PRETTY BOUQUETS, BUTTERY SUGAR COOKIES AND LAST CHANCE FOR A GREAT GIVEAWAY!

I was at a little grocery store the other day that's just around the corner.  It's nothing fancy--no Starbucks or huge bakery.   The floral department is very tiny.  I was so pleasantly surprised to find these really neat flowers.  Three bunches for $12.  I usually look for the biggest, fullest bouquets to make several vases from but these just intrigued me.  I cleared the huge dough bowl filled with apples and pears off the table, gave it a bit of polish and a different runner and I'm so happy with the simple look.

If you follow me on Instagram, I hope I don't sound too redundant...I posted this shot last night.  I can't remember the names of the other flowers but the yellow ones in the forefront are called Kangaroo Paw.  I love it!  Even The Husband was smiling as we looked at the yellow blooms.  Has anyone ever heard of this plant?  I hope these last a long while...maybe they can be dried.

And speaking of drying flowers, I saved the roses from some of the bouquets the girls carried in Jeff and Deirdre's wedding in August (I'm pretty sure neither of them read my blog so I can share this).  I found a shadow box at Michael's that I'm going to line with some old sheet music and display the roses inside.  A Christmas present, their first Christmas married and a little remembrance  of their wedding.  I'll share it once I find the time to work on it.  Remember, I'm not too crafty so I tend to not  want to jump into this sort of stuff!

Another pic I put on IG this morning.  The sun was making this room glow very early as if there could have been little fairies dancing and hiding out of sight in corners.  I just love this sort of filtered sunlight that comes in through my windows during autumn.  My living room, dining area and kitchen face east so this is the brightest place in my house in the morning and it's always a warm and wonderful spot in which  to relax with that first cup of coffee.  

I have had such a terrible time shaking off this upper respiratory thing in my head and chest.  Some days I feel better than others and when I feel energetic I want to take advantage of it.  Saturday morning I had an incredible urge to declutter, I think I wrote in my last post a bit about my frustration with all the stuff I have everywhere.  How does one store away treasures and pieces that call out their name (and very loudly) while out browsing?  I actually cleared a few things off those shelves, and that crazy ivy I bought 2 months ago is devouring my old cabinet so I really don't have much more room to clutter it up.  I stored away a few pillows and simplified the mantel and hearth which you can't see, and I'm feeling sort of good about it all.  And as I peeled away the layers I scrubbed sinks, disinfected counters and changed the sheets on the bed.  As I cleared off my dresser, nightstand and vanity, I tossed out old magazines and catalogs in the basket next to my bed.  I also demanded...er, encouraged The Husband to clear off the top of his armoire.  He did a pretty spiffy job I might say.  

I made barbecued ribs for dinner with sweet potatoes and broccoli and for dessert we had vanilla yogurt with my good 'ol granola on top.  A great day and believe me, I was actually a bit sore this morning! 

If you remember me writing in my last post how Milo discovered my new Target bargain blanket, well...Layla got her revenge this week and has no plans to give it up.  I tried to soothe Milo's hurt feelings by putting a comfy throw on another chair but he was't having it.  He now skulks off to bed about 9:00 p.m. with The Husband.  Both are rascals and don't appreciate the abundance of cozy pillows and throws I make available.  Ingrates.  ;-)

I was going to write a post last night and lo and behold, I stumbled upon the Hallmark Channel and holiday movies are well underway.  I watched two in a row and right now I have another on.  I think these are older and the new ones will start in a week or two.  Nothing gets me in the mood for Christmas like watching these happily ever after movies.  

Speaking of television, I actually made a point of trying to follow a series as I've always been super envious of people who have watched entire seasons of shows like Mad Men, Downton Abby, Blacklist and the like.  So The Husband and I started to watch Blindspot which is on NBC Monday nights.  I think it's an excellent show and it gets great reviews.  Does anyone out there watch it?  If you can get the previous shows it would be well worth your time to catch up.  It's a drama involving the FBI, bad guys and good guys (who often turn into bad guys).  I haven't followed a series since Friends 10 years ago.  Seriously.  What can I say, I've always preferred reading for entertainment but television has me sort of mesmerized lately.  I'm easily distracted though so it is never on until after dinner.  

Today I had the urge to do something other than cleaning and laundry so I pulled out the flour and sugar and eggs and made some sugar cookies.  This was a different sort of recipe.  I had wanted to roll out the dough and use cookie cutters but as I was mixing it all up I couldn't help but see that the dough was really soft and sticky.  Comparing the recipe to a few others online I noticed that it involved much more butter and 2 eggs as opposed to 1.  So I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to have cute little leaf and apple shapes and ended up making little balls and flattening them out by pressing them with the bottom of a glass as shown in the recipe.  I was so pleasantly surprised when they came out of the oven crisp and buttery tasting, almost like shortbread.  The recipe is a keeper.  You can find it here. 

I'm going to wind up this post by saying that I'll keep the giveaway open for this wonderful book until my next post to give as many people as possible a chance to win.   I'm going to do the old 'throwing the names in a hat' or even better as I used to do with my giveaways in the past, close my eyes and run my finger down the comments stopping randomly.  With two posts and chances to win, I'll pull one of two number out of a hat to determine which post in which I'll find that winner.   Fair enough?

I'm doing a two page spread for the newspaper for the December issue.  There is so much to share.  Recipes and decorating, table settings and tips I've gleaned over the years, and I love to add my photos and they take up a lot of space!  I have until the 16th to get that in so I'll be plugging away on that.  And I think I'm doing better at visiting blogs---at least I hope so.

Have a good week, whether it be raking up leaves or being immersed in a great book.  The days are fleeting, let's savor each and every moment!

Jane x