Pouting!

Haha...what a little pouter!  Here's Lucy stealing my computer chair, she is notoriously bad for taking your warm seat, & her cute little face just begs for any treats that you may have on hand. 

And yes, I normally give into her sweet little begging  :-)

Holiday Baking; Applesauce cookies

Woohoo, I'm starting off my holiday baking with one of my grandmothers recipes! 

Applesauce Cookies
1 C Shortening
2 C Packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 C Coffee - cold
3 1/2 C Flour - sifted
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. EACH; Cinnamon, Cloves, & Nutmeg
2 C Applesauce - well drained
1 C Raisins or Chocolate chips
1/2 C Walnuts - chopped (optional)

Combine shortening, sugar, & eggs.  Add in coffee, & whisk until it starts to pull together.  Stir in sifted flour, soda, salt, & spices.  Stir well.  Add in applesauce (I used my homemade apple butter), raisins/chips, & nuts, stirring between each addition.   Cover & let chill 1 hour. 
Heat oven to 400 degrees, bake on ungreased cookie sheets 8-12 minutes.  

Christmas Party

Kyle & I enjoyed attending our company Christmas party on Saturday.  It was a great excuse to get dressed up & it always surprises me at how your co-workers look outside of the daily grind.  I knew weeks ago that I wanted a sparkly black dress & a Magnolia for my hair.  The red nail polish, lipstick, & jewelry was my festive holiday color added in, I would have also had a pair of red heels if I could have found some!  The hair took 1 1/2 hours to style & was worth every minute  :-)

                                

I already have next years outfit picked out; a pinstriped suit with a pair of stilletos & red satin shirt!

*on a side note, I'm waayyy behind on my christmas happenings and with the party done, now I have more time to focus on the final gift touches.  I'll start posting some holiday baking recipes this week.  Are you ready for christmas?

Sooo excited!

When I got home from work today, a small package was waiting for me.  I ordered it about a week ago, & was nervous as to if it would arrive in time. 

Wanna see whats inside?

A beautiful Ivory Magnolia.  It is the finishing touch on something that I've been planning for a while now.  Pics to follow sometime early next week!

Yard Decorations

We were driving by our neighbors home over the weekend, & stopped to check out there holiday yard decorations.  A complete Alaskan theme with snowmen, an igloo, & a moose in the background.

Wait a minute...that's a real moose!  

Oh well, he did fit in with the theme, I just hope they don't mind that he snacked on their trees! 

For Dad

I wanted to send a message out to my father wishing him a Happy Birthday!  

    Love,
        DeeDee & Kyle

Counting Blessings

This last year has been a rollercoaster of sorts for me. 

I've been struggling to come to terms with the fact that this will be my last year in my 20's, & I haven't yet embraced the notion of turning 30.  It only seems like yesterday that I was taking hunters ed & learning how to drive, can it really be 12 years since I graduated high school?!?, it only seems like yesterday.   Just this week I even spotted a grey hair, yikes!  It was only a short little thing, but it's still a blantant indication that everyday I am/ we are all getting older.  It's a reminder for me to not forget the many blessings that have been bestowed upon me, & to embrace them all.

     Our heavenly father, even when all seems lost, you strengthen my faith & never lead me wrong.    

     My loving devoted husband, you are my rock, my shelter, my love...you were right on time.

     My family, near & far, I love you all.

     My sweet furry little dogs, my life would be very different without you.

     My health.

     My friends; whether we talk every day or just swap emails every once in a while, I am blessed to know each & everyone of you.  

     My job; without it I wouldn't be able to sleep in my big warm bed, always having something to eat, indulge in a movie night out every once in a while, & being able to donate money, time, & goods, when the need arises.


**I want to wish everyone a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!   And don't forget to count your blessings  :-) 

End of November madness

My household has been a bit crazy this week, with Thanksgiving just a day away, & black Friday shopping thereafter, my blog posts are getting a bit backed up. 

Upcoming posts will include a series on holiday baking, & a roundup of my favorite moments of the year.  We've had quit the active year, from Mt. Augustine's eruption, to watching the start of the Iditarod, & several trips in-state as well as to Washington & California. 

On a side note, if your looking to do some black Friday shopping, I would strongly recommend checking out the store's online website as some of them already have deals available for purchase.  Here's some online website resources for checking out great deals.
Gotta Deal
Deal News
Bizrate  (price comparing)

We'll be hitting up Target, Best Buy, Costco, & Walmart early in the morning then follow up with a nice breakfast, & then home to take an afternoon nap!

Favorite Things

It seems my favorite things change with the seasons, here's whats currently at the top of my favorite things list. 

Our chocolate colored bedside lamps, a must have during the long dark cold winter months.   And my fingerless gloves.  I am odd when it comes to hand coverage, I prefer either fingerless or mitts (yeah, yeah, most people haven't worn mitts since they were 4 but honestly they are really comfortable!). 

Yummy, Yummy!  Smells like chocolate in the shower!   And last year I purchased a wax melt, shown here in my living room, I prefer to use candles during the summer and wax melts in the winter, don't ask me where the logic is in that. 

Some of my favorite tunes at the moment.

I love these guys!!




For the Superwoman in all of us.

Nifty placemats

I started these nifty placemats wwwaaayyy back when, well you know stuff comes up & I got a bit side tracked.  I really loved the pattern because of the pocket to hold the silverware in.  The fabric was all cut & ready to go & quite honestly I was tired of staring at the pile of them just patiently waiting to get made.  So.....I finally got to work and they are really easy, duh!, now I feel even stupider for waiting to finish them. 

*I couldn't resist the opportunity to show my fire king dishes, they are absolutely lovely!  We will probably be using them for the holidays this year.*

Counting down

Did you know that it's;

     6 Weeks  til the New Year

     5 Weeks  til Christmas

     4 Weeks  til Postal shipping deadline

     1 Week   til Thanksgiving

     1 Day     til the Weekend


Are you ready?  :-)

Happy Apples

Aren't they cute!?!   Kyle picked out the embroidery floss for this pattern, and I think that they are quite adorable  :-)  I should have been done by now, but I had to back track to the mouthes as I didn't like how they were turning out.  I am hoping to wrap this up sometime this week. 

To warm you up

Here's some tasty warm drink recipes, enjoy!

Hot Cocoa
2 C Powdered Sugar
1 C Hershey's Dark Cocoa powder
2 1/2 C Powdered Milk
2 C Powdered Creamer (flavored works best but plain is ok)
1 tsp. Salt

Stir ingredients together, store in an air-tight container.  Mix 1/3 C cocoa mix with 2/3 C hot water or a 50/50 ratio for a richer taste.

Have you tried Mexican Hot Chocolate?  Check out my recipe HERE!


Hot Buttered Rum
1 Lb Unsalted Butter (softened)
1 1/2 C Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 C Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp. Nutmeg - ground
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon - ground
1 Tbsp. Cloves - ground
1 Quart Vanilla Ice Cream (softened)

In large bowl cream together butter & sugars.  Add in spices & ice cream, & mix until combined.  Freeze until set.  When ready to serve; 1 scoop buttered mix (approx. 1/4 C), 2 tsp. rum, & 1 C hot water or hot apple cider or hot coffee.  Stir until melted.

The Simple Woman's Daybook - November 16th

FOR TODAY, Monday, November 16th

Outside my window... Burrr!  It's very cold, we've been in the single digits the last couple of days.  I would much rather have snow than frigid temps.

I am thinking... That its time to start wearing flats to work, high heels in the parking lot is a bit precarious when you're in a hurry.

I am thankful for...  KYLE, he makes me laugh, comforts me when I cry, & is my best friend.  I Love You.

From the kitchen... Slightly chaotic, working on more canning projects (sweet & sour sauce), & pulling out holiday baking recipes. This year I will be making both grandmother's fruit cake recipes, they are drastically different!

I am wearing... Warm fuzzy socks, flannel pants & sweater (yeah, nothing exciting)

I am creating...  Working on two projects right now, some really cool place mats & a kitchen towel with cute little smiling apples. 

I am going... To make myself a cup of Chai Tea.  I swear it tastes like pumpkin pie!

I am reading... Starting on the Twilight books & Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.

I am hoping...  That we get more snow, PLEASE!!!

I am hearing... Silence

Around the house... Getting ready to pull out holiday decorations, I will have to pick up a new door wreath this year as my cranberry wreath was really sad & abused so I tossed after last christmas.  I have picked out one I like but since its $50 bucks I might have to keep looking  :-(

One of my favorite things...  Those cinnamon/spice scented pine cones, & potpourri on the stove. 

A few plans for the rest of the week:  Finish our Thanksgiving meal plan & finalize christmas gift lists.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

Frank & Winston enjoying the snow.

You can visit Peggy over at The Simple Woman's Daybook for more daybook entries.

Half way

Aren't they cute!!   Its so wrinkly cause its waiting patiently to get washed & put on one of our pillows.  Im pretty happy with how the Pattern turned out, not too bad considering this is the first needle point project that I've done, & had to self-learn the different knots & embroidery stitches. 

1 pillowcase down, & 1 to go!

Apple Pie filling

Apples were on sale again & I picked up a 5 Lb bag of Fuji apples for $3.99.  
Over at One Acre Homestead was a recipe posted for Apple Pie filling in a jar, perfect!  I altered the recipe as I figured I would have enough apples for half a recipe.  I increased the sugar, water, cinnamon, nutmeg & added cloves (the recipe did not call for), & increased the canning time from 20-30 minutes.  Below, you will find a posting for a full recipe, so don't be confused when you see the pictures  :-) 

Apple Pie filling                  (7 Quarts)
10 Lbs Apples - peeled, cored, & cut into slices
5 1/2 C Granular Sugar (1/2 C less if the apples are sweet)
12 C Water - COLD
1 1/3 C Cornstarch
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Cloves
3 Tbsp. Lemon juice
 
In large sauce pot combine cold water, corn starch, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, & cloves. Stir well to combine & break up any clumps.  Bring to a strong boil, constantly stirring, until thickened (5-8 min).  Remove from heat, & add in lemon juice.

Fill clean & sanitized quart jars with apples.

Pour sauce over apples, use a knife or skewer stick to get rid of any air bubbles, fill jars leaving a 1/2 in. headspace.  Wipe rims clean before placing lids on top.  Water bath can them for 30 minutes. 

All the apples floated to the top after being canned.  I think these will be great with ice cream, & I am planning on using the small jar for crepes; fill them with the apple slices and drizzle some of the sauce over the top, yummy!

Priorities

Dear Blogger,
     Please forgive me for my absence from you Monday evening. I had good intentions of visiting you today and making changes to the layout & my posted playlist (time for something new, ya know?!?)
BUT
    I was busy, so I have a valid excuse.  After a long day at work, I meet my sweet husband at Barnes & Noble for some hot drinks around a warm fire, & looked up some tasty recipe books (and yes, I did copy some of the recipes to bring home!).
THEN
    We headed home, with our fast food dinner (our first eating-out meal in the last 4-5 weeks).  And spent the remainder of the evening snuggled on the couch watching movies until we were silly tired. 
NOW
     It is bed time, my sweet man is in our warm comfy bed & he is waiting for me to join him.
MAYBE
     Tomorrow I'll find time to fit you in, I promise I'll try :-)

Vintage inspiration

I always seem to finds lots of intersting crafts to do during the holiday time of year.  I love making homemade jewelry.  Last year were these adorable scrabble pendants.

This year I've decided on a more vintage approach and I have been making earrings using buttons, sounds odd but they turn out really cute, I promise!  

One noticeable trend are these cute little rose earrings, HERE, HERE, HERE, or HERE. 
I decided to make some of my own, & you can purchase rose cabochon's online, but I figured I could make something similar with what I can find at the craft store.  I purchased enough roses to make 3 pairs, I'm thinking red, yellow, & salmon/orange.  When they are done I'll get them posted.

Shopping...from the freezer

Sunday is the one day of the week, that I pull all proteins & frozen items from the deep freezer that we will be consuming throughout the upcoming week.  This is what was pulled for this week, & a general idea of how the items will be used.

Beef Roast; Top it with a mixture of dry onion soup mix & cream of mushroom sauce before baking. YUM!

Pork Shoulder; Pulled pork sandwiches for dinner sometime this week. 

Bacon; Breakfast & crumbled on top of baked potatoes.

Chicken; Legs & drumsticks saved from fryer chickens, good for homemade chicken noodle soup.

Corn; We must have at least 6 pks of corn, time to use up!

Ham; Sandwiches for lunch, & omelets on the weekend

Orange Juice; Haven't been feeling very well the last couple of days  :-(

Zucchini bread; I had no idea this was in the freezer!  Will work great for our work week breakfasts.

Butter; All out of margarine, just butter for the next 2 weeks.  Thankfully I still have more in the freezer. 

**As you can see, some items have a clearance sticker on them, this is the best way to purchase perishables as long as you have freezer space for them.**

Harvest Apple Muffins

I made some homemade apple butter last weekend and had some leftover, so besides using it on toast I was pondering what other great ways it could be used.  A while back, I purchased a large box of muffin mix at costco, you add in the flavorings you want, as well as some water and your good to go.  So my plan was to try adding the apple butter to the muffins for a fall inspired muffin.  With a quick dig around the pantry and my spice & baking cabinet, this is what I came up with.

Harvest Apple Muffins
3 C Dry muffin mix
1 C Water
1/2 C Apple Butter
1/4 C Pecan pieces
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 tsp. Cinnamon - ground
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1/4 C Butter- softened
1 tsp. Cinnamon - ground

Combine muffin mix & water, add in apple butter, pecans, vanilla, & first cinnamon amount.  Stir until well combined but don't overmix.  Spoon mix into prepared muffin tins.  In a small bowl combine brown sugar, softened butter & second cinnamon amount.  Mix until it resembles coarse crumbs, spoon over muffin mix.  
Bake 350, 12-18 minutes.  To test for doneness, lightly touch tops, if it springs back then it is ready.

I prefer to break up the pecan pieces in my hand, & I left the apple butter on the chunky side cause I like to see what I am eating, sorry I just get weird with food sometimes!

The topping added to the muffins before they are baked, & then what they look like after.  For a healthy twist, you can add in some quick oats to the brown sugar streusel topping before they are baked.