Let's start the decorating with a treeskirt

Well, I still haven't gotten my tree up but I'll get to it eventually. I leave my tree up until March so there really is no hurry. I found this beautiful tree skirt on Etsy the other day. Oh I would love to have such a beautiful tree skirt but it has already sold. Happy for the seller but sad for me.

I'll be doing some more Etsy features during the month of December. I haven't been doing my daily Etsy finds and I miss doing them. Life is just getting in the way.

It's beginning to look a little like Christmas

Here are the Pottery Barn balls that I have a major thing for this year. I did the purple and gold arrangement for my home and the red and silver arrangement for my mom. Right now I'm in the process of rearranging my office so we can fit the Christmas tree into it. I'm not going to post pics of that chaos right now. Maybe when I get it a little more under control. Oh the things we do in the name of decorating.

It's that cozy time of year

These are the things that get me through those cccold winter months. Give me some good reading material, that warm cozy fire, and let's not forget my favorite new crocheted slippers that I got for my birthday and I'm good to go. I'm starting to think about Christmas decorating. I have to decide on a place to put the tree. I can never stick to the same place. I like to shake things up constantly. I just ordered these silver Pottery Barn ornaments to help with my decorating efforts. I got red, gold, and purple ones last year for half off. They were out of silver during their after Christmas sale so I jumped on them this year at full price. It's a shame you can't score everything on sale. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and all the family get togethers I will be attending this week. Let the holiday season begin!

My fun JC Penney find

I love finding a good shopping deal on ANYTHING. I love the thrill of saving money. I just discovered the JC Penney rewards program and I got this little green shirt for $3. Originally it was $22. I wore it with my black jacket that I have had for years and years that I bought somewhere in San Diego. I have racked my brain for the store name but it has been too long and I can't remember. I remember it was about $20 though. Being a missionary for my church I couldn't afford much more than that. I found the skirt for around $15 at Gen-X clothing. The boots were about $40 from Chadwicks. I think I bought them off season on sale. I love shopping off season to save money as well. Things will still be in style in 6 months is my opinion on the matter. (Please excuse the no makeup look, I was up way too early in the morning on my way to church. Remember I am a night owl.)

Turtle Pumpkin Pie

If you are one of my Facebook friends you heard me talking about getting a hankering to make a pumpkin pie back in August. I ended up making this one and loved it. I don't know where this recipe came from. It must have come in the mail from my Realtor. Now that it is pumpkin pie season I thought I would share the recipe.

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. caramel ice cream topping, divided
1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.) or you can make your own
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. chopped PLANTERS Pecans, divided
2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1 cup cold milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

Pour 1/4 cup caramel topping into crust; sprinkle with 1/2 cup nuts.

Beat dry pudding mixes, milk, pumpkin and spices with whisk until well blended. Stir in 1-1/2 cups COOL WHIP; spoon into crust.

Refrigerate 1 hour. Top with remaining COOL WHIP, caramel topping and nuts just before serving.

This is a simple recipe for anyone. Especially for one who hates to set foot in the kitchen like me. :)