I am so blessed!

The mail lady brought a nice surprise for me today! Got a special package from my very sweet friend, Candy. I was sooooo excited to open it!

Candy is a wonderful lady I met through this wonderful world of blogging and we have become great friends! The name of her blog is "At Home With Candy". Go check it out! Candy shares beautiful pictures and inspiring thought-provoking posts. (You should especially see her kitchen redo. Candy and her husband did an amazing job!)

Anyway, back to the package...

Everything was carefully wrapped and I was delighted as I unwrapped each thing! Black & white kitchen towels that will match in my kitchen so perfectly...A BEAUTIFUL HAND-SEWN heart sachet...A sparkly "J" that's oh-so-pretty...A little heart soap in a sweet sheer drawstring bag (wish you could smell it - soooo wonderful!)...A cute little white rose...A beautiful Christmas card and a heartwarming handwritten letter. Candy also thought of my family and included a little something for them, too. Isn't she just the most thoughtful thing? Yes indeed, I treasure her friendship very much!

THANKS, CANDY! YOU ARE A SWEETHEART AND YOU MADE MY DAY!!!!!

So, go visit Candy's blog now, okay? You'll be glad you did!

Christmas stockings for sale!

I have some Christmas stockings to offer for sale! Each stocking is lined and cost $15 (which includes shipping charges). Please e-mail @ shell.treasurethemoment@yahoo.com if you are interested. Thanks for looking!

Holiday Openhouse...

Tonight was the culmination of the craft frenzy that's been going on around here recently. I held the craft open house that I had mentioned in an earlier post. The turnout wasn't quite what I was hoping for...but I do think it's hard to schedule something that is going to fit well with the schedules of a big group - especially as we jump into the holiday season and everyone becomes busier than ever. I enjoyed some nice conversation with the ladies who attended and it was a good time! They were very complementary and I appreciated their positive feedback. (I have been contemplating the opening of an Etsy shop for many months now and I may just do that!)

There were picture frames, altered clipboards, altered journals, aprons, Christmas stockings and ornaments, memory boxes, peppermint bath salts, vanilla sugar body scrub, tags - quite a nice variety and many of the items were unique "one-of-a-kind" gift items.

Here some pictures of the big night....I am one tired chick, let me tell ya!

Thanks for looking!

My family...

Family pictures of the five of us are kinda rare ~ hate to say that, but they are. So, on that note, let me share this one with you! It was taken on Thanksgiving Day at my in-law's house.

QUITE a deal!

I really love getting good deals! Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am super-duper thrifty and I don't like to pay full price for anything!

For a while now I've been wanting to find a nice waist length coat for cold weather. I knew just what I was looking for, too. Something tailored, classic style. I wanted one that could be worn with jeans and look more casual but could also be paired with a nicer dress-up outfit. The big thing is I didn't want to pay A LOT for it. (I know, I know - I'm a cheapskate :)

I was thrifting around last week and found THE COAT - yup, I sure did! Right style, right color, right size and it was only SEVEN BUCKS! Yippeeeeee - I was inwardly doin' the "happy dance" in the store! LOL

Hope everyone enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving...have a great weekend!

**Please overlook my crafting mess in the background - hey, I've been busy working! HA HA

A Thanksgiving reminder...

I saw this on a sign while I was out doing some shopping today......


"Thanksgiving wasn't meant to be only one day"



How true is THAT?!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my blogging friends. May your holiday be wonderful and lots of happy memories be made!

Something important to remember...

As I shared in my last post, things are just CRAZY BUSY right now around my house getting ready for the craft open house...but I wanted to take a few minutes to share something tonight.

I had a few errands to run today and was on my way out of the store when I overheard a conversation between a young mother and a little girl, probably about 3 or 4 years old. The mom was yelling at the little girl to hurry up and telling her that they just didn't have TIME! The little girl asked her mommy, "But why? Why do we have to hurry?"

I got into my car and was still thinking about that exchange between the mom and little girl. It made me think back to when my kids were small. Seems like we WERE always in a hurry. I thought about the times I didn't just slow down and stop. I didn't take the time as often as I should have to just ENJOY my kids. Now, I really wish I would have....

I wish I would have not been in such a hurry. Now I ask myself, "What was I rushing off TO?" I can honestly say nothing that mattered THAT much. (If it did, I'd probably remember it.)

Of course I understand that we all have responsibilities and busy lives but I really do think we need to maybe take a step back and ask ourselves what is really important - especially as we enter this holiday season. Let's not make it just more "busyness"- running here and there, buying stuff we don't need, can't afford, meeting deadlines - and on and on it goes.

Take time to value the ones you love. We are not promised tomorrow. Life indeed passes by so quickly. It doesn't wait until "we've got time". No, instead time marches on, whether we like it or not...

I'm alive, just busy

Hello all! Guess I've been "missing in action" around this blog lately. I've been keeping myself pretty busy between family life and getting things prepared for the craft openhouse that I'm finally going to have at the end of this month. (I faced a few issues with that but now everything is coming together - whew!)

I'll be sure to share pictures of everything. First I've gotta get through a few holiday choir concerts that my girls will be singing in, parent-teacher conferences, Thanksgiving and our very adorable niece's 1st birthday party (I'm making a special scrapbook for her b-day)...so if I'm a bit scarce, that's where I'll be! 

Hope everyone is having a great week!

This one's for you, Jennifer!

My friend, Jennifer, over at God's Not Done With Me Yet, asked if I would share the taco dip recipe. No problem!

SEVEN LAYER TACO DIP

1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
1 large tomato, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch chopped green onions
1 small head iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1. In a medium bowl, blend the taco seasoning mix and refried beans. Spread the mixture onto a large serving platter. (**I actually used a 9x13 pan.)
2. Mix the sour cream and cream cheese in a medium bowl. Spread over the refried beans.
3. Top the layers with salsa. Place a layer of tomato, green bell pepper, green onions and lettuce over the salsa, and top with Cheddar cheese. Garnish with black olives.

*Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com

Very easy and tasty recipe...enjoy!

Taco dip and games

Oh, I had nothing to worry about last night with people being - oh, shall we say - OVERZEALOUS in their game playing! ha ha ha

Nah, everyone had a lot of fun. My daughters brought one of their many versions of "Scene It" DVD games over to play. Scene It Jr. was the one they picked. We formed two teams and played it for a while. We were all laughing and it was a good time.

I made layered taco dip to take over. It turned out really good! 

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Game Night!

Tonight is "Game Night" at the Life Group we go to for church! Everyone's bringing finger foods and their favorite game. Just a "hang-out-and-have-fun" kind of night.

Ya know, I have to admit that I never really have enjoyed playing games very much....and I still really don't! I guess I was always kind of the "party pooper" of the group! I don't really know quite why I don't like games; I just don't.

I'm not really a competitive person and I don't care about winning or losing. (Maybe that's it?) I always kind of inwardly chuckle at people who take game playing to serious levels of competition. You know, like their very life depends it or something?! ha ha Oh, I don't say anything out loud but I find it kind of humorous as I'm thinking, "C'mon now - it's ONLY a game!"

Have you ever played games with someone who gets mad at you if you aren't playing it right or you don't catch on quick enough? Yup, my hand is raised - I've had THAT experience before. (Not exactly looking forward to repeating it either so I hope -boy, do I EVER hope I don't have to tonight!)

Or how 'bout the people who get mad at you because you don't wanna play? Been in that crowd, too! ha ha

Am I the ONLY one here who feels this way about board games or are there more of you out there, too?