AND...Here's the Tree

After fighting with the blue lights ... and adding every ornament that I have collected over the last 25 years..

I still could not stand the tree...so after three days...

I pulled off ALL 12,000 blue lights and just started over.

I had spend to much money on that darn FLOCKIN tree to let it get the best of me!

 Added some old white lights (with green wires)  that I had.

Dug out all the red stuff that I have had for years and slapped those on top of all the traditional ormnaments.  Did not spend a cent on decor, but went up and down the step stool 5 million times.

 Oh Christmas Tree,

 Oh Christmas Tree,

How you liked to have killed thee..

I am just getting around to getting a picture ...

the branches, like me, have begun to get a bit whimpy and tired by this time of the season.
(No gorgeous wrapping here, I used 3yrs. worth of  left over scrap paper.)

I have been so busy making scarves, sugared pecans, microwave neck wraps, along with lots of other projects. 

 I  really can't talk about them because spying eyes want to know what I have made them for Christmas. HEHE...

Look at Snoopy having a grand ole time in that flocked tree...

Look out... I caught him this time on his snow mobile...

Sad that it is really 70 degrees and raining out!

Ginger...is enjoying napping in the section of the tree that had a missing branch.

(Great way to hide those gaps in real trees, use large ornaments or little stuffed gingerbread people)

I just have to share my bargain..

I picked these up at Lowes for 2.50. 

It bloomed at the beginning of this week and is so pretty on my coffee table.  I have a red one in the kitchen, but it has not bloomed yet.. maybe it will be my New Years lilly.

Smells sooo much better that the paper whites.

Looking forward to sharing lots of recipes,

crafting, and my crazy adventures

 with you in the New Year.

May you have a wonderful Christmas ...

Simply Scarves

Christmas tree...still unfinished.  I know that I really need to just get it finished, but I just don't feel like it. 

Wanted to show you what I have been working on while I'm at the 
"Little House In The Big Woods"

Queen Anne's Lace Scarf...this was so much fun to make.

If you would be interested in a scarf, please message me.

They can be made in any color or color combination

This is the prettiest blue with coffee brown trim. 

The rosettes have a pin back, so they maybe changed out

to another color.

I got a little addicted to making the rosettes.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend..

Yes, next time you see a post here it will be that doggone tree..LOL

Please Call Me CLARK !

Here it is ...

The FLOCKIN...oops .... Flocked tree...

The humidity is so bad here it took four days for the nursery to have a day nice enough to flock it.

  I really did not feel like messing with this tree,

The lights are the worst part...

My son wanted blue lights...not really what I wanted, but being he is the only one in the house that really wanted a tree, we bought the blue lights.

Oh heck no, 

 do you  see the green wires?

No one told me...

I saw it when I  stepped back.

(It was 10pm and I was not stopping now)

Look a little closer...

This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here!

Yes,  there they are!

(I am starting to feel like Clark Griswold)

Kinda like that BIG ole piece of spinach on your front tooth and not one person is gonna speak up!

Don't laugh you know what I mean...

It's ok,

I am working on a plan...

Because the flocking falls off so bad there is

NO WAY IN THE NORTH POLE

 I am taking those blue lights off.

PLAN #1

Call to Camo Man (Hubby)...tell him, we need

 lights with white wires...he says,

" NO, use the lights we've got, cause we have

spent to much on the FLOCKIN tree."

moving on to

PLAN #2

 I am going to shove those  blue little monsters down in the tree and put the so many ornaments we

won't need the lights...

(ok for the rest of the season, call me Clark!)

PLAN #3 

 Hey, maybe I could pull one of the spotlights out of the landscape, wire it to the ceiling and have that shining down on the tree ...

 Just to get an idea of the FLOCKING,

look at the socks I wore last night.

Can someone send me some socks and vaccum cleaner bags?

THIS TREE IS GOING TO WORK!

I have got to save this tree and my sanity...well guess you will have to check back and see if I make it through the day or  even the whole flocking season!

Sincerly,

CLARK

We Have Some Catchin Up

Getting caught back up...

Goodness knows it is going to take me till Christmas to get back on track just from Thanksgiving.

This was my sons jack o lantern...

he only makes them so he can roast the seeds...

He loves the seeds. And I love it because he is now old enough to do this project himself and clean up the mess..

The woods is where I have been spending alot of my time...

 Many of you know we have a little second home in southwest Mississippi.

 As you can guess...no internet, but after two months of me driving back and forth waiting and waiting

...we have a land line phone!

AT&T is not worth a crap!!! 

 I will not ruin my pretty pictures of leaves with that story...

While sitting there...I wondered what ya'll were up to...

traveling, maybe cooking?

Did ya get the Christmas tree up yet?

Oh and I did a little dreaming...how I would love a new car...

But...

then I would have a car note...

I certainly don't want one of those!

Oh well....I can dream right?  

 If any of you have one of these Range Rover's can ya take me for a ride?   or better yet tell me that they really are not that great and I am not missing a thing !  LOL

BAM

BACK HOME and to reality, life and rot carry on!

YUCK..

Remember when I said my son is old enough to  pick up his mess?  Guess 18 is not old enough!

 He certainly did not clean up this part...

I am sure he walked passed it every morning on his way to his truck...

No, he is not in biology this semester,

can't use for the sake of science as an excuse!

Can I tell you rotten pumpkin smells almost as bad

 as rotten potatoes... poo wee!

He did put up the Christmas tree...

After closer inspection...the tree is not looking to well,

the tree has seen better years.

We all loaded in the car and went order a fresh flocked tree.... I can not remember the last time we had a real tree...

This tree will be retired back to the box...

Been missing ya'll, 

leave me a comment,

 let me know what you have been up to...

Fabulous Friday Four

Welcome to Fabulous Friday Four. 

 Allow me to introduce you to Four Fabulous blogs

 that I love to follow.

Ferris at Eating Baton Rouge

Eating Baton Rouge is a new blog that was

started by a dear friends son, Ferris.

 Ferris attends LSU but in his spare time is on a mission to seek out the best food Baton Rouge has to offer.

This connoisseur of great southern dishes reviews his food with plate full of  honesty and a little shake of humor.  

He lives by his families motto...

"We don't eat to live, we live to eat."  

Please take a moment to welcome and follow Ferris as he takes us dining around Baton Rouge.

Laura at White Spray Paint

Join Laura as she shares her beautiful home and garden with us. I had to laugh, on her most recent post she descibes her sofa as sinking to China. I can not wait to see how

 her living room make over is going to turn out. 

I am sure she would love some company as she takes on the search for a new rug...tell her hello for me when you stop in.

Vanessa & Heather At The Picket Fence

Vanessa and Heather, two sisters who love to blog. 

They cook, decorate and love to party! 

Ok, linky party that is...

they are hosting a huge party for the Christmas holidays.

The party is joined by a host of fabulous bloggers...and you can be a part of it too!

Drop in and see the details...its gonna be fun and there is no better way to meet new bloggers than a party.

Nikki at Chef - N - Training

Chef n Traning is a fabulous blog that Nikki started as a way for her to save her recipes. Right now on her blog she is sharing a wonderful heathy recipe for Peanut Butter dip. YUM

On Tuesdays she has a linky party for everyone to share a recipe or something they have been working on.

Go by and say hi and make sure you get that dip recipe.

 

Hope you take a moment to visit these blogs.

See you next week with a new project and who knows I might even whip up something in the kitchen to share.

 

Hoarding In the Make~Up Drawer

Hoarding In The Make~Up Drawer 

 Don't Laugh, It Can Happen!

Have you ever just lived with something day in and day out, never noticing what it has turned into...

(No this is not about my husband)

Sometimes the things that are supposed to make you pretty are in such a mess, its just not that pretty.

Ok...are you ready for the excuse? 

 Well every weekend, I travel to our second home, so on Sunday night I just stuff the makeup bag back into the drawer..on top of the other makeup that I do not use often...

Lord...these are all those "Free" lipsticks.

You know they give you the colors

 NO ONE would ever wear...

Flaming Red, Outrageous Orange,

 Poop Brown 

 yeah yeah, you get the picture.

Can't throw them out...I may meet someone that can use that Outrageous Orange or the Poop Brown.

My daughter gave me this awesome

 pink face goo...about three years ago.

It now has white dots in it...I don't think they are moving, but maybe I should throw it out.

Crazy huh? 

 I really only wear make~up about twice a week, so how did my drawer get this way?

Well time for a clean out!

I just love these little baskets...they make my make~up routine sooo much easier now.

AHHH  CALM...How I love CALM

Maybe that is the true preventive for

wrinkles...CALM

Sweet Onion Hot Dip

Sweet Onion Hot Dip

I found this recipe in a small local magazine ...it looked so easy and inexpensive, I had to give it a try.

Sweet Onion Hot Dip

1   8oz Cream Cheese

1   cup mayonnaise   (In the south everyone uses Blue Plate)

1  cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 large sweet onion

Slap Ya Mamma



Preheat the oven to 350*.

Grate the onion.

Mix softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese together.

Fold in onion and a few dashes of Slap Ya Mamma.

Spread into a small baking dish 

( I used  an 8X9  Le Creuset baking dish)

Bake for 30-40 minutes, the top will get a

beautiful golden brown.

Serve with crackers or spread on small pieces of crusty bread.

If you do not have Slap Ya Mamma you could just add a few dashes of Tabasco. 

This oh so simple dish will make you the "Hit of the Party " this holiday season...

 Join me at Made by You Monday  
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
and
Chef - N - Training

there are tons of great links with great ideas.

All Saints Day

St.Fancisville, Louisiana

This post is not supporting any one specific Christian religion, but to share my view of the day.

All Saints Day 

 It is a fact we are all going to face death, whether you are christian, atheist, or somewhere in between. 

 For me All Saints day means going to the graveyard and placing flowers on the graves of family and friends  that have left this earth. 

I do not worship the dead, I simply recognize what my loved ones brought into my life. I totally understand that going to the graveyard is so very hard for many people.

Don't get me wrong, I do not place those that have passed in the back of my mind and only think of them on All Saints Day.

Not one day goes by that I do not think of my baby brother, Wesley.  ( I replace his flowers often, as I feel that it is my gift  to him on his birthday, Easter, Christmas, etc.)

On this day as my husband and I go together.  I stand at my brothers grave, my husband brushes the leaves off, places his flowers, he asks me a question. I am so absorbed in looking at Wesley's picture on his headstone, deep in my own thoughts. I did not really hear what he was saying, nor could I answer.  It was one of those moments that if I spoke my voice would crack and I would not be able to control the tears,(my brother would not want that).  My husband looks over at me waiting on his answer and then silently understands with just a nod. 

We actually walk around three different graveyards.  We pass graves of  friends and extended family taking  a brief moment to stop and remember what that person brought to our lives.

  At some we stop in amazement, as we notice the date on the headstone. It is then that we  realize how much time has passed.

 One date we noticed that my mawmaw was 27 before she married, that was "old" in her day (their  anniversary date  is etched in the vase between mawmaw and pawpaw.)  We  shared a laugh, because  now marrying older is the norm. I must note, she lived to be 100, so she enjoyed many years with my pawpaw.

As I pass graves, I think of my husbands aunt, a friends mom, friends, some are even my children's friends that have been tragically killed  ... I think of their loved ones, and the sorrow that must certainly still burden them.

We remember  those that are buried in other places or chose cremation. My grandparents and nephew in Santa Fe, the great aunt and uncle who donated their bodies to science. 

 Why do this you ask?  Why should my husband and I take a moment out of our busy life, to open our hearts and go back to those sorrowfull emotions that we try to hide away deep in our soul.

It is on this day that we may laugh and cry  without  an explanation.   

 All Saints Day helps us to remember that we are only here for a short time.  

 As we reminisce about the  memories our loved ones have left us, we realize all too well, that   memories  will be all that we leave behind. 

All Saints' Day (in the Roman Catholic Church officially the Solemnity of All Saints and also called All Hallows or Hallowmas^[3]), often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown.

Other Christian traditions define, remember and respond to the saints in different ways; for example, in the Methodist Church, "saints who have helped extend and enliven God's kingdom" are remembered—that is—the entire Church universal and those significant to a particular local congregation.^[2]

In Argentina, Austria, Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Spain, and American cities such as New Orleans, people take flowers to the graves of dead relatives.
In Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Catholic parts of Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden, the tradition is to light candles and visit the graves of deceased relatives.
(Information source is Wikipedia)

Food and Shopping Fun in St. Francisville

 Walking around the grounds of the 

Myrtles Plantation made us hungry.

Susie knew the perfect place to take us,

Magnolia Cafe.

We could not resist trying out the Alligator Bites...

Believe it or not, unlike popular belief, alligator is not featured on to many menus around here.

Blaise and I shared a pizza...

Ok now that we were filled up...time to walk it off.

Next stop Grandmothers Buttons,

much more than a gift shop, it also includes a museum.

They have a wonderful website.

 To view click the link below,

Grandmothers Buttons

The shop is in an old bank, they use the vault to house very rare and antique buttons.

I never knew that buttons held so much history.

Of course, they have beautiful pieces to purchase.

Can you guess what this is? 

Yes, its opened books.

I am in love with the way they have used them as wall art above a fireplace.

We all see these books at the thrift shops...

I am in love with the colors

Wouldn't this be so cool in a kids room?

  Of course Blaise was not to happy about shopping,

 so we promised him a chocolate pretzel at

 Mandies

{Yes, I know not a toddler, he's 18...but everyone can be bribed with chocolate, right?}

That satisfied him enough to let us run in

The Shanty Too gift shop.

Susie found the cutest dress.

(sorry I did not get a picture)

The outside of the shop was all dressed up for fall.

If I have any LSU fans out there...they fabulous LSU items.

What a fun time we had on our little 'Road Trip' thanks for coming along to see our part of the world.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Louisiana  ~

 make sure St. Francisville is included in one of your stops.