Movie Swap

I don't think I ever told y'all about this movie swap I was in. We had to buy a movie along with some of our favorite treats to send to our partner. I chose to send my partner The Last of the Mohicans. It is one of my favorite movies and probably not one I would have ever watched on my own had my English teacher in high school not showed it to us. I so thought I was gonna marry Daniel Day-Lewis. Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Antonio Banderas also!! I also sent my partner Twizzlers-a favorite in our house!!, peanut M&M's, and Orville Redenbacher's Simply Salted Natural popcorn, all in an aqua enamel bowl. The bowl is perfect for a bag of popcorn with peanut M&M's mixed in-yummy!! I would highly recommend watching The Last of the Mohicans if you haven't already seen it.


Here is the package all wrapped up and ready to go. I just love making gifts look special!!

I somehow neglected to take a photo of what I received from my partner. Bad, I know...Anyway, she did good. I got a triple play movie-One Fine Day, The Truth About Cats & Dogs, and A Walk in the Clouds(thought I was gonna marry Keanu Reeves, too!!) Chick flicks at their best!! Also, she sent me some popcorn, Jelly Belly jelly beans, jelly beans coated in Nerds, and peanut butter M&M's-my kids helped me eat the candy, of course!! My partner also sent me a mixed cd of her favorite movie tunes. She was so creative in her gift and I really appreciate it!!

What is your favorite movie?? Can't wait to see the answers...

Just because he's cute...

Fisher, 51/2 months

Autumn Recipe and Tablescape Exchange

Heidi, at Foxgloves, Fabric and Folly is having an Autumn Recipe and Tablescape Exchange. I thought I would join in on the fun. Check out her blog for more beautiful ideas. For your viewing pleasure, I offer you a plate with two napkins layered and tied with an acorn and oak leaf ornament. Apparently, we are having finger foods!!

A close-up of some acorns and votive candle in a glass bowl. I would have loved to have coughed up a beautiful centerpiece for y'all but everything is packed up. I'm sure you will understand and forgive...
I have posted my favorite fall recipe here.

Uh huh, okay...

Um yeah, so we are not getting the house after all. How do you like them apples?? We are about 90% packed up with the exception of our master bedroom. There are boxes everywhere. Oh, and my Daddy just found out he has colon cancer. When it rains, it freakin' pours doesn't it?!?! At least I won another giveaway. Thank you Heidi!!

I am guessing you want details. I would. We were going with FHA. My husband has good credit, just not enough to go conventional without more money and a higher interest rate, etc. Funny, that lack of revolving credit should make your credit score go down as opposed to up. Apparently, FHA has a problem with the fact that the investor bought it just a month ago. He would have to hang onto the property until the end of November until trying to sell it to anyone having to go FHA.
We were thinking of trying a lease-purchase but we don't like the terms. What also sucks is that we just had an inspection done on the home and we had to have an appraisal per FHA. So we are out all that money now. Really freakin' sucky. Don't I sound so articulate right now?? You should have heard me last night. Anyhow. That's that. We keep a lookin'...And what? Unpacking?? That's what really stinks too, all my pretties are in ugly brown boxes. Sniff, sniff...

What I gave Emilie

Here is a little shot of what I gave to Emilie for the Ghoulishly Glamorous Swap. In the silver wrapped box is a pumpkin tassel. BOO letters, decoupaged with scrapbook paper then sprinkled with glitter, an apron that I made, fun dip, sour gummy worms, a ring pop(every girl needs a little bling!!), tissue, a notepad, glittery black EEK garland, cocktail napkins with her last initial. The two orange wrapped packages were little velvet coloring posters and a pumpkin sucker. I decoupaged a pail from Lowe's and glued pompoms and trim around to tuck all the goodies into.

A close-up of the tassel. Don't you just love my china?? I'm thinking the cabinet is about to get a makeover. The orange-y stain isn't gonna jive with my soon to be beautiful new cabinets.

The BOO letters. Hopefully the cuteness of everything else will make up for my atrocious glittering skills!!

The apron. Emilie hosts a mom's group call MOMents and I thought she could be the Hostest with the Mostest in this flirty little number!!

All packaged and ready to go!!

Ghoulishly Glamorous Swap

Oh my gosh y'all!! Look what Emilie sent me for the Ghoulishly Glamorous Swap that Tangee hosted. She did a great job on this. Emilie had everything packaged so cutely with little personalized tags. Notice the BOO banner-I made Emilie one that said EEK. Great minds think alike!! I am so excited because she is my partner again for Robin's Christmas Stocking Swap!! Oops, I just noticed that my pictures are reversed. Oh well...Take a look though. I love that raggy garland with cute little orange boo letters hidden in there. Ferrero Rocher, a super awesome black mug(I have already tested it out with hot cocoa), cute little blocks that say BOO and EEK, fun napkins which I love, her cute little conehead pumpkin, a black glittery cat, and a super cute fleur de lis. I love it all!!

Some of the cuteness on my mantle. Remember when the chalkboard was just a homely little mirror? The picture is of Jackson the Halloween he was one. He was a cat. Miss that little baby, but I love the little boy he is now. Oh, and I am shamelessly begging for a Christmas raggy garland. Can't you just see Christmas cards clipped to it?? I know at one time Emilie made the blocks and garland for her etsy shop, so if you just have to have some for yourself ask her. Oh, and you just know I love the name of her shop, The Worn Acorn. If I was in the market for anymore tattoos you can bet an acorn would find its way on!! That and a Christian fish-<><. Wow, I really digressed there!! Thanks again, Emilie!! I cannot wait to do the stocking exchange!!

A wee little house update

Hey Y'all,
The sellers signed the binding contract yesterday. We will close the 30th. As in September 30th!! We are just getting it inspected and providing that goes well, then we should be good to go. Thank you all for your comments and prayers, they mean a lot.
Happy Weekend!!
Elise

*The inspection went well. Only two little teeny tiny things that my husband can fix. Yay!! Hubby's boss is letting him take off after lunch this week so he can help pack and get everything ready to go. That will be a big help. Pray for our marriage though, I have a LOT of stuff that he thinks needs to go that I want to keep!! Surely some of y'all can relate!!

Tag, you're it!!

Cindy, at Home Simple Home tagged me, so I have to list 6 random things about myself.
Here goes:
1. I have a slight obsession with little plastic treat bags. I have them for every holiday. See photo above.
2. I have big pinky toenails.
3. I have two tattoos. A squirrel on my shoulder and my sorority letters in a wreath on my lower back. I'm guessing most of y'all would never have thought that!!
4. I have a bit of an obsession with numbers; in that I will take words on a billboard, add them together and say if I get the number 16 then I add the 1 and 6 together to get 7. I almost always add the numbers in 3's. Yes, I'm certifiable!!
5. I have 3 brothers and I am the baby of the first batch. My little brother has a different dad, but he and I and my second oldest brother favor more than the oldest. Except they are hotties and I am mildly cute.
6. My mom has 2 older brothers and was the 3rd and only girl. I have 2 older brothers and was the third and only girl. My brothers' lines of work were similar to the uncle they were in the birth order of. Oldest was in military, likewise, oldest uncle was also, second oldest self-employed, my mom has worked in direct sales-Tupperware, Mary Kay, and now Monavie, myself-Mary Kay, Southern Living at HOME, and I also sew for friends, etc. We are both creative. Oh, and the order of kids from her and her siblings were like mine and my brothers and our cousins-get what I am saying? Naturally, I thought I would have 2 boys and then a girl. God had other plans and messed my whole hypothesis up!!

Whew, guess you all know how weird, I mean, wonderfully made, I am now!! I have to tag 6 others. I will try to tag people I think haven't done this.
1. Amy from A little piece of Heaven
2. Emilie from Bunch of Scrap
3. Laura from Making a House a Home
4. Heather from Pursuing More Than Purls
5. Joyfullness from Joyfullness
6. Julie from Gingerbread Pumpkin

Could you be our new home??

At last, after a very long house hunt, we finally found one!! The sellers accepted our offer-yippee!! Tomorrow our agent will be meeting with the sellers to sign a binding agreement and so long as closing goes well, then we will be the proud new owners of this beautiful home!! The house is in a small neighborhood of only 10 homes, the builder went bankrupt and this house has never been lived in since 2005. Investors currently own it. We met them yesterday when we went to see the home. Y'all, I love it and never thought we would ever own something so nice.
I know y'all are dying to see the rest of it, but let me first tell you that it has 4 bedrooms or 3 and a bonus, 2.5 baths, a formal dining room(I have always wanted one of these!!), a laundry room, and a huge kitchen!! Oh, and look at that curb appeal!!

Walking thru the front door this is what you see. The foyer is 2 story and that is a loft area up top. This foyer is huge and I totally plan on getting a vintage chest of drawers to place on the left side. Where you see the lady standing is a door to the half bath. Up the stairs to the right is a bedroom and to the left is the bath and the other two rooms.

As you can tell these pictures are so not in sequence. Sorry...This is the master bath. Love the dark cabinets and marble-look countertop. Oh, and look it comes with a little person!!

This is the 2-story vaulted family room. To the left is the investor. Hello, Norm!! I was standing between the kitchen and eating area.

Wow, what a kitchen. Love all the cabinets and that raised bar area. Wanna Budweiser?? They had an 18 pack. The sink overlooks the living room so while I am washing up I can watch t.v.!! The door to the right right pass the kitchen is the laundry room. Across from it is the pantry. Beyond that is the formal dining.

Some more of the kitchen. They will be putting in a dishwasher and stove. I tell you, I am so excited to have so much cabinet and counter space!!

Here is the dining room. I am thinking we will paint the upper walls red. I have always wanted a red dining room. Of course, I was thinking robin's egg blue would be pretty too. So many colors to choose from. Feel free to give your input!! Oh, and check out those hardwood floors. My husband cannot stand carpet in a dining room. Guess he got lucky on this one.

Here is the bigger of the kid's bedrooms. Lilly has claimed this one as hers. We will see, the boys are sharing a room, so it makes sense to give them the bigger one.

The kid's bath. It is bigger than it looks here. Going from one toilet to three is going to be awesome!!

Here is that loft area that overlooks the foyer. I was thinking of putting an office area up here. It has the hookups for cable or internet/phone. I would want an armoire for it to make it look nicer. You seriously don't want to see my desk in its current state!!

Here is the family room. Look at all those windows. I love natural light!! I am even thinking of maybe not putting up blinds because as you can see the backyard is wooded. To the right is the eating area of the kitchen.

The master. Pretty standard. It even comes with two pillows!!

Here is the foyer looking from the family room. Check out those two windows on either side of the door. I love the light that is flooding in. There's that little girl again.

There she is again in the backyard. Camera hog...

The other kid's bedroom.

The family room looking from upstairs. I will want to be replacing that ceiling fan for something else. All in due time.


Here is the bonus. This one even comes with a closet. Yay!! Now that y'all have seen the home, please pray with us that everything else will go off without a hitch. This would be a blessing from God. This nice of a home and in our budget, nothing short of a miracle. It isn't even technically listed yet.
Thanks!! I will be back with some swappy fun as soon as I load my pictures. Emilie did such a great job putting together a great package for me!!

I finally won something!!

I can honestly say I have never won anything in my entire life. Never ever. I am not sure how I found this blog, but she has some cute ideas and loves heirloom white spray paint-my white of choice. Anywho, she had a giveaway and I decided to join, because who doesn't like a giveaway, right?? Well, guess what? I won!! Look at the cute box it came in. Notice my little Vanna White!!

Opening the box...chocolate!!

What else?? Starbucks coffee, Starbucks hot cocoa, a dipped spoon to stir in my coffee, a candle which is totally scrumptious, nail polish, Crabtree & Evelyn body wash and powder, and a copy of Real Simple family. I was totally spoiled and I love it!!


Now, go visit shabby daisy and tell Blue Magpie that I can now quit whining that I never win anything.
Thank you sooo much again, Blue Magpie!! I love it all!!
Oh, I also won something else. I know, I am on a roll!! You can bet when I receive it, I will share. All this winning has prompted me to host my own giveaway. I will be working on something fabulous in the next few weeks so y'all can be looking out!!
Oh again, we found a house and should know around noon tomorrow about it. IF we get it, then I will share pictures because I actually remembered to take my camera. It is a fabulous house and I would love to call it home.

Hope you all have a great night!!

Autumn's Glow

I know its been getting boring around here with no post in about a week!! I have done a little bit of Fall decorating and wanted to share. In the hurricane I put some hazelnut potpourri from Wal-Mart along with a small pillar candle. The crystal bowl has pinecones that have some moss and glitter, faux acorns with glitter, some vine balls(?) with copper wire and beads, and a shimmery pumpkin. I just put some beaded pumpkins in the apothecary jar. The squirrel photo came from Robin-love her!! And I swear The Nester is making me like gaudy gold frames!!

I have a question about Christmas stockings for y'all. Do you like all matching stockings or an eclectic assortment? I love this girl's stockings.

As always I value your comments and opinions!!
Elise

A Bit of Yumminess

Some friends of ours had their third baby about a week ago. Everytime someone that was in our Bible study has a baby, we all coordinate meals for the family. I took sausage quiche, pumpkin bread, and cantaloupe this time. I know that they like this food and I thought it would be a welcome change from the typical casseroles or spaghetti-type foods. Want the recipes?? Just scroll down. They are so yummy!!

Sausage Quiche

1 roll of sausage, browned and drained
10 eggs
1 cup of milk
2 cups of cheese
2 frozen pie crusts, thawed*

Simply combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk until frothy. Pour into 2 pie crusts. Place into 350 degree oven and cook for about 45 minutes-1 hour.
*Most of the time I do not use a pie crust, I simply just pour the mixture into 2 pie plates or a 9x13 dish.

Pumpkin Bread

3.5 cups flour
3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp each cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg
1 cup water
1 cup oil
4 eggs
1 can pumpkin

Combine all dry ingredients. Beat the wet ingredients, then pour into a well of dry ingredients. Fold until combined. Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour or until done in a 350 degree oven.

Hope you enjoy these recipes!! I know Fall has officially arrived in our household once the pumpkin bread is baked.

Losing weight the Wal-Mart way??

I think the writers of this article have it a little wrong. Likely, the reason people have experienced weight loss shopping at Wal-Mart is the placement of goods. Ever been in one section only to find that where you thought the item would be is clear across the store?? Yeah, me too. Anyway, if you want to read the article you can find it here.
I plan to post something yummy later on so come back.
Elise

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage Take 3

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Roots - Blank family tree

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage Take 2

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Family history - Family reunion

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage Take 1

Two Words

MAGIC ERASER

Bunnies, gaudy gold frames, and school

Hey Y'all!! I love me some bunnies and was so excited to find this at my home away from home, Goodwill. I am trying to decide whether to paint the frame an antique white, black, or leave it gold. Originally I liked the gaudy gold frame and thought I might just go over it with a more antique gold craft paint. What do you think? What would you do?

Oh, and we started school yesterday!! I have decided to go with Five In A Row. I somehow ended up with it last year. It seems to be going well so far. We are currently reading Lentil, because the library was out of the Ping book. Lentil is a very cute book about a little boy who couldn't whistle or sing so he took up the harmonica. I am very excited to take my children to a nearby town to look at memorial statues like the one in the book and I will also share all the scarecrows the town is making. They are trying to beat the current town in the Guinness Book for the most scarecrows. Its very interesting and funny. More later!!