Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have so many delicious pumpkin recipes ready to share with you in the coming weeks! I know I should have posted these earlier in October but to me, pumpkin is just as much a November treat as anything. I mean, Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie? Unforgivable.

Easy Flower Clip

Pardon this venture from recipes. I actually have several recipes ready to post about but by the time I upload pictures (even if my memory card wasn't acting up), make a recipe card, and actually post... it adds up to quite a chunk of time! So I wanted to post something quick and easy, and hopefully something you mama's of girls will benefit from.

A long time ago, I made hair bows. I made several bows with ribbon, but they never looked "quite right." Sure, I used them on my girls' heads, but I'm not picky. I also made a bunch of flower clips with flowers I bought at the store. Adorable, but the bows were really expensive. I couldn't afford to keep it up.

Enter this bow: 

Cute, right? But here's the secret:

It's really easy.

Trust me, you uncrafty moms! You can make this!

All you need to do is make a bunch of graduated circles out of polyester (or a poly cotton blend fabric). By that I mean circles that start out big (mine was about 3 inch in diameter) and gradually get smaller (my smallest was about an inch, maybe less, in diameter). This was probably the hardest part, making decent circles. I struggle.

Now if you want to make a carnation-y flower, like I did here, take your scissors and snip around the circle, about every half inch or so You're just going to make a simple cut, about a half inch deep. Don't make this complicated, you hear me? If you want your flower to look more rose-y, then forgetting the snipping.

Next you're going to operate a flame starter. A fire stick? You know, one of those candle lighters. I made a circle or two to experiment with first. But basically all you're going to do is slowly run the flame starter (with the flame going, obviously) around the edges of each circle. The edges will curl up. If you bought truly cheap fabric (like moi) your fabric may, on occasion, catch on fire. No biggie, just blow it out.

Now you should have circles with curled edges. Stack your flower. Take a cute brad and poke it through the layers and push out the prongs. That's it! Glue it to an alligator clip, a headband, or if you're truly pressed for time, your daughters hair. Whatever. :)

Stroganoff Skillet

The first time I discovered this little gem of a recipe, it was Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. It dawned on me:

There's nothing in the house for dinner.

So I scoured through cookbooks trying to find a recipe that would feed us all, and I had all ingredients on hand. I found this recipe in my Gooseberry Patch cookbook. There are two things I love about it. Okay, three. No, wait, four. (I should really think before I type, huh?)

Lion House Rolls

Lion House Rolls. I have such a love-hate relationship with those suckers. As a former employee of Lion House Bakery, I used to spend my Thursday nights flipping thousands of rolls... on my feet, for hours. Okay, it was like 4 hours a night, but spending four hours a night doing the same thing over and over again is miserable.

Bow Tie Chicken Salad

Ages ago, my sister was thrown a baby shower. Our family friend Sallie Petersen (and wife of my dad's business partner and former neighbor), offered to host it at her home. She also offered to throw together this simple salad. Since then, this is our family's favorite salad. It's the perfect salad to toss together for company.

The Lunch Diva!

I posted my first guest blog post today over at The Lunch Diva. She has the cutest blog and she's so sweet. I posted a recipe for my Quick 'n' Easy Chicken Noodle Soup with a recipe card. Scoot on over to her site and check out the post!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream

I'm a little sad as I type this blog post. I'm about to show you a recipe that is so delicious, so ridiculously bad, and so easy that I will understand if we can't be friends anymore. Really. Because I'm the woman responsible for giving you the recipe that will destroy any shred of self control.

Sorry.