A Little Fall Splendor

 

Well, it's finally officially fall...my favorite time of year!  I was inspired by the beautiful foliage I saw while away this weekend and decided to set a cozy tablescape for the three of us here in the breakfast nook.  

I found these great fleece leaf placemats at the Christmas Tree Shop for $1.99 each.    I layered them green stoneware plates, topped with beige stoneware bowls. The plaid napkins, also from the CTS, were $1.00 apiece.  I found these great maple leaf resin napkin rings on eBay for $4.49/4 including shipping and handling.   Gibson's Royal Plaza flatware, stoneware bread plates and glasses from the CTS complete each placesetting. 

For the centerpiece, I placed a candle in a small hurricane I bought at Michael's.  To add some texture, I filled in around the candle with acorns I gathered from the yard.  I wrapped a silk fall leaf garland from Michael's around the hurricane and used a gold matelassé placemat as as a doily.

 

A mini pumpkin, a few gourds, and some silk leaves were scattered around the table for interest. 

 

There is something so warm and inviting about a candlelight dinner by the fire.

 

Dinner is just about ready.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Out & About: A Weekend in Fitchburg

This past weekend, my husband played in an over-40 baseball tournament in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.  We decided to make the tournament a family weekend getaway. 

We left on Friday, and it was a beautiful, warm day.  Driving to Fitchburg is always a scenic trip along the Route 2 corridor.  The foliage has just started to turn into beautiful shades of autumn!

We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott in Fitchburg.  When we arrived, we  were greeted and checked in by the friendly hotel staff.   Of course, we took advantage of our AAA member discount.

Click on the photos to enlarge them.

  
The hotel is beautiful!  I understand it was recently redecorated from top to bottom, and the décor is ultra modern, including the lobby.  There are flat screen televisions everywhere and a computer area for guests to use.  There is even an area where you can print up your airline boarding pass.  

Our room was lovely, with two, comfy, plush king beds.  There were built-in cabinets along one entire wall which housed a desk area and flat-screen television.  The hotel offered complimentary wireless Internet, so we made sure we brought our laptop computers.

There were two restaurants in the hotel.  We enjoyed a couple of meals in the bistro, where it was fun to watch the hustle and bustle of the busy hotel lobby.  The food was delicious, albeit a bit on the pricey side.  However, the menu offered healthy alternatives to the traditional fare, which always scores big points with me.  My personal favorite was the healthy start breakfast sandwich.  The barbecue chicken pizza was also delicious and very filling.   

Although we didn't take advantage of it this time, the hotel offers package deals on their indoor water resort, Coco Key.  It looks like such a fun place!  Our daughter wants to come back for her birthday.  This works out perfectly, as her birthday is in the winter.  The water resort's tropical feeling will be a welcome change to those cold, snowy New England days we experience here. There is also a large video arcade with all sorts of games.

  
On Saturday, my husband had two back-to-back baseball games, so my daughter and I took a ride over to The Mall at Whitney Field in nearby Leominister.  Believe it or not, I actually started my Christmas shopping! 

I was able to score some great deals at JC Penney and managed to cross off a few people on my gift list as done.  Bath and Body works also had specials on candles and signature bath products.  I took care of two people on my gift list there.  Of course, a mall excursion wouldn't be complete without a trip to Yankee Candle.  I was out of Home Sweet Home tea lights for my tea light burner, so I picked up a box.  Then, it was off to  Joann Fabrics, where all of their fall foliage garlands were 50% off.  I grabbed a couple to frame our front door back home. 

After several trips out to the car to put our loot in the trunk, we went to our favorite luncheon spot, Panera Bread.  They have wonderful salads, and my daughter loves the broccoli cheddar soup.  After lunch, we headed over to Old Navy, where they had tee-shirts and tank tops on sale for $5.00 and $3.99 respectively.  Both are perfect to wear to the gym, so we grabbed a handful.  

Speaking of the gym, we decided to head back to the hotel after shopping, to get in a workout in the fitness room.   I love how each machine had its own television attached to it.  After our workout, we changed up and headed over to the indoor pool area for a swim.

My husband's baseball team had a game early on Sunday morning.  We woke up early to pack, loaded up the car, and then had breakfast in the bistro.  I love that they serve Starbuck's coffee.  After breakfast, we headed over to watch his game.

We had a blast this weekend and look forward to going again next year. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Fast & Easy Vegetable Beef Soup

This is a "souper" dish for a chilly autumn day. Keep any leftovers in the refrigerator, and it will taste just as good warmed up the next day. Pair it with a sandwich and your favorite beverage, and you've got a fabulous meal! 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean stew beef, cut into small pieces
• 1 sm. bag frozen whole kernel corn
• 1 sm. bag frozen green beans
• 1 sm. bag frozen mixed vegetables
  
• 1 sm. bag frozen peas
• 2 cups cabbage, cut into small pieces
• 2 cups diced potatoes
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1/4 to 2/3 cup diced celery (optional)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
  
• 1 cup V-8 Juice
• 1 cup water
• sea salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. celery seed (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook beef in water until tender.
2. Add vegetables and cook until potatoes, onions, and cabbage are tender. Enjoy!

Frugal Tip: Buy stew beef on sale in larger packages at a wholesale grocery club. Divide it up for several meals and freeze it.

Enjoy!

Sherry

Linking up with What's on the Menu Wednesdays over at Dining with Debbie and

Frugal Fall Wardrobe Refreshing

Twice a year, I seasonally rotate the clothes in my closet. I store my off-season clothing and footwear in a couple of large Rubbermaid tubs with lids in the attic. After removing the off-season clothing and shoes from my closet, I go through the clothes from the current season and pull out anything I am no longer using. I bag them and donate them to a local charity. After that, I look for sales on some key pieces I wish to add to my wardrobe to give it an updated look for the season.

Now that it's fall, I've swapped out the spring and summer gear for fall and winter apparel. After cleaning and purging, I looked around in the stores for sales on clothing and footwear. I found some great buys.

I have been seeing these comfy flat ankle boots around everywhere. They're great with jeans and leggings. I found a fantastic deal on a pair of gray SO® Taurus ankle boots at Kohl's. They were originally $49.99. However, they were on sale $24.99 plus I had a coupon for 30% off. I ended up paying $17.49 for them. Unfortunately, the store sold out of the brown ones, or I would have bought two pairs.

I still wanted a pair of brown flat ankle boots and found these Sydney flat boots, made by Lower East Side, at payless.com. They were regularly $29.99, but were on sale for $19.99. They are soft and oh-so comfy.

I am pretty much all set as far as dresses, skirts and pants and just wanted to add a few updated tops. This Mudd® asymmetrical lace tunic (pictured on the left) was originally $24.00 at Kohl's. However, it was on sale for $12.99. With my 30% off coupon, I paid $9.09 for it. I think I'll wear it out this weekend with a pair of Lucky jeans, the Sydney Flat Boots from Payless, an agate necklace, and a camel sweater jacket.

I also found this gray Daisy Fuentes® splatter empire top (pictured on the right) at Kohl's. It was originally $36.00 but was on sale $24.99. With my 30% off coupon, I paid $17.49. It will look great with jeans, a long black draped cardigan belted and the gray SO® Taurus ankle boots.

This LC Lauren Conrad floral ruched tunic (pictured on the left) from Kohl's was originally $34.00, but was on sale for $22.99. With my 30% off coupon , it was $16.09. The jersey knit is so comfy, and the longer length and ruched sides give it such a flattering fit. It looks great with jeans, too.

This cute Axcess scroll peasant top from Kohl's is perfect to wear on an Indian summer day with a pair of tan cargo capri pants. It can also be worn with a blazer or cardigan on a cooler day. It was originally $36.00 and was on sale for $21.60. After applying the 30% off coupon, I paid $15.12 for it.

For less than $100.00, I was able to add some stylish updates to my wardrobe for fall. Now that's frugal shopping!

Thanks for stopping by!

Bonnie's Amazing Quilt

I am finding, at our age, life can take us through many changes. Some of these changes include caring for our aging parents and eventually saying goodbye to them.

My friend, Bonnie, has been going through such changes. Bonnie had been caring for her aging parents, who were living nearby. A couple of months ago, Bonnie's mother became very ill and was hospitalized. On August 11, 2010, she went to be with the Lord.

Bonnie knows how difficult the loss of her mother has been for her father. As a loving and compassionate daughter, she wanted to do something special for his 88th birthday. She used her quilting talent to make this amazing memory quilt for her father.

That's Bonnie, her father, George, and her sister, Monica, holding the quilt in the photo above.

When making this truly heartwarming quilt, Bonnie said she used a few traditional squares. She also used pieced block letters that she found in a Fons and Porter quilt book. To make the photo squares, she scanned all the photos and then printed them on washable, sew-in fabric sheets. She also used fleece as a backing and says she really liked the way it worked.

I think Bonnie did a phenomenal job on the quilt, and I am sure her father is finding it a great source of comfort. I would also imagine making the quilt was very therapeutic for her, as well. What a fantastic project all around!

Thank you, Bonnie, for sharing the gorgeous memory quilt you made for your father.

Thanks for stopping by!

Flanged Euro Sham

Jan created this flanged euro sham for her master bedroom.

Materials:

• decorator fabric - at least 2 3/4 yards, more if there is a pattern repeat
• fleece- 1 1/2 yards
• purchased cording - 3 1/4 yards, or cording and a yard of fabric for the bias strips
• ruler and scissors, or rotary cutter and ruler 
• straight pins
• thread
• iron

Directions:

1. A Euro sham is 26 x 26 inches. Cut a piece of decorator fabric, 27 x 27, which allows for seams. On these shams, I lined the front with pellon fleece to give them more body. So cut a 27 x 27 piece of the fleece.
2. I made my own cording by cutting bias strips and sewing the cording inside. My strips were 2 inches wide and the cording was size 200. Just wrap the fabric around the cording and sew with a zipper foot.
3. Sew the cording to the square lined with fleece. Put the cording to the inside matching the outside edges. Sew.
4. Cut 4 strips, the width of the fabric, 4 inches wide. Also cut 4 strips of fleece the same size. Pin the two together making 4 strips. Sew these to the edges of the main square leaving it loose at the corners for an inch or so.
5. Then miter the corners. When you lay the whole thing flat and overlap the strips, you can draw a line from the inner to the outer edge of the corner. This is your miter line. Either sew right sides together, or fold the top strip back on the line and topstitch. This is what I did. Do this for all 4 sides.
6. Now lay this on your fabric and cut the back. You will need two pieces for the back. This will probably take 2 lengths of fabric. I cut two pieces the size of the pillow front and the whole width of the fabric. I put in a double 1-inch hem from top to bottom edge. Overlap these two about 6 inches. With the pillow front on top, trim off the extra at the sides. Now you can sew the back to the front right sides together. Turn and press. Now stitch in the ditch in the seam outside of the cording. That's it! You're done! This is a very easy sham to make and looks great.

Thanks for stopping by!