Spiced Candied Nuts

This is a re-post of a little snack recipe that is perfect this time of year.  

A tasty treat with a mug of coffee 

(or a beer like my hubby had with them last night!).

It also works well as a small gift for teachers, neighbors, or co-workers.

You can do a big batch of these in about 10 minutes 

(plus they make your house smell great!).

I packaged them into jelly jars after they cooled and tied with a pretty ribbon.

You can vary the type of nuts quite a bit if you like different kinds.

25 Easy Secret Santa Gifts

It's time for Secret Santa exchanges and maybe, like me, you tend to forget to plan ahead for those with everything else going on.  Here are 25 simple ideas that can be found in gas stations, checkout lanes, dollar stores and local businesses for $1-$5 and will only take you a few minutes.  If you need more ideas for simple gifts, check out my post 25 Small Gifts for Kids, Co-Workers or Friends.  Happy gifting! 

1.  Scratch-off lotto ticket

2.  Snack size bag of chips or snacks

3.  Hair accessories

4.  Mini LED keychain flashlight

5.  $5 coffee shop gift card

6.  Special teas or cocoa mixes

7.  Funky pens

8.  Candles/votive holders

9.  Car fresheners

10.  Pre-paid car wash

11.  Tin/dish full of candies

12.  Bath items (sponge, scrubber, body wash, bath salts)

13.  Scented hand lotion

14.  Nail polish

15.  Car buffing glove

16.  Decorative sticky notes

17.  Decorated wine glass/beer mug

18.  Fresh flowers

19.  Small plants (mini ferns, spider plants, and other small houseplants are easy to care for)

20.  Decorative garden items (LED lights, statues, etc.)

21.  Old-fashioned soda in glass bottles

22.  Specialty popcorn

23.  Small puzzles

24.  Specialty pastry from a local bakery

25.  Book by a favorite author

Looking for Homemade Holiday Gifts Ideas?

If you are looking for ideas for homemade gifts, 

the Homemade Holiday Party hosted by Marilyn at 4 You With Love 

is a great place to look for ideas!

I'm linking up many of my homemade gift ideas and baked treats

that are perfect for sharing. 

The variety of items shared by others there includes

photo gifts, kitchen treats, decorating, advent calendars, 

sewing/knitting projects, wrapping ideas, and more!

Be sure to visit again over the weekend to vote for your favorite 10 projects!

#GivingTuesday - America's Food Crisis

We are in the full swing of the holiday season and for many, that means time with family around a table piled high with food - gluttonous amounts of food.  What if you didn't have the means to put that food on the table?  What if it was a choice between feeding your children or keeping the heat going to keep them from freezing?  For a growing number of families right here in America, its a huge problem.  

How many frustrated moms and dads have told their picky eaters that there are starving children in Africa who would love to have that broccoli for dinner?  

Have you ever told them there are children at their school, in their class - maybe even a good friend - who go home every night and count the hours until they get the school-provided breakfast and lunch because it is all they get to eat for the day?  Have you ever told them there are children they know whose only food for the weekend is a backpack full of ready-to-consume snacks and foods provided by the local food bank that they share with their siblings and parents?

The Story of Christmas - The Goat

 

When people find out we have a goat, they are usually very curious to know why.  My husband always says he hasn't figured that out yet.  My son will say because Santa brought him - it was love at first sight.  My daughter will say because she asked Santa for a goat to keep her pony company because he was very lonely the winter after my old horse had to be put down - which is true.

Venison Recipe Roundup

Congrats to all you hunters who have bagged your deer!  Here's a roundup to help you make good use of that new stash of venison in the freezer.  All recipes contained in this roundup are ones I use for our venison - even if it says beef or ground beef in the recipe.  

November Storms = No Power

And he huffed, and he puffed...

and it sounded like the house was going to blow down...  

On Sunday, most of Lower Michigan was hit with tremendous wind storms that caused a lot of damaged and power outages across the state.  I had been in Frankenmuth for the day with the kids, my mom, my brother, my sister-in-law and two of my nieces.  If you have never been, Frankenmuth is a fun place to go and exactly the cure if you aren't in the holiday mood yet.  But I'll spare you the details on that since I promised no Christmas posts until after Thanksgiving (this was my one exception to the no Christmas festivities only because I couldn't get time to go after Thanksgiving).  

Happy Hunting

Happy first day of firearm deer season to all those Michiganders in the woods today!  I've already seen the success photos and can't wait to watch the news for the local buck poles tonight!  I guess you can tell this is a hunting-friendly post so if you are anti-hunting, you may want to stop right here - or you may want to consider another point of view.  This post also contains photos of weapons and animals who have been killed (though nothing gory).

Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup

I know, I know - this year there is so little time between Thanksgiving and Christmas and people just want to be ready for Christmas.  But so much about life is so rushed and hurried and we don't get the time to really enjoy it the way we would like.  I am determined to enjoy the celebration of Thanksgiving for as long as possible - especially in this year when there is so much to give thanks for!

I refuse to visit the Christmas area of the stores until after Thanksgiving.  I will not put up Christmas lights or decorations until after Thanksgiving.  I will not be starting any Christmas projects or gifts until after Thanksgiving.  And I will not be sharing any Christmas-related posts here until after Thanksgiving.  So if you want to live in the moment with me and enjoy Thanksgiving for a while, you are more than welcome to linger here in avoidance of all the Christmas-y posts, pins and tweets!

Project Sneak Peek

Part of the fun of moving to a bigger house is finding out that you need more furniture!  We now have a third bedroom, a second living room, and a bigger dining room.  Plus there is the stuff we are just tired of and wanting to replace or refinish to go with the new house.  One of the great bonuses of a mother who is a bit of an antique furniture hoarder (love you, Mom!) is that every once in a while she goes on a purging blitz and gets rid of some pretty cool stuff.  Result - score for me!  

As soon as the ink was dry on the house papers, my mom already started tagging certain pieces she thought would work well for us like this adorable desk/shelf combo that is just perfect for my daughter's new room (can't you just see it full of model horses and chapter books!).

Then there is the little coffee stand you can see on the right in this picture - it has a ceramic top that makes it the perfect drink stand and that's what I'll use it for in the kitchen.  Wait until you see how cute it is with a pop of color (its been many colors over its lifetime!).

The big hutch is a special story all its own - my mom and I rescued it at auction for a steal when I was a young teen.  It too has been several colors over the years and has its own personality.  Its a fairly plain hutch but is big on memories for my mom and I.  Its not finished yet but I am so excited to see how it turns out.  I have scraped away some of the more recent years of paint to reveal even more of its story and I can't wait to finish peeling it and show you what I found underneath.  I have some awesome milk paint from Bungalow47 that I think will make this the superstar it deserves to be.

This is the top to the hutch and, while we don't know if they originally went together, they work beautifully as a set.  This piece can either hang on the wall above the lower cabinet or sit directly on top of it.  It is the perfect home for my grandpa's mother's china that was given to me by a cousin for a moving-in gift!