Thrift store score

I love a cozy quilt, don't you? Even better, a vintage handmade quilt. These are fairly expensive and aren't easy to come by unless you happen upon one at an antique store.

A few months back I was checking out a thrift store and saw this quilt. It has a beautiful star design and is in really good shape, minus the "age stains" that you see, which I should be able to remove. No matter, it was worth the $20 I spent on it (talked down from $35, which would have been a steal anyway)! It's entirely hand stitched. I just love it.

It's been a long time

Lots of changes. Some good, some bad. Some happiness, a lot of sadness. Hoping to reconnect with wonderful blogger friends and get back into the groove of thrifting, crafting and creating!

Gooey goodness

If you've ever looked for the perfect cookie recipe, this just might be it. It's super easy, so easy that I could do it, and it tastes like a little bite from heaven.

Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen:

Ingredients

* 1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature (I used low fat)
* 1 stick butter, at room temperature
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 (18-ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix
* Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

These are very good. They taste like chocolate doughnut holes, only not as heavy or rich and not too sweet. Just about perfect.

Photo courtesy of me. :)

Debbie Downer

Well folks, I've been quite the Debbie Downer lately, been in a huge funk, so I've stayed away from the blogs as to not spread my funkiness. I'm so frustrated about not being able to find a job. There's so very few things out there for me apply to in my field. When I do find something fitting, I apply. Then I receive the dreaded "thanks but no thanks" emails. I just don't get it. Some of these jobs I could do in my sleep. What's frustrating is that it seems 10+ years of experience and an education mean nothing these days. *sigh* The stress of it all is weighing so heavily on me. I'm having trouble sleeping. I feel like I'm losing my sanity. It's creating tension between the hubs and me. I feel desperate and, sometimes, hopeless.

But then reality hits. I realize that as bad as I feel like things are, it's really nothing compared to the struggles others are going through. A sweet blogger friend, Lindsay, is having to deal with some major health scares right now, and yet her attitude and faith shine. My friend Diana lost her sweet 10 year old daughter this year to brain cancer. And so on...there are so many folks struggling out there, struggling with things that I can't even imagine. That's when I need to step back and thank God for blessing us. Times are tough for a lot of people. Some people share, others don't.

I know God has a plan for all of us. Sometimes it's realized sooner than later. Sometimes it's not. What's important is to keep in mind that there is a plan, have faith, and keep a shining attitude. I'm thankful for the lessons I've learned from others who are struggling. That alone is a huge blessing.

Another year closer to 40

It's official: I'm closer to 40 than I am 30. *sigh*

I turned 36 on December 4. The night before, a group of my girlfriends and I went to one friend's house and hung out like we usually do. They surprised me with a great spread of food and a wonderful fruit tart cake. I love those girls! We had a great time sitting around, laughing, taking the stress off.

The celebrations continue though! Usually I'm alone on my birthday because hubs is playing a gig. And it gets depressing year after year. This year, my friends have gone above and beyond, and I'm so appreciative!

On the night of my birthday, a few friends and I went up to Winstar Casino (just across the Texas/Oklahoma state line) to see a favorite band. I'm not into casinos in general...they just aren't my thing. But that's where the band was playing, so that's where we headed. I did bring a few bucks to play the slots. Once I lost $3, I was done. Like I said, it's just not my thing.





The band was great though! That same night, Miranda Lambert was also playing at the casino. I love her, but my friends don't, so we didn't get to see her. But while we were hanging out, I saw Miranda and Aden (Miranda's bass player, he's the one with the mohawk) walk over to our area. They were talking with fans, taking pictures, etc. My hubs knows Aden since they were both in the same music program in college, so I went over and asked him to take a picture with me. I said "you and my hubs know each other!" haha





This weekend is the birthday celebration finale, and I'm so excited! A big group of friends and I are going to the Fort Worth Stockyards to one of my favorite places to see a band and dance. It's a true Texas honky tonk dance hall. I'm a true Texas girl, I love to two-step!

I'm so blessed to have such good friends!

Decking the halls

Here's a quickie with some pix of just a few of my trees. While I did put up all 10 of my trees, my heart just wasn't in it, so I didn't put much else out. I'm just not feeling it this year. :( Which makes me sad, because I'm all about Christmas decorating. Maybe next year I'll really go all out. Because I took these pictures at night, they aren't coming out very well. Hey, I never claimed to be a photographer. :)

I just did the bare minimum for the mantel. Mine and my hub's stockings fell down, so it's just the dogs' stockings left.



This is my tree that I decorate only with vintage glass ornaments. I love it. I usually put this on the fireplace hearth, but this year decided to stick it in an old sap bucket that I found at a flea market years ago.





My cardinal tree, which is my very favorite. I use all cardinal ornaments, vintage chandelier crystals, clear glass icicles and red berry garland. It looks so much prettier in person than it does in pix.





The "drum tree" for the hubs. He thinks it looks too "blingy" with the crystal garland I added to it this year. :)



Of course I have a dog tree...doesn't everybody? :) It was looking skimpy this year, so I dug through my ribbon drawer and found this blue glittery mesh stuff that seemed fun, so I wound it around and was done. It actually does make it look better in person.





Our main tree is a hodgepodge of ornaments: those from our childhood, some that were given to us, others that we have collected while on vacations, etc. Earlier this year, I was at a fleatique store and saw this rusty metal "believe" sign. I had nowhere to put it, so I stuck it up at the top of the tree. And I kind of like it there. I also wound some red berry garland around it, and I like that too. I have a ton of that stuff.





This is the white bird tree I have in our bedroom. It's one of those skinny alpine trees that has pine cones on it. I use white birds, white poinsettias, white berries and clear glass icicles.





My dining room looks like a forest.



I found this at a garage sale a month or so ago for $2. It's a heavy ceramic serving plate, with an even heavier metal stand. I figured it was worth the $2 just for the stand, but I do love the plate.



When I was in Austin for Thanksgiving, I found this little wicker sleigh at a thrift store and thought it would be cute to use as a holder for our Christmas cards.



I have a few more trees and a little bit more holiday decor out, but it's not really blog worthy.

Thanks for stopping by!

Another day with a long to-do list

And I haven't gotten much done.

Why?



It snowed today. Hubs woke me up and told me to look outside, and this is what I saw. We got a little bit more than this, but not by much. And so when we have weather like this, I just want to curl up on the couch in a quilt and watch tv. So that's what I did.

Yesterday, I was busy picking tomatoes from my garden. On December 1st! Can you believe I still have veggies growing? I think I picked about 30+ tomatoes, a couple of bell peppers and 2 poblanos.



So in the meantime, I'm trying to climb Mt. Laundry and catch up on some other household odds and ends. I still haven't put up my Christmas trees, and honestly, I'm not feeling too guilty about it. Hubs keeps asking when I'll be getting to it (yes, he likes to see them but no, he doesn't want to help). My goal is to finish the holiday decor this weekend. We'll see.

For my anniversary, I got a pair of beautiful Lucchese boots! I saw these in a store on the square last year for a whopping $400+. While that isn't much for a pair of good cowboy boots, it's way more than this frugal girl likes to spend. The other day I happened to think about it, so I checked eBay, and they had one pair of them. And miracle of all miracles, they were in my size! I stalked the listing and won them! They were dirt cheap and had only been worn a couple of times. Obviously, that doesn't bother me at all.



{LOVE}

They make my heart go pitter-patter. I love the red/robin's egg blue color combo.

Not to be outdone, hubs got a pair at an antique store for dirt cheap. After some investigating, it turns out they are some pretty fancy schmancy vintage boots.



So all is good.

:)