Monday, October 8, 2007

Tis the Season to be FALLY...FALL LA LA LA LA!


Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine wasn't much of one. Rob worked Saturday and I helped my friend/step cousin at her yard sale Fri and Sat. I made $35 which wasn't bad considering I didn't' put much in there. Rob put his XBOX in the yard sale and sold it for $100. He also sold his collection of thousands of baseball cards for the same price on the same day! Cool! Speaking of...that's me and my honey in the pics. I put pics of us b/c I have some great date ideas to tell you and they are cheap!

DATE NIGHT
Don't have a lot of time or money to go on expensive dates? Especially if you have kids-young kids-still living at home? Well here are a few tips courtesy of ALL*You Magazine (www.allyou.com).
1-Dinner & A movie-
fix your hubby a nice dinner that is ready for him when he comes home from work. To make it more personal and romantic, have candles lit on the table and romantic music playing in the background. Use your good china for this special occasion. After you eat, the two of you can clean up real quick and then go sit all cozy on the couch curled under a blanket with the lights turned off and watch a movie. You can go to your local movie rental and rent for less than 4 bucks (still cheaper than going to the movie theater), or choose one that you already own. If you're like us and have a DVR or TiVo and have a movie recorded already on there, watch that. Sometimes TV channels like Fox and Hallmark will have good movies playing on the weekends so check that out. Or check out HBO for their free movie preview weekend and watch it for free! If you really want to make it feel more like the movies-pop some popcorn and drink soda! You can even buy your favorite candy bar at the grocery store and have it too! And it will be much cheaper than buying it at the movies! If you do dinner and movie on a night that you have the kids, make it kid friendly. Make a fun dinner like Sloppy Joe's and mac and cheese, and choose a family movie such as Charlotte's Web or Madagascar.
2-Have a picnic-
pack a picnic basket with your favorite sandwiches, chips, dip and drinks and take a blanket outside to your backyard and have your picnic under the stars. If it's warmer weather-don't forget bug spray! Once again, you can make this a family affair and do this with your kids. If the weather permits-take your kids to the park and have your family picnic there.
3-Have a coffee date-go to your local coffee shop and drink a cup of coffee and share a pastry. If you're like me and don't go for coffee, try a latte or hot chocolate. One of mine and Rob's favorite places to go to have coffee (well him-me a Dr. Pepper or hot chocolate) and sit and talk is Huddle House. We also like to eat there for breakfast (along with Brenda's Cafe which is just up the road from our house). This can also be a cozy date at home. Set the alarm clock to get up earlier than the kids normally do and sit out on the porch sipping your coffee and watch the sunrise together. Or do this at night after the kids have gone to bed and watch the sunset! Either way-it's very romantic!

FALL DECORATING TIPS
Now is the time to decorate for FALL! We don't celebrate Halloween b/c we are Christians and it's a Pagan Holiday. So, instead of decorating with ghosts, goblins and witches I just decorate with pumpkins, scarecrows, and yummy fall smelling candles! We love to take Chloe to our local Pumpkin Patch and I buy pumpkins of all sizes there to decorate with. We plan on taking Chloe this Saturday. I've posted some pics at the bottom to show my Fall decorations.


Fun Fall Activities
1-
If your town or one close by has a Pumpkin Patch, that's a cheap activity to take your kids to. Ours cost only 2 dollars and there's an animal maze and a hay ride included. Plus, there's lots of great backdrops for the perfect fall picture to take of your kids!
2-Get together with your church, family or friends and plan a hot dog roast and hayride. Our church has got one planned for November. I can't wait!

FALL RECIPE
This is a recipe that yours truly created. I had some peaches that needed to be used and I just created this recipe with stuff I had in my kitchen. My husband came up with the name. I submitted it to Gooseburry Patch and I plan on submitting it to Rachael Ray and Paula Deen. Hope you enjoy!

Peachy Pumpkin Pie Flip-Overs by: Melissa Luck

2-3 peaches, sliced

2 tsp butter

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

2-3 tbs pumpkin pie spice-more if needed-you really want to bring this flavor out

1 tsp brown sugar

1-2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup sugar

Powdered sugar

Ginger

1 can of crescent rolls-use more if expecting more guests

In a median sauce pan add the butter, the peaches and all of the ingredients. Simmer on the stove for about 10 minutes on medium-high. After 10 minutes, put on the lowest temperature and set aside.

(Your crescent rolls can be cooking for the first 5 minutes while you are simmering the peach mix). Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Lay the crescent rolls flat on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle each one with ginger-however much you want. Bake at the temperature the directions say to. Bake for 5 minutes, right as they are starting to get golden, then take out of the oven. Take your peach mix and spoon a table spoon of mixture onto each roll. Roll into a crescent and hold with a toothpick. Put back into the oven and bake for 5-10 minutes; until golden brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Serve with your favorite ice cream for an extra yummy taste!






3 comments:

Unknown said...

Lookin good!!

Junebug said...

Thanks, Melissa. Come see the extra pictures I posted today after the dentist. I got a crown, but not one for my head. My mouth :))) I've got an interesting picture of Ree's husband's family's house.

Junebug said...

We never celebrated Halloween with our kids either, not once. Our church provided something to do and called it "Hallejeuh Fest" with games and prizes so the kids wouldn't feel left out.