Printable Freebie From Vale Design

*Image from Vale Design

My wee one loves these coloring pages from Vale Design.  Break out those crayons, markers and colored pencils and let the creativity start to flow!  

I've been busy putting the finishing touches on Ava and Simon's Halloween costumes.  Yes, the rabbit has a costume but will I be able to get the two of them in a photo together with their costumes on?  Your guess is as good as mine.  Wish me luck!

Book Club: Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

I'm a little behind on reviewing this one by about a week.  Let me start by saying that I am the type of person that finishes what I start.  I have finished some books that I really did not enjoy in the past.  For me something just feels wrong about not finishing the book.  This book is the first book I have EVER not finished.  It wasn't a horrible book.  It wasn't an uninteresting book.  The main theme throughout the book is immortality.  Sounds like it might be a good one.  Especially for a book club to discuss.  Well, for me it fell flat.  Throughout the book the lives of several people are told.  One is of a king who was born thousands of years ago and was still living in the 1960s when I stopped reading the book.  There is a common thread of perfume throughout the story as well.  I think this book would have been perfect for me to read when I was getting my undergrad in English.  To sit and ponder what the symbolism of different aspects of the story meant with a handful of my peers would have been fun.  Reading it now as a mom with plenty of other things on my mind was just not fun.  I knew as I was reading it that I wasn't giving it the time I should to really think about what the story was saying.  The reviews of this book on Amazon are great.  Let's just say my review is less than stellar.  Then again, I didn't finish it so take that with a grain of salt.

I did however read The Hunger Games in 2 days.  I was bummed after not finishing Jitterbug Perfume and this had been sitting on my shelf waiting for me to pick it up.  I loved it.  It had great characters, kept my interest and had me turning pages late into the night.  I ordered the next one and can't wait to read it!  It made me look forward reading our next book club book which is Little Bee.  

I'm always looking for something new to read or suggest to my book club.  What have you read lately??

Perfectly Cozy

Aren't these adorable?  Knit Storm over on Etsy has these little lovelies.  Perfect for all those nights you want to curl up with a good book and a cup of coffee or tea.  She'll personalize the labels to say whatever you desire too.  So, so cute!

Recipe: Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Now that the weather is finally starting to get chilly here, it's the perfect time for a great pot roast that is super simple. I throw this together in the morning and it simmers on low all day and makes the house smell fantastic.  When we sat down to eat this the other night, my husband said that he hated this growing up but now he looks forward to when I make it.  I think that's a compliment?  I serve it with crusty bread to soak up all the yummy gravy.

• 2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
• 1 1/4 cups water or a can of beef broth
• Up to a 5 lb. pot roast ( I use a chuck roast)
• 6 carrots peeled and cut into 2 inches pieces
• 1 lb. new potatoes
• 
  
• In a slow cooker, mix cream of mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix and water (or broth). Place pot roast in slow cooker and coat with soup mixture.  Cook on  low setting for 8 to 9 hours.

The last 2 or 3 hours of cooking add the carrots and potatoes.  I always add them the last 3 hours just to make sure they cook all the way through.

*Recipe slightly adapted from allrecipes.com

My Tuesday Morning

Don't let that cute twitchy nose or the velvety soft ears fool you.  When it comes time to trim his nails, Simon is a nervous Nelly who will try to bite me (which he never does any other time).  I have to wrap him in a towel and let him nervously chew his little heart out while I attempt to trim his front nails.  I can't even do his back nails by myself.  I get to share that experience with Steve when he gets home tonight.  I know he'll be thrilled to find that out.  I love you honey and so does Simon even if he can't tell you ;o)

Soup Party Madness

Well there wasn't really madness but it was a lot of fun.  What is a soup party?  Well, we invite all our friends and family and ask them to bring a crock pot full of their favorite soup to share with everyone.  We provide all the drinks, crusty bread for dipping, desserts and the fire pit.  Although this year we really didn't need the fire pit because it was in the 70s.  Every year there is plenty of soup and everyone leaves stuffed.  

Did I take any pictures of all the wonderful soups?  Of course not because we were all too busy filling our tummies.  Trust me though, they were all so good!  This year we had about 10 different soups and all that I tried were super yummy.  There was clam chowder, squash, cream of mushroom, taco, chicken curry, potato, chili and the list goes on.  There were plenty of desserts in case the soup wasn't enough for you.  S'mores, caramel apples, brownies, witches hats, eyeball cupcakes, pumpkin cookies (recipe coming later this week) were just a few of the sweets.  I know the kiddos at the party ate their fair share of sweets.  A caramel apple with chopped pecans hit the spot for this preggo lady that night.  It's a great time to relax with friends and family and just enjoy the weather.  I'm already plotting next years party and all the soupy madness.

Spookin' Up the House

Me and my mini-me have been cutting, gluing, glittering and baking up a storm for our annual soup party coming up this weekend.  The house is starting to look spooky and smell really yummy.  We're looking forward to all the soups, friends and fun this Saturday.  Happy Fall!