Technically a bit more than 48 hours, lol. Get your pic emailed by THIS Sunday night to be entered into the Fall Porch Challenge!! I’ll do my best to get entries up on my blog Monday for voting . . . email me one pic to: cottagecharms@msn.com while there’s still time!
I love this stuff and I love that you can mix anything you want into it! I used a bag of White Cheddar Popcorn, a bag of Brach’s Candy Corn (I split this large bag into 2 batches), one bag of Fall Colored M&M’s and one can of salted peanuts. I covered a giant cookie sheet with parchment paper, then spread out the bag of popcorn & sprinkled the m&m’s, candy corn and peanuts on top. I melted some “orange” candy melts in a double boiler (glass bowl over a pan of boiling water) and then drizzled the orange candy melt over the top. That’s it!! I’m storing it in old popcorn tins hoping it won’t get stale. I have some cute little baskets I’m going to put this snack in for my Harvest Party. 😉
I got to catch up with an old friend over the weekend. Her family moved to Castle Rock several years ago and we just lost touch. We met up for lunch and had some time to check out “The Barn” in Castle Rock. Oh my word – my mouth was wide open in delight and wishing I had all day to investigate! I found this metal art, that I of course fell in love, with for my backyard. I never thought about metal art before but I seem to have a little collection. I love the bright colors!
My “Fall Porch/Vignette Challenge” is almost here!!
6 more days to get your pics to me . . . It doesn’t HAVE to be a porch but somewhere outside, front porch, back porch, sitting area, any outdoor fall/halloween vignette will work! Email your pic (one pic per person) to: cottagecharms@msn.com. I’ll take entries through Sunday, October 16th! To give enough time for voting I’ll announce the winner on Monday, October 24th AND this time you’ll win a $10 gift card to Starbucks!!
I already have 3 entries – Judy, Terri & Debbie – Thank you ladies!!
I’m so excited about my first pumpkin harvest! I still have about 10 more on the vine which I’m hoping will still turn orange but we’ve had a cold snap blow through so I’m not sure what will happen to those. Pumpkins are the easiest thing to grow, low maintenance for sure. I love the “Jack-O-Lanterns”, they a bit bigger and are really good and round. However, I’m not loving the “Halloween Blend”, which are the smaller orange ones and the white ones. The smaller orange ones aren’t bad but all the white ones are weird shapes. I’ll have to do some homework on pumpkin seeds for next season!
I found these rusty looking metal 9″ letters on clearance at Joann’s last week. It was slim pickens and they didn’t have a “v” so I bought a second “a” and used a grinder to cut the middle out and turned it upside down, lol – where there’s a will there’s a way (dog with a bone, right Marsha)! I bought a pine 1″x8″x6′ board from Lowe’s and used some left over outdoor paint and stain I already had to paint it. I was hoping the upholstery nails I bought would go through the metal but of course not just bent the heck out of them, lol. I had to pre-drill some holes then nailed the letters to the board. The board was about $10 and the letters were about $1 each – not too shabby for less than $20. I love how it turned out! Gettin’ ready for my Harvest Party!
I went to an Essential Oils party a few weeks ago and have become interested in all the hubbub I’ve been hearing about them. The party I attended was for doTerra but they were a bit pricey. I found this company through a Pinterest post and I am in love! Edens Garden ~ I love everything about them and their products. I ordered their “Intro Kit” so I could check out the intensity of their oils before I got to crazy, lol. The intro kit includes 3 bottles: peppermint, lemon and lavender each are 10 mil in size and the kit costs $18.95. To say the least, I was pleasantly surprised! The packaging, free shipping and the oils themselves are superb! Their oils are super affordable and come in a variety of sizes. If you’re a doTerra groupie you might want to check them out! I bought my diffuser at Hobby Lobby – 50% off, the exterior is ceramic. Here are the links:
Who will be the lucky winner of this great trophy??!! LOL My harvest party is a little less than 2 weeks away! The chili cook-off was a great idea (Maurene) and you can’t have a winner without a trophy, right! So, instead of just a Chili Cook-off trophy I made a generic all around “City Girl Farms 1st Place” trophy (great idea Chip). The lucky winner of this baby will have to return it next year for another challenge – maybe it’ll be a dessert cook-off, side-dish cook-off, or best pumpkin cocktail? I’ll keep track of the lucky winners on the back of the trophy, too much f.u.n.! Get those crock pots ready!
For the trophy – It’s an unfinished wood cut-out I bought at Hobby Lobby. I just spray painted it, used rub-on letters, sprayed a clear coat on it, then hot glued the little scarecrow and wood #1 cut out.
Just a friendly reminder . . . my Fall Porch/Fall Vignette Challenge is just 2 WEEKS AWAY (from this Sunday). Any Outdoor Fall Vignette will work (or even Halloween, my daughter’s request). ONE PHOTO per entry. Entries but be received no later than Sunday, October 16th! To give enough time for voting I’ll announce the winner on Monday, October 24th AND 1st place will win a $10 gift card to Starbucks!! Bring on the Pumpkins!!!
My Texas Bestie’s daughter, Jena lives on a farm in Texas with her husband, 4 kids (children) and several animals including milking kids (goats). Actually maybe a goat kid is a young goat and not a milking goat? Anywhoooo, Jena has been making her own Goat’s Milk Soap (farm fresh goat’s milk and essential oils) for a couple of years now and she is launching her own website: http://www.oliviatye.com, you can also follow her on Facebook @ Olivia Tye Soap. I can tell you that this soap is awesome! I’ve been using it for a couple of years, in the shower and as my face soap. It’s very creamy and moisturizing. Christmas is around the corner (sorry for THAT realization) and they would make great gifts! She is also coming out with some new scents, check out “Hunt’d Game” for those of you with hunters in your life. I love her latest one – Mint’d Hippie!! Give’um a try!! You will NOT be disappointed! In case you were wondering . . . “Olivia Tye” is her youngest daughter’s name.
Country Girl 