Lets make ornaments out of Styrofoam balls and celebrate  a DIY retro Christmas craft day. So lets get busy and make some cute crafts out of these little Styrofoam balls (caution these are made with thumb tacks adult  supervision is needed) Supplies Needed 1- Black craft paint 2- Assorted thumbtacks 3- Styrofoam balls 4- Ribbon 5- Pipe cleaners 6- Small jingle bell 7- Craft glue 8- Florist wire Directions For Blue and Silver Thumbtack Christmas ornament. Wrap ribbon around the Styrofoam ball and tie.  Add thumbtacks one at a time creating what ever type of pattern you like. Secure  each tack by adding glue.  They will fall out if not glued.  Directions for Styrofoam and ribbon ornament.  Measure 6-8 strips of ribbon and cut- secure with thumbtack on top and bottom of  Styrofoam ball.  Make a loop out of the ribbon and secure with tacks and glue. Directions for Rudolph Christmas Ornament, cut and shape antlers out of pipe cleaners, twist them into desired shape and stick them in  the  S

Last week while taking my usual walk through a little forest not far  from home, I snapped these pictures with my phone.  It was a lovely  and colorful m orning and I was thinking of all of the things in life which I am thankful for and for those things in life which I need to  be thankful for. So, I took the pictures and went on home.  I spent quite a bit of  time  reading  all sorts of quotes, some resonated with me and others  not so much.  So many times when I read and ponder I begin to  feel very melancholy for my family that lives far away and for my  family that now lives in Heaven. One thing lead to another and I found some other quotes  that I just had to share with you- Do you remember the delightful Erma Bombeck?   "Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare, they are  consumed  in twelve minutes.  Half times take twelve minutes, this is  not coincidence." How about Irv Kupcinet? "An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving day."

Would you like a mouth watering cinnamon roll to serve to your  family,  friends and well yourself?  Of course you would! These are so tasty, they never made it any farther than this-straight  to a plate to the tummy!  I did manage to get a simple frosting   on them and then they were gone. Using the basic dough recipe from my earlier post- Pull Apart  Dinner  Rolls .  Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. ~Holiday Cinnamon Rolls~ oven 350 Makes 14 rolls for 1/2 of recipe 28 for full recipe Ingredients: Large shallow greased baking pan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1/2 Pull Apart Dinner Roll Recipe 8 tablespoons melted butter 1 3/4 cups brown sugar 2 tablespoons cinnamon 1 cup raisins (optional) Directions: Punch dough down and roll out into oblong piece about 1/4 inch thick.  Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Roll up as for jelly roll and cut in 1 1/4 inch slices.  Place cut side up, about an inch apart in large shallow greased baking pan. Cover and le

Brian, from Warby Parker  contacted me and asked if I would like to do a review of their eyeglasses.  Honestly I really did not know if I should.  One, because I have never done a review and two, I did  not know a thing about the product. So the process began, this review is written without any  compensation of any type-I really thought it might be of interest to those of you who wear glasses.  So here we go! My husband and I both wear glasses and we know what a hassle it is to have to go to an optical center to try on frames.  With  Warby  Parker    you do not have to leave your house-the frames come to  you! So you pick out five frames for five days, for free.  Free shipping to you and free shipping back.  Trial begins the day they are  received.  They come in this nifty box and this is when it becomes  interesting. You try on the five frames which you chose and see which one is the best for you, in the comfort of your own home. We actually thought all of the frames were super light,

I like to decorate and prepare our home for the Holidays, it always brings me joy.  Unless I am pressed for time, and lets be honest at  one time or another we all are.  Then the business of decorating can become stressful. Sometimes less is more, I grew up in an era when a few flowers, a linen table cloth, our best china and silver was going all out.  Our meal tasted just as wonderful and our guest were just as happy as if we had been decorating for weeks! So, having said this I have put together a few less complicated ways  to decorate for Thanksgiving. Combine a few vintage jars, vases or tins with your favorite flowers  to  create a quick seasonal boost. Make a fabulous Thanksgiving centerpiece from the items you have  on hand  and nestle  a  candle or two into the arrangement.  Fill a wooden terrarium with potted plants or a collection of natural  objects or even holiday decor-perhaps some pumpkins or gourds. Make a homemade Acorn wreath.  Small acorns and twigs adorn  this easy-t

The Holidays are just around the corner and what better way to enjoy this special time of the year than a  Tis The Season Blog Tour. ~Please join us during the week of ~ ~December 9th through December 14th~ Some very talented and creative bloggers are looking forward to  sharing their spirit of the season with you through decorating,  recipes, photography and writing. So mark your calendars~ Monday December 9th   Jemma         At Home With Jemma Monday December 9th Chris               The Cafe` Sucre` Farine Tuesday December 10th Poppy          Poppy View Wednesday December 11th Sheri       Red Rose Alley Jess and Nel Wednesday December 11th Patty      Home and Lifestyle Design          Thursday December 12th Melanie    Comfy House Thursday December 12th Brenda     Cozy Little House Friday December 13th Melinda      The Refeathered Roost Saturday December 14th Kathryn   The Dedicated House Saturday December 14th Dewena   Across The Way

I am super excited to be able to share this wonderful dinner roll recipe with you all just in time for Thanksgiving.   You know, our family loves bread and when we all gather together,  homemade rolls are expected to be part of the meal.   About a year ago I shared another roll recipe with you all- Grammy's Parker House  Rolls  which is an amazing recipe as well.  You can never have too many bread recipes and honestly different  recipes work well with different baking styles. This amazing recipe is baked in a bundt pan-and if you follow me  along, you will know I am smitten with my bundt pan.  In fact,  nothing gets between me and my pan. After I mixed my dough together, I realized that I really needed two  bundt pans for this recipe, but since I only had one, I had to make      do. So, I made the other half of the recipe into tada... Yep, Holiday Cinnamon Rolls...yes heaven in a pan.  Recipe for  these will be ne

I am visiting my youngest daughter this week and we are having  such  a great time visiting, shopping, playing with Molly and  decorating for the Holidays.  We have created a white Thanksgiving  tablescape that we are so happy to share with you. We chose a white color scheme based on Rebecca's personal  decorative pieces and shopped her home.  We were thrilled to stay  within a budget, we kept it personal and created a palette which  complemented her dining decor. Last year Rebecca decoupaged this W in black and white toile scrap  book paper, it adds such a personal touch as this is the first letter of  she  and her husband's last name. Isn't this vintage crocheted table cloth a perfect complement to the table setting.  This table cloth was a wedding gift for Josh and  Rebecca  a true heirloom from Josh's great  grandmother. These mini chalkboards are being used as place cards, I am really  enjoying the natural acorn placed whimsically on top.  I also like  incorporatin

At some point or another many of us have purchased boxes of Chex cereal to make some tasty nibbles.  Whether you follow a recipe for  the sweet treats or salty ones they are always tasty.   I remember years ago my own Mother making a wonderful  Chex concoction which she baked in the oven using Worcestershire sauce.  But for today , I will focus on Monkey Munch a cereal mixture  coated in some really super tasty ingredients. I like it because it  keeps well in a sealed container and is a great treat  for the little folks  when  they drop by for a visit.  Scroll on down to view the gift giving idea I have included for the Holidays. Monkey Munch is also known as Puppy Chow-however, I just can't get into a snack that goes by the name of Puppy chow, I guess  Monkey Munch doesn't sound that much better, but oh well... So in our  house we call it Monkey Munch. Ingredients- 8 cups of mixed Chex cereal ( I use rice, corn) 1 1/2 cu

The winds of Fall took me on a little trip to see some sweet family in  Ft. Benning Georgia.  Leaves were changing and  excitement was in the air because it was Halloween. The little guy is our grandson, our beautiful and sweet brown eyed  boy- and he is made up of... "Frogs and snails And puppy dog tails, That's what little boys are made of." He loves dirt, digging in the dirt, throwing dirt, sprinkling dirt... and his Mommy and Daddy!  Oh and chocolate. I not only loved seeing my family I loved all of the big beautiful trees that grow in Georgia-my dear friend Sandie from  Chatty Crone  lives in Georgia.  You must visit her blog:) I was only there for for 4 days but we made sure to make every  minute count. We spent time together as a family-which meant the world to me. Lovely walks, enjoyable lunches near the Chattahoochee river, and  of course the little guy dressed up as an elephant and did his trick-or  treating.  Ft. Benning is a beautiful Army Base and the home wh