Thanksgiving Highlights.....

I thought I'd share a couple of Thanksgiving highlights with you! This lovely arrangement was our Thanksgiving centerpiece for our table! I decided to keep it simple since we are limited on space.

I created this centerpiece for just under $15!! Publix had a wonderful selection of Autumn bouquets to choose from for $9.99. I choose plums, oranges, and yellows to work with. I purchased the vase from a thrift store for 80 cents. (Got one around the house? Use it and save even more $$) Finally, I attached a vintage Thanksgiving postcard that I bought from ebay a couple of years back for about $3.00. The results - simply stunning!! Most of the finished arrangements at the grocery store were priced between $20 and $30, the savings are big!! ~;o) This fun arrangement can be done for any holiday. Have fun, be creative!!

Another favorite of the evening was this delectable delight!! This berry tart was super easy to make friends!! Wanna make one for Christmas dinner or upcoming party? Feel free to click on the link under the photo for the recipe!! Got any thrifty holiday decor ideas? Recipes?? Feel free to share them!! I'd love to hear them!! Until next time friends ~;o)

Click here for recipe!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

For me, it has always been a little tougher to blog during the holiday season. Maybe I need to slow down some....and relax and bask in all the hidden beauty around me. Hot Chocolate, fresh flowers in the season's most richest of Autumn hues, nature walks, the smell of freshly baked pumpkin cookies as you enter into the room....all of these "Diamond in the roughs." During the holiday season we tend worry about everything getting finished on time, or things looking perfect. Then we miss out on the simple blessings. I am not one to open up personally on a blog, I never have been. Maybe it's because people will start to notice my feelings. Not sure if I'd like this. I have much to be thankful for this holiday season my friends. We will be holding Thanksgiving at our place for the first time ever!! I am sooooooo excited, and yes I want everything to look perfect. But if it doesn't, I suppose it's okay ~;o) Where are you having Thanksgiving at this year? Will you be making something special? Will you be cooking a huge feast, or ordering your meal? Maybe you'll make a non-tradional meal? Whatever it is, save me a piece, kidding ~;o) So yes, tell me all about it! I'd love to hear ~:o) I would like to wish all my family and friends a very safe and blessed Thanksgiving Day! I am sending these wishes to you a little bit early....as I and you both know tomorrow will be a busy day for all of us. May you savor every beautiful moment of it, and let us not forget to thank the Lord our God for the many blessings he has provided each and everyone of us with this year!

‎"The joy of enjoying and the fullness of living, are found in the heart that is filled with Thanksgiving." ~Helen Steiner Rice

Mosaic Collage in post is courtesy of Flickr.com

We Have a New Fan Page!

Have you seen our new facebook fan page yet?

Our etsy paper shop Southern Bliss has a new fan page!!

Become a fan today and follow us on facebook for sneak peeks, give aways, and more!! See ya there!!

www.facebook.com/southernbliss

BJ Reece...a U-Pick Farm!

During our stay in the Ellijays we visited our very first u-pick farm!! Fyi, Ellijay is the land of apple orchards people!! There are many to choose from! We chose to visit BJ Reece Apple Orchards!! Most of the u-pick apple orchards in the area are Saturday/Sunday only, BJ Reece's u-pick is open daily though. They also have a store filled with, ready to buy apples, fried apple pies, apple cider and slushies, honey, maple syrup, and so much more!! They even have a bee observation and a petting farm!!

The Apple Orchards.....

Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings. ~Psalm 17:8





Bumble bee was just fascinated with these bright red tasty treats ~;o)





To God who gives our daily bread a thankful song we raise, and pray that he who sends us food may fill our hearts with praise. ~Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)



Thank you BJ Reece for such a wonderful experience!! Your apples are amazing!!

Confession.....

we've been on vacation.....

we have been away for the week enjoying and exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Ellijays, and Chattanooga!! During our time away we did A LOT of this.....

on a lot of these.....



and even across one of these!!!!



We picked tons of these.....

and ate at lots of these!!

There were lots.....

and lots.....

and lots of these around!!

We even rode through the Tennessee mountains on that.....

and this breath taking river was beside us for pretty much all 3 hours of the ride!!

Yup, we even went to one of these!! And we picked the prettiest and sweetest little pumpkin in the patch!! ~;o)

There are way too many beautiful pictures to post, but I will write a couple of more blogs about the trip and add a few more pictures again soon!! Until next time friends ~:o)

More Birthday Celebrations!!

This week is my sweet Husband, father, and father-inlaw's birthday!! Yup, the boys!! So we decided to celebrate on Sunday!! We went to El Puerto for dinner, they have the best selection of meats ever!! The atmosphere is very bright and festive too!! You can find this great restaurant in Historic Ybor City. After dinner we headed back to our place for some homemade birthday cake!! Yup, I made another one. No complaints either ~;o) We had a fantastic day celebrating with family!! Happy Birthday to my sweetheart Emmanuel!! And happy birthday to my wonderful father and father-in-law!!

LOVE how this came out!!

You can find this cute little clown HERE.

Hope you all are having a fabulous week so far!! Cheerio for now ~;o)

a simple cotton tote.....

.....so I tried my hand at making something new today, this was my first handmade tote. I had a lot of fun sewing this, I was going for a shabby/cottage style.....what do you think?

Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it for the Lord and not merely for people. ~Colossians 3:23 (ISV)

Curly Ribbon Cake Picks

Spruce up a plain cake with Curly Ribbon Cake Picks!! These are so easy to make and can be done in any color combination to match your party theme ~;o) All you need are twisties, curly ribbon and a pair of scissors....thats right just 3 items!! My kind of project, fast and simple ~;o)

Just cut your ribbon to desired length, curl each color on each side, place the twisty in the center of the curled ribbon and twist tightly into a straight line, all the way down....and tada!!! You have your sweet little cake embellishments!! Then just push them into the desired spot on your cake.

In this small 6" inch round smashcake that I made for Isabella, I created 4 Curly Ribbon Twisties for the cake, I added edible confetti sprinkles, and topped it off with a cute Mickey and Minnie Mouse character. My daughter absolutely LOVES Mickey Mouse!!

A close up of the details...



Btw, I found the Mickey and Minnie Mouse characters at Party City for 99 cents each! They have all kinds of different characters at dirt cheap prices. Happy Baking!!

A Birthday Celebration!

Today is my baby girl's 1st Birthday!! We celebrated with family and friends this past weekend, and then took her to the zoo for the first time today!! We couldn't have asked for better weather!! I took over 481 pictures, way too many to post.....so here are bits in pieces of the festive atmosphere, and some of the lovely faces that attended ~;o)

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. ~Psalm 139:14

Happy Birthday Isabella! Mommy loves you!!

Downtown Tampa just got a little more kid-friendly! We recently visited Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and we were both really wowed by the new surroundings....

Baby's day out ~;o)

Love the angle of the city and the fountains in this picture....

There's the fountains for the children to cool off in, as well as the lighter mist fountains in the back of the park, the new playground, the riverwalk, and of course the new Glazer Children's Museum! I could go on of course ~;o) Have you visited Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park yet? Well worth it!

Halloween Punches are Here!!

Planning a party for Halloween this Fall? Let us help you decorate with these fun new punchies just listed in the Shoppe!! These are great for scrapbooking, confetti for parties, embellishing cupcake toppers & treat bags and so much more!! Want to purchase some? Visit Southern Bliss on Etsy to find them!! See ya there!! ~:o)

it was another hot one....

....so we put on our swimsuit, slathered on the sunscreen, grabbed a bag, threw in some diapers, a towel, a big sippy cup filled with ice cold water, and headed to the fountains to meet up with some friends ~:o)

This is Bella's really good friend Evie :)

Evie is a bit older than Bella. She keeps a watchful eye on her. Come back Bella!! ~;o)

We definitely know how to cool off! Bella threw a fit when we left the fountains, but became easily distracted by the playground shortly after ~;o)

We played and swung lots and lots.....

But then it was time to go home. We had a super day though!! How do you beat the heat?!