Thanksgiving Turkey Oreo Cookie Balls

I had some googly candy eyes left from making Peanut Butter & Chocolate Spider Cookies for Halloween, so I thought I would make these cute little Thanksgiving Turkey Oreo Cookie Balls.

thanksgiving turkey oreo ballWith just a few simple ingredients, you can create these little critters for your Thanksgiving turkeys.

thanksgiving turkey oreo balls

I had some fun little “turkeys” to share mine with.  Like this one….

Mason Turkeyand this one. Who each gave them a big thumbs UP!  🙂

ella turkey

Here is the recipe, which I tweaked slightly from the original found on Pink When:

Thanksgiving Turkey Oreo Cookie Balls

1 Package Oreo cookies, finely crushed (about 36 cookies)
1 package (8oz.) cream cheese (softened)
1 Bag Nestle’s Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips, Melted
1 Bag Candy Corn
Candy eyes

Crush OREO cookies to a fine crumbly mixture (I placed in a Ziploc Freezer bag and rolled a marble rolling pin over them).  Mix in the softened cream cheese.

Roll into one inch cookie balls, and freeze for 10 minutes.

Dip cookie balls into melted chocolate and place on a prepared cookie sheet covered with wax paper.

Place into the refrigerator for 15 minutes to an hour before decorating.

Add 5 candy corn to the back of the ball as tail feathers by gently poking into the cookie ball.

Use additional melted chocolate as glue to attach the candy eyes, nose and feet.  (For each turkey, cut a piece of candy corn – using the white tip as the nose, and the orange part (cut in half) as feet.)

Gobble Gobble!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Perfect Pot Roast

I always thought I made a decent pot roast.

Throw a frozen chuck roast in a crock pot or enamel roaster pan, add an envelope of Lipton onion soup, onions, carrots, water….

Not bad….

But then……. (drum roll please)…… I discovered Ree Drummond (aka The Pioneer Woman)’s Perfect Pot Roast recipe.

(Trumpets Sound and Angels Sing)

No turning back after you try this!

perfect pot roast

I forgot to take some nice pictures of the finished product (BAD BLOGGER Jodi!!!!), but hopefully these will begin to get your mouth watering.

And since when did Chuck Roast become such a premium price cut of beef?!!???!!!  It used to be CHEAP, but then I think people discovered the wonderful marbling and bits chunks of fat actually create A-M-A-Z-I-N-G flavor!

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Here is the recipe I will use forever and ever from this day forward – love without end, amen.

You are going to LOVE it!

Perfect Pot Roast (original recipe from Ree Drumond, Pioneer Woman)

  • 1 4-5 lb. Chuck Roast
  • 2-4 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  • 3-4 cloves of fresh chopped garlic (I added this because garlic always makes it better!)
  • 2 Onions
  • 6-8 carrots
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 1 cup Red Wine (this is what MAKES it! – though Ree says you can use beef stock if you prefer)
  • 2-3 Cups Beef Stock (I used beef bouillon dissolved in water to make the “stock”)
  • 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, coarsely chopped
  • 3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, coarsely chopped (oh my obsession with fresh Rosemary! – this is #2 item that TOTALLY makes it!)

Generously salt and pepper your chuck roast.

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add olive oil.

When the oil is hot, add the chopped garlic and quartered onions.  Brown nicely, then remove to a plate.  Do the same with carrots, adding additional olive oil as needed.

Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove to a plate.

With the burner on high, deglaze the pan with the red wine – scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up.

When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups). Add in the onion and the carrots, as well as 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and about 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.

Cover and roast in a 275F oven for 3-4 hours.

ENJOY!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Homemade Spiced Pear Liqueur

Spiced Pear Liquer

Have you seen Chef Mimi’s Blog?  Oh My My!   Talk about mouth-watering photos and unbelievably talented cooking skills!

When I saw a post where Chef Mimi shared this recipe for Spiced Pear Liqueur, I had to try it.

I have never tried making anything like this before (with the exception of the ever-popular and classic Apple Pie Moonshine 🙂 that didn’t turn out too shabby!), so I am excited to see how it goes and what other wonderful libations I may want to try concocting…

Here is the recipe as Chef Mimi shares:

Spiced Pear Liqueur

1/2 cup sugar
Small handful whole cloves
Small handful whole allspice (I did not have allspice, so did not use)
2 cinnamon sticks
1 ripe pear, I used red D’anjou
Few pieces of orange peel
Vodka, approximately 3 cups

Place the sugar, cloves, allspice and cinnamon sticks in a large, clean bottling jar with a lid. Slice up the pear, avoiding the core, and place wedges into the jar. Add the orange peel.

Pour vodka until it reaches the top. I used approximately 3 cups. Shake well until the sugar dissolves. Then store away for 4-6 weeks.

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I love all the wonderful colors and aromas of the ingredients that went into this, and after almost a week, it has achieved this beautiful amber color below.

Can’t wait to try taste-testing in a few more weeks!

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Spiced Pear Cheers & Warm Hugs,

Jodi

 

Rosemary Roasted Cashews

roasted rosemary cashews

I am completely OBSESSED these days with fresh rosemary!

I’ve been adding it to sourdough pretzels, potatoes,  butternut squash, pot roast (My PERFECT Post Roast Recipe coming soon!), chicken, veggies.

I am utterly addicted to the smell – it reminds me of Christmas and winter and Bombay Gin 🙂 , the taste – so earthy and woodsy, the PUNCH – it completely kicks up any recipe it is added to!

rosemary obsession

So when looking for a different snack to take and share at “The Best Book Club Ever,” I came across this recipe, and had to try.

O M G is all I can say!  Served warm, these will ROCK your WORLD!

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Here is the recipe I found on the Food Network’s website from Ina Garten.

ENJOY!!!

Rosemary Roasted Cashews (original recipe can be found on Food Network’s website from Ina Garten)

1 1/4 lbs cashews
2 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp coarse kosher salt
1 1/2 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place cashews on ungreased baking sheet (I used a stone bar pan) and roast for 10 mins.

While the cashews are warmly roasting in the oven, combine the rosemary, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, and salt.

When you remove the cashews from the oven, drizzle with the melted butter and toss to coat thoroughly.

Then sprinkle with spice mixture, and toss again to coat thoroughly.

Serve warm.

Go Crazy!  I dare you to eat just one!

(If you for some reason I would not be able to understand, are not a cashew fan, I’ll bet this would work great with pecans, peanuts, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, or whatever you fancy!)

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Cheers & Nutty Hugs,

Jodi

 

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Top Cookies

There are certain foods that just love each other…
peanut butter & jelly… bacon & eggs…. macaroni & cheese…
and bananas & chocolate!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Top Cookies

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Top Cookies – photo by Nick

So when I saw a recipe for Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies on Rantings of an Amateur Chef’s Maggie Monday yesterday, I knew I had to try them.

And I had some perfectly over-ripe bananas on the counter just waiting to be used.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Top Cookies

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Top Cookies – photo by Nick

I hesitated a bit messing with chocolate chip cookies, but when I read that these were more like muffin tops in their taste and texture, I was sold.

Be warned, these are not your normal chocolate chip cookie, and they taste nothing like my “almost famous” chocolate chips cookies, but they are a surprisingly delightful treat.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Top Cookies

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Top Cookies

Even Nick, who was skeptical with me messin’ with chocolate chip cookies, gave them a big thumbs up (and shared some of his photography talent by taking some of the photos I’m sharing today).

If you are looking for something different, and you love banana bread, muffins, and chocolate chips cookies, these are a must try.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Top Cookies

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Top Cookie & Milk – Photo by Nick

Here is the recipe as posted yesterday on Rantings of an Amateur Chef:

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

2/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
2 cup chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, vanilla and bananas. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually add this to the creamed mixture and blend well. Stir in the chocolate chips. Chill dough for at least one hour. Drop by tablespoonfuls about 2” apart on baking sheets covered with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodles

pumpkin cheesecake snickerdoodles cover

It’s the countdown to Halloween on Friday!

I can’t believe it will be NOVEMBER in a few days!  Where did the time go?  We hit close to 80 degrees F Tuesday, and it is still 70 degrees F as I write this post well into Tuesday evening with the windows wide open and the warm breeze blowing in.

I think we are going to be in for a brutal awakening in a few days as the weather forecasters are calling for that “S” word to hit for Halloween!  YIKES!

Since I don’t have children at home anymore to create costumes for or grandchildren yet (patiently waiting – fingers crossed! LOL!) and don’t even get any trick or treaters living a bit far back off the beaten path, what is a girl to do but bake pumpkiny “stuff” for Halloween – right?!?

With a few cans of pumpkin still in the pantry and everything else I needed for this yummy recipe on hand that I discovered on Bakeaholic Mama’s blog, I had to try these Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filled Snickerdoodles that combine all the wonderfulness of pumpkin pie, cheesecake, and snickerdoodles ALL IN ONE COOKIE!

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Marty gave them a THUMBS UP (and hopefully will remember to take most of them to the office tomorrow so we don’t eat them all)!

Hope you are enjoying the last week of October, wherever this finds you, and hope you will try this yummy treat.

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Recipe from:  Bakeaholic Mama’s Blog

Cream Cheese-Filled Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Yield: about 2-3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

  • 3¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1½ tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp. freshly-ground ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup light brown sugar
  • ¾ cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
Ingredients for the filling:
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Ingredients for the cinnamon-sugar coating:
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. ground ginger

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

Beat together the butter and sugars on medium-high speed of electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Blend in the pumpkin puree. Beat in the egg and vanilla until incorporated. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.  Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour.

While the dough chills, make the filling. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Cover and chill this as well (for at least half an hour).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and spices for the coating.
Take one tablespoon of dough and flatten it into a pancake shape. Place one teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture in the middle of the pancake. Form another tablespoon of dough into an equally-sized pancake shape, and place on top, keeping the cream cheese in the middle. Gently pinch together the edges of the dough around the cream cheese to seal, then gently roll into a ball. Roll the ball in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat. Repeat with the remaining dough to fill baking stones or cookie sheets, spacing the dough balls 2-3 inches apart.  Flatten the dough balls slightly.Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until they are slightly firm to the touch and the tops are beginning to crackle. Let cool on the baking sheets about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

ENJOY!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

 

 

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Halloween Spider Cookies

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Halloween is a week away, and I had more fun than any normal middle-aged (ugh) woman with no children left at home should have making these adorable little peanut butter and chocolate spider cookies!  Heck – we don’t even get a single trick-or-treater, but who says you can’t have fun anyway?!?

spider cookies 4

I had seen a photo of these somewhere, and then a friend texted me a picture from Pinterest by Sommer Collier of A Spicy Perspective saying, “You need to make these for your blog.”  Well… that’s about all it took to get me excited, so I went in search of candy eyes at the local Michael’s Store – but none to be found…

Not giving up, I went to good ole’ Amazon Prime and had them in my hot little hands in two days!

spider cookies 3

They are basically a simple peanut butter cookie with a chocolate truffle in the middle, much like the Hershey Kiss peanut butter cookies (just on Halloween steroids!)

spider cookies

I thought they would be adorable, but wasn’t sure if anyone around here would eat them.

Well – I was wrong!  They loved them!

And it was fun to send some to Nick’s girlfriend, Liz’s office for my blog-following girlfriends at TS 🙂 and deliver some to my daughter-in-law, Colleen at work for a silly surprise.

spider cookie

I must give credit where credit is due.  I found this recipe on A Spicy Perspective’s Blog (which I am a total new fan of!).  She used Lindt Lindor truffles, which I think would be awesome too!  Here is Sommer’s recipe, which I tweaked just a bit for my own brevity’s sake:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Spider Cookies

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 24 round chocolate truffles (I used Ferrero Rocher Truffles, but you can use anything you like best)
  • 3/4 cup Nestle’s semisweet chocolate chips
  • 48 candy eyes
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Beat the butter and peanut butter until fluffy. Then add sugars, and beat again until fluffy. Scrape the bowl, and beat in the vanilla and egg.
  3. In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Slowly incorporate into the butter and sugar mixture.
  4. Roll the cookie dough into 24 – 1 1/2 Tbsp-sized balls.   Bake for 7 minutes. Quickly press a cavity in the middle of each cookie with your thumb or pestle, then bake another 6 minutes, until golden.
  5. Cool until almost at room temperature (but not very warm) and place a truffle in the cavity of each cookie.
  6. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Scoop the melted chocolate in a zip bag. Close the bag and snip off a small portion of one corner to create a hole. Pipe 8 legs on each cookie, starting from the truffle body down.
  7. Use remaining melted chocolate to glue 2 eyes onto each truffle spider.

ENJOY!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

PS  Hope you enjoyed this T!  🙂

One Word Photo Challenge: Chocolate (Salted Caramel Brownie Bites!)

salted caramel chocolate brownie bites

Since we are on the subject of Salted Caramel and Chocolate….

We were – weren’t we?!??

I came across a new One Word Photo Challenge (by photographer Jennifer Nichole Wells) via my friend, Colleen, at Silver Threading (who shared some glorious chocolate-colored rocks from Glacier National Park) where the theme this week is “Chocolate.”

Well – – I took it quite literally 🙂 and had to share this glorious recipe for these super simple yet amazingly scrumptious little gems I made last year at Christmas time.

And we were talking about Christmas too – right?!??  🙂

I originally found this recipe on InsideBruCrewLife’s blog.

Salted Caramel Brownie Bites

You will need:

Prepare 1 box brownies according to package directions for fudge-like brownies – let cool.
Unwrap 35 Rolo Candies (or a few extra if you are going to pop a few in your mouth – which is extremely hard to resist!)
12 ounces milk chocolate (Nestle Chocolate chips or any kind you prefer)
Coarse Sea Salt
Directions:
  • Cut the brownies into 35 small squares.
  • Place a Rolo on each square.
  • Wrap the brownie around the Rolo forming a ball.
  • Place on waxed paper covered baking sheet, and refrigerate for about an hour.
  • Melt chocolate (in microwave is easiest).
  • Dip the brownie bites into the melted chocolate.
  • Place on waxed paper and sprinkle with sea salt.

People are going to go GaGa over them, so watch out!

Enjoy.

And though it’s not an award-winning photo, I’ll bet your mouth is watering – and you are definitely thinking CHOCOLATE!  🙂

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Who can resist Sea Salt Caramels mixed with Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks??!!??

And baked into a warm, crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside homemade cookie!

Sea Salt Caramel Royal Chocolate Chip Cookies Close

I saw these new yummy Brach’s Sea Salt Caramel Royals at the store recently and thought they might make a nice addition to my basic “almost famous” chocolate chip cookies for a little change up.

Sea Salt Caramel Royal Chocolate Chip Cookies Caramels

So I chopped up a bag of these amazing little bites of heaven and substituted them for half of the chocolate chunks in my cookies.  The only tricky thing about these is that the melted caramel makes the cookies a bit tricky to remove from you baking sheets (stones), so I recommend letting them cool almost completely on the sheet before removing.

salted caramel chocolate chunk cookies mix

Two thumbs up from the guys in the McKinney house (and if Mikey had an opposable thumb, he’d give one too).

Sea Salt Caramel Royal Chocolate Chip Cookies Plated with milk

Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Mix together:

1 lb softened butter (YEPPERS – you heard me right – I did say O N E   P O U N D – 4 sticks – 2 cups – – – don’t get too shook up – recipe makes A LOT!)
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1-1/2 cups white sugar
2-3 tsp vanilla (just pour some in)
4 eggs

Then add:

5 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Mix well, then fold in:

1 12-oz bag Nestle Semi Sweet Chocolate Chunks
1 10-oz bag Brach’s Sea Salt Caramel Royals, chopped

Chill for several hours.

Drop by heaping tablespoons on baking stone, and bake at 375 for 9-11 min.

Sea Salt Caramel Royal Chocolate Chip Cookies Plated

ENJOY!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Fall Christmas Shenanigans

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It was a girl’s field trip day on Saturday to Northeast Ohio for Christmas in the Woods!

Yep – more Christmas shenanigans!

What fun we had getting our Christmas crafting inspiration and shopping on.

Then, we topped our day off with a card-making / stamping class and dinner at Selah Restaurant in The Vault!

Check out the fun atmosphere that Shakerwoods turns into for Christmastime – 20 years strong now – – –  but my first time.

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It was a cool day with sprinkles off and on, but that made it all the more “Fall” like and got us in the Christmasy spirit.

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It was Colleen’s first trip to any kind of Arts & Crafts Festival like this.  She loved it, and I loved having her along!  We have such similar tastes and interests that make it so much fun to be mother and daughter “in-law!”

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We had a ton of fun with some of my old Middle School friends, Janet and Judi – and pretty much acted like we were back in Middle School.

Well – maybe just I did!

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The trip was organized by my friend, Stacey Ailes, who is a Stampin Up Artist Extraordinaire (check out her website/blog if you haven’t already).  Stacey did an amazing job corralling 11 women for a 14-hour day of adventure.

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Colleen immediately spotted The Burlap Factory and ran so fast over to it, I could hardly get her picture!  LOL!  🙂

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The whole experience and scenery was just breathtaking.  From the little Chapel in the Woods…

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to the little Shaker School House….

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where Colleen found the outhouse, but alas someone was already in it.  (She is such a sport for posing and going along with my silly shenanigans!)  ❤

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Janet spotted this beauty for me to capture along our walk.

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The day was filled with beautiful scenery, tasty treats, and all kinds of fun and friendly people…

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Like this cute couple who were willing to stop and pose for a photo in their fun hats…

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or this lovely lady who I asked how she could eat ice cream on such a chilly day.   I came to find it was a Steamy BBQ Chicken and Mashed Potato “Sundae” with a cherry tomato on top, of course!

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One of the highlights of the trip for many of the ladies was a B.E. Taylor concert right smack in the middle of all the action where the beautiful Christmas music could be heard echoing throughout the woods.

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We bought some fun things and got a lot more great ideas.  We’ll see if the ideas come to fruition…

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The wonderful guys at the Great Harvest Bread Company had the cutest bench by their booth that said, “If you Knead to sit or just Loaf, please rest your Buns here.”  Since they were kind enough to let me take a photo, of course I had to buy some bread.  Italian Herb for me, and cinnamon swirl for Marty.  (and oh by the way – DELISH!)

 

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We passed on the fried pickles and fried snickers, but did enjoy an awesome reuben sandwich and sat with some folks who live right in our own hometown and are regulars on a different night at our hometown John’s Bar – so maybe we’ll see them again soon!

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After getting inspired by the amazing crafters and talent, nourished body and soul with food and music, and spending enough money…

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We ventured out of the woods and drove to Selah Restaurant in Struthers, about 20 minutes away.

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What an awesome venue!  Graced with art, photography and design, Selah is located in a turn-of-the-century bank with a rich history that gives it a unique and charming character.

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Stacey had reserved “The Vault” for our special class and dinner.

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It was such a unique experience to sit in the charming setting of the old vault of the bank.

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Selah kept a lot of the original architecture of the bank, including the teller windows, adding such unforgettable charm.

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The Vault was softly lit with a dozen or more candles, which was wonderful for our dining experience, but a tad challenging for our crafting time.

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But it was way too cute and quaint for us to complain about that since we loved the atmosphere – and the company!

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Stacey does such a phenomenal job teaching newbie, beginning stampers (of which we had four) and challenging some of us more experienced with new ideas and techniques.  I sure admire Stacey’s talent, gift of teaching and sharing, and kind and generous heart.

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What made it EVEN MORE FUN was the fact that I got to see an “old” friend from a few years ago when the company I work for had an office in Northeast Ohio.  Charlotte and I have kept in touch through Facebook, and she has become a follower of my blog as well as a fan of Stacey’s talent.  When Stacey came up with this idea, her and Charlotte connected on this venue, and they created all this wonderful magic.

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Charlotte brought her forever BFF, and my new friend :), Carol.  They were adorable together.  They cannot remember a time when they weren’t friends.  You see, their parents were neighbors and they grew up together, went to school together, married high school sweethearts and still live only a couple blocks apart.

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These were their very first cards they made.  They did an awesome job, kept us smiling, and really enjoyed stamping.

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Judi also made her first card Saturday.  Here and Janet buddied up working on their projects.  Judi loved it so much, she wants to join our regular monthly classes at Stacey’s studio, so we are excited to welcome her.

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Here’s Charlotte doing her first embossing, and these three chickadees were our seasoned pros!  Cindy has a great website and blog if you want to check out here amazing talent here.  I always appreciate Stephanie’s kind encouragement and comments.  Nancy is a new friend I made that is married to a long-time friend and work acquaintance of Marty (such a small world!)

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We laughed our way through the evening.  (I was even hoarse by the time I got home!)

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And of course we had to finish off the evening with some pumpkin cheesecake and carrot cakes to tide us over for the hour-long trip home!

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Fun times with great ladies…

at life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi