2012: A Year in Review, Plus My Advice to a Bride to Be

Tomorrow is the last day of 2012. What a sigh of relief! I always love the start of a new year, it is feels like a brand new beginning, a fresh start, a do over...I feel like at midnight, when I give my husband a kiss, I'm saying goodbye to the past year and I can start new with a sense of rejuvenation.

This year was full of emotion for Hunny and I! We were so very busy with planning and executing our wedding that we thought buying a house would just add to the fun! So many ups and downs in the process...will we get approved, will the house have a positive inspection, will FHA approve our loan, etc, etc. Once it all fell into place and we moved in, about three months before our wedding, a bombshell hit, our wedding caterer lost their lease with our reception hall and we were basically SOL...I had to take an unscheduled trip back to Iowa, where we were having the wedding, and had to find a new caterer and try to get our planned reception venue since I had already handmade all the invitations and envelopes...It was a mess! All in all, the wedding ended up being such a wonderful experience that all the drama seems so petty and unimportant. After the wedding we were thrown into the holiday season! We just got done hosting the in-laws for Christmas! Wow! Talk about work! Planning, cleaning, cooking and baking for 12 people is a little much...I learned that next time I will delegate more so I can enjoy the holidays instead of being in the kitchen all day! And with that we are now to New Year's Eve. Hunny and I will be spending the evening watching movies and eating some cheese dip and having a champagne toast at midnight. Such a change from the NYE's of my single past! I do miss getting all dolled up and going out with my besties but I love being at home with my husband even more.

I can't wait to share my New Year's resolutions with you! I've been working on two lists of resolutions...one being my own personal resolutions and the other being home improvement projects to accomplish. Speaking of lists I decided I would share a list of advice I would give to any bride who is planning her wedding. I started thinking about this list today while I was framing a few of our wedding pictures and thought I had to share my advice hoping that it may be useful to at least one bride...

My Advice to a Bride to Be

1. Stick to a budget! I hate talking about money...I mean I really hate it! I have nothing to do with our finances not because I don't know how keep a budget because I really rather not be in charge on it. But, Hunny and I had a discussion and decided how much we wanted/could spend on the wedding and stuck to it! Once you know your budget, decided where to put your money. Figure out what is the most important to you and go from there. For example, you want the best photography in your town so you'll want to make sure you set aside the money for them first and so forth.
2. Research your vendors! Nothing is more frustrating than a unreliable or incapable vendor. Research each vendor online, find out what online reviews say, ask other brides you know for their experience or even ask the vendor for a reference. If they don't want to give you a reference, move on! 
3. Get EVERYTHING in writing! Whatever a vendor promises, get it in a contract or writing. We ran into our caterer promising certain things that never happened. Make sure everything you want or need them to do is in a contract that you both sign and have copies of...it will save you a headache later on when they don't follow through...
4. It's okay to buy yourself the dress you love. I always told myself that I would buy one of the $99 dress and it would be fine...Once I became the bride I changed my mind and started to feel guilty for wanting an expensive dress and veil to wear on my wedding day. Hunny told me to get what I loved so I wouldn't regret it. I have talked to a few brides that really regret settling on a dress they didn't love. I'm not saying blow your budget on a dress but if you find the one and can move the money around to afford it get it! It is your special day so make yourself feel special. 
5. Stop looking at dresses once you buy yours! The minute I paid for my dress I stopped looking. I knew if I didn't I would see one I liked more and then start hating my dress. I have friends who told me about how they kept looking and then regretted theirs or they knew someone who ended up buying a second dress. Save yourself some drama and stop looking!
6. You can't control your bridal party, family, in-laws! It doesn't matter how many times you e-mail, call, or text message your wedding party, family and in-laws, they still ask you the same questions you just answered. Just answer them again...it'll save you time and drama. Even though you want everyone to pitch in and help set things up, make centerpieces, hand out programs, tear things down and help pack things up, the fact is not everybody will help. I heard every excuse to get out of helping, some of which were just plain lazy. Just let it roll off your back and have someone else help. When it comes down to it, your true friends and family will be there to help and it really surprised me on some of the people that flaked out and some of the people who went above and beyond to help out! 
7. Have a personal attendant. They really are amazing to have! Mine took care or all the little details, like drying off the bouquets so they won't drip on me and the bridesmaids' dresses, carrying my training during the outdoor photo shoot, calling the bridal parties' trolley to make sure they'd be on time, and the all important holding my dress while I use the ladies room! 
8. RELAX AND ENJOY! I know it's hard to relax with one of the biggest life events is staring you down but just keep telling yourself to relax because no matter what something will go wrong...someone will be late, someone will forget something, you will forget something, you'll forget to have the photographer take that picture you wanted and so on...just relax and enjoy every minute of it! The day will fly by and you'll wake up the next morning and hardly believe you're married so have fun and enjoy!

My Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

Now that this cold weather seems to be here to stay, I decided it is time to make my hot chocolate mix. My mom would make this every holiday season when I was a kid and it always lasted into the new year. My mom would always make us all a cup with marshmallows on top when we would watch Christmas movies like Charlie Brown Christmas, White Christmas, Miracle on 34th St, and It's a Wonderful Life. Even after the holidays I loved coming home from school and having a mug full! This recipe definitely brings back a lot of memories of Christmases past. I can't wait to someday hopefully make this recipe part of my children's Christmas memories.

I'm not sure where my mom got the recipe for the hot chocolate mix...I'm assuming probably one of my grandmothers. Some of the ingredients weren't sold in the weight measurement she gave me or I couldn't find it in that measurement, but I was able to get all of the ingredients at Wal-Mart.
Here it is! You will love it!

Hot Chocolate Mix

Ingredients:

1 box of Nestle Quik (2 lb) 

1 box Powdered Sugar (1lb)

1 container Coffee Mate (6 oz)

1 box Powdered Milk (1lb 9oz)

I feel my hips gaining weight as I type these ingredients....

I was able to find everything in the right measurement except the Nesquik. All I could find was the smaller boxes or the 2.54lb container, which is what I chose. I eyeballed what I thought was two pounds....hey, if I got more than two pounds in it would just be more chocolatey and who doesn't like chocolate?

I dumped all the ingredients until a huge container, snapped the lid on tight and started shaking and turning the containers all around. It may have been easier to mix the ingredients a little at a time and then put it in a container, but I learn the hard way...

There! This is what it all looks like mixed up! 

I transferred my mix to one of my chalkboard storage containers and I'm ready to go for the holidays. I add anywhere between 1/4-1/3 cup of the mix to hot water depending on the mug's size and how chocolatey I want it.

 I'll be offering hot chocolate as a beverage option during my in-laws' holiday visit and I think I will be giving smaller jars of the mix to my neighbors along with some cookies as a holiday treat next week! This is such an easy and delicious treat to give to someone during the holidays! When I first made this mix up and made a mug for my husband he didn't believe me that it wasn't a packaged mix because it tasted so so good. I'm not a coffee drinker, but from what my mom has told me, this is amazing when you add a couple of spoonfuls to your coffee. I used the plain Coffee Mate but I've also heard great things about using flavored Coffee Mate instead! I hope you enjoy! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

The 12 Days of Christmas Cleaning

Well, twelve days from now, the first of my in-laws will be arriving to celebrate Christmas. It is so hard to believe that Christmas is just two weeks and a day away from today. I've only bought a few Christmas gifts and I'm also starting to freak out because I haven't even started my Christmas cards...I need to get with the program. This weekend Hunny and I hung up the rest of the outside Christmas lights and then went and picked out a beautiful Christmas tree! I'm pretty proud of this tree! We did a good job picking out a really winner this year! No big holes or gaps in the branches and it's so straight and tall. We brought it home and set it up Saturday and I put my pretty tree skirt around it and left the tree alone so it could unfold and open up before I put the lights on and decorated it. Saturday night I got really sick...I think I ate something that didn't agree with me at all. I went to bed around nine and didn't get up until around eight Sunday morning. I felt a little better and went downstairs to see if the cats had left the tree alone or not...At first, it appeared so...the tree was still standing and looked undisturbed....I then noticed the tree skirt was balled up. I figured that Fizzgig, the naughty one, had been playing with it. I got down on my hands and knees and started to readjust the tree skirt when my hand felt wet...yes...my cats had peed on my tree skirt. I knew it was Scout because she will pee on things when she is mad about something and I know she was mad because I didn't feed them before I went to bed because I was sick, plus, she ran away and hid as soon as I discovered it...she has no poker face. Totally disgusted and still feeling sick, I picked up the urine soaked tree skirt and put it in the laundry room sink. The tag of course said spot clean only, but I decided I would try to wash it anyway and see what would happen. I then turned my attention to the floor and cleaned and steam mopped it. Just as I finished cleaning the floor and went back to try to save my beautiful, expensive tree skirt, my other cat, Fizzgig, jumped out of the laundry room sink and ran off...leaving behind the largest pile of cat crap I had ever seen right on top of my once beautiful tree skirt. Insert A LOT of profanities. I rounded up both cats and sent them down into the basement, shutting the door behind them. I then bagged up my tree skirt and took it out to the trash...that'll teach me to buy nice things, having a Christmas tree, and for being sick and forgetting to feed two overweight felines....

Anyways, I just had to share that bit of Christmas cheer. I'm sure you all have had similar Christmas horror stories...But, back to what I wanted to post. THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS CLEANING! The first wave of in-laws will be arriving in 12 days and staying through Christmas. I decided that I will do a little cleaning everyday so I won't be running around the day before they arrive cleaning. There are some days where I only have a small task or two and then other that will be bigger. I plan on still doing my daily work as well so that everything stays clean. I love my husband dearly but he leaves a trail around the house wherever he goes, so I need to keep up with my daily cleaning. So here is my list of the daily cleaning to hopefully achieve a clean house for the in-laws' Christmas visit!

The 12 Days of Christmas Cleaning

1. Wash windows. I want to wash all the windows inside the house and the outside of the windows that face our front and back porches.  12/10
2. Dust all the light fixtures, ceiling fans and baseboards. I can't believe how gross and dusty all of our light fixtures and ceiling fans get and even though I'm sure no one would notice I know I would! I also want to tackle all the visible baseboards. I read online that using a dryer sheet to clean them collects all the dust and protects them from collecting dust again...it's worth a shot! 12/11
3. Pick up random items and find them a home or put them in the attic. We have so many odds and ends that get thrown into corners, on the spare bed, or laid on top of counters. I plan on using this day to find everything its appropriate home or put it up in the attic for the time being. 12/12
4. Clean between, under and behind all the radiators. Our home is heated through radiators and they collect tons of dust, so I plan on spending this day giving them a good cleaning all round. 12/13
5. Clean the Craft room. My craft room doubles as my closet so days where I'm tired or feeling lazy, my clothes just get thrown on top of a chair or my sewing machine. I'm planning on using this day to correctly put away all my clothes, shoes, purses, and crafting supplies. I need to dust the furniture, sweep, and steam mop the floor. 12/14
6. Being a Saturday I will just use this day to keep up with general cleaning and make sure everything I have done is still done. Hunny and I are planning on going to Vermont on this day, as well, to go shopping at the Vermont Country Store in Weston, VT. It is one of our favorite places to go. Such a beautiful part of the country and we love the small village it is in with all the little shops. We also found a Scottish pub in a neighboring town and love going there to eat haggis, skirlie, neeps and tatties. Don't knock it until you try it! So, so good! 12/15
7. Clean the Office. The office is totally Hunny's domain, but since it is still packed in boxes, it needs a good cleaning. My dear husband has a collection on soda bottles, food wrappers, and shred-able mail in there that needs to be thrown out. My MIL is going to be spending the night here that Saturday before Christmas so we need to move the twin bed from the frozen sleeping porch to the office so she can use it. She'll be staying at a hotel the remainder of her visit once my FIL and Hunny's grandmother show up. Hunny's 91 year old grandmother has a hard time with stairs so staying at a hotel would be easier for her then getting up and down our stairs. I'll also get to hear from my MIL on why we should flip the guest room with the office again. Yes, I know the office is a little bigger than the guest room (like a foot or two) but we have plans to get a hide-a-bed for the office so it can be used as a spare bed when needed. We aren't made of money so it'll have to happen when we can afford it. End of rant. 12/16
8. Clean Master Bedroom. Change the sheets, clean up any clutter, dust furniture, take out trash, sweep and steam mop floor. 12/17
9. Do laundry and clean Laundry room. I plan on doing laundry the week before as I always do but this will be the time I make sure all bed linens are freshly washed, towels are clean and soft and Hunny and I have all our clothes clean and put away. I plan on then doing a good cleaning of the washer so it smells and looks spectacular. When I clean the washer I usually run it through a complete cycle once or twice with a couple of cups of vinegar. It does the trick every time. I don't think anyone will need to use the washer, but you never know! I also need to straighten and organize the storage cabinet in there, sweep, and mop the floor. 12/18
10. Clean the Guest Bedroom and Hallway. I need to change the bed linens and wash the blankets, dust the furniture, sweep and steam mop the floor. I will then have to shut that room up because the cats love to sleep on the bed in there and I'd rather not have cat hair all over the pillows in the Guest Bedroom. The Hallway just needs to have the bookcase dusted, floors and stairs swept and steam mopped. 12/19
11. Clean the Foyer, Living room and Dining room. The Foyer should probably be called a Sitting room because it is really big. That's where we put the Christmas tree. I need the dust, sweep and steam mop in there. The Living room needs the same, a good dusting of the furniture and electronics, floor swept and steam mopped, plus a good cleaning of the fireplace. The Dining room needs to be dusted, swept and steam mopped, as well as be set up for our Holiday gathering. The extra leaf needs to be put in the table and the buffet needs to be set up with the coffee maker and hot water dispenser for tea and cocoa and the serving pieces cleaned and ready for holiday treats! 12/20
12. Clean the Kitchen and Bathroom. The kitchen needs to have all of the appliances scrubbed, counters cleaned, walls washed, and floors swept and steam mopped. The Bathroom will be cleaned right before the guests arrive, like when I see them coming down the street! Because I know as soon as I clean the bathroom my wonderful husband will go in there and shave or somehow mess it up! The bathroom needs a deep cleaning. Tub scrubbed, toilet freshened and counter and sink sparkling! Ending it all with a good sweep and steam mop!  12/21

There you have it! This is my holiday cleaning list and I hope to get it all achieved by the time my guests arrive. On top of all this cleaning I need to finish Christmas shopping, make cookie platters to take to our neighbors, figure out if I want to hand write my Christmas cards or just do a photo card, plan meals for our holiday gathering, and go grocery shopping for it! I'm tired just thinking about it!

I'm going to wrap up this post with a couple pictures from our wedding! We finally got our wedding pictures back from the photography and I love them!

 Hunny and I with our parents

 My girls and I

 My brothers and I

 My sweet flower girls

 Hunny and his men

 Love this!

 Our wedding party

 My all-time favorite!

I hope you all have a great day and I'm hoping to post my hot cocoa mix recipe here in the next day or two!

Kitchen Chalkboard Project or Confessions of a Cookie Sheet Hoarder

So, I've been debating doing this project for awhile...I fear I might have an attachment issue to my cookie sheet...I first thought to myself after washing my old, well "loved" cookie sheet that it may be time to retire it. I felt bad throwing it out, when it dawned on me, it has a perfect hole on the top for a nail and it is the perfect size to hang between the two kitchen windows. That's about as far as it got for a few months. I placed the cookie sheet back in the cupboard and continued to use it. Every time I pulled the pan out I'd mull over the idea again and then for whatever reason I'd back out and place the cookie sheet back in the cupboard...At first, I blamed it on not knowing exactly what I wanted to do with it until I remembered I had chalkboard paint in the basement from my pantry project. Light bulb! I could paint the back with the chalkboard paint and then use it to write my weekly menu or write quotes, bible verses or holiday greetings! I got excited to do this project but still the weeks went by and I kept passing up the project. I don't know if I am a secret cookie sheet hoarder but I just couldn't muster up the courage to throw caution to the wind and paint the back of an old cookie sheet. Pathetic, I know....Then Monday rolled around and I decided that today was the day to finally roll up my sleeves and accomplish this heart wrenching project. (Side note: I have about ten other cookie sheets so I have no idea why I was so weird about getting rid of this one, it's not like I couldn't replace it...like I said, I'm probably a hoarder...)

Here is my well "loved" cookie sheet. It has seen better days!

 Supplies! I found the paint brush, tape and paint just like this, patiently waiting for me in the basement. Please, don't look to closely at the piles of cat blankets of the couch in the background...My dear husband decided to buy a beige colored couch and since we have the two hairiest, messiest cats in the world, the beige couch is buried under old blankets to help prevent stains. Even so, the cats have still stained the couch...Hunny gets upset and I, however, know that someday when we have children the couch will never stand a chance again dirty hands, spills, and other accidents so I just don't get worked up about it. Of course company never sees the blankets though...I stash them away so people think we have nice things...hahahaha!

Okay, back to the project. I taped the sides of the pan to have a somewhat even chalkboard...I didn't care to much about it being perfect, I just didn't want it to drip all over it. Hint: If your painter's tape doesn't want to stick, microwave for 10-15 seconds...works like a charm!

Paint a first coat and let dry!

Paint a second coat and let dry. I switched up the direction I painted each time. First time horizontal then vertical the second and so on...

I painted it a third time but forgot to take a picture. Sorry! After the third coat dried, I thought it looked dark enough and evenly covered. I then hung it and waited the suggested three L-O-N-G days before using it. I decided to use a Christmas lyric since it is the season and whatnot! :)

I know this is kinda a crappy shot but it is what it is when you wait until night and use a phone to take a picture...

I hope you liked my project and maybe it will inspire you! I'm looking forward to the weekend. We will be finishing hanging the outdoor Christmas lights...by the way, I somehow won and we bought white lights! And, we will be picking out our Christmas tree! I'm so excited to get our tree in our house and get it decorated. I'm hoping the naughty cat will leave it alone but I don't see that happening! Have a great weekend!

'Tis the Season!

So, here we are...the last few days of November are winding down and just around the corner is CHRISTMAS! Excuse me while I go have a mini freak out....I haven't done any real Christmas shopping and I really need to start! The only Christmas shopping I've done has been for my little nephew who isn't due until the beginning of February...I know...I'm buying Christmas gifts for an unborn child...But take a look and see how cute it all is!

He's going to be all Dr. Suessed out!

 

I have started a little holiday decorating. I have most of the house done. I'm waiting to get a tree so it'll really feel like Christmas! Hunny and I are planning on going to a Christmas tree farm and cutting one down! As a child, I did that a few times and this will be Hunny's first! I can't wait to get all bundled up, walk around with a hot chocolate, perusing the trees until the right one is found! I'm a little nervous that Fizzgig, my crazy cat, will climb and knock over the tree. This will be his first Christmas tree since we didn't get one last year because we were out of town for the holidays. My other cat, Scout, is the most well behaved animal on the planet...she never gets into trouble or doesn't bad things...she'll just sniff the tree and then sleep under it on the tree skirt. She'll never give two thoughts about climbing in it or attacking the ornaments.

This is Fizzgig

Does this look like a face that would climb a Christmas tree and tear off ornaments? Only time will tell! But, I'm putting my money on yes..

This is Scout

She loves to sleep and cuddle on her mama! 

I also need to decorate the outside...I think Hunny really wants to be in charge of the lights but we can't agree on the color. I want white lights. I love the traditional classiness it brings but Hunny wants BLUE...yuck! Every time I think about blue lights I think about a house in my hometown that had the most gaudy blue lights that was so tacky that I will not allow them on mine! I think we'll settle on multicolor even though I'd rather have white....Hunny ordered a couple of wreaths from a local Boy Scout troop for our front and back doors and hopefully we'll pick up some garland for our front porch too! 

In the house, I have been busy! I've finished decorating and want to share it with you!

 

This is my mantel. I'm pretty proud with how it all turned out! 

 It looks so pretty at night with the fire going!

I made the wreath above the mantel because it looked so bare without anything there. I've left that space bare because Hunny has big plans of hanging our flat screen there. Otherwise I'd love to find a big old mirror to hang there.

  I think it turned out pretty good! I was going to add pine cones to it, but I felt like it might be a little much after seeing it with the red and gold berries!

 This is my centerpiece for my dining room table. Nothing special...I just recycled a tired old wreath, gave it a little something new and VOILA! A perfect centerpiece! (One naughty kitty cat sampled this and then threw up the needles...I'll let you guess which one!)

I call this "Keeping Spirits Bright." It makes me happy! I used an old silver tray added a handkerchief that was my grandmothers, put our decanters (a wedding present) and a couple of snowflake hi-ball glasses on top with a few other handkerchief from my grandmother. I love it! 

 

 

With that I will sign off for now. I'm in the mood to bake some spice cookies! I'll let you know how they turn out!

Thanksgiving 2012 Posthumous

Thanksgiving 2012 Posthumous

Well, Thanksgiving is over...over for me anyway! I'm sure some of you will be dining and visiting with relatives and friends well into the night and possibly be visiting said relations until the end of the weekend. I envy you! I wish our Thanksgiving was being spent with our families, but alas, we couldn't afford to head back to Iowa a month after our wedding and Hunny's family was split between visiting in laws and working over the holiday so we were left alone. Alone until we were invited to a Thanksgiving dinner with some families from church! I was so happy to be able to make some of the dishes I had planned to make for the Thanksgiving dinner we had planned on having with my Hunny's parents until they canceled about a week before...insert profanity! 

My Pecan Pie! I made little maple leaves for the crust by using a little cookie cutter and the excess dough. I got so many compliments and it was completely gone by the end.

My Sweet Potato Pudding with Gingersnap and Pecan Topping. Another hit at dinner! Probably because everyone at the dinner was a true Southerner transplanted to New England!

 

 

So, to wrap up Thanksgiving I write a few things I'm thankful for! 

1. My Hunny! He is a wonderful husband and I have no idea what I would do without him! He is so good to me and loves me for my flaws!
2. My Family...they are a crazy bunch of people, but without them I wouldn't be where I am today. My parents are an excellent example of a loving marriage and loving parents. We never had a lot of money growing up but I always had what I needed, plus a little more.  My brothers are all so different but that's why I love them! I know no matter what each one of them would be there in a minute if I needed them!
3. My Kitty Cats! Scout and Fizzgig are absolute nut jobs but they have so much love to give me that it can be a little much at times...sometimes I like to sit on the couch with cats on my lap...just saying! 
4. My Church Family...I am new at this church since we just moved to the area but they have been very friendly and welcoming!

And with that, I am saying good buy to Thanksgiving. I love this holiday but as soon as it is over Christmas comes running up on us and I've got a lot to do for that holiday! I need to shop for Christmas gifts for my family and get them sent out, I need to start Christmas cards, and of course, we are hosting Christmas for Hunny's whole family...his whole family(plus us) is 11...not much seeing my immediate family is 12 people! So, with the holiday celebration at our house, I'll need to start planning everything out! I decided I'll be doing the 12 (cleaning) days of Christmas. I'm going to make a list of all the cleaning jobs that will need to be done and divide it between the 12 days prior to the arrival of his family. I'll start with cleaning jobs that won't need to be done again before they come and end with last minute jobs like cleaning the bathroom...I also need to find out how many days they will all be here so I can meal plan...I'm think easy crock pot or low maintenance meals for everyday except Christmas Eve and Christmas day itself. Plus, my MIL, SIL and niece are "planning" on coming up a day earlier than my FIL and BIL so we can make Christmas cookies! I LOVE holiday baking, so I hope they come, but I know that they sometimes "plan" something but don't follow through...a HUGE pet peeve of mine! But, I'm trying to stay positive! :) 

So, I've got a lot to do the next few weeks! I'm hoping to post a holiday recipe each week! Hold me to it! Oh, and one last exciting thing! Our wedding pictures are finished and we should get them in about a week! Eeek! So, excited to see them all! Hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend and don't eat too many pieces of pie!

  

Thanksgiving Menu

Thanksgiving!

 Oh, Thanksgiving! It is probably my favorite holiday...for reals! I love having a big dinner and lots of family around. It is such a blessing that I grew up in a large loving family that enjoying getting together over the holidays for multiple dinners and gatherings. Now that we live on the East Coast and the majority of my family still resides in the Midwest and we usually have to choose between Thanksgiving and Christmas to travel back for a visit. This year, however, since Hunny used all his vacation for the wedding we will be spending both Thanksgiving and Christmas on the East Coast. I'm a little bittersweet about the situation...I really miss my family during the holidays but I get to host Thanksgiving and Christmas here at our house in NH. Now, I promised to post my Thanksgiving menu in this post and I will! Be excited...I know you've been waiting for it! Before I post the menu, I've got to let a little steam off...Thanksgiving this year will only be Hunny, myself and his parents. Well, I come to find out after doing 90% of my Thanksgiving grocery shopping that his parents aren't going to commit to coming...they may or may not depending on my FIL work schedule...this really grinds my gears because they never told us up front they may not come, we only found out a little over a week before Thanksgiving. I wouldn't have planned and shopped for everything if there was a doubt. Grr! Now, that that's out of the way, I'll post my Thanksgiving menu with the recipes or links to the recipes.

Thanksgiving Menu

 Roast Turkey

Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing

Sweet Potato Pudding with Pecan and Gingersnap Topping

 Creamed Corn

Green Bean Casserole

Dinner Rolls

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Cranberry Sauce

Salad

Desserts

Pecan Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Apple Harvest Pound Cake with Caramel Glaze(maybe)

Yup, this is my Thanksgiving menu! I really wanted to make a roasted brussels sprouts dish instead of green bean casserole, but Hunny vetoed it...sad day! Green beans are the only vegetable I will not eat! I cannot stand the taste and texture of them. YUCK! I'd rather eat brussels sprouts over them any day of the week. 

The recipe I use for the green bean casserole is just the one on the back of the french fried onion can. Nothing special, but Hunny loves it! For the mashed potatoes, I like to make them garlicky so I add minced garlic to the potatoes while they boil and them sprinkle them with garlic salt while mashing them. 

Cranberry sauce is one of the best parts of Thanksgiving. I love putting it on top of a big piece of Turkey! So delicious! I usually make the mashed jelly cranberry sauce from the recipe on the back of the bag of cranberries. Simple and delicious! 

The pumpkin pie I make is from the recipe on the back of the Libby's can. I do make my own pie crusts and I make my own dinner rolls from scratch. I will post in the coming weeks about them. Something to look forward to!

 I really hope we do have a Thanksgiving dinner...I'll seriously be bummed if Thanksgiving day comes and we don't do anything...See you next week!

 

Time Flew By...

Finally! Things are getting back to normal after our big day! The past month has been so incredibly busy and awesome at the same time! I'm so relieved that the planning and the drama is over but I wish the feelings, emotions, and excitement of our whirlwind day lasted longer. It was so weird to wake up the next morning and not have the stress of the wedding hanging over my head. Ahhhh....

I wish I had some pictures to show you but I'm still waiting to get our pictures back from the photographer. I can't wait!

Now, life is moving on! Thanksgiving is a couple weeks away and my Hunny  and I are having his parents over for Thanksgiving dinner. It's so weird to have such a small gathering...I grew up in a large immediate family and extended compared to  Hunny, who has no cousins and only one aunt and uncle. I'd have to sit and think about how many aunts, uncles and cousins I have. I have to keep reining myself back because in my mind I'm planning a Thanksgiving dinner for twenty people when it'll only be four...I love hosting holiday parties and dinners. I could read recipes and gawk at food pictures all day! I need to finalize a meal plan and start stocking up on supplies. I will finalize a menu by this weekend and post it with recipes next week! Take care!

A Tasty Treat for a Fall Day

I'm easily settling into this fall weather. I love, love, love it! I decided to make a tasty treat for my Hunny to celebrate the cool weather this fall is bringing. First choice in our house is Carmelita Bars. If you've ever had them, you'll want them again. So unhealthy, so fattening, so DELICIOUS!

I got the recipe from my mother, who in turn got it from my wonderful Aunt Pam. Where she got it, I have no idea. I've since similar recipes on the back of oatmeal boxes but I'm not sure where it originally came from.

I love a handwritten recipe! 

Gather your ingredients.

 

 Now, the most annoying part. Open 64 individually wrapped caramels. Why 64? I don't know, but the wrapped caramels are so much better than the ones that aren't! 

 Add the caramels and evaporated milk to a saucepan on low. Stir occasionally but the caramels and milk will combine slowly on the stove without burning.

 Ahh, butter! 3 sticks to be exact, melted. I told you it's fattening!

 Add flour, oatmeal, brown sugar(my second love, after Hunny), melted butter, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

 Stir it up!

 Press half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 pan and bake for 10 minutes. The oatmeal base will come out of the oven a little puffy.

 Sprinkle a 12 oz bag of chocolate chips evenly of the hot oatmeal base. Followed by pecans (optional. I've made the bars without nuts many times.)

 By this time, the caramel mixture should be melted. Pour the caramel over the chocolate chips and pecans.

 Take the other half of the oatmeal mixture and crumble it over the top of the bars. Pop the bars back in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

The top should be golden when pulled out on the oven. Allow the bars to completely cool before serving. I know, it's hard.

Yum! So, so good! You'll thank me!

Ingredients:

Caramel Filling:

-64 caramels

-10 T evaporated milk

 

Oatmeal Bar:

-2 c Flour

-2 c Oatmeal

-1 1/2 c Brown Sugar

- 3 sticks Butter

-2 tsp Baking Soda

-1 tsp Salt

 

-12 oz bag chocolate chips

-1 c Pecans, chopped

I hope you guys enjoy them as much as we do! Every time I make them and take them somewhere people always asks me to bring them again! I'm going to go enjoy this wonderful fall day with a Carmelita Bar in hand! :)

 

Welcome Fall!

Ahhhh! It's that time of year, FALL! My favorite season of all. Those cool nights that linger into the late morning followed by those warm afternoons that bring that distinct fall smell. You know the one...it's a mix of the autumn leaves being raked, football games, a pot roast cooking and a campfire going. And now I've got to go make a cup of tea because I put myself in the mood with all this talk about cool fall weather. Excuse me....

Firing up my trusty tea kettle.

Ahh! A little green tea with honey in my favorite mug...Now I can continue.

This fall is a little more special for my Hunny and I than any other...in 37 days we will be tying the knot! I'm so ready for it! I cannot wait to be Mrs. Hunny and let all the wedding drama be behind us! Too many mishaps, too many last minute cancellations and people going back on their word that I'm ready to just let the cards play out and enjoy my day! Enough about the wedding for now! I'll post more about that in the weeks to come! 

I decided to add a little fall to the porch. It's not much but it's what this wedding poor couple can afford until after the wedding. 

I hope it doesn't look too ghetto! I want to do so much more but the wedding definitely comes first this year! I just love the look of cornstalks and mums on a porch! I'd really like to have a porch like the picture below that I saw on Jillian Harris' website. Hopefully, after the wedding or next year for sure!

Jeez...kinda embarrassing to put my pitiful porch picture next to this! 

 

Over the weekend we had a few visitors of the in-law kind...with the visit we inherited a few belongings. We got a twin bed to put on our sleeping porch, Hunny's Grandmother's piano as well as some children's furniture...is that a hint? 

 

I finally put the bed together today and covered it with Hunny's Great Grandmother's quilt she made 50 plus years ago.

Here's a view that includes my little Prosperity Chest as a nightstand and my owl lamp for a nightlight.

The piano has found a home in the foyer/front room. I plan on hanging wedding pictures above the piano. So excited to do that! 

Well, I need to start focusing on making dinner. I plan on a homemade baked mac and cheese with broccoli. If I remember to take pictures, I'll make it my next post. ;)

 

Pantry Project

All right, like I promised, I'm posting about my pantry project I did a few weeks back. First off, I wanna say that I LOVE ORGANIZING! I love having everything in it's place and everything uniformed. Doing this, however, is quite expensive when you buy everything made up. So, I did a DYI project for food storage in my pantry that cost me less than $5 for each jar.

Here's the final product. I absolutely love the chalkboard look on jars. It's so fun to label everything!

I bought these jars from Wal-Mart. I bought the gallon size ones but they come in other smaller sizes as well. The first thing I did was wash and dry them out so they would be ready to use after I finished them.

I bought chalkboard paint from Home Depot. It comes in a small can, but you don't need a lot for this project. You can also have the paint department tint the paint in about a dozen colors if you wish. I saw a blog post about making your own chalkboard paint here on the Salt Tree blog. I haven't tried it, but I'd love to hear from anyone who does and how they liked it!

 I wanted each jar to look the same so I taped off the jars with some leftover painter's tape from when we painted the house. Make sure to have a good seal with the tape to the jar.

I painted each jar with two coats per the directions on the can and then waited for them to dry for three days! It seemed soooo long! 

Once the paint dried and I took the tape off I had some bleed through from the paint. I was able to scrap it away with my finger without too much trouble.

Rub a piece of chalk over the chalkboard before writing on it and you're done. Finished! All I had to do was decide on what to put in my jars and admire them from their shelf.

 I hope you guys like my little project and maybe it inspired you to create one of your own! Thanks for reading and I plan on posting about baking soon!