Have A Happy Candy Day!

Here is Victoria's family pumpkin carved by her hubby.





Here are some last few halloween links to enjoy, then I guess it will be time to move on to Thanksgiving.


Cottage Magpie has some halloween treats for the eyes. She has recently returned to blogging. So if you haven't found her yet, you are in for a real treat.

Rambling Goat Chick has some yummy looking halloween bark over at her place. Check it out here.

Turkey Feathers has a cute tutorial for a little black spider made out of pieces of egg carton.

Happy halloween or fall day, whichever you prefer! Hope you all have a happy, fun, creative and safe day!

{Christina}

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.
Henry David Thoreau

Pumpkin Carving and Cook Out and We've been BOO,ed

We've been BOO'ed by Rambling Goat Chick. Yikes!! Blogging has been so fun--getting to "know" some of you girls!




On my birthday (again, thank you for all of the birthday wishes), we did our annual pumpkin carving.

Here is my resident pumpkin gutter. She has loved this job since she was a toddler.



Ewwww! Pumpkin guts!!


Ian is glad to take the lid off, but he leaves the guts to Chloe.



I think the best part of pumpkin carving is getting the seeds out for roasting.
If you haven't ever roasted the seeds, you have missed out. Oh yum!
Here are some instructions. I usually just use canola oil instead of butter.



Meet Robo-Jack



A fire ready for roasting hot dogs.





We added s'mores and hot chocolate to the party. It was a fun filled evening of family togetherness.

If you like s'mores and want something to carry with you to a party, take a look at these over at Daisy Cottage. Yum!

Happy Thursday.

Yard sales

Christina, Sarah and I had the privilege of hitting some yard sales together on Saturday. Most every sale except for one had things very cheap! I can't wait for Christina & Sarah to show off their big finds!

I bought this bread box for $1 at the yard sale where the lady kept saying "oh did my husband put that out? I didn't want to sell that!". She told Christina that she was out the night before with a flashlight looking for her stuff. :)

I bought this old trunk (?) for $2 to make an ottoman. Does anyone know anything about painting vinyl? I know I can recover the top but the bottom I am not sure about.


Here are some of the vintage fabric finds and ornaments from the same yard sale. I think with the trunk I paid $4.50 for everything!


An angel to top my Sweet Girl's Christmas tree.



Lantern to go out in the yard. I bought two of varying heights.



Some Country Home magazines to peruse...


I liked the frame of this picture and the chalkboard was 25 cents.


Bud vase given to me at one yard sale where I spent $2.


There were also these, which we didn't buy. :)



~Victoria~

Happy Birthday!

I have to hijack the blog to tell you all it's Christina's birthday today! As you have probably already figured out by now she is amazingly talented when it comes to photography, decorating, cooking, etc. She is one of those people that has a natural gift, not like the rest of us that just copy magazines, he he he. :) Christina is also probably the most giving and loving person I have ever known.

Happy Birthday Sis!!! I love you!

It's The Little Things

I have decided to make the "It's The Little Things" posts a weekly occurrence.

It's the Little Things Fall Day version.

A brand new nephew born to my brother John and his beautiful wife Michelle. We are so happy to welcome little Caleb into our family.



A fresh new Better Homes and Gardens that I didn't have because my subscription lapsed, found at a garage sale this weekend for $1.00. It may seem like a lot for a yard sale magazine, but I was looking for this one last week at the grocery store and willing to pay full price. I look forward to perusing it tonight after the kids are tucked in tight.



A little Halloween banner that I made while watching tv last week, that my son wanted to put on his bedroom door. The letters were from Matthew Mead's site and the silver foil is flattened cupcake holders. I have an idea in the works for a Thanksgiving banner.



A full fruit bowl. Tart Granny Smith apples, a favorite of my son, and some honey crisp and galas for the others in our home. Ripe bananas that need to be made into banana muffins that will warm up a chilly morning.



The beautiful late afternoon sun beaming amber light against the trees as it goes down.


A plump pumpkin waiting to be carved into a robot. The winning idea of all of the household.


The remains of a sweet little birds nest left from spring.



The welcoming light of a lamp after coming in from walking the dog on a chilly evening.



A butternut squash that is waiting to be made into something yummy along with some pickled peaches that have been in the cabinet (please don't notice the dust) waiting for a good fall meal.



Lovely little fall leaf. These are among some of the first trees to change colors in Georgia.



A daughter's sweetness.
Have you ever seen the movie Dreamer? I found this while in the backyard today. I guess this is my daughter's interpretation of a scene in that movie.

Mister Owl says...

Congratulations Jackie!! E-mail us your information and we will get Mister Owl on his way to your house. christina-victoria@bellsouth.net

I put all of the names into a hat and my hubby pulled one for us.




Thanks to all of you who entered our giveaway. I am enjoying visiting the new to me blogs and as always love visiting those of you who have been coming by for awhile. You all make blogging more fun and we love all of your great ideas and inspiration!

{Christina}

Giveaway reminder!

Don't forget to enter our giveaway for the Owl mat! You have until 7pm EST tonight to go here and enter.

Good luck!

~Victoria~

Fourth

Christina and I have been tagged by Meg to do the "fourth of fourth". The instructions were to pick the fourth picture from your fourth picture file and then describe it. I was scared to open the fourth folder to see the fourth picture but when I did I was pleasantly surprised!



This picture is of mine and Christina's whole family in 2005. Christina and I are two of six siblings. On the far left is my youngest brother James and his wife Meg. Next to them is our sister Beth, who is the seamstress and baker in the family, her husband Matt who is in Seminary and their 3 boys. My baby sister Beka, the college gal and Ga Beef Ambassador, is next then my brother John. This picture was taken before John and his wife Michelle married in 2007. We are so excited for them because just today she was admitted to the hospital to have their first baby! After John is my ever so funny hubs and myself along with Sweet Girl, who had no hair and looked like a boy! Christina and her awesome chili/bbq making husband Rob are on the far right with their 2 kiddos. Papa and Grandmommy are sitting in front.

I have always loved being a part of a large family! I always had someone to play with when I was growing up and to this day my sisters are my best friends. Our family get-together's are full of laughter and lots of noise! The kids all LOVE to play with their cousins and they are so excited that my parents just bought a new house that has a "Command Central" (aka bonus room) for them.

This is what I figured the fourth pic in the fourth folder would look like...



I almost forgot to tag someone...let's see...
Darlene
Carrie
Rambling Girl
Katie

Don't forget to enter for our giveaway in yesterday's post! You have until Sun night.

~Victoria~

Giveaway Day!

Today is our first giveaway. We realized that we needed to leave it up longer than one day, so we are going to leave it up starting today until Sunday night at 7pm EST.

I was shopping this week and ran across this adorable owl doormat.



Oh, how cute. I called Victoria and she wanted one too. Then we decided, what a cute and different giveaway.

So, the question we want to ask is Whooooo's There? We would love to hear from you. A regular, a lurker, or a newbie. Let us know you're here. Just post us a comment and you will be entered into the drawing for our cute little welcome mat. If you post about the giveaway on your blog, comment and let us know and we will give you two entries.

We will draw a random name after 7pm EST on Sunday and make an announcement.

A Blog Award, a Give Away Announcement and Make Your own "Cream of Whatever" Soup

How's that for a title?

Things have been a little crazy around here. We obviously have been lacking in the blogging department this week and it's time to catch up.

Reynie so graciously gave us a Fall Decor Blog Award.

We are passing the award on to to these fantastic girls. Check them out!
320 Sycamore
For The Love Of My Home
Just A Girl
Bless Our Nest
Buzzings Of A Queen Bee
A Day In The Life Of Ramona

Thank you, Reynie. If you don't know her you need to check out her blog. She is giving us a tour of her home. Loooooovvvve it!! Love her--I can relate-being a southern girl and a rambler of sorts myself. (no comments from the girls who know me) : )


Victoria and I will be posting a giveaway!! We will have the drawing on Friday. Please come back tomorrow and enter. This is our first giveaway and we are excited.

Last but not least.


So many slow cooker recipes and casseroles call for cream of __________ (insert, chicken, mushroom, celery)soup. Did you know that you can make your own of sorts? Though I still keep these soups on hand, 'cause sometimes it is the ease/quickness of opening a can that makes it a good recipe, I would rather make my own for a more healthy, less sodium and really more tasty version.

Basic Recipe

2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 cup milk or broth
A good grinding of black pepper.

On low heat whisk butter and flour together. Slowly pour in milk/broth or half of each until it is thick and bubbly. Use as you would any "cream of whatever" soup. You may need to add some salt to the recipe if using milk.

You could add cut up mushrooms/onions/chicken, etc., but I haven't found the need of doing that unless it is crucial to the recipe.

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for our giveaway. We will draw a winner after noon EST on Friday.

It's The Little Things

It's the Little Things that sometimes make you feel really good about your day.

Yesterday was a day full of cleaning, doldrums, school work, doldrums, and more cleaning. I was able to complete a tiny little project. A great clearance frame that I have had sitting up against the wall for a few years. So much potential, and I have some greater ideas, but something needed to be done now! Key words at that moment--Complete and Now!

Enter a beautiful Ansel Adams print, a ruler and some scissors.

And change for the better.


This will make me happy for a long time. I used a print that was just hanging around, a frame that was gathering dust against the wall, and now all of those great ideas I had for that frame have faded away. This is just perfect.



It's the Little Things!!

Altered Glass Cake Plate

For so long I have wanted a black glass plate stand. This was my remedy.
Using spray paint (of course), specifically Krylon Fusion black spray paint in a satin finish, my daughter and I set out to "get me a black cake stand." Krylon Fusion says it is suitable for glass, but others may be also.

Before and During:


I sprayed the underneath of the stand. I wanted to be able to wash off the top and thought that it might not be good to mix food and spray paint. ick! The effect is really neat, because the color is a layer under the glass. (see top photo)

I wanted to do something interesting to the dome to tie it into the stand, but didn't want to spray the whole thing. My daughter had the idea to just tape off the glass ball on top. We then sprayed it too.


After decorated for halloween:


I will use the stand by itself more often than not, but the dome adds a great extra for when we have goodies to put inside. I already can't wait to use this for Christmas.

Speaking of goodies...Chloe made her whole wheat bread yesterday evening. This morning it was yummy slathered with everyone's choice of peach butter or honey. Or in Chloe's case, banana and Sunbutter. I prefer not to think of that choice. Ick!