Fits and Starts....

My fall decorating is happening in tiny bits of time here and there........still need the boxes (I've asked for help getting) down from the attic. Number 2 son is coming home this weekend and I'll get him to help me; he's always good for helping Mom! It's his birthday coming up; he'll be 20!! and then two days later, my daughter turns 18!! How did this happen!?! Well, anyway there will be plenty of celebrating going on here for the next week to ten days. If that's not a challenge to a diet, I don't know what is!!!

I thought I'd show you the fall arrangement I made with some fall foliage I bought last year at
HL at 90% off...gotta love that. I think it turned out lovely for about a ten minute stint of sticking stems in my Verona Olive Jar.......of course, a Southern Living at HOME product! Here she is. I have her in my foyer to greet my guests......

Chubby Hubby Cookies.......worth the effort!!

I had to edit this recipe from the original one I posted last week, as somehow I posted the wrong instructions for preparing the cookies to bake. Thanks to my friend Renee, for discovering the mistake. I hope no one was inconvenienced by the error!

Caramel Swirl Chubby Hubby Cookies

1 c. butter, softened

½ c. granulated sugar

½ c. light brown sugar

1 large egg

2 t. vanilla extract

2 c. all purpose flour

½ t. baking soda

¼ t. salt

2 c. Nestle caramel and choc. swirl chips

(I use the white choc. and semi sweet chips)

½ c. salted peanuts

1 ¼ c. crushed pretzels (I used the square waffles and broke each approx. into fourths

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.

Beat in egg and vanilla. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Blend into

Creamed mixture until just combined. Stir in chips, peanuts, and pretzels by hand.

Drop by heaping 1/8 cupfuls about 2 inches apart onto parchment lined cookie sheet.

You should get about 20 big cookie dough balls. (I make mine a little smaller). Flatten

just slightly. Freeze cookie dough balls on cookie sheet for 15 to 20 minutes. Bake for

15 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned and centers are still slightly soft. Cool

one minute on cookie sheet. Cool completely on wire racks.

Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired
His understanding is inscrutable.

Isa. 40:23


Please pray today for Andrew, Mel's son, and for many others who suffer, both physically and emotionally. We MUST believe that God understands, that He is good, and that He has the power to heal and restore!

Read very carefully.....

I figure if I can entertain you for a few minutes, you won't realize that I've gotten few of my goals done this week....at least concerning Fall decorating. I've done many, many other things....as well as putting some or a million fires out; well, not literally. That's what I call when you get sidetracked a few million times a day or week....kind of like the alligator game at Chuck E Cheese, where the alligator head keeps popping up and you have to bop it back down...and it keeps popping up faster and faster...??? Remember that one? In my world, putting out fires is doing things like running errands, taking the flash drive up to school when my daughter had to have it, but left it at home in the computer, making a few deliveries, picking up those two or three items that you really need to finish dinner, etc.....you know you know what I mean, and I know you know what I mean......distracted yet???? So I went on an internet hunt...do you do that??? Sometimes it's fun to google something and see what images you get.....so here's a few fun ones I thought I'd share.


This little friend was found over here on HGTV........adorable, yes???


And this giant "pumpkin" is actually made out of IMPATIENS and was spotted in the Dallas Arboretum.... I found it by googling pumpkin topiaries....didn't make a run to Dallas for y'all today to get this pic! Isn't it amazing????

These caught my eye, as they just seem to be the perfect combination of colors and textures........found HERE....

And lastly I leave you with a photo that ALWAYS makes me smile!!!

Have a great Friday, y'all! I'll be on the run again.......take care!

A day on the go........

So I leave you with this....which can be said of so many blogging friends....

C.S. Lewis:

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You, too? Thought I was the only one."

at some point this week, I need to stay home and clean house and put out some pumpkins....what's your week look like??????

the pumpkin patch is growing.....

I'm still working on the pumpkin patch over here, and I"m out the door to see my five favorite little punkins....I'll be back later with more details, but I wanted to give you a peek into what I"ve been doing in the few spare minutes I've had lately. They are still in the works and the photos are not great, but you can get an idea....have a fabulous Monday my friends. I'll be doing my fall decorating tomorrow and Wednesday, hopefully, assuming I can get those fall boxes out of the attic! Take care!

Do you love your flavored mixed coffee drinks???

Be it Starbucks or any other favorite local coffee bar, you surely must have your favorite......Pumpkin Spiced Latte anyone?? Some folks don't like spices mixed in their coffee, and prefer chocolate or caramel.......some other favorite then?
A friend just sent this to me, and I thought I'd share, like a good friend would do! ;)

http://thinkinsidetheicebox.com/2008/10/04/pumpkin-spice-latte/
And with the money you save, you can make some of these MUMKINS.....isn't that the cutest??? PK from RoomRemixBlog featured these on her blog, and I think they are adorable!!

Speaking of pumpkins, I've got a few pumpkins in the works here at the Casa de SouthernInspiration!!! Come back tomorrow for the unveiling of the pumpkin patch!!!

How to cut brownies....and finding things that make life easier!!!!!

I thought everyone knew this, but apparently NOT....I recently remarked to a friend to cut brownies with a PLASTIC knife to keep a nice clean cut (even when they are hot), rather than a ragged tear, messing up the pan of brownies.....works even on commercial made brownies like you can buy at Sam's....

My friend Renee posted it on Lifehacker, which I just learned about when she told me about it today, and it was well received. So I thought I'd pass on the tip to my blog friends....did YOU know this????? Make some brownies today and try it out!!! What a fun experiment!!

Lifehacker, tips and downloads for getting things done

Monday again????

Another busy day....I never post on Monday mornings because I am out the door to see my favorite quintuplets!! check them out here.......
They are all so adorable and I never tire of going to play with them. It seems unfathomable that their mommy gets it all done, but she is a fabulous mom and is doing so well. So I'll be back later with more about Monday.....have a magnificent Monday, y'all!!!

Edited to add, it was a delightful day, full of fun and giggles........and a few kisses! I forgot to link to their blog above as I should have, so if you want to read about these little munchins, the cutest quints I know go here....

Hi blogging friends,
I took a few days off, unplugged a little bit because I was tied up with some other things.....and then a few things threw me off (one of which amounted to losing my keys and then finding them the next day, but took some calling and driving to make it happen!!!) and before I knew it, several days had gone by.Plus I felt like I needed to slow down the amount of things going into my head; do you ever have days like that? Creative ideas are great, seeing others projects is great, reading about saving money is great, praying for others is great, but every once in a while, I need to limit the input...so I did that for a few days.

I'm glad you enjoyed the tablesettings from the SLaHOME convention. They always WOW us with nifty, creative ideas for making a party fun! Some of the clever ideas they come up with amaze me....and they get paid to have fun and be creative! How fun is that? But then my job is easier because of them and I get paid to have my own kind of fun, too! I never saw myself in the direct sales business but it just kind of happened and it was a great creative outlet, and I like to think I make a difference in the lives of people, helping them make their homes a beautiful place.
Enough of that.....

I have some creative plans for today.....other than the laundry I need to do and cooking that needs to get done. I have plans to get out my sewing machine and make something. Something that I saw in the blogging community, and really got my attention.....So I bought some beautiful fabric, and a few other pretties and I hope to be able to share with you my own creations sometime next week. Ok, not the best pics but you can see the gorgeous fall colors I found at the fabric store, most in the remnant bin........for the first time in a long time, I am excited about sewing something! And it's a gloomy, overcast day, with 80% chance of rain, so a perfect day to be creative! I hope your day is good, too!

A few more table decorating ideas from SLatHOME

More table top ideas from the Southern Living at HOME convention this past summer. They can be used like a template........mix and match what you have to mimic what you see here....OR you can contact me to buy the whole tabletop itself!! LOL.....
I just thought they were so beautiful I wanted to share them with you; you may find some inspiration and it may lead you to set a table that is oh so inspiring to those you love! Click on the pics to see better detail....and enjoy!




These tables will bring new meaning to the term "table topper"!!!!

Theme tables

I am re-running this post from last year, and I will follow up with another few tables for parties tomorrow...enjoy. Oh, and you can click on the pictures to see the details.

Do you plan your parties around a theme? Do you decorate with each holiday or by theme? I thought I'd share some themed tables that were designed by the SLaHOME designers to showcase our products. They may spur you to decide on your next theme for a party, dinner, or holiday. I love table settings, and I've been considering a blog post on place settings, by playing around with all my dishes and table linens to come up with different ways to pair things for fun, creative place settings. Perhaps that will be a blog post coming soon.

For the first pic, I"ll show you a FUN Halloween table. Now, I know not everyone gets into Halloween decorating, but you can trade out some of the elements and change it into a Harvest theme fairly easily. It's just inspiring to see all that ORANGE and know that fall is coming! Yea!

Or how about a Tuscan theme, or perhaps you are giving a Bridal shower or even decorating for a wedding.....I've got pics to inspire you for those also! And lastly, I've posted a Holiday/Winter table that uses winter mufflers/scarves as runners for the table settings...isn't that clever?

I hoped I've inspired you to do something FUN with a table setting. I think we need to have a party soon!

Today.....

is a gift from God......THIS is the day that the Lord has made....Let us REjoICe and be GlAd in it.......enjoy your gift.

A day of giveaways....

AND links to latch onto about other giveaway!!! What a day....start of a long weekend (did I hear an amen and a hallelujah????)

Well my first item of business is to announce the winners of yesterdays giveaways!!! Yes, remember I have TWO SETS of the disc hangers, courtesy of Mr. Stanley Latter, who will also be good enough to offer FREE shipping to anyone clicking thru to order from here! Thank you, sir! I wish everyone could win, but since only two can, I would encourage you to take advantage of ordering from him for your disc hanger needs......it's cheaper than buying at the craft store, and there's no shipping.....how easy is that????


So the winners of the disc hanger sets are (drawn by using random generator, factoring in everyone's multiple entries) are...oh and thank everyone who blogged about it and also joined me on Facebook...I have several new friends this week which I am very thankful for!
Ok, get on with it you are probably saying!!! :)

So the winners are:

Let it Shine ( a new friend and follower that is soooo talented; in fact, she is a new blogger and a fellow Texan!; go right now and check her blog out and the gorgeous new drapes she hung in her master bedroom, and all her other amazing projects!) I'll wait right here, ok....but come back......

AND:
Happy@Home (oh the blue of Kim's blog is beautiful and bright!! and OH SO INSPIRING!!!!!!!! If you've not visited her, go ahead and do so, but come back, as I've got a few other giveaways to mention........


links to latch onto: (giveaways that you should take a look at.....)

A fresh new blog look, but a fresh new blog to me, is over at www.pleasanthome.com......she just has the most adorable blog design and the talent, OH MY GOODNESS. She and some of her friends are doing a mega giveaway, so go over and check out all the sewing, cooking and photography talent over there.....and I think there's even a blog designer in the mix, but don't even enter that one, because it's gonna be mine...all mine......teehee....
And there is a giveaway at my friend the chocolate lady......Stop and smell the chocolate!!! oh yum , her header is so nice to stare at and imagine the smell of all that chocolate.....go ahead and see if you cannot smell it when you open it up! ;) but she's not giving away chocolate this time; she's giving away an adorable piece of jewelry, by Christine @LifeVerse....oh so pretty!!!


Also add to your list: check out Nancy at the Southern Lady; today she is blogging about the coolest event...the Southern Lady Celebration Weekend.......an upcoming totally fun weekend, that I wish I could go to!! Her friend, Phyllis Hoffman, of Southern Lady Magazine is sponsoring a giveaway for FOUR books.....to drrrrooooooooollllll over. Oh my goodness I would LOVE to find those in my mail box!!! So go see her to check it out!!

And lastly, have I gone on too long, my friends???? Have a totally terrific weekend with your family, friends and those you love. Take care,

Suzanne

Another giveaway day!!!

Does part of your fall decor involve hanging things such as plates, placques, and pleasantries (ok, I just HAD to have another "P" word there.....lol)????

Remember when I posted about the disc plate hangers that work so well?? You can find that here. These really do work very well, and are such a good deal compared to what you pay in the stores....AND if you look on my sidebar, there is a button that will give you FREE SHIPPING....and we love that, don't we???

And also, if you remember I told you that I'd be having a giveaway for some of these wonders......yes, I have TWO COMPLETE SETS of five discs to give away. They work from the smallest item (the tiniest little one is adorable, and about the size of a silver dollar) up to a large item.......they have adhesive on them and will hold your item, but will easily come off if soaked in warm water...so no damage to your treasures.

The Giveaway will be on Saturday, so leave a comment if you want one entry. To receive another entry, let me know if you are a follower....third entry --blog about it, and for a fourth entry befriend me on Facebook, and leave me a comment on there......for those who don't already know, my name is Suzanne Joffrion. So what are you waiting for??? Let the comments begin!

Shhhhh..........

I sensed a tiny bit of "fall air" in the air this morning when I opened the door to let the dogs out.....it was amazing.........I don't want to say it too loudly lest it go away as quickly as it came......I adore fall weather! I love fall foods, like chili, and pumpkin bread and apple cake, and such. I love the brisk air, and long sleeves. I LOVE fall decorating and the colors that God gives to fall. I love the start of school and the high school band music with football games. I love pumpkins and fall leaves and spice candles. Bring it on!!! What do you love about fall???


Come back tomorrow for the Disc plate hanger giveaway!!! See you then.

Since apples are about to be abundant, and fall is right around the corner

then THIS is a cake recipe, you simply MUST try. It comes out of a cookbook that is from the Junior League in Wichita. It was a cookbook that came to me by way of a cookbook swap once, from a friend named Melody. The cookbook is called Women of Great Taste, and it has artwork and pithy quotes spread throughout the book......a really great mix of art and recipes. So I discovered this recipe a few years ago, and it NEVER disappoints. It is fairly easy but tastes like a million bucks, and will WoW the lucky recipients every time. It is That Good.
I'm joining in Jen's Tasty Tuesday party with this recipe......seriously you hafta make this when the fall mood strikes you!!!

Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce

Cake:
3/4 c. butter
2 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 c. all purpose flour
2 t. ground cinnamon
2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 t. salt
4 cups peeled, finely chopped apples (Granny smith or McIntosh)
1 t. vanilla

Sauce:
3/4 c. butter
3/4 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
3/4 c. heavy cream
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract

Bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9 inch cake pan. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat in eggs one at a time. Sift together dry ingredients and add to egg mixture alternately with apples. Stir in vanilla. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. (find something distracting to do while it bakes or the aroma will drive you mad!! ;)
Cool in pan for 5 minutes before cutting into squares. Serve warm......oh yes by all means!

Sauce: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Immediately remove from heat and spoon over individual servings of warm cake.


Maybe make this while you are busy getting your fall decor arranged. It will definitely inspire you!!! Enjoy!

Oh, and remember Andrew and Ann in your prayers today, please! And come back later this week for a giveaway of the plates disc hangers featured here!