SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME BOUND!

Wow!   If you know anything about SEC football, you know that the Iron Bowl is one of the most anticipated games of the year.      Friday was the Iron Bowl and man what a nail biter!     Alabama came out and dominated Auburn the first half but after the half, Auburn showed up and showed what they are made of!       Final score 28-27….WAR EAGLE!

 

Cam Newton, QB for Auburn, celebrating with the crowd.

 

Husband and I decided that if we got as far at the SEC championship game, he and son would go.      Then I decided I wanted a ticket and we couldn’t leave out daughter.      So we ended up buying 5 tickets (a friend of daughter’s is going too).      Some of us are going over Friday for fan day and son and DIL will come from Birmingham on Saturday before the game.

I am so excited about attending my first SEC game.       I plan on having a blast!

WAR “CAM” EAGLE----HEY!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

 

 

Wishing you and yours a happy Thanksgiving!  

Our family is gathering at Cracker Barrel like we did last year.        On Friday we’ll be keeping the twins while their mama and daddy go to the Auburn-Alabama game in Tuscaloosa.      I have all of my Christmas decorations down and flocked my tree today so I’m hoping to get most of my decorating done this weekend.    

If you are traveling, please be careful.

Pottery Barn Inspired Garland At Between Naps On The Porch

I can’t imagine that many of you have not seen Susan’s blog at Between Naps On The Porch.    I’ve been following her blog for a few years now and thoroughly enjoy each and every post.    Recently Susan was inspired by a Christmas porch in the Pottery Barn catalog and being the genius she is, felt she could recreate it for a whole lot less than the PB version.

Here’s the photo that was her inspiraton….

 

 

….and here’s Susan’s version

 

 

 

She shares everything she bought, where she bought it, and how much she paid for it.     

 

Susan has a great tutorial showing how you can create your own PB inspired porch if you are so inclined.      You can see Susan’s entire tutorial here.     I think you will agree this is simply genius!

Ham, Cheese & Poppyseed Biscuits

Who doesn’t love ham and cheese?     Here’s a great little mini-sandwich that’s great to make anytime, especially this time of year when we’re busy making LOTS and LOTS of food but still need something to munch on.    I got this recipe from my sister’s MIL many years ago.      Her MIL and FIL entertained extensively in their Mountain Brook home and you could always count on her for some great recipes.    

Here’s the cast of characters you will need:

 

Sliced ham

Pepperjack cheese (I usually use swiss but decided to give mine a little “kick” this time)

Small dinner rolls

1 stick butter

Mustard

Poppyseeds

 

Melt the butter in the microwave

 

While the butter is melting, slice the rolls lengthwise like this…

Put the bottom half back in the pan and leave the top off

 

After your butter melts, add a squirt of mustard and a couple shakes of poppyseed.    I never measure for this, just use your own judgment, but don’t overdo the mustard or poppyseeds.    Mix well.

 

Then use a pastry brush to brush the bottom half of the rolls (the one in the pan).    I couldn’t find my pastry brush so I just spooned it on and smeared it around.   (You can tell I’m a real Paula Deen!)

 

Then slice the ham (and cheese) like so…

 

Layer the ham on the bottom half of the rolls

 

Then add the cheese

 

Now brush your butter mixture on the TOP part of the rolls

 

Then flip the top over on the bottom part

 

I had a little extra butter mixture so I just poured it on top.    That’s it!    You’re done.     Bake in a 350 degree oven until the rolls are heated and the cheese melts.     

 

Remove from oven and enjoy!

This would be great to serve Thanksgiving morning while the big turkey dinner is cooking.     Add some fruit and you’re all set.      We had ours Sunday night and they were finger lickin’ good!

You can also make these ahead of time and slip them back in the bag the rolls came in, twist tie them closed, and refrigerate overnight.     Then you simply pop them in the oven and heat.     Easy Peasy!

Just a little warning about poppyseeds…..they create a “false positive” for certain drugs so if you have to take a random drug test or fly an airplane (like my brother-in-law) don’t eat anything with poppyseeds.    My research shows that even a small bagel with poppyseeds can create the false positive for up to 2 days!    

Ya’ll have a great week and Happy Thanksgiving.

A Look Back In Time

Browsing through some old photos I came across these wedding pictures of my daughter and son’s weddings.     Daughter got married at a beautiful outdoor chapel at the lake in October 1997 and son married in a beautiful hotel atrium in February 1998.      I got really lucky with my kids’ spouses, they are truly like a son and daughter to me!     Both couples are still happily married and both are the parents of one boy and one girl….daughter has 6 year old twins (boy and girl) and son has a daughter (born the day of Hurricane Katrina) and new son born this past August.     We are so blessed!

 

 

Shannon and Don – October 1997

 

Shannon and her family Christmas about 2 years ago

 

 

 

Shane and Jennifer – February 1998

 

 

Here’s one from last summer of Shane & Jennifer (I hope that’s not a beer!)

 

 

This is one taken at Shane & Jennifer’s house a few days after Cade came home (wonder what Shane is saying to the photographer!?!)

The other two kids (girl in front of Jennifer and little boy in orange shirt) belong to Jennifer’s sister.

 

And for old time’s sake, here is one of my babies one Easter in my parent’s yard.     They were probably around 11 and 9 respectively….seems like yesterday!

 

 

 

We’re having Thanksgiving lunch at Cracker Barrel this year, just like we did last year.     Last year we had just put mom in assisted living and it was so much easier for everyone to do that but it worked out so well we decided to do it again this year.      The day after Thanksgiving is the big Iron Bowl game - Auburn vs. Alabama.     Then on December 3rd we’re heading to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game and fan day.     WAR EAGLE!   

Heaven’s Newest Angel

I recently posted about my nephew’s baby being born extremely early.     He was due February 1, 2011 but was delivered on November 4th.    Unfortuately, too many things were against the little fella from the beginning.    After a valiant fight, he transitioned back to Heaven last Sunday.     I wanted to thank everyone for your prayers and compassion.    

Rug Is Here Along With Another Surprise

My rug arrived today from Overstock.com.    Right now it’s rolled up in the dining room since we are packing tonight to leave in the morning for our little getaway.      When it was delivered, husband had the UPS man (who is a friend of ours) help lay it down to see if it would fit and it does!    Yay!!!    Now, I can’t wait to get back and get it laid out and get my dining room put back together.

 

 

 

It looks so good that I’m going to order another one for the den but get the border in “natural”.     Then I’ll put the one that’s currently in the den in my sun room.   

 

My other little surprise was this great “old” dough bowl I recently ordered.    I have a small dough bowl but have loved the size of the bigger ones I’ve seen around blogland and the internet but didn’t love the price.  

 

 

Here’s the photo from their catalog.    It’s a generous size…25 1/2” long x 8 1/4 “ wide x 4” high.     The catalog calls this a Windward Tray but it looks to me like an old dough bowl.

 

Not long ago I got this catalog from Through The Country Door and guess what I found inside?      This is good size dough bowl and I can’t tell you how pleased I am with it.     It truly resembles an old dough bowl…..I can just imagine all the ways I can use it all year long.

 

Can you believe its size?    And look at that texture!  

 

 

   

I just put some faux pears in it tonight…no time to decorate but I couldn’t leave it “bare” while I’m gone.      You can order your own bowl here or just go ahead and get yourself one of these catalogs….lots of great things at very reasonable prices.

 

We’ll be on the road bright and early in the morning, should have wonderful weather.     See ya’ll later!

My Loss is My Gain

Goofy title but let me explain.    While driving back from Birmingham last weekend, I got a call from husband who said our dog had had an “accident” on my seagrass rug in the dining room.      This rug had been a custom cut rug we ordered 2 years ago when I started the dining room re-do.     He said he had tried to get out the worst of it but I would need to call a carpet cleaning place to get them to come out to see what they could do.    Now I was really worried!     When I got home, the smell was the first thing I noticed, then I saw the numerous (huge) unmistakable brown poo and pee spots.     Now I’m not talking about a little poo or pee, I’m talking LOTS!     I first called my daughter’s brother-in-law who has a carpet cleaning business.     He quickly told me they won’t even touch a seagrass rug due to shrinkage from the water.      So I ran out to Wal Mart and bought some Spot Shot (the only rug cleaner I use), some brushes and gloves.     Got home, sprayed everything and decided to wait for it to dry some so I wouldn’t smear it worse than it already was.     On Monday morning, I worked up my nerve to start the cleaning process.      Word to the wise, seagrass is almost impossible to clean!      Water is it’s enemy and stuff gets all down in all those “cracks.”     I waited for husband to get home to see for himself and to inform him we’d need to order another rug…..he was not happy about that at all.      When I checked the rug site where we’d ordered from 2 years ago, the price had almost doubled!      At this point, “we” decided to go ahead and get a bigger rug for the room…..actually husband’s idea!      I remembered two of my blog friends who had ordered their seagrass rugs from Overstock.com so I got on line to check out their prices and sizes.     Fortunately,  I was able to find exactly what I was looking for at a very reasonable price and $1.00 shipping!!!     All the reviews of this rug were great and I double-checked with my blog friend (Rhoda) about hers.      I have seen her rug on several occasions and it looks great so based on what I know about her rug I feel pretty good about ordering my new rug from Overstock.com.        According to the UPS tracking information, my rug should be here this week.     

 

I ordered the 8 x 10 basketweave seagrass rug with black border which is what I had before.     The price of this rug was only $167.99 plus $1.00 shipping!!!!    I just checked on line and as of today, this rug has sold out but apparently they anticpate receiving more of them.    I hope so because if this one works out, I will order another one to replace the el-cheapo one in my den.    Then the el-cheapo will go in the sunroom where the dog also left a few “surprises”!.      

We are leaving Thursday for a little road trip to north Alabama to check out the fall colors.     This is the same trip we took about this time last year.      Sweet little backroads, quaint towns with wonderful shops and darling homes.     You can read about our trip from last year here.    I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures!

Have a great week everybody.

Taco Salad

One of our favorite things to eat is Mexican food.     Lots of times we just go out to our favorite restaurant but I still don’t think you can beat the homemade version of my favorite….. Taco Salad.    

 

 

Of course, there are many different ingredients you can use, but here’s what I use:

Ground beef

Fresh tomatoes

Grated extra sharp cheese

Lettace

Onion

Refried Beans

Nacho chips

Taco Sauce

1000 Island Dressing

Now that last ingredient (1000 Island Dressing) might surprise you….the first time I was introduced to it, I thought Yuck!    But to me, it just makes the salad.     

All I do is brown my ground beef (you could use ground  turkey), then drain off the grease.     Then just build your salad on your plate.    No matter how “small” you start out, this salad seems to grow on your plate.    I usually start with a bottom layer of lettace, then add the ground beef, then everything else, top it off with cheese,  salsa and chips.    I then drizzle the 1000 Island Dressing on top of everything, mix it up a little and dig in!    I promise you, this will become one of your favorite quick & easy recipes to fix when time is tight or you just want a little south-of-the-border meal.   

Prayers Needed

My nephew’s little baby boy was born 3 months premature today.   He was due February 1st but was born today weighing a little over a pound.    He was airlifted to Birmingham.     Right now we don’t have any further information.    Please pray for this precious baby.

Sweet Baby Boy Room

This weekend was spent at son’s house where we got started on the baby’s room.     When Jennifer (DIL) found out she was having a boy, we started putting together ideas on what she wanted to do in the baby’s room.     I’m lucky that she and I have a lot of the same taste so I suggested we incorporate the ever-popular beadboard wallpaper in our design.     So we decided we’d paint the upper 1/3rd a pretty blue and use the beadboard wallpaper on the bottom part.     We didn’t get started until around 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning but we (son) knocked out the painting pretty quickly and I “helped” with the cutting in!       After a quick lunch we starting measuring, cutting and hanging the wallpaper.      Now, I’m of the belief that if something ain’t broke don’t fix it but the fine folks that are manufacturing the beadboard wallpaper have decided (for whatever reason) to discontinue making it pre-pasted so we had to put the paste ON THE WALL as opposed to the paper….trust me, we put the glue on the first strip of wallpaper but it worked much better when we rolled it onto the wall.

Of course, we ran out of paper needing only a couple more pieces.    Luckily I have a small amount at home (that is pre-pasted) so we’re hoping there is enough on that roll to finish up the room.      Then we’ll put a small shoe-mold type trim on the top of the existing baseboard and add a nice chair rail strip all around the room where the paint and wallpaper meet….like this….

 

 

Here’s the room prior to painting and wallpapering.    It used to be my granddaughter’s bedroom but we moved her across the hall to another room this past summer.     DIL had it decorated in a ladybug theme….thus the bright yellow walls.   

 

 

 

 

Here’s my favorite (and only) son measuring a level line for the wallpaper so we’d have a guide for how far down to paint

 

I did a lot of the cutting in but this was the last wall and he wanted to done (he says I’m too slow!)

 

First strip of paper hung!

 

 

 

 

I got this lamp at Kirkland’s last summer….it is perfect for this room.     You can also see a little bit of the bedding as well as a frame my daughter had made for the baby

 

 

I just had to include this sweet pic of my baby holding his baby (he’s grown quite a bit since this picture….I think he’s about a week old here and now he’s 10 weeks)

Hubby and I will have to go back up to cut the trim for the room.    I really encouraged them to find a trim man in Birmingham cause neither one of us a good at carpentry!   Does anyone know a good (cheap) trim man in Birmingham?

 

And I can’t close without giving a shout out to my Auburn Tigers and my hero…..Cam Newton!     War Eagle Baby!!!!!

Cameron Newton - Auburn Quarterback

Need I say more?    This video gives me chills!!

Holiday Market

You know the Christmas season is quickly approaching when the Junior League puts on their fabulous Holiday Market.     Daughter and I will be going tonight….lots of eye candy, good food and good times!

 

This coming weekend is daughter’s birthday weekend.     She and her husband always throw a big football/birthday party bash.    Everyone comes and brings food and cheers on their favorite team.       Two big SEC games…..

Auburn (War “Cam” Eagle) and ……

Alabama vs. Tennessee

May your favorite team win…..and in case you’re wondering who I’ll be cheering for, here’s a hint:     WARRRRR EAGLE….HEY!     (Auburn University)

Lazy Sunday For Me

It’s days like today that make me forget how hot, humid and muggy it was just a month or so ago here in the South.   Today the weather has been perfect!    Hubby is working a travel ball tournament this weekend so I’ve had some free time on my hands.    On Saturday my sister came to visit and we took mom out for lunch and then did a little shopping.    She’s leaving for Hawaii in 3 weeks (she said my ticket was lost in the mail!) and I let her shop my closet for some things to take to add to stuff she already has.    Then today I got up really early (6:30 a.m.) and tried to go back to bed around 9:00 for a little nap but hubby called twice (I think he was bored) so I finally gave up and got ready to go to the grocery store.     After I got home and put things away, I made some corn bread, black eye peas with ham hock and sliced ham for later when hubby gets home.    I also made my mom her favorite dessert of lemon bars and took them out to her at her assisted living cottage.    Those lemon bars are her absolute favorite dessert.    She never asks for anything so whenever I discover something she really likes, I try my best to make little treats for her.   Then we sat on the porch and rocked for “a spell” before I came back home.    

Just a lazy Sunday for me and now just waiting for hubby to get home so I feel complete.

Fall Outside and Candlestick Making

Today was a picture perfect fall day around these parts….beautiful sunny weather with NO HUMIDITY which if you are from the south, is something to be proud of.     Hubby got some things out of the attic and I spent part of the afternoon putting some fall/halloween decorations outside.  

I took these pictures just after dark so I could see how it looks all lit up.      The lantern puts off a big glare but it looks really pretty in person.

The flower pot on its side was a roadside find.   It’s missing it’s base so I just turned it on it side and put a little pumpkin inside.   

 

On Saturday Shannon, Taylor & I did a little shopping.   Taylor wore her halloween costume (she says she’s a bat but I just don’t think of a bat when I see her outfit).

Around her neck is a little necklace with a pouch…inside the pouch are a few pumpkin seeds.    Her twin brother’s class went on a field trip to a local pumpkin patch on Friday and he brought her back the pumpkin seed necklace….isn’t that the sweetest thing?    Being twins, they have an unusually close bond.

And I finally got around to making those ever-popular Dollar Tree apocathary jars for Shannon’s sideboard.    I bought three of the candlesticks and three containers and just hot glued them together. 

 

Maybe not as great as Pottery Barn or Williams- Sonoma, but hey, for a total of $6.00, we’re pretty happy with them.    Shannon is going to use them on her sideboard with her fall decorations and then she can simply change out what she puts in them at Christmas….they would work for any season.    And so what if they break?    We’ll just make some more!

Have a safe and happy Monday!

Fall Decorating and Inspiration

Sitting here in hubby’s easy chair surfing the ‘net and watching S.C. beating Alabama (sorry ‘Bama fans, I’m an Auburn girl!) thinking I need to get some fall decorations out but too lazy so the best I can do is share some fall decorating I did in the past and also some inspirations photos.   

This is my front yard from last year….enjoy!

Now for some inspiration pictures I’ve shared before but I thought they were worth showing again..

(disclaimer:   I am unable to give credit for the photos so if they are yours please accept my apologies and let me know so I can give credit where credit is due)

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

All photos below are some I took in a shop window when I visited my friend in Andalusia last weekend….unfortunately the store had JUST closed so we weren’t able to go inside but judging from the storefront and peeking inside, it’s MY kind of place!

 

And these were at another store in the next block

Better go get something ready for supper before Auburn kicks off…..WAR EAGLE!