tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20595611419514421962024-03-14T06:21:21.488-07:00April's HomemakingApril's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.comBlogger460125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-26805246757174109822018-06-30T18:08:00.001-07:002018-06-30T18:08:33.931-07:00June garden Vlog 2018I haven't written on this vlog for so long I thought I would jump on here and update you on the progress of my garden this year.<br />
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The garden is growing really nicely and we just harvested a nice bunch of garlic and a tiny harvest of green peas. I also have chickens in the garden once again and today they gave me the first little egg which was so exciting.<br />
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We have so many beautiful flowers blooming right now as well. here are some pictures from the garden.<br />
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I am growing tomatillos for the first time this year and they are definitely a fun plant to watch grow, I will be so excited to harvest some of those. For a full update of my garden you can see my Garden Vlog video for June on YouTube.<br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7mfoWWQrGyE/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7mfoWWQrGyE?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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I have also been active on Instagram sharing pictures of what I'm up to. You can follow me on Instagram here- <a href="https://www.instagram.com/aprilshomemaking/" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/aprilshomemaking/</a><br />
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I am hoping to start updating more here on Blogger later on in the year, thank you for stopping by! :)<br />
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<br />April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-58755386620399453852017-06-21T18:57:00.000-07:002017-08-15T23:31:21.243-07:00My Fairy Garden 2017This year I am excited to be making a new fairy garden, last year I didn't have as much time in the garden, and as a result didn't make a fairy garden. Fairy Gardens are one of my favorite things to do in the garden. This year I am using one of my raised beds that currently has some of my succulents growing in it, and I have also planted some annuals. This is how my fairy garden has turned out so far.<br />
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I made paths throughout the garden with pea gravel, and used tiny round wood slices as path stones.<br />
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My green toadstool gnome house is the main house in the garden. I have set around a bunch of tiny figures I found at the Dollar Tree though out the garden, little animals, fairies and gnomes.<br />
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Here is the start of my water feature, I need to add more blue glass stones to finish this little fairy pond.<br />
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Here is a little gazebo building.<br />
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Here is a mini bird feeder I found, I will be filling this with bird seed to see if my birds can spot it.<br />
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Here is a cute little fairy swing I found at the craft store.<br />
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I love how the stone paths look through the garden.<br />
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Here is a little gnome by a faux moss stone.<br />
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I was so happy to find this little outhouse for the garden!<br />
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Here is a little fairy house that I found at the Dollar Tree.<br />
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Here is another fairy house.<br />
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I love tucking little critters throughout the garden.<br />
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I had so much fun with this project and I hope to continue adding to it throughout the summer.<br />
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If you are interested in seeing more of this fairy garden you can check out my YouTube Garden Vlog Week-3 Where I put together my fairy garden.</div>
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Hope you enjoyed checking out what I have been up to in the garden, for weekly updates you can follow me on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsv74sb6o5yVpRicA215gEQ" target="_blank">YouTube at April's Home</a> , I will also post updates though out the summer here on my blog. </div>
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Thanks for stopping by! :) </div>
April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-11791101661846663142017-05-18T01:05:00.000-07:002017-05-18T01:05:18.032-07:00Starting My Garden 2017I was so happy to get back out into the garden last week. Oregon has had a record year for rain fall, and as a result my garden has become very overgrown with weeds. However, last week the sun came out for three beautiful days, so I spent as much time as possible clearing my garden beds, and prepping them for planting. I also started clearing out some of my flower beds, and made room for a new fairy garden.<br />
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My dog Zoey enjoyed being out in the garden with me the whole time, she is so funny and loves to sniff every flower. It is nice having her out with me in the garden, and she is enjoying the sunny weather as well.<br />
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I posted a Week 1 Garden Vlog on my YouTube Channel. I did a little before tour, so you could see where I started, as well as what I accomplished last week. Here it is if you'd like to check it out.<br />
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This week has been very rainy once again. On Mother's Day the kids weeded and edged my entire front yard, which was such an awesome gift. I will include that in my upcoming weekly garden vlog. This week I hope to get some more weeding done, as well as planting the rest of my veggies and flowers.<br />
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So that is the beginning of my Spring/Summer 2017 gardening season, I look forward to a nice gardening season. :)<br />
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Thanks for stopping by!April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-40362390015560786842017-04-25T15:34:00.002-07:002017-04-25T16:23:33.095-07:00April's Homemaking UpdateJust checking in-<br />
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I have been busy with my YouTube channel and haven't updated the blog in quite some time. I really love the YouTube format and have fun creating content for my channel. If you want to see what I've been up to definitely head over and check out my channel- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/aprilshome" target="_blank">April's Home</a><br />
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I have also been struggling with not being very tech savvy, so I have been struggling with some technical issues with this channel that have made it a bit of a headache. I am hoping to struggle through some of those issues and try to get this blog up and running again. I love sharing recipes here, as well as having a platform for where writing a thought might be a better method for a various project or idea. Ultimately I would love to have both April's Home and April's Homemaking be in tune with each other.<br />
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My experiment with starting a YouTube channel has been very fun. However I fell into a pattern of doing a lot of product reviews, which although fun, doesn't represent everything I want to share. So over the next couple of months I hope to solve some of the technical issues that have gotten in my way. If I am able to resolve some of those issues I would love to get back to blogging more often.<br />
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I am also planning on starting a second YouTube channel so that my content won't be so varied. So that is also something I am currently planning. Again, while I am working all of this out, if you want to see what I've been up to check out my YouTube channel, here is a recent video I shared of our Easter this year.<br />
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I hope everyone is having a nice Spring!<br />
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Thanks for stopping by!April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-60456870272389711832016-09-30T00:19:00.001-07:002016-09-30T00:23:34.700-07:00A fall UpdateIt has been more than three months since I have last written on my blog here. We had a very busy summer and I am very glad things are winding down and am looking forward to the fall season. Fall is my favorite time of year. We have already begun enjoying fall with our outing to Oktoberfest in Mt. Angel, Oregon.<br />
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We enjoyed lots of good food like we do every year. Delicious locally made bratwurst, fresh corn on the cob, onion blossoms, cabbage rolls, and all sorts of good food.<br />
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We enjoyed many different dances, including one of our favorites the May Pole Dance.<br />
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The weather was beautiful, and we had such a nice time. You can see more of our Oktoberfest outing on my YouTube video linked below.<br />
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I have been spending a lot of time building my YouTube channel this year, and have really been enjoying it. I am hoping this fall I can balance both my YouTube channel and my blog here. I love the video medium for sharing, but I love being able to write as well, and I really want to share more of my recipes and Bible crafts. So I am hoping to have more of that content soon.<br />
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I hope everyone is having a nice start to the fall season, I am currently getting the house decorated for Halloween, another of my favorite yearly traditions.<br />
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Thanks for stopping by! ~April<br />
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Linking to:<br />
<a href="http://www.frenchcountrycottage.net/2016/09/feathered-nest-friday_29.html" target="_blank">Feathered Nest Friday</a><br />
<a href="http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/2016/09/home-sweet-home-291.html" target="_blank">Home Sweet Home</a><br />
<a href="http://www.oakhillhomestead.com/2016/09/our-simple-homestead-blog-hop-71.html" target="_blank">Our Simple Homestead Blog Hop</a><br />
<br />April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-65302725752898593152016-06-17T12:58:00.000-07:002016-06-17T12:58:07.737-07:00June Update and Two Week Menu PlanSo I thought I would pop on over to my blog and do a quick update. My garden has been on hold for about a week and a half now, due to really rainy weather. The weather is supposed to be nice next week, and I am eager to get out to my garden and get some weeding and gardening done.<br />
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This week I've been working on some indoor organization projects. My craft and hobby closet needed updating, so I've been working on that. I thought I would share some of my recent YouTube videos here today. I've really been enjoying the YouTube platform, as well as the community of people there I am getting to know.<br />
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I am getting to know a wonderful young women, through her vlog, who has a channel called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChaI6G0qxKwZ8aN3ziE-4KQ" target="_blank">TimeWithBekka</a>. Her family recently went on a wonderful trip to Japan. Bekka has been sharing about her trip through her vlog, with wonderful video from her time in Japan. My niece is in Japan as well currently, I would love to visit one day. Bekka was so kind and sent me a package with some souvenirs from her trip, in the video below I share what she sent me from Japan.<br />
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Getting this package was such a special treat! :)<br />
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I also thought I would share with you some of the things I recently purchased at the Target Dollar Spot. I love checking the dollar department at Target, they have such a wonderful and well priced selection of stationary. This month they also had a nice selection of classroom items. I will be moving to another Sunday School room this weekend, so I picked up a few supplies to use in my classroom.<br />
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Lastly I thought I would share my most recent Costco grocery purchases. I needed to stock up the pantry for the summer months, so in addition to purchasing the groceries I need for the next two weeks, I also stocked up on items for my pantry. At the end of this video I also share my two week menu plan. My menu has switched from meals that require a lot of oven cooking or long cooking times to easier to prepare foods for the hot weather, as well as more BBQs.<br />
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So those are some of the things I have been doing. I am also having fun reviewing toys on my YouTube channel. I have been a toy collector for nearly twenty years, and it is so nice to connect with the toy collecting community. I also really enjoy checking out what new toys are out there, recently there have been a lot of new toy items, and there are a lot of toys that really remind me of toys from the 80's which is the era of toys I really connect with. So if you stop by my YouTube channel, you will see that I enjoy sharing about different toy collections. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/aprilshome" target="_blank">My channel, April's Home</a>, is sort of a whimsical mix of homemaking and toys, and other fun family events, which is really what it is like around my house. I like to keep things fun, whimsical, and a little quirky! :)<br />
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Thanks for stopping by! :)<br />
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You can also find me on YouTube at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/aprilshome" target="_blank">April's Home</a>.<br />
<br />April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-19748676855960889562016-05-25T10:43:00.000-07:002016-05-25T10:43:49.737-07:00Spring Garden UpdateIt has been quite some time since I have updated this blog, I hope to do so a little more regularly. I have been very busy with my YouTube channel, and am having a lot of fun making and editing videos. I do a lot of product reviews, mostly toys, as a fun way to connect with the toy collecting community. This year I also started to incorporate more homemaking type videos on my channel, that I hope to continue developing as well. In the past I have blogged my garden's progress every summer here on this blog, I may still do a bit of that this summer, but to change things up a bit I also decided to do a video garden vlog. I just posted my first garden update, with pictures from my garden throughout this past spring, as well as the plants I purchased, the seeds I will be planting, and my new garden journal. So I thought I would share that with you here as well.<br />
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I found this inexpensive planner at the Target Dollar Spot, and decided that it would be perfect to use as a garden journal, I thought that the floral pattern would be pretty for a garden journal. In the video below you can see how I've set up this journal, as well as check out the plants and seeds I'll be planting this spring and summer, as well as clips of my garden this past spring.<br />
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I do hope to get out to the garden when our sunshine returns to take more pictures, which I will share here in future garden updates. I hope everyone is enjoying a nice spring, and having fun out in the garden! :)<br />
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Thanks for stopping by! :)<br />
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Linking to:<br />
<a href="http://heidiswanderings.blogspot.com/2016/05/its-finally-tuesday-evening.html" target="_blank">Wake Up Wednesday </a><br />
<a href="http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2016/05/wow-us-wednesdays-275.html" target="_blank">Wow Us Wednesday</a><br />
<a href="http://www.elizabethandcovintage.com/2016/05/be-inspired-features-and-link-party-209.html" target="_blank">Be Inspired</a><br />
<a href="http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/2016/05/time-to-link-up-tuesdays-with-twist-163.html" target="_blank">Tuesdays with a Twist</a>April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-37526944970599596242016-04-06T08:50:00.000-07:002016-04-06T08:50:05.683-07:0010 Dinner Ideas and Meal PlanningSo I thought I would share a couple of my latest YouTube videos here today. I have been filming some of the dinners that we have had over the month of March. I thought it would be a good idea to be able to see some of the meals that I talk about in my Meal Planning videos.<br />
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Below is my 10 Dinner Ideas from march video.</div>
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I also thought you might enjoy seeing my latest grocery haul along with my meal plan for the first half of April-<br />
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I really enjoy checking out other peoples meal plans and what they buy at the store, it really gives me new ideas, and helps me track down different meal choices, so I was inspired to start making my own meal planning and grocery videos a couple of months ago. I intend to film ten more of our meals from the month of April as well as start filming more of my recipes to share. </div>
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This week I also plan to get out my new garden journal and finish up my garden plans for spring. I picked up seeds this week and am picking up plants this weekend. We have had beautiful sunny weather here this past week and I am so excited to get to work in my garden. I have some new seed varieties and lots of plans for the garden this year that I will be sharing over the next couple of weeks. </div>
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Hope everyone is having a nice start to the spring! :) </div>
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Thanks for stopping by!</div>
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Linking to:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://heidiswanderings.blogspot.com/2016/04/wake-up-wednesday-linky-party-115.html" target="_blank">Wake Up Wednesday </a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/2016/04/wise-woman-linkup.html" target="_blank">Wise Women Link Up</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2016/04/wow-us-wednesdays-268.html" target="_blank">Wow Us Wednesday</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.elizabethandcovintage.com/2016/04/be-inspired-features-and-link-party-203.html" target="_blank">Be Inspired</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://back2basichealth.blogspot.com/2016/04/tuesdays-with-twist-157-no-rules-linkup.html" target="_blank">Tuesdays with a Twist</a></div>
April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-22361734102663916162016-03-26T22:56:00.000-07:002016-03-26T22:56:06.756-07:00Happy Easter 2016Happy Easter! I have spent the last couple of weeks getting the house decorated for Easter, as well as planning out some fun treats and activities for the day. This year I updated some of my Easter decor, last year I decluttered some of the Easter decor I was no longer using, and this year I was able to update my decor with some inexpensive finds at Target's Dollar Spot as well as Targets Easter decor section. I loved all of the fun spring colors in the decor this year. Here is how I have decorated the house.<br />
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I put up some pretty foiled egg garland as well as a banner on the mantel. I put out yellow candles and a cute bunny candle holder from Bath and Body Works. I love yellow this time of year.<br />
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All of the side tables in the living room have a touch of Easter/<br />
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I have also added some Easter touches to my little cubby shelf.<br />
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Since a lot of the decor is from Target it all coordinates nicely with pastels and touches of gold.<br />
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I have different banners and wreaths on the doors throughout the house.<br />
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I always have out seasonal decor in my dining room, I always have fun decorating this room.<br />
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I tucked in a few of my whimsical toys and dolls throughout the decor as well which I think is fun.<br />
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I found the cutest pastel and pearlescent gumball machine at Toys R Us and thought it would be a fun touch for spring. I plan on leaving it out throughout the spring and summer.<br />
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You can check out a video tour of my Easter home on my YouTube channel.<br />
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I also found fun Easter treats throughout the last couple of weeks. Krispy Kreme doughnuts always have fun seasonal doughnuts and we have fun seeing what they come up with for each holiday. The Easter doughnuts were cute. :) I also found a dozen different flavors of Peeps, as well as three mystery flavors. I did a fun taste test with all of them, and we plan to rate them together as a family on Easter evening.<br />
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I spent the day before Easter making a few fun treats for Easter day. I was inspired by a vlogger called Zoella to make Easter Nests and candy filled crispy rice squares. I decided to use Chow Mein noodles coated in melted chocolate chips. I used two bags of Chow Mein noodles and one bag of semi sweet chocolate chips and one bag of milk chocolate chips. I melted the chocolate in a makeshift double boiler, then poured it over the Chow Mein and mixed until they were all thoroughly coated. I dropped them by large spoonfuls on wax paper and pressed in three jelly beans. I also shaped them to be nest shape. Then let them harden for a few hours. I also used the classic recipe for crispy rice squares, but added a little blue food coloring, as well as a bag of crispy Easter M&M eggs, and topped it with spring colored sprinkles. I love the way they turned out.<br />
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My daughter just got back from her spring break mission trip, and my son is still en route back from California where he was meeting his girlfriend's family. My son should be back in time for Easter dinner, it will be strange not celebrating with him in the morning. But I have to get used to having older children now off doing their own things, so its definitely an adjustment! <br />
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I am looking forward to church in the morning and have some fun activities planned for my Sunday school class. I am also bringing some of my Easter nests as a treat and some goody bags. I just love having a fun celebration to celebrate Jesus' resurrection! :) <br />
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I hope everyone has a nice Easter!<br />
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Linking to:<br />
<a href="http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2016/03/freedom-fridays-125.html" target="_blank">Freedom Fridays</a><br />
<a href="http://chiconashoestringdecorating.blogspot.com/2016/03/flaunt-it-friday-297.html" target="_blank">Flaunt it Friday</a><br />
<br />April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-10499528846381110082016-03-17T13:31:00.003-07:002016-03-17T13:31:48.895-07:00Happy St. Patrick's Day 2016Happy St. Patrick's Day! I love celebrating St. Patrick's Day every year, it is such a fun spring holiday. Today the sun is shining bright and the sky is blue, I love it when the sun pours through the windows! I have one of my corned beefs in the pot on the stove cooking away, and my <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2013/03/easy-lime-jello-cake-and-corned-beef.html" target="_blank">lime St. Patrick's cake </a>in the oven. After the cake is out, I'll put in the Irish soda bread, then put the second corned beef in the oven roaster. I have put out my decorations for St. Patrick's Day, so I thought I would share a few pictures.<br />
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I set out all of my decorations from years past, as well as some of my new decorations.<br />
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This year I only decorated the dining room, since Easter is only a week away I'll have to swap out my St. Pats decor tomorrow and get ready for Easter since it is so early this year. Even though Easter is so soon this year I still wanted to decorate for St. Pat's day since our whole family loves this holiday so much.<br />
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I have also recorded a short video tour of my St. Patrick's decor for my YouTube channel which you can see below.<br />
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Here are links to some of my previous year's St. Patrick's Posts as well-<br />
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Here is a blog post about the <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2012/03/cake-pops-and-soda-bread.html" target="_blank">recipe I use for Irish Soda Bread</a>-<br />
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<a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2012/03/cake-pops-and-soda-bread.html" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvCdvxjcx_QKRXriMjWAPVLHM9xnWigANKe0cRDe1zYzaRn-_gnKjJE1cUvgqujGP7nbJwrwUrDrwAbHCIcE3w_9DtHmnkut6ysXjZ7_O08SYvNYyRCTl8x_iEv0w1GJahXafIKlGlC0r/s320/April's+photos+015.JPG" /></a></div>
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Here is a link to my <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2014/03/layered-pudding-cupcake-parfaits-and-st.html" target="_blank">St. Patrick's Day Layered Parfaits</a>-</div>
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<a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2014/03/layered-pudding-cupcake-parfaits-and-st.html" target="_blank"><img height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPeWLpNILtXLR1vmUtVraTfRZOAybPTTB4csWOyRZwhi-Fy19dYgCNZ3Ryhgdg0sWsHNHvks4tcE14H7_fIuiXrYieNt5RDP0u_iocxJG07FB_mH80Mzy4N1JNZBCdqLCI3v_Gnl_vA_q/s320/cupcake+layers+3+Collage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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As well as a link to my <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2013/03/easy-lime-jello-cake-and-corned-beef.html" target="_blank">Lime Jell-O Cake recipe</a>- </div>
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<a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2013/03/easy-lime-jello-cake-and-corned-beef.html" target="_blank"><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf_8MqLsV6XDUcS4e-hHRFcSnTYwL_vmIAboDlpOt1njxateDYdepls-bUUxj8_uR7XjUDL8m7EUrFALYbi4rOFVe8c0ChiJu2VDtO8bkOVirwPhXiqDdwyjUOXm9OgOEaAxOQ99SmZr6a/s320/April's+photos+020.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We will be spending the rest of the day preparing our dinner as well as watching some of our favorite St. Patrick's Day movies. I will also be helping my kids get packed for their spring break adventures, my daughter is going on a mission trip with her college group to Washington, and my son is meeting his girlfriend's family in California and Arizona, so they will be off for a big adventure this Saturday, and gone for a whole week. I am definitely not used to them being gone for so long, and I am definitely praying they will be safe as well as have a great trip. I will be spending most of next week working on my spring projects that I hope to wrap up before Easter! </div>
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I hope everyone has a wonderful St. Patrick's Day! </div>
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Thank for stopping by! </div>
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Linking to:</div>
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<a href="http://rootedinthyme.blogspot.com/2016/03/happy-st-patricks-day-trip-to-anza.html" target="_blank">Simple and Sweet Fridays</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.frenchcountrycottage.net/2016/03/feathered-nest-friday_17.html" target="_blank">Feathered Nest Friday</a></div>
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<a href="http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/2016/03/home-sweet-home-263.html" target="_blank">Home Sweet Home</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.oakhillhomestead.com/2016/03/our-simple-homestead-blog-hop-43.html" target="_blank">Our Simple Homestead Hop</a></div>
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April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-24550370616391325952016-03-02T14:02:00.000-08:002016-03-02T14:05:41.038-08:00Cheesy Chicken Hash Brown CasseroleAbout half way through January I got back on track with meal planning, and as a result my grocery budget has really trimmed up quite a bit. One of my favorite recipes from last month was my Cheesy Chicken Hash Brown Casserole, so I thought I would share my recipe.<br />
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I first tasted a version of this cheesy hash brown casserole at my great grandpa's funeral years ago. A large portion of my family on my mother's side is Mormon, so we travel to Ogden, Utah for the funeral. It was the first Mormon funeral I had been to, and the church community provides a beautiful potluck style of meal after the funeral. One of the classic dishes, I have come to find, is a cheesy hash brown type casserole as a side dish, which is even sometimes called "funeral potatoes". Anyway, I loved the casserole and learned the recipe, and have made it for potlucks at church many times. I decided to turn this casserole into a main dish by adding a good portion of chopped steamed chicken tenderloins. By the way, this is a double recipe for a large sized casserole, I like to make a big casserole since I am often feeding 5-6 adults/teens at each meal, and I like leftovers for lunch.<br />
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Here are the ingredients-<br />
about 8 chicken tenderloins cooked and chopped<br />
2 standard sized bags of frozen hash browns slightly thawed<br />
2 cans cream of chicken soup<br />
1 stick of butter<br />
1 large onion chopped<br />
1 cup sour cream<br />
1 cup milk<br />
2 cups (roughly) grated cheddar or cheddar blend<br />
salt & pepper<br />
1 teaspoon garlic powder (less or more as desired)<br />
1 1/2- 2 cups of cornflakes for topping.<br />
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Gather your ingredients, be sure your hash browns have sat out for at least half an hour before you prep this casserole, they need to be slightly thawed out so they will break apart and not be in a big frozen clump. Chop your onion and saute it in 4 tablespoons of butter, saute your onions in a large pot that will be big enough to stir together all the ingredients later. This is a lot of butter but it is part of the recipe and will be stirred in with everything else. When the onions have softened and are translucent but not browned take it off the burner and add hash browns, chicken, both cans of soup, one cup of milk (you may need a 1/4 cup more if casserole seems to need it) and 1 cup sour cream along with about 1 cup of shredded cheese (you may want a bit more). Then add between half a teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of garlic powder depending on your preference, then salt and pepper to taste, you don't need much salt because the cheese and soup mix are salty. When casserole is thoroughly mixed transfer to a large greased baking pan, a lasagna sized pan would do well for this size recipe.<br />
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Top casserole with another cup of grated cheese lightly cover with foil and bake at 375 F. for about 45 minutes to an hour. Casserole is cooked through when potatoes are cooked through. While casserole is baking make the crunchy topping. Apparently there is often quite a debate about whether or not cheesy hash brown casserole should have at topping or not, I have made it with a topping and without, and I like it both ways. Since this was a main dish dinner casserole I though a topping would be nice. So I melted the other 4 tablespoons of butter and put about 2 cups of classic corn flakes in a ziplock sandwich bag, I slightly crunched up the cornflakes, then transfered them to a small mixing bowl and tossed with melted butter. <br />
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When casserole is close to done remove foil, and top with crunchy topping and return to oven to bake until golden and crispy, about another 15-20 minutes, checking frequently so topping doesn't burn. Because of the potatoes and cheese this casserole will be very hot, so it is nice to let it cool for a bit, especially for children.<br />
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I like to serve this casserole with a nice serving of steamed broccoli. The whole family loved it and it made for excellent leftovers as well! </div>
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If you would like to check out my latest meal plan and grocery haul check out this video below from my YouTube channel.<br />
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I am excited this week as my garden has been showing signs that Spring has arrived, the crocus are blooming and other flowers are starting to bud as well. My backyard birds have been very active at the feeders which I always enjoy, we even had a large hawk land in the yard last week! As soon as our spring rains let up I will be eager to prep my veggie beds and plant some more spring flowers.<br />
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I hope everyone is having a nice week! Thanks for stopping by! :)<br />
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Linking to:<br />
<a href="http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2016/03/wow-us-wednesdays-263.html" target="_blank">Wow Us Wednesday</a><br />
<a href="http://www.elizabethandcovintage.com/2016/03/be-inspired-features-and-link-party-199.html" target="_blank">Be Inspired Link Party</a><br />
<a href="http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/2016/03/wise-woman-linkup.html" target="_blank">Wise Women Link Up</a><br />
<a href="http://back2basichealth.blogspot.com/2016/03/tuesdays-with-twist-152-no-rules-linkup.html" target="_blank">Tuesdays with a Twist</a><br />
<a href="http://heidiswanderings.blogspot.com/2016/03/wake-up-wednesday-linky-party-110.html" target="_blank">Wake Up Wednesday</a>April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-4741757550907649852016-02-13T10:12:00.000-08:002016-09-30T00:20:45.245-07:00Spring Cleaning 2016This week I have started my spring cleaning. I always like to start about six weeks out from Easter so everything in my home is cleaned and ready for my big Easter family gathering and egg hunt. Plus, getting ready for spring is always so motivating to me with the spring bulbs popping up everywhere and more sunny days.<br />
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Last year I did a <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2015/02/my-decluttering-and-spring-cleaning.html" target="_blank">40 bags in 40 days declutter</a>-<br />
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My declutter project last year really helped out and made the house easier to keep clean. However at the end of last spring I had gallbladder removal surgery and was out of commission for nearly a month, then unable to really get back to full strength for the gardening season, so sadly my garden is really in a state and needs a lot of work this spring. Which is definitely a high priority since I love working out in my garden. This year I hope to have a good full year of gardening!</div>
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Last year I also meant to tackle the garage but only got part way through, since the garage is a main part of our storage system (we don't have much in the way of closet storage in our house) when it is disorganized it tends to have a ripple effect on the whole house. So even with all the decluttering that went on last year I really need to get things back in order. So I'm really motivated to tackle the garage this year. </div>
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Also this past year, perhaps because of a weird side effect of the stress of surgery plus having my youngest graduate and entering into a new phase of life, I spent too much of last year doing "retail therapy" which has definitely added clutter! So I am really motivated to tackle my spring cleaning goals. </div>
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I stocked up on fresh cleaning supplies and made a room by room plan, and have already begun some of my spring cleaning projects. Here is a video I made for my YouTube channel discussing some of my favorite cleaning products, I also shared a detailed list of all of my spring cleaning projects and goals.</div>
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Today I am looking forward to cooking a big pot of chicken stew, then baking some Valentine treats for church tomorrow. I am looking forward to a nice Valentine's Day tomorrow. Also I am looking forward to taking part in The Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend. Last year I took part in the count for the first time and really loved it. Here is my post from <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2015/02/great-backyard-bird-count-2015.html" target="_blank">last year about the Bird Count</a>. Click the image below to learn more about this year's bird count. </div>
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<a href="http://gbbc.birdcount.org/" target="_blank">The Great Backyard Bird Count</a></div>
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<a href="http://gbbc.birdcount.org/" target="_blank"><img alt=" " src="http://gbbc.birdcount.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/GBBC_Social-Media_final1-300x300.jpg" /></a></div>
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So that it what I am up to around here, I hope everyone has a nice Valentine's Day. </div>
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Thanks for stopping by! </div>
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Linking to:</div>
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<a href="http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/2016/02/home-sweet-home-258.html" target="_blank">Home Sweet Home Hop</a></div>
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<a href="http://lifeasweknowitbypaula.blogspot.com/2016/02/no-rules-weekend-blog-party-171.html" target="_blank">No Rules Weekend Blog Party</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.oakhillhomestead.com/2016/02/our-simple-homestead-blog-hop-38.html" target="_blank">Our Simple Homestead Blog Hop</a></div>
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<a href="http://our4kiddos.blogspot.com/2016/02/frugal-mommas-friday-linkup.html" target="_blank">Frugal Mommas Friday</a></div>
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<a href="http://our4kiddos.blogspot.com/2016/02/frugal-mommas-friday-linkup.html" target="_blank">Flaunt it Friday</a></div>
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April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-1948035527404038432016-02-02T21:57:00.004-08:002016-02-02T21:57:50.551-08:00Valentine Decorations and Potato Sausage Kale Soup <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It has been nearly a month since I have last updated my blog. January flew by faster than I could believe. I will try to update my blog more frequently, but since I have found myself busy with many different projects, I may not be able to update as frequently as I have written in the past. I still have many posts I would love to share, and hopefully will get back to more frequent posts in the future. I have been fairly active on my YouTube channel- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/aprilshome" target="_blank">April's Home</a> doing product reviews, and sharing some of the different things I purchase as well as meal plans and seasonal home tours, so you can catch me over there a couple times a week as well. I have been having a really fun time learning how to edit video. </div>
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I am excited that spring is just around the corner, Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring, as did our zoo's local hedgehog. However there is also a tradition that if the day is 'fair and bright, winter will take another flight", and around here is was a pretty sunny day, so we'll see if we have that early spring that was predicted. While the rest of the US has had blizzards and storms, we have had an extremely mild winter, I have even had the windows and doors open to cool down the house on multiple days! I wouldn't mind a nice small little snowy day at least once this year, but over all, I love the start to the gardening season and am looking forward to getting back out in the garden. </div>
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Around the house I have been getting ready for Valentine's Day, I love decorating for all of the little holidays this time of year. The main area of our home that I have decorated is the dining room. I have found many fun little pink red and gold decorations to set around the bookshelves.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWibQyU4mlW8IjQsg71JCET64nKBRWC0cZ6B_gol8Cm_HH9ClQqrEH82HUiwL5Jt8eTBM5ZywOzluHJYwil7ZlSOZs115kcGYux1wq9tUtmIs3h0HnrnOYkJpDf6wlY0QhMW1RbyEXwMZm/s1600/Valentine+1+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWibQyU4mlW8IjQsg71JCET64nKBRWC0cZ6B_gol8Cm_HH9ClQqrEH82HUiwL5Jt8eTBM5ZywOzluHJYwil7ZlSOZs115kcGYux1wq9tUtmIs3h0HnrnOYkJpDf6wlY0QhMW1RbyEXwMZm/s1600/Valentine+1+Collage.jpg" /></a></div>
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I made a cute new little seating area in the dining room with a little mirrored glass table I found on clearance after Christmas, along with some seasonal pillows on the chairs. It is a nice spot to sit and look through a book.<br />
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My side table is full of fun Valentine touches, with both some old favorite decorations as well as some new ones.<br />
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I have also put out on display some vintage reproduction Valentines that remind me of the ones I would cut out as a child. I found many of my new Valentine decorations at Target's dollar spot, they had so many cute decorations this year for very affordable prices, it was fun to pick them all out.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGsPHND6SlyoszhmJUYyCr_KDrwU1AWmlOqDWvyLoCuDtivCYxPDnQ0VpVDkYIT7niiorLoH_dgEdSPBmU2UVhxq9_hyphenhyphenWs6UklT0aQSDx2fLoU3hQNKW8VyIR9CvbsF_zYF7xv4SqBrGV2/s1600/valentine+4+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGsPHND6SlyoszhmJUYyCr_KDrwU1AWmlOqDWvyLoCuDtivCYxPDnQ0VpVDkYIT7niiorLoH_dgEdSPBmU2UVhxq9_hyphenhyphenWs6UklT0aQSDx2fLoU3hQNKW8VyIR9CvbsF_zYF7xv4SqBrGV2/s1600/valentine+4+Collage.jpg" /></a></div>
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I have also added Valentine decor to the living room this year. I even included the dogs, I found them each a Valentine rope tug toy and some very cute miniature Valentine colored mini milk bones which they have been enjoying. My husband brought me my first bouquet of pink tulips of the spring, he knows that tulips are my favorite and I always think it is so sweet that he surprises me with flowers. :)<br />
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In the living room I have also replaced my large train print with this really interesting wooden cubby with metal and number details, it looks like an old post sorting shelf or something, I have enjoyed bringing in some wooden elements to my living room for a change.<br />
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The other wooden decor item I have brought into the living room is this giant letter M (our initial) that I found after Christmas as well, I fell in love with it, and knew it would be perfect for the large space above my fireplace. I've also included some pretty pink candles and lights to the mantel, which will also work for my Easter decor.<br />
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Here are some of the other little things in the living room, candy dishes and little wooden signs and things, as well as the fun plaid heart pillow, another after Christmas clearance item that I thought would work well for Valentine's decor.<br />
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This past Christmas was the first time I really decorated our Master bedroom for Christmas as much as I did, so I decided to decorate our room for Valentine's Day as well, and found some fun pink decorations to make a nice display.<br />
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I really love Valentine's Day, not just the romantic parts of Valentine's Day, but just honoring the concept of love, and remembering to love our neighbor. :)</div>
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You can see a video of our Valentine decor home tour below-</div>
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In addition to all of the Valentine decorating I have been doing, I have been sticking to writing out and planning my dinner meal plan in two week sections. I have found that I am able to budget my grocery expenses a lot more efficiently, as well as serving healthier dinners. Last month one of my favorite meals was this Potato, Sausage, and Kale soup which we enjoyed with rustic French bread. </div>
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Here is my simple recipe for my Potato, Sausage and kale Soup<br />
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In a large soup pot saute a bunch of chopped celery and one chopped onion in a couple tablespoons of olive oil until softened and slightly translucent. Then add a 48 oz box of Chicken broth and bring to a simmer. While the broth is simmering clean and chop about 12 nice boiling potatoes a good red or gold variety, I leave on about half the potato peel for color and texture, you can leave on as much of the peel as desired. Add the chopped potato to the soup pot and continue to simmer. I also add at this point a tablespoon of Italian seasoning and a little salt and pepper to taste, as well as a few cups of water to make sure the potatoes are covered and that there will be plenty of broth. In a separate skillet brown a pound of regular ground sausage like Jimmy Deans. When the sausage is cooked through and browned drain thoroughly and add to the soup pot. Simmer on medium low heat until the potatoes are cooked though. About 30 minutes before the soup is done clean a bunch of Kale, I like the curly variety, remove any of the tough stems. I like to pull off the leave and rip into smallish pieces, then add to the soup. Then add about a half cup of cream, perhaps a little bit more if needed until the soup looks slightly creamy. Check seasoning, add a bit more salt or pepper if needed. Serve when the kale is softened and cooked to your liking and the potatoes, onion and celery are all cooked through. I like to serve this soup with a crusty rustic french bread topped with a little butter.<br />
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We enjoyed this soup while watching a family movie. Our new tradition for Monday nights is to watch an old classic movie, during January we watched some old Cary Grant movies as well as Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, it has been fun sharing these old movies with the kids. Our goal is to continue watching one new classic a week for the whole year and by the end of the year we will have seen quite a good selection of classic movies. So far that is my favorite resolution of the year! :)<br />
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I hope everyone is doing well, thanks for stopping by!<br />
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Linking to:<br />
<a href="http://back2basichealth.blogspot.com/2016/02/tuesdays-with-twist-148-no-rules-linkup.html" target="_blank">Tuesdays With A Twist </a><br />
<a href="http://www.elizabethandcovintage.com/2016/02/be-inspired-features-and-link-party-195.html" target="_blank">Be Inspired</a><br />
<a href="http://our4kiddos.blogspot.com/2016/02/try-new-recipe-tuesday-february-2.html" target="_blank">Try A New Recipe Tuesday </a><br />
<a href="http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2016/02/wow-us-wednesdays-259.html" target="_blank">Wow Us Wednesday </a><br />
<a href="http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/2016/02/welcome-wake-up-wednesday-linky-106.html" target="_blank">Wake up Wednesday</a><br />
<a href="http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/2016/02/wise-woman-linkup.html" target="_blank">Wise Woman Link Up</a>April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-74269690208026451122016-01-05T22:26:00.000-08:002016-01-05T22:53:41.511-08:00Happy New Year 2016It has been quit some time since I have been able to sit down and get back to my blogging, the holiday season has been a whirlwind, and kept me very busy. Although this holiday was super busy, I really enjoyed celebrating with my family.<br />
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I made all of our traditional Christmas Cookies, and had fun wrapping everyone's gifts in the beautiful wrapping paper I found this year. My favorite wrapping paper this year was the antlers on blue background as well as a gold faux bois patterned paper, I also found some beautiful light pink and glittery vintage looking paper to wrap all of the girl's gifts. We spent time with family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which I really enjoyed.<br />
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The following week I got my Christmas decorations down and put up my New Year's Eve decorations. I love decorating for New Year's Eve, it is one of my favorite holidays. I kept out a lot of gold candles and things that I had used for Christmas, as well as some of my New Year's Eve decor from year's past like <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2013/12/new-years-eve-paper-lantern-garland-and.html" target="_blank">my glittered clocks</a>.<br />
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I decided to keep out the bear I used to decorate our Christmas mantel, and added some antler candle holders I found on clearance after Christmas, and burned our Champagne Toast Bath and Body Works Candle which smelled wonderful! :)<br />
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I made our traditional appetizers, every year I make a cheese and cracker platter,<a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2013/01/new-years-eve-layered-nachos-and-baked.html" target="_blank"> bacon wrapped dates,</a> a batch of homemade Chex Mix, Chips and Dip, A <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2011/12/new-years-eve.html" target="_blank">Brie En Croute</a> with fruit and bread, crescent wrapped li'l smokies, and <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2013/02/super-easy-puff-pastry-cinnamon-palmier.html" target="_blank">Cinnamon Palmiers</a> for dessert along with fresh apples, grapes and mandarin oranges. We also had sparkling limeade, and sparkling cider. The food was delicious and we snacked on it for lunch the days following New Year's Eve.<br />
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I thought it would be fun to set up a photo station with different photo props, we played records on my new record player that my hubby and I got for Christmas, which was really fun. We also played board games throughout the evening.<br />
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I set out lots of noise makers and confetti poppers of various types. We also had a big confetti stick that used compressed air to send out a big shower of very pretty confetti. My kids and my young niece and nephew had fun playing with all the confetti, it was everywhere and it actually looked quite wonderful covering every surface of the living room, it was no problem cleaning it up and well worth the effort for how much fun the kids had playing in it! :) We of course made lots of noise with our clackers and poppers and horns when the clock struck midnight! :)</div>
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I set out candy dishes with "kisses for midnight" and we toasted the new year with sparkling cider. We stayed up late and had a great time, then spent New Year Day relaxing and eating good food and watching movies. Overall it was a wonderful way to kick off 2016!<br />
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Here is a short video I made of our New Year's Eve 2016 celebration.<br />
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I hope everyone had a nice start to the New Year. I am going to spend the rest of the week getting things a bit more organized around here, cleaning up from the holidays, and then I hope to spend more time on my blog this year. I have some organization goals for this year that I intend to share about over the next month.<br />
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Thanks for stopping by and Happy New Year!<br />
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Linking to:<br />
<a href="http://www.elizabethandcovintage.com/2016/01/be-inspired-features-and-link-party-191.html" target="_blank">Be Inspired</a><br />
<a href="http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/2016/01/wise-woman-linkup.html" target="_blank">A Wise Women Link Up</a><br />
<a href="http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/2016/01/welcome-wake-up-wednesday-linky-102.html" target="_blank">Wake Up Wednesday</a><br />
<a href="http://back2basichealth.blogspot.com/2016/01/tuesdays-with-twist-144-is-live.html" target="_blank">Tuesday With A Twist</a><br />
<br />April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-57937353737810695752015-12-17T16:12:00.000-08:002015-12-17T16:12:02.653-08:00Visiting a Tree Farm and Our Christmas TreeWe live in the heart of Christmas tree production here in Clackamas County, Oregon. Our county grows more trees than any other county in Oregon, and Oregon grows the most trees in the US. So you can imagine that we are literally surrounded by beautiful tree farms all around our small town. I love it, the air smells of Christmas trees all through the surrounding rural area throughout Christmas tree cutting season. You can see helicopters lifting loads of Christmas trees from the fields to the shipping locations starting in November.<br />
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Here is a helicopter hard at work that we spotted on the way to church in mid November.<br />
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The past few years we have been busy with school events and purchased our tree from local farmers that sell right here in town, but this year we decided that it had been quite some time since we had cut down our own, so we took a short drive outside of town and found the perfect tree farm. The drive there was beautiful, acres and acres of tree farms that all looked so beautiful all along the way.<br />
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The farmers at the tree farm we chose were very friendly, I spotted stacks of fire wood at the entrance to the farm, something about stacks of firewood always intrigue me, I had to stop for a few pictures.<br />
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All the trees were lovely, just about any tree would have been great, finally we settled on one, and when we lifted the branches to start cutting it down we spotted a toad stool next to the trunk, which I thought was fun and perhaps a gift from a Christmas elf. ;)<br />
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My daughter loves trees and was right at home among all of the trees, she had fun exploring and balancing on all the tree stumps. :)<br />
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My son Joe decided that he would do the bulk of the tree cutting this year and got right to work with a hand saw.<br />
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After a bit of work he finally got our tree cut down. The farmer was so kind and brought a truck out to the field to drive it down to be bundled for us, we got the tree shaken out and all wrapped up and made our way home.<br />
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This year we decided to put the tree in our living room, so we got it all set up and ready to decorate.<br />
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It took us a few days to finish decorating because everyone was busy with various end of school term finals and choir practice. But finally we got it all decorated and it turned out really pretty.<br />
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This year we chose to put up a lot of our red ornaments, as well as some of my new faux fur ornaments, and forest themed ornaments, and some of our special family ornaments. One of my favorites this year is the lumberjack below, as well as my big faux fur letter M, and all the little red mushrooms I found at Ikea this year. My daughter found the pretty whale ornament below that is very cute, and we have a bunch of different fox ornaments this year as well. I love having the Christmas tree in the living room this year, we have the lights on every evening, and it is nice to see while we are watching Christmas shows together. :)<br />
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I made a fun video of our trip out to the tree farm as well as a closer look at our decorated tree.<br />
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This weekend I will be spending my time doing lots of baking and wrapping gifts. This December has flown by and Christmas is right around the corner. I am really looking forward to seeing all of my family on Christmas weekend. I hope everyone is having a nice Christmas season!<br />
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Thanks for stopping by! :)<br />
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Linking to:<br />
<a href="http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2015/12/freedom-fridays-111.html" target="_blank">Freedom Fridays</a><br />
<a href="http://www.frenchcountrycottage.net/2015/12/feathered-nest-friday_17.html" target="_blank">Feathered Nest Friday</a><br />
<a href="http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/2015/12/home-sweet-home-251.html" target="_blank">Home Sweet Home</a><br />
<a href="http://lifeasweknowitbypaula.blogspot.com/2015/12/no-rules-weekend-blog-party-164.html" target="_blank">No Rules Weekend Blog Hop</a><br />
<a href="http://rootedinthyme.blogspot.com/2015/12/christmas-creations-and-simple-sweet.html" target="_blank">Simple and Sweet Fridays</a><br />
<a href="http://joyfulhomemaking.com/2015/12/think-tank-thursday-162.html" target="_blank">Think Tank Thursday</a><br />
<a href="http://heidiswanderings.blogspot.com/2015/12/functiondsidvar-jsfjsd_16.html" target="_blank">Wake Up Wednesday</a>April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-31126110487933576252015-12-08T04:47:00.000-08:002015-12-08T05:51:18.191-08:00Christmas 2015 Home TourI love decorating for Christmas, it is something I look forward to every year. This year I decided to update a lot of my decor, and I was excited to plan out some new decor ideas, update some of my old favorites, and this year I even decided to decorate my bedroom. Here is a look at how I decorated for Christmas this year.<br />
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I have really been drawn to all things metallic this year, so I decided to do my entry and dining room in gold and mixed metallic colors. I love my little gold tree that I decorated with tiny metallic baubles and pinecones. I flanked the tree with two glittery deer and added some gold mercury glass votives. I decided to soften the room with a faux lamb skin from Ikea.<br />
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Here is the entry tree close up, I found a cute glittery cutout "Merry" ornament that made the perfect addition to the tree.<br />
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The garage and coat closet doors each got wreaths. I love the simple green felt wreath, I added a sparkly Noel ornament to tie it in with the metallic look of the room. I found a tiny gold wreath for the garage door, as well as a cute little sign for the door handle.<br />
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The entry opens up into the dining room, which is also done largely in metallic colors. I found these cute picture frames with gold antlers as well as a great marquee style glitter star and a deer bust. I added pictures of <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2015/11/fall-2015-family-picnic-at-river.html" target="_blank">our fall picnic</a> to the frames. On top of another bookcase is another marquee style lighted star, with a beautiful gold bottle brush tree and a wood cutout Peace decoration.<br />
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On my hutch bookcase I got out some of my favorite Christmas books and added some of my Santas, as well as a copper colored geometric shaped deer from Ikea, and a copper wolf from Target. I tucked in a few other favorite little decorations like my little pinecone elves around my books.<br />
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My dining room doubles as my library, so I have a lot of bookcases that I can decorate. On one set of bookcases I displayed one of my favorite finds this year, my gold deer head from Target, along with mercury glass hurricanes filled with led twinkle lights, a white and gold Santa, and a marquee Joy sign, with some pine garland to soften all the metallics.<br />
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I strung a metallic geometric garland across the window, and the last bookcase is decorated with a gold foiled deer, a glass lighted white and copper tree and two gold bottle brush trees. I added some mini pillows to my chairs as well as my plush polar bear.<br />
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On the table I have a cute sparkle themed wooden sign as well as my fox handled wooden tray with my gumdrop tree and some cute plates featuring animals dressed dapper style with gold accents, as well as a tall gold deer with a fur collar.<br />
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The side table is decorated with a burlap runner, gold deer, and other gold decor and floral picks, and features my two nativity scenes, my Celtic nativity and my olive wood nativity.<br />
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I love my Celtic nativity scene and look forward to having it out every Christmas, I love its simplified beauty.<br />
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On the way to the living room is our little hallway table, this year I decorated it with laser cut flat trees from The Container Store surrounding my little group of Santas, along with little red lantern ornaments.<br />
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The living room is decorated in woodland and lodge themed decor with red and green as well as wood and faux fur accents.<br />
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I found a new centerpiece for the mantle, a wonderful wood slice bear rimmed in rustic metal, I fell in love with this bear as soon as I saw it, both me and my hubby agreed it would be perfect. We kept with our tradition pine garland with red lights and red glass ornaments, and added some red candles in metal lined candle holders. To add height to the display I found these cute little wooden skis in Target's dollar spot, and they were perfect. I had originally purchase only one set of skis and they were on my TV stand as you can see above. Then I held it up to the wall and thought how nice it would look on the wall if I only had two. My Target's dollar spot gets picked over fast, so I wasn't very confident I would find any more of the skis since Black Friday had come and gone. However when I was out shopping with my mother, I popped over to Target and they had exactly two left, I was so happy to have found them.<br />
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I found some cute fur buckets to store extra blankets and pillows, I found a very comfy faux fur throw, as well as a plaid fur lined pillow. I want to have many cozy evenings enjoying Christmas movies along with hot cocoa, so I found a sturdy wooden tray that I thought would be perfect for serving hot cocoa and snacks. I love how cozy our living room turned out. I am currently in the process of decorating our tree which we cut down this past weekend, I will be doing a separate post of our tree when it is finished as well as some pretty pictures of the tree farm we visited.<br />
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I always like to add Christmas decor to the main bathroom. I wanted to do classic red decorations, I displayed one of my nutcrackers with some of my little silver deer, as well as a cute whimsical light up reindeer. I set out Christmas towels, and Christmas tissue in a cute metal basket. For the bathroom door, I found a cute red sled with vintage lettering.<br />
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This year I decided to decorate our bedroom, I have never really decorated our bedroom for Christmas, but now that the kids are young adults, and they often have company, I thought it would be nice to have a festive little retreat area for me and my hubby to enjoy some Christmas movies while the kids are busy with friends or finishing up college finals work. I love pastel Christmas decorations but they don't work very well with the rest of my house, so I thought it would be fun to do a pastel theme with a white tree for our bedroom. I found a faux fur white wreath for our door. I added a faux fur throw and some faux fur pillows to our bed along with my Snoopy. :)<br />
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On our TV cabinet I set up a pretty pastel Christmas scene. I used my old pink paperboard church, lots of pastel bottle brush trees, a pink mercury glass tree, and a wonderful collection of glass dessert themed pastel colored decorations that I found at Macy's this year and fell in love with. <br />
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I love doughnuts and two of the ornaments are beautiful glass doughnuts, as well as a gumball machine, a cupcake in a glass domed stand, a cute snowman ice cream cone and a 2015 candy and sweets themed ornament. I also added some inexpensive mini pastel baubles.<br />
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I found a pretty doll ornament wearing a cream colored winter outfit that I thought would be perfect for my display, I also added a glittery little deer and some of my old glittered mini wooden houses. I also found a pink metal candle holder from IKEA (I have the same one in red in my living room), and I knew the pink one would be perfect for my pastel Christmas display. I love how it turned out, and it makes me happy every time I see it from our bed.<br />
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So that is our Christmas home, I had so much fun updating my decor this year. I also made a video of our Christmas Home Tour for my Youtube channel which you can view below.<br />
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I hope you enjoyed checking out my Christmas home, I will leave you with a picture of my old friend and fur baby Xena, she is my 12 year old German Shepherd/Lab who is my constant companion, along with her "younger sister" my young lab Zoey who is far to busy to stop for a picture. Xena loves sitting by the fire every time it's on, and I'm glad I was able to snap a few pictures of her. Xena knows the drill every year and looks forward to Christmas decorating, she loves when the tree goes up and the fireplace is on. :)<br />
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<span id="goog_484506197"></span><span id="goog_484506198"></span><br />
Thanks for stopping by, I hope everyone is having a nice holiday season!<br />
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Linking to:<br />
<a href="http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/2015/12/time-to-link-up-tuesdays-with-twist-140.html" target="_blank">Tuesdays with a Twist</a><br />
<a href="http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/2015/12/show-and-share-no291.html" target="_blank">Show and Share</a><br />
<a href="http://mariaelenasdecor.blogspot.com/2015/12/tuesdays-at-our-home-141-features.html" target="_blank">Tuesdays at our Home</a><br />
<a href="http://nap-timecreations.com/2015/12/create-link-inspire-3.html" target="_blank">Create Link Inspire</a><br />
<a href="http://timewarpwife.com/titus-2sday-link-up-party-47/" target="_blank">Titus 2sdays link up party</a><br />
<br /></div>
April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-79501177134790952322015-11-25T00:09:00.000-08:002015-11-26T12:54:02.552-08:00Thanksgiving Home and Two Turkey Left-Over RecipesThis year our family is celebrating Thanksgiving with my husband's family. I am looking forward to waking up on Thanksgiving and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade then heading out to visit family. Even though I am not hosting the Thanksgiving meal I still like to put out Thanksgiving decorations, so I thought I would share some of the decorations that I put up this year. I also thought I would share two Thanksgiving leftover recipes.<br />
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This year I added some fun new wooden signs to my Thanksgiving decor, I found the signs in the Target Dollar Spot for $3.00 each, which I think is a great deal. I paired the wooden signs with candle holders I already had, as well as a few animal figures and of course my Thanksgiving Snoopy.<br />
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I used a lot of the same decor as previous years, in addition to using all of the <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2015/10/metallic-painted-pumpkins-project.html" target="_blank">pumpkins that I painted with metallic paint for Halloween.</a><br />
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On my bookcases I tucked in my little Thanksgiving figurines that I have had for awhile now.<br />
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I also had fun decorating with some of the cute fox decor that I found at Walmart earlier this fall.<br />
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Since I am not hosting Thanksgiving this year I decided to cook a turkey last week so we could still have our favorite Thanksgiving foods as well as our leftover meals. I cooked the turkey from a frozen solid state following directions I found online. I have always wanted to experiment with that and it worked out great. I was very careful to remove the plastic giblet bag as soon as the turkey thawed enough to remove it. Of course the Turkey took a lot longer to cook, but we were in no hurry. I was glad to have tried out the method, it worked great and I did not have the fuss of thawing out my turkey. I made stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, brussel sprouts, and mushrooms, and we also had canned cranberry sauce, and rolls. Everything was yummy.<br />
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I love using all the turkey meat in leftover dinner recipes. This year I made one of my favorites- Creamy Turkey Noodle Casserole.<br />
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Here is my Creamy Turkey Noodle Casserole Recipe-<br />
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Ingredients-<br />
1 pound Rotini pasta, 2 cups chopped cooked turkey, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 soup can of milk, rounded half cup of grated cheddar jack cheese, half a bag of frozen green peas, salt, pepper, 15 Ritz crackers, 1 rounded Tablespoon Parmesan, 1 1/2 Tablespoons of olive oil.<br />
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Cook and drain one pound rotini pasta (or any of your favorite shaped pasta)<br />
while the pasta is cooking chop up about two cups of leftover cooked turkey into small cubes. Return drained pasta to pan, add turkey, one can cream of mushroom soup, 1 soup can of milk, half a bag of frozen green peas, and a rounded half cup of cheddar jack shredded cheese (add a bit more if you like cheese), add salt and pepper to taste. Stir until combined then transfer to a greased casserole dish. For the topping crush about 15 Ritz crackers in a small Ziploc bag, add a rounded tablespoon of grated Parmesan (just the sort in a jar), and about a tablespoon and a tablespoon and a half of olive oil, seal the Ziploc bag and shake until combined, then top the casserole with the crumble mixture. Bake the casserole at 350 F. until the casserole is heated through and the crumble topping is golden brown, about 25 minutes.<br />
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I like to serve casseroles with extra veggies and sometimes a muffin or apple bread side dish.<br />
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The next night I made a family favorite Thanksgiving leftover- Turkey and Stuffing Roll-Ups. I came up with this recipe a couple of years ago, and it is always yummy. Here is a link to my <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2013/12/turkey-and-stuffing-roll-ups-and.html" target="_blank">Turkey and Stuffing Roll-Up Recipe</a>.<br />
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I have been thoroughly enjoying all of the fall weather we have been having, the cooler temperatures have finally arrived and along with it, it is seems we have quite a few more birds in our garden. Last week I was sitting at my computer and kept hearing the cutest little chirping going on in my front yard, so I thought I would take a peek. I was surprised to see all of my burberry bushes filled with the cutest little birds flying around so quickly you could hardly catch a glimpse. Upon closer inspection I realized they were bushtits. I got my camera and tried to get a couple of good pictures through the window, they were so fast it was tricky but I managed to get a couple. Bushtits are so tiny, the body is only about an inch long, the tail is about another inch as well. I just love these birds!<br />
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Apparently they were quite fond of my bushes, I couldn't tell if they were eating the berries on the shrubs or something else, but I'm glad they enjoyed them. I hope they come often. :)<br />
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Here is my Thanksgiving Home Tour, Recipe Idea, and November favorites video if you are interested in seeing clips of my home decor, as well as checking out some of my November favorites.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JC3iNuapOao/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JC3iNuapOao?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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I hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving and has safe travels,<br />
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Thanks for stopping by!<br />
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<div>
Linking to:</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/2015/11/welcome-wake-up-wednesday-linky-96.html" target="_blank">Wake Up Wednesday</a><br />
<a href="http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2015/11/wow-us-wednesdays-249.html" target="_blank">Wow Us Wednesday</a><br />
<a href="http://www.elizabethandcovintage.com/2015/11/be-inspired-features-and-link-party-187.html" target="_blank">Be inspired</a><br />
<a href="http://nap-timecreations.com/2015/11/create-link-inspire-1123.html" target="_blank">Create Link Inspire</a><br />
<a href="http://back2basichealth.blogspot.com/2015/11/tuesdays-with-twist-138.html" target="_blank">Tuesdays With A Twist</a><br />
<a href="http://timewarpwife.com/titus-2sday-link-up-party-46/" target="_blank">Titus 2sdays</a></div>
April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-27840994394665987612015-11-24T18:52:00.000-08:002015-11-25T00:18:07.613-08:00Simply Sunday School - A Ruth and Naomi Harvest Bible Craft We have been very busy around here with holiday preparations. I wanted to share a very fun harvest themed Bible craft that I did with my Sunday school class this month. I have so many Sunday School children's Bible crafts to share as part of my Simply Sunday School posts, and I am hoping to catch up a bit in December as well as into the new year. This craft is actually part of a larger series of lessons that I will be sharing when I have completed them all. I decided that instead of my usual Thanksgiving and Christmas lessons this year that I would teach the Fruits of the Spirit throughout the holiday season matching up the different Fruits of the Spirit with different aspects of the holiday season, as well as some good lessons for in between. Since it is Harvest time and Thanksgiving, I thought of the story of Ruth and Naomi, and I decided to use this story to teach the Fruit of the Spirit - Kindness. I came up with a fun craft for this lesson that I really wanted to share since it also makes a nice decoration for Thanksgiving.<br />
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<i>But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 </i></div>
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I love the story of Ruth and Naomi which is found in the Old Testament in the book of Ruth. Ruth is Naomi's daughter in law, and after both of their husbands die, Ruth decides to stay with Naomi and go with her back to her family in Bethlehem, I felt this story was a nice example of Kindness. When Ruth and Naomi get to Bethlehem, Boaz, one of Naomi's family members also shows Ruth kindness by letting her glean in his fields and instructing his men to leave Ruth grain to glean. It is a very nice story, and the whole book of Ruth can be read in one sitting. I wanted to make a craft of Ruth holding grain. So I cut out a cone shape from orange construction paper, and using glue stick and tape turned it into a cone. I wrote the word kindness on the bottom. I also cut out two arm shapes, and used a circle punch to cut out a head shape. I had the kids tape on the arms and glue on the head using glue stick.<br />
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I found dried wheat at the craft store and cut the stem so it would be the right size, and taped two pieces in the arms, then taped the arms together. I love the way they turned out and I think they look nice as a harvest table decoration.<br />
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Our Bible verse was a simple shortened one. <i>Be kind to one another. Ephesians 4:32 </i>After reading the story of Ruth we talked about kindness, and I had the children give examples of acts of kindness.<br />
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For snack, keeping with the grain and harvest theme, I made my harvest snack mix with the kids, I told them how cereal is made of grain, and we added Corn Chex, Vanilla Chex, and Cinnamon Chex to a bowl, as well as candy corn, Bugles to represent a cornucopia, and raisins. I let the kids all take a turn stirring the mixture with a couple of big wooden spoons, which they really enjoyed. Then they each scooped a cup for snack time, then after snack they all made a bag of the mix to bring home and share.<br />
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I also brought in a bunch of extra dried wheat to show them a bit about what gleaning would be like, and how the wheat has little wheat berries inside and how they would have been harvested and turned into bread. I passed around the wheat and let each child pick out a wheat berry to look at. They where all fascinated with with that as well, which I thought was fun.<br />
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I think this made a fun Harvest themed Thanksgiving lesson, and the kids seemed to really enjoy the whole lesson. </div>
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I will hopefully be sharing the rest of my Fruit of the Spirit lessons at the end of the year.</div>
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Thanks for stopping by! :)</div>
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Linking to:</div>
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<a href="http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/2015/11/welcome-wake-up-wednesday-linky-96.html" target="_blank">Wake Up Wednesday</a><br />
<a href="http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2015/11/wow-us-wednesdays-249.html" target="_blank">Wow Us Wednesday</a><br />
<a href="http://www.elizabethandcovintage.com/2015/11/be-inspired-features-and-link-party-187.html" target="_blank">Be inspired</a><br />
<a href="http://frontierdreams.blogspot.com/2015/11/keep-calm-craft-on-crafting-on_24.html" target="_blank">Keep Calm Craft On</a><br />
<a href="http://nap-timecreations.com/2015/11/create-link-inspire-1123.html" target="_blank">Create Link Inspire</a><br />
<a href="http://back2basichealth.blogspot.com/2015/11/tuesdays-with-twist-138.html" target="_blank">Tuesdays With A Twist</a><br />
<a href="http://timewarpwife.com/titus-2sday-link-up-party-46/" target="_blank">Titus 2sdays</a></div>
April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-71563257982401240172015-11-10T13:28:00.000-08:002015-11-10T13:28:01.438-08:00Fall 2015 Family Picnic at the RiverEvery fall I love getting outdoors and exploring all the beautiful fall scenery. I especially love going down by the river and seeing all of the trees changing color and dropping their leaves. The colors reflect in the river so beautifully. When we had a dry fall day we decided to pack a simple picnic and head down to the river to explore.<div>
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I love red plaid, and my classic red plaid thermos and lunch box, so I packed a simple classic picnic in all of our red plaid gear, along with a red plaid blanket. On the way we picked up a regular baguette, and a sour dough baguette, and we were all in the mood for coffees.<br /><div>
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Along with our bread and coffee, I brought a wedge of Gouda, some slices of Havarti, Genoa Salami, and roast beef. I love simple meats and cheese with fresh baguette.<br />
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For dessert I brought grapes and two delicious Honey Crisp Apples to dip in Smucker's Salted Caramel. The Smucker's Caramel was wonderful and definitely a new favorite.<br />
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I also brought a thermos of hot apple cider, we all love hot apple cider, it is a family favorite. Me and Sarah also decided to wear our plaid sneakers which was fun. :)<br />
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Sarah and Joe were good sports as I tried to get some fun pictures of them throwing leaves. I think the pictures turned out cute.<br />
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I was finally able to break out a fall sweater, up until then it had been too warm for fall sweaters. I also wore my favorite stag necklace I found last year. Of course I wouldn't want to go out to the woods without my trusty Swiss Army Knife, I bought this knife for my self in high school and it has held up beautifully over the years.<br />
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My kids love exploring and climbing trees, they have since they were little. I love all the pictures I got for our scrapbook.<br />
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Gary and Joe had a fun time skipping rocks down by the river.<br />
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I took the opportunity to get as many pictures of Sarah and Joe as I could.<br />
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I got a bunch of really great pictures of us all, I think outdoor photos are always my favorite.<br />
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The water level of the river was the lowest that we had ever seen it. In this <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2012/01/rising-molalla-river.html" target="_blank">old post from 2012</a> you can see how high the river was on the water level ruler. It was so low on the day we went we could walk all the way around the cement bridge support, and it looked like with a pair of wading boots you could easily walk right across the river in quite a few places. It was fun to explore parts of the river bed that we don't normally get to see. A few days later our fall rain arrived and there were flood warnings for some of the houses by this park. Crazy how a few days of heavy rain can make that much difference!<br />
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The kids and Gary had fun playing hide and seek, they are all so good at hiding that it always ends up making me a bit nervous, one of these days I will have to find a clever hiding spot! :)<br />
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I love all of the interesting trees at this park, there are so many different growth shapes and root shapes, it always fascinates me, and all the interesting trees are perfect for more photos! :)<br />
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The kids took some pictures of Gary and me as well.<br />
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I love this brother and sister picture of Sarah and Joe down one the river bank.<br />
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The water was so beautiful, I loved the autumn leaves reflecting on the water.<br />
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Overall a wonderful day, and a perfect family picnic!<br />
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Since I have been having fun lately playing around with video I also made a short video of our outing. </div>
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I hope everyone is enjoying the fall! </div>
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April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-26523346322941464362015-11-02T13:58:00.001-08:002015-11-02T14:16:22.503-08:00Halloween Appetizer Buffet and Mini Graveyard Dessert CupsWe had a great time this past weekend celebrating Halloween. I always have so much fun decorating for Halloween and watching classic Halloween specials all October. Then, when Halloween arrives, it has been our tradition for years now to host a Halloween open house appetizer buffet. I serve classic appetizers and play family friendly Halloween shows, friends and family can drop by in between trick or treating and have some snacks and goodies. Here are a few pictures from our Halloween appetizer buffet this year, as well as links to the recipes I use.<br />
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I always start Halloween day with getting my Mulled Cider going in the crock pot.<br />
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I simple peel the center section of the apple peel away, like shown above, then stud the apple with whole cloves. I also add a sachet of mulling spices (you can find them in the spice or tea aisle or online) the tea bag style sachet has orange peel, cinnamon, and other spices that help to flavor the apple cider. I use a basic bottled apple cider from the grocery store as the base. The apple cider is best after about four hours in the crock pot, then I leave it on low for the rest of the evening and set out whipped cream and caramel for the topping. The hot mulled cider always hits the spot after getting cold while out trick or treating, and it makes the house smell wonderful!<br />
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Every year I pick a selection of hot appetizers, this year I chose crescent wrapped li'l smokeys, <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2011/11/halloween-2011-mushroom-pinwheels.html" target="_blank">mushroom pinwheels</a>, <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2012/11/our-halloween-open-house-and-easy.html" target="_blank">classic sweet and sour meatballs</a> (this year I used regular meatballs, some years I use Turkey meatballs, they both work great), and our favorite <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2012/11/our-halloween-open-house-and-easy.html" target="_blank">bacon wrapped tater tots</a>. Click the links for the recipes, you can find more appetizer recipes in the recipe index on my side bar.<br />
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I also like to set out cold appetizers and other snacks that don't have to be baked and can be pre-made. I made a<a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2011/12/baby-jesus-paper-craft-christmas.html" target="_blank"> ham and onion cracker spread</a> which I serve with Ritz Crackers, I also decided to set out some thick cut radishes for this dip as well, and the spread is delicious with the radishes. I will definitely be serving this spread with radishes from now on! :) I also made the<a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2014/11/my-sisters-baby-shower-appetizer-buffet.html" target="_blank"> classic pickle and cream cheese ham roll ups</a> which are always tasty and easy to make. I set out some fun bone shaped cheese puffs and Halloween shaped tortilla chips with queso blanco dip which I purchased pre-made in a jar.<br />
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Of course a Halloween party would not be complete without a nice selection of sweets. We had a huge bin of candy to pass out, and on the table I set out the many different Halloween snacks that were available this Halloween season. There were Halloween Oreos, and pumpkin spice Oreos, Halloween Chips Ahoy, a nice selection of different Halloween Peeps, Popcorn Balls, and little tiny bags of mini cheese puffs for extra treats to take home. Out of all of the packaged Halloween treats this year I was so impressed with the Caramel Apple Peeps, I wasn't sure how it would taste but it looked fun and I love caramel, well I was surprised! The caramel was delicious, the apple flavoring was yummy and not overwhelming, and it even had a little hint of saltiness to balance out the sweet, I sure hope they make them again next year, the caramel apple peeps are definitely a new favorite of mine! :)<br />
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Of course the packaged treats are fun, but I always like to make a special dessert as well. When the kids were little I made a fun pudding graveyard dessert, they really enjoyed it and were hoping I would make it again this year. I figured it would be hard to serve a crowd, so instead of the style that is made in a 9 X 13 pan I made them in individual cups. Also instead of using cookies as the gravestones I used the new Gravestone peeps as decorations. Here is the simple recipe.<br />
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First crush up an entire package of regular Oreos, I imagine you could use a food processor if you have one, I don't, so I put the Oreos into a large Ziploc freezer bag, then I used a meat mallet to crunch them up until they were in nice small pieces, and the frosting filling was well incorporated into the crumbled cookies. The Ziploc bag stared to break after a bit so before cookie crumbs went everywhere I put the Ziploc bag into another Ziploc bag to double bag it, and that did the trick. Mix two regular sized boxes of instant chocolate pudding with 3 cups of milk until well mixed, then let that stand for five minutes. Then fold in one regular sized tub of thawed Cool Whip into the pudding, and half of the crumbled up Oreos. Spoon into short clear plastic drink cups, then top with a rounded 1/8 cup of cookie crumble, pat down the crumble cookie topping and spread it out so it covers the pudding mix, then top with a Gravestone Peep and a pumpkin candy. This recipe will make about ten cups, I doubled the recipe and made twenty cups so I would have plenty to serve. They turned out really yummy, and they looked fun! :)<br />
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I made a short video of our Halloween Open House and Appetizer Buffet so you can get a better look at how things were set up.<br />
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I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. I always feel like Halloween kicks off the Holiday season, yesterday I was shopping after church and Christmas things were being set up at all of the stores, such and exciting time of year! Today I will be busy removing all of my Halloween decorations, boxing them up carefully for next year, and putting out my Thanksgiving decorations. :)<br />
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Thanks for stopping by! :)<br />
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Linking to:<br />
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<a href="http://www.artfulhomemaking.com/2015/11/fall-table-link-up.html" target="_blank">Artful Homemaking Link-Up</a>April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-15259509030441071022015-10-31T00:45:00.002-07:002015-10-31T01:14:42.601-07:00Metallic Painted Pumpkins ProjectI had a wonderful time this evening decorating a selection of mini pumpkins with a variety of metallic paints. This project was fun and simple and I love the way my pumpkins turned out.<br />
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Last year I had a lot of fun decorating a bunch of<a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2014/10/decorating-pumpkins-with-washi-tape.html" target="_blank"> mini pumpkins with twine, washi tape, and glitter</a> which you can read about by in my post from last year. I love the way they turned out, and it was probably the most fun I had ever had decorating pumpkins. Decorating pumpkins without carving them can be a nice alternative. <br />
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<a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2014/10/decorating-pumpkins-with-washi-tape.html" target="_blank"><img height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_LmKRN5k4FupH2N8nEnZKvyc5Oo3zuCWziiWkv7RDGOfQhC__9V1heYS0Ql6N4eUWqZn9YrG_EyrMpUhx0HIkzjvazr1kXgrLso3tpL2Og7u8i5nsAiwaj73oVOoeLVaybEEao6QdEpTI/s400/Mini+Pumpkin+6+Collage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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So this year I decided I would have fun again decorating a selection of mini pumpkins, but instead of washi tape, glitter, and twine, I decided to do a metallic paint theme. I am loving mixing different metallic colors in my decor this year, so I thought it would be fun to buy a selection of metallic paint and paint my mini pumpkins with different designs. </div>
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I found a nice selection of Martha Stewart Metallic paint at the craft store, there were so many different colors. I was really hoping to find a rose gold, which I couldn't find, but I did find a rose chrome color that I really liked. I found multiple shades of copper, gold, chrome, silver, and more. Craft paint like this is fairly inexpensive, and they are useful for multiple projects, so it is nice to add new colors to my paint box. I also picked up some inexpensive brushes just in case painting pumpkins was hard on the brush. I also got a couple circle sponge applicators so I could make polka dots easily. I found a nice selection of mini orange pumpkins at the pumpkin patch, and all the little white ones I used were from my own garden. </div>
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I always like to use a paper plate or some other disposable tray to hold my paint, which makes cleaning up easier.<br />
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I painted all of the pumpkin's stems in coordinating paints, I painted one pumpkin with a stripe design, some I painted the top half, others I painted the bottom half. I painted two pumpkins with polka dots using my sponge applicator, which was a very easy method. I also did blended paint designs with a couple of the pumpkins. I set them out to dry on wax paper. The one that I painted the bottom half of I balanced upside down in a little cup so the bottom would dry. This project took around an hour, and I am leaving them out to dry over night.<br />
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Here is how they all turned out, each one is different, and I love the way all of the pumpkins look together, as well as on display with my metallic centerpiece on my table for Halloween. I also intend to use these little pumpkins in my Thanksgiving decor, I think they will look nice on my Thanksgiving table and sideboard.<br />
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This was a really fun and easy project, and I really love the look. I have a feeling I will enjoy using my new metallic paints for upcoming holiday projects as well! :)<br />
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Tonight after my pumpkin project, I made our traditional <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2014/10/halloween-game-night-with-spiderweb.html" target="_blank">Halloween Layered Nachos</a> with a sour cream spider web topping. This year I found really fun Halloween shaped tortilla chips, which definitely added a nice Halloween touch. We all spent the evening together watching Halloween shows. </div>
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I am really looking forward to Halloween tomorrow. I will be serving a bunch of yummy appetizers and passing out lots of candy to all the trick or treaters, as well as spending time with my family. I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween!</div>
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Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Halloween! :)</div>
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April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-56229403162239211172015-10-22T23:19:00.001-07:002015-10-23T01:36:35.251-07:00Fall Family Days - Halloweentown, Pumpkin Patch, Halloween S'mores October is such a fun time for family outings, we have had a fun past couple of weekends doing different seasonal activities, I thought I would share what we've been up to.<br />
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Last month I read an article about the Disney movie Halloweentown. Halloweentown is a movie that my kids grew up watching and has always been a favorite of ours. Well, it turns out, that it was filmed in St. Helens, Oregon, and St. Helens decorates the town square just like Halloweentown for October every year. You can take pictures at the historic City Hall building as well as with a similar looking Halloweentown pumpkin. So we decided to take a little road trip to the town of St. Helens.<br />
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The drive is about an hour an a half from where we live, about half an hour north of Portland. I love seeing some of Portland's bridges. The weather was perfect for a drive.<br />
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When we arrived we were all excited to see the Halloweentown pumpkin as well as the historic city hall building. Although the pumpkin in the movie was bigger, it really was very similar looking and was really cool to see. We had just watched the movie the night before so it would be fresh in our minds, and it was so cool to see the location.<br />
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We all had fun taking pictures.<br />
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They had a cute picture station for the bus stop to Halloweentown as well.<br />
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We all took turns taking pictures on the steps of the city hall building.<br />
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The town of St. Helens Oregon was a cool small town, we walked around a it and checked out some of the old historic buildings. I can see why the town was chosen for the filming location, the City Hall building was definitely a perfect looking iconic City Hall building, perfect for filming.<br />
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Our trip to St. Helens was very memorable, and it will be even more fun to watch Halloweentown every Halloween season! The drive home was nice, we stopped off at Dairy Queen on the way home, for lunch and some ice cream. All around it was a great day. If you live nearby, it is definitely a fun day trip for October.<br />
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Here is a short little video I made of our outing to St. Helens, Oregon all decorated as Halloweentown.<br />
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Last week we also had fun with an impromptu fire pit night. We love fire pit evenings, sitting around a little fire, making s'mores and chatting. Since the weather was so dry this past summer we were unable to light a backyard fire, so it was especially nice to finally be able to have a little cookout. I made a batch of grilled onions for our bratwurst. I love grilled onions, sauerkraut, mayo, grainy mustard, relish and Ketchup on my brats. The fire was so relaxing to sit around, the sky was clear and the stars were beautiful.<br />
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After dinner, I brought out fixin's for s'mores, but instead of regular marshmallows I found jumbo pumpkin shaped orange colored marshmallows, which was extra fun.<br />
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S'mores are always yummy, and I loved these pumpkin marshmallows.<br />
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To keep going with all of the October fun, last weekend we made a trip to the pumpkin patch at Fir Point Farms. We had a fun time going on a hay ride around the farm, we got to see their bees hard at work. Then we picked out a bunch of different pumpkins for all of our different projects, with all of us hunting for different pumpkins for all of our various ideas, we ended up with quite a large collection! There were quite a few varieties to choose from which was really fun.<br />
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I got a great picture of Sarah and Joe on this old tractor, I think it is a wonderful brother and sister picture! :)<br />
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My son and his girlfriend Lorene also got a bunch of cute pictures together.<br />
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Just like last year we decided to go through the corn maze, it was a little more tricky this year, and definitely a fun challenge.<br />
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Also like last year I took fun, creepy "Children of the Corn" style pictures of the kids.<br />
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Then I had a little fun with some spooky editing. :) You can check out our <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2014/10/our-day-at-fir-point-farms-pumpkin-patch.html" target="_blank">2014 Fir Point Farms trip here </a>to see last year's pictures.<br />
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Here is another nice brother and sister photo I took in the corn maze.<br />
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There are also a bunch of farm animals to pet and feed at the farm. This year I made sure to bring plenty of quarters to put in the animal food coin machines. We fed goats and mini horses, you can feed some of the other animals as well. The mini horses were my favorite to feed, they were so sweet. Sarah really enjoyed the goats.<br />
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There was a really fun feeding contraption set up for the goats, you could put the food in a little cup on a pulley and pull the food to the top of a tree house that the goats could access by climbing up ramps.<br />
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There are so many neat things to see, it has a nice country feel, I loved this log cabin building.<br />
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One of my favorite things about Fir Point Farm is their delicious apple cider donuts. We got some to eat fresh and hot, as well as some to bring home. The fresh pressed hot cider was also delicious.<br />
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The day was very enjoyable, I would definitely recommend Fir Point Farms for any one who lives locally, it has a really a great family atmosphere and is perfect for an October outing.<br />
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Fall is definitely my favorite time of year, the weather is so nice, not too cold or too hot, and I always love our fall family outings. I am looking forward to the rest of the season!<br />
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Thanks for stopping by!<br />
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Linking to:<br />
<a href="http://madeinaday.com/2015/09/04/halloween-spooktacular-linky-party-3/" target="_blank">Halloween Spooktacular Linky Party</a><br />
<a href="http://our4kiddos.blogspot.com/2015/10/frugal-mommas-friday-linkup-9.html" target="_blank">Frugal Mommas Friday Link Up</a><br />
<a href="http://chiconashoestringdecorating.blogspot.com/2015/10/flaunt-it-friday.html" target="_blank">Flaunt it Fridays</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2015/10/freedom-fridays-103.html" target="_blank">Freedom Fridays</a><br />
<a href="http://www.frenchcountrycottage.net/2015/10/feathered-nest-friday_22.html" target="_blank">Feathered Nest Fridays</a><br />
<a href="http://www.pickledokrabycharlie.com/2015/10/craft-frenzy-friday-113.html" target="_blank">Craft Frenzy Friday </a><br />
<a href="http://rootedinthyme.blogspot.com/2015/10/fall-inspired-pumpkin-with-wire-name.html" target="_blank">Simple and Sweet Fridays</a><br />
<a href="http://lifeasweknowitbypaula.blogspot.com/2015/10/no-rules-weekend-blog-party-156.html" target="_blank">No Rules Weekend Blog Party</a><br />
<a href="http://www.oakhillhomestead.com/2015/10/our-simple-homestead-blog-hop-22.html" target="_blank">Our Simple Homestead Blog Hop</a><br />
<br />April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-48701078444562443252015-10-10T15:05:00.000-07:002015-10-23T01:37:15.715-07:00Halloween 2015 Home Tour I love decorating for Halloween and this year was no exception. I found a bunch of really fun new decor, mostly at Target this year. Target always has such fun stuff for the holidays. Last weekend I got started decorating and finished this past week. So I thought I would share some pictures of all of our Halloween decor this year.<br />
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Here is the entryway, I put out some of my Yankee Candle Boney Bunch candy dishes and the center mirror is a spooky mirror that has a scary image and a spooky voice. At the end of this post I will include a link to the video I posted on my YouTube channel of my Halloween home tour and you can see all of the animated decor and how they work.<br />
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The dining room is one of my favorite rooms to decorate. My dining room is also our library, so I tuck decor into all of the book shelves as well as put out a big basket of our Halloween books.<br />
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Here are some of the different decorations I put out on all of the bookshelves, some you will recognize from previous Halloween posts if you saw my home tour posts in the past. :)<br />
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I found some really fun new folk art style Halloween dolls, as well as this fun new book and raven candle holder. I only use battery operated tealights in the decor throughout my home, that way I can still have candle light but a lot safer! :)<br />
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I had a lot of fun with all of the discount decor I found at Target this year, they had so many different wooden signs and fun sparkly pumpkins!<br />
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I found this funky spiked out golden pumpkin, and although it is not normally my style I thought it would be fun to mix with some of my different metal decor. I love the way it turned out as the centerpiece on my dining table. I love to mix metals and wood.<br />
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My favorite spot this year is a table under my dining room window. I was going for an old fashioned spooky library look, perhaps the study of a mad scientist! I love the old timey radio I found at Target, it lights up and plays Halloween radio sounds. I also bought some spooky looking succulents and set them around along with a tiny purple orchid, it added to the spooky vibe of the table. I really love how it turned out!<br />
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I love decorating the main bathroom, I added some soap and candles from Bath & Body Works, as well as some of my decor pieces and some cute new towels I found at Target.<br />
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My living room is largely decorated with my growing Yankee Candle Boney Bunch collection, some of the decor like the train, is in the same space as years before, I love my Boney Bunch Train under my train print, it matches nicely. :)<br />
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Here are more of my Boney Bunch figures as well as my Nightmare Before Christmas Tsum Tsums and Halloween Micky and Minnie.<br />
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Here is a glance at some of my other living room decor. I love my little chevron pumpkin!<br />
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Above the fireplace I put my new metal BOO light up sign, I love the vibrant orange color, I was happy to have found it, it really adds a nice pop of light and color to the living room.<br />
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Outside we put up orange lights, and stuck with a pumpkin theme. It was so cute, when we were putting up decorations, the neighbor kids were riding around on bikes and checking up on our progress, when we finished and got everything lit up, they called out and told us that they loved our decorations. It was cute, and made me happy, that is why I decorate the house, it is fun to see the neighborhood become festive! :)<br />
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When the decor was all done, I decided to celebrate by surprising the family with yummy Halloween doughnuts. I love how colorful they all are! Krispy Kreme also has a Salted Caramel doughnut this fall which is especially yummy!<br />
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We also decided to try out Burger King's Black Whopper. I avoid seeds, so I don't eat sesame seed buns, and I am also prone to many food allergies and I was leery about all that black food color. The boys however were brave enough to try one. They both agreed that they tasted like a normal whopper, but it was odd eating a black bun. Definitely not something I would suggest all of the time, but trying one was pretty fun, and I know my son really got a kick out of it. :) I liked the crowns myself! :) </div>
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So that is what we have been up to. Definitely time for lots more fall cooking, and family spooky movie nights. I am hoping to have some more Halloween fun this weekend!<br />
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Here is my Halloween Home Tour video if you would like to see some of our decor in action. :)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3wzJ73IzLi0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3wzJ73IzLi0?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Thanks for stopping by, hope everyone is having a nice October weekend! :)<br />
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Linking to:<br />
<a href="http://madeinaday.com/2015/09/04/halloween-spooktacular-linky-party-3/" target="_blank">Halloween Spooktacular Linky Party</a><br />
<a href="http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/2015/10/show-and-share-no283.html" target="_blank">Show and Share</a><br />
<a href="http://lifeasweknowitbypaula.blogspot.com/2015/10/no-rules-weekend-blog-party-154.html" target="_blank">No Rules Weekend Blog Hop</a><br />
<a href="http://madeinaday.com/2015/09/04/halloween-spooktacular-linky-party-3/" target="_blank">Halloween Spooktacular Linky Party</a><br />
<a href="http://chiconashoestringdecorating.blogspot.com/2015/10/flaunt-it-friday-276.html" target="_blank">Flaunt it Fridays</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2015/10/freedom-fridays-101.html" target="_blank">Freedom Fridays</a><br />
<a href="http://www.frenchcountrycottage.net/2015/10/feathered-nest-friday_8.html" target="_blank">Feathered Nest Fridays</a><br />
<a href="http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/2015/10/home-sweet-home-241.html" target="_blank">Home Sweet Home</a>April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-71885277907708323332015-09-30T22:00:00.000-07:002015-10-07T21:58:21.380-07:00 (Closed) Disney's The Nightmare Before Christmas Tsum Tsum Set Giveaway Happy October 1st! I am super excited about the upcoming Halloween season, and thought it would be fun to host a giveaway. This year I have started collecting Disney Tsum Tsums, I think they are so cute. Each month they come out with a new set, last month's set was The Nightmare Before Christmas. I thought that would be fun for the Halloween season, so I decided to host a giveaway for one set of all 8 Disney The Nightmare Before Christmas Tsum Tsums. :) Here is a picture of all eight Nightmare Before Christmas Tsum Tsums.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0yBaK9HSDlxwZZfQJV25-M21xMN4Do0qf8kQ5AHVv1eBZbmzW526MHGQ0JQPU7cZZR8jmckr1qdPEVFAghPScVfKq9Q2Az6DJFkcJCLTgPq9nDEXjApMIR8pWDZcqtbYzZre1IfP9Hkm/s1600/tsum+tsum+giveaway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0yBaK9HSDlxwZZfQJV25-M21xMN4Do0qf8kQ5AHVv1eBZbmzW526MHGQ0JQPU7cZZR8jmckr1qdPEVFAghPScVfKq9Q2Az6DJFkcJCLTgPq9nDEXjApMIR8pWDZcqtbYzZre1IfP9Hkm/s1600/tsum+tsum+giveaway.jpg" /></a></div>
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You can also check out my YouTube video below where I reviewed my set of Nightmare Before Christmas Tsum Tsums. Check out my other videos on my channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsv74sb6o5yVpRicA215gEQ" target="_blank">April's Home</a>.<br />
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Official Rules are below. Happy October!!<br />
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="e42808d31" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e42808d31/" id="rcwidget_8ij23zmd" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">Official Giveaway Rules:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">#1-No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Must be 18 years or older to enter. Giveaway open to readers with United States shipping addresses only.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">#2- By entering you agree to these official rules.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">#3-Winner is chosen by a number generated at random through Rafflecopter, and if you meet giveaway requirements, you win the prize.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">#4-Winner must claim prize in 7 days from the day the winner is announced or a new winner will be selected.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">#5- Winner may not substitute prize for any other prize or cash, however, if the prize becomes unavailable through reasons beyond my control, April's Homemaking reserves the right to substitute with a prize of equal or greater value.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">#6- April's Homemaking reserves the right to cancel, suspend or modify giveaway, if in the opinion of April's Homemaking Blog, any fraud, technical failure, or any other factor affects the integrity of this giveaway.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">#7- General Release- By entering this giveaway through this website, you release April's Homemaking Blog and; April :) from any liability whatsoever, and waive any and all causes of action, related to any claims, costs, injuries, losses or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the giveaway or delivery, misdelivery or acceptance of any prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses and damages related to personal injuries, death or damage to or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory of contract, negligence, warranty or other theory.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">#8- Winner is responsible for all State, Federal and local taxes associated with receipt of this prize.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">Thanks for entering and stopping by April's Homemaking! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">Linking to</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;"><a href="http://lifeasweknowitbypaula.blogspot.com/2015/10/no-rules-weekend-blog-party-153.html" target="_blank">No Rules Blog Hop</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2015/10/freedom-fridays-100.html" target="_blank">Freedom Fridays</a></div>
<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059561141951442196.post-48519189018090236412015-09-29T17:58:00.000-07:002015-09-29T17:58:39.596-07:00Getting Ready for Fall Fall is my favorite time of year, I love the change in the weather, as well as the focus on getting back to a routine after a busy summer. I always start out the fall season with a nice deep cleaning of our home, similar to a spring cleaning. I wrote a post a few years back about my<a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2011/08/big-fall-clean-up.html" target="_blank"> Big Fall Clean Up</a>. I love getting everything cleaned up and ready for a new season.<br />
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<a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2011/08/big-fall-clean-up.html" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdscZ2As_KqRX7sNHb-VZK8fYRuN71flRcI2a7gVlECZWg4as074FSIg_cvzWLrqE-LIDum841Aw9MJJHQHCA-scCTGxsrcfEvSdhh0cldjL6WQilGZx59MUTnREvUjVn5Ci-m_Rhfvrc/s400/April%2527s+photos+021.JPG" /></a><br />
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The garden had some nice fall offerings this week. I went out and picked all of the mini pumpkins that I grew this year. I ended up with two little orange sugar pumpkins and four little mini white pumpkins. I love little pumpkins and was exited that I was able to grow some this year. Next year I plan to plant even more! The marigolds and snapdragons are still blooming and are just perfect for fall color. Next year I plan to add quite a bit more snapdragons, they do so well in our garden and provide blooms for such a long time compared to some of the other flowers. I love all the oranges and yellow and coral colors of the fall flowers. :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEp7FxCZ6BF3IF12mMV4hLfXLoeAYmWrHN3q11k9cstrf-AZ02qM5yaZu3_toclPuDhH9ObTbdAFHI-tF14V22Xl_0x-CVEVrOeLhcoOYF02Xjbtq6L0ol1_JYAFLhli2CBH9mh4n2iHIy/s1600/fall+2015+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEp7FxCZ6BF3IF12mMV4hLfXLoeAYmWrHN3q11k9cstrf-AZ02qM5yaZu3_toclPuDhH9ObTbdAFHI-tF14V22Xl_0x-CVEVrOeLhcoOYF02Xjbtq6L0ol1_JYAFLhli2CBH9mh4n2iHIy/s1600/fall+2015+Collage.jpg" /></a></div>
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Another exciting thing this past week was the lunar eclipse. This eclipse was the last of four eclipses in a row, and I was able to see all four. I wrote posts of the last two as well, the one earlier this year, the<a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2015/04/easter-and-spring-projects.html" target="_blank"> April 2015 eclipse</a>, and the one last fall the <a href="http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2014/10/the-beautiful-fall-sky.html" target="_blank">Eclipse of October 2014</a>. Here are pictures from this year. The moon was really low as the eclipse began and hadn't risen high enough to see at first. I was unable to watch the eclipse at the beginning stages as I had been able to easily do for the other three. We decided to drive to a better viewing spot at a nearby park, and were able to see it just as it was completely eclipsed. It was really difficult to capture any photo, but it was a wonderful dark red color. We went back home and watched the eclipse pass and the moon return to normal, the moon had risen more and we were able to see it perfectly from our backyard. Thankfully the sky was clear and we had a lovely view! :)</div>
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Last night, although the moon was not full, it was still very large and bright, and looked very cool through the clouds in the sky. Definitely looks like a fall night sky! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYv_iG-PL2tLz-e35iOG9jbfIMWLMsxcLJf4bEWoNi8erl2rbGIf1P0rgPUeMC6JaPMXgsXG091Q1Q5XQ0xewEeBklkgSHuv9OoxZzEUQrMU13QjyMMvxyJPysi8Sw0pww4DuNp7gVydFv/s1600/moon+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYv_iG-PL2tLz-e35iOG9jbfIMWLMsxcLJf4bEWoNi8erl2rbGIf1P0rgPUeMC6JaPMXgsXG091Q1Q5XQ0xewEeBklkgSHuv9OoxZzEUQrMU13QjyMMvxyJPysi8Sw0pww4DuNp7gVydFv/s1600/moon+Collage.jpg" /></a></div>
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I have been having a lot of fun finding new decorations for fall, I found a bunch of cute decorations at the Target discount section. You can check out my video below if you would like to see some of the decorations I found.</div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/naMW_ePhNYo/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/naMW_ePhNYo?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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Here is another video with all the decor and fall soaps and candles that I found at Target and Bath & Body Works when I went back for another round of fall shopping. I have found so many cute decorations, I love updating our holiday decor from time to time, and am super excited to start decorating for Halloween and fall this week. </div>
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I am hoping to finish my fall cleanup and decorating soon so I can post pictures. I hope everyone else is enjoying the fall season! Here is one last picture of one of my tiny pumpkins, this one was such a perfect vibrant orange color!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsuCNzuNLM-DbANjNT9sMPakzdqQM9w1WWuLBDvfUBvTMRJqd0n9k0ecUf9L7SDzRms00LgKvwcyyaLZctdT64rydcxGBKLb8KU95rDq_tWEyoqvpQOsBgKrOmyaKfrAGXfMqh1V_dLi7/s1600/pumpkin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsuCNzuNLM-DbANjNT9sMPakzdqQM9w1WWuLBDvfUBvTMRJqd0n9k0ecUf9L7SDzRms00LgKvwcyyaLZctdT64rydcxGBKLb8KU95rDq_tWEyoqvpQOsBgKrOmyaKfrAGXfMqh1V_dLi7/s1600/pumpkin.jpg" /></a></div>
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Come back on October first for a fun Giveaway. I thought that it would be fun, in honor of the Halloween and Fall season, to giveaway a set of Disney's The Nightmare Before Christmas Tsum Tsums. I have been having so much fun collecting Tsum Tsums this year, and I thought this was such a fun set for the Halloween season. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpxFOLRG8u2XNS1w_oK-0aS-DBaUnTMcJU8T2xywshi7DQ157rIvPcHAOty1Sa0uy265zo916H_wRXj0miDvL0IGy5ZhQswASMa6EJTVi5zcmyHJKpZoPo7rYpElxpvplzXcpD3dAQ-8Rn/s1600/Nightmare+Giveaway+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpxFOLRG8u2XNS1w_oK-0aS-DBaUnTMcJU8T2xywshi7DQ157rIvPcHAOty1Sa0uy265zo916H_wRXj0miDvL0IGy5ZhQswASMa6EJTVi5zcmyHJKpZoPo7rYpElxpvplzXcpD3dAQ-8Rn/s1600/Nightmare+Giveaway+photo.jpg" /></a></div>
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Thanks for stopping by!</div>
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Linking to:</div>
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<a href="http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/2015/09/welcome-wake-up-wednesday-linky-88.html" target="_blank">Wake up Wednesday</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2015/09/wow-us-wednesdays-241.html" target="_blank">Wow us Wednesdays</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.elizabethandcovintage.com/2015/09/be-inspired-features-and-link-party-179.html" target="_blank">Be inspired</a></div>
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<a href="http://back2basichealth.blogspot.com/2015/09/tuesdays-with-twist-130.html" target="_blank">Tuesdays with a Twist</a></div>
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<a href="http://timewarpwife.com/titus-2sday-link-up-party-39/" target="_blank">Titus 2sdays</a></div>
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<a href="http://nap-timecreations.com/2015/09/create-link-inspire-party-9-28.html" target="_blank">Create Link Inspire</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.astrollthrulife.net/2015/09/286th-inspire-me-tuesday.html" target="_blank">Inspire Me Tuesday </a></div>
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April's Homemakinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03839044050318217592noreply@blogger.com0