Our Home Decorated For Fall

Here are the photos of our autumn decorated home:
This is one end table, with a sprig of foilage and a copper "bag" looking candle holder.

Nothing major here. A candle that has fall flowers inside the wax, with a beaded candle ring and a wooden punkin.

A wider angle shot of the living room. The tan pillows that I want to replace actually look good for the season!

Filled each shelf on the bookcase with fall foliage and some pumpkins. "Hayworth" the scarecrow proudly sits atop the bookcase. He has made it thru multiple purges of country themed stuff, in an effort to look more rounded, more grown up, more... something....

The flowers under the tv is a swag. The wreath above is normally on the front door, but this year I got a new autumn greetings/scarecrow rake. (but forgot to take the pic)

Coffee table with a brown, beaded runner. Made the floral arrangement last year (or maybe the year before), not expecting to be able to keep it. But, it is still going strong.

Took down the grapevines that are placed on the top of the cabinets and replced with fall vines. Bought on clearance years ago at JoAnn's. Filled in spaces at the ends with other sprays of foilage. (This is done on the other side, as well)

A few flower bits tucked into a metal soup can. The vinyl placemat is used as decor, as well as a cutting surface. I buy these after the season on clearance and save for the next year. Once they get cuts on them, you can't really continue to safely keep them year after year.

Here is the dining table. Bought the placemats several seasons ago. They wash well. Some of those can look terrible if you try to wash. I have a fall table cloth, as well as a more October one with scarecrows and cutesie punkins. But, for the most part I keep the shiny black table out and open.

The corner shelf (dining room) has sunflowers added, the fall dolly/angel and S & P shakers.

Swapped my usual utensil holder out for a gift basket from last Sister's Trip. Replaced my French themed appetizer/dip knives with fall ones.

Steph and I have a similar framed embroidered fall saying. We bought them on our last Sister's Trip (to TN).

And finally, last but not least- the laundry room. I even added a few bits in here as well.

Watermelon Harvest

Again, we are still posting about Sept. I had started cleaning out the garden to prepare for my fall, salad garden and had cut out any unnecessary watermelon vines... OR SO I THOUGHT!! A few days later I realized that the final watermelon was not ready yet, BUT the vine was drying up. I checked it out and, YES! I had cut the one leading to that melon!! We got to eat the center of it, which meant about 3 bites for us all. Not such great watermelon success this summer for us. I will try again in the spring tho. Maybe we'll have better luck.

Emma is intrigued with this "ball" in her wagon.

You'd think it was her new best friend!


I just wish it had been allowed to continue growing! It had good flavor.



STILL playing catch-up...

Fish Taco Recipe

I have made Fish Tacos several times over the past month and we just love them! Simple and so delish. I used to order them at a local Mexican restaurant, but they have gone out of business now. I came across 3 different recipes for Fish Tacos and this is the version we love. Several people have now asked me how to make them, so here goes...

Fish Tacos -for 4
approx. 4 breaded fish planks (or about 12-16 fish sticks)
12 small soft tortillas
corn
chopped tomato

1/2 pkg. cole slaw mix
1/2 cup thin sliced red onion
1/4 cup mayo
2-3 tsp. sugar/Splenda
3 tbs. lime juice
the zest from a lime

*Bake your fish at the pkg. directions. Cut up into small pcs.
*Mix the mayo, lime zest, lime juice, and sugar together and toss well with the cole slaw and onions. (We like it bold & zesty so I use the zest from an entire lime. You may want to decrease the amount.)
*Heat your corn. Chop the tomatoes.
*Load the tortillas with fish, corn, tomato and top with the lime cole slaw mix. SUPER DELICIOUS!!!
**Serve with Knorr Mexican Rice.


**The small tortillas are sold in a 16 count pkg. at Walmart in the bread aisle.
**We also tried them with corn taco shells. Just depends on your taste.
**Each taco takes at least one fish stick. Depends again on your taste and budget.

This is such a simple meal to prepare and is so tasty. I bought Gorton's fish on sale BOGO recently, so we are stocked up and ready for many fish taco nights to come! It is handy that it takes about half a bag of cole slaw mix for a recipe, so we use the other half the next week and do it all over again. As long as the bag is closed up tight it will last.
Another idea to use up your remaining cole slaw mix is to make an Oriental Salad, similar to the one they make at Applebee's. Add things like lettuce, chinese noodles, almonds, dried pineapple, chopped chicken, etc... and toss with an Asian dressing. Kraft sells several different flavors.

Trying To FIll Daddy's Shoes

These were also taken in mid-Sept. She loves shoes. Hers, mine, Daddy's... Here she had found his slippers left by the coffee table. She decided to put them away for him.

But, Mommy showed her how to put them on and she loved it! Clomping across the living room.

She made it to the hall and decided that was enough! Took them off and headed off to put them away... Hmmm... where is "away"?

When Daddy went looking for his slippers, they were not put "away" by his bedside, but rather in his closet. Well, isn't that where other shoes belong?? :)



Still trying to catch up... As slow as these are uploading, it may take longer than I thought...

Waaaayyyyy Behind...

I haven't much to say today, except that I am WAAYYYY behind on this blog!! SORRY! These pics. are from Sept. 11th! You thought I was just jokin', huh? It is now November...




Isn't she a cutie pie????

Found a cat toy! Doesn't quite understand why she can't play with them...


She loves her nesting boxes! Loves stacking and knocking them down!

I'm going to try to catch up this week!!! Cross your fingers....

Labor Day At The Ranch

Our family spent the day out at Robert & Stephanie's:

We each made 2 things and had a super delish meal. I made a Zucchini casserole with a potato chip topping and a Cherry Mountain Pie. Steph did her famous Mac & Cheese and brownies; and Mom made her infamous baked beans and potato salad. Robert smoked some pig. The girls had such fun eating at their little table. No high chairs or booster seats today!

After lunch it was time for the girls nap and the grown ups to play Wii. Here's Dad & Martin boxing.
Mom & Dad tried it out, as well. Mom got in a good punch or two but ended up getting knocked out. She's acting like she's gonna knock Dad out for real. :)

I had tried out other games on the Wii on another visit, but had never tried the boxing. Think Steph is reall into this???

Naptime is over and we headed out to see the animals. Nana had such a great time with both her lil' girly o's.

Here are the pigs. Eating their dinner. Aunt Steph is trying to show them to her but she doens't seem too impressed.

This one is too cute! The two cousins playing together. You can also see just how close in size they are. The horses had been let into the barn and had been fed. Emma was loving the horses! Halie looks like a country girl with her boots, while Emma looks like a cheerleader in her lil' skort.
Martin & I both got to ride Robert's horse Sandy. We neither one had been on a horse in more than 20-25 years. Imagine what THAT felt like the next day...

Halie and her Daddy having a ride before putting Sandy up.

We were all so hot and sweaty after riding horses and seeing the animals, so we got the girls changed and headed for the pool. Nana & Papaw checked out the swing.

The water was kinda cold, but they had a blast! Gretchen was wanting in, as well.

We changed Emma into a swin diaper, so I just left her suit off. The girls played and splashed for a long time until Emma was shivering and her lips were a little blue. Even then, I had to make her get out and come inside. We ate leftovers for dinner, packed up and headed home. What a great day we had together!

Labor Day Fun

We spent this Sat. morning at a local Mercantile store(Sept. 5th I believe). White City Mercantile is housed in an old, old wooden house and is filled with antiques, collectibles, crafts and junk. Emma found a medium sized wooden rocker on the porch and was having a ball while we waited for the shop to open.

She did so very well while we wandered! I only had to carry her in one room, which was filled with shelves and shelves of old glass dishes and tchotchkes that Mommy didn't want to have to worry about paying for.

Upstairs we found this lovely metal framed bouncing, rocking horse. I had one like it, only with different colors, when I was small. I wanted it for her SO BAD!! They wanted too much for it and I had to walk away. Sadly walk away.

But, we had to try it out twice before walking away from it. :) Then we spent awhile at a local park. She had a blast swinging and sliding down the many slides. We finally left because Mommy was dripping with sweat and getting cranky. We had a fun first day of the Labor Day weekend.

Piggy Tail Girl

Look at that expression!!! :) She looks upset at the cat, but she wasn't, more like startled at her noisy cat whining!!



ACK!!!!! I put the wrong picture in here!! I was trying to show you how tall she is compared to Martin's leg. But.....
Check out her adorable little piggy tails! When I first started doing her hair this way, she had just enough to pull back in 2 bands and leave a little curly bit. NOW... she has enough to put up in one pony tail!! (By the way, these are from early August)

Several weeks ago I jokingly told Steph that if Halie didn't start growing soon, we'd be passing clothes on to her rather than Halie to us!! But, that may very well be true! Emma has grown even more these past several weeks! We had moved into 18 month clothes a month or more ago and they were all loose fitting, but the onesie/romper that she wore this week just barely snapped!! Now 18 month shorts and skirts fall off of her, with her skinny little bum. Tomorrow is the day we weigh and measure, as she'll be 16 months... We'll let you know the new stats.

Today's Big Score

Today's bargains were found at Publix:
Almost all were BOGO (buy1 get1 free)

Yo Plus Yogurt BOGO 2.50, with 2 $1 coupons-50 cents
Spray & Wash BOGO 2.99, with two .50 cent coupons=1.99
Smart Balance Butter BOGO 3.49, with $1.75 in coupons and a $1 Publix dairy coupon= .74 cents
Gorton's Fish Fillets BOGO 5.49, with $1.55 in coupons= 3.94
Marzetti's Dressings BOGO 3.99, with $1 coupon-2.99
tuna 1.49, with a $1 coupon=.49 cents

I ended up spending $10.55 and saving $29.50 with BOGO's and coupons, which makes for a 74% savings!!! I had picked up the NOT ON SALE fish fillets and the Manager refunded my $ AND the coupon amounts!! The girl told him what I needed & had done and he offered to refund the amount PLUS coupons. Afterwards, Martin said "you realize that was like doubling your coupons?" :) I purchased the correct fish and came away with an extra $1.55.

P.S.
Now remember that you can use 2 coupons when you are buying a BOGO. AND most stores will allow you to use a store coupon AND a manufacturer coupon. Makes for even better savings, especially when grocery stores in Florida do not double coupons!!

Today's BIG Bargains

Today's Winn Dixie Bargains:
I spent $9.29 and saved $19.91!!


A picture of my purchases:

The sales included:
*buying 4 Kelloggs cereals & bars at 4 for $10 AND getting a gallon of milk and dozen eggs for free. I had $3.50 in coupons for those Kelloggs items. So, $6.50 for 2 boxes of cereal, 2 boxes of Special K bars, gallon of milk and eggs.
*Barrilla Piccolina pasta were on sale for $1 and I had a 50 cent coupon.
*Progresso soups were Buy 1 Get 1 and I had a 50 cent coupon. (Even at WD's mark up "sale" price, I still saved .70 cents over Walmart)
*Sun Crystals sweetener was on sale for $2 and I had a $2 coupon= FREE!!

So, spent $9.29 and saved $19.91. Gotta love it!!!

PS- This week Walgreens had OralB Indicator toothbrushes on sale 2 for $4 with a $2 register rewards given. I had a buy 1 get 1 coupon. So, essentially my 2 toothbrushes were free. I tell you I LOVE bargains!

P.S.S. Forgot to add, I also bought 2 cleaners at Walgreens (Pine Sol and 409). 2 for $5 (cheaper at Wal mart per item, but read on ...) I had a dollar coupon which made it $4. Add in the $2 register reward and I paid $2 PLUS got another $2 register reward for a future purchase! So, again, essentially free.

Such A Helper!!

Emma LOVES to help! She is at that age where she wants to do whatever Mommy is doing and she really does help do quite a few chores each day.



Such a ham!!!! She loves to put away the spoons and forks. It makes her quite mad when we are loading it with dirty stuff rather than emptying it!! She thinks that every time it is opened, she should be allowed to help put away!!

She can just barely reach the drawer to slip each utensil into. Mommy has to then place them in their correct place OR back in the sink, when she decides to put them in her mouth on the way to the drawer.

Here is THE fave part of the whole event... closing the door!! She gets quite put out if you close it before she gets there!!


Emma loves to help feed the cats twice a day; She helps me take the laundry to the laundry room; Puts away silverware; Gets her won diaper when it is time for a change; Cleans up her own toys after every play time; and she loves to take my shoes and put them away-even if I am wearing them!! BUT, my closet is usually closed while Daddy's is always open, so when I can't find my shoes I have to look in his closet. If I dare to kick one off for a few minutes, she is on it!!