We're ready for Thanksgiving...

How 'bout you?

But we DEFINITLEY want to be wild Indians, not the laid back Pilgrims :)

And real feathers would have been so much 'cooler lookin' on these hats, but since our husband and daddy would very likely skin us for plucking out feathers from his prize turkey tails on display, we decided to be safe and craft some out of paper :) (after all, we still do want our skin! :D )

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

Enjoy your holiday and don't forget to be thankful! ;)

Things that make me thankful and happy....

Thanksgiving is just around the corner.Have you ever thought about all the things you are truly grateful for? There's little things that I'm thankful for...little things like, more counter space,more cupboard space,a washer that really works and a dryer that really drys things.... These are some of the smaller things but even small things count!
Than there's big things like...an awesome family,the freedom we have in our country,food to eat,a house to live in,warm showers....and the list could go on.These truly are BIG things because there's lots of people around the world that don't have either of the things I just mentioned!
Anyway,I was not planning a "Thanksgiving post" here, but lets not forget to be so very grateful and thankful to the ONE who provides us with all things good.A happy spirit is a grateful spirit.

I thought I would share with you a few things that made me super happy this past week.

I looked out our front window the other morning and it hit me at the beauty I can see first thing in the morning,right out my front window.The fall colors are so bright and brilliant here this year,more than I remember in the 3 years we've been here.

(The next pictures you will just have to look past the quality.I still have not mastered the art of taking pictures in bad lighting, so bear with me)

This pretty bookshelf made this lady super,super happy! The dear hubby grabbed it up at an auction for a grand $21! It is a heavy duty bookshelf that fit right into our space.Here at the trailer we are in need of more storage so it was fun to put in extra shelving around here for all our book like things ;)

Next time I'm going along to the auction because it's hard telling what other good deals he let there! ;)

This lamp was found at our local Goodwill.I love going in there to see what I can find.Anyway,we were in need of lamps and I found this one.Exactly the style I was looking for but even tho' I don't care for the shade,I knew I can take care of that. It was priced at $10 - a lil more than I like to give at a goodwill but since it was exactly the style I was looking for I decided I'll give $10. Better than $30 - $40 at Target,right? ;) So I took the lamp and another decor Item I had found,got up to the cash register and cha-ching! My total was $6.??.  I had a nice little surprise! The lamp was acutally in the half price category that day! I was excited about that little blessing!

And as alot of you know,I love couponing.I love the challange of it,and I also love the savings it brings.I'm not a pro by any means, and I'm totally not an EXTREME COUPONER. The last few months I had lost a little interest because sales were not great! and it just wasn't working to stay in my budget.So I slacked for a few weeks,partly because of busy-ness and partly because it wasn't as fun when sales weren't as good! ;) Anyway,the last few weeks have been less hectic and I decided to put my all back into it and see what happens...well I was so tickled how my efforts paid off at publix! I got $80 worth of groceries for $30.(to some this may be an everyday occurance.To me it's an accomplishment) Am I bragging? no.I'm just extremely happy to feel like I'm saving on our groceries again.And the best part is when the cashier is excited too and tells you "good job,come again!" I love that old lady,she's the best!

These two make me happy too.They're little balls of happy energy.They keep our place so lively,and the older they get,the livelier it gets :) And they keep us laughing! Today when I offered Braxton an apple for his snack, his reply to me was "no,I don't want that healthy stuff!" :D alrighty then! And tonight when I was holding Hailey in my lap I was kissing her all up and she said "I'm not a baby!" Guess she thinks the kissin's for babies!
I wish all of you a happy Sunday!

Halloween...and Apple Pie Squares and Homemade Croutons...

Halloween in my title sure got you're attention, didn't it? :) Well the costumes I made for the children this year happened to be very simple/easy... and all the candy they got from trick or treating...well I stuck it away and am snacking on it myself.Better I get the cavities than them,right?!
Ok,ok!!! I'm joking! The only costumes my kids stepped into on Halloween night was their PJs, (oh and those aren't costumes are they now? ;) And the trick or treating, well the candy they got that evening was at the chiropractors office from the assistant who was dressed in a Georgia Bulldogs shirt (bulldogs? I got that right didn't I? ;D ) with a funny little set of rabbits ears or something like that on her head.That really sounds like a halloween costume doesn't it!?
Annnnywayyyy,on to my point. I am so happy that Halloween is now over for another year! And now I can maybe follow the blogs I love to follow without seeing some nasty Halloween DYI decoration of some kind! All the devilish stuff is enough to almost make you shudder...my children do shudder, Literally! We happened to be at the mall Halloween evening (not celebrating mind you! ;) and the things we saw had our children in tears.I think we should write it down as a reminder for next year that we stay at home that evening!
What I actually came to do was share a few recipes with you.
Recipes are my latest obsession.I have had so much fun cooking the last while,trying recipes I've never tried before.And some of them are common as ever but it's still fun to try a common new recipe - to me anyway.
APPLE PIE SQUARES was one I tried this last week.And they were so yummy! I had some leftover apples that needed to be used up and I needed a dessert for the suppers I made so I decided to try these...

2 - 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup cold butter, cubed

1 egg - separated

3 to 4 tablespoons milk

1 cup crushed cornflakes

9 cups thinly sliced, peeled, tart apples (about 10 medium)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar - divided

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon - divided

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

GLAZE:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 to 2 tablespoon milk

( I just now realized that I totally didn't follow that glaze recipe :D I just made glaze the way I usually do and that's with water,not milk and no vanilla.Mine is sounding a little blah about now! )

In a large bowl,combine flour and salt;cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.In a measuring cup,combine egg yolk and enough milk to measure 1/3 cup.Gradually add to the flour mixture,tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball.

Divide dough in half.Roll one portion into a think 15 - in.x 10-in. rectangle.Transfer to the bottom of an ungreased 15 - in. x 10 - in. x 1 - in. baking pan.

Sprinkle with cornflakes ( I honestly don't get this part but I did it anyway :) )

In a large bowl,combine the apples,1 cup sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and nutmeg;toss to coat.Spoon over crust.

Roll remaining dough into a think 15 - in. x 10 - in. rectangle;place over apple filling.Beat egg white;Brush over pastry.Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon;sprinkle over the top. Bake at 350* for 45 - 50 minutes or until golden brown.

For glaze,combine teh confectioners' sugar,vanilla and enough milk to achieve a drizzling consistency.Drizzle over warm pastry.Cool completely on a wire rack.

My little family loved them,I don't know about the others that had them but here it was a hit. That same evening I made salad and suddenly thought about it that I was out of croutons.And there was a recipe for homemade croutons that I had wanted to try,but since I didn't have all the ingredients for that one,I googled one, or swagbucked one, can't remember : D Either way works but I like swagbucks better because I get rewarded! LOL Anyhow, I did get croutons.They definitley weren't the best but they did the job and with a little playing around I think you could get some seriously yummy croutons with this recipe.So just in case you run out of croutons I'll give you the recipe :)

Homemade Croutons

1 loaf bread,cut into small cubes

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tbsp. butter,melted

2 large garlic cloves,minced

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1-2 tbsp dry or fresh parsley

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp. thyme

1/4 tsp. celery seed

pinch of salt

Combine ingredients (except bread).   Pour the seasoning mixture onto the baking pan and stir the croutons to coat.To make sure all are coated,they can be sprayed very quickly with olive oil spray (do not use any other kind of spray)

Arrange in single layers on cookie sheets.

Bake at 300 * for 10 -15 minutes ( I baked mine a WHOLE LOT longer) or until golden and fragrant.

And there you have it,my halloween and recipe post.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead! This week there's lots I wana do!Don't know exactly what will get done and what won't but I'll let that to figure out later.Right now soft pretzles and friends are on my mind.

"ADIOS! "

(excuse any spelling errors there may be because at this moment I'm not taking time to proof read! ;)