Recipe #1- Healthy Peach "Milkshake"

Ok, so I promised to do recipes, so here goes! I'll try to be posting every other day.. maybe less. That way y'all aren't overwhelmed with posts every day! ;-)  Also, just on a side note, the Giveaway for the Buttercup earrings ends on October 5th.  The same day our second giveaway begins!  So, be sure to enter soon!  The winner will be drawn the day after.

This recipe is a favorite in my house.  The yogurt and honey make it the 'healthy' shake... but don't worry, because it really does taste like a milkshake!  I figured peaches were kind of a 'fall fruit'. Thus why it counts as a 'fallish' recipe! ;-)

Healthy Peach "Milk Shake":

A good handful of fresh (or frozen) peaches.  If using frozen, keep in mind that they might not taste as sweet/good as the fresh!
About 1 & a 1/2 cups of yogurt (plain or vanilla flavored)
Honey to sweeten
A scoop of vanilla protein powder (optional)

Blend all ingredients together blender until smooth.  Serve chilled.  Enjoy!

Simple, no?  Make sure you use Honey to sweeten as it is part of what makes the 'milkshake' healthy.  Also, I call it a milkshake because, I kid you not, it tastes like one!!  If you use protein powder, this makes a great breakfast.

Giveaway #1- Buttercup earrings from Emariecreations

Alright, time for our first giveaway!

Miss Samantha has a wonderful Etsy shop, Emariecreations.  She has some of the most adorable little polymer clay items available on the market today.  In fact, if I had enough money, I think I'd buy out her shop! ;-) Granted, of course, that she delivered everything in person.. teehee! =D

Just to give you a taste of what she's got, here are a few of my favorite items:

This lovely Mum flower necklace has become one of my favorites! It is just adorable, and I can see it paired with a lovely, feminie outfit and black heels!

She also has the Mum Ring....

and Mum bobby pins to complete the look.

My favorite for the season would be her darling pumpkin earrings.  Aren't they just too cute?

The wonderful set of Charms is also a wonderful gift idea.  You could buy one of these and supply several gifts for your friends... or, keep them for yourself and enjoy changing your look by simply exchanging a charm.

The donut push pins.. adorable! Need I say more..  "Order of donuts, please!" Seriously, these make my mouth water!

And last, but certainly not least, my absolute favorite right now, her Sweet Victorian bobby pins. Aren't they lovely?  Just looking at them makes me feel feminine and beautiful. :-)

Now for the prize!   Miss Samantha has graciously donated her lovely Buttercup earrings in the color of your choice for our giveaway today!  Exciting, no?

Alright, here's how to enter!

Mandatory Entry:

Go and check out Samantha's shop HERE, then come and comment to let me know which is your favorite item.

Extra entries:

Go and follow Samantha's blog ~2 entries
Follow my sister's photography blog (link here) ~4 entries
Vote on my sister's button pole AND leave a comment on her blog ~3 entries
Add the photography contest button to your side bar ~2 entries
Blog about this, using the blog button in the post (leave direct link to post in comment) ~3 entries
Email 5 friends about it ~3 entries

All entries may be left in one comment, or several. Whichever is more convenient. :-)

Alright, Let's get this show on the road!

In Christ's Service,
Sarah

Giveaway tomorrow...

Hello!

I decided to do the giveaway tomorrow... that way I am not posting every day of week.. :-) So, you will probably begin to see a pattern of interview, giveaway, recipe throughout the next couple of weeks until the photography contest ends.

Please remember to spread the word about the photography contest!!

In Christ's Service,
Sarah

Interview with Miss Samantha

Samantha, over at Simple Delights, is here for our very first interview.  Miss Samantha has been a wonderful friend of mine for a couple of years now and I really hope you'll enjoy reading her interview and checking out her Etsy shop and blog! (links below)

Tell us a little bit about yourself: 

I am a recent homeschool graduate, stay-at-home-daughter and Christian.

I enjoy cooking and baking, being outdoors, playing the piano and spending time with friends.

I would also like to learn how to sew in the near future, as I have a great weakness for beautiful historical costumes! I would love

to participate in a historical reeanactment someday.

I enjoy all things Jane Austen and would love to visit England someday.
 
When did you first begin working with polymer clay?

 

I began playing around with polymer clay around the age of 10 or 11. I made

a lot of dollhouse food and tea sets when I first started!
 
What is your favorite thing to make in your shop and why? 

 

I really enjoy making the assorted charms, because I can be really

creative with the colors. They are some of my best-sellers.
   
How long have you been on Etsy? 

 

I opened my shop in August of 2009 along with my older sister. I sold my polymer clay creations and my sister sold fabric headbands. My sister is not selling anymore, but I have continued to keep up the shop and love it!
  
What inspired you to start you Etsy shop? 

 

Okay, I wouldn't be honest if I said it wasn't to make some money. ;)

That was probably the real reason I started. I was in my later teens and was wanting to be able to make some money to

buy clothes, piano music, etc. And while it has ended up being a pretty good money making venture for me, I have also enjoyed

getting to work with other crafters and handmade artists. I love being able to create a custom item for someone and then have them

contact me and tell me how much they love the item. It feels so good to be able to create items that make people smile.
 
Do you have any suggestions for fellow Etsians? 

 

Love what you do! If you don't really enjoy it, it will end up being a drudgery to you. And if it isn't fun for you that will show in your shop.

I recently wrote a several part series on opening an Etsy shop on my blog:

http://simpledelights-samantha.blogspot.com/

It talks about some of the really important things that you should do before opening your shop.

Anything else you would like to share?

 

You can read about my interests here on my blog:

http://simpledelights-samantha.blogspot.com/

I also post movie reviews, recipes and giveaways.

 

Thank you, Samantha!!!   Be sure to go and check out her Etsy shop.  Samantha has been very kind and has contributing something to my giveaway!  So, be sure to come and check out tomorrow... you won't want to miss out!

Autumn Glory Photography Contest

One of my favorite things about the beginning of Autumn is looking back at the fun memories of Summer.... and then looking ahead with excitment and anticipation to the days of Fall.  That is why I decided that now would be a fun time to host a photography contest in honor of those sweet memories and the brigh future.  However, I also have another reason for doing this......

The Summer Pastimes/Autumn Glory Photography contest (and the giveaways) are all in honr of my best friend and Sister, Rebecca.  I am trying ot help spread the word about her new Etsy Shop and Photography blog!  Want to help me do it?  Wonderful!

Now, I kind of decided to go big with this whole thing... so, there will be several giveaways throughout the contest, some Autumn recipes, and fun interviews (maybe even a few tutorials, if I ever get around to them...).  Don't miss out! And help spread the word.  Grab a button (located on my sidebar) and let's get going!

First things first... The Rules of the photography contest.  Please be sure to read and follow each instruction. Also, the giveaways are not limited to those who are entering the photography contest.

Rules of Entry:

There are 3 categories that you may enter:  Summer Memories, Autumn Happiness , My Favorite Thing (you get to enter any photo!).  You are not limited to just one category.  You may enter up to 3 photos per category.

All photos must be appropriate (no immodest, crude, gross objects in the picture)

Your photographs may be edited, but if you edit them to any great extent, please be sure to post the original as well.

All photographs will be judged according to how well they fit into their category.

This photography contest ends October 31^st.  All entrants have until then to get their photographs posted and linked up to THIS POST.  Any entries posted after midnight (Central Time) on the 31^st will not be allowed.

When you post your photographs on your blog, be sure to list what category(s) you are entering, and put the direct link to that post in a comment below.

And last but not least, I have the right to eliminate any of the photos if I think that they are inappropriate in any way.

Now go and spread the word, tell all of your friends, and get ready for a fun time in the blogosphere! Also, if you want to enter several categories, they may be entered at seperate times. In other words, you don't have to do Autumn and Summer in the same post. :-)

I put this at the end of the post so that it will be fresh in your memory… Be sure to go and check out my Sister’s Blog,  …. And her new Etsy Shop!

By the way, the pictures in for the blog buttons were taken by Miss Rebecca.. :-)

A tribute to a very good dog...

Ok, it may seem really odd and ridiculous that I am giving tribute to a dog, but really..... A family pet? Man's best friend? Where can you go wrong?  Seriously, though, this is a tribute and goodbye to a very good dog.  Our family dog, Lady. Why did we call her that?  Well, we had a dog named Tramp. Need I say more? =D

Many of you may have seen pictures of Lady floating around on my blog here, or my Mom's blog, or my Sister's blog.  In any case, you probably know who she is since I have more than likely mentioned her on here before.  Actually, I should back up and say... Y'all should know her since I posted about her puppies! ha. Ok, there we go.

We got Lady from a lady (not the same lady) who rescued dogs off the streets and whatnot.  She was just a puppy at the time, and very adorable.  I held her in the car while we drove home and well... let's just say she got car sick and my coat was not any better for it. ;-)

We brought her home and she settled in.  She absolutely LOVED it out on the ranch! If there was one thing she enjoyed it was running after the pickup truck, chasing antelope, and running coyotes off the place....... in her dreams.  She was actually a rather sedate dog and didn't like running around too much. ;-)

She was a rather funny little dog... amazingly sweet and docile, didn't mind little kids hanging on her or using her as a pillow... and she loved to pose for the camera! If you don't believe, just take a look at the pics below....

(That ^ Is her 'romantic' look....) 

(^She heard mom say 'all the lovely ladies in for a picture!'...)

(^Wasn't she just adorable? Who could resist those eyes?) 

Almost two years ago, she got pregnant and had her one little puppy, Dottie.  A month or so later, as most of you know, Little Dottie died.  She was a pretty special little pup, I mean, since she got all the attention (and milk) to herself.  So, imagine our surprise when just 5 weeks ago, Lady had her second batch of pups and had 11.

She was an extremely good mama to them.  Amazingly, all of them survived and had enough milk to make them strong and healthy.

Just two days ago, Lady was looking rather droopy.  Then, an hour later she could barely stand.  Her condition got worse and worse until we figured she would die at any moment.  We did everything we could to save her... then, she started getting better.  She was even able to stand, although rather woozily, to get water.  We were all very thankful that she was going to live!  But, Friday morning, she was worse and then died.  It was extremely sad, as many of you may know.  Losing a family pet of any kind that you have poured your love into is really tough.

(^Don't really know what that look is saying...) 

(^Hangin' out with friends.. yes, she loved the cats!! and the cats loved her..) 

Even though she had her real puppies, we were her 'puppies', too, and she took care of us kids.  If we ever went on a walk, she was right there with us (even in her last days of pregnancy when she didn't really want to move), if we went on the ranch, she'd hop in the back and ride along with us.  Any where we kids went, she went too.

(^That day was particularly cold, so we let her have a blanket.  Yes, yes, we pampered were very kind to her)

She was a very good dog and I know we'll all miss her.

The weather outside is frightful.....

....but the fire is so delightful!!!

Ok, that's a line from a Christmas song, but I couldn't come up with anything cleverer (that is the new word I just came up with!! It is definitely going into my dictionary along with all those other words I've made up...)

So the weather?  Well, it is drizzling, wet, and cold! LOVE IT!  The clouds are all grey, and the wind is blowing just a little bit, but it has enough bite to compensate for it's speed.

We are absolutely loving this weather.  Ok, perhaps we could do without the cold, but it isn't frost yet, so I guess all the plants will be ok.  Hurray, too, that it is Saturday! Got to sleep in a little bit.. These are the best days for sleeping in, don't you think?

Ok, enough talking about it.. Let me just share some pictures I took!

Although it is hard to see, there is a little butte right inbetween the barn and shop. Normally you can see it quite clearly, but not then!

Now, on another bit of news, I shall be absent from my home for a while.  My siblings and I are going to go and visit my Dad's parents for the weekend.  It will be nice to go and spend time with them when it is just us!  The last couple of times we have seen them has been at family reunions, so there isn't much visiting time with them.

I think Papa has a few projects for the boys, and we girls will be helping Grandma clean her carpets.  :-)

I love going to visit them.  First of all, it is always nice to see them and visit. Who doesn't love seeing your beloved grandparents?!  Second of all, the house that they live in is absolutely georgeous!  Ok, well the house itself might not be a beauty, though it is very nice, but the property it is on is lovely.  The house sits on a cliff overlooking Ute Lake.  My great-grandfather built it, actually. It's neat, too, because my Dad helped to build it as well.  So, lots of memories and history there. ;-)

Just so you don't worry, their house isn't right at the edge of the cliff... It is, oh, 50-60 yards off.  It is an easy distance to walk to the actual edge, though.  The views are beautiful.  Pop (my great-grandfather) also built a second story balcony, which gives you an even better view of the surrounding area. :-)

So, that is what I will be up to.  It should be fun, but I bet we will come home exhausted! We will be arriving on Tuesday, just in time for drama.. so, no time for resting in between.  This is going to be interesting Fun! ;-)

What are you all up to this weekend?  Any big plans? I'd love to hear them!

I pray every one of you is doing well and having many blessings heaped upon you.

In Christ's Service,

Sarah

PS. This was written on Saturday, but do to some camera troubles, I was unable to post pictures until today.  So, forgive my laziness (lack of time, actually) to go and correct all the sentences to make them more recent... if that makes sense!  Any how, be looking for another post soon with lots of good pictures from our trip!!!