I like this!!!

AMEN! 

Thanksgiving 2009!

Colorado was absolutely gorgeous for Thanksgiving this year and we had a really nice day!  My sister, from Arvada, joined us this year...what a lot we had to be Thankful for!  We started off the day with a yummy breakfast...

Breakfast Casserole and homemade cinnamon rolls!

Then, of course, we had to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade...Love it!  

Here is Aunt Donna with Katia!  We love Aunt Donna!  She brought her lovely dog Petra with her and I must say...I was so thankful for the continuous mopping of my kitchen floor throughout the day...Thanks so much Petra!

Then it was time for turkey duty...no pardon on our side of things!  It's always such a busy day but the end result is so worthwhile!

We had to get out and enjoy the amazing weather!  A walk around the Twin Lakes was definitely needed!  Lili, Zander and Carl rode bikes (LIli had to practice those newly acquired biking skills) and Katia loved walking Petra.  Donna and I walked slowly as we were playing with her new amazing camera!  

We then headed home to finish what we had started...Carl doing his duty!  The turkey turned out great as did all the other yummies!  Especially the Streuseled Sweet Potato Casserole...here is the recipe!  
Steuseled Sweet Potato Casserole 
14 c. cubed peeled sweet potato (5 lbs)
1/2 c. half and half
1/2 c. maple syrup
1 t. vanilla extract
3/4 salt
1 egg, lightly beaten 
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 c. chopped pecans
*Preheat oven to 375*.  Place potato in dutch oven, and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 12 minutes until tender.  Drain.
Combine the half and half and next 4 ingredients (through egg) in a lg. bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Add potato to egg mixture; beat with a mixer until smooth.  Spoon mix into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. 
Combine flour and sugar in food processor; pulse to combine.  Add chilled butter;pulse until mix resembles coarse meal.  Stir in pecans; sprinkle over mixture in baking dish.  
Cover and bake at 375* for 15 minutes.  Uncover and bake an additional 25 minutes or until the topping is browned and the potatoes are thoroughly heated.  
ENJOY!!!!  It was really good so save this and enjoy next year!

We all send you lots of Thanksgiving LOVE! 


We all hope you enjoyed your day immensely and were able to spend some really lovely time with your friends and family!   

Happy Thanksgiving 2009!!!

We send our love to all our friends and family!  I will post pics of all our activities throughout the next couple days...yummy baking and lots of it!  YUMMO!!!  

K's Orchestra Concert!

My oldest daughter had her first orchestra concert Thursday night.  They sounded really good for just having just started this fall.  She seems to be really enjoying herself and loves the fact that she is getting better all the time.  This picture is a bit blurry but she is sitting in the front row right on the other side of the director.  I don't know if that means anything yet...whether that indicates her position but we sure had a great view of her for the concert.  

The concert was a mix of 5th Graders from Heatherwood and Douglas Elementary Schools and 6th, 7th and 8th Graders from Platt Middle School.  I think part of the fun was getting to hang out at the Middle School.  They all seem pretty excited to go there next year...I don't know if I am quite ready for that though.  

This concert was on our littlest's 6th birthday.  She didn't seem to mind too much...she had a fun day celebrating!  I can't believe she is 6...going from 5 to 6 seems like taking the step from little girl to big.  Next year 1st grade will be a breeze!  
I am sure you all wish you could hear those violins purring...sorry to disappoint!  Use your imaginations!  Great Job K!  We are so proud of you!

Long time...no posting! Sorry!

So it's been a while since I have posted anything...sorry fam and friends!  I have a big Holiday Bazaar next week that I have been busy sewing like crazy for...it's fun but a bit overwhelming!  The kids have been very patient with me thank goodness.  Here is a sneak at some of the new stuff...


A new messenger bag...The Carol Bag (named after Mom)!  This is a very fun and very functional bag for everyday!

The new Maggie Bag...so cute!    

Another Maggie Bag!  The Maggie Bag is the first bag I designed completely myself!  Yeah me!

A smal Bella Bag!

A redesigned Bella Bag w/ side ties!

A Chloe Bag in the works!

And lastly my newest design that is also in the works...The Eliza Bag!

(more to come on that later!) 


So that is why I have not been posting!  The fabrics are all great...I so love what I do! 


Have an "A.Lovely" Day!

The Big Melt...that's CO for you!

So most of you know we got a lot of snow last week...the kiddos even had 2 snow days and got to stay home from school.  They had a ton of fun, spent hours outside enjoying all the snow.  It came down hard and fast...really beautiful!  But...it's all gone now!  I thought I would show you the difference a few days make here in CO.  

This picture was taken Friday, October 30!

This is a beautiful Colorado Blue Spruce...you can see how big it is by how small the garage looks next to it....a massive couple of trees.  They were just full of snow!

 

Here are the same couple of trees and this was taken on Monday, November 2!  The snow is almost completely gone.  Colorado has crazy weather but I guess that is a big plus...you get good days and then great days!  Depending on how much you enjoy the snow, that could be either.  It was really so pretty and it was nice having the kiddos home to enjoy!  

I Love Colorado! 

Kids and crafts...so much fun!

One of the easiest and fun craft projects ever and the kiddos loved it...

I was working on a Halloween bag for a friend and the kids were very impressed with how easy the process was.  I decided that we should make door signs with their names for each of their rooms.  They were completely into it from the word go!  

                                                       

 It's really so easy...
1. go through mom's fabric scraps and choose some favs
2. make bubble letter stencils (make sure you make certain letters backward so they face the      right direction after ironing on...speaking from experience...UGH!)
3. trace stencil letters onto fusible web, i.e. Wonder Under
4. lay fusible web onto the BACK side of your chosen fabrics, iron
5. cut out letters, peel paper backing, lay onto background fabric, iron once again.


It's great...magic my 5 yr. old says!

 

 

The last step is for me to finish them off...layer with some batting and backing, and some handing sewing around letters to help them POP!  That is all fun...it's just a matter of time!  

Halloween 2009!

Carving our pumpkins!

(turned out pretty darn good...Luna could not figure it out!)

Trick or Treating!

(Zander is a dirt biker, LIli is a fortune teller, Katia is a gypsy...cold and costumes are no fun!)

Crazy amounts of candy!  

 

                                                                            ...lots of fun!