My husband and I have been eating a lot of squash this fall.  It's always been one of our favorite foods but when it's zero points and a wonderful filler-- we are eating even more of it than ever. I was looking for a few new recipes for both acorn and butternut squash when I saw three different recipes for stuffed acorn squash in one week!  I figured that was a sign we should try this out and boy did we love it! I finally settled on this Pin and actually followed the recipe almost exactly! The only changes I made were to: sprinkle the squash with a bit of cinnamon before roasting onl ..read more

It's the third Tuesday of the month and time for another Pinterest Challenge!  I love a nice hot soup on a cold day and when I saw this pin for Taco Soup on Pinterest (that was also Weight Watchers friendly!) I just knew I had to give it a try.  All three of my boys actually eat tacos so I thought they might be open to trying the soup as well. I changed the recipe a bit to fit our tastes and what I had in our pantry. Ingredients: 1 lb. lean ground turkey 2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix (I make my own but one store bought packet would work) 2 cups reduced fat beef broth 2 cups water 14 ..read more

We were having some friends over last month and looking for a decadent but easy dessert to throw together at kind of the last minute.  I suggested a no-bake dessert and Alec headed to Pinterest to see what he could find.  He found a recipe he really liked but we tweaked it (a lot!) to suit our tastes and the ingredients we had on hand. The dessert consists of 4 layers; a cookie crust, a sweetened cream cheese layer, a pudding layer, and the cool whipped topping. Ingredients: For the crust: 14 ounces Oreo cookies; Crushed 1 stick melted butter For the sweetened cream cheese layer: 8 oun ..read more

Every year for the past few years I have taken place in an ornament crafting exchange and it's one of my favorite craft projects of the year!  This year I was paired up with Vicki from Two Bees in a Pod. As soon as I saw a picture of her beautiful blue and white tree in her family room with the touches of silver I just knew I wanted to make something for that tree.   I set about making my own faux murcury glass ornamants.  I read a few different tutorials on how to do this and then tried out my own technique.  Using clear plastic ornaments, some looking glass spray paint and a small w ..read more

Every year for the past few years I have taken place in an ornament crafting exchange and it's one of my favorite craft projects of the year!  This year I was paired up with Jenny from Cookies, Coffee, and Crafts.  We exchanged a few e-mails and when she told me "I love buffalo check, Rae Dunn inspired, Farmhouse style" I knew just the thing to make! I purchased a set of 4" embroidery hoops, some pre-cut 5" buffalo check fabric, and set to work using my Cricut for some Rae Dunn inspired words. The hardest part for me was to pick the actual pattern of the fabric to use-- sure the large ..read more

Welcome to the 2019 Ornament Exchange Link Party! It’s the fourth year of the blogger ornament exchange and you'll find hundreds of DIY ornament tutorials and inspiration. This link party runs from November 14th through December 14th, so make sure to come back to add as many handmade ornament tutorials before it closes! (collage image of host ornaments will go here) This year, we have 38 talented bloggers hosting the handmade ornament exchange link party! The rules of the challenge were simple: create a handmade ornament for $15 or under, create a tutorial (all tutorials are linked belo ..read more

We had the chance to visit the Fire Museum a few weeks ago and while I wasn't sure the small museum would be worth the time it took to drive there we reluctantly agreed to go with some friends of ours. I am so glad we did too as we had the best time!  We had a guided tour and the worker was so knowledgeable about everything in the museum.  We spent 2 1/2 hours exploring every room and floor. We learned a lot about the history of fire fighting and the history of Connecticut in general. We learned about the restoration process and costs of many of the old fire trucks they've made good ..read more

Today I am linking up with some fellow bloggers for a Dollar Store craft challenge.  I don't often participate in these challenges since I try to stay away from our local Dollar Stores; I find they can be quite dangerous for me!  I knew this was the perfect time to find some inexpensive holiday decorations though and I just LOVE how my wreath turned out!  I hope you stop by and see what the other hosts are sharing. Meet this month's co-hosts! Across the Blvd | Purple Hues & Me This Autoimmune Life | Our Unschooling Journey Domestic Deadline | Sew Crafty Crochet ..read more

This month's 10 on the 10th list is all about our favorite gifts to give.  While I am hard at work writing up my Christmas list this list could not come at a more perfect time! 1.  Something I've Crafted-- I love making gifts for family members and I really enjoy experimenting with different crafts each year.  I've made homemade lotions and sugar scrubs, pillows and blankets, vinyl embellished everything and lots and lots of ornaments. 2.  An experience-- Rather than buying just another toy that will be forgotten about in no time we try to buy experiences for our boys (and thi ..read more

I have been wanting to try making our own caramel apples for quite some time now but it's just one of those things that we kept forgetting about or putting off for another day until the next thing you know a year or so went by and we still hadn't made any. I decided this was the year and when I found a quick and easy tutorial for making caramel apples on A Grace Full Life I immediately went out and bought our supplies. Honey crisp apples caramels milk chocolate melts candy bars (we used Butterfingers) My boys wanted to embellish our apples with crushed candies, melted chocolate, and we eve ..read more