Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving, hope you did too!

I made my first ever Cranberry Sauce. I cant tell you if it was any good because I don't really care for it, but it sure did look pretty. I used Rachel Ray's recipe. I also made Kentucky Nut Pie and mashed potatoes. YUMMY!

A few weeks ago we had a girls day and my Sister, Mom and me went shopping and to paint pottery. I could not think of anything to paint but wanted to do something for Christmas. My Sister did a Christmas plate, my Mom did an ornament with all our names on it and I made one for my MIL. I think it turned out pretty cute. It has all 10 of us on there!

Sunday night we went to Calebs Mimi's house to have Thanksgiving with that side of the family. We had a great time even though the weather was nasty! I made oreo balls too... yummmy! Calebs sweet Mimi wanted the kids to look at her silver to see if we wanted any pieces. She has some really beautiful pieces. I love to have things from family and I am so excited and grateful that she gave me these pieces...

Fancy Chip and Dip platter

Cranberry set, is it not so sweet?

Of course Mom and I went shopping on Black Friday. We go every year and always have a great time. We never really go for the sales.... I am not much for crazy long lines and fighting over things, but we still go.  I woke up at 6 and met my Mom around 730 when we were near the mall, we were SHOCKED. There was NO ONE out, I guess since all the sales started either the night before or very early everyone was in bed. Around lunch time it stated getting crowded.... we went to Stien Mart because they always have 40% off of clearance and $10 off $30, we just kept getting in line and had several coupons, we saved $60 with just those coupons and got a lot of stuff. We did go to Belk, which was a little crazy!

Mom got a set of Pfaltzgraff dishes and we each got a pair of $20 boots... both doorbuster deals. Score! We went to Target and Kirklands and that was about it. We had a great time!

We have a ladies Christmas Tea at our church this Friday and Saturday and I am in charge of the dessert tables. Hopefully, I will remember to take pictures.

We just had Taco Soup for dinner and I made Chocolate Chip Cookies on this cold day... Christmas stuff is ALMOST all up but not quite! So far, I have put up 6 Christmas Trees and we still have another to put up at work. I am loving it though!

It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year!

Have I mentioned that I love this time of the year? EVERYTHING about it! I just love love love it!

We had a great long weekend. It flew by and I still just can't believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone. We had a great time spending time with family. I have a lot to share later!

I love unpacking the Christmas stuff.... half of which I forgot I even had, or purchased last year after Christmas and forgot I had it. So far, I have helped put up 6 Christmas trees... my house looks like a train wreck, sparkles and pieces of greenery are everywhere and my Christmas stuff is still not all the way done like I want it to be....slowly but surely! Hopefully I will have it done soon so I can post pictures. At least the tree and all the exterior is done. Last year I got a wreath for all my windows 75% off and we put those out today (in the rain). I was going to attempt to make bows for each and decided to just buy them instead... HA. I love the way the house looks outside with the bushes lite, a candle in each window, seeing the tree from the window and I even purchased garland to go around my front door! (I also got some for my mantle, that I am LOVING!) Ok, more on that later....

Oh... and who went Black Friday shopping?.... I did! well... sorta. More on that later too!

I know this is a short but still, I had to drop a quick post and change my background to something festive...

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and spent time being Thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

What are you thankful for? We are so blessed as a nation. Thank you God for all your blessings!

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

I can't believe turkey day is here, this year has flown by!

Its eating time and I am in charge of making a pie, mashed potatoes and green beans... they are going to be so yummy!

This cracks me up!

I look forward to Thanksgiving every year. seeing family, baking and cooking and its the official kick-off for CHRISTMAS!!!!

I always love watching the parade! One of these days I WILL be there! Of course Santa arrives last and Christmas is here!

Who is shopping on Black Friday?.... This girl! We go every year and always have the best time!

The target lady cracks me up with her pearls, heels and red workout suit....HA!

 Let the shopping, decorating, baking, Christmas movies, Christmas parties and Chritmas music begin!

Chicken and Raspberries

I am a little tired of Chicken right now, I just feel like we eat it all the time and always the same old same old....I guess that is a good thing since Turkey Day is in a few days! HA!

I try not to eat a lot of casseroles, but they are just so darn good... tonight I made chicken and broccoli casserole and I thought the Hubs was going to eat the whole pan. It was very good and super easy.

Here is the recipe:

Head of broccoli steamed
2 c. chicken, cooked and cubed
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 c. mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. seasoning of choice
1/2 c. Cheddar cheese (optional)
1/2 c. bread crumbs

Put broccoli in buttered baking dish (9x13). Put chicken pieces on top of broccoli. Mix soup and mayonnaise and seasonings and put this mixture over chicken. Sprinkle with cheese (if desired) and bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes

Note: Any and all nasty chicken recipes are appreciated!

Also, last night at small group, we had a delicious "Pinterest" (Only the most addicting thing I have EVER witnessed)  snack.....

How easy is that? Raspberries with chocolate in them, super delish. I didn't even know I liked raspberries... good to know

Where Should It Go?

I picked up this brown wicker star on clearence at JoAnn's for $4.50. Still looking for a place to put it. I wish I had a white built-in to put it on....

I picked up this basket at Home goods for $12. I really liked the look of it with the lining. I thought I could use it for a lot of things. Now I just have to find the perfect spot....

Here? On top of hte Guest bath toilet upstairs?

I think I like this look better....

Or how about here? I dont think this looks right.... I may keep what I have here....

This is what I have there now... hmmm??

What do you think?

Ace Hardware Christmas

I love Ace Hardware at Christmas time. Really, anytime of the year. They ALWAYS have cute house stuff and I prefer it WAY over Lowes or Home Depot... those places are so overwhelming... can I get a witness?

Yesterday was "Friends and Family Day" and if you have an Ace Card, you got 20% off of almost ANYTHING! I was thrilled, especially since I was not able to go to the open house last weekend. Plus, I had a $5 gift card from my Ace points and a $5 off $20 coupon! SCORE! I actually went to 2 stores and had a lot of trouble not blowing all my money there. They had the cutest stuff, my SIL got a really cute "Merry Christmas Yall" soap dispenser and a few other things. Here is what I got. (Sorry about the terrible pictures)

This is a plaque that I can hang or put in a plate stand. I just loved it!

And this was 25% off plus another 20% off. I have had my eye on him for a while now!

I also got ribbon for my tree!

It is a natural linen and I got 25 yards for like $10. Not too shabby. I cant wait to put all my Christmas stuff up. I am a little surprised at how many people have put there stuff out.... I am dying to... but I am holding out until Thanksgiving, poor thing, gets overlooked every year! HA

Fall Pictures

Monday was the perfect fall day for some outside fall pictures. My MIL has been wanting to get some school pictures of my beautiful SIL. I still cant believe how old she is... 13 and she will be in high school soon, it blows my mind.

Here are a few of my favorites....

Isn't she beautiful?  We had a good time and I think the pictures turned out really well! The weather was perfect and so were the leaves on the trees, Gods handy work is the best background!

When I got home I had to take a few pictures of this beautiful tree in out backyard... I love all seeing all the fall colors!

Gorgeous yellow fall leaves... Gods artwork is my favorite!

Trees N Trends

 I am sure most of you have heard of Trees N Trends. Its a HUGE store with home decor, purses and accessories. I always love going. This time they had it all decked out for Christmas which made me so happy and so did the Christmas music!

This is my find! I got this super cute "Merry Christmas Yall" ornament. How cute is that? I also bought the little clay pot (on clearance for 30 cents!) I decided I would paint it white and do red polka dots to put the ornament in it... what do you think?

I like how they have these little vignettes giving you ideas for home decor and placing accessories. I had to take a picture (even if it is with my phone) of all the Christmas trees for ideas, so I thought I might share.

Fun green and red tree... this thing was STUFFED! You cant even see the tree! HA

Another fun candy/snowman tree

This one was pretty stuffed too... Santa as the tree topper.

Black and silver...

Bronze and green tones....

Just some ideas.... to be honest, the trees were a little much for me but I always love looking and getting ideas..... I cant wait to decorate mine!

Busy Weekend

Wow. What a crazy, busy but fun weekend! The weather was beautiful and we had a lot to celebrate!

 Saturday night we celebrated one of our cousins birthdays by watching the game and eating appetizers and spritzers! Yumm....

Then came Sunday... DLST really screwed with my head.... HA!

We had our first service in the renovated Sanctuary. It was awesome!

Then we celebrated my little Brothers ( Joey, aka Bub) 18th Birthday at his favorite restaurant. I then went straight to on my my very best friends Lingerie Shower who is getting married in the spring. And the day ended at my SIL house who is starting a new small group. Very exciting day, I loved every second of it but dang did I sleep well last night! HA!

Unfortunately, in all the madness yesterday, I didn't have time to go to Ace Hardwares Christmas open house. I was looking forward to it all week and everything was 20% off. However, I got an email that this Saturday, they have friends and family day and everything is 20% off! God is in the little things and I am so excited! They have the best and cutest Christmas stuff!

I did stop at Ace on Friday before work

I got these adorable pumpkins for $4 each, they were 70% off and I thought they were cute (even though I could easily make them myself)

I like the way they look in the kitchen over my hutch!

I was also able to stop at (My very First) Goodwill 1/2 off sale. They have them the first Saturday of each month. Of course, it was packed. I got there at 9 and had to be at work at 10. So I hurried through and didn't see much of anything but I spotted a table.

I took the picture with my phone but after a makeover it will be perfect! It was only $5. I actually bought it for my sister, she was looking for a table and this one is Mahogany! Score!

I was also given 2 flats of Pansies.... FOR FREE! They had too many at work so we each got to take some home with us! I need to plant them soon!

I have never planted them before so we will see how I do with them!

In other news.... Christmas is just around the corner, and our neighbors agree! (I had to snap a picture with my phone).

So...... Festive. HA!

My Day Off

Thursday was a cold and rainy day but it was my day off and I was going to enjoy it. The day started with a haircut from one of my bestfriends who is BRILLIANT at hair. If you are in the area and need a good stylist, let me know. I got about 3 inches cut off and trust me, it needed it.

Then, I headed downtown to have lunch and shop with my Momma..

We ate lunch at the Urban Stack. It was very good food and I loved the setting. It is an old train station so they have old train signs, exposed brick, tall ceilings, industrial lighting and so on. Such a neat idea, and it was packed!

We headed in a few shops downtown and went to a Christmas Open House at Charlottes Web. Everything was 20% off and they always have cute things including all things monogrammed, which I love! I bought one thing...

An iphone case! Isn't it cute? I love it and I don't even get an iphone until December! HA but since it was on sale, it had to come home with me!

I did stop at my local Thrift Store, where I found my deal-of-century! And I picked up 2 more things.

When I spot a blue mason jar, especially with a lid, he MUST be purchased. $2

And I got a 4' baby Christmas tree in the box for $4. I think I will put it on my front porch, with lights of course!

I stopped at Marshalls and found a few more signs. Now I have to decide which ones I wanna keep... Hmm... tough decisions!

I think this one might be my favorite!

I really loved these picture frames, they weren't cheap but all the frames I have bought lately haven't worked out and I really loved these for $8 and $10.

I love the way it looks with my lantern in my master bathroom.

My day ended with my Husband coming home and telling me the man down the street that we had seen putting up lights a few weeks ago had officially turned them on. So, we got in the car to see... sure enough, the Christmas lights are on. Wow!!!