Thankful Thursdays

I thought I'd start a mini-series this month, being that it's the month to give thanks and be giving. Being grateful is important all the time, but it always gets special emphasis around the holidays. So, in light of all that biz, here is a list of what I've been thankful for lately.

Having a healthy pregnancy. 

A healthy, active baby girl in my tummy.

A hardworking, healthy, loving husband who keeps our home safe and happy. 

Trustworthy vehicles to get us back & forth to where we need to go. 

Having a comfortable home to call our own.

Living in the country and having sweet, sweet neighbors.  

Our four-legged family members who greet us with a tail wag and a kiss.

Our two-legged family members who provide us with eggs to fill our bellies. 

What are you feeling thankful for lately? 

Have a Spooky Weekend

Photo Via

Hello my little gremlins and ghouls :) 

What are your plans this weekend?

The lovely ladies I work with are throwing a little baby shower at the barn tomorrow, I'm super excited to get to see everyone all together before taking my maternity leave. Bonus...horses are involved. Other than a few projects around the house to finish up, it should be a pretty relaxing weekend. 

Here are some links to enjoy with your morning vice;

You have to check out this funny guide to trading candy.

What's the best dog breed for you?

Yes to all of these mac n' cheese recipes.

11 questions to ask yourself. 

Simple, 3-ingredient butter cookies. 

Hmmm... to try or not to try?

Pretty inspiration for decorating your front porch this fall. 

I hope you have a great weekend!

Halloween Movies You Shouldn't Live Without

Since we're pretty busy in the summer, we put our cable on hold and only use Netflix on our TV. BUT, for these next two months, I had to turn the cable on. 

There's something comforting about all of the nostalgic movies, holiday music stations, Hallmark shows, Christmas movie previews, and cooking shows whipping up Thanksgiving meals... even the news gets better. 

Here are my favorite Halloween movies I'm looking forward to catching.

7. Casper

6. Corpse Bride

5. Halloweentown 

4. Practical Magic

3. Rocky Horror Picture Show

2. The Nightmare Before Christmas

1. Hocus Pocus

What are some of your favorites? 

Etsy Love

The Carving Company

How stellar would this headless horseman look on the side of your barn? 

October Bucket List

October arrived yesterday a crisp, cool breeze and blue skies splashed with fluffy clouds. It's the perfect weather for a comfy fall sweater, cozy scarf and a warm drink in your hands. Fall is my favorite time of the year and before it, too, slips away like all the months seem too lately, I made this bucket list of some of the things I'd like to do this month.

Build a corn shock and corn swag for decorating the front yard.

Take daily walks through the woods over the crispy fall leaves with our four mutts.

Buy Halloween candy.

Indulge in a pumpkin spice latte.

Go on an outdoor horseback ride.

Visit Crane’s U-Pick Orchard and Pie Pantry (Check!)

Decorate Halloween sugar cookies.

Organize the nursery after baby shower.

Have a Jack O’ Lantern carving party with friends… and save the seeds for roasting.  

Light fall scented candles every day.

Watch my favorite Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus. 

Make homemade pumpkin spice creamer.

Crane's Orchard and a Fly By

This past Sunday we went to one of my favorite places to visit in the fall, Crane's U-Pick. Nothing feels more fall-like than walking up and down rows of apples in the crisp air trying to find that perfect apple.

Here are a few more photos, if you're interested...

Festive, Simmering Potpourri Recipe

Scents are one of my favorite things about the holidays. The smell of pine needles and mistletoe. Peppermint sticks and hot chocolate. Sugar cookies and cinnamon pine cones. All of it. As a young girl, when our family decorated the house we always had a pot of potpourri simmering on the stove.

This year I tried my own recipe. It was kind of a 'find-anything-you-have-in-the-kitchen-that-smells-festive' kind of recipe, but oh did it smell yummy!

First, I peeled some Cuties, then added a couple cinnamon sticks. Then I cut two sprigs of evergreen from our Christmas tree and sprinkled in some allspice. I usually like to throw in an apple cut in half, but there weren't any at home and I wasn't all about running to the store for an apple.

Heavenly, I tell you. Honey came home and the first thing he did is ask what smelled so good.

To leave it simmering all day, I suggest making your potpourri in a small crock pot and leave the lid off. Just remember you'll need to add water at different intervals, please don't forget about it!

Have you tried this before? What do you throw in your pot?

Making Memories

Hello Lovelies :)

I hope you all had a wonderful, meaningful Thanksgiving weekend. I was not ready to go back to work Monday. A nice, relaxing, four day weekend then Monday rolls around and I can barely open my eyes.

Remember this post about Thanksgiving traditions? A few suggestions were game playing and watching old home videos. By no doing of mine, we did both!

After we stuffed our faces with turkey at my moms, we played the name game. It's where each person writes a name on a piece of paper and you put them all in a bowl. It can be any name. Some from this past time were Rumpelstiltskin, Blues Traveler, Kim K., Snuffalufagus, Kevin Harvick...you get the picture. Then someone reads all of the names and each person gets a turn guessing who is who. If you guess the correct person, they are on your team and you get to help eachother. It gets a little tricky at the end because sometimes a name will get forgotten and there's no re-reading the names.

I will have you all know that for the final game, I won. I had everyone in the house on my team and Kelly was the only person left. Who was he? Bill Cosby. Winner Winner Turkey Dinner.

 

From there, we went on to Kelly's Aunt & Uncle's house where we got to see all of his family, dogs included. They have a German Shepard, a Mastiff, a three or four month old mini Austrailian Shepard and a Hound dog... I sincerely apologize right now for not photographing of all of that cuteness to share!

When we walked in, everyone was snuggled cozy in the family room watching old videos. They videos started from when his grandparents were dating, through them getting married and all the way until their youngest daughter (Kelly's Aunt) was born. There was no sound to the videos, but you could just feel all of the love by simply watching. It was so sweet to watch their interactions and the progression of life over so many years.

On the way home, Kelly and I were talking about the videos. I'll admit (although I blame it on one too many drinks) I was a little tear-eyed because they were so touching. We were talking about how the videos weren't about the clothes they wore. They weren't about how their houses were decorated. Not about how many hours per week they worked or getting that promotion. Not about having the best toys for their children, or buying the latest and greatest iPhone.

They were about family and love. Flirting with your husband while your kids play in the garden hose. Visiting your sister while her husband is in the service. Worrying that your daughter is going to topple off of the hammock because her 17 other cousins are also piled on. And okay, maybe a little bit about your grandpa's favorite old car in the driveway.

I think those family videos were the perfect reminder of what Thanksgiving is all about. Loving the people in your life. Being happy with what you have. Making memories that will last for generations to come.

I think it's safe to say that this has been the happiest Thanksgiving yet!

Let's get into the filling...

I'm talking pies, people. Thanksgiving Day pies. Last year was the first time my mom has ever let me bring anything to our Thanksgiving Day dinner. I always ask and it's always, 'No, no need to bring anything, just be there with bells on!' What does that even mean, mom?!

It's very sweet, but in the past few years I have realized that I really adore cooking and baking. I love it. So after begging last year, I now get to bring the pies! All but pumpkin, because that's her man's favorite and she likes to bake it for him (I secretly think she's afraid I'll ruin it!).

Anywhoo, I must have done a good job because she's letting me keep up with the new tradition!

A Beautiful Mess

This Carmel Apple Cheesecake recipe from A Beautiful Mess was my one complicated 'pie', then I didn't even get to try it! I used the caramel sauce that we bought when we went apple picking at Crane's Orchard. My sister vouched that it was yummy, so I'm definitely making it again and tasting it this time. I don't care if Kelly has to roll me out of the house.

Any guesses for this one? I'll give you two hints...it's my absolute favorite, and it's also a song by Warrant. Yep. Cherry Pie.

And for the life of me I cannot remember the other one I made. Oh well. So cherry pie and the caramel apple cheesecake are on my list again this year, then I'm going to try and swing a raspberry pie along with Kelly's request for chocolate.

Which brings me to the predicament of transportation. We're just two of us, so we travel to our families houses for the holidays. Do you know how hard it is to transport a bunch of pies in pie plates? And if you take a corner a little too fast- forget about it!

Pie Box

My solution? I ordered this adorable pie box. It will save at least one of our pies from splatting against the car window. And I'm super excited to use our new Thanksgiving pie plate that we recieved as a wedding gift from Kelly's grandma!

I'm already salivating thinking about stuffing and mashed potatoes. What are your favorite dishes? Do you have any specialties or family recipes?

Family Photo Sesh

A couple weeks ago, my sister spent the weekend with us.

For Christmas last year, she got a very nice camera because she has always loved doing photo shoots. I remember a few years ago when my Rottweiler Crue was just a few months old. It was around Christmas time and one of the news channels was doing a contest for the cutest puppy. My sister came to me and said that we just had to do it. The rules were simple, you had to send in three photos of your puppy in three different, creative scenarios.  I can't find any of the photos on my computer, but he was dressed as a jazzercise puppy on the treadmill (sweatband and all), he was 'sitting on the dock of the bay' with a fishing pole (in two feet of snow), he selected some wine from the wine refrigerator and he was also a pinball player. 

I mean, this girl is like Austin Powers in 'The Spy Who Shagged Me'- give her a camera and she can go all day. So needless to say that on this beautiful Sunday afternoon, she was doing a photo shoot. She went through my closet and she went through Kelly's closet until she had three different outfits, then she went outside and picked three different areas to take the photos. This girl cracks me up. 

Anyhow- she's sent me the photos that she took of us with the dogs, so let me introduce you to the pack...

Etsy Love

NollaRice

How gorgeous is this cozy scarf?

I see some thick yarn and time with a crochet hook in my near future.

DIY Corn Swag

Sunday, I searched all over the web for instructions on how to make a corn swag. I couldn't find anything, so I winged it and here's how it went...