Happy Friday!

I can't believe it is already October 9th!  

This year is going by so quickly.

Halloween Decorations

I have decorated our house for Halloween - 

it is probably my favorite holiday to decorate for.   

So fun!

Halloween Mantle - I'm really enjoying the fabric swag 

I added behind the Halloween banner that I made last year.  

Mercury glass (fake mercury glass...). One can never have too much :)

I got the cute black and white pumpkin this year at Hobby Lobby.

This is my favorite Autumn decoration.  I love it because my mom gave it to me just a few years before she passed away.  Every time I look at it, I think of how much I love my mom and how much she loves me.

A dear friend gave this to me for my birthday a few years ago.  

Don't you love having items that remind you a certain time

 or of someone special?

I made this last week... I think it still needs something...

My Halloween Village

Don't you feel like you can walk down this pathway to go trick-or-treating!

So many of the pumpkins in my collection came from friends.  

I love that!!!

I love this little Scherenschnitte (German Paper cutting), 

pumpkin picture that my husband and I got while on vacation 

in Pennsylvania about 10 years ago.

In the Garden

My garden is the pits right now...  It was really a nice early spring and my garden was fabulous, but then it got hot and dry...  Right now the only things thriving in my garden, are sweet potatoes (hopefully - I haven't dug any yet), lots of jalapeño peppers and a little okra.  I need to get out and do some weeding and maybe a little planting.  But, I have been crafting so much, that gardening has taken a back seat...

Toad Lilys in the shady area of the yard - so sweet!!

A Little Cooking

I made this delicious salad last Sunday night for my father-in-law and his friend who came for dinner.  My husband grilled some steak and chicken and we had this lovely salad and bread to go with it - super yummy!  I got the recipe from here.  It is a Barefoot Contessa recipe.  I love her!!!  I have never been disappointed from a Barefoot Contessa recipe.

I did change up the recipe a tad (as I usually do).  

Below is the recipe with a very few changes.

Wild Rice Salad

1 cup wild rice blend - cooked according to package directions

2 oranges peeled and cut into pieces (all white parts, pith, removed)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons orange juice

2 tablespoons pear infused vinegar (I used this instead of the raspberry in the original recipe)

1 cup dark purple grapes cut in half

1/2 cup toasted pecans (350 degrees 8 minutes)

1/4 cup dried cranberries

3 scallions cut into tiny slices

salt and pepper to taste

While the rice is still warm, place in a mixing bowl.  Add oranges, grapes, pecans, cranberries and scallions to bowl.  In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix orange juice, olive oil, vinegar, a dash of salt and pepper (to taste) and mix to blend well. Pour dressing all at once on salad and toss.  Allow to sit and flavors deepen for about 15 minutes at room temperature.  (Also really good cold)

This is the wild rice blend I used:

I purchased at my local, HEB grocery.

Crafting for Christmas

Joy wreath I made for Christmas.  I will have about 2 more of these available in my Joeby's Studio craft business.  I'm still trying to decide if I want to do an Etsy.com shop, or just sell locally...

I have had laryngitis for 2 weeks...  But, I am confident that I will be able to talk normally tomorrow... ha ha.  My husband says that I have whispered that to him for 13 days...

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!

~ Joeby