I have to make these soon!! I absolutely love red topped, white dotted mushrooms and the fact that this is a Christmas ornament is fantastic! I am so excited about these mushrooms that I just may have to cancel school for a day so I can create! 
Isn’t this such a lovely clock?? Whenever I think of grandfather clocks, I think of those really big, really majestic looking clocks that would never ever look right in my house! This Howard Miller Camille clock would work though and if I were to be so fortunate to bring this into my home, I would love it, feed it and take care of it with all my might! Lol! I love the color and the floral designs…just absolutely lovely!
Of course there are other Howard Miller grandfather clocks too. There are some that are really modern looking and then there are also the ones that are more traditional and classic. There is even a clock that has been designed for the pool area!
Not only are there grandfather clocks, but there are other types of clocks as
well. Some people do not have the space for a grandfather clock. In all honesty, that would probably be us! Lol!! Something like a mantle clock or a wall clock would work best for us. Even better would be one of those atomic clocks that keeps perfect time. Have you seen those? They are the ones that receive the radio frequency from the Cesium Atomic Clock Time Keeper in Fort Collins, Colorado. I did not even realize there was such a thing! I think that would make a great Christmas gift for my grandfather…who never reads this blog so I am safe to say that here! Lol!
I was thinking about how some words are so completely fun to say. Take for example, Mogadishu, hoodia and cantankerous. I think Mogadishu is my all-time favorite even though I don’t get to use it often. Cantankerous is quite easy to throw into a conversation! I don’t say hoodia much either. Besides, I’ve been saying it wrong anyway! It’s pronounced “HOO-dee-ah”…I was saying “hood-e-uh”. The correct pronunciation is so much more fun to say! Who knew it could get better! Lol!
I know that I am supposed to be thinking about Christmas presents for my family, but I just can’t seem to do that. It’s not that I don’t want to shower them with gifts because I do! It’s just that I really want to do some different things with my “quilt studio”. Adding some storage and a few more supplies would be great and I would be able to create with more fervor…which would lead to me being able to sell some of my work…which would lead to more money coming into the household…so, you see, I really am being so very selfless here. It’s all for the children, right?! Lol!
CouponChief has coupons for several of the stores I would like to use. Stacks and Stacks has some real nifty storage units that I could use to store fabric and JoAnn has all the supplies I need. Of course fabric is always a need, right?
What I really want is a nice little cottage like building out in the backyard…that would be a great studio! I’m not sure that’s possible right now, so I guess I’ll stick with re-doing my current space.
Anyone wanting to help me with my “re-do” by purchasing organizers and supplies can certainly do so! Hint, hint, Dad! Be sure you go grab those CouponChief coupons though…
by Sonya Haskins. If you are looking for a gift for a homeschooler, this book is just perfect. A lot of work has been put into creating over 250 lists...all you "list makers" out there will have to have this one! lol!Just a few years ago when I was in high school (lol!), I was fortunate enough to be able to take a trip to Key West, FL with a friend and her family. I will never ever forget that 700 mile bridge we had to cross over to get there. Green…that’s the only way you could have described my face!
What I remember most about Key West was the wonderful seafood, the neat shops where I was able to buy a fluorescent off-the-shoulder “flashdance” shirt and a plastic magazine clutch..and…are you sitting down??...Tom Cruise said hi to me!! My friend’s parents said it wasn’t him but we both knew that it was…and he said hi to me!! Thrill-ing!
Of course, I was young then and anything fluorescent, boys and food were oh so popular. Now that I’m older though, I would want to check out some other “attractions” on Key West…oh heck, I would still buy a “flashdance” shirt ‘cause those never go out of style, right?!
In my mind’s eye, I see myself ( in fluorescent flashdance shirt) on the Conch tour Train checking out all the historical sites.
A definite stop would be the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum to see all the sunken treasure.
Of course, Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum would be a must on my “to-do and see” list.
These are just some of the tours available with Trusted Tours and Attractions!
Not only does Trusted Tours and Attractions have a gazillion different tours in quite a few different cities, not just Key West, but right now, they are hosting a special giveaway! Anyone who signs up to receive their e-newsletter is automatically entered to win 4 free tickets to tours in a city of their choice. How cool is that?? I’m pretty sure we’ll not be making it to Key West this year, but we could probably make it over to Charleston . Neat!
Be sure to head on over there now to sign-up for the e-newsletter because the giveaway ends on December 14th!
See this tile? I know it is for a garage, but I think it would also be perfect in our laundry room. You see, I wouldn’t be saying that if our laundry room was actually in our home. Nope, we had to buy a house where we have to go out on our back deck to get to our laundry room. There are times when the rain leaks into the laundry room and when that happens the floor is slick. And that, my friends, is a perfect reason to install this neat garage flooring….so we don’t break our legs and arms trying to do the laundry! A laundry room outside…sheesh…that’s just not right, ya know?
*This sponsored post is helping to buy a laptop for Up the Hill Academy!*
I love art galleries! I love the ones that feature local artists and the funkier the art the better. We have a little gallery here at our local community art center and I love to look at the wonderful work of our locals. Right now there are dog paints…funky dog painting and I love them!
If I lived in St. Augustine, FL, I would be making Pete take me to the St. Augustine Artwalk every Friday night to see all the cool art work. Of course, he would say he liked the art and he would patiently visit all the galleries with me, but he would really be looking forward to hearing the music! I wouldn’t mind because I’d probably like to hear the music too! Lol!
First Friday Weekend Artwalk, takes place on the first Friday (duh!) and the Saturday of the month. The artwalk is a self-guided tour of local art, music, exhibits and entertainment. Several of the galleries also serve refreshments so it could very easily be a nice date night…kind of like “dinner and a movie”! There is even a train and trolley that will take you to several of the different exhibits and attractions.
Oh, did I mention that this is all FREE?! Isn’t that completely cool??
We are starting to head out the door to go to my parent’s house for Thanksgiving. Of course, the kids are all cranked up and starting to really pick at each other. Kind of makes me wonder what their Letters From Santa would say right about now! Maybe it’s time to give them a friendly reminder that the Ol’ Guy just may be watching! Lol!!
In all honesty, all of my kids know the truth about Santa. He's still fun to think about though, ya know?
We don’t have an external hard drive, but I am starting to wonder if maybe we would benefit from having one. I think it would be great to be able to store sensitive and confidential info like our finances and such on an external hard drive. Well, actually, now that I think about it, there are quite a few things, like my writings that I don’t want anyone else to read quite yet, that I could store on one.
Hmmm…I think I might need to make an addition to my Christmas Wish List! Lol!
What say you? Do you have an external hard drive and should I add one to my List??
*sponsored*
Have you heard of Soldier’s Angel? It’s a group that was started by a mom when she found out through her son that some troops were not receiving any mail. That just makes me so sad, doesn’t it you?
Today, I read that Gallery Collection which is the leading mail order publisher of Holiday Cards has joined with Soldier’s Angel and has donated cards to be sent to our troops! Not only that, Gallery Collection has also donated cards for the troops to send back. All of these cards will be sent in “care packages” going over soon.
If you want to support out troops, I think a great place to start would be at Soldier’s Angels. I plan on digging into the site later and seeing what my family can do whether it be through sending letters and cards or through sending needed items.
Not only do we need to be doing these things at Christmas but also throughout the year. I think it’s really easy to forget people after the holidays, ya know? Let’s strive not to do that this year!
Here we are folks! This is our current Freezer Meal Exchange Group: L to R: Heidi, Kristin, Laurie, Me and Sonya. We had our first meeting last week and everything went well..not that I expected it to go poorly! lol! You can read all about the meals we exchanged over at my Blue blog. I've included links to all but one of the entrees and that one will be coming in the near future. All families experience those life-changing events at least several times. Our family is no exception. Of course, our most recent life-changing event was the death of our youngest son, Gus. Long before that though, we experienced another one of those events. Well, I guess I should say that my mother experienced it the most, but this accident certainly affected all of us. I’ll forewarn you, this might not be a good read for the squeamish!
We all had gathered in Knoxville to celebrate my dad’s birthday. The evening had been filled with a cookout: steaks, baked potatoes, birthday cake, the works. We ate, ate, laughed, ate, probably poked fun at each other…we had a good time!
At bedtime, everyone had gone to their designated sleeping areas and had gone to sleep. Nik, on the other hand, was just a baby and was having a terrible time actually going to sleep so I took him upstairs to the living room so he would not bother anyone else. When he finally went to sleep, I took him back downstairs, set up his playpen and put him down. Thankfully, he did not stir and remained asleep!
Early in the morning, my mom got up to take some medicine. I had not even thought to tell her that I had set the playpen up in the den. When she came through the den, she was caught off guard. She tripped over the playpen and fell onto a glass top table. The heel of her hand hit the glass, broke in one large sheet and then her fingers slid down the edge of the broken glass. I woke up to hear my mom saying that she had cut her fingers off. In all honesty, I thought she had just hit her hand on something and was exclaiming that it had hurt. I’m embarrassed to say that I kind of ignored her! After a short while, it was quite obvious that she very well might have cut her fingers off and by that time, Dad had gotten there and was wrapping her hand. My job was to get her jeans on her which was not an easy job….I think we all were kind of in shock!
Dad rushed her to the ER and we followed shortly after. Nik had slept through the entire event. When I went to get him up and dress him, there was blood all over him where Mom had bled. That was quite an erie thing to see…very disturbing.
Mom spent most of the day with a micro surgeon. She had damaged her left hand extensively and ended up needing quite a bit of therapy. Her hand still, to this day, causes her pain, but she knows she is very fortunate to even have those fingers!
I can’t think of anyone more deserving of a year’s supply of Freeze It Gel than my Mom. Since she experiences a tremendous amount of pain due to the muscle and nerve damage, I think Freeze It would bring her quite a bit of relief. Of course, now that it is getting cooler, her hand is quite a bit more painful. I would love for her to experience a winter with less pain!
Freeze It is great for pain such as arthritis, muscular strains and back, shoulder, neck pain. I tried it on my knee a few months ago and it was wonderful! I also used it right before bed and I was able to go to sleep with ease. There’s nothing worse than trying to go to sleep when you are in pain, ya know?
If you haven’t tried Freeze it yet, you should. I think you’ll be pleased with it’s performance!!
I have always loved candles, but I am kinda picky about the ones I buy. I hate to purchase candles that smell great in the store but after a little bit of burn time, they smell like..well, they don’t smell at all! I really, really, need for my candles to have fragrance all the way through, ya know?I usually buy Yankee Candles, but the other night, Pete brought home a soy candle. Now, I’ll have to be honest, we have never ever had a soy candle so I was not sure what to expect. I have certainly heard about soy candles, but I have had no idea why they are so popular right now. So when I got the opportunity to review the Maddison Avenue soy candles site, I was looking forward to learning more!
All of the hand-poured candles at Maddison Avenue are made from biodegradable soybean wax which is a renewable resource that helps the American farmers. These candles are also more environmentally friendly because the burn cleaner and put out less carcinogens into the air. Really, just the fact that using soybean wax products is helping American Farmers is enough reason for me to continue purchasing them and I’m sure Pete will agree with me.
Now, not only does Maddison Avenue have an online retail store, but they also sell wholesale soy candles and private labeled soy candles. Neat!
Now that Disneyland allows weddings to take place in the park (with proper approval - they used to be banned altogether), Disney may have to start allowing some sort of memorial service for those dedicated Disneyphiles who just can't stand to be away too long. Maybe they can charge them the cost of an annual pass (without parking - the dearly departed won't need that).
We received a neat package in the mail this morning! It was from Vat19.com and it contained three different products to try out and review. Now these were not just your plain ol’ average products, these were completely fun and cool products! We had a blast with the Insta Snow Fake Snow Powder and the Color Flames Colored Candles were fascinating. I mean really, have you ever seen colored flames?? Neato mosquito! Here’s a quick video of the Insta Snow:
We also got a third product which just may be my favorite. Those of you that know me well know that I am kind of picky about my pens and pencils. When I saw the Smencils Scented Gourmet Pencil, I was pretty certain I would not like it. Well, folks, I was pleasantly surprised by this neat grape scented pencil made of recycled newspapers! It’s a #2 pencil that writes and sharpens just like a regular pencil. You purchase these pencils in a set of 10…all with different scents! What a neat idea for pencils, don’t you think?
Now, of course, there are other neat items you can purchase at the Vat19.com store. You will find a Sun Jar, a Talking Photo Album and even a Banana Bunker to keep your bananas from bruising....and these are just a few of the incredibly cool things you can buy there.
I’m just tickled that they accept PayPal….I must just splurge on myself and buy those scented pencils…..
You know how we always check our smoke detector batteries when the time changes occur? Well, I think we should also use that date as a reminder to check our camcorder batteries also! I mean really, Christmas is just around the corner and there are going to be plays, concerts and other events we will want to record. Instead of running around at the last minute and creating great stress, why not go ahead make sure you have a battery that is going to carry you through the holidays.
Just a friendly suggestion to help you keep the stress level down! Lol!!
***this sponsored post is helping to buy a laptop for Up the Hill Academy!***
Since I have been been posting about our different Christmas traditions, I thought I would share a tradition that I would like to start this year.
For several years, I have wanted to make homemade cinnamon rolls for our early morning Christmas extravaganza. In the past, we have always gone down to my Sister in Law’s house for a huge breakfast feast. I think my homemade cinnamon rolls would make a nice addition to the feast, really I do!
That’s my Plan A…Plan B is to fix these yummy treats on the morning of Christmas Eve. Really, when I stop and think about it, Christmas Eve morning would be better because there is nothing else going on at the time which makes it better for a tradition, right? I, mean really, how can my cinnamon rolls compete with the biscuits and gravy on Christmas morning? Lol!!
Now…what recipe to use?? There are a gazillion out there and I bet there are a lot that are not that great. With this in mind, I have decided to use Alton Brown’s recipe for cinnamon rolls. I am completely convinced that anything he makes is good and that his recipes are also good! However, there is Paula Deen…I bet she has a fantastic cinnamon roll recipe…full of tons of butter! Yum-o. I think I will stick with Alton’s recipe though…
Dough:
4 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 large whole egg, room temperature
2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
3 ounces unsalted butter, melted, approximately 6 tablespoons
6 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
20 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 cups, plus additional for dusting
1 package instant dry yeast, approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
Vegetable oil or cooking sprayFilling:
8 ounces light brown sugar, approximately 1 cup packed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Pinch salt
3/4-ounce unsalted butter, melted, approximately 1 1/2 tablespoonsIcing:
2 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened, approximately 1/4 cup
3 tablespoons milk
5 1/2 ounces powdered sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cupsFor the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.
Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4-ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.
Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 30 minutes.
While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add the milk and whisk until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.
Doesn’t this recipe sound fantastic?? I only have one minor problem though. I need to convince my mom to let me borrow her stand mixer and that’s gonna take some doing. Of course, I could always just purchase myself an early Christmas present, right? It would be for my family, right? Lol!
Earlier today, I was looking at the Hamilton Beach® Eclectrics® Mixer and those things are “extreme neat”!! After seeing this model, I don’t even want to use my mom’s old stand mixer, ya know? I love the apple…or maybe the pineapple color. Which one, which one….I’m a leanin’ toward the green one, folks!
Besides the cool colors, this Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer has some pretty nifty features:
Back to Alton Brown really quick….have you seen his stand mixer? I’m not sure if it is a Hamilton Beach® Mixer or not, but it’s very, very cool! It is black with flames on it! I think I’ll paint one of those red top mushrooms on mine....cool!
