Boogers, Bibs, Books and Bubbles

charity water: first gift

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:53:00 +0000

Today is the day where bloggers everywhere are joining together in a
campaign to buy water for Christmas.

Every single day 4500 mothers bury their children due to contaminated water.

Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all sickness and
disease, and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.

Can you imagine drinking this every single day of your life?
Can you imagine giving it your babies, your children...taking a bath in it?

Just $10 will provide one person in Africa with clean water
for 10 years......10 YEARS PEOPLE!!!

Your money...MY money...can change a person's life forever...even save their life!

Let's do this together. It's only $10. One day.
Let water be the first gift you give this holiday season.

$10 is...
2 coffees at Starbucks
one CD on itunes
a pizza
one movie ticket

$10 can literally change someone's life.

Click here to be directed to the secure donation site of the highly recognized, non-profit charity: water.
Click on the yellow donate button.
All donations are tax deductible.
100% of the profit goes directly to clean water solutions in West Africa.

{Feel free to copy this and post it on your blog.}

Paula Deen's Cinnamon Toast Pecans

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:15:00 +0000

I have got to make this recipe! I love pecans, my mother loves pecans, my grandmother, my daughter, my sisters...we all love NUTS. I even married one. Ha!

These are from the ever so lovely Paula Deen and my dear Grandmother is the one who told me about them. She is making them today. I hope to get my supplies tonight.

Cinnamon Toast Pecans

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon butter, melted
2 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cup (about 1 pound) pecan halves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Stir together first 5 ingredients. Add pecans, tossing to coat. Spread coated nuts in a single layer on a large jellyroll pan. Bake for one hour stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool; store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Servings: 4 cups
Cook Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy

Photo Credit: bethzialcita

You Gotta Try This - Yankee Candle Flavored Lip Balm

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:30:00 +0000

I went in to a Yankee Candle store down in Kansas City last month just to smell their fall candles. Nothing gets me in the mood more for fall than their Autumn Leaves scent. I like a lot of others too but that one just smells so darn good! Anyway, as I was checking out I noticed three large glass jars with what looked like miniature jar candles. One of the glass jars was completely empty and the other two were well on their way. The clerk explained to me that their store was a "test store" and that Yankee wasn't yet selling these everywhere. She said that they were flying out the door. I snatched one up for $2.99. They must have done well at all of the test stores because you can now buy them online. Just click here. I only had two choices: Buttercream and Vanilla Lime. I chose Buttercream because the other had a funky smell. I would love to try the Sweet Strawberry or Vanilla Cupcake. In case you are wondering it doesn't leave a bad taste in your mouth. In fact, there isn't really a taste at all even though they claim that you can "indulge your taste for great Yankee fragrance ... literally". Besides having a great smell it is just so darn cute in it's littler jar-shaped container.

Hope you are having a wonderful Tuesday. God bless you!
Hugs, Anna

Blog Neglect AND New Header

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:33:00 +0000

I know I have been ridiculous about posting in the past few months. It just seems like every time I sit down to type a post I get bombarded with a million other things that need my attention. Hmm...let's see what has happened since I last posted.

In July and August almost every weekend was spent with some friends at their lake property in Big Lake, Missouri. Talk about relaxing! They own a large cabinet smoker so our husbands made us awesome food pretty much every weekend. Yum! Addie loved the lake {and the three kiddos and huge dog that she got to play with}.

At the end of August we went to a friend's wedding in Lincoln, Nebraska and on our way home we decided to stay the night in Omaha and take Addie to the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo the next day. She hadn't been yet and we were so excited for her to see all of the animals. She loved it!

We were so excited at the end of August to find out that we were pregnant; but within a couple of days I had a miscarriage. I had to go to the doctor and have some blood work done. Everything was fine and they just said it was a really early miscarriage. I was really upset for about a week or two but I realize that everything happens according to God's perfect plan for our lives. If He wants us to have more children it will happen.

September saw trips to the park to play and feed the ducks as well as a garage sale. I don't think I ever want to have another one of those as long as I live. You put so much work into them and don't always end up with a good turn out.

Now we are into October and loving it! We have made trips to the orchard, park and local shops with lots and lots of pumpkins and mums. I just love all of the color! Addie and I are spending lots of time together since Daddy is busy with harvest. We miss him a lot!

We just found out that we will be moving at the end of November or beginning of December. I am not too thrilled about moving this time of the year but I can completely overlook that because we are getting to move to a house. I am so excited about the extra space {I get to finally have a craft room} and getting to paint. We have rented apartments and duplexes since we got married and we have never been able to have color on our walls. You can imagine my excitement.

Do you like my new header?
I was getting to the point that I thought I was going to have to just pay someone to make me a header {that is what I did with my other blog} but I came across this post at Clover Lane and it was so easy. I definitely recommend it! I can't wait to make one for the other blog.

Well that is it for me right now. I don't have the time or the energy to find pics for all of the above events. Perhaps future posts???
Tell me if you make a header using that tutorial.

Hugs, Anna

exciting

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:14:00 +0000

Stop by my other blog Rusty Cottage to see my exciting news today!
Also, I have added some new items to my Rusty Cottage Etsy shop.
You can link up from there or by scrolling down to my shop link on here.

prayer pail

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 22:41:00 +0000

I just saw this idea over at Joy's Hope and I love it.
I definitely want to do this with Addison.
She already has such a love for prayer.
She won't go to sleep for a nap or at nighttime unless she has went
through about twenty names of friends and family thanking the Lord for them.
This will make prayer even more fun and meaningful for her.
I can't wait to make it!

german chocolate chip oatmeal & pecan cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:05:00 +0000

Whew! That is a mouthful of cookie title up there, eh?
You have to make these!
Hands down, best cookies I have ever made.
Best part besides their yumminess???...super easy to make!

What you need:

1 box cake mix: chocolate or german chocolate (both equally yummy)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup oatmeal (you can do less if you want)
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
1 cup pecans (optional...you can do less or more...or do a different nut)

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine all ingredients, blending well.
If the mixture is too stiff you can add a little bit of water.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until set.
Cool and enjoy!

diy...a new take on the memo / picture board

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:11:00 +0000

It is DIY day at A Soft Place to Land and I am linkin' up!

I bought a big, cheap frame in the clearance section at Hobby Lobby.

I primed it.

Then I spray painted it with Rust-Oleum Painter's
Touch Colonial Red (sorry no picture for this step)

Then I turned it over
Added a saw tooth hook thingy
Several ribbons and seam binding in various lengths w/ ring clips tied to the ends
Then I used my trusty staple gun to stable the ribbon to the back.

And voila!!!
A cute memo / picture board for my craft area!

Another thought I had after I did this is that I could add some cork board or fabric covered foam board to the back to allow more space for my stuff. Might have to do that some time. I made this a couple months ago...my clips are full now!

i love buttons

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:07:00 +0000

I found most of these old buttons at an estate sale last summer and the rest have been picked up at antique stores and flea markets. I still have a ton of them left: some I am keeping, some I am selling in one of my Etsy shops, some I have used in projects and some of them I am using in a decorative jar.

The day I sorted them...fun stuff!

I don't know what it is about buttons but I just love them. They are so cute, can be so colorful and can be used in so many ways.

win this totally awesome stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:50:00 +0000

You could win all of that awesome stuff in the picture if you simply went to the Fantabulously Frugal blog and entered. There are no strings attached at all and you don't even have to have a blog. But, I really don't WANT you to go because then that decreases MY chances. So...I'm just sayin'. :o)

a healthy sandwich

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:00:00 +0000

My sister introduced me to this sandwich.
Its Ezekiel bread, with a layer of avocado, slivered almonds and alfalfa sprouts. That's it!
This sandwich is chock full of nutrients and good stuff.
The one she first made me was surprisingly wonderful.
But then when I tried to make one myself (the one in the photos) it was super bland.
I think my avocado wasn't ripe enough.
It helps if you mix a little salt in with your avocado. I'm just sayin'.
I know it makes it "less" nutritious, but you just might gag otherwise.
Try it! Really, try it!
Think of what you are doing for your body.
All those healthy sprouts and "good" fat from the nuts and avocado.
Maybe it would be good with some salsa mixed in the avocado...salsa isn't too terribly unhealthy is it?

Hugs
~ Anna Marie

rainbow cake - hippy cake

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Sun, 31 May 2009 12:00:00 +0000

I tried my hand at making the rainbow cake that is so popular on the web these days. I made this like 3 months ago and the pictures have just been sittin' on my computer. The above picture are the ingredients that I started with. I went based off of this post (you can find all the ingredients and directions on there).

Two boxes of white cake mix.
Mix in 24 oz of ginger ale or sprite.

I loved how the batter bubbled up so much when I poured the ginger ale in. Make sure you pour slowly. I had to "take a break" to let the fizz go down.

Divide your batter up as evenly as possible. I "roughly" used a measuring cup. I believe I started out with just one cup per bowl and then divided up the remainder evenly.

You need to use gel food coloring or Wilton icing colors to get a vivid color. Unless you want pastel shades...then just use regular food coloring liquid.

Now...if you are trying to go in order of the rainbow with the entire cake then you are going to have to use your thinker on this one...or just go to that link up there where she did the thinking for you. She divided it up with 3 colors in one pan and 3 in the other. But I just did all the colors in each pan but reversed the order. So my first pan I started with red on the bottom and went down the rainbow... It's as simple as ROY G BIV people...didn't you learn anything in school?!? :P

Then the next one I started with purple and went backwards...so VIB G YOR...ha!

I baked them according to the box for 2 - 9 inch pans.

Happy bowls!

For the frosting I tried something I had never done. You mix a big thing of Cool Whip with 2 boxes of instant vanilla pudding (also from the link above). My husband wasn't too fond of it, nor was I...but my sister loved it. It is worth the shot. I didn't color mine...but you can.

It is a little on the psychedelic side. My husband calls it the hippy cake :o)

ENJOY!!!!!!

Here are some other links to people that have made a rainbow cake:
whatever
The Neil Bilodeau Weblog
Eat, be and see
It's Otrembarific!

Have you made one yet?
~ Anna Marie

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Sat, 30 May 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Remember this post?

Sorry, I got sidetracked and completely forgot to show you what I made for the birthday party. I claimed it was sort of Nester meets whatever. Well, Nester introduced me to the idea of a rag garland like this one and Meg (whatever) is always inspiring me with all the colors of the rainbow.

So I made it for Addie's birthday party but I decided that I am going to hang on to it (seriously, who would throw it away after all those knots??) for other birthday parties. In fact, we already used it at my little brother's party (he turned 6 last week).

I tell you, I had little colorful strings all over me during that week of making it. It isn't hard at all but it takes...so...long!

Here is what I did...

I went to JoAnn's and picked up 1 yard of each color...red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and pink. I chose about the cheapest fabric they had...but you don't have to.
Then I cut little slits at one end to "begin" my tear and then I just tore long strips off the fabric. About 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick.
Then I took those long strips and folded them once and then cut at the fold.
For my rope I had a new, white clothesline lying around so I used it. If you use a clothesline don't cut it until after you have tied all of your fabric on...you might be cutting yourself short (or too long) if you do.
Finally, begin to knot...and knot...and knot. I did two knots per piece.

Hope you are having a great weekend!
~ Anna Marie

mega bottle caps

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Fri, 29 May 2009 12:04:00 +0000

If you read Ali Edwards' blog or Meg's blog whatever...then perhaps you have heard of mega bottle caps. Last December Meg posted one of my favorite posts ever about things you can make for Christmas gifts. These totally awesome mega bottle caps were used to make one of those such gifts. I immediately tried to go order some for myself but they were out. I kept checking on mayaroad.com because that is who makes them. Needless to say after weeks of checking I finally contacted someone at Maya Road and they informed me that they would not be available until June 2009. Bummer!

But guess what?!?! They are available NOW!!! I am so excited! They were available the second or third week of May. I already ordered my batch. Now what are you waiting for!?! Go here to order your fun, today! :P

Meg's adorable creations!

Ali's

Happy Friday!!!
~ Anna Marie

new background

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Tue, 26 May 2009 19:53:00 +0000

This is a time when I really need you readers to leave me a comment and to be honest...are the words harder to read with the new background? :o) Thanks so much!
~Anna Marie

awards

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:07:00 +0000

I don't know about all of you but we had a very busy and very eventful weekend. I am pooped to say the least and am still trying to unpack and get back into the swing of things. But before I continue "trying" I want to acknowledge a couple of sweet ladies who gave me awards last week.

I received the "One Lovely Blog Award" from Bea of Bea's Blabber. I had not "met" Bea before and was very honored to receive it. Thank you Bea! I haven't had a chance to read a lot of her posts yet but upon glancing I think I will like her. And you just might, too!

When you receive this award you are supposed to pick 15 other bloggers to pass it on to. At this time I do not have the time but I really do want to be able to do it in the near future.

The second award that I received was the "Lemonade Award" from my good "blogging" friend Nicol of Classy and Sophisticated. We have been blogging friends since I started blogging last fall. We soon found out that our daughter's are only about a month apart. So fun! She is a great read and I highly recommend that you add her to your favorite blogs. I have learned a lot of new things by reading her posts. Thanks Nicol!

Again, I do not have time to follow the steps that come with receiving an award but it is on my to do list.

Hopefully all of you are adjusting after a nice "long" weekend.

Happy Tuesday!
~Anna Marie

i love spring

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:08:00 +0000

Bringing a little of it indoors.

Anyone know what it is?
It was a large, flowering bush.
I thought it was beautiful so I cut some branches off.
Hope you are having a beautiful Spring day today!

mushroom hunting

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:08:00 +0000

Yesterday was my first experience mushroom hunting.

We found a sitter.
Put on our old clothes and shoes.
Loaded up the 4-wheeler.
Covered ourselves with Off.
And headed to the woods.

Within two minutes of hunting we found the six mushrooms pictured above.
We hunted for another 2 hours or so and never found another.
I had fun and also got a much needed work out.

~ ~ ~ ~

While out with John I found myself thinking back to our dating years. Often times we would load up his 4-wheeler and ride for hours out in the country. I miss that. It's crazy how busy our lives have become now that we are married and have a child. In no way do I regret getting married and starting a family, if anything it just made me realize that we need to remember to set time aside for us. I loved spending that time with him. He is my best friend and my lifetime companion. You have to make time for friends or your relationship deteriorates...our husbands are no different.

Do you try to set aside time with your husband?
What's your secret to making it happen?

vintage creamers

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:30:00 +0000

I just love little vintage creamers...especially the colorful ones.
Found these while browsing Etsy and thought I'd share.

What about you?
Is there anything in particular that you really like?
Anything you collect?
Please share!

candy

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:23:00 +0000

Addie, at her birthday party, trying to get candy after the pinata burst open.
She was focused on a couple of pieces and opened them up right then and there.
Children find pleasure in such small things.
If only adults learned to do that more often.

Take time to find pleasure in something small today!
God bless you all!

my baby turns 2 today

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:17:00 +0000

This was the last photo taken of me before I had Addie.
April 25, 2007

Daddy crying as he brought Addie out of the operating room to the nursery.
(I had an emergency c-section)

My little angel; only a few hours old.

Getting ready to leave the hospital.
(I was so pale because of losing a lot of blood...I hemorrhaged.)

My little cuddly bug!

Mommy and Addie
(4 months old)

Addie on her 1st Birthday

My big girl at her 2nd birthday party.
April 25, 2009

They really do grow up fast. I cannot believe she is already two!

coupon stash winner

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:03:00 +0000

First let me apologize. I said that I would announce the winner on Monday night and here it is Tuesday night. Yesterday afternoon hubby came home and suddenly became very ill. He was up pretty much all night in and out of the bathroom...and that's all that you need to know...trust me, you don't want to know any more than that. So my tardiness is due to "baby-ing" my poor hubby last night and today...oh and disinfecting too ;)

If you could all say a little prayer that Addie and I don't get it, that would be wonderful and much appreciated.

Now on to the winner...
I just went in to see my resting hubby and while I was in there asked him to pick a number between 1 and 10 (the number of comments)...and he chose #5 who happens to be...Rechelle at Walnuthaven Cottage .

Congrats Rechelle! Please send me your address!

I am going to do another giveaway soon and it will be something from my new shop!

Keep checking in!

God bless you all!

my new shop

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

I am excited to announce my new shop that I recently opened on Etsy. As you know I already have one shop on there. I decided to make that one solely for vintage and handmade items, whereas the new shop will contain supplies. As of now I have a lot of scrapbooking and card making supplies in there. I still have quite a bit more to list on there but it's just a matter of finding the time. Once the coupon giveaway is done I am going to have a little giveaway from my shop. So be sure to check back early next week.

coupons...for you

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:33:00 +0000

I have completely fallen off the bandwagon as far as coupons are concerned.
I haven't been using them.
They have been piling up on me.
Yesterday I was finally able to organize them.
Upon organizing them I decided I want a fresh start.
I am giving away almost all of them.
I stopped counting because quite frankly I don't have time to count hundreds of coupons.
My guess is close to 400.

Here are the ways you can earn entries:

1. Post a comment
2. Add my button to your blog
3. "Follow me" on Blogger

As always, please leave separate comments for each, so that each entry will be accounted for. Also, please leave an email address or blog address so that I can contact you if you win. Anyone can enter, even if you don't have a blog. If my button is already on your blog or if you are already following me please leave a comment; it still counts :o)

I will announce the winner on Monday.
Thanks for entering!

color = fun

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Marie) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:03:00 +0000

I just LOVE color! It makes me so happy!
I am working on something for Addie's 2nd birthday party. She turns 2 on April 27th.
This project is sort of Nesting Place meets Whatever. Any ideas?