Thanksgiving Break!

This year I was lucky to have the entire week of Thanksgiving off of school! So in regular fashion, since Bill isn't in the US, I headed to my parent's house in Knoxville!! I always love a reason to go to TN and stay at home! My parent's house hasn't changed much since I "moved" out and then back, and then out again... haha! except for a few things here and there! I love the feeling of walking in the house you grew up in, it's just a nice comforting feeling! So I went to Knoxville with no plans other than to see family and friends! And that's exactly what I did!

On Thanksgiving Day, we headed to Shelbyville, TN, where my parents met and where most of my mom's side of the family still lives. It had been a year since I'd been to middle TN to see my family there! I couldn't believe how long it had been, so I really enjoyed seeing all my cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandmom!

I also really enjoyed EATING! We had a 27 lb turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, cranberries, corn, green beans, and a few other food items! On top of that we had a chocolate pie and a pumpkin pie, both of which I enjoyed a slice of! :)

Overall, Thanksgiving was a time that I reflected on all that I am thankful for! I am thankful I have such a loving husband, family, and friends, a successful job, a wonderful house, a dog who thinks I'm the entire world, and amazing people who believe in me.

Enjoy the pictures from the week!

Jack being... Jack!

It's just such a hard life haha He really just wanted me to get the camera out of his face so he could sleep! What a mess! Enjoy!

More fun Projects!

If you read my previous post, I mentioned that over the weekend I was able to get a lot of crafts and sewing done! I had some scrap quilted fabric leftover from my casserole carrier, so I decided I wanted to try to make some key chains. I found these clips at Jo Ann's so I decided to try a key chain and a chapstick carrier. They aren't perfect because they were so small to try to turn and then get the pocket sewn in when flipping, but they work and they can only get better, right? The first one is just a regular key chain, and the second is a chapstick carrier... if you are like me, you can never find the chapstick in the bottom of your purse, so why not make it easy to get to!?

I had also seen this really cute Nativity scene of Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus made out of tiny pots!  I made up my own version of these, but I think they turned out fantastic!! I have another nativity scene ornament I will hand out with my special Christmas goodies, but I will save that one. I also have to have my dad cut them over Thanksgiving break! Aren't dads the BEST!! :) He doesn't even know his job yet haha

My inspiration came from this picture:

And this is how mine turned out:

I also think this is a super cute, simple "First Nativity" that I will get around to making some day... It's just made out of those little wooden people you can get in packs at any craft store!

So then next on the agenda was my Christmas table runner! I have loved my fall table runner, so I found some awesome fabric and decided to make another one! I am going to go with the "natural" decorations this year... burlap, cranberries, evergreens, brown wrapping paper, twine, and simple stamps. I thought the simple burlap wasn't enough, and this touch of color and simple fabric completed the look I was going for. I did decorate it with my Christmas things to make sure I liked it, but I will wait to post that until Christmas time! We have a holiday of thanks before we get to Christmas season!

I think that completes the projects that I want to share on my blog. I will share a couple more after the holidays, but I can't give everything away!? Pinterest has been a real inspiration for me the last year! I have never thought of myself as artsy creative, but I have felt the need to try new things! I realized though, that it has become a really relaxing hobby and I continually have things I want to start and finish!! Until next time! :)

Happy Veteran's Day

I just wanted to send a special thank you out to all of the veterans, past and present, who have served and protected our country. We take for granted every day what we have been given, that we need to stop and think how lucky we are.

I am especially proud of my husband, Captain William Root, USAF, for serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. You make me so proud everyday! I hate that we are apart right now, but I am counting down the days until I can see you again, hug you again, and kiss you again! You make me so proud to be your wife!

Also, don't forget the families who are also serving, in a different way. As John Milton once said, "They also serve who only stand and wait."

Happy Veteran's Day, Bill!!

Casserole Carrier

I made a casserole carrier a couple months ago, and it ended up turning out really cute, so I decided to make one for a friend for Christmas. Wouldn't you like to know if it is for you?? Muahahah... Anyway, I thought I'd provide the instructions. I used a pattern, but the layout is quite simple and it could be done without one I think. I don't know the dimensions, if I measure it, I'll put those on here..

 After you get it cut and pinned, sew using a 1/4" seam allowance. For those that don't sew a lot, it's from the middle setting of the needle, to the outside of the foot. I had an a-ha moment one day when I realized this..

  Leave a small opening so that you can flip it inside out. Once right side out, iron the seams and make sure all corners are poked out as far as they can be.

  Top stitch around the entire carrier. Turn down tops of handles about 3" so that you can insert a dowel rod. Sew the handles down, put dowel rods in, and VOILA, you are finished! almost....

I prefer to use velcro to make sure the inside stays put when carrying, otherwise, your dish might slide out. I use small velcro because I don't plan on swinging the thing around, and it's all I had and I didn't want to get more. Place and pin velcro on one solid side and one patterned side where you want your carrier to close.

Pin velcro and sew, using a straight stitch, around very edge of velcro. I use the ribbon on the outside edge as my straight line, and stay on top of that. That's it, not too bad, right?

Long time no post... sorry!

Wow, where did that week go??!! I kept meaning to get to making a new post last week, but then each day got finished and I hadn't done anything. Last week was super fast, not really sure what was different, but it FLEW by! A couple weekends ago, I went down to Pensacola to the Gulfcoast Arts Festival! It was HUGE, I had never seen an art festival so big! I met a couple of friends, Eric and Staci, and their girls Savannah and Scarlett, to hang out with them for a bit, get lunch, and walk around the festival. After they left, I walked a little more around and was able to snag a couple Christmas gifts! This year I have been grabbing a gift here and there in hopes that I won't have a ton of shopping to do once December comes around! I do love shopping before Christmas, but it's always so busy- so I figured if I can get a few people done, then the more the merrier!

Anyway.. back on track... after the art festival, I went to Hobby Lobby!! I know, big day- we don't have one here in town, so I wanted to make the most of my drive if I was in Pensacola! I had a lot of fun, got a few things, and then headed back home.

This weekend was my crafting weekend!! I knew I had the time because I didn't have any school work to get done! Saturday morning was spent making a few Christmas gifts and then I ran a few errands! Sunday was more of the same, as well as today. I did meet a couple friends with their dogs on Sunday and Jack got to run around on his own! He is such a good dog, we really got lucky when we picked him out!

My goal was to make a lot of my Christmas gifts this year! I have done quite a bit for the ladies, men obviously are a little harder to make things for. In the next couple of posts, I will showcase a few of the things I did this weekend without giving away Christmas gifts!

Hopefully this week will enable me to get a couple posts up! We only have a 4 day week before our Thanksgiving break. This year we get the entire week off, so I am headed up to TN for a nice long visit! Just wish Bill was here to go with me.

Coming Soon...

I haven't forgotten about blogging! Tomorrow I hope to catch up on what's been happening and share a couple things I was working on today! I hope to have a step by step tutorial of a couple of things I did today! It's been beautiful weather here, so I've been spending my afternoons outside instead of on the computer blogging! Check back soon for some updates! :)

Pumpkin French Toast

Last night I saw a recipe for pumpkin french toast, and it immediately got my mouth watering and I just couldn't wait to make it until the weekend. A friend of mine had posted this recipe on Pinterest, and it was very good! I prepared it last night, turned the oven on before getting in the shower, and put the french toast in after I was finished in the shower! Hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I did!! **Don't forget the syrup, I was so excited to eat that I forgot to get it out!

Pumpkin French Toast Bake

 

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

Sweet and spicy pumpkin french toast is made the night before for an easy, early-morning preparation.

Author: Minimalist Baker

Recipe type: Breakfast

Cuisine: French Toast

Serves: 10

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 – 4 1/2 cups 1-inch bread cubes (depending on type of bread)
• 7 large eggs
• 2 cups milk (any kind)*
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup pumpkin BUTTER (or 1/2 cup pumpkin puree)*
• 3-4 tablespoons brown sugar for topping
• nuts, like pecan or walnuts (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut any kind of bread into 1-inch cubes – I recommend a crusty, whole grain variety, but sandwich bread will work, too. Just use enough slice to fill a lightly greased 9×13 baking dish quite full.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla and pumpkin butter until well combined. Pour over bread and push down with a spoon or your hands until it’s all soaked and mostly covered. Cover with saran wrap or lid and refrigerate overnight.
3. In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees, uncover and top with brown sugar and nuts (optional). Bake for 35-45 minutes or golden brown and no longer wet.
4. Serve immediately with maple syrup, honey or agave nectar. Store leftovers in the refrigerator covered for up to a couple days.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 10 slices; per slice: Calories: 122 Fat: 4 g Carbohydrates: 13.7 g Sugar: 7.4 g Sodium: 145 mgFiber: 1.3 g Protein: 7.8 g

Trick or Treat!

I know, I know... blogging on a Friday night... I'm gettting ca-razy I know! haha It's been a long week, so I don't mind staying in tonight, watching tv, playing with Jack, talking to Bill, and then going to bed early! This week was Halloween so I decided that Jack was going to be something for Halloween! I thought about making a pumpkin hat to put on his head so he'd be a "Jack-0-lantern," but I started to run out of time and the week didn't lend itself to crafting! I went into our closet and the idea came to me!! Dress Jack up like a soldier! So I took one of Bill's ABU uniform tops and put it on Jack! He's large enough that I could button it and it stayed on him. haha He actually didn't mind the uniform and didn't really want me to take it off :)

Here are a few pictures! We had 5 trick or treaters this year- 2 more than last year so I call that a successful night!

He's waiting for Bill to come home.... He dressed as our hero for Halloween!

 And finally, Jack kept giving me kisses, so I thought I'd post one of those haha