Fall has fallen here!

Looks like today is going to be another beautiful Fall Day! As much as I kicked and screamed (of course that's figuratively speaking!), about not wanting Fall - I am settling into the idea.  Monday night was cold, I was home alone and I did it - YES - I actually turned the fireplace on and lit a candle................ahhhhhhh!

Wednesday, I pulled out the Fall decorations.  I must say that I do love the warm and cozy look and feel of the Fall colors.

The Boyd's bears have to come out every Fall as they were given to me by my kids for my birthday one year (with their "own" money) :)  Trust me, there is more than the pics show - but you don't need the whole tour!  Have a great weekend..................embrace Fall!

A weekend with my sister...........

It's been 20 years since my sister Lisa from Portland has been up here for a visit.  When I saw her in July she decided to come up this fall and this last weekend was it.  She arrived Friday late afternoon.  I showed her where I work at Grandiflora and then we went out for Thai food and went to see "The Help".  This was my 2nd time seeing the movie and I loved it again!

Saturday, Emily had a soccer game out at Friday Harbor so Randy, Lisa and I hopped on the boat and headed out there.  It was a beautiful day for soccer and a boat ride!

Captain Randy giving Lisa a lesson on Map reading

Lisa said these were scariest 3 minutes of her life!

 

It was a great weekend and  obviously Saturday was the calm before the storm! It was good to spend time with Lisa.  She has overcome so many obstacles in her life and she is a beautiful, successful, smart and sensitive lady - and I am proud of her!

A scrappin' day with Mandarin Orange Cake Recipe

I made a decision coming into the fall that if I didn't start scheduling some scrappin' time I would have scrapbooks only caught up to Kindergarten for Emily's Grad party.  For both the boys I had their scrapbooks out on a table at their parties and they had so much fun with their friends looking over the years.  So, I am determined to get Em's current (yes, I am aware I have more than a few years to go!).

I am TERRIBLE about sitting down by myself and scrappin' -there's always something else I will do (ie: laundry, vacuuming, balancing checkbooks - you get the idea). So, the only way to ensure that I will scrap is to invite friends over to join me.  I have decided that I am going to do this once a month for a whole day.  From 10AM - 8PM. Friends can come and go to suit their schedule, but I am staying at it all day!

The first day was a SUCCESS - I got 16 pages done and a 17th one almost done! (Mind you - my pages are S I M P L E!) Yeah me!  Can't wait until next month!

My friend Amy and her husband make chocolate!  What a dream - a chocolate kitchen connected to your home!  She brought us some of their bars of chocolate, we steamed up some milk and voila' - drinking chocolate.  YUMMINESS!!

Years ago I got a recipe from a friend - she use to make it when we would get together and scrap so now I associate the two together!  It's one of those simple, throw together, have everything in the house, kind of recipes!

Mandarin Orange Cake

1 c. sugar

1 egg

1 c. flour

1-12 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained

1 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 c. nuts (I use chopped pecans)

TOPPING:

1/2 c. brown sugar

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp. milk

Mix dry ingredients and then stir in egg and drained oranges. As you stir it will look VERY dry, but keep stirring, as the oranges break down the batter becomes moist.  Stir very well.  Place in greased 9X9 and bake for 30 min at 350.    When the cake is done melt topping ingredients and pour over hot cake.  I try to especially spoon it in the edges so it doesn't all go to the middle.  The cake will sink in the middle a bit - but then you can save that piece for you with all the nummy topping on it!

Have a great weekend!  Enjoy the warm days if they actually arrive!

Pasta and Guiltless Alfredo!

As some of you know, I have loved the blog Mennonite Girls Can Cook for finding new recipes.  I have loved every recipe I have tried from their site!

Another blog I love for recipes is Our Best Bites - they love bacon and butter like I do and their writing style is hilarious.  Monday night I decided to try a recipe I had seen a few times and had never made.

The recipe itself is called Baked Chicken-Bacon Alfredo and it was a WINNER!  When you go to the recipe you will see she calls for a batch of Guiltless Alfredo Sauce - now I am a HARD CORE Alfredo Sauce lover, and don't you go messing with my Alfredo.  My daughter is also a lover of alf and that is why we pay $3 for a SMALL dish of it at Olive Garden to drag our breadsticks through - ok I digress, back to the recipe.

It was all very simple to make, the sauce was, well it was FABULOUS.  My daughter declared that it was as good as the alf from Olive Garden!  Wow!

I chopped the artichokes really fine, if it were just Randy and I they would've been left just like this!

I just feel so "with it" when I drag my laptop over to follow a recipe.

Who wouldn't want a plate full of that?!?!  I didn't use all the sauce as there seemed to be quite a bit, so we used it to drag our homemade rolls through - the next best thing to Olive Garden Breadsticks!

Whatcha waiting for - what's for dinner tonight?

A Birthday evening

Randy turned 49 last Wednesday - ouch!  Weird number huh?   Makes me feel older right alongside him!

We had dinner at our friends/neighbors, Stacy always sets such a beautiful table!  There were 4 couples, it was a warm evening, warm enough to be outside, and the food and fellowship was awesome!  Jim had caught some halibut, so Dan made his "famous" beer batter and we made fish and chips - awesome!  We also had onion rings (we had to since the batter and deep fryer were available :), stuffed mushrooms, fish, corn and beans from the garden, homemade rolls and Randy's requested b'day dessert - creme' brulee!

Next up,  the big 5-0!!  Happy Birthday Randy!

Ok - let's just be honest!

So today on FB I got a message from someone I love stating that "THIS is the longest you've ever gone without a blog post - I need an update"!

REALLY - my life is not that exciting.  Sometimes. OK. Often. I struggle with what to blog about.  And ONCE IN A WHILE - there's so much happening I don't know how to fit it all in - so I don't post anything.

I'm going to try and get back in the groove - if anyone besides my sweety aforementioned reads this thing!

I'm not going to try and catch up, and I'm not going to try and impress you.  I'm just going to give you my life in little bites.  And yes - it's time for some recipe posts too!

On Labor Day we drove Brandon to Spokane to go back to Whitworth University. Our Brandon is pretty reserved - but that boy was absolutely GIDDY at the thought of going back - which makes it easier to let go.

I was a HORRIBLE mother - no - I did his laundry and his ironing - but I DIDN'T bring my camera!!  So this picture taken with my phone will have to do!!

We had my mom, Randy's parents, Nathan and Miranda join us for dinner a few nights before Brandon left!  It was so good to have all the family together for a great night!

Now we're just busy going to soccer games, school meetings, church meetings, and if you haven't heard Grandiflora's latest news you better hop on over and check it out - I've been real busy and believe I've only just started getting a dent made in the progress!!

Thanks for not giving up on me - I will be back - SOON!!