TA-DAH!!!

TA-DAH!!! Here it is!!! It no longer has falling apart issues!!!! Hurray!!! Last week, I headed up to my DD's bf's grandma's to make pine cone wreathes with bf's mom, grandma and great aunt. We had so much fun. Each of us collected bits of nature to add to the wreathes for a couple of weeks, bought our wreath forms and headed to Grandma O's. They have always used Liquid Nails to adhere the bits of nature but this time we all had issues with the bits falling off. Eventually, we got it all to stick! :-) Hope you like it!

Hanging on my covered front porch. It still needs to be sprayed with gloss but I had to see it hanging! (Click to enlarge)

From This:

Cute little pumpkin baby!

To this..orange goodness!

To this creepy spider with web!!! (DD's pumpkin)

To this scary monster (bf's pumpkin)!!!

To these yummy roasted pumpkin seeds! Soooo good!

The weather is back to being pretty and warm-ish! Oh so happy! I think it should only snow on Christmas Eve! Realistically, this is Michigan but I will enjoy the nice weather while it lasts!

Hope you all enjoy your Thursday! Hugs!!!

Kim

BOO

Morning! I've been Boo-ed!!! Jeannette at Sincerely Yours, Jeannette has Boo-ed me! How cute is this little picture!?! Thank you so much Jeannette!!!

Here are the rules of Jeannette's Boo:

Go to as many friends as you want and tell them they've been "Boo-ED". Have them link back to your blog to pick up their Halloween Treat (picture) and tell them to Boo their friends. (Then put the pic in your side bar so everyone knows that you've already been Boo-ed and to send the pic to someone else.

Now I am Boo-ing:

Angie
Dana
Kim
Deb
AND Anyone else who wants to play along!

Next up...I have received a friendship award from Deb at Garage Sale Gal. Isn't she the cutest little award!?! Thank you so much Deb...you are so sweet!

Finally, a sneak peak at the project that has falling apart issues. I need to go to the garage later and check on my project to see if it is now holding together. I worked on it yesterday at DD's bf's grandmother's. (She is so sweet!) It was SOOOO COLD yesterday! Everyone is keeping their heat down to save money (totally understandable and we are doing the same) and boy do I need to add more layers to my already several layers! I am cold almost all the time until it reaches about 85 degrees. I ended up wrapping up with a blanket on the couch with a space heater pointed toward me. Their dog was fighting me for the heat of the space heater...lol! BRRR!!! While warming up on the couch, I was watching the wind blow the trees and leaves around and then what do I see???? The 4 letter word...S**W...that's right it was snowing!!! Not just flurries either...a real snow shower! Big flakes too! Yikes, it isn't even Halloween yet! Nothing stuck to the ground but it snowed for a good 10 minutes.

Pine cones...hmm what could I be making???

Chestnuts and acorn caps.

I will post my new project tomorrow...good or bad. I hope it's good because it sure is pretty when it is not falling apart!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!!! DD and her bf are carving pumpkins tonight :-D So it will be a fun night here!

Hugs!

Kim

A Trip to Michael's

Morning! There is no doubt that winter is a coming!! BRRR!!! We had a nasty wicked wind yesterday ushering in the cold bitter air! I didn't see any of the flurries that were called for but they are calling for them again tomorrow morning. Thankfully, it is suppose to warm back up to 60 for the kids to Trick or Treat on Friday.

I am WAY behind on fall decorating. Some of the things I have packed away just aren't my taste now. So, off to Michael's. They had some of their fall things marked 70% off already. Below is a plate pulled out of my cupboard topped with 2 boxes of fall trimmings. They were regularly $7.99 a box and I only paid $2.40 box. Not bad!!! I think is purty!

Even the dog noticed something new according to hubby. He said she walked in the den and stopped in her tracks to sniff out the new decor.

This pearl K, also, from Michael's in the dollar bin. Hung on the hutch door in the den.

Today, I am working on some Christmas gifts and I need to mail Lisa's prize...sorry Lisa! It will soon be on it's way. (Busy weekend...forgot to take it with me when I walked out the door). Tomorrow, I am working on a beautiful project. It has been started but it has had an issue with falling apart (more on that tomorrow or Wednesday).

Have a wonderful day!!! Hugs!

Kim

And The Winner Is....

Hello!

I know this is a little late today but I have a winner of for my contest! The ornamental fruit is....an eggplant, also known as the Easter Egg Plant! And the winner is Lisa at Lisa's Retro Style! Congratulations Lisa!!!

Sorry for the short post but I've been gone all day and need to get some stuff done!

Have a great night! Hugs!

Kim

Facing a Fear and Johannesburg, MI

Hello! I am back from our long weekend! We were back yesterday but we had running around to do. We had a great time in Johannesburg! We even had a chance to face a fear for FREE!!! We took a drive to look at the fall colors and when we got to Boyne Mountain there was a sign that read: Free Skylift Color Rides. So, we decided to check it out. I couldn't believe that they were offering this for free! 3 of the 6 of faced our fears and decided it was possibly a once in a lifetime event. (The other 3 were not scared and were eager to hop on). So we got on the ski lifts for our very first and probably last times! LOL! Well, probably the last time for my hubby at least. I may try it again and our friend who was also, scared may try again.

The ski lift. It doesn't look too scary.

(Click on the photos to enlarge)

A bit of a blurry photo from above. This is where my hubby said in a very scared tone...SIT STILL AND BE QUIET! LOL!!! I was excited and not scared until this point. Seeing him scared made me scared! Almost panic attack kind of scared! Yikes, I couldn't wait to get to the top of the mountain!

PHEW! We made it to the top! The view was amazing!!! We really enjoyed our adventure and were glad we did it even though we were so scared! I was much better on the way down (not hubby...poor guy)

This is my daughter's bf's great grandfather's cabin. We didn't stay in this one but it's really cool!

The above cabin sits on this pretty little lake.

My daughter using the metal detector. She didn't find anything on the beach. Well, she did find a penny but it was one her bf hid in the sand to tease her!

The bf found this whatchamacallit from a gun. I can't remember the name of it. He found it in the woods by the cabin.

So, that was our pretty fall weekend! We visited a cool gift shop and hubby and dd's bf bought pocket knives and dd bought moccasins. Then we went in search of pasties...meat pies that are delicacies of the upper peninsula. We found them and had a yummy dinner :)

I hope you all had a great weekend too! Have a wonderful day! Hugs!

Kim

The Latest Bag

Morning!!! Her is my latest bag, that will be given as a gift this weekend. I wish it photographed better. Someday I will have a better camera.

(Click to enlarge)

A closer look.

Today we are headed upnorth to Johannesburg to see what is left of the fall colors. It is going to be so nice to get away. We are headed up with our daughter, her bf and his parents. Saturday night we are going on a critter walk at a state park...I have always wanted to do something like that. We are taking the metal detector too for the beach. I will take lots of photos to share!

Have a wonderful weekend!!! Hugs!

Kim

Frankenmuth and a Chance to Win!!!

Morning!!! Yesterday, my daughter and I went to Frankenmuth again with her bf's family (just the ladies). We had so much fun! Of course, we started the day at Bronner's and I did pick up some more ornaments and I bought some decorations for my hubby's office. I even picked up an ornament for one of you to win!!!

This is the ornament I picked up for the winner of the contest below! Sorry for the horrible picture. The weather is gloomy here, making picture taking stinky. Plus...I am terrible with technology and for the life of me cannot figure out how to turn the flash off! Anyways...I hope you like it and want to try to win it! It is much cuter in person!

After Bronner's we headed to Zehnder's for lunch. We ate downstairs in the cafeteria area and it was yummy! Around the cafeteria area is a bakery and store. Here are some photos of some very pretty cupcake cakes.

Aren't they pretty!?! Around the bakery they had all kinds of samples to eat :-)

Very cute!

Here is a huge rooster hanging out at the cheese counter. I love him!

Now for the contest...As we were leaving Zehnder's we were looking at their pretty landscaping and saw these little buggers. We could not figure out what they were. They were growing right in with the rest of the flowers. Some were yellow and some were white and they start out as a purple flower. I brought one home and thought I'd use it for a contest. The first person to leave a comment with the correct answer of what this little egg shaped ornamental fruit WINS the ornament above. Like I said, I have no clue what it is...I will verify all answers using the world wide web. The first correct answer WINS!!! If by chance, we never figure out what it is...I will draw a random name from all entries. Good luck ladies!!! I'll pick a winner on Thursday next week!

It is egg shaped and hard.

HMMM!?!?!

I hope you all have a great day! I am looking forward to finding out what the mystery ornamental fruit is!! Good Luck! Hugs!

Kim

Good Deal For Early Christmas Shoppers

Morning! I just wanted to pass along a good deal...free shipping at Avon.com for all orders over $10...coupon code: COLUMBUS. This deal starts today and goes through the weekend. My daughter loves makeup and lip gloss and they had 3 different lip gloss/balms on sale for 69 cents each and I got her a blush compact and it came with a free ergonomic blush brush (5.99 value) and the blush was $10. So for $14 plus tax I picked up some stocking stuffers with free shipping! (I normally don't spend $10 on a stocking stuffer but she needs blush and it came with something free.)

I will pass along any other great deals that head my way :-) Just want to help us all out when things are tight!

Have a great day! Hugs!
Kim

What I've Been Up To

Good afternoon! Today is so pretty! Sunny and warm! :-D We are suppose to have really nice weather through Monday...how exciting! Then come Tuesday for my next trip to Frankenmuth...storms and falling temps...ugh! But, I am happy it will be nice for when hubby is home. I think we will do a little outside sprucing!

I have some photos for you today :-) I brought in my daughter's hibiscus (a gift last year from her boyfriend) because we had frost last week. Here is a picture of one of it's last blooms. It is sooo pretty!

Love these colors!

I have been making lots of yo-yo's and trying to do some paper crafts on the cheap! I made a few of the paper clips that I showed you before (didn't have time to take pics of them before they were off to friends). I made this cute little monogram frame for my kitchen. Last year, Target had 2 frames for $2.50 and I think this year, they had these monogram letters for $1. The paper is Stampin' Up! I really like it and for less than $2...I love it!

Love these colors too!

Like I said, I have been making lots of yo-yo's! These are some bags I've been working on. They still need to be ironed but I really wanted to post them. The pink bag is for a baby shower, my daughter's friend and her hubby are having a baby girl! I thought this would make a cute library bag for when baby is older. The purple bag is a birthday gift and the ivory one is a Christmas gift. They are for friends who live in a small village. They walk to the post office for their mail...so I thought these would be cute mail bags.

This isn't a great picture but it was really hard to get a good shot of them.

A closer view.

Another close-up.

I have a few more bags in the works, still working on the black one that I gave you a sneak peek of before. That one is tough to get the needle through...ouchy fingers!

Hope you are all enjoying your day! Chat with you soon...hugs! Oh I almost forgot...our friends are still employed...one of them is safe for at least 3 more months his company says and then there will be more cuts. Thanks for all your prayers for them and us!

Kim

Thank You Again!

Thank you so much for all your love and encouragement this week!!! It has meant a lot to me! It's wonderful having such awesome blogging friends!

I am doing better today and continue to pray for everyone during this tough time for our nation!

I hope you all have a wonderful day! Let's see if I can create something cool to show you soon!

Hugs!
Kim

Angel Food

Hello everyone! We had an ok weekend. Saturday, we did a few errands and cut the lawn. We had planned to see a movie in the evening but I just felt so down all day. As you a lot of you may know, my hubby had to take a job out of state last year. He works in Chicago during the week and comes home on the weekends. (He works with 2 others who do the same thing every week). I am so thankful that he is working but every so often it just feels so overwhelming. I'm not good at having to take care of everything but the yard by myself. I don't like being here alone most of the time. I know, that some will wonder why I stay here since I have 2 college kids. The answer to that is, we don't want to leave our daughter here with no family around in case of emergencies and her boyfriend lives almost an hour away. We just don't have many around here to count on in case she needs something...everyone we know is dealing with some of these same issues with jobs and stress. The economy is really taking a toll on everyone we know. So we are doing what is best for our family. It's just not easy at all. Then hearing the houses are suppose to lose 5-10% more of their value. This means our house will most likely not be able to sell for many years. Fortunately, we are lucky enough to be able to keep our house and have an apartment in Illinois.
All this to say...I've been really down lately.

Today another friend of ours (daughter's bf's dad) is waiting to see if today is the day he loses his job. They are letting people go at his job. My best friend's hubby is also waiting to see if he loses his job in the next month or so (he wasn't on the list for last weeks lay offs). And one of my best blogging buddies hubby has been out of work for months. I am so sad about this! My hubby had to find 2 jobs in the last 6 years because of cuts and businesses closing. I lost my job 5 years ago when the tool design shop I worked for closed. I just don't know where all these poor people are suppose to go to find jobs! What are they suppose to do with their homes that won't be able to sell to get to the jobs if they find one??? This is all just hurting my heart these days.

All that to say...I know of a ministry that anyone can use, whether you need help or not. My son uses this ministry in Oklahoma and some of our friends use it too. It is called Angel Food Ministries. You can order boxes of food each month for a small price. You can even order more than one of each package if your family eats more. The regular menu has stable safe milk...my son uses this in smoothies and milk shakes.

I just wanted to let you all know about this ministry. At least it's a little something I can do to help. That and praying!

So sorry to be such a downer...I am just so sad for our friends right now. I am thankful for my hubby's job, really I am. It's just hard.

Have a wonderful day! Hugs!

Baby Shower Quilt and Card

Morning!!! I am so glad that the sun is out today! We have had some gloomy, bone chilling weather here. Hope fall is treating you well!

Here is the picture of the quilt my daughter made for a baby shower tonight. She did a good job for her first one. It's not top quilted but more of a comforter, I guess. Sorry for the picture quality, I took these last night and it was very dark. (Click to enlarge the pictures)

And here is the card I made to go with the quilt. It's a simple one but matches well.

Not much going on today. I really want to make some more cards. The one above is much prettier in person...I really need a better camera...some day! I, also, need to get to the yo-yo's again. I need to take pics of a few finished bags that are Christmas or birthday gifts. All of a sudden I feel like the holidays are in a hurry to get here! October came sooo fast! Speaking of which, I still need to put up a few outdoor decorations. I guess I had better get busy!

Have a great day everyone! Hugs!!

Kim