girls trip

i've never been on a girls trip before today. i'm heading to one of my favourite places with some of my favourite ladies!

KAUAI here i come!! this was a pic from the last trip we took.

oh we had FUN!

it'll be nice to have no real agenda, just doing what ever we want when we want...

i have a feeling that i'm going to miss my 5 favourite people back home as soon as i get there. they're in very good hands though. my mom is coming up to take care of them and there's no one better!

i'll see you next week ; )

xo

sas

tired...

sometimes a snowy day is just what the doctor ordered. i have been stressed and tired lately trying to keep up with everyday things and the one's that i have added to it...

we had a yummy thanksgiving day ham on sunday, it was SO good! i had also bought a turkey for monday but i was distracted trying to make tags and finish some quilts. i accidentally left it in the sink for to long and when i checked it, it was warm... what a waste of a GOOD turkey. we decided just to go get some turkey breasts and cook those instead. (that'l work : )

i sent some quilts into Madisisiloot (the store in the mall), hopefully they sell well. i am making a children's apron for a ladies niece, it turned out so well that i made 1 for my niece and 1 for the shop. isn't that girl adorable? and she's looking SO old...

i need to prepare for my second round of quilt class's tomorrow, the first one was SO fun! it should be interesting with 7 sewing machines going at the same time, how FUN is that!!!

one thing at a time right? slowly but surely they will all get done.

i hope you don't feel to sorry for me though... on saturday i'm going with my mother-in-law and sister-in-laws to KAUAI! i'm excited and i think it comes at the perfect time.

i could really use a break...

xo

sas

**WINNERS**

drumroll please.... ; )

1st prize goes to comment #6:

Alysha who said-

thanks for the recipe!!!!

2nd prize goes to comment # 9:

Hailey who said-

ooo I'm in!!! everything looks awesome - and seriously, cheesecake carmel apples??? TO DIE FOR!!! can't wait to try them!

well my birthday is on halloween - which was always kind of fun. I never had trick or treating parties - but definitely had some fun costume parties. My mom always went all out for my parties - so fun! I'm sure my brother appreciated halloween - I don't like chocolate so he always got mine too. Funny, he never traded anything back for it *hmm*

3rd prize goes to comment # 18:

Twirlie Whirlies who said-

I never really liked Halloween as a child. I liked the idea of candy, and I certainly liked eating it at the end of the night, but I never enjoyed "begging" for the treats.

I never put much thought into my costumes. Where we live in Ontario, we often had to wear a winter coat out anyway so what was the point of putting in so much effort if no one was going to see it? So, I often just wore a cheapo Woolco plastic mask. The problem with that was that half the time, I couldn't see through the eye holes to know where I was going. So what usually happened was that I would wear it on top of my head with the intention to pull it down in time to yell "Trick or Treat" to some poor soul. Most of the time I forgot. So there was my brother, who really went all out for Halloween trying to make sure NO ONE knew who he was, standing beside his little sister with a big, unconcealed toothless grin! Boy did he ever get mad at me!

THANKS everyone! This was Fun... maybe next time it will have to be a quilt...

Prizes will be e-mailed!

HAPPY OCTOBER!!!

xo

sandra

** HALLOWEEN GIVEAWAY **

I'm having an October 1st ** HALLOWEEN GIVEAWAY ** and your invited ; ) Here's what we're giving away!

A NEW PDF Halloween Quilt Pattern! Triangula... My talented sister made this for me last year, i loved it so much i thought that i would make it into a pattern. It's a FUN and simple Halloween project that will look great as a decoration and also keep you warm on those chilly fall days! It's available in my shop.

These cute little Ghostie Halloween Gift Cards are made by the very talented Lindy, over at Crafted by Lindy. You will receive a pdf file with 6 ghosts per page and cutting instructions on how to make them. How FUN would these be attached to a caramel apple or a popcorn ball for teachers or neighbour gifts!

I have been waiting all year to post about this recipe! We have been making caramel apples as a family tradition ever since my kids started trick or treating. Some times they turned out other times not so much... Well you know what they say "practice makes perfect", i think we've done just that with this apple and i would LOVE to share my caramel apple secrets with you.

SO here's how it's going to work (all winners will be picked by a random number generator):

1st prize: Triangula Quilt Pattern and the Ghosty Gift Tags

2nd prize: Triangula Quilt Pattern

3rd prize: Ghostly Gift Tags

How do you WIN!!! It's easy, just leave a comment about Halloween.

If you would like an EXTRA entry or entry's blog about it, tweet about it, or facebook it!! And just to keep things easy and fair, please leave a seperate comment for each entry that you have done.

Please check back next THURSDAY to see if you are the lucky WINNER!!

Your wondering WHO wins the Caramel Apple recipe aren't you??? Well you ALL do!!! HERE's the pdf file for your printing convenience! ( if your wondering what lily white is, it's clear corn syrup!)

Don't you just love HALLOWEEN!!!

xo sandra

mexican anyone?

**Mexican Chicken Soup**

4 chicken breasts

olive oil

kosher salt and black pepper

2 cups chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)

2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)

4 large garlic cloves, chopped

2 1/2 quarts (10 cups) chicken stock

1 can diced tomatoes (add half to pot and then puree half)

1 can black beans rinsed and drained

6-10 slices of canned jalapeno peppers chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander seed

1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

toppings

1 bag tortilla strips (found in the salad section of your grocery store)

sliced avocado

sour cream

cheddar cheese

Boil chicken until cooked through. Remove and shred. Set aside chicken and 2-3 cups of the chicken broth. Heat 3 TBsp of olive oil in large pot. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook over medium heat for 10 mins, or until onions starts to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 20min on low. Add chicken and simmer for another 10min. Serve with toppings.

I came across this recipe on the Barefoot Contessa's website and modified it a little to make it more "MOM" friendly ; ) Nothing is better than a nice warm boil of soup on a fall day!

Oh, how do you like my NEW look? It's compliments of April over at Sassy Fruit Studio's. I would recommend her to anyone. She did an AMAZING job and was so easy to work with!

thanks April!

COME back and visit on October 1st for some pre-HALLOWEEN fun! You won't want to miss it!

thanks for stopping buy!

xo

sandra

pillow covers

i made some pillow covers to match the quilt...

it was my first time making throw pillows, so it took me a bit longer than i had expected, but now that i've got it down, i think i might have to make myself some!

xo

sas

style... i could use a little

if your looking for the quilting classes look HERE.

i was blog surfing and came across a blog called Sensibly Styled. it's a fashion blog that gives you tips on what to wear and where to find the best deals. this picture came from a post that i really liked. a woman had e-mailed in and asked what her family should wear in their upcoming family photos. she wanted them all to coordinate without being to "matchy matchy". i love what they put together.

what are you waiting for? go over and check it out!

xo

sandra