Treasures, Gifts & Swaps

Over the past few weeks I've been so blessed (spoiled) to receive some really great gifts, swaps and other treasures. It's sure brightened up my recovery time and I want to thank everyone who sent me cards and treasures and such. I loved it! Anyway I thought I'd share a few pictures with you all.............

From my friend Cherie Carrol of Recycled Remnants. Cherie sent me these really cool Petite Positives. Each little pillow has a positive word hand stitched onto it. I love them in my little bowl to help give me positive and fun thoughts and what a super gift idea! Thank you Cherie!

My friends Gayle Burton and Clydene Forbush gave me a really cool slide necklace by Just a Bed of Roses. I love hearts & hands and I love the glass soldered necklaces, so now I have both! Gayle and Clydene had come to visit me in the hospital, but missed me leaving by only about 30 minutes! You see we live about 2 1/2 hours from each other, but I had the surgery done in Salt Lake City, which is near where they both live, so we'll have to plan a get together, so we won't miss each other and when I can go shopping! :) Thank you Gayle and Clydene!

The flip side of the necklace--cool that is has 2 sides!

My Aunt Barbara found a purse that is like my favorite purse that died from so much use. I just love it! It's a very soft black leather and in the photo below you can see how it has the built in wallet. I really love those! This purse looks different on the outside, but is the same on the inside with an added zipper and pocket on the outside that the other purse didn't have. Now how cool is that!

Aunt Barbara also sent me a soft, silky brown cashmere sweater and 2 boxes filled with neat sewing and crafting items. I love goody boxes like that. Thank you Aunt Barbara!

Here's a fun family photo I thought I'd throw in..... Left to right is Aunt Barbara, my mother, me (about 7 or 8 yrs old), my sister Rhonda, my brother Greg, Grandma Long and my dad--putting some Christmas toy together no doubt.

One day while I was surfing Etsy for Christmas cards I ran across this beautiful necklace and earring set--for only 5.00! I knew I had to have it! Why? Because Grandma (in the photo above), used to wear jewelry just like this and it was in her colors. I always wanted a pair of Grandma's beaded earrings. For some reason that is one thing I always remember her wearing. Grandma always wore bright colors and had matching jewelry--or at least earring for every outfit. Our birthdays are only 2 days apart, so we always shared a cake and of the love for the color purple--our birthstone.

Here's a little plug for the seller on Etsy that I found this set through--Fabulous Fun Things

I'm also eyeballing her Pink Milk Glass Clip On Earrings hmmmm.......

Ok, now onto the awesome Christmas ornies I've received so far in the Annual P&R Christmas Ornie swap I've done for the past 7 or 8 years with my primtive, folk art online friends.

This gorgeous cross stitch with the perfect and I do mean perfect stitches is by Deb Huffman. I don't know how she can see to do those tiny little stitches!

Beautiful soft creamy Santa by Kim McLaughlin He's a big one too and his fabric is just so soft and dusted in mica. Very vintage!

I love this nativity ornie by Gayle Burton--her own design too! And believe it or not I don't have a nativity ornie, so I was really glad to finally get one! Isn't that little sheepy too cute!

Now how darling is this little pug dog in a shoe by Terri Palaki. I've always wanted one of these too! Too, too cute!

And how neat is this awesome little Santa candle holder made by Teresa Scharp of Aunt Polly's Attic He looks so cool lit up on the tree at night.

And these darling little vintage chenille ornies were also made by Teresa and sent to me as part of a RAK (Randon Acts of Kindness) group that we are participating in.

So as you can see I've been very blessed with all of these awesome treasures from friends and family these past few weeks. It's like having Christmas all the time! Thank you everyone!

Happy Anniversary--27 Years

Today is our 27th wedding anniversary, so I thought I'd share a wedding photo from way back when---I was skinny and Jim had too much hair. Doesn't he look dashing in his white top hat and boy do I wish I could fit into my dress--I can if I turn it upside down! The other 2 men in the photo are the pastors at the church where we were married in Neosho, MO all those years ago. Believe it or not he was 19 and I was 20. Jim was a police officer and I worked at the bank. Now here we are 3 kids and several pounds later. Oh and notice the colors of my bouquet, our wedding colors, he chose those, which I still love. In fact we both planned our wedding together start to finish and paid for it ourselves. A whopping $1700.00. Nothing by today's standards, but we got everything we wanted and were happy as larks about it.

This year he surprised me with a diamond ring for our anniversary, which really was a surprise, because we never do much of anything for our anniversary. We rarely even ever go out for dinner, let alone gifts, so it was extra special that way, but he's always been very thoughtful and likes to surprise me on occasion and he did! Nothing planned for our day other than hanging around the house, but hey that's good too. Now to get a start on the next 27 years......

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I have much to be thankful for this year as I'm sure we all do and isn't it wonderful to have a special day set aside to be with our family and friends to ponder our blessings and enjoy each others company.

I have a few things to share with you....

First are two of my very favorite recipes.

Squaw Corn

(this is one my grandmother always made and while I wouldn't eat it as a kid it's now my favorite as an adult)

2 cans cream-style corn
1 (4 ounce) can green chilies, diced
1 cup saltine crackers, crushed
8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
Mix together all ingredients in order given.
Place in a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour

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This next one is my favorite stuffing recipe and the best one I've found. It comes from an online friend Amy Main. I make this every year. It’s also good as a main dish with hamburger or sausage added to it and the best part is it goes in the crockpot and frees up oven space.

Amy Main's Best Ever Moistest Ever Dressing

Oh you will love this one and it is done in the crockpot ....

1 cup butter
2 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped celery
1/4 cup parsley sprigs, chopped
2-4 oz cans sliced mushrooms, drained
12-13 cups slightly dry bread cubes
1 t. poultry seasoning
1/2 t. salt and pepper
1 1/2 t. sage (I use less maybe about 3/4 t)
2-2 1/2 cups chicken broth (I use the boullion to make this)
2 eggs, beaten

Melt butter in skillet and saute onion, celery, parsley and mushrooms. Pour over bread cubes in a very large mixing bowl. Add all other seasonings (and hamburger if using) and toss well. Pour enough broth to moisten; add beaten eggs and mix well. Pack lightly into crockpot. Cover and cook on high for 45 minutes; reduce to low for 4-8 hours.

This comes out wonderful every time--I have made it up the night or day before and just refrigerated it. So simple and nothing "goofy" in it.

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For some fun Thanksgiving printables check out Seneca Pond Crafts In the upper left hand corner type in Thanksgiving in the search bar and 2 pages of printables will come up. A couple of them are free and the purchased ones are priced just right.


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I thought I'd share a few pieces of Thanksgiving clip art and antique greeting cards. Feel free to save them to your computer and use them as you'd like. They would make pretty place cards for your table or to use in your decorations if needed.


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I'm Back to Blogging & A Magazine Review

I’m finally back and feeling much better. Not quite 100%, but getting there. The surgery was a bit extensive, but everything turned out benign, so needless to say I’m very happy about that! So it’s back to blogging! I feel like I’ve missed so much as I read everyone’s blogs out there and boy have you all been busy!

In the meantime I’ve been sitting, sitting, sitting, watching movies, working on some crafty projects and reading lots of magazines, so I thought I’d start with a magazine review today and share just a few of my favorites. I’m a real magazine junkie (always have been) and I can easily spend $50 on magazines a month--although I don’t always--only sometimes. Shhh…that’s our little secret now.

First up is Romantic Homes. What a gorgeous cover! Pure sugar fairytale land! I truly enjoyed this issue, but then again Romantic Homes always puts out a great magazine. Lots of holiday decorating ideas!

(Make sure to click on the photos to make them bigger)

Here’s a peek at the home of Cathy Scalise. I want a room like this! She’s the one that created the gorgeous sugar fairytale land. Be sure to check out her gorgeous blog!

Next up is Mary Jane’s Farm magazine. I’ve only recently re-discovered Mary Jane’s magazine. Years ago it more like a catalog of her product, but now it’s full fledged magazine and packed full of ideas, tips, articles, projects and sprinkled with wonderful vintage images and other fun stuff.

Here’s a look at one of the many projects in the Dec/Jan issue and there are plenty more, but you’ll have to buy the magazine to find out!

Now for my absolute very favorite magazine…..Where Women Create. Absolutely fabulous, fantastic, inspiring and chock full of eye candy! It’s a bit spendy at 14.99, but it is well worth the price!

This is it’s Premier issue and is the creation of Jo Packham. It’s all about the spaces and places where women create and is a quarterly magazine--next one is due out Feb 1. I can’t wait!

Here’s a peek at a few of my favorites (every page was my favorite!)…

Sally Jean Alexander's room is what I would like m y sewing room to look like when it grows up. I love the soft colors and all of the little spots and cubbies for organizing. Not to mention all the pretties. Visit Sally Jean's Blog.

Mary Jane Butters (of Mary Jane’s Farm magazine)--very vintage and everything is being reused and repurposed. That’s a common theme through most of these rooms. Using what you have and making it work. I love that!

And Shelli Gardner’s stamping studio--oh my! What a dream place to work in and all of the wonderful work stations. Just look at this room!

You really must treat yourself to Where Women Create. It’s guaranteed to make you drool and to motivate you to want to either create your own space or to implement new ideas to your already existing space and isn’t that what we truly want from the magazines we read. A good magazine is a true joy!