Autumn colors... basking in the warm fall sun

Crab apples, pears and papery evening primrose pods gathered from my back yard...

Balloons leftover from my son's birthday...

Yesterday we had a snow storm...and it sure was beautiful! This morning was only 25* so the warming sun and the highlighted hues of Autumn were a very welcome splash of color...

 :)

Free Pretty Things for You vintage images...DIY cupcake wrap tutorial link

Hello and Happy Tuesday! This wonderful and clever link from Free Pretty Things for You,  popped up in my inbox and I just had to share : )
                                                                            Hope you have a great day!

cupcake wrapper tutorial

elegant pumpkin, beautiful pumpkin, yummy pumpkin

I'm in that pumpkin kind of mood...
There is something so appealing about pumpkins. From a design point of view; the different shapes, sizes colors and funky textures. Then from a foodie perspective there is the taste, oh the taste and the different ways to use pumpkin in the kitchen...whether it is savory or sweet, its up to you.
I didn't even touch on pumpkin carving...

I have found a few delicious and delightful ways to use pumpkins this season...enjoy!



                         Katie Grace Designs mason-jar-pumpkin-trifle  tutorial

                                          ozma of odds paper-pumpkin
You will fin the most delightful tutorial on how she made all this scrumptious whimsy on her blog... 

My recipe for:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies

Cream until Fluffy…

1 C. butter

1 C sugar

1 C brown sugar

1 egg

2 tsp. Vanilla

Combine separately…

2 C flour

1 tsp. Baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. nutmeg

15 oz. canned or freshly cooked pumpkin

2 C chocolate chips

Alternately add dry ingredients and pumpkin to the butter mix. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spread dough into greased 9X13” pan. Bake at 350* about 40 minutes.

Slice when cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar to serve.

caramel corn popcorn balls

   Yesterday my hubby suggested that the boys might like to make popcorn balls...and I thought it would be a fun Fall activity to do so I checked for recipes and checked my pantry and discovered that I lacked corn syrup to make the traditional recipe. I love to experiment with cooking and I had a recipe I thought I could play around with...so I substituted honey in the recipe and I think it turned out yummy!

              STICKY CARAMEL CORN POPCORN BALLS

3/4 c honey
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 water
1 tsp. salt
2 tbl. real butter
1 tsp. vanilla


Combine the sugars, salt, honey and water in heavy bottom saucepan. Place over med-low heat, stirring until mixture boils. 

Add butter and stir until mixture begins to thicken. Cook until the firm ball stage or until the mixture holds together when dropped into cold water. Add vanilla and stir.

 Pour over freshly popped popcorn and form into balls with buttered hands.

I think next time I make this recipe I might use it for caramel corn and add peanuts and other add-ins for a "Cracker Jack" like effect...can't wait to try it out :0)

a friend in need ...a friend in deed or is that indeed ??!

http://www.facebook.com/amber.heagerty

It seems that lately every time I want to sit down at the computer and have a little "me" time, I am interrupted by something, or one of the kids needs my attention...admittedly I often times like a little distraction, but when I am wanting to have a little time to put my thoughts together I like to be left to my own...So hopefully with no further ado, I can finally post what I had planned sharing a few days ago...
First hit my Facebook link above to watch the turtle video that I posted on my FB page... I think it's less than 2 min. long and then come right back~I'll wait for you... OK, are you back?

As I posted that amazing video, I wondered at how often I was like the turtle who was there to lend a helping hand (or in this case a flipper LOL) to her friend and give her a push...
On the other hand, I asked myself how many times I ended up like the turtle on her back that needed the help of a friend , who sometimes gets herself into a jam and can't find the proper way out of it on her own...and who needed that little push from a kind friend to get back on her feet.
I truly strive to be the type of person who more often is the one who offers to help than the one who is stranded and needs the help...
As I continued to watch  and wonder at the simplicity yet the magnitude of such a simple act of helping a friend in need...it reminded me of "pay it forward"...I just love that idea!!!
Here's to having a great day... Wishing you well!

I have been working on my new Etsy shoppe and hope to have that up and running soon...I will give you updates and keep you posted.

DIY inspiration and fun links for fall

I always love to find new, fun DIY sites to peruse and I will try to share with you the ones I think are worth sharing...These pom pom flowers I found delightful! Not sure when I'll be making them but  I especially loved the idea of using them as package toppers...how-to-make-pom-pom-flowers

Also Sweet Paul has just released his Fall Issue  which has delightful fall recipes as well as fun ideas...love the page on mushroom prints and the recipe for apple butter.

Hope everyone is having a happy-sunshiny Autumn day!

camping...goodbye to Summer

This is the life!

Our palace by the lake

Bald Eagle stopping by our campsite

inside tent roof 

So we we finally got in a tent camping trip before the close of summer...the daytime temps were sunny and warm but the nights, oh the nights nearly froze your nose right off.   It was at an altitude of 6600 ft...listening to hoot owls at night at getting to spot a bald eagle during the day...way cool!





We hadn't been tent camping in a while...and
I forgot how much I had grown to appreciate the conveniences of civilized life...like not having to ration water and washing my hands where-ever and when-ever I wished...next time I will be packing an x-tra large bottle of hand sanitizer!!!
Also can't forget about the basic necessity of flush toilets ( a given on any womans list,)  and not having to check to see if there are any critters in the corners before tinkling...(My daughter found a mouse scurrying around and I found a huge spider... eeew!)  what I can say, I will never underestimate this again.

But all in all the good outweighed the bad by far...

I just loved having the sky so crystal clear at night that it looked like a bizzillion stars showed up to toast marshmallows with us and tell campfire stories. So after all it was a great send off to the last few beautiful days that Summer offered...
So we were we packed up and headed home with a smile and glad to be back home...Then the boys started school and the rains began...Hello Fall!



Over at designing dna they have a delightful post about Gypsy caravans that you just can't miss...Go check it out...now that's what I call camping!

gypsy caravans

David Stark Design purely paper flower Shoppe

THE (purely paper) FLOWER SHOPPE from David Stark Design & Production on Vimeo.

This inspires me to the core...Oh my Goodness!!!!

I am a twig that bends...but does not break

When I was younger, in school, I was always frustrated that my friends had one thing that they were exceptional at. Whether it be in acting, sports, math...you name it... everyone else had something that they excelled at but me, at least it seemed... I saw myself as not able to succeed in any one thing. It frustrated me at the time. It's kind of funny how the world is wired so that we believe we must pick that one special job /career choice for the rest of our lives and make a bee-line toward it.

My point is, that many of my collegues had a very strong indication of their career path early on whereas I seemed to have been pulled in many directions without a lighted runway to lead me.
Believe me I took many aptitude tests to try to pinpoint my likes and dislikes and that only made matters more muddled for me..." Yes. I did like this and not that. Yes, I was skilled in this and could do that,"...it didn't really narrow anything down for me and just pointed out that I did many things marginally well...sigh...

I judged myself harshly then, but I realize it has been my strength...I can now appreciate that it's a skill that has served me well over the years...I can roll with the punches, I can change gears, look at the world from different angles and consider all the possibilities.

I am the twig that blows in the wind and bends but does not break...I am a surviver ! I have grown and changed into a living, loving happy human being and that's good...very-very good!~~~




These beautiful wild dogwood trees were found along the Mt. Hood National Forest this Spring...while I was traveling to Portland from Central Oregon.  
They were growing wild along the highways and in the campgrounds...and they were just amazing!

My favorite purse and a day at the park

I was looking for a place out of the way to put my purse...like a tree branch or something... and noticed that there was a nice nail already hung from a perfect spot on the tree above my head...And then I noticed that it had a fantastic splash if blue paint.  Such fun! My purse felt right at home!

My favorite purse...and a favorite day at the river with the family.