Keep Calm & Gobble on! (Free Printable!)

Click to get your Print here!

Need a little something fun to add to your Thanksgiving decor this year?!

 Look no further! 

This fun printable will add just that to your family filled homes :D

Prints in sizes from 4x6-12x18

*also makes for great treat tags!

 (wallet size prints)

Click to get your Print here!

Hope you are looking forward to Thanksgiving as much as I am this year!

Discovery Kids Cardboard Color and Play Play House OR Cottage

This playhouse is super neat. My sister apparently scored one (black friday I am thinking!?) at walmart for $10.00! A gifted them to people.I know...it seems absurd, but what a steal of a deal, right! We love ours, but remember that this will definitely take up space in your home, so unless you have a designated place for it, example: Play room or very open floor plan in our home, or covered back yard space...it may not be for you. 

The play structure allows you to color (or paint) it and also collapse down again, for whatever reason. 

Here are some places you can find it for the cheapest I have seen...but may be able to find one cheaper as online sites tend to change prices sometimes due to supply and demand, or just because they want to because they can, who knows! 

Discovery Kids Cardboard Color and Play Play House

 (please note: Amazon always fluctuates with prices so it may be a little or a lot above or below these prices from day to day! So keep a look out if you want to find this for the best deal!)

overstock.com sale $24.99! (currently out of stock)

Amazon.com $56.99 & free shipping!

OR look below under the Special Offers section to get this for 26.99! Yep, you read it right!

Product Description

The Discovery Kids Cardboard Playhouse allows children to take their imaginations to another level by having them customize their own play house. Creativity will soar when your kids can color, paint, and personalize their imaginary home. The Playhouse is made of 100% sturdy cardboard paper and is recyclable.

• Sets up in 3 easy steps: assembly, coloring, and playing
• Quickly assembles and disassembles for play dates or sleep overs
• Stands nearly 5-Feet tall and 3-Feet wide to accommodate most children
• Includes 4 window, 2 doors, mailbox and chimney just like a real house
• 100% Recyclable

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Special Offers and Product Promotions

• Your cost could be $26.99 instead of $56.99! Get the Amazon.com Rewards Visa card and you'll automatically get $30.00 off instantly as a gift card. Apply now.

Another option of this same kind of house is this one

My Very Own House Cottage

$43.99 & Free shipping!  

OR look below under the Special Offers section to get this for $13.99! Yep, you read it right!

Product Description

Product Description

Playing house is always fun for kids and even more so when they get to decorate it themselves. Constructed of sturdy cardboard, the single-piece playhouse folds up and down in one easy step. Let kids create their own custom-design home with the set of 8 Jumbo washable markers included. For ages 18 months and up. Keep cardboard dry. MADE in USA. 56Lx36Wx49H".

From the Manufacturer

Endless entertainment. The only single-piece constructed cardboard playhouse on the market. Comes 97% pre-assembled, 6 simple folds take you from play to put-away. Color it, paint it or glue things to it, great for birthday parties, sleepovers, or the perfect gift. Children can color their way to fun with My Very Own House®. This durable playhouse uses the strength of heavy-gauge cardboard to create a sturdy play area. Every inch of the house has been precisely calculated to provide the strongest, safest play area for your child. The inside of the house is free of tabs and sharp edges. Reinforcement flaps along the bottom walls ensure that the house stays upright, even during roughhousing. The walls remain straight and the roof in-tact, providing a safe, sturdy coloring center. Set of 8 Jumbo washable markers included (Warning choking hazard not for children under 3 years). MADE in USA. 56Lx36Wx49H" US Patent No. 7,552,563

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Special Offers and Product Promotions

• Your cost could be $13.99 instead of $43.99! Get the Amazon.com Rewards Visa card and you'll automatically get $30.00 off instantly as a gift card. Apply now.

Missionary 'Goodies bag'

This bag was made out of fabric scraps that I had around, although you could very easily choose to go even further with different patterns and colors if you'd like!

To make the missionaries goodies bag you will need:

1.) Some fabric of any kind that is at least a foot to a foot and one half in width and length

(I used some white felt, and white to resemble a Sunday white shirt)

2.) Black fabric or felt to make the rectangle shaped missionary tag

3.) A fabric scrap of any color or pattern for your design to make a tie shape

4.) Some ribbon for the tie strings

5.) A sewing matching, pins, and any color thread to attach items to the bag!

Need some help in filling this gift bag!? Some suggestions...

*any candy/treat or food that your missionary just loves/cannot find in the area where they are serving...a photo album.

*spiritual helps, such as books. 

*Useful things such as pens,socks, ties...most things small!

Fill it up, tie it shut, and Ship it off!!

Spooky Door Decor---Bats!

If I remember correctly... I saw these adorable shaped bats on nick jr. or some younger kids tv station during a show break (As a part of their Halloween fun for the month of October)...AND jotted down the shape and made my own decor from them, ha! They were that cute :) And I don't regret it, I love these little guys!

What you need to make your own:

1. Black or gray felt + scissors
2. Fabric (if doing bats, black and/or gray fabric or prints will look best)
3. Twine (or ribbon/string of some sort in any color)
4. Buttons or embellishments
5. hot glue + a few Popsicle sticks (to place one in between felt and fabric to keep shape flat!)
6. hook of some kind to attach to door (could also use tape if you do not have a hook)

Steps

• Cut out shapes of your bats in the felt material...then trace those felt shapes onto your fabrics (back side) with a white colored pencil
• Attach the fabric to the felt with hot glue around the edges  (could do double sided if you want t make it as a mobile!)
• glue on buttons for the eyes
• tie some different shaped bows at the bottom and add buttons to the center of those
•  Place one large button at the very bottom to add weight to your strand of bats!
• Hang on your front (or the inside) door, cabinet, wall, or door handle :)

BOO-tiful Bookshelf Decor

What you need to make your own 'BOO!' Letters:

1. 4 boards of any kind (mine were the shelves from a dvd stand that broke---never throw that kind of thing away!)---Can also us Canvas OR Masonite board (which is what I used for my spooky tree painting)...link is here  http://threetimesthelady.blogspot.com/2013/10/paint-something-eerie.html 
2. Spray paint your boards the color of choice (mine were already black which made that part easy)
3. The THICK poster/display board--can find it at most grocery stores in the school supply isles or office supply stores.
4. Hardy cutting scissors OR easiest would be a box cutter of some kind (Ex: Utility knife, Xacto Blade...)
5. Scrapbook paper and embellishments of your choice! 

• (I used: twine, buttons of different colors + size, modge podge to apply and coat over the finished product, googly eyes a-top some buttons, acrylic paint to cover unfinished sides of my recycled shelves, glitter!, and...of course, hot glue :)

---Everything is attached with hot glue or modge podge (paper)!

The friendly Ghost

Made this fun and friendly ghost a while back and it seems to give that fun and simple touch each time I get out the decorations for Halloween. Super easy and wont cost you much, if anything...because I had these things lying around! Scroll below to see what little materials you'll need.

Materials to make your own friendly ghost:

• white wash cloth
• poly-fill (or some stuffing like it)
• buttons and hot glue gun
• white pipe cleaner (you could really use anything you have/like...)
• green sparkling apple cider bottle (or any colored wine bottle that you like)
• piece of scrap book paper

Steps:

• take wash cloth and place desired amount of stuffing in the center
• bunch it together and kinda fold it in half below the head (like where the neck would be ;)
• take your pipe cleaner, place the ghosts neck about 1/3 IN from the end of the pipe cleaner (to allow for extra pipe cleaner after twisting to create loop for hanging!) and snugly wrap it and then twist the pipe cleaner until secure...
• then, take the end of the pipe cleaner and bend it to become a loop, tuck in under the noose and twist it/cover it.
• cut piece of  paper to size of the flat section of your bottle
• hot glue ends to bottle (*and use scissors to flatten once the paper touched the hot glue!)
• Hang your ghost!

This was a post I did on our sisters blog a while back (that seems to have become dormant...so until its revived...here is some old time fun!) Feel free to check out some fun decor and recipes there also at http://threetimesthelady.blogspot.com/

**I have some more pictures from this year, using it as a vase for spooky plants, will post soon!

Hope you are having a festive Fall!

Sweet & Sour Chicken {Tried & True-ly Yummy!]

Photo from http://www.thecookierookie.com/sweet-and-sour-chicken-simply-sated/

hey all!  It has been a little while since I have posted...bEEN PREOCCUPIED WITH lots of packing and then lots and lots of driving (and stopping!)...to get to our new home in aRIZONA!

...lOTS OF HOURS IN THE CAR WITH 3 LITTLE ONES UNDER 4 YRS OLD (HE ISN'T EVEN 4 YET ;) dRIVING from UTah...FOLLOWING BEHIND MY HUSBAND IN THE moving truck...

DEFINITELY NOT AS FAST AS WE COULD have BE GOING...IF WE HAD 0-2 KIDS AND WITHOUT A MOVING TRUCK. HA-HA.  bUT WE MADE IT! 

tHIS HEAT HERE IN THE PRIME TIME OF SUMMER IS JUST RIDICULOUS, BUT WE ARE VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO OCTOBER WHEN WE HEar IT IS REALLY REALLY reeeally NICE--- ALL THE DAY LONG.

Aside from moving across states, this recipe is one that i have made at least 5, 6, 7 times in the past 3 months or so. Everyone in our family loves it...which, if you remember from past posts...its not always easy getting that outcome with the personality and taste buds within our homes walls. ha

 My 2-yr old can be very picky with texture alone...and trying things outside of his ('lunch') box ;) And my husband (sometimes myself) is not very often a fan of onions or that flavoring in something he is going to love, but this has just that and we were both nicely surprised by its comfort food taste and wonderful flavor.

I hope you will give this one a try and let me in on how your dinner time goes. it is sure to delight you and the fam!

So here is the recipe!

 (...And sorry Melissa, finally getting it on here!) Please tell me what you and your family think :)

SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS

• 4 chicken breasts – skinless & boneless
• ½ cup Western or Red Russian Dressing
• ½ cup Apricot, Pineapple, Peach Jam or a combination
• 1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix - dry
• 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
• ¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes - per taste
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard – optional

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Spray a baking dish.
3. Place the chicken in the dish.
4. Combine all other ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well.
5. Pour the Jam mixture over the chicken.
6. Bake covered at 350F for 20 minutes.
7. After 20 minutes, remove the cover and bake 15-20 minutes or just until breasts are cooked through.
8. Serve with rice.
9. Enjoy!

Note: If you cant find the pineapple Apricot (mixed flavor) jam, just get one jar of each and scoop out 1/2 cup each flavor. So, in other words, one cup of the pineapple apricot preserves/jam or 1/2 cup pineapple preserves, 1/2 cup apricot preserves and half cup peach preserves.

*I have also added peach juice (from canned peaches in 100% juice) to the other jams when i couldn't find peach preserves and it turned out great!

Recipe Found on:

http://www.thecookierookie.com/sweet-and-sour-chicken-simply-sated/