Friday Favorites

This sweet little girl is my favorite little girl in the WHOLE world.  She's so funny.  This year she wanted to dress up like a geek.  She plays the part well.  She's pretty silly.  I'm still laughing at this picture. 

I'm a Room Mom, so I had to bring a game and a treat.  The game I chose was feather volleyball and I think it was a hit.  The kids were so funny trying to keep that feather in the air.  How weird is it that the real feather is in front a picture of a fake feather?  Hmmm...Anyhoo...this is a super fun and a family favorite game.

Now onto my treat.  The teachers wanted us to do something healthy this year, so with the help of my Auntie I made these long skinny witch fingers.  I used cream cheese in the nail part to hold the olive in place.  Use your imagination.  A lot of things would work GREAT for the nail.  The ring made it extra cute.  The kids thought it was SO COOL!  *lol*  So easy to please...for now. 

And NOW...the winner of the SWEET Ginger Blossom's felt food giveaway...

Mandi Ward said... I am a follower and i posted it on facebook :)

CONGRATS, Mandi!

Since I know where you live we'll get that to you ASAP!

Have a Happy Halloween!  Be safe and eat lots of goodies. 

We love you guys!!!

Halloween Party Treat for Kids

Looking for that last minute treat to take to a Halloween Party? Here's a quick lil' treat you can do with your kiddos. I'm not sure what to call it, but it's kinda a popcorn ball/rice krispy treat without the rice krispies. Ha ha. Throw in some candy and here you go!

 Honestly though, I'm sure I didn't make this up but I don't have a set recipe. If I was to do this again I would do it a little differently. Here's what I did...

Marshmallowie Halloween Popcorn Balls (now there's a name!)

8 cups of popcorn

5 cups of mini marshmallows

3 Tbls. Butter
1 teas. vanilla

Orange food coloring

Candycorn

M&Ms

Roasted Peanuts

Okay, I knew these were going to be sweet so I wanted to try and balance it out with salted popcorn and salted peanuts. So I used one bag of microwave popcorn (approx. 5 cups) and I air popped about 3 cups of plain popcorn. Next time I would use another bag of microwave and just save the extra. Sift through your popcorn and take out the unpopped kernels. You don't want to unexpectedly bite into one of those babies. Ouch!

Measure your marshmallows and butter in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in microwave until butter and marshmallows are completely melted. You can do this on the stovetop if you prefer. Stir in your food coloring and vanilla.

Add this marshmallow mixture to you popcorn and mix. I didn't give you measurements on the add-ins because that's really just to your taste. But I used a couple hand fulls of each. Mix till everything is evenly distributed.

 

Butter your hands (girlie loved this part), and shape the popcorn into balls. Place on a sprayed piece of parchment to set.

Okay, my honest opinion. These are a little sweet to my taste. The girlie loved them. Next time I would either add more popcorn or less marshmallows. I really liked the M&Ms and the peanuts but the candycorn was a little much for me. You really can't go wrong with this just add what you like. Now go rot your kids' teeth out! That's what Halloween is for, right? :)

Today is the last day to enter our drawing for the amazingly cute felt food. ENTER HERE! We will be drawing a winner tonight! Yay!

Chicken Noodle Soup

I never got the homemade good stuff when I was growing up. We lived off of Campbell's (the perks of being raised by my wonderful father.  :o)  Wouldn't change it for the world!), so when I did get the homemade, what a treat!!!  I learned how to make this by inspecting other people's soups and experimenting in my kitchen.  It's rather easy and it's filling, warm, and tasty. 
Here's what you need~
4 large Chicken Breasts
4 carrots
6 celery stalks
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
3 cubes chicken buillon (I like to use Knorr)
Parsley, fresh or dried
salt and pepper to taste
1 pkg Grandma's noodles, or if your feeling ambitious make your own.  You can find Grandma's noodles in the freezer section.

Fill a stock pot full of water and boil thechicken til it shreds easily.  While it's boiling chop up all your veggies.  Remove chicken and shred, put back in water and add veggies, parsley, buillon, salt and pepper and boil til your carrots are about tender.  When they get close add noodles and boil til noodles are done.  If it's too runny then add some cornstarch mixed in water to thicken it up.  Serve with warm rolls.  DELISH!  Add what you want.  I change it up here and there. 

REMINDER!:  Are we annoying you yet about this awesome giveaway that we are having?  We just want you to NOT miss out on the cuteness and have a chance to win it.  Go TO THIS POST to enter to win.  Make sure your a follower of our blog AND post it on your facebook to get the word out.  Thanks everyone!!  Hope your all having a great week.

Digi Day

No layouts this week. *Gasp* It's all good. I took a week off because my in-laws came to visit us. It was so great. I do have a hybrid project for you this week though. Being a student doctor's wife I get to meet a lot of other great women going through the same thing I am. We are all in the same boat and many of my friends are having babies. A fun shower gift are Onesies with a fun iron on transfer. I made these for two different friends, one is having a boy and another a girl. I added a fabric rosette to one of the girlie ones. These are pretty easy and reasonably priced. You can really embellish these with fabric or buttons or leave as is. Cute either way!

All you need for this project is a program that will allow you to "flip" whatever image you want to use, a printer, Printable Transfer Sheets (I used Avery 3271 light fabric transfers), Onesies, and an iron. I used Photoshop Elements to design my images.

The monkey is designed by Katie Pertiet, and I have no idea where I got the monster from. I lost most of my older (prior to last May) digital supplies in an external hard drive crash. It was a sad day. I'm pretty sure the monster is from Designer Digitals.

These two are designs by Echo Park. You can get these stinkin' cute images from the kit called Life is Good. I haven't sewn on my rosette yet, I don't have any scrap fabric that matches perfectly. *Sigh* What is a girl to do without a fabric store?

  

Alrighty, don't forget our Giveaway. C'mon peoples, go HERE and enter. Have a Happy Tuesday!

Monica

Monday Match-Up

I thought we would do Halloween treats this week.  I wanted to do something easy, because I just don't have the energy for a whole lot of anything these past few days.  Must be the pregnancy thing.  I decided to do Monica's Sugar Cookies.  Mmmm....seriously the yummiest I have ever had.  She gave me this recipe years ago and I use it all the time.  Even though making them without her made me miss her even more than I already do.  I made the dough before church and threw it in the fridge and made the cookies after our naps.  This recipes makes a lot so it's perfect to save a dozen and let the kids decorate them.  They had a ball!!  We delivered the rest to neighbors and family.  Always nice to give your goodies to others.

I do apologize for the picture.  It has been raining non-stop here all day long (I LOVE IT!) and the lighting in my kitchen isn't the best.  Not too bad though. 

Here's the recipe~

4 cubes of butter, softened....OH YES!!!  4!!!!

1 1/2 c. sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking soda

4 c. flour

Cream butter and sugar together.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients.  Refridgerate over night or if your in a hurry throw it in the freezer for a little while.  It's gonna be really hard so now you want to warm it up with your hands and knead it til it's soft, adding flour as you go, so it's not so sticky.  About 1 1/2 cups more.  Roll out dough about 1/4 inch thick and place on baking sheets.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until the cookie is no longer shiny.  You don't want to over bake these.  Place on cooling rack and ice with your favorite icing or you can use this one.

Icing~

1 cube butter

3/4 c. milk

1/3 c. flour

1 Tbsp vanilla

2 lb bag of powdered sugar

Mix your first four ingredients and then add sugar slowly until it's gets to the thickness you want.  So tasty!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Love, Erica*

I was never a Halloween fan growing up. I know, right? I honestly didn't love candy or chocolate until I became an adult. I blame it on my in-laws and their love of all things tasty and sweet. Anyway, I have become a lover of Halloween because of my children. I love dressing them up and making fun treats together. So I loved this Match-up.

I chose to do Apple Pie Caramel Apples. I learned this fun technique from my good friend Michelle. Last year we made hundreds of these for a fund raiser for our class. They were a hit and I was amazed how delicious they were. I guess you can find a similar apple at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. I've just never been able to shell out 8 buckeroos for one of their apples even though I love caramel apples. I was excited about the endless possibilities of doing these at home with the kiddos. You don't have to make them this way, you can also coat your apples with nuts, crushed candy bars, or anything else your heart desires. Anyway, they are a perfect fall treat and great for a party or for a family get together. The kids had a ball helping out and they taste so yummy. I love the tart and sweet together. Yum.

Apple Pie Caramel Apples

5 Granny Smith Apples

1 pkg. caramels

White Chocolate or White Almond Bark or White Candy Melts (any will work)

Cinnamon/Sugar Mixture

5 Popsicle Sticks

If you want to make a ton of these you can usually find a huge brick of caramel at food supply stores. Those in Utah can find them at Orson Gygi or Kitchen Kneads in West Jordan. Kraft also makes Caramel Bits in a bag by the chocolate chips. These are nice because there is no unwrapping of caramels. I bought a bag of wrapped caramel because they were cheaper and they had the sticks with them. Any of these work.

As far as the white coating. I have used the white candy melts with great success. They were thin enough to give the apple a nice coating. With these I had some white almond bark leftover so I used that. It was a little thick and even when I thinned it, it still gave the apple a pretty thick coating. No problem for me for a family treat, but I would want it a touch thinner if I was presenting them somewhere. I haven't tried the plain white chocolate. I'm sure it would work just fine too.

So, wash the apples really well and dry completely. It is best if your apples are at room temp. I took mine out of the fridge ready to get started and had to wait a few hours because they were "sweating". If you dip them while they are wet your caramel will just fall right off. Not good. Take the stems out and insert the sticks. Next, melt the caramel. I did mine in the microwave but you can do it on the stove top too. Dip your apples and coat thoroughly. Hold the apple over the bowl and let it drip. Place on a sprayed piece of parchment. This works the best, I promise. Do all your apples, reheating the caramel if needed. Let sit until completely set. For a nicer looking apple, use kitched shears to trim off any excess caramel on the bottom.

Next melt your white candy melts, also done in the microwave. Dip each apple the same as the caramel and immediately sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Let sit till set. We like to cut these in pieces. Enjoy! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I think I may go cut another. :)

Reminder:

Did that get your attention? A lot of you haven't entered our give away. ENTER HERE for a chance to win this cute felt food. We pick a winner this Thursday! If you like our blog, get the word out for us. We would appreciate it a ton! Have a Happy Monday!

See, so cute!

Friday Favorites

There are hundreds of free patterns and tutorials out on the web now. It's kind of exciting and probably giving some pattern companies a run for their money. My kids' Halloween costumes are semi-homemade this year and all I had to do was google "such and such pattern" or "such and such tutorial". Awesome. I love that. It makes sewing much cheaper when you can get a pattern for cheap or free. With the cost of fabric and the time put into a project, sometimes it's just not worth it to sew. You know what I mean? So with that, I wanted to point you in a few directions for free patterns, but don't forget Google. I love Google.

The blog has a million ideas. She links hundreds of other blogs with all kinds of ideas and patterns. The Train to Crazy.

The Simple Skirt

I have featured this blog before. I just love her ideas and her projects. She's pretty cool. She has a lot of tutorials. Craftiness is not Optional.

She shows you how to make your own pattern using your children's existing clothes.

This skirt is a re-fashioned adults skirt made into a girl's dress. Check out this tute. :)

Here is a tutorial for Baby Legs. You know those cute leg warmers for babies. This is from Little Birdie. I actually just googled this, because I couldn't find the original tutorial I had found. Super easy though.

There are a million tutorials online for a no sew tutu. I just googled this one too. I've made one of these before and they are super easy and very cute. This one is from Mama's Doodles.

Fun, fun! Don't buy expensive patterns until you check the net. Seriously, anyway we can save money. Right?!

Don't forget our Giveaway going on right now! Felt food is so fun. I made some for my daughter one year and it was suprisingly easy and adorable. I love it. She does a great job and her "food" is gorgeous and ecofriendly. How cool is that? Enter here.

Have an awesome weekend. And do something crafty!

Monica :)

Meatloaf...That I Actually Like and...A GIVEAWAY!!!

My whole life I would cringe when anyone would say we are having meatloaf for dinnner.  I would stir it around my plate until everyone else was done eating and then I'd say I was done too.  Cause you know when you stir it around your plate it looks like you ate some of it.  :o)  I was flipping through recipes online a few years back and came across this meatloaf recipe.  I thought since I was older and more mature...yeah right!...that I might actually try it.  I don't remember where I seen it, but I am so happy I found it.  I have been making it since, and my family loves it too.  I get lots of compliments on it about how they usuallly don't like meatloaf, but this one is good.  I dunno?  Maybe they are just being nice?  How about you try it for dinner and let me know what you think about it.  I like to serve it with either mashed taters and gravy or augratin potatoes.

Here's the recipe~
1/2 c. ketchup
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dry mustard
2 lbs, lean ground beef
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/4 c. diced onions
1 egg, beaten
1 cube beef buillon, crumbled
3 Tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a small bowl mix first 4 ingredients until smooth.  In a large bowl combine remaining ingredients and 1/3 c. of the ketchup mix until well mixed.  Form into loaf and place in a loaf pan or a baking dish.  Bake 1 hour.  Pour off fat.  Top with remaining ketchup mix, and bake for 10 minutes more.  Let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.
-------------------------------
NOW!!!!  For the fun giveaway!  I'm so excited for this one.  Have you ever seen felt food?  It is the most adorable stuff for your kids to play with.  I found this website through a friend and come to find out she lives in the same town as I do.  I contacted her and she offered to sponser a giveaway for our awesome readers.  She is so talented, and what's more fun than these for Christmas for your little ones in your life.  Christmas is only 64 days away.  EEEEEEEEE ANXIETY!  ;o)

~A couple pics of her beautiful work~

Aren't they adorable?!  All her stuff is hand made and the felt is 100% eco-friendly.  If you want to see what else she has go to Ginger Blossoms and take a look.  She will be adding lots more for the upcoming Holiday.  When you purchase the heart cookies at Cookies for Cancer then she donates 50% to the Hunstman Cancer Foundation. 

For the giveaway we are going to do the Fruity Breakfast.

I thought it was a great combination of the things she creates and would be fun for a boy or girl.  I love how realistic her food is.  I wish I had felt food when I was little.  All you gotta do is leave a comment on this post if you are follower and if you post this on your facebook.  We want to get the word out on our blog and hit our 100 mark.  You have til next Thursday at midnight to comment.  We will announce the winner on our Friday post.  Good LUCK!!! 

Digi Day

Make sure you check out JessicaSprague.com for One Dollar Wednesday. It's the best day of the week next to Friday. Okay both days are equally awesome but mostly because you can get digi goods for a buck! You can't beat it.

This layout is done using a lot of products by Splendid Fiins. She sells her products exclusively at JessicaSprague.com. I love her fun style. She also puts out a lot of boyish colors which is nice. I get tired of pink sometimes. :) I love this photo. I took the kids up to the ranch and brought my nephew along. We went up to "help" my dad sort cows. We mostly just stayed out of the way, but I captured a moment where my dad was explaining to the boys some of the details of the job. Priceless photo.

Full Credits Here

Also, last week I featured these magnetic bookmarks done by Erica Coombs. I followed her tutorial and made some bookmarks of my own. They were fun to make and turned out so cute. I handed these out at an activity. Very fun! These were designed using photoshop then printed out, cut, and stitched together. I love the stitching. There are so many things you can do with your photoshop skills. It's not just for scrapbooking people! These would make great lil' stocking stuffers or gifts to people you visit or an add on gift for that reader in your life. Perfect. :)

Happy Happy Wednesday! Stay tuned. We have a fun give away coming up!

Zucchini Bread

If you want the smell of fall in your house then bake this.  I told my hubs that it smelt and tasted like fall and he looked at me funny.  :o)  I guess men don't understand?  My sweet brother, Brian, brought me some zucchini this weekend.  Unlike my garden, his is still producing delicious veggies...mine barely produced anything this year.  Sad face.  So, I thought i'd make some delicious zucchini bread. 

Here's the recipe-

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 1/4 cups white sugar

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Grease and flour two 8x4 bread pans.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Mix flour, salt, soda, powder, and cinnamon in a small bowl.  In a bigger bowl blend eggs, vegetable oil, sugar, and vanilla.  Add flour mix and stir to blend.  Then add your zucchini and walnuts.  Pour into prepared bread pans and bake for 40-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  My oven takes 55 minutes. 

Now tell me, What do you think fall smells like?

Source

Monday Match-Up

Pumpkin, pumpkin everywhere. Is anyone else just loving the season? I've already made pumpkin cupcakes last week and it wasn't enough. I had to have more. Today we're featuring pumpkin. Yay!

I was very lucky to have some company for the weekend. My sister-in-law Jamie and I were brainstorming pumpkin recipes and she mentioned one of her favorites. She makes these every year for her family and they love it. We made these today for the fam and they were fabulous. Seriously, yum. Make these this weekend. You won't regret it.

Pumpkin Pancakes
1 1/4 c. flour
2 Tbls. sugar
2 teas. baking powder
1/2 teas. cinnamon
1/2 teas. ground ginger
1/2 teas. salt
pinch of ground cloves
1 cup milk
6 Tbls. canned pumpkin
2 Tbls. melted butter
1 egg

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix milk, pumpkin, butter, and egg. Fold pumpkin mixture into dry mixture. Pour about 1/4 cup on a hot griddle and cook about 3 minutes on each side Serve with my favorite syrup.

Source: Martha Stewart

This is the best breakfast syrup ever. It is a cinnamony sweetness that my whole family loves.

Ann's Syrup
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. corn syrup
1.4 c. water
1/2 teas. cinnamon
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

Combine sugar, corn syrup, water, and cinnamon in a saucepan. Cook on medium heat stirring constantly until it comes to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in whipping cream.

Enjoy!
Monica :)
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Pumpkin Pancakes?  Mmmm...something I have to try!!  I love this time of year!  All the flavors of fall are pretty much awesome.  I decided to make a Pumpkin Roll.  I've been making these for quite a few years.  I had all the ingredients on hand, except for the pumpkin, and that's always a good thing in my book...and my husbands.  :o)  Justy helped me throw them together.  It's fun getting your kids involved in the kitchen.  Hope you enjoy it just as much as my family does.

 Pumpkin Rolls-
3 eggs
1 c. sugar
2/3 c. canned pumpkin
1 tsp lemon juice
3/4 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
powdered sugar

Filling-
1/4 c. butter softened
6 oz. cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a BIG cookie sheet with parchment paper and grease the paper. In a large bowl, beat your eggs until a lemony color.  Gradually add sugar.  Stir in pumpkin, and lemon juice.  In a separate bowl sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.  Fold into egg mixture.  Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing out the top.  Bake 15 minutes.  Lay a clean dish towel on the counter and sprinkle it with powdered sugar.  Turn your warm cake on the towel and remove paper.  Roll up cake.  Cool either in the fridge or if your in a hurry, throw it in the freezer for a few minutes.

Beat butter, and cream cheese until smooth.  Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla.  Unroll cake and spread with filling and roll back up.  Cut and serve...AND ENJOY!

Have a great week! Erica*

Friday Favorite

I know this has nothing to do with food, but it is crafty and oh SO creative.  I came across this blog and have fallen in love with this mother and baby.  She did this as a hobby during her maternity leave.  She's amazing!  Go take a look at Mila's Daydream.  It will bring a smile to your face just like it does mine every time I see this sweet baby. 

Here are a few of my favorites.

 Book Worm

 Paper Doll

Salon

Have an awesome weekend!  Thanks for visiting our blog!  We love and appreciate ALL of you.  :o)

The Best Darn Cupcakes Ever!

I know that's saying a lot, but really, they were awesome.  The cake so moist and the frosting so creamy.  Me and my family were so happy that I decided to make these.  I think i'll be making them lots more in the future.  They aren't fancy shmancy like the ones my cute sister does, but I think they taste just as great, well...I guess I don't really know that, because I've never tried one of Monica's fabulous cupcakes.  Hmmm...now that's just wrong!

 Here's the recipe
Cupcakes~
2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. (heaping) cocoa
1 c. butter
1 c. boiling water
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl.  In a saucepan melt butter, then add cocoa.  Stir together.  Add boiling water and let it boil for about 30 seconds.  Pour cocoa mix over flour mixture and stir lightly to cool.  In a small bowl add buttermik, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla.  Stir to combine.  Add to flour mix.  Stir to combine.  Pour into cupcake liners.  I got about 20 cupcakes.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Let cool.

Icing~
5 Tbsp flour
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. butter
1 c. granulated sugar

In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens.  REALLY REALLY THICK!   Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla.

While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough! Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.  Top your cupcakes or a cake and enjoy!!! 

These would be fun for a Halloween party.  Give em' a try!  Hope your having a swell week and Happy Hump Day!

Digi Day

 I was very tempted this week to join a paper scrapbooking club. Very tempted. A scrapbooking club is where you join and they send you a monthly coordinated pack of paper, embellies, stamps, inks, etc. I've always wanted to join one but never did. Good thing it's not in my budget. Now why in the world would a digi die hard want to join a paper scrapbooking club? I know you're asking. WELL, I have been in love with a lot of the hybrid layouts and projects I've seen lately. What is hybrid you ask? Well, hybrid is when the digi world meets the paper world and you get really beautiful projects and crafts. Here are some examples of some things that have been catching my eye.

Cathy does gorgeous hybrid layouts. She is a real inspiration to me. She takes a lot of digital products, prints them out and paper scraps them. I love the textures. You may just see some hybrid layouts from me yet.

Cathy's Blog

Cammie does a lot of projects and crafts using digital elements. I love this candy box. She printed out digital paper then mod podged it to this wood basket. Soooo cute!

I've never been a huge card maker but I love these. Again, she prints out the digi elements and pieces them together.

Cammie's Blog

I saw these in the gallery recently and loved them! They are magnetic bookmarks. I'm actually making some of these for a hand out. Pictures coming soon.

Erica's Blog

If you haven't checked out JessicaSprague.com recently. Every Friday they have a Photoshop Friday episode available for one dollar and now they are putting out a hybrid project also for one dollar. Last week was a super cute Halloween decoration. Only one dollar for the directions and everything to make a hybrid project.

Purchase it here.

Okay, here is my layout for the week. Creativity by Crystal is now doing an "Inspired By" template series. She has paired up with some of her favorite paper scrappers and is using their layouts to make templates for us digi scrappers. Templates are a whole other story I need to get into with you. Definitely a quicker and great way to get some scrapping done. This layout took me 30 minutes tops. And it's gorgeous and documented. Love it.

Okay, I've been learning about designing blogs so don't mind the dust, there will be visual changes here and there in the next couple of weeks. Yay!

Monica

Friday Favorite...

Is it Friday already?! I don't know about you but the weeks are flying by for us. I've been seeing some really really cute Fall wreaths lately. I want to make one so bad but I'm having a hard time finding what I need in this small town. A lot of student doctor's wives wish for a mall in this town. I just want a craft store. *sigh* Anyway, check out these fun Fall wreaths. Let me know if you make one!

Of course I'm going to feature Martha. Here are two gorgeous wreaths from her website. I love that corn husk one.

Instructions

Instructions

This one is from Woman's Day. I love the color of this one. I'm not sure I would have the patience to make it though.

Instructions

I love the spooky nature of this one. Really cool.

Instructions

This one is so cool! It is just wrapped in yarn. I love the finished look.

Instructions

Yay for Fall! Wreath making anyone?
Have a great Weekend!

Salty Caramel Brownies

Need I say more?  :o)  These are so tasty and so rich.  I love the saltiness in the topping, but if you know me, then you know I love salt.  Mmmmm...These were pretty easy to throw together.  I did most of it with my 2 year old on my hip.  It was one of those nights.  I think I might have overcooked the caramel, but they still tasted great!  It wasn't good and melty on the brownies, like I thought it would be.  It set up more like a chewy toffee which was fine with me and a lot less messy!  I will blame the over cooking on the Lil' Mister.

Here's the recipe-

Brownies
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 c. unsalted butter, cubed up
2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 c. flour

Caramel Topping
1/2 c. heavy cream
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. unsalted butter
2 tsp. Kosher Salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 baking dish.  In a double broiler over medium heat melt chocolate and butter together stirring gently until all melted.  Add sugar, and stir til well combined.  Remove from heat.  In a seperate bowl whisk eggs. While stirring pour in eggs a little at a time, so you don't cook them.  Stir till well combined, then add flour.  Stir and pour into baking dish.  Bake 25-30 minutes.  Cool completely!

In a small sauce pan warm heavy cream to an almost boil, but do not boil.  Remove from heat.  In a larger pan add water, and sugar and stir to combine.  Heat to boiling on medium high heat.  Do not stir while it heats up.  Let it boil til it becomes an amber color.  Add cream and butter, stir til nice and creamy, then add the salt.  Stir.  Pour on top of brownies and leave it alone til caramel is set. 

If you make this I want to know how your caramel sets up.  I'm curious if I did it wrong.  *lol*  I'm not a chef!  I'm a wife/mom who is learning!!  :o)

 Source

Digi Day

It's One Buck Wednesday over at JessicaSprague.com. Hopefully for my digi scrappin' friends you are taking full advantage of stocking up on your supplies on Wednesdays. This week there are a couple of templates by Jessica Sprague. Her templates are very versatile and oh so cute. I used one of her templates for this layout.

Full Credits Here

Also, the Queen of Quirk put out an adorable Fall kit this week. I made this layout using it. So cute.

Full Credits Here

And lastly, there were some fun classes announced this week. Just wish I could keep up with them all!

Family History Album Class

Tween and Teen album Classes

Sharla are you out there? I really want to give these flowers to you. If we don't hear from her by Thursday night, we'll be drawing another name. Hope your October is going well. :)