Overheard In October

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Wow! October is over?! This is my regular feature at the end of the month, but it got pushed back a day for Thursday’s “It’s The Little Things.” I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

Well, I overheard so many things this month. I could not include most of them. I think the closer we get to the holidays, the crazier people become. Just last night, I overheard something that made me simultaneously blush, feel like a prude, and have to have a conversation about respecting oneself and what text messaging should be used for with my children (after they overheard, too). But let’s leave that behind and listen in on some funny conversations this month, instead:

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I realize this is a conversation I had, but it was too cute not to share. And it made me smile:

My two year old nephew came over to visit. He had a bag of gold fish. This is like crack to my dog. I warned him that Murphy was going to try to steal them.

He looked thoughtful and then he said, “Okay. I’ll keep them safe… In my mouth.”

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I was leaving Nordstrom rack, and right outside the sliding doors, a man was standing there. For some reason he had his phone on speaker. I do not know why he thought this was a good idea.

Screeching from the phone was a woman’s voice. “You’re a bachelor! You live alone! You work from home! Tell me why you can’t do this?”

The man replied, “No. No. No. It’s not a problem. I can do it.”

Then he paced back and forth waiting for the next bite to come.

I wandered to my car and wondered what it was that he was going to do that would require those three conditions. I had many ideas. Do you?

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At the park, a cute chubby little boy of about five years old:

“Grandma! Grandma! Watch me!

I’m sorry I’m growing too much. I can reach the roof of this.

Look! I’m not even standing on my piggy toes!”

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I went in to grab a bottle of water at the gas station. I was wearing my Anthropologie Toadstool blouse. The employee looked at me.

He said in a daze, “That is the coolest shirt. I really like it.”

I smiled and said, “Thank you! I collect gnomes. I had to have it.”

He smiled in return and said, ” OOOHHHH. I was going in the other direction with that.”

I knew what he meant and laughed and said, “yea, well, I guess it could mean that too.”

He looked lost in a moment as if remembering the last time he had partook of my “magical” shirt of memories. Then he said, “Just don’t wear that shirt in Oregon!”

I smiled and walked away. So what do you think he meant by that? My husband is from Oregon and he has no clue.

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We were at a play at a farm. It was almost ten o’clock on a very long night. I rounded the corner outside. I knew what I would see. There had been the same man lounging in a chair drinking beer all night.

Well, I did find him. But he had visitors. Standing over him was a mother and her little boy of about four years old. I took a guess that they were old family friends.

I heard the man say to the little boy, “Do you know who I am?”

The little boy did not pause with his answer. I (and the mother) did not pause in our sharp intake of breath at his reply.

“Yes.” He said quite loudly and very clearly. “You’re a loser.”

The mother quickly bent down and admonished her child.

I took that as my key to leave. It was a long night… For everyone.

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Have you heard anything good this month? Please share!

It’s The Little Things: Halloween Goody Bags

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It’s here! Happy Halloween! Every year I stay up late and make goody bags for the trick-or-treaters. I have done this every year since I have lived on my own. I told you, I like Halloween.

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When I first started making the goody bags with my family, we would gather around and make them together. I have such fond memories of this. I thought it was a good time. However, for the last two years, I have been on my own. Nobody wants any part of doing the goody bags with me. Aw, well. I still think it is fun.

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This year I made 45 bags. When we first moved to our current home, I made 125. And I almost ran out. But ten years later, the kids in the neighborhood are slowly growing up. I only had 19 trick-or-treaters last year. It was incredibly sad.

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I made my goody bags last night. Inside each one was a ghost eraser, a pumpkin crayon ring, a plastic witch finger, a full sized candy bar and a couple of pieces of small candy. Witch fingers crossed we get more trick-or-treaters this year! I bought tons of extra candy just in case.

It’s the little things: Halloween goody bags made with cheer!

What are your plans today? How many trick-or-treaters do you usually get? And what is your favorite Halloween candy this year? Mine is Butterfingers.

Tangy Biscuits

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I read an article in Country Living Magazine about the most amazing looking biscuits. I knew I had to try them. This is not my recipe and I did not change it one bit. So I am not posting the full directions. To see the super easy directions, click here.

I have made biscuits before. But I cannot remember them being this simple. I am now sold on making them from scratch.

But only with this recipe.

This biscuit is tangy through the incorporation of cream cheese and buttermilk. I made it two times in the last week. Once with parchment paper in a pan. Another time in my cast iron skillet. The skillet was easier and the biscuits got a nicer color with it. This is the method I would recommend. For some reason, the first time I made these I got ten biscuits from the dough. The second time, 12.

Ingredients

2 cups of self rising flour (plus more to sprinkle when rolling out and on top)
1/2 stick softened salted butter cut into small pieces
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) softened cream cheese cut into small pieces
3/4 cup buttermilk (Mine was room temperature)
1 Tablespoon melted butter

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This is what I went through to make my biscuits.

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Whenever I serve any type of bread or roll, I usually place the pieces in a bowl draped with kitchen towels. This keeps the bread dry and warm. Plus, I just think it adds a pretty rustic touch on the table.

I did not have a square cutter, so I just used a plain old biscuit cutter. I mentioned above that the first time, I used parchment paper in a baking dish. This worked out fine. My biscuits ended up taking 19 minutes to cook with the parchment method. And 17 minutes in the skillet method.

This was so easy. Probably five minutes to make, roll out, and cut. And then it is just the baking time.

Enjoy! Please let me know if you try these. My family adored them.

* Also, I do not know how long they keep their recipes up. If you like these, I would print it just in case.

I have to eat my biscuits with a bit of jelly and no butter. Although, my grandmother would be so ashamed. She loved butter on her biscuits. And, of course, honey. How do you like yours?

I shared this on Savvy Southern Style

And My Romantic Home

Keepin’ It Real

I realize that I post everyday. And I have a backlog of posts that I need to publish. But I have decided that I am going to make this post a regular feature once a month. I read a lot of blogs. And I love them. But here is the thing…Sometimes I feel bad. Why can’t I weave a headdress of beads made from my children’s napkins that they have used every night? Why can’t I beautifully saunter down an empty road in heels?

Or wear heels?

Or have a place to wear heels to?

Let’s keep it real here. As I try to always do. But more so here. Because having a blog, well, it can be very narcissistic. I do not want it to be. But since this is my blog, it does end up a lot about, well, me. Ugh!

So, on the 29th of every month, I am going to “keep it real” here on this blog.

This means you will get to see pictures of recipe fails, outtakes of outfit pictures (gulp), messes, and pretty much anything and everything that makes me, well, me (more narcissism?). You will also get peeks into what made me happy that month and maybe pictures of clothes and recipes that will be posted later. Cause I love sharin’.

The good and the bad.

Here was October:

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The kids and I had three nights of chicken quesadillas. Yes, three nights. Mommy is cheap and I needed to use up the bag of uncooked tortillas and homemade salsa. But one night, I burnt my dinner (the kids’ quesadillas were still good). So, I had two little pieces. And ended up with having one giant glass of wine for dinner instead.

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I love coming up with new ways to wear things in my closet. Here is a look I plan on wearing this week. It is a Free People dress from Nordstrom Rack, mustard tights, fun earrings and boots (imagine I can take a full picture).

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My husband has a habit of taking pictures of me in the middle of me changing poses. Which ends with pictures of me that look like this. So pretty. Not.

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Our backyard looked like this for a month. Because we were all terrified to go out there with the brown widows. And then it rained. All over our mess. Good times!

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We live very close to a bakery. Nothing makes me happier than picking up fresh bread for the kids’ lunches. This loaf was too hot to bag. So, it stayed in the paper bag until it cooled down. My house smelled like yeast and winter when I left and came back two hours later. It was a happy smell.

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This is a project I am working on. It is almost complete! I cannot wait to share it. It is a hook rug! Now where the heck am I going to put it where no one can step on it? And if no one can step on it, why the heck did I make it? Good questions.

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I made up a scrumptious sauce for chicken in my head. I tried it out with a rotisserie chicken and ended up with what looked like dog food. Fail. It tasted good, but I definitely need to rework this.

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These are what are often hiding in my boots. I have three pair. They are from Modcloth. They make me happy.

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And I wore this outfit one day. Can you guess what is wrong with my outfit? Oh, yes. I wore my skirt sideways all day. Genius!

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I recently attended two Anthropologie Workshops. It was so fun learning new crafts and meeting new people. I have two posts going up in the next two weeks about the workshops I attended. However, I wanted to let you know now in case there are any near you still available. Check the Anthropologie website for your state information.

What has been your “doh!” moment this month? Or do you have a favorite memory you have made? Please share and “keep it real” here with me.