Weekend Links - Food Edition

Here are some great posts I found this week while roaming among the 31 Days blogs.

Who doesn't love convenience? But lately, packaged food has lost is appeal even if I want something quick. Good Cheap Eats is focusing their 31 Days posts on DIY Convenience Food. This recipe for Easy Chicken and Cheese Flautas look super yummy. I can't wait to try them.

I love potatoes! This recipe for Snack Mix Roasted Potatoes looks absolutely delicious! Laura from Trains and Tutus linked to Vittles and Bits for this recipe. I can't wait to make these.

Although I haven't tried freezer cooking before, it has something I have wanted to do. This recipe for Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili from The Architect and The Artist looks especially good. 

The Scent of Fall

I love burning candles, especially during the fall and winter. There is something about those smells that make me a little nostalgic. For me, the scents evoke a peacefulness. They can be comforting.

I found one of my all-time favorite scents last year at Bath and Body Works - Marshmallow Fireside. It is heavenly! Its name describes it accurately. It is sweet and smoky all at the same time. But it is a fall scent. When it was on sale after Christmas last year, I couldn't bring myself to buy it because it smelled too much like fall. If I had been using my noodle, I would have stocked up for this year!

My mom pointed out another new favorite for this year - Leaves. This scent is quintessential fall. According the description on Bath and Body Works website, it is a blend of gold nectar, red apple and spiced berries. Whatever it is, it is wonderful! 

Just thinking about these candles get feeling all cozy. One thing great about these candles is the scent. It travels well and smells great. The thing I don't like is that they burn so quickly! But I have a project for those leftover candle jars! I just have to burn through them.

What are your favorite fall candles?

Thanksgiving Hosting Pains

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am hosting my first Thanksgiving this year. Although it is only for my mom, brother, sister-in-law and niece, I want everything to go perfectly. I want everyone to have a good time and for it to be a memorable experience, especially since it is my niece's first Thanksgiving.

My kitchen counter space is incredibly small. My lack of space is definitely going to make cooking lots of food an issue. My mom will help with everything, but their may be some testy moments because there just isn't a lot of space to spread out. I am definitely not going to cook a full turkey. Too much food for too few people. That is one of the challenges of cooking a big dinner for a few people. There is always tons of food leftover!

Besides cooking plans, I have sleeping arrangements to be concerned about. My mom is actually contemplating putting my brother and his family up in a hotel since they will have my niece, Brynley, with them. In addition to the three of them, my mom and and her dog will be staying with me and my dog. So that is 4 adults, 2 dogs and one baby in a 2 bedroom apartment - a lot of people in a small space.

No matter what happens over the Thanksgiving holiday, I am looking forward to being all together. We haven't been together as a family since June and that was before my beautiful niece was born.

A lot of people stress out about making sure everything is perfect, and I am sure I will fall into that category too. But next year, no one will care how perfect the centerpiece was or if dinner was served on time. They will remember who they spent the day with. Hopefully, it will be an enjoyable time.

I Believe

At first, I didn't know what I wanted to write about for the Blog Hop. And then it jumped into my head. One of the questions for the chapter 1 Reflection Questions asked if one of the promises that had been mentioned in the previous question spoke to our greatest need right now. I answered with "See, I am doing a new thing!" from Isaiah 43:19.

When I woke up the next morning, this phrase ran through my head over and over and over.

I believe God's Word is true, no questions asked. But since my Christian walk is not where it should be, I choose to believe God will not work in my life that way because my faith is not where it should be. But I belive God is able to work however and in whatever manner He chooses.

"See, I am doing a new thing!"

In the last several months, I have been thinking about where God wants me. If I move back home to Ohio, which is where I really feel like I am being led, I would have to find a job in an area that has struggled to recover after being hit hard by the economy. But this week, I found out that I am going to be working from home full time. This may allow me to move back to Ohio without finding a new job. I believe if Ohio is where God wants me He will provide a way no matter the obstacles.

"See, I am doing a new thing!"

God isn't asking for my help to change the circumstances in my life. I often try to take control of the reins, then fail, then doubt. Those negatives thoughts start to invade my thoughts.
"I can't do this."
"I am not good enough."
"why should I expect anything different?"

But if I would listen and trust God, He is saying, "See, I am doing a new thing!" He may also add, "Colleen, please get out of my way and let me do this." :)

I am getting in the way of seeing God work in my life because I doubt. I look back and see what I want to see. I am not looking at the situations where God has evidently worked in my life to get me where I am today. Evidence that I can be confident in...that I should be able to live in and trust God, not just trust in God. Believe God and not just believe in God. There is a difference and I am starting to understand what it means in my life.

Football Fanatic

Football is a great love of mine. College football on Saturdays and NFL on Sunday. Even if my teams aren't playing, I will still have a game on.

Being from Ohio, I am an Ohio State fan. Go Bucks! I didn't go to Ohio State, but it is still my home state team. In Toledo, people are decked out in the scarlet and gray gear on Saturdays. It is great! I do see as many people decked in their college football gear in Pittsburgh.

Since I grew up about 45 minutes away from the University of Michigan, there are a lot of people who cheer for that other team. Traditionally, the Ohio State/Michigan game was played on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Now it is played the Saturday after. I can't explain the electricity in Toledo, Ohio, on that day. It is fun!

I was also born and raised a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. My parents brought me home from the hospital in a Steelers sleeper. No pink frills for me. Unfortunately, the Steelers are having a less than stellar year, although they did just get their first win on Sunday. It is almost hard to watch them play because they just don't seem to have the same tenacity they once did. It is disappointing to see. I see Heinz Field on my drive home from work. It is a pinnacle in the Steel City. The Steelers had quite a few decades of success, so I guess thinking that it was always going to be like that is a little naive. But I will continue to cheer and be a Monday morning quarterback!

Are you a football fanatic on the weekends?

Pumpkin Palooza

I love pumpkins! Even the orange pumpkin color represents fall. Although now I am obsessed with white pumpkins. They are so pretty! The traditional with a touch of modern.

I found these ceramic white pumpkins at Hobby Lobby over the summer. I HAD to have them. I didn't know where I would put them, but I loved them. When I went to finally buy them, they were no where to be found and my heart sank just a tiny bit. But they were hidden in a display that I very carefully dismantled to get my pumpkins. Right now they are on my dining room table in a little display. They are going to be my favorite fall decoration to uncover each year.

I have a few other pumpkins around my apartment. I have metal pumpkins that I got about 10 years ago. Even after all these years, I love seeing them. It reminds me that it is fall even if the temperature outside is 80 degrees.

I had great plans of this post being about a cute little pumpkin decorating idea that I originally saw in HGTV magazine from one of my absolute favorite designers, Sarah Richardson. I am not really into pumpkin carving, but this idea is great to use if you are tight on space in a glass vase. You wrap ribbon around the pumpkin. That is it!

Another similar idea found on Pinterest is to tie ribbon around the stem of the pumpkin. You could do this with big or small pumpkins. I stopped in the grocery store last night to look at their pumpkins, but I wasn't ready to commit to doing this yet. Maybe I will do this a little closer to Thanksgiving.

Do you like decorating with pumpkins?

Autumn Musings, Part 2