I'm all about the desserts...

We have a wide variety of desserts for Thanksgiving. There is plenty to choose from, plenty to send home with the kids, and plenty of leftovers for the weekend. Hubby makes the pies and I make the rest. (These pics are from last year). I always make a Duncan Hines Swiss chocolate cake with my Mamaw Eden's homemade chocolate icing recipe. It's a big hit. 

And I wouldn't dare have a holiday without making the chocolate oatmeal no-bake cookies that have been in my family for generations. My son usually gets a bunch of these to take hunting with him the next day. 

I make brownies but make them as cookies so they are easy for a grab and go snack.

That is all completed on Wednesday evening after I get home from work or first thing Thursday before hubby puts the turkey on. But every Thanksgiving, right after I run out and get the paper, I make the Pillsbury cinnamon rolls for breakfast with a cup of ice cold milk. It is my favorite way to start the day. I am funny, I won't touch the dessert before the family arrives.

I sample a little bit of everything on my dessert plate after dinner. But then when the day is done, I have a snack with a piece of graham cracker pie as I look over the Black Friday ads one last time. 

Then Friday morning, I get up at 4:00 and have me a few of the cookies with a cup of cold milk before I start my day. Don't judge me too harshly ... they do contain oats and I am drinking milk so I just consider it my bowl of oatmeal before starting my busy day. 

Well, that has all made me hungry. Have a great day.

Weekend wrap up....

It was an awesome weekend. Saturday morning started off with picking up Alexis and Colby to spend the weekend with me. When we were getting ready to leave, my son came home with a big 9 point buck he had just gotten. They love deer meat and all I can say is to each their own. Of course, I only ate deer meat one time and nobody told me what I was eating. I must admit it was good.

I took the grandkids and headed out to the shop. First stop was Toys-R-Us. Colby had to check out the four-wheeler. 

They got to meet Geoffrey at Toys-R-Us and thought that was pretty cool, even if he didn't have much personality. He was a little bland. Alexis walked away and said "He needs to learn to be a little big more animated." Guess her trip to Disney this summer set the precedence.

Afterwards, we went to the mall for lunch at Chik-Fil-A. They wanted to stop in the play area so we did that for a little while.

And I can't pass up the little rides without letting the kids enjoy them. Colby told me he was Tennessee Vol and he was driving this Gator back to the Florida stadium. If you live in Vol country or our a Vol fan, you would find the humor in that.

Next we headed to Walmart to get a ham for Thanksgiving. Hubby took care of getting the turkey. 

On Sunday, we had Thanksgiving dinner for the kids in Children's church and everybody wore Pilgrim or Indian hats. Alexis's feather kept flopping over so she fixed that by bending them under. 

After church, we just went home and vegged out all afternoon. I took them home about 3:30 and then headed straight back to go to choir. It was a great weekend.

Sunday Funnies....

Busy weekend ahead...

Heading out this morning to send these out to Mom for my nieces to get on Thanksgiving Day. Just a little something I made for them to get started on their Christmas decor. I did them as a "grab bag" with no tags. Everything has the same thing only different. They can switch around if they want to once they are opened. I am hoping my sister will get some pictures so I can blog about them all opening the bags and holding up their gift.

After I stop at the post office, I'm picking up two of the grandchildren to spend the weekend. I plan on taking them shopping and to get some Christmas ideas on what they want this year. It's going to be a great day.

The next week....

We are coming into one of my favorite weeks of the entire year. It will be very busy, but loads of fun. It starts tonight when I finish up some craft items I am sending to my Mom's for the nieces and my sister for Christmas gifts. I am using brown bags for Christmas bags. Not sure how I will wrap them, but here is what gave me the idea.

Saturday will be a quick trip to the post office then heading to Walmart and Food City to finish grocery shopping for all the delicious food for Thanksgiving. Hubby takes care of getting the turkey and I get the ham. I am not a turkey fan (gasp!) but I do love ham. I usually try to get a Kentucky Legend ham or a Cumberland Gap ham.

Sunday is the next to the last Christmas Cantata practice for our choir. I need to make sure and go because there is still one song that takes a LOT of breathing power to get through and I need to practice it some more. Whew, it's going to be a tough one.

Monday & Tuesday after work will be spent getting the house clean and ready for the family to come over on Thursday.

Wednesday after work I will start the prep work for Hubby since he will be working. I usually bake any of my goodies like cakes, brownies and cookies. I also cook the potatoes, eggs, and noodles to refrigerate over night so he can make potato salad and macaroni salad the next morning. 

By the time Thursday rolls around, my part in the process is done and Hubby kicks me out of "his" kitchen and takes over for the holiday cooking. Which is fine with me because I do not like to cook and he loves to. He is very good at it. I am usually up around 5:30 or 6:00 and at 6:15 I run out to get the newspaper so I can go through the Black Friday Ads. My Thanksgiving day is spent pouring over the ads and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

Around noon, Hubby takes a break from cooking and I get to enter his domain and make the deviled eggs. My only contribution to the meal except for dessert. I usually snatch a few of my no bake cookies and a glass of milk for my lunch since dinner is usually around 4 or 5 o'clock.

Then the fun begins. My family will begin arriving and I get to spend precious time with them. We all pour over the ads then eat ourselves into oblivion. It is so much fun having all under one roof with us. I am very blessed that they all live close enough to come over for the holidays. They are growing up fast. This was three years ago and they have changed so much in such a short time. 

At the end of the day, when the mess is all cleaned up and put away and Hubby crashes in his chair to watch TV, I get on my warm jammies and fix me a piece of graham cracker pie and set at the table and start the serious business of planning my day for Black Friday. I plan out my route, pick out the ads of where I will be going and make a list for each store I plan on visiting. I get good ideas for Christmas when I watch everybody's reactions and listen to their conversations while they have looked at the ads earlier. I finish my list and change purses to whatever one I want to carry. Then I head to bed for a good night sleep (usually around midnight or 12:30) and get back up at 4:00 to be out and about by 5:00 for the Black Friday Madness. I love it.

Friday shopping on the biggest shopping weekend of the year is spend going from store to store and comparing lists through phone calls with my daughter-in-law. We cross shop by seeing if something is at one location or another. We wind up around the same area around lunch and get together for a not lunch while we rest our weary feet and get ready for round two in the afternoon. Last year we ended up at O'Charley's. That was my first time eating there and the food was delicious.

I am usually home by 5:00 and spend the evening sorting my finds and getting them hidden away from prying eyes. I check my list and make sure everything I got is marked off. I rewrite it with whatever was left and get up on Saturday and go shopping again with my daughter. We always go to Turkey Creek in Knoxville. It has so many of our favorite stores.

We always have lunch at Steak and Shake on that Saturday. I get the same thing every time. A burger, fries and a cup of vegetable soup. After a good lunch, we are fortified for another two or three hours. 

Sunday or Monday after that Hubby and I will go pick out our Christmas tree at the same nursery we go to for all our spring flowers. They have gorgeous trees and I love the smell of real trees. The mess and clean up afterwards doesn't bother me as long as I get to have a real tree. I am very old fashioned on my trees. I still use icicles all over them. Mom always did and it was a tradition that I have carried on even though everybody in the family teases me and fusses about them. Hubby and I like them. This was our tree last year. I love big fluffy real trees.

And if you wonder why I love icicles so much, here is a picture of our tree when I was little. This was before my brother Andy was born but you can see Mom loved them too. 

So even though the next week or two is going to be crazy busy, I will be loving every moment of it. From now through the end of the year will be hectic but I don't care. I can sleep in January.

Mom's cute trees

Mom has put up her Christmas tree. She has decided to downsize this year. In her dining room, she put this 3' tree and decorated it with traditional ornaments, beads and a gorgeous angel on the top. 

In the living room, she put up a 4' tree. She decided to make some homemade ornaments for her tree this year. I see some stockings, some yo-yo wreaths and some snowmen that she made. I just adore this little tree. Her ornaments are just so cute. 

And when she turns the lights on, it is just gorgeous.  

Thanks, Mom, for letting me share. 

No-Sew RunnersTutorial

I love making no-sew runners. My niece Amy showed me this neat trick last year and I have making them ever since. I like to make the smaller versions so I'm not sure if you would call them runners or  doilies but either way, they are super simple. I thought I would write the steps out for anyone who wants to give it a whirl. You will need material, scissors, iron and a roll of hem tape (otherwise known as heat & bond). I recommend you do not use your best iron unless you use a dish towel to lay over each step when you iron. Otherwise, you could get the hem tape stuck on the iron. I bought a cheap iron for $6.00 at Walmart as my craft iron. It works perfectly. 

First, select a piece of fabric and determine the finish size you want. Add about 1-2 inches on each side to have enough for your finish size. I cut this piece of material at 10 x 14. Your edges don't need to be perfect because you will be turning them under. 

Press your material to remove any wrinkles then turn it with the front side face down. Fold in each side about 1-2 inches and press the fold down on every side. 

Your back side should now look like this. 

Now you will lift each side one at a time and measure out your hem tape. I love this stuff because you can just tear it off when you get the length you need. 

Lay the piece of hem tape inside the fold.

Fold the fabric back over the tape, hiding it inside the fold. 

Set you iron in the middle of the cotton/linen setting on your switch. Due one side of your fabric at a time. Cover the side you are ironing with a soft cloth or dish towel to avoid getting the tape on the iron. Hold it down on sections at a time for 10 seconds. DO NOT run the iron up and down the seam. Simply hold it over a section, count to 10 and move to the next section and repeat until you do the entire side of the fabric.

Repeat this process on all four sides of your fabric.

When you are done, your back should look something like this.  

Next, turn your material so the short width is facing you. Bend the corners in to a triangle shape that makes the fabric come to a point on the end.  

Iron it in place to create a seam.

Open up each side and place tape on each side of the turned in pieces.  

Then gently lay the fabric back down to cover the hem tape.

Hold your iron on each section for 10 seconds, sealing the seams. Repeat on the other end.

If you want, you can use hot glue to put a button or a bow on each of the pointed ends. 

And here is the finished product. 

You can place a candle, a candy dish, a figurine, anything you want. I made this one for my Russian stacking doll and a candy dish. 

This looks like a lot of steps, but it really only takes about 15-30 minutes to make one. The more comfortable you get, the faster you can do them. I can do one in about 12 minutes. Here are a few others I have made this year and last year. I have a vintage reindeer set I may set on this one. 

This is the one for my pencil Santa's to set on.

I made this one last year to set a big snowman on.

I love poinsettias. It is my birth month flower and my mom & mamaw always set out poinsettias every Christmas. So I had to make this when I spotted the material.

Last year, I used it for a little mini poinsettia plant and my Christmas tea for one set. I just loved how it turned out.

But the one I made the other day is my favorite. You can't really tell but the material has glitter built in. It sparkles so pretty. I am going to set a candy dish full of Christmas hard candy on this one beside a little votive candle. 

I am making some for gifts this year. I have 3 made and have about 10-12 more to make. I will probably make them tonight and tomorrow night so they are done and can get marked off my list. I have a lot of material to choose from. My friend does applique work and she gave me a bunch of material this year.

As you can see, I will have a lot of variety for my gift runners.