery seed

a grind or two of black pepper

Combine corn, cucumber, onion and tomatoes. Mix dressing ingredients together and pour over vegetables. Taste to see if the seasonings need correction. We like extra celery seed, dry mustard and often salt. Chill for several hours or overnight. 6 servings

It's like summer in a bowl. Yum!

Christina

China Cabinet Redo

2011-07-01T08:10:00.001-04:00

Ever since moving to my new home last year I wanted a china cabinet in which to put all the ironstone and other random pieces of china/glassware I pick up along the way. I knew I needed a skinny cabinet to fit the area in which I planned to place the cabinet. For months I carried my measurements around and finally found a perfect cabinet at a yard sale. They took $30 for the cabinet and I loaded it up and took it home.

(Forgot to take a picture while the doors were still on)

My husband claimed that the cabinet "looks and smells like the 70's" and it did!
I took all doors and hinges off and my Father-in-law pried off the decorative piece at the top.
I cleaned it, primed it with Kilz spray paint, then my sister-in-law brought her paint sprayer over and we painted the cabinet with two cans of Oops paint mixed together. After painting, I distressed the cabinet and decided to paint the back of the cabinet blue.

The cabinet originally had glass shelves; however I really wanted more of a shabby chic look than a curio look so I went to Lowes and had them cut a board in half for me. I have never used power tools but in March, my husband was out of town and with much fear and trepidation, I used two of his saws to rip the board then cut it to fit (go girl power).
Liking the bamboo detail

I bought knobs 40% off at Hobby Lobby and replaced the doors.

Tada...I now have an updated china cabinet that I love!

Click to make the pictures larger

I'm linking up to The Shabby Nest's Frugal Friday. Hop on over there and see what other great projects everyone has been working on!

~Victoria~

2011-06-19T21:30:00.001-04:00

Rainy Day Misc.

2011-03-09T14:19:00.016-05:00

Relentless rain is coming down here in our little corner of GA. So in the midst of cooking and cleaning, here I am blogging. It has been way too long. My blog reader is a mess. With numbers like "25" unread beside some blogs.

Misc. #1

A steamy pot of boiling water is on the stove awaiting some spaghetti that will turn into sesame noodles for tonight's supper. It sounded comforting and the loads of veggies sound so delicious. Try it girls. If you don't think you will like it, open a bottle of sesame oil and smell. If that doesn't make you want to try it, I don't know what will.

Sesame Noodles

1 lb. Spaghetti or Japanese noodles (I prefer Vita-spelt spaghetti-yum)

Shredded Cooked Chicken-optional

Sugar Snap peas or Snow Peas cut on the diagonal

1-2 red or yellow bell pepper cut into thin strips (I adore red in this)

2-4 carrots cut into matchsticks

thinly sliced cabbage (any kind of green)

Any veggies that hit the spot would be fine. You can also add more or less of any of the veggies above.

Sauce

1/2 cup smooth Sun butter (substitute peanut butter if preferred)

1-2 cloves of garlic

1 jalapeño pepper-optional (remove seeds for less heat)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1-2 tsp. of sugar-optional (we always blend and taste without the sugar and then add if needed)

peanut butter is sweeter than sunbutter, so you may not need or want the added touch of sweet.

1/4 tsp. salt

Place these ingredients in a blender and mix until well blended.

Pour sauce over noodles and veggies. Serve immediately or chill.

If you are not familiar with these ingredients, the sauce may seem strong. Once you add to the veggies, the flavors mellow out. I think it tastes better if made ahead and chilled, but don't let that keep you from making it if you don't have time to chill.

Misc. #2

Painted the hall bath a couple of months ago. Still working on some accessories and a few updates. It looks teal, but it is a smoky gray--a little blueish. The color is one I mixed myself from several that we had. Unless something changes I am using my yellow tree photograph in there.

This heavenly candle from Target is for the hall bath. Loved the yellow pattern with the tin.

Hope to come by and visit some of you. I have missed visiting and blogging.

Christina

I ♥ Mantel

2011-02-14T15:34:00.008-05:00

Sweet Girl and I shopped the house at the end of January to come up with our mantel for the month full of pink and ♥'s.

Apothecary Jar filled with old lace and pink yarn in front of one of my chippy old mirrors. I ♥ chippy old mirrors. ;)
Apothecary jar filled with pink and silver ornaments (Sweet Girl ♥'s pink.)
Pictures by my favorite photographer (Christina) clipped to a piece of string inside a frame.
Oh and see "valentine" spelled out with scrabble tiles? We did several of those throughout the house. Gave Sweet Girl something fun to do while Mom was doing the heavy lifting. ;)

Happy Valentine's to you and yours today!

~Victoria~

Score 1 for Mommy

2011-01-24T21:37:00.008-05:00

Recently I found a copy of Deceptively Delicious, the cookbook by Jessica Seinfield, at the GW and picked it up for $2.50. I have poured over this baby and have enjoyed looking at the recipes, tips from Jessica, etc. It is actually a very interesting read for a cookbook.

Tonight I tried my first real recipe from the book and made Lasagna. This recipe calls for cauliflower and sweet potato puree and neither are veggies my husband will eat and I don't particularly care for cauliflower myself. Too, this is a somewhat easy way to add in extra veggies vs me preparing several sides.

I don't make lasagna in our home for a couple of reasons. First, my Sis always made lasagna growing up and made it well, so I just ask her to make it for my birthdays and occasionally a family get-together. Secondly, my father-in-law makes what my daughter calls "Grumpy's world famous lasagna" and they have us over for lasagna so I get my second lasagna fix that way. Pretty smart girl, eh?

Tonight I told Sweet Girl and Sweet Man "hey guys, this is a new recipe, used ground turkey, we all may hate it and I might never make it again". My parents happened by about the time I took it out of the oven and I gave them the same spill as I invited them to stay for dinner.

Fast forward 30 min and pan is practically empty. No one notices cauliflower or sweet potato! Woohoo! SCORE 1 for Mommy!

I'll let you know when I try the brownies made with spinach puree. ;)

~Victoria~

Favorite Things Friday

2011-01-21T14:00:00.002-05:00

Paperwhites.....
planted in a few of my milk glass containers.

My husband and Sweet Girl don't like the smell but they don't bother me at all. :)

Happy Friday people!

~Victoria~

Tis the Season...

2010-12-23T10:16:00.011-05:00

for colorful gingerbread houses....

fun snowman's for the Sweet Girl...

all things glittery....

whites and greens...

and most importantly to celebrate the birth of our Lord...

Merry Christmas!

~Victoria~

Gobbly Good Ideas

2010-11-15T14:49:00.011-05:00

My Sweet Girl would do crafts every day, all day, if her Momma had nothing else to do. :) Cutting, pasting, sewing, painting, cooking, you name it, she would do it!

This afternoon we made Pilgrim Hats (as shown here) for snack time at the Academy she attends.

First, we took Fudge Stripe shortbread cookies and placed them fudge stripes down on wax paper. Then we melted chocolate chips and shortening and coated large marshmallows. She placed the coated marshmallows on the cookies, then we let them harden in the fridge for about 10 minutes.

After that we took some yellow icing and SHE piped buckles on the hats.

They are imperfectly perfect and the best part is it gave Sweet Girl something to do! ;)

Doing this while listening to rain fall and Christmas music. Seeing this view outside our back windows.

Since it's a rainy cool day, and we have Sweet Girl's Thanksgiving Program tonight, I have soup bubbling on the stove. Not sure if I've shared the recipe here before or not but here is the easy-peasy Taco Soup that I make. I'm not sure where the recipe ultimately came from but my Mother-in-law shared it with me.

Taco Soup
1 can tomato soup
1 can whole kernel corn (do not drain)
1 can chili beans (do not drain)
1 pack taco seasoning
1 lb ground beef
1 can/cup water

Mix all together and put in crockpot or on stove. We eat with sour cream, tortilla chips and cheese. My family loves it, so I always make extra for leftovers. Hello supper for Wed night. ;)

Hope you are enjoying your Fall as much as I am! The leaves here are gorgeous and every morning as I drive to work and school I think of this verse:

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork.
Ps 19:1

~Victoria~

Fall in the North Georgia Mountains

2010-11-02T14:03:00.000-04:00

Fall is slowly creeping its way to us in GA. We were in the north Georgia mountains last week and all around us we saw the in-between of the fall beauty to come.

My photo-lookout point Ft. Mountain

My Photo-Warm colors of fall.

My Photo-Golden Delight

My favorite picture may be this one below and I didn't even take it.

Photo credit: from my husband's Flickr photostream

My husband noticed this shelled nut laying on a rock. I can just see a little squirrel nibbling away and leaving the evidence of his visit behind.

We also picked up a variety of apples. Mostly Winesaps for Apple Butter and a few other goodies.

Photo credit: Karen Brugman's Flickr photostream

If you are looking for a wonderful and easy apple butter recipe, check out this one out on Manuela's blog. Victoria picked some apples in September and made this. It was delish and she shared the rest of her apples with me and I gave it a try. Yum! My family loved it, so we picked up another supply of apples.

And for another treat, try this old fashioned apple cake. So quick and easy. No sifting or adding the wet and then dry ingredients. Just add it all in and pop it into the oven.

Apple Cake

3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups self-rising flour
3 cups diced apple
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (The original recipe did not call for cinnamon, but I find that it is a perfect addition)

Mix all ingredients and pour into a greased and floured bundt pan. Bake 1 hour and 25 min.
325 degrees.

And last but not least, a joke. What is worse than finding a worm in your apple?................................
Finding half a worm.

Christina

A Touch of Fall

2010-10-05T18:17:00.002-04:00

A few bits and pieces of fall decor are making their way into the house.

Chloe and I made this banner a few days ago. This was suppose to be my "under $10 under an hour" project for Melissa's party last week, but it didn't happen. There are lots of great ideas over there, so make sure you stop by.

We used bamboo from a bundle of ten bought a few years ago for $9.99 at Michael's. I don't want them for a vase arrangement anymore, so I'm finding uses for them individually. Burlap, which is actually buckram, bought at Hancock Fabrics. It has a plastic backing and is a little stiffer than just burlap would be. I believe it was $2.99 a yard, and this project only took a small amount. Muslin, from an unknown origin, was found in the craft bag and torn into strips. Stamp it, glue it, hang it. Done.

Mr. Crow has seen better days, but is still hanging around. His bill is about to fall off and he is missing some tail feathers, but hey, he can't resist a vase full of acorns.

Alongside is a Kabocha squash, that was bought to eat, but acts as decor until it makes it to the oven.

Christina

Pizza Pie

2010-08-27T00:25:00.021-04:00

Who doesn't enjoy ordering a pizza from time to time? It's fun. It's good. It's convenient after a hard week. A local pizza joint with good pizza and a must have Greek salad or occasionally even Papa John's comes to call. You put your feet up, turn on a movie and not the oven.

But, for those other times we turn our kitchen into a pizzeria. I thought you all might enjoy the recipe.

Make. this. pizza. Three Cheese Garden Pizza. Really. Guys, my kiddos beg for this pizza. In fact Chloe thinks this might be her birthday dinner choice.

This is a Pampered Chef recipe. I love some of their things and some I can do without. Kitchen items that come into this house have to help me and not hinder or just make more clean up. We all have good knife skills, so I don't need every little gadget known to man to get the job done. Their stones are one thing that I adore and have invested in. Not all of them, but enough. They also stand behind their warranty. Wonder how I know that? More than once...

At the PC party we used the refrigerated pizza crust (that the recipe calls for) and the pizza was delicious, but Chloe and I love to work with yeast dough, so we make our own crust. It is like the smell of a gourmet pizza shop in your kitchen.. A quick pizza crust version can be found here. Make sure that you add the right amount of salt. I'm not a careful measurer, but with this dough it is crucial.

Here is our wonderful partially baked pizza crust brushed with olive oil and fresh garlic.

Start layering.

Ready for the oven.

My son is not a super picky eater, but sliced onions and tomatoes would not be on his list of favorites. Mine either, and we both love this pizza. I don't love mushrooms on pizza, but this is another exception. They are not slimy if cut fresh.

A few tweak notes: We usually add spinach and/or bell peppers between the veggies layers. We also use olive oil to brush on the pizza crust instead of vegetable oil.

Oops, I almost didn't get a picture. Only one piece left when I thought of the camera.

When I went to run my dishwasher tonight it even smelled like a pizzeria.

p.s. I am in no way affiliated with Pampered Chef, nor was I paid to mention their baking stones.

Christina

A touch of my home

2010-08-11T11:36:00.004-04:00

I found these pictures today that Christina took one day earlier this year when she ran by my house to visit. It was in the midst of us having just moved, selling our old house, end of school, sick little girl, etc and I was feeling very overwhelmed! Christina spent a few minutes making a couple areas pretty for me while I did the mundane tasks of moving boxes from one room to another and making dinner.

I am so excited to finally have a fireplace and mantle! Of course in this horrid Georgia heat and humidity, it being cool enough to light a fire sounds like light years away...

I love how she mixed the rustic with the glass and mirrors. One of these days I am going to be as talented as my sisters. ;) Until then, well I just have her over to do these things for me!

~Victoria~

Tomatoes and a Lamp

2010-07-06T19:50:00.018-04:00

What do tomatoes and a lamp have in common? Nothing at all. I just couldn't think of a better title for this post.

I haven't been around blogland much lately visiting or posting so I told myself to get over here and post something so Victoria won't find a new blogging partner.

Recently we picked up this lamp for $5.00 at a garage sale. I need another lamp like I need a hole in my head but somehow that didn't stop me.

Before:

I decided to add a drum shade for a fresher look.

After:

We have been enjoying tomatoes from Chloe's garden. She has done all of the work for these tomatoes and we and she are very happy.

Add cucumber, red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. We can't get enough.

Hope you are enjoying you summer.

Christina

Sweet Girl's 5th Birthday Party

2010-06-23T20:37:00.019-04:00

Sweet Girl had so much fun planning and decorating for her party this year. I think she enjoyed the planning and decorating just as much as the actual party! She wanted a Hello Kitty Party but it became a Hello Kitty-Dress-Up-Tea-Party instead. :)

First we made invitations with paper, stamps and ribbon we had on hand. She had the idea of having every girl bring their favorite stuffed animal or doll.
She LOVED every minute of making these!

All of our decorating was made from things we had on hand and I think that made it even more fun! I used the Pink Ironstone dishes, a platter bought from GW in the center with two tea cups and a creamer filled with flowers left over from her Ballet Recital.

(she set the table all by herself!)

I cut the paper flowers and she glued the centers on and then we hung them from the chandelier. We swagged a little tulle from my fabric stash around the bottom of the chandy as well.

I cut out Hello Kitty faces for the place cards and she drew the whiskers, eyes, nose, etc and then she wrote each girl's name on it.
Every year she tells us what she wants on her cake. I bake and ice the cake then her Daddy decorates it.
It has been so much fun to see Daddy get into the decorating (I can't draw stick figures) and then to see her face light up when she sees what Daddy has done for her.
The only money I spent on this party was for the food! We had "butterfly" sandwiches, carrots and dip, fruit and cheese shaped like flowers and cake. At this age, most little ones are going to pick at their food anyway and this menu worked out really well!
The Mommies had spinach and bacon pinwheels, cucumbers sandwiches, cheese cubes, veggies, and fruit.

I think about the money end of things like this a lot of times...it's not that we do not have the money to spend on things like a party but somehow I think Sweet Girl will remember making decorations versus me running to Party City and buying every Hello Kitty item they sell. I want to instill in her the value of money and also creativity. Who's to say that next year we won't be at a bouncy place living it up but this year, at this time in my life, it was easy to have her party in my home and to spend time making decorations with her.

~Victoria~

My delightful finds!

2010-06-21T11:15:00.013-04:00

I love to shop yard sales. Give me an old neighborhood any day over a new one and it's even better if the people have a barn or outbuilding that they are dragging stuff out of. :)
Friday I stopped by a yard sale and over in the spider webbed corner of their outbuilding were dishes covered in dust! Ironstone and all manner of old dishes. :) I was in hog heaven.
I picked up all the Ironstone and a few other things and asked how much the dishes were. "Ummm...how about 10 cents each" was the reply! I nonchalantly replied "okay, I think I might get a couple other pieces". Boy did I have fun!

This heavy white pitcher set me back a whole 50 cents!

Love the stack of 7 dessert plates ...

Most everything has markings on the back of it and they are old pieces. I don't really look for any particular dishes ... just ones that I like!

If you aren't into white dishes, I also picked up this piece for the director of my daughter's school since she collects green glassware.

and this bowl with a poppy painted on it...

For now most of my finds are stacked in my corner cabinet.

I am looking for a small china cabinet that I can paint and distress and then load with my random dishes!
I do use the platters and plates. In fact, for my Sweet Girl's birthday party I put all of the food on various sized and colored platters and plates.

~Victoria~

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

2010-06-17T21:09:00.017-04:00

My Sweet Girl turned five today! Wow time flies....

She asked me last night before bed if she would need bigger socks in the morning. :)

She is really a precious, tender-hearted little girl. She always wants to please Mommy and Daddy and she loves to use her manners! She is a little lady, loves to dress up, loves to draw and make crafts, loves wearing dresses or skirts and really, really fights Mommy on wearing shorts or pants. :) She is definitely ALL GIRL!

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl! Your Mommy loves you more than you could ever know.

~Victoria~

Pink Ironstone

2010-06-16T16:21:00.012-04:00

Yep, you read that right! PINK Ironstone is what I found last summer at a yard sale. I snatched up the whole box for $8! I knew it would be hit or miss on what exactly was in the box but from what I could see I was in love!

Don't you just love the detail and the pretty pink flowers?
I ended up with 5 good cups (the 6th has a hairline crack),

8 saucers, 2 dessert/salad plates and 7 dinner plates.

Love the shape of the cups...

I am more of a white ironstone kind of gal but I have a Sweet Girl whose favorite color is PINK so I figured this would be perfect for parties in the future.

What about you? What color ironstone pieces have you come across?

Also, if you find white ironstone that you pick up at yard sales and Goodwill and pass up pieces with dark spots and discoloration, I read a blog post over at Red Door Home that gives you step by step instructions for getting the discoloration out.

~Victoria~

How I Have Used My Thrift Store Finds

2010-06-03T17:46:00.015-04:00

Recently, while editing pictures, I realized that most of my photography props are Goodwill and garage sale finds. Most of these have been shown here on the blog at one time or another.

A brown picnic basket found at Goodwill. No painting, just add a precious newborn and a barn gate.

This little stool has been painted twice and I'm sure it will get many more coats of paint. Check out the before here. Huge difference from the early nineties fabric and paint.

Sweet baby in a basket. Check out the basket before a creamy coat of white paint here.

When not in use for photo shoots, this basket is often filled (or partly filled) with towels in my bathroom. Other times it holds books or magazines.

Oh and I used the stool above as a prop for sweet Annsley. This stool was a scary laminate brown table in its previous life. See here.

Love putting my finds to good use. Now to find a great place for the new Goodwill baskets that I brought home today.

Christina

Summertime Lunch

2010-05-25T12:42:00.010-04:00

I was thrilled to find that I had basil coming up in a huge pot on my deck this spring from my basil going to seed last year. Yesterday I realized I had enough basil that Sweet Girl and I were able to make our first batch of basil pesto. How I love me some basil pesto!!!!

Today for lunch we made mini basil pesto chicken pizzas. First we started with a round flat bread that might be more for gorditas...these came from Christina's food co-op and are in my freezer.
Then I spread a layer of my basil pesto on the bread.

I had a box of grilled chicken from Aldi that I buy for suppers in a pinch so I cut it up into smaller pieces.
Sprinkled a little mozzarella on top and voila, lunch is served!
I had my pizza with a side of Magazine heaven (won as a giveaway from Jen at thecottagenest - check her out today, she's having ANOTHER giveaway!)...

followed by a banana smoothie (choice of Sweet Girl).
What are you eating today? Do you have any summertime favorites?

~Victoria~

Recipe

Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts (I left out the nuts as I didn't have any on hand)
3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Makes 1 cup.

Kitchen Storage Solution

2010-05-13T15:00:00.003-04:00

This past weekend my husband bought me an industrial shelf to use as open shelving in my laundry room.

We have very little cabinet space in our kitchen and what we do have was poorly planned. I now have this shelving just around the corner so we can quickly grab bowls, pots, and baking stones when needed. The bottom shelves house things that we use less often. I keep adding to the shelves and so you are seeing pictures from earlier in the week and then again today.

I couldn't get a picture of the entire shelf in one frame. It is such a tiny room.

It just dawned on me that everything except for the cooking utensils and the little pitcher were either bought at Goodwill or a yard sale. We found the pitcher on clearance at Marshalls. The gold tray on the second shelf is also a favorite find from Goodwill.

I plan to use the basket to house a few longer items such as a carving knife and other seldom used but important utensils. If that doesn't work I have a larger basket that will take its place. The lamp will stay as long as it doesn't bug me or I need to space for something else. Things continually move around at my house.

It doesn't take much to make me happy and you can't believe how happy I am.

Here is the jumble under my cabinets before:

Now to the question of where I will put the large container of dog food and the box of treats that used to be housed on the new shelf wall? Right now it is just sitting on the floor in the kitchen. lol.

Have a wonderful Thursday.

Christina

I'll Have Rain and a Side of Grilled Cheese Please

2010-05-03T13:11:00.001-04:00

(I found these old aluminum cups at a garage sale for $1.00 a few weeks ago)

So welcome to a rainy Monday in Georgia. The sounds of rain, music and the washing machine fill the background. The kiddos are quiet, one laboring over a writing class assignment, and the other quietly reading. I think grilled cheese sandwiches are in order.

I will be adding another layer of yummy to the old standard grilled cheese. This idea came from Victoria's friend, Joanne, a few years ago and boy does it take the classic grilled cheese to another level.

Layer fresh sliced tomato on buttered bread between the cheese. Sprinkle the buttered sides with Shaky cheese (what my family calls parmesan cheese in a shaker can). Grill to yummy perfection and enjoy.

Some with tomato.

For the more boring and picky among us, without tomato.

Oh and I think a side of music will just make this day perfect:

How about a free download to chase away the rainy day blues. This is the song featured in one of Amazon's Kindle commercials. Click on the album image below to get the free download.

I am a sucker for creative advertising and interesting music videos. They get my creative juices flowing.

If you like the sound of Little & Ashley you will find more of their music here and for a similar sound try the She & Him Volume Two album for $5.00 during the month of May at Amazon.

How about a little Joshua Radin. He is one of my very favorite artists.

try these out
I'd Rather Be With You
Brand New Day
Today

Forgiven Sanctus Real

Wonderful song and interesting video.

Happy Monday to you!

Christina

Things I'm Lovin' This Rainy Saturday

2010-04-24T12:31:00.073-04:00

1. Some fantastically wonderful muffins.

Oh.My.Soul these are so good for a special treat.

All Recipes from Colleen

To Die For Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar (I use Rapadura)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg

1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

2. Moss from Home Depot

OK, so this was new to me. I whipped out my phone to take a picture and my brain immediately started coming up with plans for this lush green goodness. I think it was $1.97.

A terrarium. We have only ever used the short moss dug from the woods, but this is a fun difference.

Planted in a little white bowl or a creamer. I don't know how it will do indoors, but if and when it starts to die I will move it outside or Chloe can make a terrarium.

A ground cover for a very shady corner of the back yard.

To cover the dirt of a pot planted with something taller.

3. Rainy Day Listening So Far:

Gotta have something to listen to while editing pictures.

Snow Patrol-Chasing Cars

Ben Lee-Rise Up

Jack Johnson-His new single

Donavon Frankenreiter-hear him here

Sam Bradley-Sea Blue

Seabird-Don't You Know You're Beautiful and the Rocks to Rivers album.

Brandon Heath-What If We

All For Love from The Three Musketeers soundtrack-you can find a great video from the recording here.

Danny Gokey-I Will Not Say Goodbye

4. Advil

For headaches from looking at the screen too long while editing lots of pictures and various other computer tasks.

5. Watching Everest Beyond the Limit with my son

5. Oh, and Blogging

Victoria has e-mailed me to say that she is handing me the blog baton and that I need to post something. I haven't been pulling my load, so I have to change that. Hi everyone!! : )

What are you enjoying this weekend? Have a great one!

Christina

Spring time cake

2010-04-19T10:25:00.002-04:00

Since my life has been busy with getting our old house on the market, moving final items and digging up plants I can't bear to leave behind I thought I'd share a repeat of a yummy recipe for a spring time cake today. This cake is sooo easy and delish!

My sister Beth always has dessert, whether it's cookies, cake or something else, under her pretty glass cake dome at her house and she is the one that shared this recipe with me. I LOVE cakes that use a cake mix and additional ingredients. They seem so much easier than scratch and taste so yummy.

Lemon Poppyseed Cake

1 package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1 cup plain or vanilla nonfat yogurt
3 eggs
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Combine cake mix and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add vegetable oil and next four ingredients and beat on medium speed for six minutes. Stir in poppyseeds. Pour into well greased bundt pan and bake for 40 min at 350 degrees or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 min. Remove from pan and drizzle with lemon glaze.

Lemon Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Lemon juice

Sift powdered sugar into bowl. Add 1 tbsp lemon juice and stir. Add enough lemon juice until glaze if of drizzling consistency.

Look at the longing in my Sweet Girl's face! :)

(Picture from 2009)

Hope you are having beautiful Spring weather wherever you are today!

~Victoria~

Hippity Hop Easter "Wear"

2010-03-31T14:52:00.038-04:00

Yesterday I went to a blog called Dana-made-it.com. Oh my goodness, I saw THIS and wanted to start sewing! Last night late I visited the site again, just to see her Peeps bunting again and was inspired to make something "peepish" for Sweet Girl to wear to her Easter party and Easter egg hunt at school.

I downloaded Dana's template (found here) for the peep bunny then had to size it down. I cut it out, grabbed a plain white shirt from Sweet Girl's room and a pink and white polka dot sheet I bought at Goodwill (I had already washed it) and made a peep reverse applique like I did for Thanksgiving with the turkey handprint.
I cut and ironed the fabric and pinned it right side up to the inside of the shirt.
I then pinned the paper peep on the front of her shirt...

and sewed around the paper peep
Can you see the stitch outline?
Then I pulled the shirt up and cut a slit and then carefully, making sure I wasn't cutting the fabric underneath, I cut out the peep.

I thought it looked a little plain though...
so I dug around in my fabric box and came across this trim (I always pick up bits of stuff like this at yard sales and thrift stores for pennies to add to my box of scrap fabric...you'll never know when you can use it!)...

The Bunny looked a little plain so I cut a small piece of sheet and sewed a green button on. Remember I did all this between 9 and 10 so I didn't finish the edges of the strip I used or anything like that.

the finished product!

I cut another strip to use as a bow for Sweet Girl's hair...

I was so excited to wake Sweet Girl up for school and when I did I said "boy I wish you had a bunny shirt to wear to your Easter party today" and would you believe she said "well you could make me one". I squealed and said as I held up her shirt "I did!". :) I'll be filing that one away as a good Mommy moment!

Edited to add: I am linking up to V&Co. I LOVE her blog and strongly suggest you visit if you haven't already.

~Victoria~

Mosely Drive House Tour continues

2010-03-29T20:04:00.040-04:00

I know I showed this picture a couple of weeks ago but am showing it again as part of my house tour. This is our dining room/breakfast area. Originally the house had a deck off this room but it had been torn off and the door opening closed up into a window when we bought it. After a few years in the house we added a deck and put the french doors in. It made a HUGE difference in this room giving more light and making the room feel much larger!

In case you are wondering how my dining area ties in with the rest of the house here it is from the kitchen.

(every time I look at these pictures I see all the things I had planned to do, like hang a chandelier,
change out the counter tops and flooring and it pains me that we didn't do it.
I'm telling you people...do these projects NOW. Don't wait! :)

Then there's the Master Bedroom, remember when I talked here about the linens for our bed?

I like the soothing look of the room....

and my Sweet Girl's room...

You can see more details of her room here
Last room on the main floor, our playroom/office. It was rarely this clean. :) You can read about my window mistreatments here.

In our Moseley Drive house we had a full basement that we finished out. We added another bathroom, finished out the laundry room, my husband had a theater room and then there was junk that I stored down there much to my husbands dismay.

It was the perfect house for us to start out in and a dear little place. I have many fond memories of this house and the times we shared in it.

~Victoria~

Moseley Drive Tour: Kitchen

2010-03-24T08:16:00.001-04:00

Head over to the Just A Girl blog for a Show and Share party today. There are some great things over there. We are linking up Victoria's Moseley Drive kitchen redo. I believe she told me that she has one more post to do on the tour of her old house. I can't wait for you to see the fabulous things that she and her hubby have done to their new house. Those before and afters will come slowly as she is still unpacking and getting her house on the market.-Christina

Original kitchen picture

As with the bathroom, we did not get around to working in the kitchen until the last couple of years and I wish I had done it sooner. As you can see above, our kitchen had the typical 70's wood cabinets which we painted white when we moved in almost 11 years ago. We painted them with oil paint and with a fluorescent light it turned the white paint to a yellowy cream (ick). We needed to repaint but my husband suggested we have new doors made and I convinced him that we should tear down the cabinets separating the kitchen from the dining area.

First step, tear out bank of cabinets that separated the kitchen from dining room. WOW, it really opened things up!

Second step, cut off fancy trim off cornice to give the area an updated look. My husband and father in law used a strip of wood to get their marks...Then my father in law used his saw to cut it off.

When we first moved in, we tore out a cabinet and added a dishwasher. Due to this, the doors to the right of the dishwasher could not have knobs or pulls or the dishwasher door would not open. :)

My fix was to have the cabinet door maker put hand grooves on the new cabinet doors for all the lower cabinets.

Forgot to take a "before" until after we had removed one of the cabinet doors over the stove. Notice the two short doors to the right above the stove.

We had the same guy install a microwave over the stove. It cut into my cabinet space over the stove but I loved having my microwave OFF my counter top!

Everywhere that I could, I had him make 1 long door versus 2 short doors that were there originally.

On the back side of the island originally there was paneling. See that corner under the microwave? It was pretty much inaccessible so....

I had the cabinet maker put 2 fixed doors and then one door that opened so I could access the back corner of the cabinet.

This gave me additional cabinet space and I liked the look better than the paneling.

To help make up for the cabinet space I tore out, my husband and father in law made me these beautiful open shelves. Boo hoo, I will miss these babies! I loved having open shelving.

And after....

I LOVE IT! Love the openness, the arch, having the microwave over the stove and the shaker style doors! I hate to say but we didn't finish our make over. We were going to replace the counter tops and flooring and I had planned to hang a pot rack but we never got around to it.

You are going to hear this from me repeatedly with this Moseley Drive tour. If there is a project you want to tackle (painting your kitchen cabinets, etc) do it NOW. Don't wait! You could be enjoying it for years instead of someone else enjoying it.

More of the Moseley Drive tour:
bathroom redo
living room redo.

~Victoria~

Moseley Dr House Tour: Bathroom

2010-03-22T09:00:00.004-04:00

Bathroom with it's original yellow tile walls, yellow floor and yellow counter top...

Here are pictures of the bathroom AFTER we did a small renovation.

First we had the yellow tile painted white by Miracle Method

We replaced the yellow counter top with a neutral counter top, new sink and faucet.

I painted the vanity and put clear glass knobs from Target on it. We had the yellow tile floor torn out and replaced.

We took down the big mirror that was glued on in the 70's and replaced it with a framed mirror from Lowes. You can see my favorite shower curtain from Target in the mirror.

I love the calming effect of the brown and white. I can tell you all that I wish I had done the bathroom sooner!!!! If there is a project in your house that you are putting off because you are unsure of what color to use, how to do it, etc, listen to me closely...DO IT AND DO IT NOW! You will love it. There are things that didn't turn out the way I wanted in this bathroom BUT overall I love it.

~Victoria~

Moseley Drive Tour: Living Room

2010-03-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

I wish I had some original pictures from the living room but they are packed away in a box somewhere! When we bought the house the room was painted a mid-gray and it seemed dark and gloomy to me. The room had beautiful hardwoods and crown molding but that was about it.

My Father-in-law and husband put bead board halfway up the wall for me (all while thinking I was crazy to go halfway up the wall) and I loved it!

For about 8 years this is how my living room looked. We bought our first "real" (meaning not thrifted/yard sale or hand me down) piece of furniture after we moved here and it was our sofa. We bought it from Norwalk and it cost a pretty penny. It is a sleeper and a very good quality sofa. I used it for 9 years in our living room and it still looks great and has held it's form wonderfully! Now it will reside in our Bonus room.

I'll be sad to leave my beautiful bead board and trim.

Notice my rug in the picture below? It is actually an outdoor rug that I bought on clearance at Bed, Bath & Beyond. I believe it was around $30 for a large 8x10 area rug.

By the way, aside from the sofa, rug and bookshelf (Ikea) everything else in this room is thrifted!

Last spring I decided to change things up. It took awhile and I never really felt like I finished the living room but here is what I did.

Painted the living room Aruacana Blue from the Lowes Martha Stewart Living collection and bought the JC Penney Friday Slipcovered sofa at the Outlet for $199 and an Ikea Ektorp Tullsta chair.

I finally made and put up curtains with help from you all and added pillows from the Boutique commonly known as Goodwill.

The chair in the corner by the TV cabinet was my dumpster find a couple of years ago.

Remember my TV cabinet I mentioned here?

The hardware was what sold me on it...

or was it the $30 price tag at the yard sale...

You know, in looking at these pictures I am so glad for my thrifting ways and the fun I have had picking up things here and there to make my house a home.

Tune in for more of the Moseley Drive tour...

~Victoria~

Our first home on Moseley Drive

2010-03-10T09:00:00.001-05:00

I promised pictures of my old house so thought I would share a little history as well.

Years ago (1999) my husband and I were living in an apartment, married for 2 years and ready to buy a house. We looked at a little foreclosure and fell in love with it and the price! It wasn't very pretty to look at then but we saw potential.(My Mother-in-law and I CUT the front yard ourselves while the guys were working on other stuff! We had to hold a push mower down and cut little bits at a time.)

House after grass was cut and we could see the front of the house.

We put hours and hours of work into our first little house. We painted the shutters and front door black, ripped out the bushes and added some landscaping.

The best thing about the house were the hardwood floors which had been refinished the year before we bought the house. There was also a full unfinished basement which my husband and his father finished over time, adding another bathroom and finishing the laundry room.

For years we put many hours of sweat equity into the house. We built a deck, updated the bathroom, added bead board to the living room, did a small kitchen renovation, etc. We have thoroughly enjoyed this little house and I will be a tad bit sad to leave our very first home!
Here it is in 2001

Here is what the house looks like these days...

This is what the kitchen looked like when we bought it...
at the time we just painted the cabinets...
bedrooms, all complete with borders...
bathroom with it's original yellow tile walls, floor and counter top...

Join me over the next week as I take you on a tour of the Moseley Drive house.

~Victoria~

Spring?

2010-03-04T15:58:00.002-05:00

In cleaning out to move I found a bag of tulip bulbs that I failed to plant in the fall. I always plant tulips so I was sad that I did not get them planted. Instead Sweet Girl and I stuck them in a Goodwill planter (not really sure it is a planter) and have been watching them poke their heads through the soil. It is so much fun to watch things grow with a 4 year old! We have been planting things in cups and pots inside for the past 3 years and she LOVES to see the seeds (or bulbs) sprout.

Every day she would count how many tulips were poking their heads up and then once one of them was about to bloom she would check it every morning to see if it had opened yet.

We have had one of the coldest, wettest winters I can remember here in Georgia so I was thrilled to see two of my tulips bloom! Although it snowed here again this week, seeing these gives me hope for Spring.

Here they are in one of my favorite rooms of my first home...

~Victoria~
PS After I posted I realized how messy the curtains are at the top! :) Oh well, now you all know I don't lead a perfect life.

What have I been doing?

2010-03-02T11:00:00.000-05:00

So glad you asked. :) A week before Christmas my attention was shifted to an exciting new development in my life when our contract was accepted on a house! Yep, that's right, I put curtains in my living room after living in my house without curtains for 10 years and now we are MOVING! :)

So....I have been a little preoccupied to say the least. We closed on the house at the end of Jan and have spent the last month
1) tearing out old carpet
2) patching holes in the walls
3) installing new doors
4) painting every square inch except the basement!
5) painting miles and miles of trim
6) scrubbing existing bathroom floors (not so fun)
7) installing a new island counter top and sink
8) vacuuming wood floors over and over again to remove all dust before carpet went down
9) spray painting light fixtures and fans
9) cleaning and then cleaning some more....

I thought I would share some of our before pictures with you here and then I'll post some "afters" as we go along!

The house overall was in good shape but the flooring did need to be replaced, as well as some fixtures and doors, the island counter top and everything needed to be painted.

(Do all pedestal sinks show the water valves like this??? I've
never had one but it looks funny to me. Also check out the shiny brass
that I am going to have to spray paint.)

Sweet Girl wasn't too excited about moving until I told her we would paint her room PINK! She has been wanting a pink room so this was our chance as her bedroom in the new house is blue. I bought the pink paint (for $15 at Home Depot thanks to the heads up from Ann Nicole at Our Suburban Cottage) and then Sweet Girl and I painted her bedroom. I figured painting her room (no carpet on the floor to mess up) would be a good opportunity to break her into the world of home improvement! :)
This 4 year old did not tire of painting and painted every inch she could reach, including the baseboards!

I'll be back with more pictures, including some of my favorite pictures of the house I am leaving.

~Victoria~

Snow

2010-02-14T13:44:00.020-05:00

We both miss you all in blogland and as you can see we haven't been blogging much as of late. Victoria has something exciting going on in her life and and some point in the future she will share some of her new adventure and projects.

Today I will leave you with some pictures that my husband took of the snowfall that we had in Georgia this past weekend. We just don't get blessed with snow very often and certainly not this amount. What some of you have everyday during the winter is a special occurrence here. They close the schools and pull out the 3 snowplows and the news anchors have a great time talking about the "Blizzard of 2010" or something equally funny and all of the stores sell out of bread, milk and rock salt. That is a wonderful part of the snowfall for me. It is fun, funny and just what you do when snow falls in GA.

Our dog, Max, enjoying the snow.

Be back as soon as we can.

Christina

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-12T10:03:00.020-05:00

As you can tell, Christina and I have been extremely busy over the past month and a half! Because of this, I thought I would share a couple Valentine highlights from last year.

(Christina's heart from the Target dollar spot in 2009)

Mmmmm look at this heart shaped breakfast she served at her house. Egg in a heart shaped nest of toast and the middle toasted up with butter and cinnamon sugar.

A little "love" sign Sweet Girl and I made

Heart ice cubes made out of raspberry lemonade..,4 year olds LOVE little things like this!

Corner cabinet decorations.

All decorated for Sweet Girl's Valentine's Party

Looking for some homemade Valentine ideas? For little girls and guys there is this darling little Puppy Dog that my 5 year old nephew made last year.

Or this kitty valentine that Sweet Girl and I put together last year...

If you have older kids these Valentine cupcakes that Chloe and Christina made are darling!

Hope that you and your loved ones will find simple ways to celebrate Valentine's Day this year!

~Victoria~

Want a cookie?

2010-01-14T22:03:00.008-05:00

Yesterday afternoon I decided to make Sugar Cookie Cutouts with my best gal pal. I hate to admit this, but we were having leftovers for supper and that is why I figured I had the time and energy to make these with her. They are so time consuming and the clean up....flour and dough everywhere, oh and sprinkles because I knocked the full jar of sprinkles onto the floor...
We had the best time! We used a mix that I had gotten on the cheap (or free) due to my obsessive couponing as of late so we took our time with the cutting out part.
The control freak part of me didn't want Sweet Girl to use the turkey or pumpkin cookie cutters because it's not fall. :) I let it go though and we did all sorts of shapes from carrots to frogs, ice cram cones to umbrellas!

After they were cool we iced a couple with a pink lemon glaze. :)

When Daddy called to say he was headed home, Sweet Girl answered the phone "Sweet Cookies Bakery, how may I help you?". Daddy played along and found out quickly that he couldn't afford to shop her bakery as a dozen cookies would cost him "50 dollars".

Hope you find some time this weekend to make some cookies for yourself!

~Victoria~

Before and Afters of 2009

2010-01-06T16:05:00.024-05:00

Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality is hosting a Top Projects 2009 linky party today.

Here are a few of the projects that we worked on during 2009.

Victoria had an empty wall in her kitchen that just begged for open shelving which would also give her some much needed storage for her everyday dishes and stemware. Her talented hubby and father-in-law built these for her.

She is loving this place to display her white dishes and other fun finds.

My seventies thrift store find.

Before:

After:

My thrift store lamp.

Before:

After:

Victoria's yard sale cabinet find.

Before:

After:

A compromise between her style and her hubby's love for electronics.

Victoria's scary tree from Goodwill.

Before:

To spectacularly spooky Halloween tree.

After:

Christina's gold plastic chandelier.

Before:

After:

Go over to Rhoda's place and check out all of the links. If you do nothing else, check out her dining room makeover. Knockout gorgeous!

There are some wonderful projects. I even found some that I had missed on blogs that I read regularly.

Christina

Ringing in the New Year

2010-01-01T12:01:00.010-05:00

A quiet ending to 2009. Spaghetti and meatballs, finishing up the 7th season of 24, playing games with the family, hot cinnamon rolls. The turning of the calendar. An ending. A beginning.

Good morning 2010! Sweet kisses from Chloe-still warm from sleeping, homemade breakfast, music in the background, hot freshly ground coffee, everyone in comfy pj's. It's a brand new day and a brand new year.

Recipe found here.

Hope you all have a very happy new year.

Christina

Merry Christmas

2009-12-23T21:22:00.024-05:00

From our families to yours.

Galatians 4:4-7
But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Christina and Victoria

Christmas Miscellany-Home and Food

2009-12-18T15:32:00.025-05:00

A simple approach for holiday decorations appealed to me this year. Using things that weren't necessarily holiday, but already in my everyday stash was my goal.

Home

Simple little touches of pretties on the mantle.

The full picture. Only the ribbon, star and gold fruit ornaments (from the Dollar Store) were from my Christmas box. I just added that to thing already out and really have enjoyed the results.

Food
Last year I posted the recipe for Heavenly Cranberry Bliss Bars and it just begged to be posted again. This for me is the quintessential Christmas cookie/bar. It is like all of the tastes that Christmas would be if Christmas was a taste in one little triangle. The word "bliss" truly captures this recipe

Photo provided by:ohdearbarb's photostream Starbucks cranberry bliss bars

I found this recipe on a message board probably about seven years ago. The lady lived in Seattle and had found it in a Seattle Jr. League Cookbook years before. I can't remember what year the cookbook was from, but I think it was from the 70's. What I do know is that Starbucks sells something almost identical and they are headquartered in Seattle. Who knows, it might be where they found the recipe. They are a little labor intensive as there are several steps. My ADD almost caused me to never try the recipe, but it just looked so good, so I'm glad it won me over. Please give them a try! You will not be sorry!

Heavenly Cranberry Bliss Bars
1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 ¾ cups white chocolate chips
1 ½ cups dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
1 cup toasted chopped pecans
¼ cup grated orange zest (see note below)

White Chocolate Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
½ cup unsalted butter
3 Tablespoons grated orange zest, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
6 ounces high quality white chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350̊F. Lightly butter an 11- by 15-inch jelly roll pan or rimmed baking sheet. Whisk together the brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, and salt until well blended, then stir in the white chocolate chips, cranberries, pecans, and orange zest. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan (it will be quite stiff) and bake until golden brown, about 20 to 22 minutes. Set aside on a wire rack to cool.

For the frosting, cream together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, 1 tablespoon of the orange zest, and vanilla with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth and fluffy. Spread the mixture over the cooled base. Stir together the remaining 2 tablespoons orange zest with the dried cranberries in a small bowl and sprinkle the mixture over the frosting. Melt the white chocolate in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Drizzle the white chocolate over the bars and let sit until the chocolate is set. Cut the bars into 3-inch squares and then diagonally into triangles.

Makes 48 bars.

The amount of orange zest is *not* a misprint. I use a microplane (this may be one of the most amazing kitchen tools ever)to do the zesting. The grating goes so quickly with this tool. When zesting citrus, get only the outer part of the citrus. Once you get to the white part underneath go to another spot. The white part is very bitter.

As Jacques Pepin would say--Happy Cooking!

Feliz Navidad Snowmen

2009-12-15T12:59:00.018-05:00

We are joining in with Darlene of Our Creative Life for her Christmas Cookie party today. Go over and check out her delicious looking peanut butter brownie cookie recipe. Honestly, that is one cookie makes me wish we didn't have peanut allergies around here. Check out the other recipes and try to link up if you can.

Scroll past our giveaway winners for the cute snowman pretzels that Victoria made with her sweet girl. While technically not a cookie, it will bring delight to the little and big ones in your life.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First, we have winners! I had my Sweet Girl pull numbers out of a bowl so blame her if you didn't win. He he.

Tracy @ Beneath my Heart
PJ@nmyfreetime
Amelia @ Amelia's Musings
and Clara

Ladies, contact me at christina-victoria@bellsouth.net to claim your prize!

Another winner I found was Crunchy the Snowman (recipe here). My Sweet Girl and I gathered all the ingredients yesterday and made these together. My husband said they look like they are wearing sombrero's and Christina dubbed them Feliz Navidad Snowmen!Gummy rings for the hat...

fruit leather cut into slices for the scarvesgumballs...

mini chocolate chips...

Sweet Girl had such concentration while working on their noses ...
Very proud of her creations!We had a really good time together making these and I highly recommend making some with a little guy or gal in your life.
Shoot, I would have enjoyed doing these by myself and coming up with my own creations! :)

~Victoria~

Welcome and a giveaway

2009-12-09T16:57:00.016-05:00

Awhile back at Kohl's I found some vinyl lettering on clearance. There was a "welcome" that I thought would be perfect for my carport door. My husband painted the door while he was off on Thanksgiving break and I excitedly pulled out my "welcome" to put on the door. Imagine my surprise when I saw how HUGE the letters were! It was over 3' long! Christina had the brilliant idea of placing the letters over my french doors so you see it when you walk through the front door and I love, love, love it!!!

While I am at it, here's a shot of my corner cabinet decorated for Christmas.

Now on to the fun stuff...

Christina and I are honored so many of you would choose to follow us! We wanted to show our appreciation and share a little holiday spirit with a giveaway!

Four winners will be chosen at random from the comments for

The first vinyl saying is "Every day is a Gift" and it measures 22" x 5.75".

The second is "Love is spoken here" and it measures 43.5" x 6.13"

and the pillows....
Giveaway will run from now through Monday the 14th at 1:00pm EST so just leave a comment to be entered!

Merry Christmas!

Victoria for us both

A dinner party

2009-12-08T22:08:00.016-05:00

Monday, I had the brilliant idea to have my in-laws over for dinner. Due to a surgery we will not be seeing them as much as usual between now and Christmas and I figured last night would be a good chance to spend time with them.

Did I mention my sweet Mother-in-law is the Queen of Clean and I am not? That fact is a little overwhelming to me and there are many times when I pass up opportunities to have them (or someone else) over due to my house not being clean enough (why do I think the floors need to be scrubbed anyway?). While I pondered whether or not I would have time to clean and scour my floors I was reminded of what this season is all about anyway. Forget the presents and decorations, I want to spend time with my family and friends, clean floors or not!

I told Sweet Girl we were having a Christmas dinner party and she was all for it! Out came the snowman plates that I really wasn't planning on unpacking this year, along with a tablecloth and napkins from bygone years. Now I was getting excited and in the mood for company too (except for the cleaning house bit)!

While I was putting the finishing touches on dinner, I asked Sweet Girl if she would like to make place cards. She was all for it and wrote out everyone's name and then colored each card a different color.

I let her pick the candles for the table from some I had packed away. She also made the centerpiece from snow, some Christmas trees and her Polar Bear AND she set the table as well. Boy did she enjoy helping out!

We had a wonderful time visiting and enjoying our Grammy and Grumpy's company!

Lesson learned? Clean house be darned, I will have company when I feel like it! Oh and candlelight hides a multitude of sins. ;)

~Victoria~

A Delightfully Different Cookie

2009-12-04T09:17:00.011-05:00

Darlene over at Our Creative Life is having a Cookie Recipe Party. Make sure to go over and check out all of the goodies and join in with your favorite recipe. I would love to see what all of you guys make during the holidays.

My recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine in 2001. Something different for sure and just delightful. This has become my husband's favorite cookie and is the perfect addition to a Christmas cookie platter or with a cup of hot tea on a cold afternoon.

Berry Sage Thumbprints

2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup yellow corn meal
1 1/2 tsp. dried sage, crushed (mine is a powder)
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup blackberry preserves (I use b. berry jelly because I don't like the seeds)

preheat oven to 350 degrees

combine flour, cornmeal, sage and baking powder. Set aside.

Beat butter for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and beat until combined, scraping sides occasionally. Beat in egg yolks, lemon peel, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour.

Shape dough into 3/4 inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Lightly press the tip of your thumb into the center of each ball. Fill the centers with about 1/4 tsp. of the blackberry preserves. bake about 10 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool completely. Makes about 60.
From Better Homes and Garden's December 2001

Oh, so yummy!

I hope you enjoyed your virtual taste. Try it, you might like it.

{Christina}

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

2009-12-01T10:41:00.011-05:00

A friend passed along this recipe about nine years ago. It has since been a family favorite. Think cheese ball but for dessert.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

Ingredients

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans For those with nut allergies don't despair-just roll cheese ball in more mini chocolate chips.
Graham crackers (we prefer the chocolate grahams for this)

Directions

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add sugars; beat just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Place cream cheese mixture on a large piece of plastic wrap; shape into a ball. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Just before serving, roll cheese ball in pecans. Serve with graham crackers. Yield: 1 cheese ball (about 2 cups). Originally from Taste of Home Magazine

Gobble gobble...

2009-11-10T16:39:00.095-05:00

Tuesday I found myself wondering what to do on a rainy day when we are staying home due to Sweet Girl having what appears to be the flu (high fever [103], body aches, runny nose & headache).

(The sick girl in her comfy Lands End dress I bought last week at a yard sale for a dollar.
She played the piano while I sewed.)

Aren't these adorable??? Love the little one below...

I followed the link she provided to One More Moore and followed the tutorial she listed. I also googled reverse applique and came across this blog and tutorial that was very easy for me to follow.

First I turned the tshirt inside out. Then I pinned the right side of the fabric scrap to the shirt
I turned the shirt right side out, traced Sweet Girl's hand on paper, cut it out and pinned it to the front of her shirt.

I sewed around the outline of her hand print.

Yes, my turkey legs are a bit small compared to the body. :)

Being very careful, cut a slit in the t-shirt...then cut out the design.
Sew a button on...

and voila (well 30 min later) you have a Turkey Handprint Shirt!

The sick girl modeling her shirt...

I am not a seamstress by any means but I have enjoyed getting to know my sewing machine and seeing what I can make! Do you sew??? If so, check out The Handmade Dress Patterns GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!! over at Grosgrain. I would LOVE to try my hand at one of these dresses for Sweet Girl!

~Victoria~

More Thrifty Finds

2009-11-05T18:23:00.020-05:00

So I guess another title would be more interesting, but my brain just wouldn't help me out with one. : )

Here are a few recent finds finds from Goodwill and a recent community yard sale.

We are linking up to Thrift Store Thursday at Homebody

and Thrifty Thursday at Tales from Bloggeritaville this week.

Make sure to go and check out all the fun bargains.

Here goes.

A fantastic sweater for my daughter. It appears to be vintage, but who knows.

We had just been shopping for me and Chloe commented on a beautiful sweater display. It was beautiful with camel and pumpkin colored sweaters layered with gorgeous scarfs with golden threads weaving though each one. She and I love a good display--we are both such visual people. She particularly commented on a beautiful camel sweater with large buttons. Not an hour later we were working our way through the racks at GW and found this almost identical sweater. The price in the store was $48.00 or $58.00 and we picked it up for $4.96.

Her old navy top($4.96 w/tags) and khaki belt ($2.96) came from Goodwill. We found the same belt in a local store the same day for $16.00. I won't comment on her non-thrifty jeans or shoes, except to say that she can only wear about two brands of jeans (Levis or Gap) out there and they are not thrifty. Where is the best price for Levis? These are the ones from department stores, not Target. They are juniors, low rise and petite. Madness!

A rattan lamp base.

It vaguely reminded me of the rattan jars (pictured below) in the Ballard Designs catalog. Honestly, no idea what I will do with it, but I picked it up for $1.00.

The stool that the lamp base is sitting on is a project that is not quite finished. I need more staples for my staple gun to finish it off (story of my life). This is a cast iron stool that I bought for $5.00. The lady was holding strong at $7.50. A couple of hours later she took $5.00.

I am covering the top with a piece from a coffee bag that Victoria and I found at a garage sale. The guy was asking $5.00 for it but let us have it for $3.00. Chloe and I separated the back and the front and my sis-in-law is going to take the front half for a project.

Four science books for less than a dollar since I had a big hand full of books and she gave them all to me for $1.00. The others are already on a shelf somewhere. : )
I also picked up a beautifully illustrated Romeo and Juliet in this stack. Fabulous deal for $1.00.

Have a happy Thursday. The weekend is right around the corner. I have two newborn photo sessions----very exciting.

Christina

My Recent Photography Projects

2009-11-03T18:01:00.011-05:00

My recent projects have mostly been photography sessions. Photography is something that makes me happy and the fall weather and low humidity make me want to get out and take even more pictures than usual.

Here is a little glimpse of some of the sessions that I have done recently.

A Gerber Baby

Graduation

A maternity session. Joel and Sarah have since had a baby girl. I hope to take some pictures of her this week.

Newborn sweetheart

An engagement

Victoria's sweet girl

All Smiles

I'm in love.

I'm not sure if I have shared this one before, but it is a favorite of mine. This is our beautiful sister in law, Meg (and my brother's neck). : )

What makes you happy today?

Hope you enjoyed the smiles. Have a beautiful day.

Christina

Halloween decor tid bits

2009-10-30T10:13:00.000-04:00

Do you recognize this glass??? Remember the glassware makeover I talked about? This was phase 1.

Here is it before....Isn't it beautiful in black? Take an ordinary Goodwill glass and give it a coat of black spray paint. You know, this would work in ANY color....yellow and pink in the springtime, red for summer...hmmmm...now my wheels are turning...

Can you find this jewel ...

in the picture below?

Yep, that's it on the right painted black.

In my living room I kept most of my decorating neutral, like these pumpkins in my Apothecary Jar and the mini-pumpkins above.

My dining area I decked out in black.

BOO letters are just cut out paper taped on the plates.
Brass owl painted black...
Vintage fork holding an owl I printed out last year...
Last year he was in a frame...

55 cent frame and picture I spray painted black (um you'd think I would have thought to say "Eeek" or something BESIDES "BOO"!).

Have to throw in some cute stuff for my Sweet Girl!

Want to see more? Check out Christina's and my decor from last year here.

~Victoria~

Spooktacular

2009-10-26T06:00:00.001-04:00

Guest post by our little sis Rebekah who is currently at UGA studying Ag Ed.

In a college town Halloween is a BIG deal, even if you are in a small town in south Ga! So I've found some cheap thing at flea markets and the Dollar Tree to get the house ready for our Halloween party next week.

My roommate and I live in an old historical house which already sets the mood for the season!

Before anyone starts thinking "How does a college student afford that kind of a place?" let me confess that we just rent one of the downstairs apartments!

After entering into our haunted place the witch of the house will great you with creepy surprise and treats!

As you make your way into the room you will encounter other wickedly wonderful delights!

This little guy came from the Dollar Tree.

No haunted house is complete without skeletons and graves!

Everything that you see here was gotten at a flea market, thrift store, or Dollar Tree.

Kinda spoooky to most people is that the steer head normally adorns our coffee table and is not a seasonal item to us! In our defense it has an appeal for those of us that are fortunate enough to have a love and passion for Agriculture.

However, its been super easy to make it even spookier for the season!

I decided to take the dried flowers that I've saved from my boyfriend and turn them into a lonely neglected display you would find in an abandoned house!

As we move on through the house we make our way into the kitchen. Here you are welcomed by the daily menu at the "Pumpkin Heads Deadly Diner"!

In this kitchen you never know what you're going to get served!

We just might gross you out with our cooking ingredients.....jellylike eyeball... one squishy brain...fresh heart

Well, I hope ya'll have enjoyed the little tour of our haunted house, I must chop it off here because that is as far as I've gotten!

Have a Happy Spooktacular Halloween!

Rebekah

SCARY!

2009-10-22T22:44:00.015-04:00

Gold tree anyone????

I saw this in the spring time and remembered the Pottery Barn trees from last Halloween that were around $59. Isn't that SCARY????????? Forget ghosts and goblins, I say scary is overpriced spooky trees. :)

Coat gold $2.92 Goodwill tree with some black paint and voila...you have your own
spooky tree without the scary price.

Curtains

2009-10-20T18:39:00.012-04:00

Well...I wish there was a big TA DA moment with my curtains but I've run into a bit o trouble with them.

While the Procrastination Party over at The Inspired Room definitely helped in that I finished sewing my curtains, the rod hanging and finishing hasn't worked out exactly as I figured it would. Long ago I picked up some finials and holders at a yard sale for $1. I decided to use these and bought a dowel rod to use with the curtains. I also decided to use clip rings to hold the curtains but it just didn't look right...
My sisters suggested I paint the clip rings so I painted a few orange shower curtain hooks (I wasn't ready to commit to painting my brand new clips yet) to see what it would look like (forgive the messy look...these clips are barely holding the curtain up there and if I try to straighten them, they will fall out!) and here is the outcome...
then I wondered what it would look like if I sewed a pocked at the top of the curtain and ran the rod through it, similar to these curtains from Ballard Designs.
Since I am a visual person, I pinned the curtains over the top of the rod just to get an idea of what it would look like (again, forgive the messy look...this was a quick pinning job)
and then here they are on the same rod.
Bottom line? I need YOUR help! Please let me know what YOU think. Which do you think looks best or do you have any other suggestions?

~Victoria~

Quick Autumn wreath

2009-10-16T09:00:00.003-04:00

I found this square wreath at Goodwill today for $1.71 and liked the shape.

I'm not too fond of hearts on things so I took all the trimmings off.

I then took this bag of potpourri that I bought on another trip to the GW for $1.51, opened it and hot glued items to the wreath.

It is very basic, not real frufru, and I like that!

And that folks, is my Autumn wreath in a jiffy!

Edited to add: I forgot to thank Robin from lolidots.com yesterday for the Best Blog award!!! Christina and I enjoy blogging and all the friends we have made in the process. Happy Friday everyone!

~Victoria~

Sale, sale, sale...

2009-10-14T17:38:00.012-04:00

I went to Walmart today and noticed their Cinderella pumpkins and other gray/green pumpkins, gourds were now 25 cents a lb vs 68 cents a lb. I purchased 3 for $12 and was pleased with that price. Please DO NOT TELL ME if there is some other great sale somewhere and that I could have bought all of them for $5.

For those of you who don't know me, I have a little magazine problem. It's called not throwing them away! :) This year I let all my subscriptions go (except for a free MS Living subscription) until I purged some of my older issues. However, just the other day on my new favorite site southernsavers.com I saw a post about a Hot Magazine Sale!. Imagine my delight and surprise when I saw that I could get a year's subscription to Country Living (a favorite of mine for years!) for $5.20!!! Yes, $5.20 and for that price, I broke from my no more new magazines decision and purchased a years subscription. Check out the listings of magazines and then get the code to get an additional 50% off!

I am working on the curtains every day, in spite of a backache and a 4 year old! Here's how I make curtains...

Borrow a child for my Sweet Girl to play with and when they get tired of playing dress up, put Angelina Ballerina on Daddy's BIG SCREEN in the basement...
pop some popcorn and let them watch
while I sew as fast as I can on my 40 year old free sewing machine. :)
Tune in tomorrow and I'll show an easy-peasy wreath I made.

~Victoria~

Who me? A procrastinator???

2009-10-09T16:10:00.005-04:00

Yep, that's me. I need a deadline to get anything done. Not one of my favorite qualities.

I haven't had curtains in my living room since we moved in. :) So you're thinking we moved in 6 mo ago, right? YEAH....right. Try 10+ years ago. Honestly, I haven't really wanted curtains until recently because that would just be one more dust catcher and I hadn't heard of the Nester until a year ago or so.

Now I am ready. Ready but just haven't done it. So here's my statement of intent to curtainize (sure it's a word) these windows for the Procrastinators Party over at the Inspired Room on the 20th.
I know you all will be waiting with bated breath to see my curtain mistreatments. Come to think of it...I will be too. :)

Curtains are just one step in the long (seemingly never-ending) process of re-doing the living room. Hopefully once I get the curtains up I will be on a roll and get the rest done quickly! One can always hope....

FYI ... Hancocks Fabric has their Home Decor fabric 50% off this Sunday and Monday so if you've been eyeballling some fabric, now might be the time to snatch it up!

~Victoria~

Number Trend the Trash to Treasure Way

2009-10-06T19:58:00.017-04:00

How about a little trash to treasure today? I bought this little tarnished gold (ick) tray at goodwill awhile back. I loved the shape and it was something like $1.30.

Last week I added a layer of dover white spay paint. The paint really brought out the scalloped edges that I love. Much better, but still a little plain. You know how numbers have been popping up everywhere for awhile now. I couldn't resist, but added a little twist----Roman numerals.

I just printed them out, cut around them carefully and applied a thin layer of school glue on the back of each. This allowed me to reposition them for a few minutes before they were completely in place.

Added a hanger on back made with hot glue and wire the way I did in this post and I had this small bit of a trend for less than $1.50. Just look around and you can find ways to add little touches for very little money. A little spunk without spending a bunch on a trend that may be here today and gone tomorrow.

Sticking with the number theme I also wanted to show you girls the little pitcher that I found on clearance at Marshalls last week. Isn't it adorable.

Head over to Kimm at Reinvented to see more Trash To Treasure Tuesday.

Things that make me happy

2009-09-29T10:22:00.006-04:00

I was cleaning off my desk yesterday and came across this quote on a post-it note and had to share it.

Happiness, ..not in another place but this place, not for another hour but this hour.

~Walt Whitman~

As we all know, happiness comes in all forms and fashions. This morning seeing my $2 yard sale fruit holder filled with apples makes me happy.
Having a piece of my favorite birthday cake that one of my wonderful sisters made me...
and of course my Sweet Girl makes me so very happy!
The walk we are fixing to go on in cool air (a novelty here in Atlanta) also makes me very, very happy!

What makes you happy today?

~Victoria~

Happy Birthday Victoria

2009-09-25T16:15:00.007-04:00

I couldn't let today pass without saying Happy Birthday to Victoria. She is such a fantastic sister and blogging partner. Victoria is such a beautiful person inside and out and I'm so glad to have her in my life.

Vic--instead of finding a cool birthday cake picture I thought sending you a virtual Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte would be just the right thing. Maybe we can meet next week for the real thing--my treat.

Cheers!!!!

Awww, it is even sitting on a little square of burlap. : )

I found this copycat recipe on the web for those who would like to try making this at home. I will save my pennies and go for the real thing, but it might be worth a try. Honestly adding canned pumpkin to a drink myself would ruin it for me. The reviews look good though.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Our forecast call for more rain, but the weather is suppose to be more fall like next week. We are ready for it.

Happy Birthday Victoria! Love you.

Christina

A Beautiful Picture of Faith

2009-09-22T12:27:00.017-04:00

If you have not "met" Traci over at Beneath My Heart, you are in for a real treat. She has a beautiful home and some lovely makeovers on her blog. But the reason I call attention to her blog today is because something even more beautiful has been in her blog posts recently--her mom and and a beautiful picture of faith.

In August her mother was diagnosed with an advanced stage of gastric cancer. She has shared her heart with us in blogland and through Traci we were able to meet and pray for her dear mother. Christ's love was so evident even as she progressed though the very quick battle. Here is one of the most heartwarming posts that Traci wrote about the kind of person her mother was.

Early this morning her mother lost her earthly battle with cancer leaving the arms of her loved ones to be in the arms of her Lord.

On August 18th, Traci wrote this post and I wondered how she was going through all of this and somehow she was encouraging me....
......................................................................................

From Traci's blog post dated Aug. 18th.

"I wanted to share with you what we found out today at Mom's appointment.

She definitely has cancer in her stomach and it has spread to her liver. They are 95% sure that it is gastric cancer. They are going to analyze the sample from the biopsy a little more to try to identify it more specifically.

Unfortunately, none of it can be removed surgically.

She will be starting chemotherapy next Thursday.

The doctor said her life expectancy will be about a year depending on how she responds to the chemotherapy.

It wasn't the news we hoped for.

My heart hurts. And it's easy to feel overwhelmed.

But my God is a God of Hope.

I wish more than anything that each of you could meet my mom, hear her sweet voice, and enjoy the warmth of her hugs. She has walked with Jesus for over 40 years, and continues to face this trial with a heart full of faith and trust in her Lord and Savior.

She actually said tonight at the dinner table that she felt happy. And she means it. She said she just feels so overwhelmed by all the blessings God has given her. She keeps telling me not to look at this cancer as a curse, but as a blessing. So we are keeping our eyes wide open to see what God has in store for us.

And believe it or not, I have received so many blessings in the past week and a half since we found out mom had cancer.

One of them has been all of you that have been praying for us and encouraging me through your comments.

Another blessing has been the chance to just sit with my mom each day and soak up her goodness.

I have never loved her more.

I have never loved my husband and my children more.

I have never loved my life more.

I have never loved my Lord more.

My life will never be the same, and I am grateful.

I don't want to waste a minute of it.

I want to share the HOPE I have received with others.

I've realized that we ALL have struggles and trials that we are going through. Some worse than others, but none of which are less important to God.

I have a college friend whose mother was just diagnosed with liver cancer as well.
She has 3 to 6 months to live. I bought a card for her tonight to send to her.

I want to share it with you. I know that someone reading this post may need to be reminded of this, and I pray this encourages you...

God cares about every detail of your life.

He collects every tear in a bottle. Psalms 56:8

He numbers every hair on your head. Luke 12:7

He knows every hurt in your heart. Psalms 34:18

The Lord Knows

all you are going through.

He loves you, He cares for you,

and He will make sure

not one detail

is overlooked in your life.

The journey my mom has ahead of her will not be easy. I know there will be times that we will feel that we just can't make it another day. I would have never dreamed we would be dealing with this. But my Hope and Trust is in Jesus, and I know He will be our strength.

I covet your prayers. Pray that Mom would be strong enough to handle the chemo. Pray that the Lord would work a miracle through the medicines and would lengthen her days on earth with us.

Above all, may God be glorified.

God bless you all!

Traci"

End of Traci's post

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, Traci, I think we *were* able to meet your mom and we were able to see her faith. I hope this post does not seem stalkerish, but I know Victoria and I both have been praying for you and have been touched by your mother and your love for her.

Please remember Traci and her family in prayer.

Christina

Jackpot Monday!

2009-09-21T13:42:00.011-04:00

I did not hit any yard sales this weekend due to the floods we have been having in Atlanta! My husband even wondered this morning if the area Home Depot's are selling Gopher Wood these days! :)

Instead, I hit Goodwill and, boy oh boy, did I have fun!

I found 2 Ironstone bowls and a creamer for $4.70!

I just love the shape of the bowls.... (click on the picture to see the detail!)

I found some pretty glassware, all for 55 cents each...stay tuned to see what I am going to do with these pretties.

In fact. I have already transformed this baby...

There is more to show but I am waiting for my camera battery to charge. :)

I'll leave you with a picture I took from my car the other day...

Now head on over to Rhoda's for other thrifty finds!

~Victoria~

DIY Day - Dress

2009-09-16T20:09:00.016-04:00

My DIY "day" started awhile ago. I wanted to learn something new this year and I decided sewing would be just the thing. During the summer I took a 2 night basic sewing course. When I say "basic" it was BASIC. We learned all about the different machines, how to sew a straight line, that scissors are really "shears" and the difference between "pressing" and "ironing". We did make a pillowcase but when finished with the class I was disappointed because I did not feel prepared to sew anything from a pattern.

(pillow case)

Upon visiting the same shop a few weeks later, a little dress on a form caught my eye and I decided I was going to attempt to make it for my 4 year old. Christina helped me pick out coordinating fabric and I took it all home.
Then it stayed in the bag for oh, another month until I went to my Mom's one Saturday morning for breakfast. I showed my Mom the pattern and she whipped out some shears and with her direction I managed to get the dress cut out. Flash forward another couple of weeks and the fabric and pattern are back in the bag. I was too stinking scared to start on the dress! I didn't have a clue what to do and was so afraid I would fail I just never even started.
I talked with my Aunt one day and she mentioned that she would be in my area later in the week so I asked her to come by and help me get started on the dress. That night I thought "doggone it...I am going to start this dress all by myself" and I did! I started and found that surprisingly it wasn't as hard as I thought to read the pattern!

My Aunt did come by and helped me figure out attaching the sleeves to the bodice and I went back to work on it. Later my sister Beth came by and helped me with another section I was struggling with and then little by little I worked on the dress at night doing one section at a time, all the while amazed that I was actually sewing a dress!

(first ever pocket!)

I had two things going through my mind while making the dress. First "done is better than perfect" (who said this? was it The Nester?) and the thought that I needed to finish the dress before my daughter grew into another size! This was motivation to get it done.

I was thrilled as I saw it coming together and you can only imagine my surprise and delight when I sewed the skirt on the bodice and then turned it all right side out and beheld my very first creation.
My daughter was thrilled with her dress and it will be one that I will keep forever!

Side note: For me, making this dress was so much more than just a dress! For years I have let fears of not doing something perfectly hold me back in so many areas, but now I feel like I can conquer the world. Okay, maybe not the world but why not that slipcover that I'm been pondering making? What's the worst that could happen? I am reminded of a verse that I have quoted often in my life...

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;
but of power, and of love,
and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7

I have written this verse on my chalkboard so that every time I am in the kitchen I see it and am reminded NOT to be fearful!

Head on over to Kimba's to see what other fabulous things things people have done themselves!

~Victoria~

Fall yard sale finds!

2009-09-14T13:43:00.008-04:00

I haven't had much time lately to peruse yard sales but I did manage to find this jewel at the Salvation Army store for $1.50! It is originally from Crate and Barrel.
For now it has taken center stage on my centerpiece tray on my dining table.

We (my husband, Sweet Girl & I) all stopped at a book sale/yard sale at a local church Sat and went through books galore. You could fill up a paper bag for $5 so we dug in to see what we could find. My husband and myself are both avid readers and already my 4 year old has a love for books. Needless to say we filled up the bag!

In the midst of all the current books were some oldies. I picked up these two mainly because of their looks, but at some point I would enjoy reading The Scarlett Letter again. These two made it onto the shelf for now because of the fall/Halloween colors!

This last little shelf I picked up earlier this summer for 50 cents.
I spray painted it black and for now I am using it on my counter to break up all the white!
You see my Yankee Candle and jar full of matches??? I LOVE fall candles...sometimes I'll turn the air down low and light a fall candle to give me the feeling of fall since sometimes in Atlanta, fall doesn't arrive for awhile. If you love fall candles and are interested in winning a fall candle head on over to Cyndi's at Lovin' Life as a Pastor's Wife. Cyndi is Traci from Beneath my Heart's sister ( I adore her blog)! Cyndi is just entering the blogging world and what better way than to have a giveaway?!?! Go show her some love. :)

Edited to add: Click on over to The Persimmon Perch to see what others are up to!

That's all for now folks....

~Victoria~

Easy Peasy Supper

2009-09-02T13:16:00.009-04:00

For years I have heard people talk about Fish Tacos and thought "ugh that sounds yuck." One day on a whim I tried a fish taco at Gezzos Surf & Grille. The young guy that runs the place told me to try it Californian style so I asked him to have at it and make it like he would make his own. Since then my husband has tried them and we both love them!

Fast forward and I decide to get a little more creative with our meals at home. They all seem bland and boring so I decided to try my hand at making my own fish tacos.

I start with a bag of Aldi's frozen Tilapia and some Dale's marinade.

Thaw the fish and marinate. Yesterday it was only for an hour because I got a late start on things. FYI, fish thaws very quickly so this is also a good meal for me when I haven't thought about things ahead of time!

We throw our fish on the Big Green Egg that I found at a yard sale but you can wrap in aluminum foil and put on the grill until flakey.

After that we grab a soft tortilla and throw on our fixings...

For us the fixings include:
Black beans
Sliced cabbage
Sliced black olives
Shredded cheese
Spicy ranch dressing (we prefer this but if I don't have it we use regular ranch or sour cream)

Please note that my husband and daughter would not touch cabbage with a 10' pole but Christina mentioned that they use cabbage on things like this where the lettuce would wilt. Amazingly enough, they now eat the cabbage! It is crunchier than the lettuce would be and it tastes great.

~Victoria~

Thrifty finds

2009-08-31T13:44:00.012-04:00

I haven't been to many yard sales or to Goodwill of late due to my little one starting school...
ballet....
and Momma starting a new schedule (insert picture of tired Mommy here)!

I am pleased to announce that we have both adjusted well and I can get back to yard sales, Goodwill, playing house and having fun! :-)

Saturday I snuck away with my SIL Meg to a couple of yard sales and found a few great items.

First off, check out this fabric....pretty, huh? My Sweet Girl walked into the room a few minutes ago and exclaimed "Mom, what a beautiful blanket!". :)

How about a Full/Queen duvet and 2 shams made out of it for $2!

I bought this little cannister for 75 cents.

I am thinking of spray painting it white. Any thoughts???
I almost passed this next baby by since it's not my style but then it dawned on me that I could spray paint it and use scrapbook paper to make it more to my liking!

Last year I saw all the darling Advent calendars that everyone had and was wishing I had one. For $2 now I do!

I also bought my Sweet Girl a bag of Polly Pockets for a quarter, a little laptop computer game thingy for her for $1 and a bag of costumes (pirate, batman, etc) for $1 for my nephew to dress up in when he comes over to play.

I was thrilled with my finds from just 3 little yard sales!

~Victoria~

I ♥ Faces and Bubbles

2009-08-18T21:21:00.016-04:00

Have you ever visited the blog I ♥ Faces? Each week they have a themed photography contest. This week the theme is bubbles and I just had to post a picture that I took of Victoria's sweet girl. We recently did a photo session for her 4th birthday. We had such fun running, jumping, playing with bubbles and of course sweating in the GA heat.

The contests are open to everyone, so check it out.

Christina

A Little Organization

2009-08-17T18:26:00.019-04:00

Today we are joining Kim over at Twice Remembered for Make Your Monday. I've already been visiting some of the other gals that linked up and there are some fabulous makeovers over there. If you don't know Kim's blog you will be pleased to find a gold mine of information and major eye candy.

As is often the case I was all set up to start and then almost forgot to take a before picture of my project.

I found this wire organizer at a yard sale over a year ago for $1.00.

Last week while over at Apartment Therapy's Ohdeedoh site, I found this fantastic inspiration picture that immediately sent my mind whirling. Isn't it great. Love the clothes pins in the picture, but didn't get that done and probably won't.

I made a template and traced the shape onto thick cardboard and then painted them with chalkboard paint.

A quick coat of Dover White spray paint and a little tape, and we have a new organizer for school papers.

After

Christina

Just Another Ordinary Goodwill Day

2009-08-13T16:44:00.017-04:00

Beautiful white plates, oh my! All five for $3.76 (yes another weird Goodwill price). The stamp on the bottom says Myott Olde Chelsea Staffordshire England.

These were really just a surprise to me. I almost overlooked them as the store was about to close in a few minutes and I was rushing through. Our Goodwill has started taping all of the plates of a same style together, so you can't always tell if they are chipped or in good shape. Loving the shape, I decided to buy the stack and at least use them for hanging, chipped or not. When unwrapped, I was pleasantly surprised that they are all free of chips and in good shape. I would have untaped them if they were something that was too expensive to gamble on or if I was specifically buying them to for eating instead of hanging. It annoys me that they tape them, though I'm sure it helps things stay together.

Also found the darling little creamer. There is no mark on the bottom, but it really looks like it could be a match to the plates.

As we were heading to the register, we saw this bench.

The fabric is hideous and honestly it grossed me out, though I don't know why it particularly bothered me any more than other things I've bought in the past.

Fun things for a quick trip just before closing. The bench was 15% off as they announced a "furniture sale" in the last 15 min. before closing.

Chloe found some adorable Polka-dotted rain boots originally from Target. She has wanted some and there is no way that I'm paying $30.00 for rain boots. This made both of us happy and adds another pair of plastic boots for trips to the swamp at my parents house.

Enjoy looking! I am heading over to participate in Leigh's Thrifty Thursdays at Tales from Bloggeritaville

and Holly's Thrift Store Thursdays at Homebody.

Don't miss out visiting all of the great links at both of these blogs and you might even want to join the party.

Christina

Totally Random Thrifting

2009-08-06T11:43:00.000-04:00

Not lots of time to go thrifting or to yard sales as of late, but I do have a few things to show you.

Victoria has really found some great deals lately and I was the recipient of two of them.

She found a pair of Pottery Barn curtains for $10 at Goodwill recently. Because I am very indecisive and can't decide if I want to put them in my son's bedroom or mine, they are still in a bag. Isn't that sad. Oops, I have stored the bag somewhere and can't put my hands on it at this moment. I'll show them to you all sometime. They are a great floor length drape in basic khaki color.

I had been wanting an umbrella stand for my patio table. They are so expensive! We found one at Aldi, and though not really pretty, it does the job. Vic called me recently and said she found one at a yard sale---the word fluer de lis was mentioned and that was all it took. Oh, and the $3.00 price tag. Wow! In the end she took everything she was buying to the lady and I think she ended up only paying $2.00 for it. Even better.

I found this flour sack at a garage sale about a month ago. 75 cents!!

At a friends yard sale I recently picked up these perfectly good muck boots for $1.00!!! Her son had used them once and they had been sitting around in the way in their garage.

My parents have a swampy place in the woods that the kiddos love to go to. Turtles, mud and the possibility of snakes abound. These tall boots will be great for adventures to the swamp and though there have not been snakes seen there yet, my dad did kill a copperhead in his yard. Yay, boots that offer a little bit of protection and can easily be hosed off.

Go on over and visit Holly at Homebody and Leigh at Tales from Bloggeritaville. Holly is back with Thrift Store Thursdays---yay!

and Leigh always has some fun going on with Thifty Thursdays!

Oh and if you haven't been over to Holly's blog lately, please check out some fantastic projects that she did when her sisters were in town recently here and here. Sisters are the best, aren't they??? You know we love sisters here at As Time Goes By.: )

Christina

Country Ick Makover

2009-08-04T14:45:00.018-04:00

I bought this little bulletin board at Goodwill awhile ago. Yikes, but I saw some potential.

I asked Chloe if she wanted to help me remake it and she told me that she didn't want any part of my tearing up something so cute. : O.

So I gathered supplies and started the project all by myself. Burlap and printable vintage sheet music from here.

Better? I think so.

A crown knob from Hobby Lobby attached to add interest.

I've always meant to join Kimm over at Reinvented for here Trash to Treasure Tuesday, but never have until today.

Make sure to go over and check out other Trash to Treasure makeovers.

Excuse the scratches. After I painted it, I dropped it on the concrete. : )

Christina

Jacob is Here

2009-07-31T08:42:00.003-04:00

Sweet Jacob came into the world at 10:52pm on Thursday night. He weighed in at 7lb. 14 oz and was 21 1/2 in. long. All is well.

Thanks for your prayers and well wishes.

Christina

Just a Quick Check In

2009-07-29T20:41:00.007-04:00

Edited to add: 3:30pm Contractions are getting intense. Christina, Mom and I are headed to the hospital.

Tomorrow is a big day in our family. Meg, our sister in law, is being induced and we hope to meet our new little nephew before the day is out.

Check out Meg's blog for some recent pictures of the nursery that she so lovingly put together.

Here she posted some pictures of Jacob's nursery (scroll down past the maternity picts). Check here to see the room before.

Also, she redid her master bedroom curtains and painted the room recently. Check here for this post. Here is her bedroom before.

Meg has a simple, but lovely style. She makes everything look great.

I will be blogging during the day to update friends and family. Victoria and I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers for a safe delivery for mom and baby.

Christina

Thrift in the yard

2009-07-23T09:05:00.003-04:00

A friend of mine told me that she bought several plants on clearance at Lowes recently (thanks Pam!) so last week my Sweet Girl and I hit up Lowes and happened upon some clearance plants at the back of the Garden Department. Look at all these wonderful plants! We spent $13.38 and found some fantastic finds.

First off my $1.50 Dahlia. Looks perfect and should come back next year.

My most expensive plant was a Clematis (not shown) I bought for $2.50. It looked fine, just needed to be put into the ground.

I did buy a few annuals to put in this planter that I bought on clearance at Home Depot when we went to the mountains. It is one of the lightweight planters that looks like the real thing.
I love the shape and handles.

The annuals cost me $1.75 for a pot of zinnia's and 2 salvia plants.

I also bought a 50 cent trailing/vine looking plant that I don't know what it is! :) For 50 cents I figured could buy it and figure it out later. Anyone know what it is?

I was THRILLED to get another herb to add to my little herb "garden" (I use this term loosely). It is called Pilgrim Oregano and has pretty little purple flowers.

I also bought two wonderful looking bee balm plants, one for me and one for my Mom and two kinda sad looking Homestead Verbena's ( I think they'll be fine). Both of these are perennials and the price was just right!

The girl that checked me out asked if I was good at getting plants to come back to life. :) HA! I think they just need some good ground and water and they'll be fine!

Hop on over to Leigh at Tales from Bloggeritaville for more Thrifty Thursday ideas!

Happy gardening to you all!

~Victoria~

Thrifty treasures

2009-07-20T09:45:00.001-04:00

Oh yeah, this week it isn't just thrifty "finds" for me, it is thrifty "treasures"! :)

This baby was $1.00 at a scary yard sale. Do you know what I mean by "scary"? It's one of those that I wouldn't have stopped at by myself. Thankfully, my MIL was with me and my Sweet Girl decided to stay in the car due to their humongous dog! I have to admit, some of my best finds are at scary yard sales! Who would have thought two rednecks without their shirts on would have had this milkglass beauty???????
I bought this large mixing bowl at Goodwill for $4.00. I love the blue color! Not only is it the perfect color, I will use this beautiful piece often to hold salads and other items.

Oh and did you see my little birdie? .79 cents at Michael's! They had all their summer stuff on clearance for 60% off!
For years I have wanted a piano and had it on my "Wish List". When I was growing up I half-heartedly took lessons and over the years wish that I paid more attention. Recently a friend was having a yard sale and she was selling her piano! I bought it and this weekend my husband and some friends and family helped him move it. Sweet Girl and I are so excited!
Speaking of Sweet Girl, do you see her headband and flower??? I won it in a giveaway from Rachel over at Made with Love and Glue! It is beautiful!!! Sweet Girl loves it and has been wearing it EVERY DAY! Look at the detail on this baby! I love it. Thank you Rachel for your generosity!

Go join Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality to see what deals everyone else found!

~Victoria~

Thrifty Fun in the Sun

2009-07-15T20:07:00.049-04:00

This summer my sisters and myself have made a conscious effort to get together each week. We all live within 20-30 min. of each other (well all except for baby sister away at college), but with busy lives we still don't always get together unless we make it a priority. So for Thifty Thursday at Tales from Bloggeritaville, I am going to share some of the thrifty things we have done this summer.

Georgia state parks have a free day each week. Add a picnic lunch and enjoy the sun. A park pass is also another way enjoy state parks if you go often.

How to enjoy a baked cheeto.

Gotta have a Cabree Sun (sweet girl's pronunciation)

While we have been enjoying picnic lunches most weeks, today Victoria and Beth took advantage of a summer specials that Arby's is having here in GA. My family took advantage of this special for supper instead. Today was a free sandwich with the purchase of a drink. I am not going to go through the line a bunch of times to get enough for my family, but at our local Arby's you could order all at once at the counter, so you could order five drinks and get five sandwiches for free. I am also not willing to fight for free food or anything else for that matter. Hubby went by Denny's one day when they were offering free food and he said there were cars parked as far as the eye could see---no way!!. My time is worth more than that, so that is not thrifty for me. : )

Meg's mother has opened her pool and is very gracious to let us come and enjoy. This was our fun in the sun this week and honestly this is the fun our children look forward to most. We are so appreciative to have this option in the summer.

Your town, county or state may also have other free attractions. Here we visited a local wetlands center.

Gotta have a blue mouth to enjoy this.

We also have free movies at our local theater. They show a specific movie each week. You must get there early to get a good seat, but it can be fun. We pick and choose which movies to see. Some are movies that I wouldn't pay to see in the theater, but for free, Sure! Here is a link in case they have a Great Escape Theater in your town.

Just a note: Our McDonalds also offers a free latte' on Mondays. If you are out and about on a Monday, pick one up.

Thifty time with the cousins is priceless!

Price my space

2009-07-13T07:24:00.016-04:00

I know I have shown my Sweet Girl's room before but I have changed it a bit and wanted to join in Nester's price my space party today. Here is the best picture of her bed but it was before I bought more throw pillows and changed it up a bit.

While Sweet Girl was still in her crib I watched for the Target Shabby Chic bedding to go on sale and bought most of it for 30 to 75% off! Blue throw pillow came from Goodwill for $2.50
Pink bed, bought at an antique store years ago, for $100.

Pink Christmas tree on clearance at Kohl's for $20, then used $10 coupon to make it $10! We usually decorate it for the season (Christmas, Valentines, Easter, etc)

I bought this scalloped shelf for full price of $25 at an Antique Store

The dresser came from Lakewood for $110. I just loved the shape of the mirror and it was a great height for a 6'3" man to change diapers on the top when she was a baby. :) The rug was the most expensive item in the room and I splurged and bought it at Pottery Barn Kids for $300 for Sweet Girl's nursery.

Sat I bought this little beauty at a yard sale for $2!

I love the detail of it.

The Decorating Queen made the lampshade seen in the corner for about $15 in materials, hubs rewired and painted the lamp (bought for $10 at the same antique store as the bed), MIL brought the tea cart over from her house to use as a night stand (free!). The white eyelet curtains came from my sisters MIL.

I bought the letters at Hobby Lobby for $1.99 each I believe and a pad of scrapbook paper on clearance for $4.99 at Target that had great papers that coordinated with Sweet Girl's room.

So there it is...the most precious room in my little house.

Head on over to the Nester's place to see what everyone else is up to today!

~Victoria~

Spray that Platter, Glue that Burlap

2009-07-09T23:46:00.025-04:00

Kimba over at A Soft Place to Land is hosting a DIY Day and I'm here working on a post at almost midnight. Crazy!

And of course we always try to join Leigh over at Tales from Bloggeritaville for Thrifty Thursdays.

So here goes...

Some of you may remember this thrifted platter.

Such a change.

and

This bottle that I've had for years

got some new clothes and a crown sketched on with a sharpie

(check out the makeover on the lamp base here)

And my paperback pumpkin to a little stand for my thrift store partridge.

Oh what a little spray paint, burlap and crafting time can do for you.

Christina

Works for me Wednesday

2009-07-08T16:00:00.000-04:00

$1.00 bouquets of flowers at Aldi! Sweet Girl and I picked up one for us and one for the Librarians in the Children's Section at our Library.

I want to get better about doing things for other people and I want to teach Sweet Girl to do for others as well.

~Victoria~