Cranberry Heaven

I'm not sure how I could forget my favorite new recipe of the season in my last post, but I did! (I Blame it on the baby hormones.)

Martha Stewart's Cranberry Sauce

One of my friends made this last year for our GNO and I have thought about it ever since. This year when we got together for our thanksgiving meal, I begged her to make it again. It is so fresh and so tangy, and FARRRRR from the canned jelly stuff. It's the perfect side dish for any meal. YUM!

Recipes To Die For!

So I had another interesting week.

It involved a fall retreat in the mountain with high schoolers and driving my car off of a ledge.

And two bats in the the bathroom. And butt dust accusations.

BUT I'll save that for later. This post is of the selfish nature. I've come across some new recipes that I can't wait to try.... It's easier for me to access the recipes if I have them linked on my own blog. (I'm lazy about printing stuff out.) NOW....If I ever get a minute to actually get my self together enough to grocery shop, I will cook!

Bobby Flay's Brussel Sprouts

Bobby Flay's Pumpkin Bread Pudding

I also have a mac and cheese recipe that a friend shared. I can not wait to make this one. I am always wanting a good mac and cheese recipe. Most of the ones I've tried are good but just not great so I'm hoping this one's the keeper.

Mac and Cheese

-1 3/4 c. small elbow mac
-1 1/4 c. 1/2 in. cubes extra sharp cheddar cheese (about 5 oz.) (NOTE: I think 1/2 in. cubes are too big & I make mine smaller)
- 2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. plain flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
-1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard powder
-1/4 tsp. black pepper
-1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
-1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
-1 1/3 c. half & half
-1 1/3 c. whipping cream
-2/3 c. sour cream
-2 large eggs
-3/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
-1 1/4 c. packed grated extra sharp cheddar cheese (about 5 oz.)

CHEESE SIDE NOTE: This recipe actually calls for 10 oz. total cheese but I just buy the 8 oz. block & it is plenty. I just open the pack, cut it in half & grate 1 half for the top & cube up the other to mix in with the noodles.

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly butter 13x9x2 glass baking dish. Cook mac in salted water until just tender but firm to bite. Drain. Transfer to prepared dish. Mix in cubed cheese.

Wisk flour-nutmeg ingredients until no lumps remain. Gradually wisk in half & half, then whipping cream & sour cream. Add eggs & Worcestershire sauce, wisk to blend. Pour over mac mixture, stirring to blend. Sprinkle grated cheese over.

Bake until just set around edges but sauce is still liquid in center, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven, let stand 10 min. to thicken slightly (sauce will be creamy).

Sounds like a complete meal is coming up! Look out Benji I know brussel sprouts are your favorite!

Natural Perfumes

I was going to do a post on the few perfumes I picked up awhile back at Whole Foods.

When I went to google more info on them I ran across a post that the Pioneer Woman had done on the exact perfumes...

So convenient! And such great taste she has!

I have the Guava, the Grapefruit and the Sandalwood. I LOVE them all so much I could never decide which is my fav. I keep the Guava in my purse so I probably use it the most.

Here is PDubs post on Pacifica Perfumes....
I know for sure you can find them at Sephora, Whole Foods, Earth Fare and online.

Do You Lilac It?

Yesterday was the first day I've felt remotely normal after a week of a nasty ol stomach virus.

So I felt like I needed a little cheering up! While Emery was at school I found myself in Ulta. (Sephora is much better, but we only have Ulta here so it does the job)....

One of the high school girls in my small group has this adorable lilac color nail polish that I have wanted for awhile. I finally remembered to look for it and let me say I LOVE IT! So fun and such a nice change from my usual dark polish.

It's from O.P.I and is called "Do you lilac it?" SO FUN!

I also just happened to mosey on over to the perfume section of Ulta and I found myself with a new one in hand.

I have a problem with perfume.

Problem is that I buy it. A lot.

Anyway I haven't "really" bought any in over a year or more. ( I usually get it for gifts).

I did buy some 'natural' perfumes, that I MUST blog about later, recently at Whole Foods, but I don't count those. :) (Since they were rather inexpensive)....

Any way, that's another story.

Yesterday I picked up Dolce And Gabbana's Light Blue. A perfume I've been dying to get for awhile. It was a perfect match for my new lilac nails. Fresh and clean and new!

I'm Baccccckkkk.

Well, the stomach virus Emery had that I thought was behind us, was not.

I got it and then Benji. It was a rough few days here in the Ladd house, but we are finally back to normal and feeling good.

Emery went back to school this week, she and I both were so glad! Putting her in MMO was one of the best decisions ever. She loves it, gets to have fun in a structured environment (I'm not great at the structured part) and I get a few hours to myself each week.

Today I slept the entire time she was gone! I was exhausted from all the sickness from the past week.

Yesterday a group of girls and I got together to swap Jesse Tree ornaments. There were 29 of us, so each of us were assigned a scripture and the ornament that went along with it. We all made 29 of our ornament and then swapped during a night of fellowship and great food!

Now I have 29 ornaments to place on our Jesse Tree, one each day for the Advent season. I'm excited about the tradition starting with our kids.

Here is a link to the devotions that we used...

And here is a blog post from a friend of a friend who did a Jesse Tree ornament swap one year. If you have a big group of girls, like a Sunday School class, MOPS group or whatever, this is a super fun thing to do together! This blog has great pictures of ornament ideas and more of what it is all about. Been There Blog....

The Hepners

I hope they don't mind that I stole their picture, but I really wished I had been able to get one of all of them while we were in Serbia in June.

Our trip to Serbia in June wouldn't have been half as special if this precious family had not been there.

The Hepners are some of our old friends from the first time we lived in Greenville.

They have been living and serving in Serbia for the past 3 years and are home for a few months.

We got the chance to spend a few hours with them today in our home and I am so thankful!

We love this family so much and are so overjoyed with what the Lord is doing with them and through them.

Please check out their blog, (it's in my blog roll) and if you are a praying person please add them to your lists! They're such a special family with FOUR adorable kids!

GNO Thanksgiving 10

This week we had our 2nd annual GNO Thanksgiving feast.

I love these girls. I say it all the time. But I am so so thankful that I have them.

We had a blast, Amanda's house was beautiful, and we ate like royalty!

I even had to rest on the couch for a few minutes after dinner. Baby Jesse wasn't making enough room for the two plates of food I had.

Our Christmas GNO is coming up soon and I can't wait.