Happy Thanksgiving

I just wanted to wish everyone celebrating a wonderful, safe and Blessed Thanksgiving.  I am thankful for everything - the good, the bad and the ugly.  Everyday I learn a new life's lesson which helps be to become a better person.

I am thankful for my family and wonderful friends. This year was definately a year of reuniting for me.  I reconnected with family, friends and classmates whom I had not seen for over 20 years.  I am thankful that I was able to see that somethings that were going on in my life were not good for me and that I was able to let go and move on.  I am thankful that I still have a job as many are unemployed and are trying to do their best with what they have.  I am thankful for having a place to lay my head, having food on the table and for just being alive. 

Today I will be spending Thanksgiving with family.  Then back home to put up the Christmas tree and get ready for the Black Friday sales. 

I'm trying to get over something- not sure what it is.  I have not been able to talk since Tuesday night but am feeling pretty good.

This will be my last post for the year on this blog but you can check me out over at my Rudy Day and Love of Christmas blogs.

Gobble, Gobble

Scenery - Part 2

Well the leaves here in ole Maryland are nearly all fallen off the trees.  I will always remember this year as being the most beautiful fall I've seen in a very long time.  These are just some pictures I took this season.

I wish I could have gotten more shots.  There were some really beautiful areas I passed through in the last two months but of course I didn't have my camera with me.

Today Is Election Day

Did you vote today?  I did!

Taco Salad

Sunday I wasn't in the mood for any real cooking so I decided to make taco salads.  I found some Jalapeno flavored tortillas which really gave the salad a nice kick.  One day I was watching a food program (can't remember the show) and the cook showed a great way to make tortilla into salad bowls.  So here's what I did.

First take a tortilla and sprinkle with a little paprika.

Next, take a piece of aluminum foil and make into a ball. 

On a baking sheet, place the tortilla over the ball of foil. Set oven to 400 degrees and let bake for 10 minutes. 

While that's baking, I cooked my ground turkey in a skillet with onions, chili powder a little garlic salt and black pepper. Here's how my tortilla bowl turned out:

Once the meat was done, I loaded up the bowls with all our favorites:

I also like to add rice and refried beans but didn't have any in the house.



And here's the finished taco salad:

It was very good and didn't take long to make.  Mmm, mmm, good.

Happy Halloween!

Have a fun and safe day everyone.

What An Autumn!

I cannot remember when the last time we had such a beautiful autumn season.  Here in Maryland we got to experience actual fall weather.  No nice days for about a week and a half, then turning completely cold.  Oh and the trees!  The trees are so beautiful with the bright yellows and reds.  When the sun hits a tree just right, the colors look almost neon. 

I'm so glad I have the day off from work tomorrow (actually I have a doctor's appointment).  While I'm out doing my Christmas shopping inbetween my appointment, I will be doing a lot of sightseeing and am taking my digital camera with me.  I love the county I live in.  There are so many back roads with outstanding views.  Plus I think tomorrow will be the last day to see such beauty because we are expecting winds tomorrow and by the time the winds die down, many of the leaves will have fallen from the branches.

Gotta go, Scared Shrekless is on.

Temporary Change

In honor of Halloween, in a week, I thought I would change the scenery on my blog.  Have A Spooktacular Halloween . Whahaahaahaahaa

Tonight's Dinner

It's been cold and raining all day.  Oh how much I would have loved to stay home to enjoy it. But alas, I had to work. 

For dinner tonight I wanted something that was both warm and filling. So I made beef and cheese foldover.

I just finished a piece and let me tell you, it was very tastey. 

Scenery

What a  gorgeous window view.  So beautiful I think I'll go outside.

Sitting outside the job, soaking up the sun, comfortable breeze and fresh air.  Autumn is spreading all around me.

Favorite Fall Snack

M&M's, Honey Roasted Peanuts, Candy Corns - Yum yum

All Done

That's right!  I have finally finished decorating outside my front door. 

All the decorations I already had with the exception of the jumbo size leaves.  I just changed things around a little. 

(I really wish my door was either red or green.) 

One Morning

Every weekday at around 9:30 a.m., I always take a break and go for my morning walk (I get to work between 7 - 7:30).  Sometimes I walk around the business park where I work or I will walk over to the shopping center which is directly behind my job. 

Last Thursday I took a walk over to the shopping center.  First I stopped in the grocery store.  They have started their 10 for $10 two week sale I just grabbed a sales paper to see what all they have. I usally get breakfast items like bagels, brown n serve sausages or ready made breakfast sandwiches - just pop in the microwave and go.  Next I walked into the clothing store where I bought three turtlenecks for $7.99 each.  Another good deal.  Lastly I ventured in to Kmart.  I didn't purchase anything. Just browsed.  Outside of Kmart they had all of these huge pots of georgeous mums.  Oh they were so pretty and the colors, so vibrant.  I just had to take a picture.

Had A Nice Day

Set the alarm clock to wake me at 5 a.m.  Guess what?  I didn't even hear the alarm go off this morning.  When I woke up it was nearly 8:30. 

Despite sleeping in late, my day has been fabulous.  It's a real autumn day here - lots of sunshine and cool temps.  I've been in my pj's all day.  I had the windows open for a while, while I did some cleaning: the bathroom, the kitchen, vacuuming, yada-yada-yada.  But then I had closed them as my little palace had gotten a little too cold.   I lit some candles and  turned on some smooth jazz.  Perfect!  I also spent some time chatting with friends at MHH. 

I took advantage of this cool day also to decorate outside my front door for fall.  I wanted to do something different from last year, but with things I already had so I surfed the internet for inspiration.  I came across this amazing website called Front Porch Ideas & More.  I was able to get a lot of ideas.  There were lots of really beautiful porches all done up for fall and Halloween.  Oh how I wish they were my porches. (Sighing)

Anyway, my front is almost done. I want to get a few mums and maybe a few more faux pumpkins (or Fumpkins as they're called).   I may take a trip to Lowes or Home Depot tomorrow.  So far I have my broom swag on the door and around the door frame is a garland of fall leaves and miniature gourds/pumpkins.  And my autumn door mat.  To the side of the door I placed my "Welcome" pumpkin with two free-standing scarecrows on either side of it.  In the corner is my little red wagon.  So far all that's in it is a piece of fall material I draped over it.  Next to the wagon is another free-standing scarecrow. Above the wagon, tied to the railing is my "Pumpkin Patch" sign.  I plan to fill the wagon with faux pumpkins, gourds and Indian corn. Around the base of the wagon I am going to scatter lots of silk leaves and place a few mums around. 

I will show you pictures when it's all done.

Chit Chat

What a glorious day it has been.  I woke this morning to the lovely sounds of rain.  We so much needed the rain.  Everthing is so desperately dry around here.  The rain also cooled things down and I was able to open all the windows and just let the autumn air flow through my little palace. 

And what better way to celebrate this day than with a some nice autumn comfort food - Chicken and Biscuits. 

A simple recipe from Kraft Foods. It's made with cooked chicken breasts (mine's came from a can), frozen mixed vegetables, sour cream, condensed cream of chicken soup, shredded sharp cheese, and for the biscuits - Bisquick, more sour cream and milk.  I made this for the first time last year and fell in love.


For dessert I baked peanut butter cookies. 

I am going to enjoy snacking on these with a cold glass of milk while watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition.  Tonight's show is a home built here in Baltimore. 

Decorating

For weeks I have been getting my palace ready for my favorite season: Autumn.  Today I must say it doesn't feel like fall.  It is hot as heck here in ole Maryland. 

In decorating for Fall, I tried to do things a little different this year.  For instance I bought a new shower curtain and bath towels for the bathroom. I love this new shower curtain (from Ross').  It looks so rich.  I was surprised to find such a nice shower curtain.  I usually buy curtain panels because most shower curtains I see do not appeal to me.   I want to repaint the walls but haven't found the color I want yet.

I found this poster in Dollar Tree a few years ago.  I love it in the bathroom because the colors go great with my fall decor.  I recently got the frame for it in KMart.  The frame was on sale at 2 for 1.  I paid $10 for two of these frames.  The other one is in my guest room.

In the master bedroom I bought a new comforter set.  I love my new comforter.  I looked for over a year for the right style, fabric, texture and color and finally found it in a store I rarely go to - Macy's.  It was so funny when I saw it in the store.  It was like all of a sudden everything around me went dark and it was just me and a light shining down on the comforter.  I've only had the moment one other time and that was when I bought my first car. Heehee

I love having the curtains going all the way across the wall.  It adds color to the room and makes the wall look taller than it is. The big plus is in winter, it blocks out the cold.


I also dressed up the mantle.  I love candles. I have them everywhere in my little palace. 

The fall topiaries sit on my tall dresser chests.  Last year I had them on the mantle but thought they look better here.  (I hate that antenna.)

In the livingroom I tried to added more color.  I replaced my old and worn white lampshades with burgundy ones and bought toss pillows for the white sofa. 

And of course... More candles...



I brought this table out from the guest room. I really like it here next to the chair.  Plus it gave me a place to put my pumpkin arrangement.  To think it was on its way to the dumpster. 

The dining room has had some changes too.  I got rid of the glass curio and bar that sat in the corners.  I had to make room for the buffett that I'm getting from IKEA. 

So that it doesn't look so empty in the corner I moved the plant stand from the foyer to display a vase filled with twigs and candles.

The dining table too soon will be replaced, however I still wanted to dress it up for the season.  I even purchased some new glass goblets for the table.  They are so pretty. I got them from Dollar Tree.  What's more is they are not thin, flimsy glasses at all. 

I won't put on the burgundy chair covers until it gets a little cooler. 

My palace isn't yet quite complete. There are a few more things I need to do.  So this weekend, if the weather cools down like the weather people say, I'm going to set up a display outside my front door. 
I cleaned the balcony a few weekends ago and it too is ready for decorating. 

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL!!!