::: Caramel Apple Giveaway :::

I have just listed a brand new line of delicious girl clothing in my etsy shop:

Caramel Apple!

Every piece is one of a kind, never to be recreated!
Eight pieces in all, plus the custom Chocolate Ruffle Cords return to the shop this fall!




Since I'm so excited about my Caramel Apple line...
and about the crisp feel of Fall in the air outside...
I feel like having some fun!
Giveaway time!



I'm giving away a Caramel and Chocolate Covered Apple from nikid on etsy!

Nicole's treats look so delicious, I wish she lived closer so I could taste test her samples!
Her Caramel Apples serve up to 4 people,
and come in a lovely wrapping perfect for gift giving
(in case you don't want to keep all the calories for yourself!)




First, go check out the Caramel Apple line in my shop... then come back here and leave a comment what your favorite piece is (or if you find something else that you like, you can pick that instead). Click here for a quick tutorial on leaving a comment if you don't have a blog account - it's easy, trust me!

If you post this giveaway on your blog/facebook/twitter, I'll give you another entry, just mention it in your comment here.

Anyone who purchases a Caramel Apple design from my shop will get an extra entry as well!

I'll close this contest on October 1st and pick a winner then.
Shop update - almost everything has sold out already - thank you to my wonderful customers! Be watching for my next line, coming soon.
The giveaway will still continue until Oct.1st!

Happy Fall!

Fingerprint Friday { a reminder to pray }

I've not seen a brown praying mantis before, usually just the green ones. And I find they're kind of rare in general - so when I saw this little one on the outside of my window yesterday, I grabbed the camera, of course!

I wonder, did God create this little insect to look like this to remind us to pray? Probably not, but His boundless creativity and attention to detail never cease to amaze me, and start me thinking about Him when I see things like this.




There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join in:

1. Blog with your interpretation of God's fingerprints.

2. Be sure to link so others can find the entire list of participants! Go over to PamperingBeki's blog to add your link to the list of participants.

Self Portrait Challenge - { portals week 4 }

Hold a book in your hand and you're a pilgrim at the gates of a new city.
-- Anne Michaels



To see what other interesting ways people found to define "portal",
go browse through Self Portrait Challenge.

:: fun festival day ::

We had a fun day over the weekend at a local festival, even though it rained a bit (thank goodness we took an umbrella!)



Claire was fascinated with the exhibit set up by the US Marines! We spent a while there so she could climb in the Hummers and look at all the weapons.



Both the girls also really enjoyed the petting zoo's cute and friendly animals...




Another really fun highlight of the day was meeting Lisa of ellembee, she is a graphic designer with a hand printed clothing shop on etsy! She travelled all the way here from Michigan! I already had a hoodie from her from last fall, which I just love, and I ended up with a new tee from her beautiful booth in the craft booth section of the festival.



Go check out her shop, you might find something to freshen up your fall wardrobe!

reading + food = delicious learning!

The latest book study Claire & I are doing for school (through Five In A Row vol.1) is

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World
by Marjorie Priceman



There's a lot of great lessons for these FIAR book studies, including lessons in language arts, math, geography, history, science, and art. Of course, our favorite part, though, is when the lesson includes something involving food!



Speedy Streusel Pie

(you can use a refrigerated pie crust from the store, but they're so easy & inexpensive to make at home, and baking is such a fun project for kids)

Crust:
1 1/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. shortening
3-4 Tbsp. cold water

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add shortening, cut it in using a pastry blender or two forks, until you have pieces the size of dry oats. Add the water & mix until well blended.

You can roll it out the old fashioned way, or I just like to put the crust ball in the pie plate, spread it out and up the sides using my fingers, and use the back of a big spoon to smooth it out.




Streusel Topping:
1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. butter/margarine
1/2 c. chopped nuts (I don't use these, it's still good without the nuts)

Mix flour & sugar in a small bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two forks. Set aside.


Filling:
5 baking apples (2 lb.)
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 Tbsp. cornstarch

Peel, core & slice the apples. I use one of these - a worthy investment, as I make more apple things since I got it & even use it for potatoes.

Toss the lemon juice and vanilla with the apples in a big bowl. Mix the sugar, cinnamon & cornstarch in a small bowl, then add to apples & toss to coat.




Add apples into the crust, spread them out evenly. I like to pull the edges of the pie crust inward (like a crostada), it keeps juices from spilling over the edge during baking.

Start this pie out in the microwave! Really! It cuts the baking time by 2/3, but the pie still turns out fabulously!



Put it in the microwave, for 8 minutes (if your microwave doesn't have a rotating glass plate that turns the food during cooking, then you need to turn the pie yourself after 4 minutes.)

While the microwave is running, preheat the oven to 400°.

When the 8 minutes in the microwave is up, immediately move the pie to the oven (use oven mitts!) for 18-22 minutes.





Served warm, this pie is a delight... but anytime is a good time for apple pie!

Where are all the egg rolls??

That was my question.
After stopping at THREE grocery stores in one day.

I wanted egg rolls to go with this recipe which we love... but a fresh egg roll on the side makes it complete!

So I had egg rolls on my shopping list, and was surprised to not find any at the store I usually shop. Last time I bought them there, it was in the fresh deli section (to buy & bake yourself), but there weren't any in the freezer section this time either.

I was disgruntled at needing to stop somewhere else for one thing, nevertheless I stopped at the grocery store across from our church, a trip that lasted at least 30 minutes with two girls in tow. Nada. Zip. Zilch. I went through the fresh deli section THREE times, and do you know what I did find a whole case of every time I circled the section? Sushi. All kinds and shapes and sizes. But no egg rolls. The freezer section wasn't any better after two trips around it as well, except for a box of weird-looking mini egg rolls that looked more like Totino's Pizza Rolls (not at all what I was hoping for!)

Now I was just plain frustrated. And determined.

I was about to stop in at the good ol' takeout place for the "real" thing, but dinner still wasn't for a few hours and I didn't really want to have to reheat takeout rolls (I prefer to bake them fresh).. so as I got out of the car in their parking lot, the grocery store two doors down challenged me to find just what I need...

Do you know what greeted me as I walked into the fresh deli section? Another full case of sushi.

Arg!!! The world cannot have come to this! How could anyone think sushi is the appropriate side dish for sweet and sour chicken, or broccoli beef stir fry?!? OR that we no longer are in need of an occasional egg roll now that the sushi trend has taken America by storm?!?

Aha! What is this my eyes fall upon, literally in the last case of the last aisle of the freezer section? A single egg roll selection, squeezed between stuffed jalepenos and some other fancy appetizers!

Clutching my box, I ran to the registers, where a young man asked me, "Did you find everything you needed today?"



A quick note on the recipe linked above:
I substitute a bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix for the cabbage & carrots in the recipe, which makes it much faster to put together.

Enjoy.

And if you want to buy egg rolls to go along with it, save yourself more time by serving sliced pineapple instead.

Self Portrait Challenge - { portals week 3 }

washing away worries

sloughing off burdens

cleansing my thoughts

conditioning with renewed focus

rinsing with fresh inspiration



Self Portrait Challenge continues with September's "Portal" theme this week...

Sophia Krystyn

Nicole & I drove down on Friday to visit Melissa & Charles and their new precious Sophia. What a joy it was to spend some time with friends and their new little one!





















{ mommy's necklace is Sophia's birthstone }

fall fashion has begun..........

some new designs in my etsy shop...

Fingerprint Friday { rainbow bright }

The situation of our backyard in relation to the sun allows us to see a lot ofrainbows perfectly when there are afternoon storms...

Rainbows are just one of the many waysthat I have been amazed by God's creativity with light!



There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join in:

1. Blog with your interpretation of God's fingerprints.

2. Be sure to link so others can find the entire list of participants! Go over to PamperingBeki's blog to add your link to the list of participants.

{ light is beautiful }

I took a whole bunch of photos at a ranch we visited over the weekend, including my gate SP from my last post...

I haven't had time to edit much of them, except for the one I have used to create my new header above, as well as these...

Self Portrait Challenge - { sunshine day }

I think I'll go for a walk outside
the summer sun's callin' my name
I just can't stay inside all day
I gotta get out
get me some of those rays...

it's a sunshine day...



September's theme over at Self Portrait Challenge is "Portals"...
doors, windows, gates, tunnels, and so forth - we walk through them everyday...
Click here to see more, join & participate if you want!


lyrics courtesy of The Brady Bunch...
if you love the song, it's now on my playlist over in the sidebar...

on the cusp of autumn...

Still adjusting to the schedule that has come with this new school year, plus we're trying to soak up the last remains of whatever summer enjoyment we can, so my posting has been more infrequent... I can feel it settling down, though!


it must be dragonfly season, because they're everywhere...




in love with these new fat quarter packs that I have sitting here waiting to be turned into something beautiful for little girls to wear...

why, they're almost delicious-looking enough to eat!