Drum Roll Please.....

Alright, I am on a roll here..... I have sooooo many body parts laying around my work room with lots of dolls and other prim stuff in various stages of "making".... it is nice to get some of them FINALLY completed. This was part of todays "stuff". I made this wreath using a crow pattern from Sagebrush & Sassafras. Love this guy. I used this one to make a wreath...but the others (and you know there are others lying around....LOL) will just hang on the wall.

Now to get back to the 12 zillion other things I need to finish.........
Hugs,
Debbie

My Prayer Angel....

Ok, I know you are in shock!!!!! Not only have I posted twice in one week....but good grief, I have now posted twice in one day!!!! LOL

This is one of the dolls that I have been working on and I just finished the first one. As you know, you can't just make one when you have to do shows and such.....so she has 5 sisters waiting for me at the sewing table!!!

When I look at patterns or play with a design, I try to think about who would want this little gem and why. I fell in love with this pattern by Ragg Bagg Babys because of who she would appeal too. Not only is she a sweet raggedy.....but she has a purpose.....in her pocket is a rolled up scroll with a scripture verse:

"He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds."--Psalm 147:3


What a great verse to have for a doll that you want to give to someone that is hurting or going through a really trying time. But you wouldn't even have to use this verse, put your own verse in her pocket or a lovely heartfelt note. Like I said, she is something special.

I think I will take a couple to the show, a couple to our booth at the Knitting Mills...maybe one for etsy or ebay....and maybe, just maybe one to reside in my office (my friend Jen is always yelling at me for not keeping any of my own stuff!!!).

Just let me know if you NEED one of these sweeties before they are gone....I am horrible about going back and making something after I have finished a group of them. You know, there are always new patterns and fabrics that need to be played with!!!





















Hugs,
Debbie

On My Nightstand.....

When I had the newspaper...we always tried to include the books that were on our nightstands to share with our readers and friends. One of the reasons we started doing this is that I personally found so many new "favorite" authors and books from what my friends were reading.

I am sharing my list of what I currently am reading through....or trying to!! LOL Some of them have been here for awhile as I want to read them, just haven't been in the mood...but I want to finish these by September 1.

How to Smell Like God by Steven James
Scribbling in the Sand (Christ and Creativity) by Michael Card
Not Your Mother's Life by Joan K. Peters
Seizing Your Divine Moment by McManus
Breathe by Keri Wyatt Kent
The Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews
The Sugar Camp Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini
Change Your Home, Change Your Life by Moll Anderson

And...I am currently addicted to the Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson.

As you can see, I am a bit all over the place with the books....some are for fun, some for curiosity, some for upcoming projects I want to work on and some just found their way into the stack like a stray puppy on your front porch!!! LOL

So PLEASE share with me what you are reading....I really would love to know!
Hugs,

An Invitation....

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of--throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage; but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.

---C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Tomato

Yes, there has been some talk about my total lack of a green thumb. It is just one of those sad facts of life. But I was determined to try to grow a few veggies in pots this year.

To my amazement, I actually have one tomato that is almost ripe...so let's see the savings....two large pots + soil + fertilizer + tomato cages + 4 heirloom plants per pot......one pot has 6 (yes, 6) tomatos making each tomato around $4 each.

Ok...I am not sure I am going about this correctly......LOL
Heck, at least the mint is growing and growing, and growing.....if we could just fuel something with that stuff I could make a small fortune!!!

Have a great weekend!!!
Hugs,
Debbie

Words...The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and the Strange

I am going to warn you now....this is gonna be one of those long, rambling "soap box" posts. See, it has just been clogging up my brain for awhile now and my "not posting" in so long has been because this was gonna be what got posted first.....sigh. (Please notice pretty picture above to distract you from content of post....lol)

For awhile now, we have heard about how our words affect those around us...the positive and negative. That what we say to ourselves, our kids, our co-workers, family, spouses, friends...well, it has the power to lift them up and "be all that they can be" or to drop them like a ton of bricks over a bridge at the overpass. You get the idea.... I have had several things bring me back to the theme of "words" in the past couple of weeks and I feel the need to share.......

Some of you that know me, know that I love to stay up till 3-4 in the morning working on crafts, home, reading or such...because I don't have a regular work schedule, I get to sleep late and that works. Lately, I have been doing some subbing and I have needed to get on a regular schedule...so I am proud to say I have been getting up before my family, checking out the day, getting things in order...running to the local grocery if I need something for the crock pot recipe that day. (Ok, so I know some of you have the image of me getting up at 4 am...spending a couple of hours in prayer and meditation....impeccably dressing to go out to the grocery....I need to dispell that image now....especially since this post is about words. As long as I am up before noon, I have beat the rest of my family.....just so we are clear.....smile.)

Yesterday, I headed out to the grocery. We have a fairly decent size produce area at my local stop..and while I was contemplating whether the celery I needed to purchase was now gold or silver plated due to the current price....I see a woman close to me hold up a melon and yell across the section to a young man working on a fruit display..."Hooty-Hoo....Hooty-Hoo". Now apparently, there is magic in these words because as soon as she started yelling them, the teenage boy that had been by her side, simply disappeared. No seriously, I never saw him leave, run, hide in the aisle...he was just GONE! Sadly, the first yelling of "Hooty-Hoo" did not get the expected results of the produce guy appearing at her side, so once again the call went out..."Hooty-Hoo"...at that time he did turn around to see what nutcase had entered the produce section. And she was able to ask her question about the price of the melon on hand.

OK...PLEASE explain to me how I missed the memo that tells you to yell "Hooty-Hoo" in the middle of a store to get someone's attention...rather than to simply walk your ample behind over and politely ask the question????? Speaking of lost memos.....

I know this has been going on for awhile...but I can't begin to tell you how irritating it is for me to hear young women (sadly, older too) call each other "b*tches and ho's". Having grown up in a home with a father who had NO value for women except in a servitude type manner...having worked in offices where women felt lucky to get anywhere above a secretarial status--and even if they did, they were still expected to be the ones to serve coffee and "wait" on the other men in charge. To have heard those words used about women to make them less than what we were and are...to make them fun and hip....simply makes me ill.

My friend, Robin Chaddock, recites a poem during one of her talks called, "Standing on The Shoulders " and I wanted to share a bit of that:

"We are standing on the shoulders of the ones who came before us

They are saints and they are humans, they are angels, they are friends

We can see beyond the struggles and the troubles and the challenge

when we know that by our efforts things will be better in the end."

(Joyce Johnson Rouse)

It makes me sad to know all the struggles, the hardships and just ugliness that many women endured to help us have it easier in the workplace (and there are still places that you would never know any changes have occured)...and yet we are raising a group of women that spit on it with every utterance of those words. And don't even get me started on women willingly being degraded (as if that is they way women are supposed to be treated) on many music videos.

I don't know....do you think we could make it hip for them to instead use "Hooty-Hoo"?

And one last thing, that is the reason this whole line of thinking even got started. I received an email last week from an acquaintance.....now understand, this is not the first one of these for me to receive....it was just the straw that broke the camels back. So I want to make something crystal clear....

I don't CARE who you vote for. I want YOU to care about the candidate you chose. I want you to personally research who you vote for...NEVER RELY ON "BEARING FALSE WITNESS" EMAILS that are sent out during EVERY political campaign. These lies are sent out every, every voting season and all have heartfelt scriptures, missionary sitings and such that tell us that who ever candidate they are lying about will send us all straight to hell if we vote for them.
Good grief people.....wake up and think for yourself. If you understood the workings of our government...you would spend far more time on your congressional research and voting than wait every 4 years to go up in arms.

Frankly, I haven't been thrilled with the voting possibilities since the group first threw all their hats in the ring and I am still sorting some things out. But christians thinking that the "bearing false witness" verse doesn't apply to the political process need to get a grip and do some soul searching.....and take a good look at how big their god is....cause my God can handle things, without my having to resort to lies, threats, and scare tactics.

Hey, I have been around long enough to remember the emails that went out that the Russian president Gorbachev (sp?) was the anti-christ because of a birthmark on his head!!!!

Ok...so after all of that, maybe "Hooty-Hoo" looks pretty good....

Nuff said!!!

Hugs,
Debbie

The Hamburger Trail......

Hello All....

Lately, I have been finding "contentment" in getting back to some home stuff that I let fall by the wayside when I had the shop. And while I still have lots to do with our booth, upcoming shows and some new ventures.....working from home allows me to get back into the groove of "homekeeping."

One of my favorite things to do, when I don't have to clean up beforehand...is to cook and get us on a schedule. This week I signed up for "The Grocery Game"...if you haven't heard of this or checked it out...please do!!! I have wanted to get back into the couponing thing...but everyone that I knew that saved huge amounts, also spent HUGE amounts of time working the coupon game...and I just don't have that. For $1 for 4 weeks to try it, you get to put in the grocery stores in your area and she sends you a list of specials, unadvertised sales and where to find the coupons to get the best deal. It is all about learning to stockpile so that you can shop from your own cabinets...so your shopping list is more about perishables and speciality items you want to buy. (Ok the commercial is over....but I really love this!!!)

One of the great deals I purchased this week was two LARGE packages of the good ground beef. What did I do with it???? The first package, I browned the entire package with a little onion and salt. After it is browned.....I put it in the strainer and rinse with warm water to make sure all extra grease is rinsed away. When it cools...I put one to two pounds in each freezer bag....this was it is ready for tacos, sloppy joes, casseroles, pizza, spaghetti sauce and more.

The next package....I took half of the meat and put in a large crockery bowl. I mixed up a batch of meatloaf mix. Chopped up onion and green pepper....added italian breadcrumbs, a couple of eggs, tomato sauce and meatloaf seasoning. Mixed it up.... Then I pulled out my jumbo muffin tins...I lined a cup with plastic wrap that was larger than what you would need just to line it. Press in meatloaf mix to fill muffin cup......then wrap over the extra plastic wrap to seal it up.....remove from tin and place on cookie sheet. When you have finished all of your meatloaf mix....place all on cookie sheet and put in freezer to freeze. Once they are frozen, pull out and place in freezer bags. These are ready to pull out for an easy meal.

With the other half of package two..... I browned the meat with onion, italian seasonings and salt.

I made up pizza dough (recipe to follow) in the bread machine (EASY). I made one large pizza to serve the family that night. (Sprinkled cornmeal on my baking stone (Pampered Chef type), and worked the dough onto the stone....used Ragu Pizza Sauce on top and then top with favorite ingredients--i used green and yellow peppers, onion, groundbeef mixture, tomatoes and lots of cheese). After throwing this in the oven....I pulled out aluminum foil round cake pans (from the $ store)..put a little cornmeal in the bottom of each, and then made personal pans in each of these to freeze....turned out WONDERFUL.

I had some of the meat left from the pizzas....so the next day, I pulled out the crockpot...threw in the leftover meat, two cans of spaghetti sauce, 1 can of tomato sauce, mushrooms, finely chopped carrots and celery, onion, peppers, italian seasoning, salt, pepper....let this cook in the crockpot all day....finished with salad, rolls and pasta...for a great meal....

Guess what.....I have some sauce left over, so tomorrow I will be using it to make crockpot lasagne...... See what one day of cooking can do......leave you with several wonderful meals in your freezer that are far better than any fast food or purchased frozen meal...and the $$$ savings are great...especially with all the rising costs!!

Let me share with you my favorite pizza crust recipe....sadly, I can't find where I got it at, I know it was from one of the OAMC lists I belonged to awhile back...so if I find where I got this, I will gladly share that!!

GARLIC PIZZA CRUST

2 pkg yeast (or 2 Tbsp of bulk yeast)

2 c. tempid water

2 Tblsp sugar

1/2 cup oil

1 tsp. salt

5 1/2 - 6 cups flour

3 cloves crushed garlic

Dissolve yeast in water and add sugar...wait a few minutes...add oil and salt and garlic...mix in 3 cups flour and whip about 10 min. till it leaves the side of the mixer bowl...add remaining flour w/dough hook or by hand....knead till smooth ...allow to rise twice in the bowl...punch down...oill baking sheets...use fingers to press out to the edges.

Makes 2 pizzas, cookie sheet size, let rise a bit and top....bake at 425 degrees for 20 min.

This makes 2 cookie sheet sized or 12 after school snack size pizzas.
(From Debbie: I just put all the ingredients into the bread machine and run it on the dough cycle. When it is time to rise, I take it out to put in a large crock bowl, and cover to allow it to rise. If I forget and leave it in the bread machine.....it will rise OUT of the machine....yep, a mess!!! LOL)

OK...I gave you lots of info, hopefully, it is some you can use! And a side note....I am working on a new online radio show with a couple of friends....Creative Living 101. It will be on Blog Talk Radio and when we get started, I will have access to it through our blog site. We are so excited about this as we want to have lots of home, friendship, faith, cooking, books and more info on this show with some great guests to share with you.



Have a great week!!!!!

Hugs,

Debbie

Happy Fourth!!!

Wishing you all a wonderful 4th weekend....may you have fun with your
family and friends....


Don't forget to count your blessings.....

I will be back soon with some fun info on a new adventure or two...

HUGS,
Debbie

Another Tuesday.....

"You create your own stage and your audience is waiting.."

--from Chinese fortune cookie

I LOVE the book Fresh Brewed Life by Nicole Johnson. It is one of those books that I try to read once a year. It takes you through 9 "cups" in your life for a check-up to see how you are doing.

As many time as I have read this book....there is always something new that hits home each time. That chapter that we never gave a thought to the year before, somehow contains just the insight that I need this reading.

I think we all need that....a yearly check up on our lives...what is working, what isn't....what needs to be tried again and what needs to be retired forever...

So that is where I am at right now.....doing inventory. There are some tough things on the horizon and there are some things that I am excited about. But regardless of which I am dealing with....I have an amazing Savior that will sit down and drink these cups with me...cheer me on, hold me up, or just watch me dance.

Some of you may wonder what the quote has to do with this....well those of you that know me, know that I am playing with a new venture and the quote was so timely for me today. I will share more soon!!!

Hugs to you all....have an amazing week.....and grab a cup for fresh brewed, the pot is always on.

Debbie

Another Sunny Tuesday.....

Good Afternoon!!

I hope all of you are having a fun start to your Summer. Since completing my office/studio area (except the dreaded painting), I am spending more time here and getting into more trouble...LOL

There are some fun things in the works for us with Folkheart and personally......I get to meet with my wonderful partner, Hope and with a couple of the artisans from the shop next week to plan out a schedule for shows for this fall/winter season. I am really looking forward to that. And I have in the works for "From A Creative Heart" an online radio program. We are working out a schedule, co-hosts, guests and such...so stay tuned for more on that. I believe the first program will be an introduction....so I would love for all of you to call in with your ideas and comments!!! I will post the day and time as soon as I have something ready. Or if you know someone with some wonderful home, friendship, creative ideas that would make a great guest, PLEASE let me know about them. (dailygrace@bellsouth.net)

This morning I woke to the smell of fresh baked bread!!! My son had put a loaf on in the bread machine before he went to bed...it was wonderful waking up to that. I needed to put together a simple crockpot meal to go with it for this evening...so I thought I would post an old standby for our family:

This meal is easy, and I love it as even my "picky" eater will eat this.
All you need it:
Smoked sausage
2 cans green beans (I prefer french style...but use whatever we have on hand)
onion flakes or fresh chopped onion to taste
potatoes...small chunks.

I spray my crock with Pam spray. Then just dump everything in.....salt and pepper to taste.
Cook on low for 3-4 hours (till done) or on high for 2 1/2 hours (till done)...check as it seems to vary with different crock pots.

This will be great this evening....one pot for everything and a slice of fresh bread...yum!!!
And it allows me out of the kitchen and back to the fun stuff I enjoy doing.

Also, here is a shot of what my livingroom looks like on most days.....

My son's soccer team has invaded our home to watch some sort of "important" soccer games at our home....and try on their new uniforms... They are, well, a "hoot" to put it mildly!!! LOL

Have a great day.....take some time to do something fun for yourself. And remember, you are outlandishly loved by a heavenly Father that thinks your amazing!!!
Hugs,
Debbie

So What Have I Been Doing?

Happy Weekend All....

We have had some nasty storms around here lately, and after one of them, I found that my wireless keyboard and mouse had just froze up! Yes, I could use the online screen keyboard to type....but what a major pain! So it cut my computer time way, way down.

During this "down time" I have been trying to get some redecorating/organizing going on here at home. With closing the shop...and with moving things back home, I knew I had to really take some time to organize or I would be in a huge mess. We decided to go ahead and turn our two upstairs bedrooms into my studio and office...I love it. I have things moved in, but I still need to paint...which I won't be able to do for a couple of weeks...but I did manage to get the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms painted... Here are a few pictures of this "work in progress"....

This is the computer area...

Office space.....

This is my reading or "Miss Joann" area....the dolls and the wall hanging are from a dear friend, Mama Joann in Indiana...she does wonderful quilts, rughooking and more...I want to have her passion and talent for these things when I am her age!!!

Knitting Corner...

My bucket of Sweet Annie....I use this for dolls and other home dec items. I just love the smell of this!!!!

Just a teaser picture of one of the baths....as I get all the finishing touches done I will post other pictures. I just wish I could get a better representation of the color as it is my FAVORITE. The gal that did furniture for our shop turned me on to this...the color is called, Salt Fork. I got it at Wal-Mart....semi-gloss in the Kilz paint. LOVE it...it isn't as dark as a paperbag color...but just a touch lighter. It is such a great basic. I am using it as the background for prim decorating in some rooms as it looks great with navy, barn red, green (dark and sage), black accents...but it also is working in the upstairs bath that I am doing with white/cream/red accents too....very versitile!!

I hope you all have fun plans for this weekend. We are doing "simple" stuff for Father's Day...my hubby wants no fuss, just a cookout here at home.

Have a great day!!!
Hugs,
Debbie

Weekend Nugget....

Each person is given something to do

that shows who God is.

- 1 Cor. 12:7 MSG

So.....what's on your "to do" list?

And So On....

It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so entwined that we cannot think of one without the other.

---M. F. K. Fisher

Yesterday, I wrote about Thursdays being for "kitchen" stuff....but I had more stuff rumbling around in my head, that I wanted to continue just a bit today.

It's all this marriage of budgeting, household organizing, cooking, menu planning that has me on overload and looking for ways to do what needs to be done in the least stress inducing way!!! LOL I just thought I would share some of the things that I have found with you....

Couponing.....with the price of gas and groceries, getting serious with coupons can save us lots!! I remember my mom always having a pantry that was loaded with deals she found on everything from laundry detergent, toilet paper, can goods and more. I also remember a trip we made from Tennessee to Indiana with the car loaded down with TP.....this was very traumatic for a young teen!!! (Smile)

Several years ago, I found a great book by Ellie Kay called "Shop, Save and Share"...I truly love her take on the whole couponing thing. It is about having enough to feed your family...to know that you have stores for tough times....but also that you have extra to help others. How great to have a well stocked pantry so that if you have a friend, co worker...or someone through church that needs help, you can box up groceries to help them with or have the extra in your pantry to supply them with meals.

My own plan to get started included a trip to GA for groceries. This would not be cost effective for me if I was trying to go every week....but my hubby gets paid once a month, and I do the bulk of my shopping in that first week. Sadly, we pay 9.25% here on our groceries...and the larger chains tend to have better deals..... So how did it work???

I went to Kroger in Dalton, where milk was on sale for $3.48 a gallon!!!! (I am paying over $5 locally!!! I don't know if we are importing Parisian cows for this milk or what!!!)...and the deal was if you purchased 3 gallons, you got the fourth free!!! Can we say major HAPPY dance??? Add this to many other deals in store, and with coupons. For Kroger, you can check out their website, under the label "in store" you can find coupons. There are printable ones...and also a couple of services that were new to me, where I could sign up, pick my coupons and they would be loaded onto my Kroger card...no coupon clipping, I just printed a list of my savings to check off.

To be honest, this first trip to try this (I have done it before but it has been awhile)....I went when I was already tired from closing down the store and setting up the new booth...but I felt it was the only time I had to go. So needless to say, I was a little overwhelmed figuring out my system this first time.....there were items I planned to purchase that I forgot. BUT even with that....I spent $258....I SAVED in store savings and coupons $76......the tax was only $8 AND I got 10 cents off my gallon of gas price by purchasing at Kroger and then filling up there. Not tooooo shabby!!!!

As I said, milk was on sale......I am trying "freezing" the extra milk to see how that goes. I have never frozen milk before, but if this works well, I will be stocking up on more of that in the future as my family seems to go through it like crazy here.

That is what I am working on with the household pantry...I would love to hear your ideas or sources for info!!!!

Hugs to you!!!
Debbie

Thursdays In the Kitchen.....And Other Stuff...

Good Morning All!!!

In an effort to be more organized (especially with being consistant with my posting), I want to set up a day for my kitchen thoughts, recipes and such. I just thought it would make it easier to post as I at least had an idea one day a week of what I was going to do!!! LOL

As I shared with some good friends recently, we are making an effort to get on track with our finances and budgeting. A big part of it for me is reigning in the flood of money that flows out of our house for fast food. But if I am going to cook more meals here (which I do enjoy)....I just don't always have the time to do alot of planning and then the shopping for what is needed.

For the last few weeks, as I have been driving home from Chattanooga, I have been listening to the Dave Ramsey program...and yes, he has been kicking my behind about the whole budgeting thing. But he has also talked about E-Mealz. It sounded like what I have been looking for...so I checked it out and signed up. I don't want this whole post to be an advertisement for E-Mealz...but it is just what I was looking for. Menu plans using the grocery of your choice....the menu, the shopping list and the recipes all together. You can even chose for your size family, and even if you are on a diet or vegetarian. The link for it is at the bottom of the page here...check it out for yourself. Yes, I do get credit it you sign up with my email....but that is not important to me. If you think it could help you....go for it. OR I know there are others out there, just do your google search. For me, it is a $15 very well spent for 3 months of time saved in the planning and searching for a menu, and all that goes with it. (Now, I just want to save up for that personal chef!!! LOL)

Even with the menu plan....I am always on the lookout for good recipes, especially side dishes. Seems like I always fall into a rut with those. How about sharing some of your favorites??? I would love to see what works well with your family. You can share them by hitting the "comment" word at the bottom of this post and then type in your info... I just think this would be a fun way for all of us to get some ideas for our summer menus.

This weeks theme: Side Dishes!!!!

Let me share one of our favorites around here.... I like to start the week out with some basics that I can use for any meal or just a quick lunch. For us, it is great to have a basic salad on hand.

The usual for us is:
lettuce
cucumber
carrot (I get them already cut into matchsticks...saves time!)
green onion
red pepper
celery

While I am cutting up the veggies for this...I go ahead and divide everything except the lettuce into two bowls. In the second bowl, I put together an easy pasta salad. For it, I use bow tie pasta prepared per the box (I use the entire box).....add the cooled pasta to the veggies (remember all except the lettuce). Then salt and pepper to taste and add your favorite dressing to coat well. I LOVE to use the Litehouse Salsa Ranch dressing. This makes a quick side dish for alot of our meals that are made on the grill....and I just love to have it alone for a quick lunch.

Another favorite is the Crunch Salad:
2 bunches fresh broccoli (broken in small pieces)
1 head cauliflower (broken in small pieces)
1 red onion, chopped
2 c. cherry or grape tomatoes (cut in half)

Dressing:
1 c. mayonnaise
1 T. vinegar
dash of salt and pepper
1/2 c. sour cream
2 t. sugar

Combine dressing ingredients, mix well. Toss with vegetables. Serve well chilled. (This looks great in a clear glass bowl for company!)

I hope you enjoy these recipes...and I hope you will share some of your own!

(PS...I have had requests for info on the belly dancing class in Dayton, TN....I have some of the info, but I am having trouble getting the website addy I have to work....let me figure out what is wrong and I will post the info tomorrow!!!)

Have a great day!!
Hugs,
Debbie

New Day, Fresh Start......

Because I am a glutton for punishment.....and always need something new to be working on. I am taking this week to finish some painting projects that have been brewing around here....and to get some things organized that I have wanted to do...but just didn't have enough time at home to complete.

The house is really ready for a redo...but I have also found there is a method to my madness in painting. My friends are always teasing me about my painting and moving furniture addiction...but I finally made the connection. When there is something going on in my life--be it good or bad---that I can't do anything about and just have to "wait it out"...I start redecorating. It gives me something positive to focus on and something I "can" do while other stuff brewing. There have been alot of changes for me lately with the business, family and such...most have been positive, but some things have been a bit tougher....and redecorating is the most positive outlet for it I can find right now.

We did make the move to the Knitting Mills...while there was alot of work getting everything handled, packed, moved, set up again. I am really happy with the results. And our vendors have been a pleasure to work with during the move...and that is a MAJOR happy dance moment!!! LOL

I am looking forward to finishing up the household projects this week...as I have several new patterns coming in the mail that I can't wait to get started on!

Hope you all have fun plans for the week....a friend told me about a new belly dancing class forming in town...now that is a new adventure worth blogging about!!! LOL

Hugs to you all!!
Deb

Happiness is....

...beautiful, seedless, sweet watermelon in my fridge!!! Hope you all have plans for a great weekend!!! Hugs to you all....

Debbie

Bits and pieces.....

My friend Tina asked when I was going to update my blog. I had trouble explaining that I had some time to post...some thoughts.....but they were all bits and pieces. So here goes...all my bits and pieces to share!!! LOL

Currently, I am on a "jar cake" kick. There is something about these gems that intrigues me...I want to make some fun ones that can be used for gifts during the holidays...and just to have on hand to share with someone to let them know you think they are pretty special. In the past, I have baked some of the tea cakes and fruit breads in wide mouth jars....but with these, I wanted to combine my love of cupcakes with the jar thing.

The first go was to find a cupcake recipe online from one of the "famous" cupcake bakeries. I made these from scratch.....great buttercream icing. After I baked, I piped through the middle icing, topped with icing and sprinkles. Turned out really cute....great warm, or even cooled down. But if you put them in the fridge...the texture of the cake turned to something my son called, "sweet cornbread"....not quite what I was going for!!!

That called for a little more searching. I found someone that was making the cupcakes in a jar, and they looked like more "crumbled" cake in a jar....so, I thought I would try that. This is the result of last nights experiement:

I have to say, these turned out great. What I used was a butter recipe boxed cake mix...mixed and baked per the instructions on box. When it was baked and cooled...I crumbled up the cake and put it in the bottom of the jar. For the next layer I used a Caramel Apple Pie Filling/Topping I found at the local grocery...good stuff!!! Then I used another layer of crumbled cake. For the topping/frosting....I picked up a container of plain vanilla icing. I thought the icing needed something to blend with the rest of the cake...so I mixed a bit of cinnamon with the icing (just to taste)...turned out great and made a wonderful finish to this dessert.

This was a hit with the family...and I can wait to try this with more flavor combinations. And using the vanilla icing to flavor in many ways works well.

Here is another fun dessert tip. During the fall when we are doing apple pies....I love fixing a ice cream to go with them other than the usual vanilla. I take a container of ice cream and a container of cool whip....soften both so I can mix them together.....add a bit of cinnamon to it and it makes a delicious cinnamon ice cream to go with your apple pie.

Now that I have finished the cooking portion of this post...I can share other "odd" things from here. Yesterday, I was having lunch at the shop. I had ordered a fish sandwich from Buffalo Wild Wings.....because those wonderful people will deliver to the store when I am stuck there on my own and can't get out for lunch!!!! Anyway, I have the usual styrofoam container of food, half eaten and played with, when a couple of ladies come in to shop. My food is at the check out on a lower table at the side of it where we do some work at times. I walk away from my lunch to chat with the ladies and wait on them. They are in for quite awhile when I notice one of the ladies coming toward my lunch...which I thought was odd. She walked up to my sandwich....stuck her finger in the tomato and said..."Oh, that is real"...and walked away!!!

So please share with me what the appropriate response is to that?????? Sadly, my lunch was then trash can bound. Arrrggg!

And on another note.....the news is annoying me, Big Time....if I hear another report on the pregnant man I am going to have to slap someone. First, are we so in need of news stories that this warrents ANY type of coverage????? And hey, he DIDN'T start out man...he came with all the original plumbing for this job and decided to keep it when "he" wanted to change....so please, tell me where the heck the story is????????? There are huge number of pregnant women everyday on every continent facing all the usual and unusual goings on of pregnancy.... Why don't we concentrate on some of the problems with childbirth or health care for women and get away from the circus act mentality of this Pregnant Man????? Nuff said.

Ok....I have officially posted now! (smile).....

Hugs,
Debbie

Wonderful Organizing Idea

Ok...I FOUND IT!!! This lovely drop spot display was found here

You will find some great organizing ideas there...I just thought this display was awesome!! What a great idea....and the "personalizing" options are endless.

Hugs,
Debbie

It's Monday.....

Out of clutter, find simplicity....

---Albert Einstein

Alright, this weekend I had the brilliant idea that we should have another garage sale. I just wanted to dig in and get out all the stuff we didn't get to during the last one and have a final clearing out of some items that we had been just moving from one area of the house to another because we either:
a. didn't need it any more
b. didn't really have space for it

c. no one could remember why the heck we got it in the first place.
(Yeah, there were alot of C's---smile)
Now I realized that this was Mother's Day weekend.....but I totally forgot about all the graduations this weekend with the high school and local college...ARRRGGG!! Needless to say, traffic was nil!! And when you do have two carloads of people show up at once and NO one buys anything....you know you are in trouble!!!

That means today, I am loading most of it up and sending to the local We Care store to sell. We did a good just clearing this out and I just refuse to lug it back into the house to be shifted from room to room again.

The nice thing for me about clearing things out, it starting to freshen up some areas of the house.

I moved my teacart into our entryway and set up this little area, which I love. A large bowl to drop our keys into as we enter the house (we are the Center of lost key here!!!). It is an effort to combine fun decorating with practical uses.

I wish I could remember where I found the organizing blog that had a picture of a wonderful peg board...I have the picture, but hate to post it without having the person to link too. (I will work on that later today). The organizer had used a large pegboard, painted and framed out to look great and then had added wire holders for folders and a shelf, a hook for her purse, a mirror, a holder for flowers, and more. Great decorative piece for an entry or office area....but so many practical uses. I have add this to my to do list for my studio.

Well, I need to head off to do the "Monday Stuff" of housekeeping......

Hugs,

Debbie

A Lesson For Mother's Day....

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful moms. I hope you had a great day with those special loved ones in your life....and I hope they took the time to let you know how much you mean to them.

With that said...I need to do a small but needed rant. This is a life lesson I need to pass on to anyone even remotely thinking of doing something this stupid on Mother's Day...so here goes. If you are about to do something that is needlessly hurtful or just plain stupid....DO NOT choose to reveal it to your Mother on Mother's Day. If you do, it will be a painful reminder to her of your chosen stupidity...each and every Mother's Day to come. Do save it.....

Putting said soapbox away now. Fortunately, I am not the Mother involved...just an innocent bystander that had this dumped on them too. There are people that just simply should not be allowed phone privileges....

.

....counting to 3 and deep breaths!

Hugs,

Debbie