This is today's post title

I've been trying to thing of something semi-interesting to talk about today, but I'm not coming up with much. How about shopping?!  Jen told me that she bought one of the candles I mentioned, so I thought I'd make a PSA and tell you that Bath and Body Works is having a Home Fragrance Event this Saturday, Sept. 17th. All you have to do is purchase any home fragrance product and you get an adorable tote bag and a three-pack of mini candles. Click on this link if you want to see what you get.

If you're looking for ideas of what to buy, might I suggest this little guy...

This scent, lavender macaroon, is wonderful. Apparently it only came out in the large 3-wick candles in a few "test" stores. The rest of us can only get the mini ones. But I got three for $5 and they are yummy! So you could nab a few of these (or even just one!) and get the freebies. Plus three-wick candles will be 2/$20. Just thought you'd like to know.

 

Tonight is Open House at the kids' school. This is the last year that they'll both be at the elementary school...I can't believe Annabelle will be in the middle school next year! Crazy. Whoever said, "The Days are Long, but the Years are Short" wasn't kidding!

Have a good one!

♥ Jen

Good dinner...phew!

The enchiladas were really yummy. It's one of those recipes that I wonder why I don't make more often. You can prepare it ahead, and the leftovers are really good too. In fact guess what we're having for dinner tonight!

 

I did some errands today, lookie what I got at Dunkin' Donuts!

I'm so excited to try these. If you notice, there's only 14 in the box, and it's a pretty big box too...sneaky! And it costs the same as a regular 18-pack. We'll see if it's worth it.

I went to HomeGoods and found the cutest felt autumn garland. Do you like?

It was $7.99, I could never make it for that cheap. I had seen it last week, and debated whether or not to get it. I ended up putting it back. Since then I've been picturing it on my fireplace. I took it as a sign when I only saw one left today and grabbed it. I'm glad I did, I think it adds a nice touch.

While I was taking pictures I remembered I wanted to show you this little dish I bought at Christmas Tree Shops. One dollar! I had the stand already. It's on the ledge over my kitchen sink, and it makes me smile every time I look at it. It's little, only about 5 or 6 inches in diameter.

Off to take some cookies out of the oven...see you tomorrow!

♥ Jen

Monday, Monday

Does it still feel like summer where you are? It's warm again here, around 80. Not too bad, but 10 or 20 degrees cooler would be better. I have the screen door open to the backyard, and I just saw a little chipmunk peeking in the house! I wish I had gotten a picture, because one of my cats was sitting with her back to the door and didn't notice a thing. I turned her around to see, but by that point the little fella had scampered off.

 

I changed the fabrics in my laundry room embroidery hoops, to reflect the season...

This one is not very autumnal (it's rotary cutters and other quilting supplies), but I thought the colors were. It's from a Debbie Mumm line at Jo-ann's, from a few years ago.

Here's the same one I used for the candle mat...love it!

And I have this picture frame on a shelf...I change the picture out when I think of it.

Isn't that a cute little still-life? Michael's has packs of notecards in the dollar section, and I think they're really nice for a buck.

I'm making Chile-Chicken Enchiladas for dinner...this is a tried-and-true recipe in my house, so hopefully no debacle tonight. I whipped up a pan of cornbread to go with it. Krusteaz Honey Cornbread mix is delicious, FYI!

I'll see you tomorrow...have a great night!

♥ Jen

Whoopsie!

I forgot to post yesterday, aack! I'm trying to post every day for the rest of the month, and I didn't last a week! Ugh. That's what getting old does to you, you forget simple every day tasks.

I neglected to tell you how the Teriyaki Chicken turned out...well, it was forgettable, that's for sure! Do yourself a favor and DON'T make it. I don't know, it tasted like overcooked bad Chinese food to me. Blecch!

How is your weekend going? I've been watching a lot of the 9/11 programs. It's amazing how fresh and raw that day still seems, and it was 10 YEARS AGO. What were you doing when you heard? I was pregnant with my daughter, and my mother-in-law and I were driving to my ultrasound appointment in New Jersey (I lived in PA at the time, on the PA-NJ-NY border). My appointment was for 9:00. When we got to the office, the staff there was watching tv and told us what had happened. Rumors were swirling...the white house was attacked was one that I remember. We were in a town not far from New York City, so there was a lot of traffic on our way home. It was just so hard to believe...it still sort of is. I think the new memorial at Ground Zero is beautiful and a perfect way to remember those we lost.

Well, on a lighter note, this is yesterday's portion of the post (I'll just combine two into one, ok?). We spent the morning apple picking! We've really been missing fresh crisp apples, and we got pounds and pounds of them! I was hoping for Galas but they're not ready yet. Anyway we got Cortlands, Jonamacs and MacIntosh. I have to bake something with them....any ideas? Then later we were going to go to the Irish Festivial in downtown Syracuse, but by the time we got there and tried to find parking, it was getting late. We decided to just go out to dinner at that point. We went to a great brewery restaurant called Empire Brewing Co. Then out for ice cream...I got Toll House ice cream, which has a brown sugar base with chocolate chips and walnuts. Yum!

 

Today we went to a harvest festival at a local nature preserve. It's great, we go every year...there's music, entertaiment (including a great musician), games, food and crafts. I bought two jelly jar candles from a local vendor. I never could resist a good candle! It was a beautiful day, not humid at all and nice and sunny. I wish all summer days could be like this!

 

Have a great night...and I will see you tomorrow (promise)!

♥ Jen

Candles and such

TGIF! Although wow, it felt like a short week anyway. A holiday week and then school started midweek. The kids are adjusting well to a new school year...making new friends, reconnecting with old ones, etc. And they both like their teachers. Mason's is actually the same one he had for first grade, they did some staff-shuffling this year. She's great so we're happy about that.

 

Do you love candles? If so you're going to love these, I think.

The scents are Vanilla Pumpkin and Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin Cookie. I ordered them from one of the many few e-tailers for wax tarts and candles that I've found...Broken Wheel Primitives. Aren't they cute? That's whipped wax on top of the regular wax, with wax doo-dads embedded in it. I also went to Bath and Body Works today and got a few candles...Marshmallow Fireside, Cinnamon Sugared Donut and Creamy Pumpkin. I think I'm set for the fall!

Speaking of candles, here's a candle mat I made last month...bigger than a potholder, but smaller than a placemat.

I had gotten a fat quarter assortment of harvest-colored plaids from Pumpkin Patch Primitives last fall...this seemed like a perfect project for them! The center fabric is from the Harvest Town line by Jacqueline Paton for Red Rooster Fabrics.

Annabelle had been asking me to make her a cat plushie, so I drew up a pattern and made one for her, and one for Mason.

See the little square dudes on the right? Annabelle sewed the one in front! She was hanging out with me when I was sewing one day, and she was checking out my machine. She was curious how it worked, so I got two charm squares for her and helped her sew them together. She turned it inside out, stuffed it, and picked out the buttons. Maybe I'll have a little sewing friend after all?? Then Mason wanted one too of course...he picked out the squares and buttons, but he left the sewing to me. I made the owl that's on the left last year.

 

I hope you are having a great day...see you tomorrow!

♥ Jen

Thursday already?

Geez, I guess when the kids start school midweek, the end of the week comes up quickly! How's everyone doing? Told you I'd be back! lol I had to take Dave's car in for maintenance this morning, then I ran some errands so I'm finally able to have a cup of coffee and write. The sun is shining, which is nice...I feel terrible for everyone who's getting flooding in the Binghamton area and Pennsylvania. My grandmother is in PA and her town was evacuated. Luckily there's other family nearby. Scary stuff. Thinking of any of you who are affected by these relentless rains.

On a happier note, I wanted to show you a cute little Halloween wall-hanging I stitched up!

I'm pretty sure I got it from Sharon at Daisy Cottage Quilting...it was a while back, don't quote me on that. In any case it's a Buttermilk Basin pattern. It was fun to do the embroidery...I had never done chain-stitching before (it's the thick stitching, like for the cat and the pumpkin outlines). Basically, it's a continuous daisy chain stitch. Simple! Anyhoo I think it's a cutie.

I took a few photos of my fall decorations. I don't have a whole lot but here's the fireplace...

And here's the little foyer table.

Across from that table, on the other side of the hall, I put this basket with a pumpkin and sunflowers (fake ones)...

I still have to do the outside, and I'll put out Halloween stuff later this month. The kids just love unwrapping everything and remembering things from previous years. I used to get the same feelings when I was a kid, bringing out seasonal decorations...I'm so glad they like the tradition as well.

 

Are you on Facebook? There's a new group called "Crock Pot Girls" and their popularity has exploded over the past few weeks. I guess there are lots of us who love slow cooking! Anyway I'm making one of their recipes tonight, for Teriyaki Chicken. Here's the recipe:

1 16-oz. bag baby carrots
1 20-oz. can chunk pineapple, drained
1/2 large red onion, cut into chunks
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Teriyaki Sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place carrots on bottom of slow cooker. Add pineapple, onion and garlic. Place chicken on top. Pour Teriyaki Sauce evenly on top. Add s & p. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Serve over rice.

I've heard good things about the finished dish, I'll let you know tomorrow what the verdict is here! Have a great day friends!

♥ Jen

It's me!

I'm baaaack! I have missed my little blog a lot! Today the kids returned to school, so here I am! I was messing around with my blog layout and I decided to revamp my title...so the one up there is just temporary. Although I kind of like it! Apple-picking season is starting, thus the background. Yaay! I live for autumn every year. The cool, crisp days and nights...apples and pumpkins, harvest decor, and lots and lots of candles! Here's one that my sister-in-law got for me, and I couldn't resist lighting that baby.

It is rainy and chilly here. I felt bad for the kids going back to school today, but at least it wasn't too hot. Annabelle and Mason weren't particularly thrilled to go to the "boredom convention," as they call it. But they seemed a little excited this morning, even if they were careful not to show it.

 I've worked on a few projects while I've been gone. The two major ones are still top-secret...here's a little peek at one's binding...

...but in the coming days I'll show you some of the completed little things I've done. My goal is to post every day for the rest of September. I have Gooseberry Patch reviews coming up, for two of their newest little books. They are collections of little tips, like the ones they sprinkle throughout their cookbooks! Look for those later in the month. Aren't the covers adorable?

Well take care friends, and I'll check back with you all tomorrow!

♥ Jen