whole lotta baking going on.....

I've been baking up a storm....I decided NOT to bake all the cookies and treats at once.

Instead, I'm doing a little each week so we can eat some and share some and NOT gain 80 pounds!

What do you make the day after Thanksgiving when you realize you forgot them the day OF Thanksgiving?

Apple Roses, got the recipe off Facebook....easy and sooo good!

And of course, there is always Turkey Pot Pie....recipe off Pinterest via Damn Delicious.  I admit I tweaked the recipe, adding some leftover gravy to the roux...delicious!

Pepper Nuts....been making these for EVER.  Best recipe?  From frugalgirl's blog.  I omit anise and double the cloves.  I suggest halving the recipe unless you feel like baking 8 hours straight!  lol

Basic Snicker doodles and my mom's cheese straw "cookies"....

That's all for today.....besides, I need to workout some:

Happy Birthday!

Someone is turning 18 today!

I'm not going to get all gushy.....words aren't enough and I don't want to bawl my eyes out while typing this up.  

Kaela's beauty on the outside reflects her inner beauty.   It really does.  She is one of the sweetest people I've ever met.   I'm not saying that because I'm her mom....I'm saying it because it is true...and EVERYONE who knows her, tells me things they've witnessed her do.  Things that support my claim.
She has an amazing talent for art....and for helping those less fortunate.  I am so proud of her....and I love her so much! 

Side yard landscaping

We have a very skinny side yard that I always thought could be pretty if we did something with it.   The yard is 50 feet long and goes from a mere 4 feet wide to 8 feet wide at the gate.

 Last year, we started the transformation process...I had a feeling the sun on this side would be better for our basil, peppers and tomatoes.




It was pretty and the veggies flourished...but that narrow strip of grass kept creeping into the beds UNDER the mulch.  It was a chore keeping it out.   



Over the summer, we put down plastic to kill that strip of grass.  Imagine living with this for several months...just awful.  But it did the trick, killing all the grass.

 Dean and I pulled up the plastic.  Then I freaked out thinking that it wasn't going to "look like I thought it would..." He told me to go away and patiently put down a thick layer of weed liner by himself.  

Then, the past two weekends, we FINISHED it!  Between the striping and the pebbles and the mulching and the stones, it was a lot of work.  But it is gorgeous and I love it.

Coming from the back yard, around the rosemary:

....the mulch strips to the left and right will be filled with veggies and herbs like last year.

This is the view when the gate is open.

The bench and table will be useful when I harvest and weed.  I am going to add a few underplantings of shamrock, alyssum and nasturtium at the edges....have to wait until spring for that though.

I am so happy with how it turned out.  I simply adore my little secret garden.  I cannot wait until the edges are softened by fluffs of ground cover....and I am again harvesting summer bounty.

Ornament swap tree

Each year I host this swap and each year I love what is lovingly made and sent in.
This year was no different.   

I admit, I was so busy that I almost didn't host it but then I decided to do it anyway....I had an email from someone unexpected asking when I was hosting...and I just couldn't say no!

 Hosting takes a lot of time.  The hardest part is sorting the ornaments to give "balance" to everyone's return box...it is no easy task.  

That being said, I always make a few different ornaments as I try to give every box at least 1 little "extra."

Here is what I received this year:

A sweet snowman atop a jingle bell (and YES, my daughter absconded with it right after the photo was taken!)  I'll be stealing it back when I pack them away!

A fun santa in a boot scene, reminiscent of the vintage style I adore.

A cute Ruddie!  Simple and sweet with a cute scarf.  Some even had glitter noses!

and a fun lollipop!

A few people made me an extra for hosting.  Some I had to use to balance out a few boxes, but I did get to keep this lovely doe in a storm of words....she is much prettier in person, all glittery and perfect.

and this wire and beaded tree topping star....

I put them all on a small tree I made for the bar using another urn. (yet, another craptastic to fantastic tree.)   

I filled the rest in with some other ornaments I made or received from past swaps.  


Here is one side:

and the other....

Peeking out from the back is the snowman head I made this year.  I truly adore all my handmade lovelies and thank all the participants who work SO HARD to create lovely ornaments to share with the group.

Missing Leonardo Da Kitty

This time of year has us jumping.....

Our annual donation to the pet shelter.   I managed to make  25 beds again.  It was a busy few months, crocheting and sewing them. (see, told ya I was doing stuff!)

Leo went missing the day we dropped off our donation.  Here he is in the last photo I took of him.  Look how handsome.  He was a mellowed out guy by this age.

We it was risky, allowing him to become and indoor/outdoor cat.  But he was a miserable indoor kitty....stress related health issues and basically unhappy.  We almost put him down he was so sickly.  

I guess the trade off of him being happy and healthy for close to 9 years outweighs the sadness I feel now.

The not knowing is tough.  Even Osa still looks for him.  

Wordless Wednesday

craptastic to fantastic~November's craft along challenge!

Okay, so I couldn't resist that title

Last January, I found a crappy little tree on the clearance shelf at a local store.  It was 90% off.   Yes, I spent 2 bucks on a broken tree....

So I took it home and found the broken light and fixed it.  Then I drug out this urn I had in the garage and painted it a goldish color.  After stuffing it with floral foam, I shoved the broken end of the tree into it and stabilized it with more foam.  I covered the whole mess up with a bag of mixed moss.

It was meant for my kitchen bar but Kaela wanted a tree for her room this year.  So, I swapped this out for the 4 footer I had at school.    This sits on the back table and all the kids love to come check out the hand made ornaments on it.

I have another urn and have been eyeballing these same little trees....just waiting for a good sale.  They were originally 30.00, no way am I spending that!