Sock Monkey Hat

I found this adorable Sock Monkey Hat by Nicole Montgomery on Ravelry and just had to make it.  You can find her pattern for sale at her etsy shop.  I'm working on another one right now to send to my nephew. It's a great pattern! It also makes a great hat without adding on the sock monkey face.  When I started knitting the child size hat I didn't check my gauge and it ended up being too big, so I passed it along to my sister.  I definitely would have worn it, but you know we don't typically see cold weather down here in Houston.

Pan Organization

So, after 3 years I finally had to get this cabinet above my oven under control.  It was an avalanche waiting to happen.

I had plans to put in wood slats, but I found something at Ikea that would take care of the problem.  It's so nice to be able to find things in seconds.

Porch - Thanksgiving

Here's a glimpse of my porch decorated for Thanksgiving.  I thought I'd show you a picture before I change it to Christmas.  I re-did my wreath this year with a few floral items from Hobby Lobby.  This is why I love grapevine wreaths they are so easy to change up.  I probably spent all of $5 updating this wreath.

Pumpkin Dip

Are you looking for new ways to use pumpkin puree? I tried out a new recipe today and yum, I thought it was delicious.  You know I'm a fan of anything sweet.  It was from the magazine Cooking Light - October 2003.

Ingredients: 
6 oz. of cream cheese (light version)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tsp of maple syrup
1/2 tsp of cinnamon


Add first 3 ingredients to a bowl and beat until mixed.  Add remaining ingredients and beat till smooth. Serve with apples.  


I also used graham crackers to dip into the pumpkin dip and it tasted yummy too. My little guy liked it too.

The Princess Basket

I forgot to show you the princess basket I helped assemble for my daughter's school.  It was seriously a hit with all the little girls.  What was funny is my daughter actually won the basket.  She was beyond excited when she found it in our living room that morning.  Look at how happy she is that she won. I had to explain to her that she won't win every year. 

Here she is posing in her new Little Mermaid outfit and scooter. 

Here is a picture of the basket before we put all the stuff in it.  I bought an storage bin and made a liner for it.  I'm glad I kept the lid so I can still use it as a storage container. 

On a side note, the lamp I helped the kids make ended up auctioning off for $750.  Hurray! 

3-D Turkey Craft

I was on the hunt to find a Thanksgiving craft for my daughter's classroom.  I found a fantastic 3-D turkey project with a pdf from Designs with Heart.  You can go to the Designs with Heart page here and download the instructions.  It's a great craft to do with the kids and makes a cute centerpiece or decoration.

Autumn Centerpiece

I'm trying hard to avoid getting the Christmas stuff out.  Don't get me wrong I love Christmas, but I think I would get tired of having it out after awhile.  I don't have too many things to decorate with for Thanksgiving and actually there isn't much in the stores for Thanksgiving.  They seem to skip it and go straight to Christmas.  I decided put together a centerpiece to put on our dining room table with some items I had on hand.  It's very simple and won't mold, since it's all fake.  I recently added some gourds to the mix and then a few days later saw that they were molding.  Ewww. So, off to the trash they went.