ALMOST ... A happy halloween!

I was getting ready to post some really cute Halloween pictures, and then I remembered that I left my camera with the cute pictures of halloween in my parents car! Guess you'll have to wait until tomorrow! Luckily I got one at the Halloween Parade as a teaser
Until then, here is the lo-down on our day:
Halloween Parade to see all of our cute cousin's and their costumes
Cheese tortillas cut out in a pumpkin shape for lunch
A little break at the park for mom and the kids
Boys take nap, I make taco soup, homemade bread, and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
Daddy home a little early
Trick-or-Treating
Soup "Birthday" party for my sister!
Ending with a great episode of Castle!

What was your most favorite thing you did today?

Hope you all had a WICKED GOOD Halloween!
M

Fall "Comfort" food

I don't know what it is about fall, but I start to get into the mood to cook again!

One of the recipes I grew up with, is one I enjoy making on a cold fall day. It is a little bit more time consuming than some other recipes ... however it is worth every minute of preparation! So I thought I would share it with you!

Chicken Turnovers

GRAVY
2-3 Chicken Breasts
1 small Onion, minced
2 1/4 cups Potatoes, grated
1 Carrot, grated
1/2 cup frozen Peas
1-2 TBSP Cornstarch
1 tsp of Chicken bullion
Salt & Pepper to taste)
optional: Thyme to taste

Cook chicken in 3 cups of water. Remove chicken and cut into small pieces. Put back into water. Add onion, potatoes, and carrot. Cook until tender. Thicken broth with cornstarch, Add peas.

** While vegetables are cooking, make the turnover crust.


CRUST
2 cups Flour
1 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Butter
1 Egg, beaten
3 TBSP Vinegar
6 TBSP Water

Cut butter into flour and salt, but using a pastry cutter or food processor. Add eggs, vinegar, and water. Mix until dough is in a ball. Split into 2 balls. Roll out into a 6" square. Fill squares with 2 TBSP of gravy. Fold over crosswise. Press edges together using a fork.

Bake at 400 Degrees for 20 minutes. Serve with additional gravy on top.

It is one of my favorites and I am so glad to share it with you! Hope you enjoy!
Mandy

Guest Post

So I have never had anyone guest post on my blog before ... however there is a first for everything right?

So Emily Patterson contacted me a few weeks back and wanted to post an article. If anyone has a guest poster they would like to see on my blog ... please email me and I can consider posting more articles from others! Thanks!

Emily Patterson is currently working as a Marketing Support Coordinator for Primrose Schools providing written work to the blogosphere which highlights the importance, and some of the specific aspects, of a quality, early childhood, education. Through an accelerated Balanced Learning® curriculum, Primrose Schools students are exposed to a widely diverse range of subject matter giving them a much greater opportunity to develop mentally, physically and socially.

Halloween is an exciting time of the year. Being the first major holiday, especially from a kid’s point of view, after school starts this is a time to have fun. Halloween offers a great opportunity to beat boredom. The best part of Halloween is that, unlike Christmas that requires people to purchase many, expensive presents, most of the Halloween activities are very affordable.

Here are 10 wallet-friendly ways to beat boredom during Halloween.

1. Go Trick-or-Treating

This is the most obvious Halloween activity. Going trick-or-treating is a fun time. Usually younger children begin as early as 5:00 p.m. on October 31, so they can be finished well before bedtime. Aside from a few renegades, most people are done by 9:00 p.m. This is a rare occasion where young children will be running from house to house along with older teenagers, and almost everyone has fun. To ensure that the night remains a good time, be sure to supervise younger children and to not eat candy until its wrapping can be inspected.

2. Count Candy

A fun activity for children after trick-or-treating is to count and sort the candy. For the very young, this can be a fun way to practice math. Older children may be inclined to sort it and trade amongst themselves. When sorting the candy, parents can suggest that one piece be selected to be eaten that night. This helps prevent a sugar high at bedtime.

3. Bob for Apples

Bobbing for apples, a classic Halloween party game, is frustrating, funny, embarrassing and fun. This innocent game can be enjoyed by anyone who is old enough to hold their breath. The splashing makes for some great entertainment.

4. Have a Halloween Party

Having a Halloween brings together friends and family to celebrate. This is also one of the easiest parties to plan. People will know to wear a costume. Fall dishes such as apple and pumpkin pie are standards. With lots of candy, pumpkin carving and apple bobbing, the party is complete!

5. Make a Costume

Making a costume can be a great bonding experience between a child and a parent. With enough creativity and some patience, almost anything can be made. Usually, homemade costumes are higher quality than those bought in stores.

6. Join a Costume Parade

Costume parades are a great place to show off the costume that was just made. Of course, people who purchased a costume can also participate. Some parades even have prizes for the best costume. This is one of the few times each year when people who enjoy wearing costumes can gather together. There are parades in cities and towns, adult parades and children’s ones. Check with the school to see if students will be participating in a parade.

7. Watch a Halloween Movie
(These are my favorite! ... that is Mandy;)
Watching a movie together is an affordable way to spend an evening. Rent one of the classic Halloween movies and make some popcorn. For adults, there are many scary movies to select from. A classic for children is It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

8. Go to a Haunted House or Corn Maze

Visiting a Haunted House with a group will cause some laughs, and many screams. People jumping out, strobe lights and smoke machines all are enjoyed by many. Children who are too young for haunted houses, as well as epileptics that cannot enjoy strobe lights, will have fun at a corn maze. At these, farmers carve out designs in a corn field so people can try to find their way through. Another similar activity for little children would be a hay ride.

9. Carve a Pumpkin

Carving pumpkins together is a fun family event. Lay out some newspaper and get started. There are a few techniques experienced carvers use to ensure a beautiful pumpkin and a good time. When carving out the top, they leave a notch in it, so they know how it goes back on the pumpkin. Using a knife specifically for carving pumpkins helps prevent injuries. Finally, keeping the pumpkin seeds is advised.

10. Roast Pumpkin Seeds

Those pumpkin seeds that are saved form carving pumpkins can be made into a delicious, healthy snack. There are two ways people generally cook pumpkin seeds. First, they can be placed in a skillet with a little olive oil. Then they are stirred constantly for 10-20 minutes, while being watched carefully for when they taste done. Another method is baking. A single layer of pumpkin seeds can be baked in the oven, but this technique is more difficult to oversee. A couple of seasonings that can be used are: salt, garlic and salt, or apple pies spices.

Roughly two months into the school year, people often become restless by Halloween and get bored. This holiday is the perfect excuse to get out and have some fun. There are many activities unique to autumn and specific to Halloween. These are just 10 wallet friendly ways to beet boredom during Halloween; there are many more activities to think of.

Thanks Emily for posting on my blog today! Hopefully it will inspire a few last minute activities for your halloween!

Time for something Crafty eh?

So I found this awesome wreath a few weeks back from Pintrest ... and I fell in LOVE!

So as much as I loved it, I knew I had a few supplies laying around that I needed to use. I got a really cute stacker of fall fabric a few years back and have never done anything with it ... so I decided to do this instead!The wreath itself was $5 at Hobby Lobby, and everything else was just what I had hanging around! I thought it turned out really cute! Each night for a few nights I just sat on my couch while watching TV and made the little rosettes! Click here for a tutorial on YouTube on how to do these. Then I simply hot glued them on the wreath ... tied a bow, and WALA!

Hope you're enjoying this wonderful fall Friday!

T.M.I?

Too much information?? My husband seems to think so ... however I have made a vow to tell you about the things that change my life ... and this thing has done just that!

If you had told me a few years back that I would have even considered buying a Bidet, I would have told you you're crazy! I guess it really isn't a Bidet, it is just a toilet seat ;)

Rewind to 2 years ago. Adam and I watched my sister's kids while they were in Hawaii! We became aquatinted with their Master Bedroom bathroom ... and I wasn't sure how I felt about this little "bidet". About 3 Days into our babysitting ... I decided to try this little seat ... and I knew it was all over from there! It changed my life! As much as we loved it, we were in a rental home, and they were a little bit spendy!

Fast forward to last weekend! We get a text message from my Bro-in-law saying that these sweet treasures were on sale at Costco for a fraction of the price that they normally are. After stewing over it for a week ... we bought on Saturday. Adam ... my ROCK AWESOME husband put in a new plug and installed it by himself! It sprays according to gender, it dries, it has a heated seat, it controls the temperature of the water ... WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR??




And if you're asking if it is a life changer ... I would have to say definitely!

The winner is:

Love this!!! Upstate New York is the coolest place I have visited.
Mary S.

CONGRATULATIONS MARY!!!

although I chose Mary as a random winner, I have to admit that Upstate NY is one of the COOLEST places I have ever been! I actually lived their for a year and a half!

Email me Mary and I will get going on your design!

Feel free to email me if you would like to hire me to custom design a canvas for your family!
Mandy

Last Chance for Giveaway!

Just incase you didn't make it through my never-ending post ... I thought I would give my blog readers one last chance at my giveaway! I will be drawing on Tuesday instead of today!
The giveaway is a custom canvas designed just like the one above. I have had so many inquires on my design that I thought it would be fun to give away one! I will make it using the vacations, or words of you choice ... in a square. The giveaway is for the design services only ... a $50 value!

Please comment with the coolest place you have visited, along with your name. For an extra chance, become a follower of my blog!
GOOD LUCK!

A "peary" awesome project, Q&A, and a giveaway!

It seems like the theme to this week has been pears! I picked up a huge box to can this week, and finished canning 20 jars yesterday.

And now a drumroll you have all been waiting for! I finally got my table topper back from being quilted! (I know, a little bit of a long anticipation on your part!)I am in LOVE with the Decadence pear fabric by Samantha Walker printed by Riley Blake, and I have wanted to use this pattern from Camille Roskelley's book Simple for awhile! I am very pleased with how it turned out! If you have never quilted before, this was a perfect starter project! I cut and pieced it in 2 hours, and it was REALLY simple!


And totally random ... a new "pair" of shoes! Just what this mommy needed ... a comfy pair of shoes to slip on and can pretty much wear with anything!

Last but not least, I have had a HUGE response to the Canvas I displayed on Studio 5! I thought I would give you some information and answer some questions if you're looking to design one yourself.

First - Belinda emailed me looking for steps to follow on how to make a a canvas on your own. I emailed Belinda back and thought I would share the same responses with you!

If you're wanting to take a stab it on your own ... here are some tips!

I find it easier to line up words in Illustrator, however this is definitely do-able in Photoshop.
* Only pick 2 fonts. I used Chalet Comprime (taller, skinner, with letters close together font). I also used Gotham. Use both Capitals and Lowercase in both fonts. I also find some free fonts I love to use together are garamond, and century gothic.
* I started by creating my document the size I want to have it printed in. Mine was 30" x 30". When you are finished, be sure to flatten all of your layers and change the document to a JPEG. This will make it so you can have it printed everywhere. I suggest Pro Digital Photos for printing your canvas because they have great quality and they are local. PLUS they are awesome to work with.
* Next I typed out individual words, in different type boxes. (This will make them easier to move around)
* I started in the left hand corner, and just played around with different sizes and fonts.
* By using "FREE TRANSFORM" (in my version of Photoshop it is Command-T or in the Edit menu). JUST BE SURE TO USE HOLD DOWN THE SHIFT KEY WHEN CHANGING THE SIZE. IT IS A NO NO NO to stretch the font or make it longer. You want all of the letters to look uniform, not stretched.
* Last, watch the spacing between the different type blocks. You want to create a similar margin between type, as well as make sure you use your guides to line all your type up so that it looks uniform.

If that explanation was FOREIGN to you, then I am available for hire!
If you're looking to have one designed just like this:Only with your own vacation words: I can do it for $50. (This does not include the printing)

If you want something more custom designed, then I charge anywhere from $75-100!

A FEW MORE STUDIO 5 QUESTIONS:
How did you mount your growth charts?
I mounted them on Masonry board (you can get it at lowes, and they will cut it for you there!)... painted it white, stuck the growth chart on. On Bryson's I mounted it again on a piece of ply wood, painted brown to give a 1" border, then nailed a claw picture hanger to the back!

Where did I get my top (the one I wore on the segment)?
BEST KEPT SECRET ... Seasons boutique in Sandy (just east of Southtown mall ... in the same parking lot as Nordstrom Rack)

What fonts did you use on your Subway Art?
Chalet Comprime, and Gotham

Questions about Paper Coterie:
Unfortunately I was in Lake Powell when the code wasn't working. If you tried to order something, and my code didn't work, please contact their customer service ... they might be able to help you out!

AND FINALLY A GIVEAWAY!
I decided it is time to give some service to my AWESOME followers! I decided to giveaway 1 canvas design to a lucky reader! That is right, I will custom design your canvas (square, just like the one shown on Studio 5). Unfortunately I can only give away the design, not the printing of the Canvas, but if you're interested in winning, Leave a comment with the most interesting place you have visited! Get a second chance at it by becoming a follower! Winner will be announced on Monday!
HAPPY WEEKEND!
M

Take two!

I got a phone call about a month ago from a new neighbor of ours, asking us if we wanted to join a group of neighbors on a "couples" retreat to Lake Powell. After talking to Adam, he just felt like with being reassigned a new job site, and busy with school, we just couldn't do it! I was SO bummed!

It wasn't until a couple weeks ago when Adam came home one evening and told me he was going to do everything he could to make it work! I was SO excited!

We left on Wednesday, and came back Saturday evening. Our Lake Powell trip we went on in August was fun, but you know, as well as I know, that with kids ... leaving home isn't necessarily a vacation. In fact, my sister calls leaving home with kids, a trip! Without kids, leaving home is a vacation!

Laughing so hard we cried, waterskiing / wakeboarding until our hands couldn't hold on any longer, hiking the hole in the rock, and getting to know new friends. It was such a great weekend! I felt like I was a kid again.
I needed such a physical break from mommyhood! And then was so uplifted by General Conference. This was such an amazing weekend ... hope yours was just as amazing!