Neck Warmer/Ornament/Soap/Lotion Tart & a Recipe!

This month has been a great month for me as far as getting stuff in the mail! Did so many swaps the last month and now items are starting to flow in :) But before I get to that - could you please take time to check out the Etsy shops on the left sidebar. Just changed mini's yesterday. There are lots of amazing shops for you to browse!

I was part of a Secret Santa swap, these are so much fun. You have no idea who will send you something, or what it could possibly be! Well - I was very lucky to get Tattoo Annie as my Secret Santa!! She made me this amazing knitted neck warmer! I absolutely LOVE it! In a note Anne sent along - she thought I could use it while riding ATV's, but I will also be using while driving the very cold school bus all winter! It's the perfect color to go with my new jacket! LOVE red!!


As you may remember - I am addicted to handmade soap. Just purchased some from Green Love Store. Almost forgot to take a picture of the soap before heading off to the shower :) Purchased: Just Say Ahhh, Smile, & Paradise. They smell amazing! Starting with Smile, and did just that through the whole shower!


Another ornament from the Christmas Ornament/Decoration Swap came in this week too. This is just too cute for words!! It comes from Toni at Cool Tricks. I'm going to have to ask if I can copy it! Every year I make ornaments for the children on my bus. I was going to paint wood ones - but I just love these!! Could make the mittens different colors. Hmmmmm.


The last thing I will tell you about that came in the mail is some amazing Soy Was Lotion Tarts from 2 Virgos Designs. You would not believe how awesome this smells!! Jackie asked me to try her new product for a future Give Away! (in one week or so) Had to go buy a tart melter thing (isn't it cute) but it was so worth it!! That's all I'm going to say for now :) You'll just have to come back and see the review and enter to win your own.



I'm going to leave you with a picture of one of my favorite soups - Cream of Cauliflower - and also the recipe of course! It only takes about 30 minutes to make and is soooooo good! I usually use more cauliflower than the recipe calls for, to make the soup a little thicker.



Cream of Cauliflower Soup

Cook in salted water until soft:
1 medium head cauliflower, chopped

Saute' in large saucepan until yellow:
4 tbsp. butter or margarine 1/4 cup chopped onion

Blend in: 1/4 cup flour

Add: 3 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
cauliflower and cooking water

Cook until mixture thickens slightly.

Add: 1 cup shredded cheese

Stir to melt cheese and serve sprinkled with herbs.

Enjoy! Have have an awesome weekend.

I'm Still Swapping!

Last week I received my next ornament in the Christmas Ornament/Decoration Swap. This amazing little basket stocking comes from Baskets by Rose. This ornament is amazing!! How does she do that?! Should tell hubby that a small roundish gold Christmas Present would fit nicely into this ornament! (hint hint) Please check out Rose's shop - she has the most amazing baskets!!


I traded with Candles by Marla. Just got my package this morning. Could not believe the amazing smell that came out of the box when I opened it. The orange candle is "Pumpkin Custard Spice" & the purple one is "Spiced Sugar Plums". They look so pretty and smell so nice, I don't want to use them :) If you love candles - you really need to check out Marla's shop. There are an amazing variety of candles to choose from, all different sizes, shapes and scents! You won't be disappointed - I promise!



Another trade I did was with Artrageous Clay. I'd been admiring the heart shaped earrings for a while now, then Regina added the snowman earrings to her shop! A couple of weeks ago, I went back to look again and she had the cutest reindeer earrings! It was time to make contact and possibly trade. She was quite willing and now I am the proud owner of 3 pairs of the cutest handmade earrings! Do you think it's to early to wear the reindeer ones?
Have you been trading? If you love trading you should check out this site! I joined it a few weeks ago. They have a Secret Santa exchange that I joined, and a bead swap, fabric swap and I think they were planning a scrap booking paper swap too. It's a wonderful site!


Visit Trade-A-Holics


Have a really great Tuesday!!

Look What I Found!!

Before I get to what I've found on the net this week - I have to show you what Logan found!! This year Logan is in Grade 12, and because he was in the vocational program as well as the regular school program, he is now a Level One Diesel Mechanic Apprentice. So that means he can work at the local John Deere dealership when he's not in school, and get school credit for it plus get paid!! We managed to work it out so that Logan would have 3 classes in the morning this semester, then work in the afternoons. So he decided that he needed a vehicle to get from school to work at lunch, then get back home after work. This is Logan's "new" little truck! (2002 Chevy S-10). Isn't it cute?!


Last week I received an Invitation to Join a "Shop Swap & Blog". What a wonderful idea!! What's happening is: You sign up to swap a product or products from you shop with someone else, then when the packages are received, we blog about them and promote the shop!! It's a great way to get some positive feed back and promotion! Here is the link to sign up (you have till the end of the month):


If you have been to my blog before you know how much I enjoy entering Give Aways!! Sometime I even get lucky enough to win. This arrived in the mail on Wednesday. It's a serving/cutting board from Sowabisabi. The board is wonderful (really love the card too!), and I'm so impressed with their shop and the wonderful items they have that I asked if I could do a feature on their shop and they agreed! So look for that in December, but please check out their shop now!!



I've entered this wonderful give away! I love Momma B's painting, and actually have painted some of the same items. The Give Away can be found at Momma B's Blog. Please take the time to check out her on-line shop at Momma B's Front Porch Crafts & Prims where she has a wonderful selection of just beautifully painted items!


If you haven't already entered the Give Away's I'm hosting, Please check them out at the top right hand sidebar! Hope everyone has an awesome weekend!!
Also Please check out my Christmas Ornament Swap 2 posts down!!