A Fall Favorite--on Friday!!

There are so many things that I love about fall--the colors, the visible change in the landscape, the excitement of regular schedule and routine starting, the anticipation of what the school year will hold, the dull roar of farm machinery, the crispness of the air, and the motivation that I find once again to get back into my kitchen. 

Fall also brings to mind a couple of dishes that are family favorite and always on my list to make at least once as the leaves change.  I will share a few recipes over the next couple of days that are on this list.  First up today my grandma's Apple Crisp.  I have had bites of a few apple crisps in my day and hands down this is my absolute favorite. Of course, I may be biased, but go ahead try it. Maybe add a scoop (or two) of cinnamon ice cream. You will not be disappointed.  I guarantee it. 

Apple Crisp
8-10 medium to large apples, peeled & sliced
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup white sugar
1 Tbsp. flour
Mix and place in an 8x8 inch baking pan.  Add topping.
Topping:
1/2 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. butter or margarine (I use salted butter.)
1/8 tsp. salt (I skip this since I use the salted butter.)
1/8 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
Cut together with fork or pastry blender.  Place over apples.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes-one hour, or until apples are tender.
I do usually make a recipe and a half of the topping--just makes it that much better!  :)
Enjoy!

Things I Love Thursday--The Pampered Chef

A while back I did a post about my love for the smooth edge can opener by The Pampered Chef. Which got me thinking about how many of the kitchen utensils that I love and use frequently are actually items from The Pampered Chef. Let me say that I am not a demonstrator. I am not affiliated in any way with The Pampered Chef. I am simply a happy customer that is consistently pleased with the quality and utility of their products. That being said here are my "top 10" favorite items and most frequently used.

In no particular order:
smooth edge can opener
bamboo spoons
large batter bowl
small batter bowl
large serving spatula (the perfect spatula for cookies or lasagna)
mini serving spatula (the go-to for serving bars)
Measure-all measuring cup
Mix 'n scraper
small Mix 'n scraper
rotary grater

What it takes to make my list of favorites:
-These are hands down the items that I reach for with every recipe or meal that I make.
-Easy to clean--I run all these items through the dishwasher.
-With the exception of the rotary grater and can opener, I own multiples of all the rest. Seriously. I use them that often.
-Durability. I have owned similar utensils purchased through other venues. And replaced them with items from The Pampered Chef.

What is your favorite kitchen gadget or utensil (from The Pampered Chef or not)?

Go check out what other people are loving! Visit Jill over at The Diaper Diaries. You'll be glad you did!

Things I Love Thursday--Smooth Edge Can Opener

Jill over at The Diaper Diaries is hosting another "Things I Love Thursday". This week I want to talk about my healthy appreciation for quality cooking utensils. Please know that this is not a product review--as in no one is paying me to gush. That being said, I could go on and on about my love of many things Pampered Chef and maybe some time I will. Wouldn't THAT be gripping? A run down of my personal Top 10 Pampered Chef utensils...Now there IS something to look forward to. Yikes. Anyway, where was I? Have you tried the Pampered Chef Smooth Edge Can Opener? The whole reason I bought mine was that unlike standard hand-held can openers it WILL open those pull top cans. Am I the only one that hates those? Here is the answer:
It will open those stupid pull top cans, it leaves a "smooth edge" (go figure) on both the can and the lid and I love mine. In my opinion, it is totally worth every last penny of the $17.50 it cost.

To share something that you love or for more things that you can't or shouldn't live without, head on over and see Jill.

Things I Love Thursday--Yummy Snacks

I'm a little late to this whole "organic" craze. We live in a relatively rural area and our grocery stores have very small natural/organic sections. My choices of products are some what limited. But I have been venturing into that section a little more frequently and something that I routinely pick up are Cheetos Natural White Cheddar. Cheetos Natural are part of a line from Frito-Lay that contain no preservatives, no added colors or artificial flavors. And they are certified organic. Of course, they are now a favorite around here. Big surprise. But most importantly--they are very, very YUMMY.

Before you run off to the store to peruse the snacks in your organic section, head on over to The Diaper Diaries and check out what other things you can't or shouldn't live without!

Things I Love Thursday--Awesome Sleep

I must confess. I am a little of a sound spa addict. I guess it must've started back in college when we had fans and/or AC running non stop in the sleeping dorm of my sorority. The constant noise and energy consumption was necessary to maintain the appropriate air temp for a number reasons it also created the perfect sleeping environment. It was cold so three or four blankets were critical and it was quiet in a white noise sort of way. Whatever. I'm sure that doesn't make any sense but it is true. And to this day, I must have some sort of white noise by which to sleep.

Enter the sound spa. I am on my second one now. Both have been Homedics. The first one I had was small and designed to be a travel alarm. It worked really well but there were two features that I did not like. First, the sound was on a timer of an hour and I would find myself waking up when the sound shut off. I suppose it was because of whatever level of sleep I was in at the time. Secondly, the clock/alarm was hard to set. Not an issue if you don't care what time it is or what time you need to get up. If that's your life--awesome. Unfortunately, not mine. Nor was it even before kids. But I digress.

So, DH gave me a new one for Christmas. The best part of it and the KEY feature to me is that you can choose to have the sound run all night long. Perfect for me. It has six different "sounds" and an am/fm radio. It also, of course, has an alarm. Which I rarely use. It has the projection feature as well--so you can have the time up on the ceiling or the wall. This brings me to the one thing that I dislike about it. The light for the clock is ridiculously bright on dim. You could read by the glow of "bright". Seriously, I considered tanning goggles a serious option the first couple of nights. I also would ask you to use caution if you live near an airport. Pilots might be distracted. But I sleep awesome with it running. It goes with me on weekend trips and vacations. I would forgo a pair of shoes to make room for it in my luggage. We are talking serious addiction. I may need an intervention. Possibly.

For more things you really shouldn't live without, head on over and see Jill at Diaper Diaries.

Things I Love Thursday--Freeware

Okay, so I have to say that I struggled this week coming up with something that I truly love to share...but in the interest of getting back to regular blogging--here it is. Probably a touch weak and really isn't necessarily a LOVE, but more something that I have found to be handy.

I do quite a bit of volunteering--primarily at our church and have found from time to time that it would be handy to create a PDF from a document that I've worked on or created. I discovered some freeware that makes this super easy--Cute PDF. You can check them out here.

So, this concludes the sad and pitiful TILT post. That's all I've got. Head over to Diaper Diaries for more items that are truly more exciting! I promise!

Things I Love Thursday--Norwex

Happy Thursday, Everyone. Once again, Jill over at Diaper Diaries is hosting a Things I Love Thursday so I feel obligated to share!! I have a new "thing" I love! I recently received some products from Norwex from my parents. Among the few items I now own are the universal microfiber cleaning cloth and the antibacterial window cloth.


Here's the deal to say wash the window in your screen door. You wet the microfiber cloth with water. Fold it, wipe the door down and follow with the window cloth. I was skeptical--but holy cow people! The results are awesome. I've now used it on the mirror in the bathroom and to clean up the nose and little hand prints from the bottom panes of the windows with the same great result. And really, can you get any easy than that? Easy, safe to use around the kiddos and not harmful to the environment. The cleaning cloth can be used to clean all sorts of surfaces--I actually also used it to wipe down our leather couch. The best part? When you need to wash it--drop it in the washer. The only inconvenience? You are not to wash it with items that generate lots of lint--like towels and it's not to be exposed to fabric softener. And I suppose it is an inconvenience that you have to order through a rep. But really? Totally worth it.

So that is one thing that I now love. Head over to Diaper Diaries and check out other items that you can't or shouldn't live without!

Things I Love Thursday--Bagolitas by Janice

I've written about Bagolitas before--but for those of you that missed it...This week, I'd like to introduce you to Bagolitas by Janice! Bagolitas are a line of absolutely gorgeous spunky handbags, tote bags and accessories. You really must visit her website and look around. Every time I visit her site I find something else that I think I can't live without.
Beautiful, sassy handbags like this one:

This is the "beverly" style in the Chicklet pattern. Love it. Love. It.



The bag I have was a speciality bag that her team did as a fundraiser for an organization that I am a part of. DH bought the "benny" style for me and it is absolutely perfect as a tote for my Bible study books and other meeting materials.



So, go and check out Bagolitas by Janice. They are celebrating their third year and have some speciality bags in honor of the occasion. There are bibs, eye glass cases, pursemates and she has recently added a line of spunky kitchen items--spunky aprons, oven mitts and gloves!

And by the way--this is by no means a paid advertisement or product review. Just me, a happy customer with a sassy, spunky bag passing the word on because this is one of the Things I Love and it is Thursday!

For more products that you can't or shouldn't live without head over and see Jill at Diaper Diaries.

Things I Love Thursday--Swaddle Designs

Jill over at Diaper Diaries does a weekly segment on Thursdays called "Things I Love". This week she has invited others to join her and link back to share. So because I'm always looking for bloggy material I thought I would participate.

My first post for "Things I Love Thursday" is to share my love for the Swaddle Designs Ultimate Receiving Blanket. A friend gave us our first Swaddle Designs blanket at a baby shower when I was preggo with Princess Pigtails. To be honest, I really hadn't done much reading about swaddling and wasn't sure that I needed a particular blanket for said business. But I was so wrong.

If you are a believer in swaddling your little one--which I am now-- then you know that not just any old receiving blanket will do. Most are too small and/or have some obnoxious graphic or print on them. The Swaddle Designs blanket is awesome! It is a perfect square and is BIG (42"x42")--which is ideal for swaddling. It is super snuggly soft and maintains that softness despite all of the laundering. I found myself wishing that I had six more--because of the number of times I stood impatiently waiting at the dryer for the blanket to be done so I could wrap the precious one up! The blanket is a great weight and the color options allow for coordination with nearly any nursery. It was a nice transition to a "blankie" for Princess Pigtails once she was past the swaddling stage. You know I ran out and bought one for The Little Man before I could consider the nursery "baby ready"! I should've picked up a package of the absolutely adorable Baby Burpies or one of the Baby Lovies while I was at it!

Head on over to Diaper Diaries to read about more items or products you shouldn't or can't live without!

Shop, Shop, Shop!

So, the theme of today's Works for Me Wednesday is something that I love and has made my life so much easier: on-line shopping! I've already shared my thoughts on my absolute favorite e-tailer. But there are a few more sites that I've come to count on for a good deal, great selection and awesome service:

For shoes for the whole family, I look to Zappos.com. Beyond the wide selection of shoes, the customer service and return policy at Zappos is outstanding. Stop over and check them out!

For Christian books, music and gifts, I head over to Christian Book Distributors. I've purchased a number of materials through them both for personal and group studies and the folks at CBD have always come through for me.

For miscellaneous household items, books, etc. I have always had good results at Amazon.com .

These are a few of my favorite sites. Where do you head for a great deal? Share yours and check out other great on-line shopping leads, head over to Rocks In My Dryer.

For the Love of Shopping

Let me just say that I love Land's End. My obsession began when I purchased a diaper bag similar to this prior to the arrival of Princess. I have not been disappointed with my purchase and the quality is superior at a reasonable price.

Well, in the short 2 1/2 years since that original purchase, I have bought all sorts of items such as these or this or that or the other thing. I have unofficially begun to refer to this as the Winter of Land's End. Seriously, in the month of November and the first part of December, the UPS man delivered no less than 1 box/week from my favorite e-tailer.

I had a new experience during my shopping frenzy this fall. For a couple of different reasons I had to contact their customer service center. In this day and age of minutes/hours/days of automated prompts and loops of cheesy music while you wait to actually speak to a live person, on the occasions that I had to call Land's End, imagine my surprise when a REAL LIVE person answered within one or two rings. No automated greetings, no "press 5, then 2, then 3888993383" and best of all no waiting to talk to a honest to goodness live person who was able to assist me without argument or in depth pleading on my part to have my request met.

Oh, Land's End how I love thee!

And then today, in the mail, I received a gift card from my favorite e-tailer, simply because when I originally ordered these toasty mittens for Princess they were not available in her size. (I was later able to snatch up a pair in her size, and they honored my original free shipping code that I had used...) How's that for making sure I stay a customer for life? And publicly declare my love!

So, please go on over to here and check out their Winter's End Savings Event. Pick up something adorable for yourself like this or this...

A Bag for all Seasons

A girl always needs a great assessory! You really must check out these bags!
Try to not drool onto your keyboard--I imagine there would some potential for electrocution! Hubs got me a "Benny" from one of their fundraising collections for my birthday and it is absolutely fabulous!
It is the perfect size for schlepping all my paraphernalia to various meetings, etc. And did I mention it is beautiful? Beautiful!