Some of my favorite things

Enormous softly floating snowflakes..... here's the view from a window...

Decorating with my pretty glittery snowflakes...

Watching an Amarillis bloom at Christmas time....

Watching A Charlie Brown Christmas....

Watching White Christmas with Bing Crosby....here's a clip for ya!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QsTtRETfNg

A Peppermint Mocha....

Lighting Advent candles....

The glittering lights down main street.

Christmas time is here...

I am getting pretty excited about Christmas coming! My Mom came in on Black Friday and we did a little shopping at our local store where we got a few Christmas things on sale. So we commenced to decorate my apartment that afternoon. We bought a wreath and tied on a few ornaments and a bow to finish it off.

I just love it! Then we put some extra ornaments on top of my cabinets on a cake stand with a juice glass in the middle and a glass plate on top to add some height. I had put up garland up earlier with lights and berries, and today I hung the paper stars and snowflakes. Doesn't it look cool?

We also covered my air conditioner (since it let cold air in) first with a pillow case tacked on, then the wrapping paper.

Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window...... the street lights are glowing with Christmas lights--did I mention it's not even Thanksgiving yet?!

I am thinking...about this quote from a movie I'm watching--someone was using an excuse saying how she was keeping in touch with email and the response was "Well, thank God for email! You can have an entire relationship and not even look at somebody. Email? Really? That's lame." It cracked me up. It's really what it's like today with text messaging, facebook, etc.

I am thankful for......my husband who is so sweet and loving and always makes me smile.

From the kitchen....... I am on a popcorn kick. Gotta love it!

I am wearing...... T-shirt, workout pants and socks. Just relaxin'.

I am creating......ummmm nothing? Unless you want to count Christmas cards?

I am going......to exercise tomorrow and do laundry...really..I am....

I am reading...... The Shunning by Beverly Lewis...AGAIN. I love that story.

I am hoping...... that Thanksgiving is a fun time with my in-laws!

I am hearing....... the TV in the background and my husband on the computer in his MAN CAVE.

Around the house...... a candle is glowing as well as my pretty fall decorations which I'm sad have to come down in a few days.

One of my favorite things....... having dinner with my husband.

A few plans for the rest of the week...... to have a wonderful Thanksgiving and then get to put up Christmas lights afterwards!

A sunny stroll

Today it was such a beautiful sunny day that I had to get out and enjoy it. There is a new walk-way that goes right next to the river that is across the street from our apartment. Remember I was telling you that the city was working on a new walk/bike path? This is part of that. Anyways.... here's a few pics!

This is that part of the river that is straight across from our building, at the beginning of the walk way.

This is where the fork in the river is, hence the name for the town, Belle Fourche, which means Beautiful Forks in French.

A little farther down the river...

Here's the trail....

A sweet little bench just in case you wanted to sit and watch the river flow by.

Can you spy the flag? It reminded me today about the election coming up in five days and wondering what the outcome will be. I'm anxious and a bit worried but I just have to remember it's in God's hands. He knows our needs and has a plan for us.

It's almost Halloween!

My hubby and I bought a couple pumpkins and have been waiting to carve them until right before Halloween. So we did that fun project last night! Here's a few fun pictures of our night...

Mine is the big one and my dh's is the small.

There he is...carving away. Maybe he should be a hand model, eh? It looks like he's posing.

Here's mine with my face drawn on

Sorting out the pumpkin seeds from the goop....it's so sticky!

The finished product! Aren't they cute?

Not to mention the bonus of roasted pumpkin seeds!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Just another tuesday night....

Over the past weekend out at my parents ranch we had the most delicious pork tenderloin. Ohhh....it was so good. And so easy. I never really knew what to do with one, but after seeing mom make one it looked so simple and was so yummy that I had to try it. Plus, pork tenderloin is about as expensive as hamburger so why not!? And it's so much better. All you do is rub olive oil all over it and then sprinkle with your favorite herbs (thyme, parsley) maybe a little minced garlic, s&p and throw it in the oven (I put mine in a cake pan) at 350 degrees for about two hours. Wonderful. I encourage you to give it a whirl!

Ah yes, the recipe!

Applesauce Bread
from Paula Dean


1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. dark brown sugar
2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. allspice
1 t. vanilla
1 c. applesauce
2 eggs
1 cup raisins
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8 by 4 by 3-inch loaf pan. Cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the remaining ingredients except the raisins and nuts. Mix well until blended. Stir in the raisins and nuts. Pour into the loaf pan. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes.

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Now, my hubby isn't a walnut fan in his bread, and I am not a raisin fan. SO, I omitted these but I'm sure they would be good in it. I also didn't have dark brown sugar so I just used light brown. Mine also only took 55 mins. to bake but I just think it's due to my crazy oven.

Enjoy!

There's more than one way to use up applesauce

Remember when I was saying I felt like I had apples coming out my ears? Well, now I realized that applesauce is not exactly my hubby's favorite. Great. Now what am I to do with all of it?! I happened to be watching the Food Network the other day (I love that channel) and Paula Dean was on making Applesauce Bread. What a good idea! I made a loaf today since I'm in a cozy baking mood-must be the chilly weather- and it smells wonderful. It just came out of the oven and I cant wait to try a slice!

Fall is here...

You can definitely tell that it is Autumn. Apples are ripe and everyone is trying to give them away to anyone who will take them. It seems like every Friday my Mom gets together with my friend G. and I to do some big project, either canning peaches or pears, applesauce, etc. This Friday we bagged up apples to freeze for pies or crisps. We did 34 quarts in just a matter of a few hours work!

My hubby and I have been going on walks since it has been so beautiful these past days. I just love this time of year with the trees turning and the cooler days. It makes me really appreciate the beautiful area we live in and get to see every day. The city just put in a new bike path and here's a picture of what we get to walk through!

Canning, canning and more canning!

My Mom, sister-in-law, friend Gloriann and I have been doing more canning than I even thought I would in my whole lifetime! I always said I NEVER would can when I was a girl- now I'm eating my words. We have canned peaches, pears, applesauce and apple butter in the past few weeks. With all these canned goods I have no room in our apartment to store them! Since I have cupboards in my kitchen with space on the top for decorations I have decided to display them along with all my fun fall things. It's pretty and functional!

September is my favorite month

It isn't really...well, maybe it is. I don't know for sure if I actually have a favorite month. But it IS the month that my birthday is in! I just celebrated it on Monday with my husband. It is the first time since we have been married that we have celebrated either of our birthdays.

My husband is sooooo sweet and thoughtful that he made me a special dinner. Now, the day of my birthday he didn't tell me anything, only that I should expect to have dinner with him, but not saying where or if he was making it, etc. Actually, I figured it out (that he was cookin') but only because he bumped into a friend of ours in the grocery store and she visited me at work and mentioned that she saw my DH there and asked if he was just making dinner for my birthday or if he did it every week. So I told him that I KNEW he was cooking but he wouldn't tell me what. Well, that wonderful man of mine made Cordon Bleu, mashed potatoes and baked broccoli.

Mmmmmm it was SO good! I had never had Cordon Bleu before, and he had never made it before either but it was so delicious. Then to top it all off he bought me a dozen beautiful red roses - the LAST dozen in the whole town. My two younger brothers also bought me two green roses that are pictured with DH's red roses which was very sweet of them.

It was the first time I had received a dozen roses from him also. It was such a wonderful evening and a great way to celebrate and it will be a fond memory to look back on as our years together grow.

My First Apple Pie

Welcome to my blog! I'm excited to get started and share with you all. My first post....APPLE PIE!

So I have been married now a few months, a little over three to be exact, and I really feel like a grown up now more than ever. You know, bringing a salad to supper with friends, making the green bean casserole for Thanksgiving, etc. Stuff I remember seeing my mom, aunts, and grandmas do when I was a little girl. Now I am doing it!

Now, I have always been intimidated by pie. The crust must be flaky and light, the filling juicy but not too moist or the crust will be soggy, and baking it for the right amount of time and not burning anything...scary. But my mom has inspired me this weekend by sending me an apple corer/slicer/peeler! It was taking me forever to do all those steps with a paring knife- now it's no time at all! Ahhhh.

First of all I didn't even have any pie plates so I had to use tinfoil pans, and I had to split the crust recipe in half so I wasn't sure if it'd be ok....the apples seemed a bit wet when I folded them together with the spices, I was only supposed to have enough apples for one pie but ended up with enough for two, OH, and the pies baked way faster then they were supposed to. But I made 'em - and they were very delicious! I was so relieved. I just wanted to be able to make a pie as well as my momma and I think she would've been proud.