Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

Every year it is a must to go to the Pumpkin Patch (as I'm sure it is with every other person out there!). We have gone to the same one every year since Caden was born. (In Flower Mound). Anyway, the boys actually somewhat let me take some pictures of them! I was pretty excited, of course there are lots of fake smiles...oh well, what do you do?

Noah was very excited to go this year...he just wanted his picture taken with everything! Caden...not so much.
I got a wee little smile out of Caden on this one...pure bribery, if he did, he got a snow cone.
This Pumpkin Patch is great, they have so many photo ops in every corner!

Yes, I know the picture is sideways, my computer is messing with me. When we got there, we ran into my sis-in-law and niece, McKenna! Here is a picture of her and the boys. We also ran into another friend, Abby and another friend, Hannah. Great day to go!

Me and the boys on the Hay ride.
I love this picture!
Love all the orange! Have a Happy Fall everyone!

Costumed Candleholders

Wanted to share another little Halloween craft I did...Pumpkin Candleholders. Of course it is from Martha...They were really easy to do, you just have to make sure that the hurricanes you use are flat, strait up and down, no curves. Otherwise the tissue paper will not stay down flat! Also, make sure you have a really good exato knife...there are some tight corners you will have to cut out!

You can also see the Halloween banner that is peaking out. I got it at Hobby Lobby, but for all of you who can sew...have at it! I have seen lots of banners lately, the scrapbooked ones are so cute! That may be a project for another day...

Leave Me a Message!!

I found this cute idea from Mish Mash...I saw this picture frame on her blog and thought they were adorable! (If you have not been to her blog...have fun looking! Give yourself a good couple of hours to get through all her great ideas!) Then my mind started thinking...I could do a Halloween theme, Christmas, Valentines Day, St. Patty's Day, Easter, B-day, An Everyday one, etc...So, I am in the process of making one for the different holidays and I keep it right by my phone so I can take down messages and give myself different reminders!
I found the 10x10" frame at Michaels for $5. I found the paper and ribbon at Hobby Lobby. I inked the edges of the paper to make it stand out a little bit more. You don't have to dress them up too much because you want to leave enough room for messages.

Peanut Butter Cup Surprise Cookies

Yes, I'm not going to lie to you, these taste BETTER than they look. They are sooo rich and tasty and gooey and peanut buttery, the list goes on. What's not to love when you have a Reeses Peanut Butter cup, marshmallows, chocolate ganache and M&M's? Try these, you won't be disappointed! The cookie part came from my cousin, Sharlyn who got it from Dinners Ready. The marshmallows, ganache and M&M's came from none other than the Picky Palate! I didn't use Picky Palates cookie part because it only made 12...I need alot more than that to feed all my YW at church tonight. I must say that they chowed down on them quickly!

Peanut Butter Cup Surprise Cookies
aka...my butt just got bigger cookies

1/2 cup margarine (I used butter)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
about 24 miniature peanut butter cups (mine made about 32 cookies)

36 mini marshmallows
1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
2-3 TBS heavy cream
1/4 c. mini M&M's

Cream margarine and peanut butter. Add sugars and flour and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, salt and soda. Chill one hour, shape into 1 inch balls. Spray mini-muffin pans with Pam. Put balls into pans and bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Remove and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into the middle of the cookies. Top each cookie with 3 mini marshmallows and return to oven for 2-3 more minutes or until marshmallows are puffed. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Place chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until melted smooth. Stir in 2-3 TBS heavy cream until silky and smooth. You can return back to microwave for 15 seconds to get a thinner consistency. Spoon chocolate over top of puffed marshmallows and sprinkle with mini M&M's.

BOO!

This is just a fun little craft that I did last year, but since my blog did not exist then, I get to post it now! I got the letters at this amazing store called Recolections, unfortunately they closed down:( You can find paper mache letters at JoAnn's or Hobby Lobby. Get creative on how you make each letter! First step you have to do is paint the letters, I chose black. Then I had an orange glitter paint I painted on top to give it some bling.
I do not know why this picture is this way...everywhere else it is the right way, it just wants to make me mad...sorry! Anyway, all the letters were chalked with orange. I used lots of ribbon and some cute Halloween buttons that I found. This O has orange glitter for some of the stipes
This O is a fun spider web, chalked the edges, lots of ribbon. Once all the paper is on, modge podge it so it can have "the look".

Lavash Crackers

It's that time of month where I get to post my Daring Bakers Challenge. This month it was something savory, crackers nonetheless. I must say that I was very excited to make these! I had so many ideas and thoughts on how I wanted to make them, but ran out of time. Here is what I ended up with. I sprinkled my crackers with sea salt, rosemary and thyme. They were deslish! Next time I am going to sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar and have a yummy fruit dip (which is what I wanted to do all along).
I had a really hard time getting the dough to roll out paper thin. It just was not happening. So they are a little thicker than I would have liked, but still yummy. If you want the recipe you can go to Musings From The Fishbowl and make them yourself!

The dip I used is a simple salsa that I love:
1/4 c. ketchup
1/4 c. salsa

Mix together and serve!

Iron Chef of America!!

For YW (church group) on Wednesday night we had an Iron Chef of America Contest. We had such a good time. The secret ingredient was hamburger meat and pumpkin. They were supposed to just choose either sweet or savory, but half wanted sweet and half wanted savory...go figure. Anyway, it turned out fun and we had lots of yummy food to eat! Here are the results:
Amber, Alica and Cherisha with their sweets.

Amber decided to outside the box and do neither pumpkin or hamburger, so she opted for brownies with sliced bananas and drizzled chocolate for the top. They were DELISH!

Alisha and Cherisha made the Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting...they were sooo good! Thanks for the recipe Emily!

Pumpkin Cookies

1 c. shortning (no substitutes)
2 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon (I always add a bit more...)
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. canned pumpkin

Cream shortening and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, powder, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together. Alternate adding powder and pumpkin until combined.

Grease the cookie sheet and with a small scoop, scoop cookie dough onto baking sheet. Pat the top of dough down a bit with a spatula. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-11 minutes. Cool.

Frosting:
1 c. powdered sugar
3 oz. cream cheese
4 TBS butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Frost cookies when cooled. Enjoy!

This is Carly and Katie...they made the savory. They did a fantastic job on spegatti and meatballs with some cheesy garlic bread! I ate dinner before they all came, but this was so good, I had a second dinner.
Up close and personal...
So, these were a few of my Laurels (young women ages 16-18). They are a great group, always have fun ideas and always keep me on my toes....

Glitter Bones

It is officially Fall, which means that I can start decorating for Halloween!! Yes, I have decorated already. I get really excited for holidays:) So, I wanted to share this cute Martha craft!
I got the bones and skulls from the Dollar Store. You gotta love that place! (As a side note, I went to Pottery Barn after I bought all the supplies and saw that they were selling the big skull...for $20! I told the lady that I was making them and she said I should just take them back and buy these! Well...as tempting as it was....$20 or $1.50??? $20 or $1.50??? I stuck with the $1.50. I think I made the right choice...)
All you have to do is Modge Podge the bones and then sprinkle it with glitter. Once it is dry, dab some more Modge Podge on top of the glitter and glitter some more. You really need the second coat of glitter, espcially on the green ones.
I have enjoyed these little guys...gives an extra spooky effect. Happy Haunting!

Hot Air Balloon Festival

On Saturday Night me, the boys and my parents went to Plano to see the Hot Air Balloon Festival. What was nice is that my cousin, Jennie, just moved to Plano! So exciting!! So we went with her, Phil and her 2 boys to see this. It was pretty cool! Here are the Balloons launching off into flight. We sorta missed that because it was impossible to find any parking. Oh well. We saw something even better!
Later that night they were having a light up show that we were able to see. So these are a few pictures of all the balloons blowing up and getting ready for the show.
Noah and Jennie. He was begging her to put him up top...he wanted the full view.
Flower Balloon.
How cute is this Panda? If you look close, it looks like he has a little dragon tail...
The night show, how beautiful is this balloon all lit up?
Of course there had to be a Texas balloon! It wouldn't be a show with out something with the Texas flag!
Love this picture of Noah, you can just see the excitement in his face! More pic's and a video will come later...having a hard time getting them on here!

Soccer Season..

I know you have all seen a million pictures of Caden playing Soccer for the Thunder Dragons, but he just looks so cute in his little uniform and I had my Dad's amazing camera and got some good shots. So, enjoy the pictures!
Goal!!! Way to go Caden! He got 3 goals at this game!
My evacuee parents were able to come to the game. They still did not have power over the weekend so they came for some AC, milk, and TV. Can't say I blame them! (As a side note they got their power on Monday night!! Yeah! That was 10 days too many!) So, here is Noah and my Mom.
My Dad and Noah.
I love this picture...Caden sticking out his tongue...
Go Caden Go!!

My 10 Favorite Things in My House

Tip Junkie has a posting on What your 10 Favorite thing are in your home. I always like to see what people's homes look like, what their surroundings are, etc. So, maybe you will enjoy mine. They are in no particular order...

1. This is my Family Room. I have always loved this spot. I think it gives a nice comfy, warm feel.
2. This is in between my Dining Room and Living Room...just a little seating area. Oh...got the mirror for $8 at Kirklands...go me!
3. This is in my entry way. I have a huge wall and wanted something to fill up a bit of space.
4. This is also in my entry.
5. This is the Boy's Bathroom. I had it all done up safari style, but they never appreciated it, so I decided to make it pretty...The cute bench...Kirklands...$5.
6. This is the Boy's playroom. Well, I should say WAS their playroom. We have played musical rooms for the past several months. It is now Caden's room. Their is a bed to the left and the Bookshelf is to the right.
7. This is my Bedroom. I LOVE my bedroom. It's very warm and inviting. Oh, btw, I made those cute plaques above the bed.
8. This is my fireplace mantle. It was white before and I hated it. It just didn't work with my stuff. So, I got brave and painted it black. Best thing I have ever done.
9. This is also in the Family Room. I just really like the temple picture on the Entertainment center.

10. My wonderful husband had these beauties sent to me today. Just because flowers. I have never gotten Sunflowers before, they are now at the top of my favorite flowers list!! Thanks sweetie!! I love you!11. I know...it is 10 favorite things, but hey...the flowers will eventually die, right??? This sits on my kitchen table. Nothing spectacular, I just love it because I can switch it up every holiday and put some fun stuff in there. I got it for $5 bucks at Hobby Lobby. I think I get really excited when I find good deals...I have to brag. Sorry!!