What a Way to Start the New Year

Normally, in the week between Christmas and New Years, I would be packing away the fluff of Christmas and beginning my year with a fresh, clean home.  This week found me lying in bed with a pounding head and other symptoms that you just don't want to hear about. As a die hard blogger I was able to snap this one blurry photo of the weak tea I have been able to consume. I slept through yesterday, something I never do. And have felt just enough better today to lay on the sofa rather than the bed. Needless to say, I haven't been visiting blogs or doing housework or preparing for the family party that is Sunday.  I really need to get better. I have a big weekend coming up and I just can not miss it! I have a wedding of a dear friend that I have been looking forward to on New Years eve. Doesn't that sound fun?! A reason to dress up and celebrate rather than falling asleep on the couch at 9pm. Yes, it's a fairly comfy couch, but I'm not 103 yet and a little New Years Eve festivity sounds dreamy. Then Sunday the family party, and thank goodness it's at my sisters house.

So I'm taking the rest of the year off and I'll see you all after the New Year.

Happy New Year to All my Friends !

I'll catch up with what you've been doing when I feel better, right now...

I"m heading for the sofa.

To All My Friends, Far and Near....

May your Christmas be blessed with love, and warmth and family as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the light of the world.

It's a Marshmallow World in the winter...

Here's a fun, easy treat for the kids (and grownups too!) Two marshmallows on a short skewer, dipped in white chocolate and decorated with frosting for eyes nose and buttons make a sweet, fun way to stir hot cocoa! Add these to a gift basket, maybe with some home made hot cocoa in a jar and cute winter mugs, and you have a gift that can't help but bring smiles:>)

It's a marshmallow world in the winter,
When the snow comes to cover the ground,
It's time for play,
It's a whipped cream day,
I wait for it the whole year round.

Those are marshmallow clouds being friendly,
In the arms of the evergreen trees,
And the sun is red, like a pumpkin head,
It's shining so your nose won't freeze.

The world is your snowball, see how it grows,
That's how it goes, whenever it snows,
The world is your snowball just for a song,
Get out and roll it along.

It's a yum-yummy world made for sweethearts,
Take a walk with your favorite girl,
It's a sugar date,
What if spring is late?
In winter, it's a marshmallow world.

It's a marshmallow world in the winter,
When the snow comes to cover the ground,
It's time for play,
It's a whipped cream day,
I wait for it the whole year round.

Those are marshmallow clouds being friendly,
In the arms of the evergreen trees,
And the sun is red, like a pumpkin head,
It's shining so your nose won't freeze.

The world is your snowball, see how it grows,
That's how it goes, whenever it snows,
The world is your snowball just for a song,
Get out and roll it along.

It's a yum-yummy world made for sweethearts,
Take a walk with your favorite girl,
It's a sugar date,
What if spring is late?
In winter, it's a marshmallow world,
In winter, it's a marshmallow world.

 

What It's All About....

Gingerbread men, Inspired by BJ  who got the recipe from A blog friend and then I tried it too.

Just one big happy family:>)
Run over to Sweet Nothings for the recipe!

Merry Christmas from Kathy's Cottage

I know, December first is terribly early to be opening Christmas gifts. I just couldn't wait!  You know how when you have a giveaway you wish you could send a little something to everyone who comments? I decided, rather than a giveaway, I would give you all something fun. These little boxes are perfect for small candies, cookies or toys. They can be perched on a co-workers desktop, or string ribbon through their hats and hang them on the tree or as a banner!  I made four different Santas and the numbers and they are all available to download on my Graphics page.

 I taped the corners of the numbered signs to Santa's hands for a 3-d effect.

 Make one, or make them all. All you have to do is print, cut out and fold.  Maybe a little glitter around the band of his cap? Some lace or trim here and there would be cute.

Just for you, from me. Thanks for visiting all year long, the kind comments, the endless support and advice.  You all make my life better:>)

Hugs

Linking with

 Savvy City Farmer

Where Women Create

The Charm of Home

Centsational Girl Holiday Home Linky Party

But A Thankful Heart Hath A Continual Feast...

The turkey's in the oven, Victoria is preparing chili lime sweet potatoes and the rolls and green beans are on the way.  We'll be topping it all off with our traditional pumpkin chocolate swirl cheesecake and pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream.

I'll be taking a break til next week some time to get my Christmas plans in order.

I wish you all a warm, bright Thanksgiving with family and friends and time to reflect on the blessings around you:>)

Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude. ~E.P. Powell

It is literally true, as the thankless say, that they have nothing to be thankful for. He who sits by the fire, thankless for the fire, is just as if he had no fire. Nothing is possessed save in appreciation, of which thankfulness is the indispensable ingredient. But a thankful heart hath a continual feast. ~W.J. Cameron

Pumpkin Coffeecake

Good morning! We are in the home stretch. Thanksgiving with all it's baking, family fun and  warmth is almost here. Are you counting the days and planning the meal with anticipation? I know we are! I just saw one of the nieces facebook status was "4 nights until cheesecake day". Not turkey day, cheesecake day. Earl has made pumpkin chocolate swirl cheesecake for quite a few years now and I am afraid it outshines even Mr. Turkey on the big day:>)  The recipe for the cheesecake can be found on my favorite recipes page, just under my header. 

Today I wanted to share a pumpkin coffeecake that is just perfect for Thanksgiving breakfast. Moist and delicious with a streusel topping and drizzled with browned butter glaze.  Make it the night before and you won't have to add breakfast prep to your big day.

You can find the recipe here. Don't you just love the Internet for finding great recipes?

I'm off to work now but I'm looking forward to checking in on everyones posts this week and seeing how you are preparing and decorating and anticipating:>)\

And one more thought....

What are you thankful for this week?

Veggie Lasagna

This mornings bright sunshine, coupled with a day off from work, made me want to be in the sunniest part of the house this morning. That would be the kitchen:>)  I whipped up some bread and decided that while it rose I would warm up the kitchen with my favorite lasagna.  I got this recipe from a friend years ago and I just hardly ever make lasagna with meat anymore. I have served this to many people and never failed to get rave reviews!

I love to cook and bake from scratch, I think it's healthier, but it's also messier.  So when I have potatoes or carrots to peel, I lay down a layer of newspaper so I can roll it all up and toss it when I am finished. It really keeps the mess off the counter!

Veggie Lasagna

32 oz jar of pasta sauce

2 eggs

1 lb. cottage cheese (or ricotta if you prefer)

1/2 lb lasagna noodles (uncooked)

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

10-12 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 cup thinly sliced,or chopped, parboiled carrots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, spray a 9x13 glass pan with cooking spray and add enough of the pasta sauce to spread a thin layer on the bottom of the baking dish.

Parboil the carrots, I microwave the sliced carrots with a little water for about 5 minutes, then drain them.

In a bowl stir together the cottage cheese, eggs, salt, spinach, and the rest of the pasta sauce.

In the pan arrange a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of the pan, add half the cheese mixture and 1 cup of mozzarella.  Add another layer of noodles, filling and cheese, cover with tin foil sprayed with oil so it doesn't stick to the cheese, and bake for 50 minutes covered. Remove foil, and bake an additional 10 minutes to brown the cheese. Yum! The lasagna noodles come out nicely al dente without the fuss of precooking.

Nice warm vegetarian lasagna takes the chill off these blustery, cool November days:>) Enjoy!





This and That

Between my full time job and wanting to fall asleep every night at 6 pm,( because it's DARK for Pete's sake!) I don't have a lot to write about lately. Anyone else lose their energy with the shorter days? Note to self, must try to stay awake past 9 p.m.

Seriously.

I wanted to show you this, I still have roses blooming. I'm sure that's not a big deal for my friends in the south, but mid November in Michigan? It's fairly unusual.  I cut this iceberg rose a couple days ago just to be on the safe side and I have another bud getting ready to bloom outside. I love this rose because it is one of the first to bloom in the cool springtime and it clearly can stand a mild frost or two.

 Last week after work, Earl and I had an impromptu date. Out for pizza and a stroll through Pottery Barn and William Sonoma just to get out of the house. I love looking at stores, even when I don't buy. PB was full of Thanksgiving goodies and Christmas decor at the same time.  The two best holidays both at the same time? How can you not love that?

 I loved the mix of clear and mercury glass candle holders, and how easy would it be to wrap some inexpensive white candles with old sheet music?

 I also spotted this cute burlap lampshade. I'll be honest, I am not usually a big fan of burlap in the home, it has an unpleasant odor and it tends to shed. But as a lampshade? It was beautiful. The light shone through the burlap in the most appealing way and I am pretty sure I have some old lace or doilies that I could sew in the center like this for a sweet knock off.

I am pretty lucky that I have a husband who enjoys pizza and shopping as date time. After 31 years together we still date regularly and I think it keeps us close.  But after 31 years I'm looking for some new ideas for dates! They have to be cheap and we aren't into sports.  Truthfully we are both homebodies at heart.

 So do us a favor, tell us, what is your favorite cheap date?



WIP

Yesterday was my day off. It was a perfect fall day, full of sunshine and cool temps. I just wanted to show you one of my Works In Progress. I have been working on this quilt for the past few months. All of my quilting is a stop and go process. I make the squares, get busy with something else, forget about the quilt for a while, do a little more...it can take what seems like forever to get one done. Some quilters can whip one of these out in a few days. I can't seem to work that fast.

I think I'm in the home stretch for this quilt top. Once I start putting the squares together it lights a fire under me and I pick away at it a little bit faster. I plan on hand quilting this over the winter while I watch t.v. We'll see how it goes.

How about you, any works in progress that you plan on picking away at over the coming winter months?



The Best Apple Cake

 Isn't that just the truth? *sigh*

Of course I'm always willing to share the joy. I found this apple cake recipe on Pinterest and with a huge harvest of apples from my mom-in-love I needed something to use them in, right?

This cake is wonderful, it made the house smell great and the brown sugar, vanilla and cream glaze on the top tastes like caramel. And just so you know, I took most of it to work and shared.

You can find the recipe here.  Do a little daydreaming of your own while you have a piece:>)

Hey everyone, we all love a good rescue story don't we? My Roadside Rescued Buffet is being featured at Roadkill Rescue today. I just discovered this website and it is chock full of pretty things saved from the dumpster:>) Click on the button below and check it out. Oh, and have a great Sunday!

I WON!

It just goes to show what some old sheet music, half a jar of gel medium and a lot of glitter will do. Lol

I won a $50 gift card to the local gourmet grocery store. How fun is that?

I think if I hadn't run out of steam (and time) I might have done the lettering differently, but all in all I was pretty happy with the results, and no messy carving.

Today is my day off and I have a huge list of things I want to accomplish. Odd how having less free time actually spurs you on to make the most of the free time you do get isn't it?

Cleaning and fluffing the house never felt so good.

Here's hoping you make the most of the time you have this beautiful fall weekend too. What do you have planned?

Has it been over a week since I posted!? Wow, all I can say is the new full time job is kicking my hiney, for any of you out there who work full time and blog on a very regular basis, I tip my hat to you. At some point I will be finished training, know everything there is to know about this job (snort) and be better able to manage my time. In the meantime, bear with me if I don't answer all my emails right now ok?

In other news, I had to share my latest score from Salvation Army. I have been wanting brown transferware for ages, I found this set of 7 plates for about a dollar each, on sale, and snapped them up. Three of them are in a tiered plate holder with fruits and veggies in the kitchen. I would show you how gorgeous they look, and they do look gorgeous, but I'm losing the light and it would entail more work than my sad and tired self is able to muster at the moment. One of the reasons I don't care for the winter months is how quickly it gets dark. Time to haul out the owners manual for my DSLR and actually try to figure out how to use it on manual setting to adjust for light. I have only had this camera two years. Maybe it's time to read the manual?

 Also, I wanted to tell you if you are in the market for cute knobs, run, don't walk, to Michaels. these were in the dollar section. That's right, a buck each. I had Lauren with me and she grabbed four cuties for a some day project. Now all she needs is a dresser that only needs four knobs. That's my girl:>)

I finished my pumpkin project for the contest at work last night after dark and didn't get a photo. (where is that camera manual!?) So I have to  take my camera in tomorrow and get some pictures all unstyled and everything. But I know you want to see it, and you all have great imaginations so you can imagine it in just the right setting for me right?:>)

Hope your week is going swell.

Talk at you later.

I think I mentioned that I started a new job. now let me say right up front, I don't blog about work (big sigh of relief from co-workers) but I have to tell you something funny. I work with someone who has read my blog for a while. (Hi Loretta!) Small world or what!? There is something freeing about blogging, and I bet you all feel it too. It's your own little corner and you can chat about only the things you want to and I have to tell you I was a little nervous about working with someone who read the blog.



Photo courtesy BHG.com

Why? Because, well, what if she finds out how boring I really am? What do you think she thought of that big stress zit and my bad hair day I was sporting on my first day, 'cause, I gotta tell you I was working the nerves about starting a new job.  (Hi Loretta!)

I can tell you this, everyone was sooo welcoming and nice, especially Loretta.  And guess what?

Photo Courtesy marthastewartliving.com

 This place is so cool they even hand out pumpkins to the employees and have a pumpkin carving contest. You have to love a place like that:>) Do you think I can copy that Martha pumpkin up there?

Photo courtesy BHG.com

So far, so good.  And that's the last work related post you'll see. Until I win that pumpkin carving competition......:>)

And the winner is.....

A great big thank you to everyone who left such lovely messages celebrating my 600th post.

You make me smile daily when you stop by and leave a little hello. It's what has kept me going for 600 posts!

And the winner of the drawing is.....

Cora of Heartfelt and Homemade!

Cora has a really beautiful blog and she takes the most amazing photos! Stop by and tell her congratulations and take in some of the peace and beauty that is part of her trademark at her own little corner of the world:>)

Congratulations Cora!

Ticking & Toile Tablerunner

I seldom decorate for fall. I do warm up the house with candles and throws and other cozy things, but I'm not a big fan of Halloween and somehow the autumn season seems so short I just never find the time to really fallify my home.  I prefer longer lasting decorating, making and displaying things that can span the seasons but still add a little warmth and fun.

Something about ticking stripes has captured my fancy this year.  The simplicity of the stripes has to be one thing I love, and their ability to pair with so many other patterns is another.  I grabbed some ticking scraps recently and came up with this little table runner.

 Kind of farmhouse, kind of cottage, I think it goes well with my red transfer ware and even with my plain white plates.  I love the deep ruffles on each end, and the toile I paired with the two kinds of ticking.

This little beauty is in the shop right now, and I am afraid there won't be any more like it because with my new full time job I am having to focus on some other projects. If you need it, best get over there:>) 

How do you warm up the house for fall?

Eye Candy

Just a little Autumn eye candy from our weekend. It has been perfect weather here, in the 70's, sunshine, blue skies that make the oranges and golds and reds seem even brighter.

 We decided to get out and enjoy it while we still can. There can't be many more days like this left.  We stopped at a teeny little cider mill yesterday and enjoyed the beauty.

 Have a great week my frends. I hope the weather where you are is all blue skies and sunshine.....except for my friends in Texas where I hope you get cozy rainy days that replenish your poor dry soil. I'm praying for rain for you:>)

And don't forget you have until the 15th to enter my giveaway here for the Cabbages and Roses book!

Autumn Decorating

I have to admit. I see all the lovely autumn decorations that everyone is putting up, and, well, I still have my summer wreath on the front door. I haven't decorated the porch, except for a jug of the last of my garden zinnias by the front door.  But my sweetie has been working on a new project that just got me jump started on adding a little bit of autumn to my home.

He's making dough bowls for the shop. I absolutely love them. Filling them with squash satisfies the cheap frugal side of me. I can cook and freeze these for later rather than just throwing them out like so many pumpkins, and I love the different colors and forms. I even threw in a few of the tomatoes and peppers from our garden. 

You can find this listed in my etsy right now.  For me, this was love at first sight. He has several more in the works and I love how they are turning out! This may be my only nod to autumn at the moment, but I think it satisfies my need for simplicity in my home and represents the bounty I feel we have been blessed with. So much beauty and color and so many blessings. I would love to hear how you feel blessed today:>) 

New Seasons

Change is inevitable. We've all heard that. Sometimes we embrace it, if the change is our idea and we know what's going to happen next, and we feel like we are in control.

 Sometimes we fight it. If it isn't our idea. If we have dug ourselves a nice comfy rut over the years. We can look outside and see there are new things to experience, adventures to be had, things to learn.

But we are so darn comfortable with things just the way they are.

Sometimes God changes things just to shake us up. To make us grow. Because if we aren't growing we are stagnating, dying, missing out on things that can make us braver and stronger and better.

 I'm one of those people who likes my little rut. I had everything going smoothly thank you. It wasn't exciting, sometimes my rut was irritating and frustrating and a little bit boring.

Still, better the devil you know than the devil  you don't right?

Change sometimes makes me cranky.

 I have a new job.  A full time job. I always obsess about new experiences. Do you? I worry, I fret, I think of the worst thing that could happen. And then when I've worked myself into a tizzy,  I deal with it and move on.  I start to think about the best that could happen.  I ask myself how I can make it work for me. How can I get around the obstacles I see and still make my dreams come true?

 I'm looking at this as a new season. The pressure has already started new ideas and goals percolating in my mind.  I'm looking forward to growth and moving forward and new ideas.

How about you? Any changes in your life right now?

What's the best that can happen?

If you haven't already left a comment here for my giveaway there's still time!

600 Posts and a giveaway!

Goodness, tomorrow is October 1st?! Where has September gone?!

I have sadly neglected my little corner of the world. Busy, busy with lots of changes, projects and just life in general.

And guess what? This is my 600th post!  Who would have thought when I began blogging wayyyy back on 2007, that it would go this far?  So, with Autumn in full swing, and 600 posts under my belt, I feel the need for a giveaway. A thank you for the comments, advice, gifts, and encouragement you have all added to my life over the last 4+ years. 

So here's what I am giving away

I saw this gorgeous book the other day and had to have it. I'm getting you a copy too because I know you all love decorating. It's brand new and full of beautiful romantic country style.

All you have to do to enter the drawing is leave a comment. That's all!

On the other hand, if you want an extra entry, post the giveaway on your blog and come back and let me know, I'll throw in an extra entry for you:>)

The giveaway will end October 15, and I will announce the winner Oct. 16th

Thanks for sticking by me and for all your kind words and friendship.

Happy Autumn!