My Costco Fall Wreath

It's beginning to feel a little more like fall. Especially this morning. It was a chilly at our house. It felt so good, like fall weather. I've mentioned before that it is my favorite season. I love to see everyone's scarecrows, pumpkins, mums and fall decor out. Makes me feel all warm and cozy. I was getting ready to put out some of my own fall decor last week and when I was in Costco I found this gorgeous fall wreath marked down. It was originally $21.00 marked down to $12.90. Now, sometimes I debate and talk myself out of stuff like this(which is good too), but my old fall door hanging is so old and ugly, so I grabbed this baby up. Sometimes when I talk myself out of stuff, I change my mind and go back only to find it's gone already. So their was no debating. Get it. Go! Yay! This wreath is big and fall and pretty! By the way, I usually find more markdowns at Costco(you know the ones they roll out on the orange flat beds into the middle of the aisles)on weekday mornings.This find happened to be on a Tuesday morning. Maybe it's not like this at all the Costco's, but seems to be the pattern at mine. Be on the lookout!

Cub Scout Loot

Wednesday night was pack meeting for Trent's cub scout pack and he walked away with some serious loot!(I forgot my camera, uggh! So no pics of Mr. Trent actually getting his awards) He has been working hard and having fun. He is currently working on the Webelo rank and Arrow of Light. At the pack mtg. he received belt loops for bad minton, flag football, swimming, art,ultimate Frisbee, soccer, basketball,wildlife conservation and bicycling. He also got his Bear rank, day camp patch, 100 years of scouting patch, Webelo activity pins for craftsman, sportsman, artist and handyman. Trent also earned his religious knot. To earn this, he had to do a variety of different things related to church and service. Way to go! -I know it sounds like I'm bragging a lot. I guess I am! We're just so pleased that he has been working hard in scouting.-
I think it is such a great program for boys. He has a very good example too. His dad also earned his religious knot, Arrow of Light and the rank of Eagle.

I can't post this without mentioning the awesome Day Camp his cub master had this summer. He went for 4 days in a row, practically all day, this summer. She put so much work into it. As a result, the boys earned or started a lot of activity badges for Webelos, earned belt loops and had tons of fun!

Piano Playin,' Ball Kickin' Girl

Our little Laci has gotten a bit busier these past two weeks. She has been a piano playin,' ball kickin' girl! Last Tuesday, she had her first piano lesson with a local teacher here. She's doing good with her practices and reminds me that she needs to practice. Her teacher says she has very good timing already. We both attribute that to her Orff music classes that she took for three years. Keep up the good work!

Her school offers an Arts in the Afternoon program where different teachers do a clinic or class after school on certain days. They had art, spanish, drama, kick- ball etc. Out of everything she chose kick-ball. Go figure! She is having so much fun with it! Their p.e. coach makes it really fun and she gets to learn about rules of the game that can carry over into softball , too. Softball was always my fave.Maybe she will be interested in that too.

Fruit Chillers Tubes- A New Favorite

Want something cold to snack on? Grab a Del Monte Fruit Chiller tube.Just freeze 'em and eat 'em. These tubes have become a favorite of myself and my kids.They are a great alternative to a plain old popsicle. They are made with real fruit and taste delicious. I discovered them a few months ago when I was strolling down the canned fruit aisle in the grocery store and decided to try them. They have become a regular on my grocery list. We are a fan of both flavors that are available, strawberry and grape, although I think the kids really prefer grape over strawberry. Try them and see if they satisfy your cold cravings!

A Piece Of Fall

Today I'm serving up a piece of fall with these delicious Pumpkin Pie Squares. Fall is right around the corner. Actually, the first day of fall is next week. It's my favorite season. I think of the leaves changing, cooler weather, Halloween, Thanksgiving and tasty fall desserts like this one. Although, I would eat this anytime of the year.

Their are actually only a few pumpkin dishes I make and this one went on my list earlier this year. When I was visiting my friend Tammy out in Utah, we had Sunday dinner at her mom and dad's house, which was so good, and her mom made this for dessert. So yum! Basically, it's like a pumpkin pie, but kicked up a notch. It has a crunchy brown sugar, pecan topping and the crust, I love the crust. It's made with oats and brown sugar and it gives this dessert a great flavor. Anyway, I knew I had to have the recipe. Thanks Sis. Hayes for an awesome dish! The whole family loves it!


Pumpkin Pie Squares
Crust:
1 c. flour
1/2 c. old fashioned oats
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened

Filling:
1-15 oz. can pumpkin
1-12 oz. can evaporated milk
2 eggs
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves

Topping:
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. butter

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x13 pan. Prepare crust. Combine flour, oats, brown sugar and butter. Stir until crumbly. Press into prepared pan and bake for 15 mins. or until partially set.
Combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, granulated sugar, salt and spices. Pour over crust and bake for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare topping. Combine pecans, brown sugar and butter. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle topping evenly over filling. Bake 15 mins. or until filling is set. Cool before cutting. Serve with whipped cream.
Note: Can add topping during last 10 mins. of 3o min. cooking time.

Works For Me Wednesday- Get Rid Of Magazine Clutter

It's time for another edition of Works For Me Wednesday at We Are That Family. I thought I'd share what I have done to get rid of my magazine clutter. As I've mentioned before, I like magazines so I can accumulate a lot of them.Way more than what's in that picture! Well, my magazine basket started to overflow -BIG TIME- so I had to do something about it, but I didn't want to toss all those good recipes and craft ideas I'd seen. However, there was just no way I was going to store all those magazines.



So this is what I came up with. I started tearing or cutting out the articles/recipes that I wanted to keep. I arranged them into three categories: recipes, crafts and miscellaneous. Voila! No need to keep magazines to clutter up my space anymore.


I used a large paperclip to separate the different categories and tucked them into a folder. When this one gets full, I'll just start on another one. You could also label your folder on the front to make it easier to see what's in it. The folders take up a lot less space and can be stored so much easier on my bookshelf.



If you've got magazine clutter, take control of it. Start cutting those articles and tuck them into a cute folder. Take back your space!

Bucket O' Bath For Baby Boy

Say that title five times fast! Ha! Ha!
I actually feel like blogging today. Yay! The flu has taken over my house the past two weeks and I'm ready for it to GO AWAY! Ivy has it now and maybe me, but I haven't had fever so I guess that's good. Anyway, I won't go into all the sickness. Instead I'll show you this Bucket O' Bath I recently put together for my friend's daughter who is expecting her first baby. It all came together pretty well. I picked up this galvanized bucket from Hobby Lobby and then had his name cut out of red vinyl and just applied it to the bucket. (Hopefully, I'll be able to cut my own vinyl soon. Hoping to get a Cricut. Yay!) I put some red paper shred in the bottom of the bucket to give the other goodies some height. Then the fun stuff! I added a soft and cuddly hooded towel and rolled up the wash cloths and tied them together in groups of three with red ribbon. I rounded it out with some J&J baby wash and powder. I always loved having hooded towels to wrap my babies in. They're so cuddly and cute!



The bucket serves double duty as a container for the gift and then mom can use it to store things like toys, wash cloths, etc. I hope baby Tim will enjoy many warm and soothing baths with this bucket o' bath goodies.

Sweet Girl & Sweet Favors

Our little sweetie really enjoyed her b'day party. She had fun seeing and playing with her gifts, too. Nana and Grandad gave her this cute red wagon. It will be great for pulling her around in the neighborhood. Later that day, she just had to put on her new dress from Grandma and Grand dad Howell. (I'll have to get a pic of that. It's really cute on her.) This child loves to wear dresses. She would wear them everyday if she could. Good thing she got a few new ones for her b'day.


This one cracks me up. She would NOT let her brother or sister touch her money. She grabbed it and started trying to stuff it in her pocket. I guess she's saving for a new dress!




For party favors, I embellished little white tote bags from the Dollar Tree with ribbon and stamps. Super simple and cute. Everyone got to fill up their tote with candy and take it home with them. Simple and sweet!

Second Birthday---Sweet Style

On Saturday we celebrated my daughter's second birthday---sweet style! I had seen these candy/dessert buffet parties online before and thought they were sooo cute. It fit perfectly for our little sweetie. I knew I wanted their to be lots of color so I came up with a colorful candy polka dot theme. It was very playful and fun! And, hey, who cares if we ate our dessert first and then went out for lunch! It's all good!



The table definitely got the b'day girl's attention. She just wouldn't leave everything alone until my family got to our house. I love how fun the table looked. For the cupcakes, I made picks with an SU! "sweet" stamp, punched it out with a circle cutter, mounted them on a scalloped circle and tied on coordinating ribbon. They kind of looked like lollipops. With cupcakes and gumball filled vases it's just right for a sweet girl.

"Happy Birthday dear Ivy, Happy Birthday to you!"

I kept the party decorations simple & sweet with these giant "pieces of candy." (At least that's what I was going for.) I got these small paper lanterns from Michael's
( for $1 each) and wrapped them in cellophane to look like big pieces of hard candy.



This candy/dessert buffet was on the small side, but still had dramatic effect. I think the candy is decoration in itself because of all the bright colors. As you can see, I just filled different size vases with a variety of colorful candy, tied on some polka dot ribbon and there you have it. Did I mention the kids especially loved this?!!





For our treats, we had mini strawberry cheesecakes and mini brownie treats. YUM! You can get the mini cheesecake recipe here.



Just what did the birthday girl think of all these sweets and treats?!!! I think this picture says it all. With a sucker in one hand, a Twizzler in the other and a half eaten cupcake in her plate, she's livin' it up at her party and I didn't mind one bit. It was all about her and her b'day! I'll share more of the party girl and party favors tomorrow!

Sweet Birthday Invites

My daughter turned the big 2 on Monday! Happy Birthday! Along with my family, we celebrated with a "sweet" party on Saturday. I made up some colorful and sweet invitations to let everyone know the details. I thought it was a fun way to get the word out. My trusty SU! scalloped edge punch never lets me down. Love those scallops! I printed out a cute little poem and party details on my computer and then attached a small lollipop to the top with my tacky tape. I think these are my favorite invitations I've made just because they're so colorful and "sweet," just like her party was! I'll share more of the party tomorrow.

Craft Challeng Is Here Again

It's time for another monthly craft challenge at Blue Eyed Blessings.

After taking the summer off from her craft challenges, Heidi is back with a challenge to create something that is Halloween or Fall themed. Sounds fun! My crafty wheels are already turnin'! If you want to join the craft challenge, just link up to her site on October 1 and share your craftiness.( To learn more about it, you can also click my link to her site. ) It's so fun to see everyone's ideas and creations. Get craftin'!!

Teacher Goodie Bucket

Today I want to share this sweet little teacher goodie bucket I put together for Laci's first grade teacher. We have parent/teacher conference next week, so I thought I'd take her this little baby filled with things a teacher could use, and it's an excuse to give a cute little gift, which I love to do! I found a three pack of these small plastic buckets at my local Dollar General store for $1. All I did to dress it up was tie on some different ribbons(love the zebra stripe)to the handles and I added a vinyl "H" to monogram it just for her. It is filled with lotion, hand sanitizer, packets of Advil, two pens, post-it notes, a candy bar and two little pink travel jars of heart shaped paper clips. Filled to the brim, this hot pink goodie bucket is ready to be delivered to her teacher. I hope she likes it!

Gotta Love A Bargain

Just thought I'd share the bargains I found at Hobby Lobby recently. I get excited when I can get something I've been looking for at such a great price. When I was in there recently,(I'm a frequent visitor of HL)I was strolling their 80% off clearance section and spotted these two great black finials.(cue the hallelujah music) They were screamin' buy me. The larger one was$5 and the smaller one $2, which is great compared to what they were, so I got 'em! I just love the look of them, especially the larger one. They go great with the other black accents I have in my home and there's quite a few places I could use them so they might get moved around.



The large iron key, key hole and decorative knob were just at the HL 50% sale, which if you miss what you want on sale one week, check again the next week because as we HL shoppers know there stuff always goes on sale at 50% off. I was still happy to get it at that price because I had been wanting to use this great little set of iron keys (think they came from Rod Works in Utah) in a grouping. I've searched HL's signs for a small one that's just right to go with this, but can't find one, so I think I might make my own. We'll see. Just remember to get out there and shop those clearances. You never know what you might find.