Gobble Gobble

We had a nice Thanksgiving this year - plenty of food leftover and a whole weekend to relax and recuperate. Below is a picture of the desserts we made - I made little mincemeat pies (on top) and mom made pumpkin and pecan pies.


Check out the little pie toppers on the pumpkin pie - cute!!

Little squirrel and turkeys ready to gobble up acorns pacman style. lol

And we used my favorite sugar bowl and creamer found at a flea market a few years ago.

I just love their little feet - I polish them up every year and use them for the holidays. Coffee, anyone?

And now it's time to pack away the fall decorations and pie tins and haul out the Christmas stuff. I'm looking forward to picking out a tree. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thankful

Just a note to everyone that's read my blog and/or purchased something from my shop this year. Thank you very much! I've had a great time getting my shop opened and starting this blog this year. I've got so much more planned for the future, but for now I'm just grateful for what I have and hopeful for the future.

Here's a few of my Thanksgiving decorations.

The Indian corn garland is made by my mom. It's so cute and festive. I put some fruit and nuts in the apothecary jar (which at Halloween had skulls in it - lol) and there's a few displays of feathers and acorns up there. And even Henry VIII gets a sprig of bittersweet to decorate his frame.

And over in the window I put the Thanksgiving stacked boxes I made for my mother with a few other odds and ends. It looks so cute there. I made another set for my shop a while back (which is still for sale, by the way...) ;-)

And that's all for now - I'm getting ready to post a few new items in the shop and trying to get the house ready for Thanksgiving. I have a few great recipes I'd like to share when I get around to baking and I'll take pictures to go with them. Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season.

Edit: Shop Update - two new items up.

Happy Friday, everyone!!

This and That

Just a mixed bag of things I'd like to share today. It's a chilly overcast day and the perfect time to share a new recipe. I've been craving something cranberry the last few weeks so I bought some dried cranberries at the farmer's market and looked for a cranberry orange muffin recipe online. What I found was a cooking light recipe and they came out more like little bitty cranberry scones rather than muffins, but I think they taste great that way, too.

The tops are sugared and glisten like they are covered in frost - perfect for these chilly fall days. ;)

Here's the recipe for these Cranberry Orange muffin/scones:

Heat oven 400 degrees.

Combine in large bowl:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar (all, but about a tablespoon - save to sprinkle on top of muffins before baking)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

In small bowl mix:

2 tsp + orange rind

3/4 cup orange juice (or more if needed to moisten dough) about one large orange or two medium oranges.

1/4 veg. or canola oil

1 large egg

Beat wet ingredients together then add to larger bowl and mix well. I found the dough very dry and had to add more orange juice until just moist. Dough will be very thick. Fold in 2 cups cranberries (I used dried), and 1/3 cup walnuts or pecans.

Grease muffin tin and fill 3/4 full, sprinkle with sugar and pop them in the oven. Makes about 16 muffins.

Last weekend we drove past a little antique store having a 1/2 off sale and bought a few tiny little treasures:

My favorites are the wheel of cheese, red pitcher and donkey. My mom's are the deer and little scotty dog as well as the tiny doll. Each one was only 50 cents - can you believe it?

And now - the absolute last post related to Halloween - I swear - at the end of the night my feet were getting tired of running to the door to feed the trick or treaters so I put on my little booties I got at Target just for the occassion:

Isn't it cute? The little kitty face just makes me smile and I like that they are mary jane style - the bottoms say 'meow'. lol

And the real kitties of the house are getting all snugly in their beds now that the weather has turned.

This is the cutest little bed I've ever bought for them - got it at World Market over the summer and they are just now starting to use it. Cute!

And finally, it's pomegranate season now so that means my mom eats at least one a day. We both love them, but I think she's addicted to them just as she is to cherries.

Check out the stash - this is after she'd eaten several already...

That was about two days ago and there are like three left - she'll be buying more this weekend, I'm sure. :)

Just a Friendly Reminder

Have you?? Please take the time to vote today if you are registered (and live in the US, obviously) - every vote matters. ;)

Happy November, everyone - it's very warm where I live right now.

And in unrelated news. Yesterday I had to go the Ortho doc for two shots in the back to help with the extraordinary pain I've been having. It's amazing how long the needles were! Ouch. Really gross. It was a fairly long painstaking process and some recovery time, but I think it's starting to work. I've got lots of pain, but some of it is gone and they said it takes up to two weeks or so to feel the full effect. I'm glad I went, though I was super nervous. I just hope to be able to do more now as the pain has taken quite a toll on me lately.

It's scoliosis related, the three rods in my back hold the main part of it in place, but this means the lower back and upper back have a LOT of wear and tear over the last 17 years and I have deteriated discs and bone spurs and pinched nerves. I haven't felt like doing much of anything lately and forget creative stuff. I'm so bummed. But now? Maybe I'll feel better.

Sorry to vent a little - just needed to talk about it and now I'll wish for the best. Maybe wish me luck?? ;) I'm so hoping to be able to paint and work again on new things for my shop and just for therapy, too. It feels good to make things.