As my little one was snuggled in my arms napping, he had one hand over his face. I studied that hand, all the little dimples and the smoothness. I thought about how much I love baby hands.

After I put him to bed last night, I watched him sleep. Watched his little hands rest on his tummy. Watched his chest rise and fall. Watched him wiggle his head around until he was comfy.

And I gazed at our sweet boy, I was struck by the thought, “Did Mary think about moments like this? As she watched her son, our savior, be nailed to a cross–did she remember his baby hands? Did she remember sweet moments from when he was a babe, nestled safely in her arms?”

I need to menu plan more often. I can do well for a couple weeks and then I fall shy of my goal to continue. Menu planning definitely makes it easier for when dinner time rolls around (I ciurrently only do dinner plans), so I should do it every week. My awesome-sauce Sissy plans a month out at a time. I am pretty sure I am going to make more of an effort once Turkey Baby comes in November.

After Hubby called at 530 to remind me that he would be working late, I started brainstorming on what I could make with the ingredients I had in my fridge. I had bacon and half a pound of sausage for available meat. I thought of BLTs, but decided to save those for later this week. Then I thought of sausage gravy on biscuits, but did not have enough butter thawed for biscuit dough and half a pound of sausage is not enough. And hubby is a fan of only one meatless meal (portabello mushroom burgers).

So I came up with an idea, and it turned out to be DELICIOUS. Thus, Sausage Cream Sauce & Taters was born.

Sausage Cream Sauce & Taters
1/2 pound of sausage
4 strips of bacon
1 T. butter
1 t. minced garlic
8 oz. brick cream cheese, sliced into chunks
1/2 C. milk
1-2 t. fresh chives, chopped (depending on your preference)
3 cups prepared mashed potatoes (I had leftovers from last night)
4 slices Texas toast, toasted

Cook the bacon, drain on paper towels and set aside. Brown the sausage in the same pan you used for the bacon. Drain when done.

Meanwhile, start on the cream sauce by melting the butter in a medium-sized sauce pot and then adding the minced garlic. Simmer for about 2 minutes. Then add the cream cheese and milk. Stir until cream cheese is melted and sauce has thickened. When sauce is thick and creamy, add in chives and then stir in the sausage.

Place toast on plate, top with taters, then pour sausage sauce over the taters. Crumble bacon over the top.

Hubby said this is filling and worth a repeat. High praise, indeed. And Little Miss said, “It’s too yummy!”

I served this with sliced tomatoes on the side. Looking forward to having fresh ones from the garden!

And I patted myself on the back for whipping up a meal on the fly. Thanks to my Momma for teaching to cook with what you have and to be creative.

Enjoy!

I doodled this idea in my sketchbook a few weeks ago. But one niece and one nephew were having birthdays and their gifts took precedence. Especially for the nephew, as his was supposed to be part of last year’s gift.

Now that gifts and birthdays are done, I felt it was okay to move onto my project(s). I wanted to create something new for our mantle and thought an embroidery project would be great.

Here are a couple of preview pictures:

Just starting out...

and one word finished!

Last week my sister and I and our Indiana friend had our monthly get-together. We decided to make yarn wreaths. Sissy already had hers made and was going to show us how to make different felt flowers to adorn them.

We were inspired by all the wreaths we had seen on Pinterest. Along with the array of felt flowers. And yarn wreaths are such an easy and simple decoration for around the house.

I chose a neutral color of yarn to make my wreath more versatile with the changing seasons. Or on my whims. I then chose shades of green felt scraps that spoke of spring for my flowers and leaves. Easy way to change out the flowers: hot glue them to hair clips! Genius, right?! That way I do not need to make multiple wreaths with any flowers/decorations permanently attached.

I hung mine inside because it is just not practical for outside on our front door. I have a winter wreath on the door now, and the red ribbon has faded (over a few winters) to a dark pinkish color. Morning sun shines right on our front door. So inside my wreath will stay!

Materials: Straw wreath ($3.99 at Hobby Lobby)
Yarn ($2.77 at Walmart and I did not use the entire skein)
Felt scraps (been collected over the years, most from sheets of craft felt purchased for $.25 each at Hobby Lobby)
Lace (Indiana friend purchased and shared)
Hair clips (pack of 25 from Hobby Lobby for $2.99 or so; shared with Indiana friend)
Straight pins
Hot glue
Ribbon for hanging (purchased at 2011 Country Living Fair)
Wreath hanger (purchased at Hobby Lobby after Christmas on sale a few years ago)
Total cost: around $8 with tax

Fun and easy to make! And with yummy treats and good conversation thrown in.

A while ago I was introduced to the wonderfulness that is Washi tape. Thank you, Pick Your Plum, for the introduction. It is a most agreeable relationship. I love the versatility of this craft product.

While I like to decorate for the changing seasons, I do not go all out except for Christmas. I like to keep it simple for other times of year. So I came up with a simple banner for our mantle.

And put out some lovey-dovey decorations.

Simple supplies: white cardstock, baker’s twine, Washi tape, scissors, and a hole punch (I used my Crop-A-Dile. *Note to self: Watch where you put your hand that is holding the paper; you do not want to pinch your palm on the eyesetter part of the C-A-D.!)

Valentine mantle

I think the pictures show how simple this is to make. And I was able to make it in about ten minutes, which was perfect for my girl to not go crazy without having 100% of my attention (and to not get into something!).

Another scrap put to good use as the center of my banner.

Enjoy the love!