SANTA!

Do you love the Movie Elf just like I do? Well my favorite part is when Buddy screams Santa after being told Santa will visit the "North Pole"

Buddy: SANTA! OH MY GOD! SANTA'S COMING! I KNOW HIM! I KNOW HIM!

Well yesterday my girls got to meet Santa and they weren't nearly as excited. As you will be able to tell from the photos below.

Gracie with her Gigi

Aunt Marcia and Lilly




"Cindy Lou Who"

as we call her

Adorable right!

(Thanks to Uncle Brian)

Smile Girls. Gracie and Lilly Smile. Look at the camera! SMILE!

Yep as you could see they weren't that impressed

New Favorite Website...

I am in love.

In love with My new favorite site!

If you like to cook or bake you need to check this site out here. Just on the first page there are about 10 items I want to make this week! :) I just keep scrolling and saving to my favorites. And they are items that I think Iwill actually make, not just a "wish list"

Good news, there are lots of Holiday cookie, snacks, treats and recipes too!

What's your favorite dish?

Start baking Ladies ( and Gentlemen)

My Thanksgiving food

My contributions to Thanksgiving dinner

Betty's Pumpkin Pie. I thought of the cute leaf design all by myself. :) It was pretty tasty too.

Jiffy Corn Pudding

Shrimp ( this unfortunately didn't get eaten b/c I left it out and forgot it. Dang it)



Danny's Top Secret Cranberry Sauce


PS. Do you spy the awesome glass milk container in the background? I will talk more about this in another post.


Apple Cream Pie

featured in the previous post.


Chocolate covered Oreo's with peppermint sprinkles. I found the coolest sprinkle twister at the Dollar Store. You just twist and little bitty peppermint pieces come out.

I also made a 7-layer salad that was also pretty tasty.


Now it's time for leftovers. Yummy Yummy.

last minute dessert idea

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Hope your weekend is spectacular, safe, tasty, wonderful and just right.

For those of you that are still trying to find a last minute dessert, I have a delicious recipe for you. It is from a dear friend. She makes it every year for my BFF's birthday and it is always devoured. I will be bringing this dish to my in-laws for them to enjoy.

It comes from the 1999 Pillsbury Bake Off recipes

Glazed Apple Cream Pie

1 15 oz Pie crusts

Filling

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C milk

1/2 C whipping cream

1/4 C butter/margarine

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 Tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Apple Layer

2 Washington State Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into thin slices

1 Tablespoon flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze

1/2 C powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon butter/margarine, softened

Directions:

1. Prepare pie crust according to package directions for two-crust pie using 9-inch pie pan

2. Heat oven to 400F. In medium sauce pan combine sugar, 1/2 c milk, whipping cream and 1/2 c butter. Cook over medium-low heat until hot and butter is melted, stirring occasionally.

3. In small bowl, combine cornstarch add 2 TBS of milk, blend until smooth, add to mixture in saucepan, cook 7 minutes or until thickened stirring constantly. remove from heat. stir in 1 tsp of vanilla.

4. In medium bowl, combine apples, flour and cinnamon; mix well. Pour filling into crust-lines pan. arrange apple mixture evenly over filling. Top with second crust; seal edges and flute. Cut slits in top crust.

5. Bake 400F for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and apples are tender. Cool 30 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine all glaze ingredients; blend until smooth, Pour and spread glaze evenly over warm pie. Refrigerate 1/12 hours before serving.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Game On

This is how my husband and I communicate...

( let me set the scene) Danny and I are in the kitchen, I am making dinner and putting away dishes. He just got home and it looking for a snack, hes says to me...

D: I see someone has tried to beat my score!

Me: What are you talking about the score is even!

D: Oh you're right I miss counted.

D: And now I am one up on you!

Later that day...

Me: Looks Like the score is tied now!

Later that night...

D: Game set match on the first box

In case you aren't quite sure what we are referring to it's the box of Queen Ann Cherry Cordials.

We only eat them at Christmas time b/c that's when they are the best

Did you know that Queen Ann also sells Cordial Blueberries?

$1

I just thought of a neat game. Want to play?

Note: this is not my meal, mine was a lot smaller!

Today I went to Arby's and bought a small roast beef, fries, diet Pepsi and cherry turnover all for a dollar each. As I was eating/drinking each item I thought how wonderful a dollar taste.

Another example, mine are all food items, is McDonald's Tea (unsweet with 3 equals) I do not like their food but love their tea.



What do you just love or have to have that is only $1 (plus tax) Are their any good non food deals out there I am missing?

My Thanksgiving gift to you

Happy almost Thanksgiving. I have a treat for you all. Do you like cranberry sauce well you will once you see this cute recipe.

Isn't it adorable. Well it is from my husband when he was in Kindergarten. So it is 24 years old. And in pretty good condition. Legend goes that Danny made it every year for Thanksgiving. I guess that was until I met him because that boy hasn't made it since. lol Don't you love how it reads "top-secret" at the top! :)

I know a lot of people don't like cranberry sauce but believe me this recipe is delicious. Both sides of our family demand it every year. One year I forgot to bring it to my aunt Marcia's and i thought she was going to cancel Thanksgiving. haha

So give it a try this year and let me know what you think

2 cans of Cranberry sauce

2 oranges

1 orange jello

1 half a cup of hot water.

Peel and cut of the oranges in little bite size pieces, put them to the side. Mix together the cranberry sauce, orange jello and hot water, then add in orange pieces. Refrigerate for 45 mins. It actually better the next day!

I am ready for the music

Ok Halloween is over and done with, and I Want MY CHRISTMAS MUSIC. I have tried to find my infamous Mariah Carey Christmas CD but I can't find it.

Secretly I think Danny through it out. He doesn't like Christmas music like I do.

I love it all. The old, the new, the children's version. Speaking of that. Does anyone know the Hippopotamus Christmas song? Please tell me I am not the only one. Well if you haven't heard it, please check out this link. It is just too cute to pass up for all of those Christmas music lovers. :)

Do you listen to K-Love. Well they have the coolest contest going on right now, Caroling with the Newsboys. They will give you a phrase and you have to guess which Christmas Carol it is. For example: ABCDEFGHIJKMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Do you know what this Christmas Carol is? "NO L" (NOEL)

All winners receive the Newsboys Christmas CD and then a chance to go Caroling with the Newsboys in Florida. Too cool right. :)

I keep tyring, but no luck getting through.

Let the Christmas festivities begin....

My Halloween Costume...

Every year we dress up at work. It's really fun and we even have a Halloween Costume Party for our college students. The first year I was a Chef, the second year I was a Sheriff and this year I was a...

Can you guess what I am?

Wait for it.......

Did you guess right?

I am a "ceiling Fan" Get it? lol

Strange things...

So a lot of strange things have been happening lately at work. Like take for instance the big storm we had the other day. It was really raining and there was a tornado watch just on the west side of the city. Well I walked into our Dean's office and said, " Now what happens if we hear a Tornado coming." Only I didn't get to say Tornado coming b/c all the power went out. We immediately started laughing and she said, " oh Breanne please don't finish your sentence, please just go and sit down!" too weird right.

oh then today I get a text message from me BFF on her work cell that says..."your Boss just lost his tooth" ok that's weird too right!

Any way just thought I would share...

Happy Halloween

PS I can't wait to post pictures of Gracie and Lilly's Halloween Costume. Gracie is super excited and has been "flying" all around the house. Here is a sneak peak of their costumes.

Cute story

I have a cute story to share about Gracie

The other day we went to my Dad and Step mom's for my step brother's Farewell party, he is going to boot camp for the Marines at the end of the month. Well they had a big buffet of food. Although it was perfect for grown ups there weren't a lot of items for picky kids to eat. But Gracie decided she would go and make her own plate. I admire the initiative. She comes back to the table with a deviled egg and to black olives. Hmmm.....

Well Danny and I immediately look at each other and start to "mind talk"

Me: " What does she have on her plate?" with a fake oh my goodness smile on my face

Danny: "Is that a deviled egg and black olives? I don't even eat those items, oh this is going to be good!!!!" with a I can't wait to see this smile on his face

So she takes a bite of the deviled egg, which I am assuming she thinks is some type of dessert item. She immediately has this face like this is not sweet or good! She then hands the rest of the egg to Danny and says " Can you hold this?"

She then goes for the black olives. In the mouth, out the mouth. "Yuck" bless her heart she thought they were blue berries. :)

Oh gosh it was so funny. It was one of those you had to be there stories. The funniest part is that everyone at the table just watched her eat those items with wide eyes and big smiles on their faces. It was almost like a prank, but she pranked herself.

So much for stepping outside the pasta, macaroni and cheese box. Well good news she does like blue berries. :)

71 days...

Did you know that there are only 71 days till Christmas. Did you also know that Santa has a blog? click here to check it out. Kiddos can write a message to Santa, how cute.

Ok so I am not really in the Christmas spirit yet (although there is a coworker that announces the countdown daily) because I want to enjoy Trick or Treating with the girls and then I will start to dream about Thanksgiving and all the Delicious food. But I do want to start thinking about Christmas crafts, gifts and projects. I want some of my gifts to be homemade especially since I have a lot of immediate family members but not a lot of cash! ;) Plus homemade gifts are so sentimental and I think people really appreciate the time and effort you put into it.

So what I need from you are examples or hints. I have a few ideas but would really like a few more. Is there something you love to make for your friends and family for Christmas? Have you seen a neat blog with neat DIY ideas? Let me know and I will check it out.

I also want to do a Cookie swap this year. So do you have any good recipes that I should try?

Thanks for your help, I look forward to your ideas!

10/10/10

Today my baby sister got married. Everything turned out really nice. I have a few pictures from my camera phone, and most of them star me! :) Hopefully my moms and dads got good pics too.

10/10/10

My baby sister "Lizzy B" (that's what I have always called her. Her real name is Brooke Elizabeth) My dad and my bubbs ( DJ, my brother) Yes I have a handsome family! :)

My beautiful mom. She had the most stunning dress. I hope to get a better picture later.

The flower girls and Papaw

My hubby and me. He never smiles like this. So I got lucky

My Aunt Marcia and Lilly

I think she gets her smile from her dad!

The photographer has posted a few pics on facebook here

Toot your own horn Tuesday

It's Toot Your Own Horn Tuesday.

Want to see what I made?

The other day my friend Lisa posted a cute picture of her breakfast here. After I saw that it inspired me to do something similar.

I love cooking and baking so that wasn't a problem. I just needed inspiration. After a few yahoo searches on fall baking I had an idea, two Actually. Today I am posting the Pumpkin Butter here

Later I will post the spice cake with maple frosting.

I also made the Pumpkin arrangement. I just bought a carveble pumpkin from Old Time Pottery, placed a green foam square at the bottom and started adding my favorite fall flowers. It is a couple of years old so that is why it looks so straggly. :) lol

If you want to link up to my post you can. You can also link up to the Official Page here

Enjoy

New Product

I have a new favorite product. It is the Febreez Air Effect - Pumpkin Harvest

The main reason why I love this is because it instantly smells like fall. It reminds me of pumpkins, fall leaves and cinnamon all in one.

I found it at the local Walmart for about $3.00

Enjoy!

Happy Fall

I have a great fall project for you. Honestly I thought I had made this up myself, turns out I didn't. So Here is my project.

I found this beautiful leaf at my mother-in-law's house. It was frame worthy. So that's what I did.

1. Found a black frame not being used

2. Found a piece of green scrapbook paper

3. Got out my Elmer's spray adheavsive

4. Sprayed the leaf - not the paper - this will leave your paper stained

5. Carefully and quickly layed the leaf on my paper.

6. Let dry

7. Framed my masterpiece.

So if you like this craft but can't find a leaf like this, I have another similar idea for you. While browsing a new blog I found this project idea here Good luck. I would love to see your finished project to.

Suggestions needed

I want a new camera. No I need a new camera. Mine is some cheap little Kodak camera that although takes ok pictures is just to slow for me. I want a nicer camera. I want a better camera. So I need your help. I love taking pictures of my girls, Me! (what, I have to update my facebook account!) lol, outside activities, vacations and such. present

I am not a photographer by any means but wouldn't mind taking some lessons.

So what type of camera would you recommend for me? If you have any suggestions please let me know. I probably won't get a new one right away but want to start pricing them for Christmas.

If you see any good deals you can also let me know. Thanks Team! :) Hope everyone has a great weekend planned.

I'm a Big Girl Now!!!

My Gracie is officially a big girl. She is completely out of diapers and pull ups. She has been potty trained for awhile but has still been wearing a diaper at night. But for the past week she has been accident free.

It's so cute to see her so excited when she wakes up are realizes she is dry.

Yay for my big girl. Only one left to potty train. My babies are getting so big.

As a reward for being an official big girl, Gracie has requested the "Chipmunks movie with the Girls." Aka the Squeakuel.

It's Official

It's Official

I am now a College Graduate! I can't tell you how excited I am! What makes it even better is that now my mom is too! How exciting right?

Just last night my mom went to pick up her diploma and have it framed. Mine is on order and will be sent to me in just a couple of weeks.

Oh and I finished my year on the Dean's list! Even better.

I want this desk...

Hello Blogger friends!

I write to you on a chilly 55 degree fall morning!!! :) I hope all is well.

I was reading a new blog the other day and came across a picture of something I used to own. This desk. ( not this one, a similar one)

How cute is this. I remember playing school with it. I loved that I could store my notebooks underneath. I loved it. My mom and dad must have bought me one when I was around 4 because I remember using it at the "old" house. Well now I want it back. I know that Gracie and Lilly would just love to use it for school or just pretend. So If you are in my area and happen to see one please let me know. I would even be willing to settle for the bigger desk shown in the picture below.

Her first hair cut

My first born is growing up and although it makes me happy it also makes me sad. On Saturday Gracie got her hair cut for the first time.


This is her before picture

She had beautiful hair. Everyone always complimented her on it. Look at those baby curls at the end. Aren't they just gorgeous. Well unfortunately that wasn't enough for me.

That "beautiful" hair of hers caused me lots of problems. She was constantly getting food, syrup,milk and all sorts of stuff in it. The main reason was because she hated for it to be brushed because the curls would always tangle up. She Hated me to wash it. She would just start screaming and crying and as a mother I just couldn't stand that.

So for everyone that knows hers, I am sorry we had to cut it but today when she woke up was the first day that she hadn't cried when I brushed her hair in 2 years. Matter of fact I don't even think she knew I brushed it. She was watching Mickey Mouse Club House. :)