Favorite Friday

Happy Black Friday!!! Can you believe the Treatgirl doesn't do it?? For starters, I'm usually out of town, and I generally have a majority of my shopping done by now... I know so much of it is online these days....but the Treatgirl just http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifisn't into it?? But what I AM into are these pumpkin cookies!!!! They are THE.BEST!!!! And to think I almost didn't make them! I have made several things to take along the past few weeks and put in the freezer...The day before we were to leave for our Thanksgiving holiday was of course crazy...and I didn't start making my last minute things in the chicken until almost 7pm....well, at 10:30pm I was exhausted and hadn't started the cookies :( I considered calling it quits and saving them until next year. Well, I took a deep breath and got going...and I'm so glad I DID! They are perfect. The cream cheese frosting is scrumptious! I found the recipe on Pinterest....scroll down to see the original post which includes the recipe. I have to warn you, they are THAT good....one last hur-rah for pumpkin this fall season. Many blessings to all of you!!!!

*****Warning!!! This recipe makes a TON of cookies!!!! I lost count, but I think well over 4 dozen******



Pumpkin Cookies:

Combine:
1 Cup Shortening (I used butter)
3 Cups Sugar
Add:
2 eggs
Mix in:
1 large can pumpkin (30 ounces)
Now add:
1 tsp. vanilla
5 cups flour
And then add:
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Now, bake @ 350 for about 10-12 minutes. Let cool & then ice using the following Cream Cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Icing:

Combine:
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
Gradually mix in: 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Happy Thanksgiving

I am so blessed in so many ways....family, friends, and health....Best wishes to you for a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Nemacolin

Did you know the Treatgirl slipped away with Chip for a few days last week? It was wonderful!!!! Now that a few of the kiddos are teenagers it is SO hard to spend any time with just EACH OTHER. Chip had a work related thingy at an AMAZING resort about an hour and a half from where we live, and invited me to tag along. I promptly lined up my Dad to come and keep the troops in line over here and away we went!



Nemacolin is truly wonderful....every detail is accounted for and you truly feel like you are being pampered and "away"! Here is the view of the Chateau when we pulled up....This is the main part of the resort. We've been here several times before....and I still feel so special when I get here :)



Right away I spotted a little sun room off the main lobby where I camped out with my knitting while Chip checked in and got situated.



Oh, and here's Chip taking care of business :)



They've been busy over at Nemacolin getting ready for the holidays...here is a view of the lobby all decked out with a tree and other pretty things.



After an afternoon of relaxing while Chip was busy doing stuff....we had a few cocktails and got ready for an evening out. I got a new camera a few months ago and I figured out the self-timer :)



The next morning before we headed back to reality we walked around and checked out all of the animals they have...



...bears....



...A white lion, and ....



...a white buffalo too! It was so great to get away for a little bit before the rush of the holidays is here....but I'm already looking forward to next time!! :)

Favorite Friday

Wow. Another week here and gone....and one week closet to my FAVORITE dinner of the whole year :) woohoo! Thanksgiving!! Anyhoo....this week is proof that it's really the little things that make the Treatgirl happy. My favorite thing this week is this pan I got at the Dollar Tree a few weeks ago. Just one dollar spent and I'm happy!! This pan measures just 11" x 7" and I use it almost everyday. It's perfect for all the little things you want to warm up....a piece of pizza, a few chicken nuggets, cinnamon rolls....it's something that's not really needed...but when I saw it and it was only $1, why not?

A Crochet Lesson

I just can't express how happy I was to have a dear friend agree to come over and give me and Jennifer Juniper a crochet lesson last week. I've been wanting to learn for a long time now....well, actually I knew how when I was very little, but couldn't remember...

I have a huge bin of leftover yarn...not enough of any one color or kind to make anything out of. I came across the idea a while ago to make a "one-a-day" quilt out of granny squares. The premise being you make one square a day, and when you have enough....you sew them into a blanket. Granny squares are the perfect thing to use up leftover yarn...I just needed to know how to crank them out!



My friend came over prepared with sample granny squares, yarn and crochet hooks...ready to teach us. This is the very beginning of my first square.



Our lesson went great...our teacher was so patient and wonderful...



...sitting between us helping us along as we made mistakes. And then as we got the hang of it I could see how this was this was going to be a new crafty thing I was going to love!



Look!!!! My very first granny square...I love it for me! I can't wait to get going on my one -a- day blanket....I'm going to practice for a while here and there for the next several weeks...and hopefully in January I'll be in full swing. Thank you, Thank you Sondie for taking your morning and giving me new passion!

Favorite Friday on 11. 11. 11!!

Hello! Happy 11/11/11!!!!!!!!!!!!! Welcome to Favorite Friday. Can you believe I haven't run out of any favorite things yet???? This week I'm featuring our favorite cereal over here....Cinnamon Chex. We are not huge cereal eaters AT ALL. I can have boxes of cereal in the pantry for MONTHS........the kids just aren't into it...and I can't remember the last time hubs had a bowl. Well, I've hit on one we loooooooooove!! I actually buy 2 boxes at a time. It is that good. I open a box and eat it by the handful on the way home from the store. ( Well, I only did that once cuz I forgot to eat lunch and I was starving :) There is a generous amount of cinnamon and the crunch is great. Have you tried it?? What's your fav cereal?? Maybe I can get the kiddos to find another one they'll eat........Best wishes for a terrific weekend.

Fall leaves......

We had such a beautiful weekend here in Western Pennsylvania...and my favorite tree is looking even more spectacular. My mums by the front door are still pretty and welcoming.



Smile!!



It won't be too much longer before these pretty leaves will long gone and the cold blustery days of winter are here....savor every fall moment.

Who Would Have Thought???

Have I mentioned that I have been sucked in by Pinterest??? If you haven't checked it out yet...click on that little button over to right in my sidebar. And don't say I haven't warned you...IT.IS.ADDICTIVE! I will never in my lifetime be able to make all of the lovely things I have pinned... I keep saying I'm going to start making some of the stuff...well, here is the first thing...I saw this the day and pinned to my "Why Didn't I Think of That?" board. The lid to your shaker can of cheese fits perfectly onto a Mason jar. I love it! Just plain and simple. It looks a little better on my table too :) Cindylou noticed it right away when she opened the fridge door. "What's with the new cheese?" Same cheese, just in a jar.

The Circus

The Greatest Show on Earth. Yep! It was!! We took Cubby and his friend to the circus last Friday night and I'm still in awe over what a great show it was. It was a far cry from the one my grandma took my sister and I to in the parking lot of her grocery store. We sat on dirty bleachers, there was hay all over the place and elephant poops everywhere. We thought it was great at the time....but now that I'm all grown up and my standards are a bit higher, I couldn't have been more impressed. It was kind of spur of the moment....we just got our tickets at the box office when we got there. The kids admission was only $10....you can't even see a movie for that anymore! Of course there were souvenir stands at every turn selling pennants, cotton candy and...



...snowcones. The most perfect snowcones in beautiful rainbow colors.



The doors were open an hour before the show so you could get right down front and enjoy the clowns before we sat down in our seats.



Cubby is quite the little shopper and hovered by every stand on our way to our seats pining for just one little souvenir.



The show couldn't have been more exciting...parts I couldn't even watch! This picture doesn't do this act justice.....it was crazy how high they were on that wire...and then they twirled around in a complete circle and were upside down too. Yikes!



Of course there were elephants, trapeze artists, acrobats and a strong man. The clowns were terrific too.



The boys voted the motorcycles in the metal ball their favorite thing of the night. Can you believe EIGHT of them were in there?????!!! How do their mothers let them do that night after night????



And if you ask me this trainer is crazy too..Seriously...these tigers were HUGE, and he kept dangling little pieces of meat on the end of that stick in front of their faces. DUH. CRAZY!



The costumes were spectacular and the whole evening was full of energy, never a dull moment.



So, if you see the circus coming to your town BE SURE to go....take the kids, of any age......you truly won't be disappointed. It is the Greatest show on Earth.

Favorite Friday

This is my newest favorite thing....I saw it at TJMaxx the other day and grabbed it. With a couple of teenagers and a second grader in the house I needed to get it out there in big words what I'm trying to teach by example everyday. I often feel like things are spiraling out of control sometimes :(



I found the perfect spot in my laundry room. It seems I'm the one in there the most, but I think it's getting the point across....most of these things we have learned in kindergarten...but a little refreshing never hurts. Do you have any other family rules I should include??? Have a terrific fall weekend!

Crimson Leaves and a Beautiful Sunrise

This is my favorite tree in the fall....I just love the way it turns such beautiful colors. I really thought once Cub's football season was over I'd have tons of time to enjoy every day....well, not so much. I'm just as busy as always everyday. But it's all good.



And this beautiful sunrise was the start to another busy day....who can't help but feel things are all good with a start like this?? Tell me....what makes a great start to your day???