Around the Office

{An old stack of frames I would like to paint white and hang in my office}

{Several people gave us their used tissue paper for shipping. This is just our white/cream pile}

{The beginnings of a lobster gift/party set everything you need to host a seafood feast}

{Our little office Christmas tree}

On The Road Again

{Slick roads as we headed into Southern IL}

It's Wednesday afternoon (the day after Christmas) when most people are relaxing with their loved ones or traveling home from visiting family we left our home behind in Illinois to travel to Nashville, Tennessee for a little get away. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year. 

Friday Inspiration: Stop and Enjoy the Lights

I'm excited to take a break from all the hustle and bustle now that my Christmas shopping and wrapping is winding down. I plan to kick back this weekend and enjoy the festivities like looking at Christmas lights. I don't know if there are houses this decked out for Christmas around me but I would sure like to find out.

Image source

DIY Packaging

Creating a pretty package is one of my favorite things to do if time allows. This year I decided to wrap all my Christmas gifts in kraft paper and use bakers twine to attach the tags. I found this download online to print (I used white card stock to print them on) plain yellow tags. After seeing so many inspirational packaging images on Pinterest I decided to (since all my packages are already wrapped) start embellishing them. I found two other tag downloads online. This one lets you print large tags with movie quotes on them and this one has several Christmas sayings that I also added to some of my packages. They could also double as tags if you prefer. The possibilities are endless and sure to wow your loved ones before they even open the package guaranteeing yours to be one of the first presents reached for under the tree. 

{elements from nature, twine, a jar of ribbon, tape, pen, sissors, washi tape, labels, and bakers twine}

{A few of my finished packages}

Friday Inspiration: Keep Christmas all the Year

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." - Charles Dickens

My favorite line in one of my favorite Christmas movies (that I love watching each year) but also a good reminder to try and keep the joy of Christmas all year long. 

Image source can be found on my Pinterest 

DIY Advent Calendar

I was looking for ideas on easy to make advent calendars when I came across this tutorial. It's so simple and cute all you need is a jar or container to put the paper slips in and the rest can be printed from their site. Now after printing and cutting out the paper slips comes the fun part deciding what to do each day until Christmas! Since I don't have children at home I didn't worry about purchasing the pom poms or coming up with anything too elaborate, like treasure hunts or rhyming. I kept my activities pretty simple like bake cookies, watch a Christmas movie, or wrap presents. With an advent calendar this simple there is no reason why you can't start one today.

I Am Thankful For You

In the weeks of November I have been writing about what I am thankful for. Not only have I told you how thankful I am for my family, and my country, but I'm also thankful for my many loyal customers over the past years. Without you I would not still be in business. Hope I can continue to serve you in the coming year of 2013. In the next few weeks we hope to offer more new products and if there is something you would like to see us carry we would love to hear about it.

Image source can be found on my Pinterest site.

DIY Hand Scrub

I am a huge fan of Mary Kay's Satin Hands. I actually was just gifted the set recently after using up all I had left. When I received my Mary Kay set I came across this blog post that teaches how to make a similar version at a fraction of the price. I figured I would give it a try since I love the stuff so much even though I have more than enough scrub now. The recipe takes a lot of sugar and the pink Dawn was hard to find. I actually picked it up on a recent trip. But it smells wonderful and it's just as good as the Mary Kay version. If anything I think I will be using this Dawn dish soap from now on to wash my dishes.

Accessories

 {Lobster Picks #310 LPS}

Now all our new party accessories are up and running on our Disposable Plastic Wear site. You can find them under the accessories tab.

 {Metal Seafood Forks/Scoops  #333 SF}

 {Metal Seafood Forks #333 FO}

 {Seafood Set #333 SET}

{Set of 3 Metal Cookie Cutters #333 CC}

Friday Inspiration: Giving Thanks

Being able to relax and spend time with family yesterday was such a blessing. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

 {Not only did we celebrate Thanksgiving but two birthdays in our family}

 {Blackberry Cobbler & Banana Cream Pie}

{My pumpkin pie made with pie pumpkins. Tasted excellent by the way}

Thanksgiving doggie bags

{paper bags, stencils or stamps, pens or markers}

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I have a lot left to do (since I am hosting) I thought I would keep today's post simple. Inspired by a pin on my Pinterest account I made these Thanksgiving doggie bags for my guests to take home whatever their hearts desire. I always keep plenty of paper bags on hand for just this reason but for tomorrow I'm dressing them up a bit with holiday stencils.

{Close bags with a staple or for a more polished look with twine}

Thanksgiving Prep

{Three small pie pumpkins}

Thanksgiving will be at my house this year and I have already started prepping. I've made three pies so far (pumpkin, blackberry cobbler, and pecan pie) that are in the freezer waiting for Thursday. Below are a few images of my pumpkin pie prep using real pumpkins to get my pumpkin puree instead of from a can. This is my first time using pie pumpkins instead of canned pumpkin can't wait to taste the results and hopefully enjoy the fruits of my labor.

{I cut my pie pumpkin into quarters and scooped out the seeds}

{The pieces go into the oven after which I can easily scoop out the inside}

Friday Inspiration: Thankful for my Country

Today I would like to say how thankful I am for my country. I am thankful for the freedoms we've enjoyed and hopefully our country will always enjoy. I am thankful for the men and women who have fought and continue to fight for us because freedom isn't free. I am thankful for the beauty of our country "from the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans, white with foam." I'm thankful for the freedom of religion. I am thankful for the freedom to elect our leaders, and as an American I am thankful for the opportunity to become anything I want to be.

I am proud to be an American.

Source for image can be found on my Pinterest account.

Pumpkin Seeds

Using this recipe I cooked the rest (you can see the other recipe here) of my pumpkin seeds with the hull on this time. They did turn out to be rather yummy as the recipe says. They are very crunchy easy to bite into no problems getting any of the hulls stuck in between my teeth and if you still don't particularly like the hull it's easy to break open and only eat the inside. This recipe was much easier than the last one and I will definitely be making these again.

 {Boiling the seeds first to make them easier to eat}

 {Drying my seeds before cooking them}

 {Packaging some to give away}

Veterans Day

{My husband serving in Viet Nam}

In honor of Veterans Day, we'd like to take a moment to remember all who have served our country and continue to do so. We thank you so much for all that you do for our country as well as honor your loved ones for all they have to go through while you're away.

{My father serving in World War II in the Pacific}

{My uncle who lost his life in the Pacific during World War II}

Friday Inspiration: Thankful for Family

I am thankful for my family. I am so blessed to have both of my parents still living and in good health. I am thankful that all three of my daughters live close by and I get to see them on a regular basis. And I am blessed to be the grandmother of three beautiful grandchildren.

Hulless Pumpkin Seeds

Using the seeds from our carved pumpkins I decided to make a healthy snack. Pumpkin seeds are packed with iron, magnesium, fiber, zinc, potassium, healthy fats, protein, and tryptophan. I used this recipe (hulling boiled seeds) to remove the hulls first before baking them. I have only tried cooking pumpkin seeds once in my life and thought the outside was very tough and not too tasty. When I came across how to hull pumpkin seeds I was intrigued and decided to give it a try. It was pretty easy to get the seed out by squeezing the sides until it popped open or cracked and then I peeled the outside away. This process was very time consuming and I decided to only do two large handfuls of pumpkin seeds and the amount I got after hulling them was a very small but tasty bowl of seeds.

To toast my seeds (after removing the hulls) I soaked them over night in 2/3 c. water with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Next I placed them on a baking pan added melted butter and salt and cooked them at 300 degrees for 20 min. (until golden brown) about every 5 minuets I moved them around with a spatula to keep them from burning. The kids loved them and they taste a lot like popcorn.

 {Boiling the pumpkin seeds in salt}

{Pumpkin seeds ready to be hulled}

 {After my seeds were done cooking}