Final Post for 2013 and What's Ahead for 2014!!

Hi all!

I hope you're doing well and enjoying the Christmas and Holiday Season so far!   We are preparing for a move next week and so life's been pretty hectic.   I only have basic Christmas decorations up, which are getting ready to be taken down and packed away for the move.  

I wanted to thank you for coming to visit my blog this year!   I was so blessed to see over 100,000 views of my blog this year.  I know some people have blogs that get 100,000 views in a day, but this meant so much to me. 

I also wanted to give you a quick peek into what's ahead for 2014!  A new home means new tablescapes for TABLESCAPE TUESDAY, new recipes for WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY, and a fun new feature I'll be able to do....

The MONTHLY MONDAY MANTLE!!!  

Our new home is going to have a fireplace (actually, it has more than one, but there will only be one I'll decorate monthly!)  and so I plan to create a new look for my mantle and post it the first Monday of each month.   I'm so excited to have a pretty fireplace to decorate for the various seasons! 

I hope you'll check back to the blog in 2014 for lots of new posts and fun!  

Thanks again for a great year!   From my family to yours, have a very Merry Christmas, a blessed Holiday season, and a wonderful New Year!!!

WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY - Easy LOW CARB Southwest Breakfast Casserole!

Hi all!

Well, it certainly has been a while since I have done a recipe for Whadda We Eatin' Wednesday.  I'm SO late that I'm even posting this on a THURSDAY!   haha!   There are several reasons for my recent absence.   A few months ago, I found out that my blood sugar is high, so I'm back on a low carb diet.   =( 

Unfortunately, that has kind of cut back on all my fun crock pot recipes for a while....however, I am learning some new ones that are lower in carbs, which is good...and I'll make sure to post them as we try them!

Also, we are preparing for a move, so life has been very busy preparing for that, along with work, family and homeschooling, and trying to have something of a social life!  haha!

BUT...TODAY, I have a wonderful recipe to share that is super easy and so delicious.  This is a great recipe for a nice Holiday Breakfast for the family or for entertaining!

I prepared it for a ladies prayer breakfast recently and it was so good and so easy, I made it a few times after that just for me and the family!

It's an Easy LOW CARB Southwest Breakfast Casserole!

Here's what you'll need:


4 eggs
1/4 cup milk or Heavy whipping cream (I used whole milk and it turned out pretty good...but the Heavy whipping cream makes it more quiche-like...not sure if skim or 2% milk would work as well...if you try it, I'd love to hear what you think.)
1/4 cup Salsa, or to taste
Real Bacon Bits to taste.  I used 1/2 package
1/2 to 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or cheese of your choice, a Mexican blend or taco blend would probably be delish, as well as pepper jack if you want extra spice!)

That's it!   Just combine these ingredients and whisk thoroughly.   Then pour into a small casserole dish (mine was probably a 5x8) and cook for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. 



This came out so good and the ladies at the prayer meeting loved it.  My husband and I also loved it and just kept making it!


I hope you enjoyed today's 

WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY!

Thanks so much for stopping by!   

Have a great rest of the week!  =)


This post is being added to:

Just Us Four Link Party
Foodie Friday
On the Menu Monday

TABLESCAPE TUESDAY - PUMPKINS AND PRAYER TABLESCAPE!

Hello everyone!

Boy, has it been a long time!!!   I'm so sorry for not being on sooner.   Life has been crazy busy these days with out of town trips, a hectic work schedule, and some other things....along with just trying to juggle work, homeschooling, and life in general!

For today, I wanted to share with you a table I created for a Fall prayer breakfast I had with a couple good friends recently!!! 

We hadn't had a prayer breakfast in a while, so I really wanted to make this table fun and special.  I call this tablescape "Pumpkins and Prayer"....I'm sure you can see why...haha!

I started with my full length white round tablecloth, however, it was just too white, so I topped it with an off-white crochet tablecloth from Goodwill to add some warmth.



This adorable pumpkin for the centerpiece was a great Goodwill find, and I set it on top of my homemade pedestal I made with a candleholder and a dessert plate (and some super glue!)

The orange pumpkin candle was set atop a small pillar candleholder...and it let off a wonderful pumpkin scent! 

I also used the top of a pretty covered dish I have as a small bowl for some orange and gold ornaments- a super deal I got on clearance after the Holidays last year.  I really like how this added some shine to the table.  All of these sat on top of a pretty beaded pumpkin placemat I got last year. 



For the place settings, I started out with orange chargers from Michaels, topped with a dollar store white dinner plate.  On top of that are these cute pumpkin plates from Pier 1 that I got for 75% off in January!!!   I stocked up on these, and you'll most likely see them again at our Thanksgiving feast!!! 

The darker orange napkins with the gold bling napkin rings were a good match for the darker orange in the pumpkin plates.  

I got this gold flatware online from Ebay, and then found some other pieces at Goodwill one day!  SCORE!   =D



It turned out to be such a nice morning of sharing and praying with some wonderful friends.  It's such a blessing to have friends that I can pray with and for and that I know are praying for me!  

Well, that's it for this TABLESCAPE TUESDAY!   I hope you have a wonderful week! 

This post is being added to:
Centerpiece Wednesday
Tablescape Thursday
Let's Dish
Seasonal Sundays

TABLESCAPE TUESDAY - Plaid in a Pinch Tablescape =)

Hi all!

I'm so sorry it's been so long!  We've had a very busy couple of weeks, and we have been out of town for several Sundays, where I'd normally make a tablescape for our "Sunday Family Dinner".

However, I was able to capture a quick tablescape done for a recent Sunday Family Dinner.  Just a simple fall table with plaid.  I didn't have a lot of time to put this together because we had been gone for the weekend to celebrate my husband's Birthday.  I got home, with just enough time to fix dinner and set up a quick table.

 

I have to say, I LOVE plaid.  I always have.  I'm not sure what it is, but the right combos of plaid are just awesome to me! 

I also love the color combos of a dark blue, mahogany and beige.  It's just so pleasing to the eye.

So when I found these Pillow Shams at Goodwill a while back, I thought they'd look nice on a tablescape.

So now that fall is here, I thought this would be a nice simple country table in a pinch.


Here's a quick plate breakdown:

-Brown Chargers from Michaels
-White Dinner plates from Dollar Tree
-The Salad Plates are a mix of magenta Better Homes and Garden Plates that I found at Goodwill.  I only found 3, so I alternated them with some blue rimmed plates I got when I first got married.
-The Desert Plate/Saucers were a Goodwill find as well.
-The Magenta napkins were another thrift store find, as well as the wooden "plaid" napkin rings.  =)


For the Centerpiece I used a simple floral that I found at a garage sale, two square glass candleholders from Dollar Tree, My white pillar candleholders from Ikea, and a leaf plate and pumpkin bowl from Goodwill.



Well, that's about it for another TABLESCAPE TUESDAY!  Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful day! 

WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY - Easy Crock Pot Meatball Subs!

Hi All!!!

So sorry I haven't posted a recipe in a while...yes, I've been a nice combo of busy and lazy! 

Today I have a super simple recipe for you for today's WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY! 

EASY CROCKPOT MEATBALL SUBS!  

We had this for a recent casual family dinner and they were awesome!!!

I found this recipe on the Crockin' Girls website....who I just LOVE!  

The ingredients are easy!

1 package of meatballs  (I used regular meatballs - 28 count)
1 28 oz. jar of your favorite pasta sauce
1 package of sliced provolone cheese (I ended up using shredded Mozzerella since I forgot to buy this)
1 package hoagie rolls or French bread.

The prep is also easy!

Put the package of meatballs and your jar of sauce into the crock pot.  Cook on low for 2-3 hours.  


Cut your hoagie rolls or French bread and lay on a baking sheet cut side up.  Scoop out some meatballs and sauce for each roll and top with cheese.  Then put in a 350 oven for 15 minutes.  The bread gets crunchy and yummy and the cheese gets all bubbly!

These were such a nice treat!  And, they were so easy to make...they make a great weeknight meal for the family or a Saturday or Sunday afternoon lunch! 

Our kids liked them a lot and so did the hubby and me!  Score for mama, since my kids are pretty picky!  =)

Hope you enjoyed this WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY!   Have a great day and I hope to see you again soon! 

TABLESCAPE TUESDAY - Transition to Fall Floral Tablescape!

Hi all!

Me again, with another TABLESCAPE TUESDAY!!!

Today I'm going to share the table I put together for our most recent SUNDAY FAMILY DINNER!

I'm calling this my "Transition to Fall Floral Tablescape"

 

 

 

I'm getting pretty antsy for Fall, but it's officially not here until the 21st.  I'm so excited!  Fall is my favorite time of the year!

I wanted to add just a few of the fall colors while still keeping some summer colors as well.  I had purchased this tablecloth a while back at Ross and have not had the chance to use it yet, so I decided to take the opportunity!  

I used my tan tablecloth with my Ross tablecloth folded in half and draped across the table like a runner.

For the plate breakdown, I used white ruffle charger plates from Old Time Pottery, Coral colored melamine dinner plates from Target, Green salad plates from Goodwill, white dessert plates from Goodwill, and Beige small Pier 1 petal bowls from our local thrift store.

 

 

 

For the centerpiece I just put my white flower vase out, along with a silver/beige box pedestal.  To each side was a tall glass candle holder and a dessert plate holding 4 tealights.

Not my fanciest table, but I've been going more simple lately.  

Thanks again for joining me for another TABLESCAPE TUESDAY!   Hope to see you again soon!

This post is being added to:
Tablescape Thursday 

TABLESCAPE TUESDAY - "Pink Flamingo Party!" Tablescape

Hi all!

I hope your week is going great so far!  

Welcome to another TABLESCAPE TUESDAY!

Last week I mentioned that I had made a kids' table in our breakfast area to go along with the adults' table in the dining room, since we had some good friends and their family with us (the Black, White and Red all over Tablescape is shown here.)   So, this week, that is the table I'm going to feature!

I'm calling it the "Pink Flamingo Party" Tablescape!

My talented 10 year old son helped me with this table.  

The inspiration for this table came from a trip to the Dollar Store.  These plates were just the cutest, so I thought it would be fun to make a table with them.   This kids' table was the perfect occasion, too!

 

 

Now, my son, was a little skeptical of PINK FLAMINGOS considering his feelings that pink is more of a "girly color", and considering his best friend was one of the kids coming over to eat with him....however, I tried to re-assure him that this would be a more "tropical" table, than a "girly" table.  I showed him the plates and told him we'd need to just add more of the blues and greens to make up for the pinks!   He was soon on board.

The centerpiece is a pink tray with a flower pot with floral foam.  This is actually part of a flower arrangement that we usually have in the dining room, but I took the flowers out and put this cute flamingo in the foam instead.  My son suggested we put this green curly ribbon in to look like grass...I was impressed with his imagination!  =)

 

Next to the flamingo on the tray are some green and blue large ornaments and a couple of dollar-store pink-flamingo lanterns.  Then my son had the idea to add the flowers in the pink little "gift bag votive holders!

For each place setting, I kept it simple and used the paper plates over a hot-pink melamine plate for sturdiness.   My son wrote everyone's names on the napkins and we used the white silverware and colorful tumbler cups in blues, pinks and greens!


I like how this table turned out.  It was very colorful and fun for the kids and I think everyone really liked it.   My son was happy to have helped as well, and bragged to his friend how he helped put it together!

Well, that's it for another TABLESCAPE TUESDAY!  Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope to see you again soon!! 

This post is being added to...
Centerpiece Wednesday

TABLESCAPE TUESDAY - BLACK, WHITE AND RED ALL OVER Tablescape

Hi everyone!

Welcome to yet another TABLESCAPE TUESDAY!  

I hope you had a nice Labor Day weekend!   Ours was good, but not very eventful...which I don't mind at all!  lol   Sometimes, I need those kinds of weekends!   Yesterday, my husband and son went out for a boys vacation...so my daughter and I have been having some fun, just the girls!   We have gone out to eat, gotten our nails done...watched some girlie movies, and had lots of fun!

For today's TABLESCAPE TUESDAY, I would like to share with you on of the tables from a recent Sunday Family dinner.  This was a special one because we ended up having some very close friends over with their kids, and we made two tables...one for the grown ups, and one just for the kids!   This week, I'm going to post the grown-ups table, and next week I'll feature the kids' table. 

Because this table was going to be all grown-ups, I wanted to go for a bit of extra sophistication.   I had also just bought these neat red and white dessert plates and was eager to try them out.   I had originally decided on just a red and white tablescape, but as I was putting it together it just looked too Christmas-y.   The simple addition of black really made a difference!

I named this tablescape the "Black, White and Red All Over" Tablescape. 

I used my white tablecloth and adorned it with red and black streamers in a kind of plaid pattern.   I also used some red glass pieces to add a little more interest. 

In the center, I put down two black frames I found on super clearance at Old Time Pottery, because the glass was out.  In the frames I put my trusty white pillar candleholders from IKEA with red candles.

For the very center, I used a glass cylinder filled with red ornaments and some red beads.   On either side are just water glasses, turned upside down with some candles on top.  A very inexpensive way to add some height to the candles.

Now for the plate Breakdown.   I started with a square plate I got at Wal-Mart...from the Better Homes and Gardens collection.  They were a little pricier than I wanted, but I looked all over and could not find this kind of plate in a set of 4 any cheaper.  I think I will use them often, so hopefully it will be worth the investment.

Next up, I used a nice square red plate that I got at Ross.

And then, topping that off, I added these cute red and white damask plates that I think I got at Marshalls.   I also alternated black and white napkins with red bling napkin rings, and used my red flatware.

I really like how this table turned out.  I am a huge fan of black and white with red, or really just about any color!  It looks very striking to me.  =)

Thanks so much for joining me for another TABLESCAPE TUESDAY!!!   Have a great day, and I hope to see you again soon!  =)

This post is being added to:
Between Naps on the Porch

 

TABLESCAPE TUESDAY - TEA FOR THREE

Hi all!

I hope you had a great weekend and a great week so far!   We had a great weekend!  Very relaxing and fun!

On today's Tablescape Tuesday, I'm going to be taking another little break from Dining room tables and doing a tea table I set up.   This was not used in a ladies tea, but I wanted to set it up for an idea for a future tea, perhaps.   The inspiration for this tablescape is my "WRAPPING PAPER" table runner....it was some wrapping paper from Dollar Tree that I thought would look really cool on a table! 

I'm calling this tablescape...TEA FOR THREE!


I used my long round white tablecloth (pretty standard since this is actually a patio table, and I don't wan't that "outdoor" look to show...AND this is the only long round tablecloth I own...haha!

On top of that, the wrapping paper runner!



The Centerpiece was a tall glass candleholder with a white candle, a silver candleholder with a white candle wrapped with some of that same wrapping paper, and a square glass vase from the Dollar store with blue and white flowers, and turquoise glass pieces.


The plate stack is as follows - Turquoise charger from Michaels, White dinner plate and silver salad plate from Dollar Tree, blue rimmed dessert plate that I've had since I got married, (a LONG time ago..haha) and a silver saucer and teacup from Ross!  The cobalt blue champagne glasses were from Dollar Tree, as were the smaller water glasses.



In the middle is also a cute white teapot and tea set from Ross. 

I thought this turned out pretty cute.  I hate to say I forgot to light the candles before I took the picture...but, oh well. 

I hope you enjoyed this Tablescape Tuesday!  Thanks again for stopping by and I hope to see you soon! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLESCAPE TUESDAY - Peonies and Plaid

Hi all!

Welcome to another TABLESCAPE TUESDAY!!!   Sorry I was M.I.A. for a few weeks.  We were on a family vacation and had a wonderful time, but not much time for blogging! 

Today I wanted to share with you a tablescape that I did for a tea a while back with some great friends!  We had such a great time of fellowship and prayer and I am so thankful for such wonderful friends as these!  

I wanted to make the setting special for these special ladies, so this is what I came up with.

I found this awesome wrapping paper at Homegoods not too long ago.  I thought this was so pretty and loved these colors all together.  I also have a bit of a thing for plaid and I just thought this would look great on a tablescape as a table runner!

Under the table runner is my long white round tablecloth that I found on Amazon.com.   On top of that is a sheer pink curtain that I got from Goodwill!   It worked great to give the table a little femininity and color.  

For the centerpiece, I used my tall white pillar candleholder from Ikea with a white candle which is wrapped with a "ribbon" of the same wrapping paper I used for the table runner.  Next to that are some pink peonies in a hot pink vase with some hot pink small ornaments to hold them in place.

Here's a plate breakdown for you, in case you're wanting the low-down!  lol

First...the charger is a pretty ruffled 14" plate from Old Time Pottery.

On top of that is actually a ruffled melamine dinner plate in hot pink.

On top of that is a pink salad plate from Goodwill, and a white saucer with a pretty weaved pattern that kind of reminds me of plaid..


Then I topped off the ensemble with a lime green bowl from the dollar store.   The white silverware was from Goodwill...a great find!   The napkin rings are from ebay.

The green stemmed glasses are Pier 1, but I got them at a garage sale for $1 each!  That was a great bargain in my book!  =D  The smaller water glasses were also $1 but I got those at the Dollar store!  =)  I also used my little Pier 1 petal bowls as tealight holders.

The breakfast was wonderful and the ladies seemed to like the the food and the setting...but I think most of all, we all enjoyed sharing our lives with eachother and praying for eachother!

Thanks so much for joining me for another
Tablescape Tuesday!  Hope to see you again soon!!!

This Post is being added to:
Tablescape Thursday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FINAL FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA Link Party (for a while) - With Features!!!

Howdy folks!!!

Well, we had a wonderful vacation in Missouri visiting family for the last couple weeks, but it is also nice to be back home and getting back into the swing of things!

It is with sadness that I must announce that this will be the final Festive Friday Fiesta for a while.  We're getting ready to start the new school year up and I just know that it's gonna get pretty hectic around here.   I may start this back up next summer, if things slow down.

I really have enjoyed seeing everyone's creativity over the last few months!  Thank you so much to those of you who contributed to such a fun link party!!!!

I have a few great features from the last FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA as well!

Holly from the Coconut Head Survival Guide shared these adorable COCO CHANEL-INSPIRED HAIRBAND HOLDERS!

Aren't these adorable???  They also look pretty easy to make and add so much GLAM!!!

Jenna from The Painted Apron shared her beautiful MORROCCAN FANTASY TABLESCAPE!

This is absolutely FABULOUS!!!

Newcomer, Sam from The Kitchen is My Dancefloor shared a very cute DIY State Pallet sign! 



I love that pink color!


Robin from Fluster Buster shared her DELICIOUS-LOOKING Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes


Oh Yummmmm!!!!

And now, onto the party!!!!   I hope you'll tell your blogging friends, and let's finish out this link party out with a BANG!!!