More Holiday Cheer!

I made the Buttermilk Pies because we had special company last night! Justin's aunt & uncle, his mom & dad... and my 5 nieces & nephews! We had a delightful evening and the kids ran wild. Several of you asked for the recipe for the pies... the recipe I used called for you to beat the egg whites to stiff peaks... which resulted in a big mess and overflowing pies. All the other recipes I've found don't call for you to beat the whites... so, I'm passing along this recipe {based on good reviews}:: Buttermilk Pie. It calls for everything mine did except the beating of the whites. Buttermilk Pie is wonderful... if you've never had it, it's a custard pie and delicious; sweet and creamy and the top gets golden brown like Creme Brulee. It's easy to make and I promise you won't be disappointed if you try it!

The kids had a table all their own. I found the little lime green treasure at my favorite antique mall. It has 2 leaves {I probably should have put BOTH in} and is used as a side table {sans leaves} until company arrives... especially little company.

And for good measure... a little holiday cheer! Justin's in the field today... I'm praying for patience, endurance, and enough time to finish a few Christmas presents... hope each of you have a wonderful Saturday!

Merry Merry, once again!

ps- the Christmas dishes pictured above came from Target about 5 years ago {after Christmas clearance & I won't tell you how much I paid for them because it wasn't very much at all!}. They say "Home" on the back.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Hi.It's me.
I'm back much sooner than I thought!

This is what I'm doing and I'm having a blast.

My house smells like Buttermilk Pie and my children are sleeping!!

I know my apron isn't very festive but it's my favorite from the Vintage Collection!

Also... Pandora is playing from my Amy Grant HOLIDAY station!

Please tell me you know about Pandora?

If not, click on that link.
It's free {you know I like that} and fabulous!

Merry Merry, Y'all!

ps- the greenery on my table is a live Advent wreath. It's made from Christmas tree clippings and other yard clippings {boxwood, holly, nandina, etc}. It starts like this with an aluminum foil pan and that Styrofoam you wet... {minus the toddler finger who couldn't resist smashing it in} and you just stuff it full starting with larger clippings on the bottom. It's fun... you oughta try it!

Sugar & Spice & other things NICE!

Hello friends!

I hope that each of you are enjoying December! It's a busy one, isn't it!? Can I just tell you... I'm so thankful for my Christmas lights. They make me smile. I don't turn them off. I love to walk out to the den at 3 am and see my tree glowing with it's colored lights. Makes me so very happy! And Morgan has taken it upon herself to make it "snow" on our little Christmas village. Unfortunately, the stuffed animal she used to refer to as "Big Doggie" is no longer a "stuffed" animal. Oh well!

I've been meaning to update all week... but between school, play, dr appts, and house work I haven't been able to find the time. But all 3 are sleeping soundly... Lord willing I'll be able to hit "publish post" before they wake!

As I mentioned in my last post {which btw, I got Raiger's lipstick off with Aquaphor and a dry paper towel!} my friend Shireen came for a much anticipated visit. WE HAD A WONDERFUL TIME! She's a very magnetic person. Someone everyone enjoys being around. She's sweet, compassionate, thoughtful, kind, and I'm very thankful for her! She's also very pregnant and expecting a little man of her own in January!

She did a wonderful recap of our time together on her blog... you should go check it out! I'll leave the recapping to her but I will tell you that I truly feel like she is a gift to me from the Lord. A prayer partner, a friend, a sister, an encourager... loyal, loving, and wonderful to boot! Her husband, Russell, couldn't be with us but we all are looking forward to being together again soon! Thank you, Shireen, for venturing down on your own... I truly treasure the time we had together and I am already anticipating the next time!

I had a little project up my sleeve before she came and we had fun making these:

I think the most appropriate name would be "10 lb Gumdrop Wreaths". Seriously, they weigh about 10 lbs. I didn't think about how heavy they would be. I just thought they'd be cute.

Mine was cute... yesterday. Not so cute today. I hung it on our back door before we got 13" of rain. Now it's looking a little soggy. Our back door is covered but the rain wasn't just 'a little rain' and it was accompanied by gusty wind... so my beautiful 10 lb wreath was wet, soggy, sticky and left a pile of sugar syrup at the foot of the door. Lovely. Just what you want tracked in your house. I brought it in this morning and attempted to "dust it with more sugar". It's still drying but hopefully {once this blasted rain stops} I can hang it back out there soon! If you have time... and want a project to do with your kids... it was fun! Just don't hang it out in the pouring rain. I also used a hot glue gun so the girls didn't get to attach the gumdrops... instead they organized them by color and helped by handing me the color I needed next! Oh.... and they ate one gumdrop for every gumdrop they handed mommy! Hello, any dentists out there?

Speaking of other things nice. I had to go for a check up on Tuesday... and for being such a good patient I treated myself to one of these at Chick-fil-A... : Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake... go ahead, go get one... they're delightful and have real chunks of peppermint & chocolate... oh my... so good!! And FESTIVE!

Remember how I said I was going to make all my Christmas presents this year? Well, I haven't done that yet. And well... there are 14 days left. Hmm... better get busy. Y'all may not hear from me until after Christmas!

I have, however, managed to get most of my cards in the mail. I still have a few stragglers. I'm working on a digital card to post on here for all my blogging friends who I don't have mailing addresses for. My super talented friend, Lindsay, designed them for me again this year! Thanks, Lindsay... once again you blow me away! I'll post the cards after y'all get them in the mail! I'd hate to ruin a surprise! Well, that wraps things up around here! Hoping and praying each of you are enjoying the festivities!

Cover Girl Outlast color #309

This is a great color. I highly recommend it. You "paint" it on. It dries permanent. You add a little gloss on top and you're set for the day.... oh, but make sure you KEEP OUT OF REACH OF TODDLERS. Did I mention once it dries it's fairly permanent? She's coated up with vaseline in this picture in attempt to get it off... didn't work. Cousin, I thoroughly enjoyed our 5 minute conversation.... sorry the Raiger & her lipstick interrupted us.

I had an AWESOME weekend with a delightful friend! I can't wait to recap....

the shirts & a little etsy shopping

The shirts that y'all went nuts over are the handy work of my very good friend Tara. She's a mommy to 3 beautiful girls and has a new etsy shop:: Smitten & Co.. She's a very talented and creative woman and has the cutest things you've ever seen. She uses a heatpress for her shirts and they are great quality and wash and dry well! This heatpress business is a fine art... and I believe she has it perfected! Go check her out and please tell her that I sent you! :)

While you're on etsy you may consider taking the HANDMADE PLEDGE!

There are lots of little people out there who would love your support this Christmas! I've been doing lots and lots of browsing and here's what I've found that absolutely tickles my fancy {some of which I fully intend to replicate}:

Giant Cupcake Cookie Jar::

A personalized silhouette print::


A quilted scarf::
Pierre::Button bracelet {so that I can not only sew buttons but also wear them!}::
Princess Super Hero Cape::
Personalized Melamine Plate or here::


Chalkboard Placemat::

Mommy Cards::

Kid Cards::
Christmas Stickers::
Something pretty for Momma or Grandmomma::
Beki's tote bag/purse {I've been eyein' this one for months!}::

ok... back to reality!

If we are on your list...

Dear Friends & Family,

If the Sticklers just so happen to be on your Christmas list this year, would you please consider closely the above picture? If you were thinking of buying any of my children a toy, please reconsider. Books would be great. Or maybe cleaning supplies. Or even better... you could rent us a dumpster.

Thanks,
the Stickler family

I have hung our stars & stockings by the chimney with care. John Martin's name isn't on his... but we're working on that.

Sister did a great recap of our time at the farm you should check it out. I'm thankful she did it because I keep trying to blog and can't seem to finish one sentence. I'm working on a post but I fear it will be weeks before I actually get it up!

For now, I'll leave you with a total disaster and some stockings!

My sweet husband brought us home a Christmas tree today as a surprise. It's SMELLS delightful and I can't wait to light it up!

Good night friends...

Christmas Time's A Comin'

"I saw Momma kissin' Santa Claus!"

We're still at the farm... journeying home tomorrow! Look forward to sharing our trip with all of you!

I've been informed...

taken from Erika's iphone

That my kids don't miss me. And... haven't even asked about "mommy and daddy". Seems as though I may need them more than they need me!

J and I postponed our leaving until now {early Tuesday} due to the bright green that covered the radar screen between Alabama and Illinois. There should be no green today!

We'd love your prayers for travel mercies as we spend the day in the car... and it would probably be ok to pray that John Martin doesn't cry alot {thanks ;)}!

Can't wait to see my girls and be with my family.

I'm thankful for each and every one of you, your kind comments, and the encouragement that you give me!

Enjoy the time you have with your families and I can't wait to read everyone's Thanksgiving updates!

Time to hit the road.....

Did Y'all Know..

I have the best sister on the planet. Guess what? Erika and Chance have the girls. That's right. They came and got them yesterday and have taken them all the way to ILLINOIS. If Uncle Chance didn't drive the biggest rig on the road I'd have thought longer about it. The girls were ecstatic about the trip. Erika had a nervous smile the whole time they were loading up yesterday. I kept asking, "are you sure you're ok with this?" She'd just kept smiling and then asked what to do if either of the girls needed to poop. Hilarious. It should be exciting. We are so grateful for their selflessness. E had a long week. Her stunning design work was slated for the cover of the Jan/Feb issue of Cottage Living which also featured a full spread on 3 of her kitchens and her own personal kitchen. But she didn't want me to tell you... because she's cool like that. And if you didn't see the news with CL... you can check it out here. And she still offered to take my children. If anyone needs a break it's her! And I'm certain a 12 hour trip with a 2 year old and 4 year old isn't exactly RELAXING. I hope she will blog about their traveling experience!

They drove from our house to Decatur, AL yesterday and spent the night with Jennie-Marie & Carlton and made the rest of the journey today. The best part.... we didn't tell Mom & DaddyBoy that the girls were coming! Mom was quite surprised to step outside the house and see 2 little blondies standing in front of her! I'd love to have seen the look on her face!

We'll be joining them late Monday night.

Justin and I have thoroughly enjoyed the "quietness" around the house. We made a quick trip to Tallahassee today to celebrate a new baby coming in just a few weeks. I've told you before how very much I love that city. It's beautiful and what's more beautiful is the house we were in and the company I was with. I always cherish what little time I'm afforded with old friends.

Pardon Me While I Dote!

PRESCHOOL ABSOLUTELY ROCKS!
That's really all I can say... IT ROCKS!
Happy little children.
Doing happy little things!
And being GRATEFUL along the way!
Today was my "first" PRESCHOOL experience and I was the possibly the PROUDEST mother in the ROOM!

The Raiger was possibly the PROUDEST little sister in the room.

And GRATEFUL herself to be included in the "snacks" portion of the program {or "show", as Morgan called it}.

Morgan knows winter is upon us; you can see she's preparing for her hibernation. My friend Emily totally ROCKED the toddler tablescape... the turkeys were her part!
Seriously, how cute are they!?
During the "show" the little INDIANS sang 3 or 4 songs.
I had to have total SELF CONTROL to not run up there and eat them ALL UP!
They were so PROUD of themselves; we were even PROUDER!
Go INDIANS! Go!

-----------CHANGING GEARS-----------

Do you press your coffee?
We used to not.
Now we do.
It tastes so much better pressed and it FROTHS.
You can get a French Press @ Tuesday Morning for less than $5.
We've had a few fires this week and I've consumed close to 1 bag of MARSHIES!
Oh my!
They're dangerously good!
Does your house smell good?
If the answer isn't an immediate "YES", try this:
1 apple {on the brink of death is fine}
2-3 C water
6-8 cinnamon sticks {you can get these at what I call "the DG" for $1}
1 handful of cloves
1 dash of nutmeg
the juice of an orange {or OJ from the fridge is fine too}
a splash of vanilla

SIMMER and SMELL!
Mmmmm!