Cuvee

My husband likes this coffee, brewed locally in my hometown - Austin.  He says it's strong, and he loves it that way.  Check out their website and order some!

For the Patio

World Market has a huge sale going on right now, 75% off of outdoor furniture - and these chairs and tables are so cute and it's such a great sale!  I don't see it on line, but it's in the stores!

These chairs were normally $99 and on sale for $30, and the cute table was $69 and is now $17.

Grapefruit & Tangerine

Soap and hand lotion in this fragrance is so nice - and the jar is pretty as well - love these from  World Market!  Looks great by the sink!

A Sandal Deal

Today I shopped at our outlet mall and stopped in the Bass store, where shoes were the lowest prices I've ever seen...and I see that the same sale is on line!  They're already on sale, and then right now you can get an extra 35% off.

Here are some really cute sandals that will carry you on into fall...

Espadrille wedge

Reece wedge

Sadie Sandal

Coffee Cake for Breakfast

This is from a cookbook I bought on road trip,  The Cowgirl's Cookbook:

2 2/3 c brown sugar
4 c unsifted flour
1 cup margarine
1 pint sour cream
1 lb raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the sugar, flour and margarine, then with fingers mix until crumbly. Remove 1/2 cup of crumbles and set aside.  To the remaining mixture, add s cream, raisins, and nuts.  Stir and blend well (it will be thick).

Spread into a buttered 8X8 ovenproof dish. Top with the reserve crumbles.

Bake 80 minutes.

(I halved the recipe and cooked it about 45 minutes) It's a dense cake, and the raisins and walnuts make it so flavorful!

The Five Senses "Camp"

Recently, we had our daughter's three kids - ages 5, 3, and 1 - for five days while our daughter and her husband were at camp with their youth kids from church.  We decided to have our own "camp" with the three littles, a very simple one, on the five senses.

Each day had a verse, activities, and a prayer to end with before sleep.

Here's what we did:

SEE - Proverbs 20:12, talked about seeing beauty and color in the world (painted with water, colored, and put together sticker scenes (Melissa & Doug)), looked for opportunities to help others in need, and prayed: Thank you God for Eyes, to See, Thank you God for Making Me.

TOUCH - Matthew 8:3, talked about touching others through hugs, holding hands, etc. and how we can feel wind, heat, cold and love - looked for ways to "touch" others through prayer (prayed for a man we saw in a wheelchair).  We created with touch by painting wooden car and treasure chest, and created with Play Dough (ice cream set pictured below).  Prayed: Thank you God for Hands that Feel, Thank you God that you are Real.

(she mixed playdough with painting her treasure box :)

HEAR - Matthew 11:15, we talked about listening to good and turning away from bad thoughts or words we hear, how we can whisper or sing and hear loud trucks and singing birds (we listened for them all outside - shut our eyes to hear better and guess what we heard).  We listened to kids' songs on a new CD as we drove in the car and drew pictures of what we heard in nature.  Prayer: Thank you God for Ears that Hear, Thank you God that you are Near.

TASTE - Psalm 34:8.  We talked about sweet/salty, creamy/crunchy and we put together tasting trays using our cooler lid and storage lids - really liked the pretzel Goldfish and vanilla cupcake Goldfish.  We included fruit, creamy yogurt, crunchy nuts, etc.  As we tasted we talked about how all that God gives us is good! Prayer: Thank you God for All We Eat, All things Salty, All things Sweet.

SMELL -  II Corinthians 2:15 and I Thessalonians 5:2.  We talked about scents and fragrances and invited the kids to the "spa" for foot massages and nail painting - using lotions, powder, peppermint spray and polish - of all different scents.  We also put on different DIY scents in a small crock each day to fill our rooms with wonderful smells.  Prayer: Thank You for Noses that Smell, Thank You, You do All Things Well.

Tin Tea Set

This tea set from World Market is a hit - it's housed in a cute suitcase, and the pitcher, plates, cups and spoons are all tin.  The red flower design made my granddaughter say, as we were having high tea today, "Isn't this adorable?"

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