Well, I mean to tell you that Oklahoma City knows how to host a   Craft show.  Full, abundant, selection, quality and look what I  found! Primitive Dough Bowl-can't wait to use this for my decorating this  Christmas. Sugar mold- Perfection with candles...singing happily to myself. I collect snowmen, so when I spied these linen napkins with hand  embroidered snowmen-they were coming home with me. Love these darling and huge acorns-my daughter sneakily purchased  them and tucked them in my bag. This is my Rebecca the sneaky little acorn bandit, with Molly.  Who you can't see. So here is Molly who was a real trooper and shopped with us for a  total of  six hours! The theme was An Affair of the Heart.  So many women in one  place.  On a very chilly day. Still everyone was smiling with a zest and gusto like I have never  seen before. Rebecca and I have started a tradition and we promised that no  matter where lifes journey takes us we will always meet in Oklahoma City once a year to

I enjoy decorating and decorating for the Holidays makes it even  more special and rewarding.  Many of today's styles are a beautiful blend of eclectic,  primitive, rustic, French or whatever you can  imagine.  Gone are the days of matchy, matchy-thank goodness. I have enjoyed designing and creating three different styles of  wreaths for  our home and I am sharing them with you today.  The first wreath will hang in our dining room on a very beautiful antique hutch that was my Grandmother's. If you happen to follow along you will have seen this hutch  showcased many times.   This wreath is a blend  of bold and natural the base of it is grapevine. Most of the  grasses, wild wheat and  acorns I found while on my  morning walks.   Since I was envisioning a little bling I spray painted  the acorns gold and  also some of the tips of my floral pieces. I have been crazy over orange this season so naturally  I added a  glorious  orange bow which just happens to have delicate threads of 

I think popcorn balls are a perfect treat for this time of the year and  that got me to thinking of  how people used to hand them  out  to  trick-or-treaters.  The more I thought about this the more I  wanted to make some for my family. I was taking a little trip to Oklahoma to see the youngest daughter  and to go the one of the most amazing craft shows ever (post to  follow later in the week.)  So, I asked her what I should bring-  answer was Popcorn balls.  Was this perfect or what? So, here we  go, I have a super recipe to share with you. Lets start with 3 bags of microwave popcorn popped-you may have a few delicious little puffs while your syrup cooks to perfection... You will need a candy thermometer plus a heavy and trustworthy  saucepan.  Word of caution watch that thermometer-it takes quite a  while for the syrup to get to soft ball stage but whoo hoo then it  really  takes  off!  Not fun to work with hot syrup that is overcooked. Popcorn Balls- adapted from Paula Deen You will

Have you ever had someone give you something just because they  were being nice?   Last week this lovely gesture known as being "nice,"  happened to  me. It was just an ordinary day at the hair salon and I was simply getting  an ordinary trim. When one of my hair stylists clients came in with two festive  Halloween cookies for her.  I admired her client's cookies, the client smiled politely at me and  said "thank you," as she went on her way. Cut turned into style out and nearly an hour had passed by.  Just as I was preparing to leave the client with the cookies came through the door smiling.  In her hand she held a beautiful pumpkin sugar  cookie  and  she gave it to me! Wondering how nice presented itself in your week? Please Join Me~ A Rural Journal Little Red House

Gusty northerly winds blowing, a chill in the air with a Halloween  moon wandering throughout the nighttime sky. This how a not too serious  Halloween vignette is born. Such a  simple combination of a bit of whimsy and fun, a  pumpkin  and  a  flying pig adorn our table for some Halloween cheer. My Mother's antique crystal bowl filled with a bit of this and that... Some golden acorns and a colorful leaf or two. I have never envisioned a pig and pumpkin side by side. Yet, a perfect Halloween duo they are! Please join me~ A Stroll Thru Life Savvy Southern Style Ivy and Elephants The Dedicated House Dwellings-Amaze Me Monday Little Red House

Fall has arrived and Holiday 2013 is just around the corner.  These  are a few of my favorite picks for this week.  Many of these are  designer fashions.  But keep in mind that all fashion ultimately trickles down from these big names. Reptile is in for handbags, smoking shoes are hot this season and  are comfortable too.  Soft shades of eyeshadow for a more natural  look seem to be the trend - combine all of this together with a loose  and soft  sweater. Use these examples, or any others which you see as your guide to  be knowledgeable of what is in style.  Tone it down or bring it up, make it your own and have fun with fashion!  

It seems as though it was just a few years ago that I was anxiously anticipating Halloween as a child. Time has slipped by very quickly  and as I was setting up our cheery little Halloween display memories  of a very special Halloween season flooded through me.   When you are eight years old and have big plans to harvest  pumpkins when you get home from school, the long ride on an old  yellow school bus on a dusty, bumpy dirt road can seem like an  eternity. Remembering the joy I felt when the school bus finally arrived to  our little  red brick house, where love and pumpkins  grew! Leaping  down the  bus steps with all of my might and being so thrilled to see  that my  Mother had the best cardboard skeleton from Woolworths  hanging  on  our front door. Life just didn't get any better than that, except for the pumpkin crop that year. Halloween just isn't Halloween without pumpkins and the  bumper crop of pumpkins that we had that year made me so  proud.  We watched over those p

So many delightfully delicious apple recipes are circulating about,  and I just happen to have one that I would like to share with you all. It is simple, sweet and perfect with a cup of coffee on a  blustery, Autumn day. So, a few weekends ago as the north  wind blew and the rain came  down I  made a trip to our local market  to gather some beautiful  granny  smith apples.  Granny smith apples are such a firm, dense and tart apple and as you know perfect for baking.  Their green skin is vibrant and attractive. I could not resist taking a few photos of them. It almost seemed a shame to peel them, such a gorgeous green.   And here they are all warm and bubbly with just a little powdered sugar glaze on them and a couple of little leaves made out of leftover pie crust.  Just heavenly on this rainy and windy day. Fresh Apple Turnovers-serves 6 ~adapted from the Barefoot Contessa~ Ingredients: 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice 3 granny smith apples 3 ta