Let the Decorating BEGIN!!!

Hello friends...how are ya?? Is anyone else excited about Christmas decorating, Christmas cards, Christmas baking, Christmas get togethers with friends and family, Christmas carols, Christmas crafting and Christmas shopping - I SURE AM!! Although we aren't putting the tree up until the weekend, I have been adding a few decorations here and there throughout the house...just to get everyone in the Christmas spirit:)

Yesterday, my son and I took a little trip to Fabricland and found these adorable pine cone stars....now I know that some of my super crafty friends could whip something like this up in a matter of minutes, but with a price tag of $3 a star (regularly $20 - not kidding, $20!!) and let's be honest here - my limited crafting skills... I couldn't pass it up.

I could have used these stars as is (there was already a sliver ribbon attached to it), but most of my Christmas decorations are red, and I knew that I had some leftover red and white gingham fabric from IKEA that would be perfect.

So, I cut off the silver ribbon from the stars, cut my gingham fabric into stripes, heated up the glue gun and started gluing. This whole project took less than 10 minutes and I couldn't be happier with the results.

Doesn't the red and white gingham add so much more to the star???  I had thought about adding some additional embellishments, but I really like the simplicity of this and think that if I added anything else, it might be TOO much.  I can't wait to share more Christmas decorating, gift ideas and recipes over the next few weeks - Tis' the Season!!! 

Thanksgiving Dinner - Blogger Style!

Hello Friends! And welcome to Thanksgiving Dinner - Blogger Style!!!  Even though I celebrated Thanksgiving over a month ago (I'm Canadian!) I was asked to participate in a Virtual Thanksgiving dinner with my BBF's - (aka - Best Blog Friends!!)  In keeping with the Thanksgiving theme, I would like to take a minute to acknowledge how incredibly lucky I am to have met these women  - it is one of the greatest things that has come out of this blog for me and I am so honoured call them friends:)

For our Virtual Thanksgiving, I am contributing two easy peasy appetizers.  These apps are not only easy to put together but can be made ahead of time, so you can step away from the kitchen while the turkey and side dishes are cooking and enjoy some time with your guests!

The first appetizer is a cheese tray.  For me, cheese trays are a staple whenever guests come over.  They are great because you can offer a variety of foods that can be found in your fridge and pantry (perfect for unexpected guests), they look impressive and take no time at all to assemble.

For this cheese tray, I raided my fridge and pulled together an assortment of grapes, old cheddar cheese, olives, mixed nuts, marble cheese, costini and MacLaren's Imperial Sharp Cold Pack cheese.  Then I arranged it on wood cutting board and served it with a  bottle of wine and sparkling water - simple, laid back entertaining at it's best!

The next appetizer is going to knock your socks off - it is DELICIOUS...and I'm warning you... from the moment you serve this, your friends and family will be requesting you to make this at every gathering!   

Hot Cheese Dip

1/2 an onion (chopped)
1 cup Hellmans Mayonaise
1 cup old cheddar cheese (shredded)
1 tsp butter

Preheat oven to 350.  Sautee onions in butter (until translucent) Add mayonaise and cheese.  Heat until cheese is melted.  Trasnfer to a oven safe serving dish (I used a french onion soup bowl).  If you are serving immediately let it cook (uncovered) in the oven for 20 minutes.  If you are serving later...cool, cover and refridgerate until ready to cook.
Serve with your favourite crackers.  Enjoy your delicious appetizer and prepare yourself - everyone is going to think that you are an Appetizer Rockstar!!!

Curious to see what else is cookin' in the virtual kitchen?? Well, you're all invited to our dinner, stop by the links below and see what my friends are cooking!  Warning - it will make your mouth water:)





Leaf Placecard Tutorial at One Artsy Mama



Cheeseball Appetizer at Create.Craft.Love (left)
and Hot Cheese Dip and Cracker Tray at Jessie Street Designs (right)



Tips For Cooking a Perfect Turkey at Ladybird Ln. (right)
and Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes at Artsy Fartsy Mama (left)



Save oven space with Repeat Crafter Me's Crock Pot Green Bean Casserole (left)
Cranberry Marshmallow Salad at Happy Hour Projects (center)
Cheddar Tea Biscuits at Becoming Martha (right)




Classic Warm Apple Crisp at Chase the Star (left)
Seven Alive's Favorite Pumpkin Pie (right)




Turkey Cookies at Bear Rabbit Bear Crafts (left)
Pilgrim Hat Cookies at Wait Til Your Father Gets Home (right)



It's finally happening - NEW FLOORS AND STAIRS!!!

Hello Everyone - Hope that you are having a fabulous weekend:) We've been super busy
preparing our house for new flooring and painted stair railings - I am thrilled!  This has been something that I've wanted to get done since we moved in EIGHT.YEARS.AGO!!!  That's how we roll around here - eight years it's taken....eight long years and I can finally say goodbye to my pink and grey carpet - WHOOOHOOO!

Earlier this week, we recruited the help of my father in-law and our dear friend to help my husband remove the carpet and baseboards in three bedrooms and stairway. It already looks so much better.... We've decided to put laminate hardwood in the bedrooms and carpet on the stairs and hallway.  

After living with bare floors and bare stairs for almost a week, a few days a day...it occured to me that NOW (before the carpet goes in) would be the perfect time to update the oak handrails and spindles on the stairs (pretty quick aren't I!!!) So, I did a little rescheduling of contractors and asked my dad to help me prepare the stairs for painting and patch a few walls - we'll have a newly updated staircase before you know it;)

Here's a little glimpse of what we're working on, stairs will be painted this week and the carpet will be installed by Thursday.  I am thinking of painting the spindles white and hand rails black....what do you think, should I do that or do you have another suggestion for me - I'd love to know!   

Who wants to win something???

Hello Friends, Happy Monday! Today, I want to share with you a fun giveaway that I am participating in. My friend Barbara from Chase the Star is celebrating 500 facebook likes - Whoohooo - way to go Barbara! In honor of this accomplishment, I've donated one of my necklaces to Barbara to giveaway to one of her lucky readers. There are a number of other bloggers that are also contributing to this giveaway and I would be so happy if one of you won!! Over to you Barbara....Good Luck everyone:)

Easy Warm Apple Cider

Earlier this month, I promised more apple recipes....so today I'm sharing one of the easiest apple cider recipes in the history of time.  I had a batch simmering in the crockpot all afternoon and once the kids went to bed, my husband and I threw on a fire and devoured all the apple cider while catching up on the lastest episodes of Sons of Anachary.  It was the perfect (albeit odd) combination - I highly recommend it!! 

So without further delay, here's the recipe:

Half of Jug of Apple Cider
3 Cinnamon sticks
2-3 dashes of Nutmeg

Mix all ingredients in the crockpot and let it heat for 4 hours. 

That's it!  Not only will you be able to enjoy a delicious fall drink, your house is going to smell AH-MAZING!!  Have a wonderful weekend.

Easy Fall Vignette:)

Happy Friday and Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all my fellow Canadians!!  Today I decided that it was time to start decorating my house for the fall....I've put out fall mums on our porch and a few outdoor decorations, but I hadn't started on the inside yet. 

This year, I've been admiring all the white pumpkins and neutral home decorations for fall that have been popping up in blogland.  Most of my fall decorations are vibrant oranges and reds, so I had to start from scratch...but I didn't want to break the bank doing it.  So, while the girls napped this afternoon, I decided that the foyer would be the perfect place to start.  It's not a big area, so a little will go a long way;)

When I think of fall, the first thing that comes to mind is pumpkins!  I remember seeing somewhere that someone made their own pumpkins out of fabric, twine and filing.  So, I headed to my scrap fabric pile and pulled out some cream fabric that I have left over from another project, cut out three different sized circles, stuffed them them with polyfil and secured the top with twine (I used my glue gun to secure it).  Easy, peasy and cute to boot!

Next, I headed outside to find some sticks.  There was no shortage of those in the yard, so I grabbed a handful and put them into a vase that I already had.  This is such an easy and best of all FREE way to decorate your home.  I raided my basement and found the black star and shiny silver pumpkin candle holder.  I think that these three items look great together.

And here it is!!  My Fall/Halloween Vignette!  I love how everythings works so well together and also, didn't cost me a thing!!  I think that I deserve a treat for that...who'd like to join me for a Pumpkin Spice Latte?!  

And another view of the whole area....I purchased the mirror decals from Michael's last year.

Have a great weekend everyone:) 

Apples, Apples and MORE Apples!!

When I was in highschool, one of my part-time jobs was working on an apple orchard. It was a huge apple farm that let people pick there own apples, purchase baked goods and had loads of fun activities to keep the kids entertained and busy. It was a real weekend hotspot for families that lived out of town - mostly families from the city, most locals (who didn't work there) did everything they could to avoid the farm on a weekend.  I'm not sure if my experience at the farm and then later job of baking the pies in the pie factory has something to do with it, but cooking or baking with apples isn't something that I do that often...which seems strange since baking is one of my favourite things to do?!?!

Today, I decided that I would step back in time and bake something with apples in it. And let me tell you, I'm so glad that I did! I found this recipe for Apple Bread on Today's Creative Blog. If you've gone apple picking or (like me) purchased a bag of apples this is a quick and easy little recipe to do.

Doesn't it look delicious and it tastes phenomenal!

And here's another view, just because I like it soooo much!

Since this recipe only needs two apples and because I bought an entire large bag of apples (that's how I roll!)   I'll have to make be trying out more apple recipes and sharing them with you.  Have a happy Monday!