Christmas Advent Gifts

My grandson Jase is 4 months old already. (My oh my, time sure does fly by quickly!)

One of the things he loves is books. He likes to be read to as well as looking at the colorful pictures.

My daughter wanted to do a "gift-a-day" for Jase, in lieu of an advent calendar. So she decided to check out the local thrift stores and buy children's books to give him each day in December leading up to Christmas. 

As you can see, Jase is enjoying these little gifts quite a bit! Have you ever done an advent calendar with your children? What kind of gifts or treats did you have for each day?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Veteran's Day

We honor and thank all those who have served and sacrificed for our freedom on this Veteran's Day!

(A blast from the past - I originally posted this digi-collage on my blog all the way back in 2006!)

Belated Birthday Celebration

Last night I went out with some girlfriends to celebrate my birthday. Never mind that my birthday was over two months ago. That's just the way we roll! Actually, I don't think we have celebrated the birthdays in this group of friends anywhere near our actual birthday dates in years!

Almost better than the gifts is the packaging of the gifts from these creative girls.

This one is my favorite because the paper bow is just some packing material tied with seam binding and a handmade tag. Who would have thought to use packing paper to decorate the outside of a package? I usually save everything and I know I have gotten things shipped in this kind of brown paper. Now I wish I would have saved some of it!

And I love the glitzy shabby chic look of this gift bag adorned with monogram initial ornaments from Michaels. Those will look great hanging in my office/studio. Too cute!

Pantry Weekend

This weekend I finally got around to cleaning out my pantry because I was running out of room to store things. I threw out any expired food items I found, donated a bag things to the food pantry, and the rest I decided to cook up to eat! (Gee, I wonder why I didn't do this sooner?) 

This bread is a Beer Bread mix that I bought at a home party a while back. There's something about the smell of baking bread in the fall. Tomorrow I'm going to make a pot of soup to go along with the bread. 

This morning I decided to make a veggie omelet using some of the green peppers my daughter gave me from her garden. 

And I found a box of hash brown potatoes in the pantry, so I cooked them up to go along with the eggs.

In the summer I like to keep a package of pasta salad mix on hand to make a quick side dish when it's warm outside. Well, I found TWO packages in the pantry, so I prepared both of them to serve with my lunches and dinners for the next few days. In fact, this will taste great with the leftover panko-breaded tilapia and sweet potato that I'm having for dinner tonight. So what are you serving for dinner tonight?

Boo!!!

It's Halloween! It is grey and rainy here in the midwest. But that is nothing new - it's generally is either rainy or cold (or both!) around here on October 31st. I remember many a Halloween back in the day when I was all excited to put on my costume, only to have to cover it with either a winter coat or raincoat while we went trick-or-treating! 

This year is especially fun because it's my grandson Jase's very first Halloween! My daughter took this photo early this morning. I think he a makes a darn cute little Jase-n-stein! 

Pizzi

"Pizzi" is what my daughter used to call pizza when she was a little girl. Sometimes we still refer to it as Pizzi. I found these 6-inch pizza pans at Homegoods a while back and thought I would put them to use last night. I didn't have any pizza dough on hand, but I did have a couple of small cans of Pillsbury Grands Jr. Buttermilk Biscuits (5 rolls per tube) in the fridge, so I used those to make the crust. Spray each pan with PAM and then using your fingers, press the biscuit dough onto each pan (2-1/2 biscuits per pizza).

Spread canned pizza sauce on each crust using the back of a spoon and then top with your favorite toppings. (I used green peppers from my daughter's garden and onions.) Finally, top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake the pizzas in a preheated 400-degree oven for 9-12 minutes or until crust is golden. Enjoy!

A ride through the country

I spent a few days at the cottage and really enjoyed the beautiful autumn palette of colors. Isn't Mother Nature glorious?

Happy Birthday, Baby of Mine

It's hard to believe, but exactly 30 years ago, this beautiful little girl entered the world.

Her father and I couldn't have been more proud!

 

All our favorite memories revolve around her.

 She has brought so much happiness into our lives (and she still does).

 This mischievous little girl . . .

. . . Grew into this gorgeous, bright woman.

She married this wonderful man,

and eventually started a family of her own.

 Life has come full circle 

And now she understands the love a parent has for their child.

Happy 30th birthday my dear Natalie Jane!

I Love You!!!!

Chalkboard Art : Autumn