I Have A Goal

It is that time of year again. You know what I mean. Thanksgiving and Christmas preparations all rolled into one. The past two weeks I have been a busy and I do mean BUSY bee! You see I have a goal. I want to be finished with my Christmas decorating and shopping by December 1st. I think I just might make it! :-)


I am having my family and my husband's family at our home for Thanksgiving dinner. I am doing all of the cooking.....with some help from my very capable children. :-) I started a couple of weeks ago preparing some things ahead and freezing them. Pecan tassies, sugar cookies, cornbread for the dressing, and other desserts are cooked and ready to go. I will start on the rest Tuesday and cook right up until the big day. The table is set and awaiting guests. The groceries are bought and the turkey is thawing.


I started my decorating early this year. I have been able to take my time and just enjoy the process. I have had so much fun. Everything is done! Yea! Of course the dining room and kitchen still are decked out in Fall finery but I have all of the decorations gathered and ready for Christmas tablescapes.


I worked outside raking leaves and just generally cleaning up. I even enjoyed that. I love the weather this time of year. Not too hot and not too cold.....it is just right!


In between all of the other activities, I have been shopping. I still have a few things to pick up but I am basically done. I have the wrapping paper, tags, and bows ready. I plan to take care of this during some football games today.

You are probably asking yourself why I am in such a rush. Well I want to be able to truly enjoy all of the Christmas programs and parties. I have some handwork I would like to finish and some books to read. I also have a husband who is having surgery the day before Thanksgiving on his arm and I want to be free to go into nurse mode and take good care of him. I suppose the surgery also put things into perspective. The thing that is always the most important should be time spent with family and friends. And that brings me to my most important goal. To have a holiday season free from the normal stresses that this time of year brings and just enjoy all of the glory around me. I want to be able to focus on the true meaning of this holiday season and that is the real reason....."I have a goal". Have a blessed weekend!

Thank You

Today is Veterans Day. A day to pause and pay tribute to the men and women of our Armed Forces. We have a long history of heroes in this country. I attended a service were the veterans were honored and was deeply touched . Several of my family members have served in the military. I grew up recognizing the sacrifices made by both the soldier and his or her family.

My Dad served in the Army during the Korean War. He replaced telephone poles and lines in Germany that had been destroyed during World War II. I can remember a magazine that I frequently looked at when I was a small child. My Dad was high up on a telephone pole in the cover picture. I thought he was the bravest man in the world. He was in Germany during Christmas and had a picture of the German Santa Claus. I took that picture to school a million times. All of my friends were in awe. None of us could figure out why Santa would change clothes just to go to Germany. :-) I still look at the pictures of my Dad during his years of service with pride. That big green album holds many memories for my Dad. He feels so honored to be allowed to serve his country.

My Uncle Ralph was in World War II. As soon as he arrived safely home from the battle front, my Uncle Sid left to continue the fight. I can't imagine how my grandmother must have felt. All three of her sons were in the army. Fortunately they were in at different times, but she must have had years and years of worry. Never knowing if they would all return home safely.

I talked to my Dad this morning and wished him a happy Veteran's Day. We remembered my Uncles who are now in heaven. They were quite a threesome back then. He remembers them all getting their draft notices. "Greetings from the United States Military", was the opening sentence. I am sure my grandparents went to the mailbox with anxiety during that time in history not knowing which one of their sons would be next.

I hope we all take time to say a heartfelt thank you to veterans and their families today. It isn't just a day off or a day for shopping the sales. It is a day to show our appreciation for a job well done to preserve the freedoms that we all enjoy!

It's That Time Of Year

Yes, it is that time of year. Time to pull out my mini loaf pans and shower my family with delicious pumpkin bread. They all expect it just as soon as they feel a nip in the air. For the last 25 years I have given family members a small loaf of pumpkin bread as a little goodie to celebrate Fall's arrival. When my children were small we always delivered these on Halloween. I told the kids that it was our "treat" for family and friends. Many of the people we visited didn't have many trick or treaters so they always looked forward to our visit and the pumpkin bread. This year was no different. I still pulled out the pans and baked. I had to mail the loafs to my children and they were both happy to receive their treat!


I found some cute ribbon at Michael's to add that special touch. I wanted to share the recipe with you. It is one of those never fail recipes. The bread is so moist and just taste like fall! YUMMY!
The recipe came from my OLD Pillsbury Kitchens cookbook. The page looks terrible.....stained and faded so you know it has to be good. :-)

Pumpkin Bread
15 oz. can (2 cups) pumpkin
3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2/3 cup water
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger

Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour bottoms only of two 9x5 loaf pans (or 8-10 mini loaf pans).In large bowl blend first 5 ingredients. Beat 1 minute at medium speed. Add remaining ingredients; blend at low speed until moistened. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350 for approximately 50-60 minutes. Watch the mini pans closely ( they will cook faster). Cool 5 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely.


Your kitchen will smell wonderful and trust me the bread will taste great!


I love to light my pumpkin scented candle, fix a cup of hot tea, put up my feet, and eat a piece of yummy pumpkin bread.


I am ready to sit down and enjoy the moment. I am going to knit a while and eat a while.... just enjoy a peaceful evening. Did you notice that even my two knitting projects have the look of pumpkin bread.....It definitely is that time of year!

It Was All About The Shoes

The final day of the Southern Lady Celebration was filled with inspiration and laughter. Dr. Lael Melville gave the morning devotional followed by another wonderful breakfast. Then we all laughed until we cried thanks to comedian, Bobbie Staten. Phyllis Hoffman topped off the morning by talking about her new book, Honey, It's All In The Shoes.


Once again the room was decorated to perfection. In keeping with the theme, each table was decorated with an arrangement that featured a different shoe. The base was a plastic shoe box. The flowers were hydrangeas, yellow roses, and peach roses. The florist had bought shoes from Goodwill and elevated the shoe above the arrangement. I know it is hard to see in the picture, but our shoe was an old fashioned boot. I have plans for this shoe....just wait and see! Such a creative idea! At the end of the morning we were given the opportunity to purchase the centerpieces for $5. Needless to say I jumped at the chance! On the way home my daughter and I planned a tablescape and the next morning I made it come to life.


I knew the perfect place to set my table. What could be better than breakfast outside on a beautiful fall morning?


I used my Blue Willow china and some placemats I had recently purchased at TJ Maxx. My light blue stemware picked up the light blue in the arrangement perfectly.


I got you a small present in Savannah. It goes right along with the "theme" of the day!


Aren't these cute! We found these at a little shop. Trust me the "shoe" tasted just as good as it looks! :-)


My daughter had thought about using hydrangeas and yellow roses for her wedding. The convention certainly reinforced that decision. They just looked lovely and lasted for over a week after we were home.

Our gift for the day was a travel shoe bag. What could have been more appropriate? I plan to use it as a patten to make several more bags. After all, it is all in the shoes and as ladies we certainly must travel with more than one pair. :-)

Happy Birthday Southern Lady!

It has taken me a while to organize all of my pictures from the Southern Lady Celebration but I am finally ready to share some more of the fun with all of you! Better late than never .....right?

On the second day of the celebration my daughter and I started our day with a delicious breakfast and of course lots of good conversation with all of our new friends. HGTV's gardening expert, Erica Glasener shared some of her wonderful ideas for our Southern gardens. She took us step by step through the seasons with beautiful pictures and helpful advice. The cooking experts from Hoffman Media inspired and entertained us all with helpful tips and recipes for the upcoming holidays. I plan to share some of these ideas and recipes in the future.


The big event on Saturday was the "Birthday Bash" that evening. We were celebrating 10 years of Southern Lady Magazine and you can not imagine how beautiful the room was decorated! It was like the birthday party of your dreams. Dottie Smith of Edgar's Bakery in Alabama and her staff had decorated every table in the room with a four tiered cake. Each and every one was unique! Of course they were surrounded by packages wrapped to perfection. The cakes were done on a base of styrofoam. We had several discussions on how the decorations were formed on the cakes.....no one really figured it out. The picture above was of the table at the front of the room. Those cakes were huge and gorgeous. I have tired to pick a few of my favorites to share with you. Hope you enjoy!







These are just a FEW of the lovely cakes we saw. Aren't they just incredible! I definitely need to take a cake decorating class.....Soon! I have so many ideas and really need to perfect some skills to be able to produce a masterpiece. LOL Oh well, a girl can dream.



I created a tablescape using something I brought home from the "celebration". I will be sharing it with you soon! Happy Birthday Southern Lady Magazine! Thanks for inspiring us all!

Be A Buddy.....Lend A Hand

Volunteers do not necessarily have more time; they just have more heart. Author Unknown

Fall has arrived in glorious form the past few days. This weekend my family spent the day together. We enjoyed spending time outside and helping out a worthy cause at the same time.

My son is a Music Therapy Intern. He is working on his degree, but is already able to work with individuals of all ages with varying degrees of mental and physical challenges. This weekend he sponsored a team for the National Down Syndrome Societies Buddy Walk. Of course we all wanted to support this worthy cause. My husband, daughter, and I met my son at the local event. Thousands showed up and thousands of dollars were raised for the cause. I was so impressed with those who volunteered to sponsor teams, staff booths, entertain, and hundreds of other things that must be done in order for an event like this to become a reality. Their were thousands of people who sponsored teams to raise money for these individuals. Like the quote says.......these folks (including my son) :-) have a tremendous amount of heart! We all are given the same amount of time in a day. Some just choose to use it in a very selfless way.


It was a rather cold and windy day and I packed a little Fall picnic for us. The society furnished hamburgers and hotdogs but I furnished the "fun" snacks. I got a new cake pan on Saturday and I tried it out on Sunday. My son was pretty impressed with the Georgia Bulldog cake! It wasn't perfect but for a first try....not bad. :-)


We enjoyed hot chocolate and popcorn as well and the kids took all of the leftovers home.

We were all so impressed with the entertainment that was provided by the kids and their family members. In my opinion it was a perfect afternoon, I didn't even notice the cold.....too much. :-)

I found a quote last night that really could apply to the volunteers and the individuals for whom they were working.

I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do. Edward Everett Hale


Son, your Dad and I are proud of you. Thanks for including us all in your day for the kids. You are a fine young man with a heart of gold!

White Elegance

My daughter and I entered the ballroom wide eyed. The room was aglow with a "white elegance".
The centerpieces and decorations were all done in white. So beautiful and the perfect "accessory" to the opening evening of the Southern Lady Celebration 2009.

We had a marvelous meal. The best part was the dessert....passion fruit mousse! Not only pretty to look at but also yummy to the palate. I would have taken more pictures but the lighting was very soft and it was difficult to photograph.


The first speaker was Diana Hansen, owner of White Flowers. This is an all-white shop located in Birmingham, Alabama. Phyllis Hoffman interviewed her in an "Oprah Style" setting. She was described as "a gifted artist - entrepreneur". She was truly inspiring and is a woman who has truly let go and let God have the lead in her life. She and her husband are both truly gracious and talented individuals. Their store is completely white. The ceiling, walls, floor, and all merchandise is white. She said that every Saturday night for the past 26 years she and her husband have repainted the floor of their store white. I thought that was a very interesting tidbit. You can imagine that it would definitely have to be done in order to maintain the cool, calm, environment of an all white store. The beautiful tea towel in the photo was a gift from Diana. I love the simple elegance of the towel and the beauty of the words inscribed on it.


Sister Schubert Barnes was the next speaker of the evening. She truly looks and speaks just as you would imagine. Sweet, southern, and classy are three of the words I would use to describe her. The bread we had with the meal was her famous Parkerhouse Roll. What started in her own kitchen is now a multimillion dollar business. They produce over 5 million rolls a day! Now that's a lot of rolls. She has phenomenal faith and has a true passion for the children of the Ukraine. Amazing is a word that would best describe all that she has been able to accomplish. The picture above is a cookie that was in our "goodie" bag for the evening.


I told you that I was inspired by many things at this celebration. When my daughter and I ate the rolls with dinner we both recognized the taste. You see they tasted exactly like my Mother's rolls. I have tried many times to make these rolls. I have never been successful. Well, I was inspired and motivated. I tried again today and I am proud to say that......I did it! Thanks Sister Schubert! Yes that is my roll pictured above with some apple cranberry butter. Yummy!
Fortunately, Sister Schubert was kind enough to give us a coupon for a free package of rolls....much easier than baking them myself. At least I now know that I can make them if necessary. LOL I was also inspired by a beautiful blouse that she wore during her speech. I knew that it would be perfect for some special occasions I have coming up. I did find one during our many shopping expeditions but I thought $350 was a little much. After a lot of searching on the internet I found the pattern. I ordered it and should have it in a couple of days. I will let you know how it turns out. Keep your fingers crossed!

When my daughter and I returned to our room we spent the rest of the evening enjoying some of the magazines in our "goodie" bags. Such fun! I felt like I was a kid again going to a party everyday. Next up is Saturday morning. Gardening and cooking.......something every "Southern Lady" loves!