Still Woods Farmhouse

Our family has always felt that it was important to eat together as a family as often as possible.  During the school week, this meant breakfast and supper.  During the weekend, it meant all three meals.  Mealtime is such a wonderful time to talk to your children and share their experiences of the day.  It also provides you an additional time to pray together as a family.  Many teachable moments occur during our family mealtimes.  I should emphasize that our mealtimes are spent at the table, not in front of the television.  Breakfast can be very hectic, so when my boys were little, I came up with a simple method to reduce any fussing about what we were going to eat.  They always knew that Monday was Muffin Monday , Tuesday was Toast Tuesday (cinnamon toast, cheese toast, peanut butter toast), Wednesday was Waffle Wednesday , Thursday was Thirsty Thursday (nutrient packet fruit smoothies) and Friday was Free Friday (anything goes!). Weekends were also considered "free&quo

I have collected recipes and recipe books for as long as I can remember.  Some of my most treasured recipes include my grandmother's hand written sour cream pound cake recipe dotted with batter and spattered with dots of vanilla.  It has a place of honor in my recipe notebook which contains some of my family's favorite recipes.  When we built our home, I had a set of bookshelves built in the kitchen to hold my collection of recipe books as well as a collection of milk glass.  I love to cook while looking at some of my favorite things around me. Last night, I went to Dillards to do a little shopping.  As I checked out I noticed the annual Southern Living Cooking for Christmas cookbook at each register.  Only $10.00!  I snatched one up and added it to my items.  I love Southern Living cookbooks with their beautiful pictures and mouth watering recipes.  A bonus of this cookbook is that Dillards has once again teamed up with Southern Living to support the Ronald McDonald House.  

I have been stuck on pumpkins lately, so I thought I would surprise you with an entirely different post. I adore anything vintage and vintage cars are no exception.  It reminds me of a gentler time when life was slower and a Sunday drive in the country was a weekly family event.  For the residents of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, this week is officially known as “Cruisin’ the Coast”.  Cruisin' is celebrating its “Sweet Sixteen” party this year!  If there are vintage car loving  males in your family, then this blog post is for them.  Really!! Go round them up, offer them a milkshake or a bottle of pop and play some 50’s music while they enjoy the show!  You may be asking, what is Cruisin’ the Coast?  The official website for CTC describes it as America's Largest Block Party.  Sounds like fun! Here is what CTC organizers have to say:  Cruisin' The Coast® began in 1996 as a festival to celebrate antique, classic and hot rod vehicles, nostalgic music and related events.  374 v

I just love fall and everything about it.  Pumpkins, winter squash, beautiful fall foliage, candy corn mixed with peanuts, homemade apple pies, spice scented candles,  caramel apples, mulled cider, crisp mornings, pumpkins...wait, I think I said that already.  Yes, I do love pumpkins!  I didn't realize the enormous variety of pumpkins and squash until I visited a few pumpkin farms last year in Virginia.  Since a trip to Virginia is not in the works, a visit to Courtney Farms Market in Ocean Springs, MS did the trick.  How about this precious topiary of pumpkins and squash? I love the way they placed several varieties on top of each other and used moss and grapevine as filler.  Just beautiful! Before leaving Courtney Farms, I had a cart full of pumpkins and squash!  I couldn't resist the unusual varieties such as the Cinderella pumpkin pictured below.  I love the shape and color. Imagine a good fairy waving her wand and turning one of these pumpkins into a beautiful carriag

I love my latest project and thought I would share it with you!  This is such an easy project and may bring back memories from childhood.  Do you remember decoupaging?  I did a few class projects involving "gluing" strips of torn paper onto objects.  It was always messy, but fun. How about a little decoupage history?  I didn't know this, but there is documentation of the decoupage technique prior to the 12th century. Artisans were known to apply up to 40 layers of varnish creating a smooth, inlayed look.  Even though this technique has been around for ages, my inspiration for this project came from the October 2011 issue of Country Living...and didn't take 40 layers of varnish!   Items needed for this project include: 1- Craft store pumpkin, medium size 1- Bottle of  Mod Podge ( aka modern day decoupage in a jar) 1- sponge brush 3- sheets of scrapbook paper 1- Pair of disposable gloves (optional) For my first pumpkin, I selected an orange patterned scrapb