Belt it In!

I bought this black belt at Charming Charlie because I saw it on display over a long sweater, for fall.  And while looking, I saw these other two belts as well.  They fit great, fasten nicely, and come in great colors - and are a great price at $20 and under!

Pumpkin Party

My niece found these cute pumpkins and bales of hay for crafting at Michaels (and psstttt- they're half off this week!).

She then put together several items and had a pumpkin decorating party - one that looks so modern and yet spooky all at the same time!

On one pumpkin she covered it with lace tights, spray painted, and then removed the lace after the paint dried - leaving a cool pattern!  Each one drew their patterns on the other pumpkins and painted or stuck in spikes.  They used black, white and grey pens.  Then the pumpkins were arranged on little bales of hay!

For fun food, they had nachos, nuggets, veggies, pumpkin muffins, and caramel apples!

Classic Toys

Target has these Fisher Price classic toys for sale and I snagged the dog and record player - they're so cute - and they come in the old brown cardboard containers.  Can't wait to wrap them for under the tree!

Lunch Rollup

It's the start of a new week, and this is a fun lunch to have for yourself, your kids, or your spouse!

Roll up:

Turkey or ham slice, spread with mustard, spinach, roasted red pepper, a dill pickle and thin slice of Swiss cheese - secure with a toothpick! (cut in half if desired)

Add hummus and pita chips, and you're good to go!

Chip n Dip

I saw these at Kirklands and loved them - they come in several colors - and what a great serving dish for chips and dip!  And they're a great size - large enough for lots of chips!

Hot Dog Tacos

These were absolutely amazing and so simple to make, easy to reheat, and seriously...did I say amazing?

Dice up four franks and place them in a skillet, along with a few cubes of Velveeta and some salsa.  I had homemade salsa so that was a bonus.  Just stir until the cheese melts, place a scoop in a flour tortilla and roll. (Get those fresh tortillas in the bread area - not the ones on the shelves!)

The creamy cheese with the salty frank, spiced up with the salsa, hits all the right spots!

Zucchini Cornbread

Food Network Magazine has a little booklet in it each month with 50 ways to cook _____ and that blanks sometimes a particular vegetable or other ingredient.  The booklet containing this recipe was 50 ways to use zucchini, and cornbread was one of them.

This is sooooooooooo darn good, and easy.

Recipe below... 

Him & Hers for Walking

I'm always posting things for we girls, but I thought I'd share a pair of shoes that my husband absolutely loves...for walks...for casual wear...anywhere!

The brand is Nunn Bush and these are the look!

And I found these great walking sneakers for trips or long walks in the park!

They're made by Dr. Scholls!

Sausage & Manchego Pizza

This recipe caught my eye because of its simple ingredients and I LOVE Manchego cheese.  It looked easy to put together, and it was.  It looked tasty, and it was!

For this delicious pizza you'll need:

1 refrigerated pizza crust (I used the kind in a biscuit-type can)
1 T minced garlic
1 T fresh oregano chopped and divided
1 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T cornmeal
1 link chicken sausage cooked and thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper thinly sliced
1/2 cup Manchego cheese grated
1/4 crushed red pepper

preheat oven to 450. place baking sheet in oven as it heats.

combine garlic, 2 tsp oregano and vinegar in small bowl.  dust the baking sheet with the cornmeal and unroll the dough over it.  brush dough with oil mixture.

top with sausage, bell pepper, and cheese.

bake for 13 minutes until edges are browned, sprinkle with 1 tsp oregano and red pepper.

cut and serve!

Avocado on Toast

Oh my gosh, this was so easy and SO tasty:

Toast two pieces of multigrain bread.

On top, spread pesto, avocado slices, drizzle olive oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper, grated parmesan, toasted pine nuts and torn basil.

You'll want to  make this OFTEN...

Apple Strudel Coffee

My husband says this is like having your dessert and coffee combined into one - it's apple strudel coffee from Love Creek Orchards in Medina, Texas.

If you're in the central Texas area, it's worth a drive to this cute store for pie, ice cream and to shop around and maybe have lunch on their patio....and you might see our Texas fall leaves in color if you go in October!

New Dishes

I love her cooking show, her recipes are simple and delicious, and NOW she has her own line of cookware/bakeware/dishware, all on sale at Walmart!

These are some of the prettiest...

Buy a Coat

It might be still warm outside, but why not use the warm weather to shop for the cold weather that's coming!?

We found these really cute coats at H&M for a great price for this fall/winter season!

Imitation suede

The Trench Coat

Fitted Coat

Cool Clock

What a cool clock from Hobby Lobby and it's on sale!

Skillet Potatoes

I made these potatoes in the morning for lunch, but I couldn't stop eating them before I put them away!

To make these awesome skillet potatoes, you'll need:

6 yellow potatoes, diced in 1/2 cubes

7 slices cooked bacon (reserve the grease)

1 large white onion, diced

salt and pepper

cook the bacon, then drain, reserving the grease (about a 1/4 cup).  add the diced potatoes to the hot grease, along with the diced onion, and let them fry untouched until ready to be turned.  fry onions and potatoes until tender.  break up the bacon and put on top, add a little salt and a lot of pepper - enjoy!

Wood Curls Wreath

It's still warm where I live, so I'm thinking if I decorate for fall, it will come....

I found this cool wreath made with curled wood shavings at Pier One!  They also show several ways to decorate with wreaths on their site!

PB Cookies

These are peanut butter cookies but they aren't like the ones I've had before.  In fact, my husband says they are full of flavor and he can taste the peanut butter, but he loves that it's not "just" that one flavor.

So here are the ingredients:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups biscuit mix

1 tsp vanilla

That's it!

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix the milk with the peanut butter, beat until smooth.

Add in the biscuit mix and the vanilla and mix until combined.

Make 1 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten with a fork.  Bake 6-8 minutes until slightly browned.

These are small and light, but so tasty!

Cool Books

At a small town festival yesterday, I visited a booth with some very unique and awesome children's books.  I purchased these two, Muddle and Match, where you mix and match jungle animals in one and adventure figures in the other!

Check out more cool books at Usborne Books!

Lady Loafers

Found these wingtip smoking loafers at Charlotte Russe and I love them - and the best part is they were only $10 and are comfy.  They're on sale on line, too in another color...

Statement Sale!

Pier One has their jewelry on sale 70% off and all scarves $5 - and I found these two pretty statement necklaces for $6 each!

Can't wait to wear these this fall...

Zucchini & Walnut Lunch

This was easy to make and was absolutely delicious for lunch!

Place 1 T butter in a pan and saute 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts and cook until lightly browned.

Remove the walnuts, and add 2 T butter in the pan.

Slice one zucchini in bite size pieces and place in the pan, cooking until softened and browned.

Add the walnuts back in, and season with salt and pepper, remove from heat.

Meanwhile toast a piece of multigrain bread.

Place the bread on a plate, top with the mixture and enjoy!  (The butter from the mixture soaks into the bread and it's so good!)

Concrete Block Garden

We recently found some concrete blocks from a demolished building and we picked up about 13 of them and brought them home. They were broken, partially painted, and sat in our backyard for a while.

This past weekend we painted them so that they were all evenly covered.  Then we stacked them, poured in Quickcrete that my husband mixed with water (to create a bottom in the blocks to hold the dirt) and allowed it to dry, added potting soil and some pretty flowers.

We made a corner area full of gravel beside it, and we love it!

Pecan Grahams

4-ingredients is all it takes to make these crunchy, chewy bars that taste wonderful as we approach the fall season!

you'll need to preheat the oven to 350.

lay out graham crackers to cover a sheet pan 15X10X1.

in a pan, place two sticks of butter (1 cup), 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, and 2 cups chopped pecans. bring to a boil and stir for two minutes, constantly.

spread the mixture over the graham crackers and bake 10 minutes.

after it cools, cut into squares and enjoy...

Suspend Game

We played this game Suspend this weekend with friends, and it was awesome fun!  Everyone receives five colored metal sticks of different lengths and takes turns placing them on the stand in all sorts of precarious ways...trying not to make it tumble.  It takes dexterity, luck, and a bit of a good eye to put your stick in place.

It's great fun for four!

Little Dresses

Yesterday I stopped at Old Navy and found the cutest dresses for little girls - which by the way - are hard to find!  Check out these (and the prices, too!!!) - I'm only showing a few but they had so many cute ones!

And check out the boots at the bottom....so cute!

Buffalo plaid $8

Glitterbug $12

Tiered Dress $16

Cutout Pattern Boots $17.99

Pasta Snack

These four ingredients made this awesome snack/salad:

Corkscrew noodles
Ground walnuts (ground in food processor)
Parmesan cheese, grated
garlic salt

Bring salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to directions (8 oz pasta).  Drain and lay out on paper towels to absorb moisture.

meanwhile, heat oil to 400 degrees.

In small batches fry the pasta 45 seconds and then place on paper towels.

In a bowl combine 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup ground walnuts, and 1/8 tsp garlic salt.  Toss with pasta.

Keep in an airtight container.

We enjoyed these as a side with our turkey wraps!

THE Bag for Fall

I posted a cute tote with a bonus bag a couple of days ago, and then I found THIS one at Wilson's leather that I love and bought!  It comes in three shades:  this deep red, dark green, and black.  I don't see it on line, but it's at the Wilson's Leather Outlet on sale this weekend only for $34.99 (was $160).

There's the chain strap for the large bag, or it can removed and there's a short gray one.  And there's a bonus crossbody bag inside.  Tonite for the theater, I took the small one.  For dressy outings or around town, I"ve been carrying the large one.

LOVE it!

P.S. They also have reversible totes/purses that were pretty cool, as well!