five on friday

HAPPY FRIDAY FRIENDS!! I'm so ready for the weekend. I'm linking up with Five on Friday again this week. Let's jump right in...

We've been playing a family game every night before Landon's bedtime lately. Our favorite is this Alphabet Go Fish game from Peaceable Kingdom. The cards are big, bright and sturdy and it's a great way to review letters while still having fun. 

I'm taking my niece out to dinner tonight to celebrate her 18th birthday that happened while we were out of town. I gave her a choice of several restaurants and Red Lobster won out. I wonder if endless shrimp had anything to do with her choice. 

I ordered this cozy cardigan last week and it arrived a few days ago. It's so warm and cozy, perfect for cool fall days. I chose the cocoa color but think I may need one in black too.  

My sister is hosting a little Halloween gathering tomorrow evening. I'm making mummy dogs and, of course, Halloween punch. This is one of my favorites - we actually served it at our wedding.

And now in book news... I'm expecting an early copy of Joanne Fluke's Raspberry Danish Murder soon. If you've been reading here for a while, you know the Hannah Swensen series is my favorites in cozy mysteries. I believe this will be book 20 in the series. If you're looking for something new to read, start from the beginning with Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. 

Have a great weekend! Next Friday I'll be kicking off All Things Thanksgiving. 

the witches of black mountain

I like to change the artwork above our piano seasonally.  I usually use the same piece all through the fall, but this year I wanted to get an actual Halloween print for October. After looking at a few different pieces, I decided to go with The Witches of Black Mountain by Ann Stookey. I love everything about it - the colors, the whimsical feel of the houses, the graveyard, the witches around the cauldron. It's perfect without being too dark or spooky for little eyes.  

I got the 16x20 double-sided laminate option here. I get lots of artwork this way and use removable adhesive dots to mount pieces on a 16x20 canvas I got at Michaels on clearance. It's an easy and inexpensive way to be able to change out pieces whenever I want.  

Have a great day! 

Five on Friday

Hooray for Friday!!  We've got a busy weekend planned and I'm excited to get out and enjoy these fleeting October days. I'm linking up with Five on Friday again this week. Here we go!

We're going to Beckley tomorrow evening to go through the haunted coal mine. Landon is so excited. We took him to the mine back in the summer for the regular tour and he really enjoyed it. We'll see how he does with the scarier tour. Mike and I went with through the haunted mine back in 1998 with some friends of ours. We had just been married for a few weeks and I got us matching sweaters to wear. Yes, I really did!! We wore the EXACT same sweaters. I cringe just thinking about it.  I jokingly told Mike maybe we could do that again this year. He didn't seem to happy at the idea...

A tour of the mine is really something to see. My grandpa was a coal miner and it's very humbling to see the conditions they worked in to provide for their families. I'll try to do a post soon on all there is to see at the Exhibition Coal Mine. It really is interesting. 

I ordered this travel mug for Mike yesterday for Christmas. A friend recommended this brand and I love the easy clean lid. I'm almost completely done with our Christmas shopping and hope to finish up before Nov. 1st. 

Landon is being what he calls a scaredy cat for Halloween. My friend Robin is making his hat and I got him a tail and a set of black thermals to wear as his costume. I also got some face paint to make a nose and whiskers. He'll be the cutest scaredy cat around! 

I'm not sure what our main course will be for Sunday dinner yet, but I do know that these German-Style fried potatoes will on the table. Ever since I saw the picture on Pinterest from Scrumpdillyicious, I cannot quit thinking about them. Yum!

Our book club will hopefully start on November 1st. I'll have a post up next week about the book we'll be reading and where we'll be discussing. Look for details on Instagram with hashtag #THCbookclub   (I'm ToniaTHC). 

Have a great weekend!

 

 

You've Been Boo'd!

Do you Boo! your friends & neighbors for Halloween? I always like to do little treats for Landon and Ally to surprise them. They look forward to it now. This year I have several people on my Boo! list. It's so much fun to add a little brightness to someone's day.

In the spirit of Halloween, I have this free Boo! kit for you. Do you love the little poem I came up with?!

 © The Hillbilly Chicks (for personal use only)

Happy Haunting! 

halloween cake

Today I'm sharing the haunted house cake I did for my niece's 10th birthday several years ago. It's never to early to plan for Halloween, right?! Mike and I had so much fun doing this together. I may make it again this year so Landon can help decorate. It's the perfect cake to let the kids help with.

For the cake I used an 11x15 pan with two boxes of cake mix. After covering the entire cake with a milk chocolate frosting, I got to work on the decorating. Here's how I did it...

Grass - coconut with green food coloring
Walkway - candy corn path filled with Halloween sprinkles
Graveyard - Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies with a pretzel fence
Pumpkin Patch - candy corn pumpkins
Ghosts - Peep ghosts
Jack-O-Lanterns - candy from the baking aisle
Haunted House - a perfect find from the greeting card aisle

For the pumpkin patch in front of the cake, I spread a bit of leftover frosting to make the "grass" stick and added a few pumpkins. For the pumpkins lying down, I cut the candies in half.

Give this idea a try for Halloween, adding your own special touches. You'll be surprised at how well it turns out. 

Trick or Treat

Landon had a great time trick-or-treating last night. At first he tried to hide from everyone, but then he started enjoying himself. Especially once he saw my niece Ally and her best friend, Trin. He loves those girls.  Landon  and Ally even had a costume theme going - he was a monkey and she was a banana. How cute is that?!  We went up and down 3 streets before heading home. It was so cold out. We settled down on the couch to watch a few Halloween cartoons and warmed up with some hot chocolate. Seeing the sweet, sleepy smile on his face, I just melted. I LOVE being his momma!

Want to win a $5 Starbucks gift card - click here for details.

Coming tomorrow ~ Thanksgiving pajamas. I'm addicted.

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat was last night in our neighborhood. We had almost 80 kids come by our house. They all looked so cute & I saw some really original costumes. Landon helped us give out candy & enjoyed waving at everyone as they came & went. He does the funniest "royalty" wave...he's just hilarious.

And how cute is his little tiger costume? My friend Jamie let us borrow it & it's a perfect fit. He's going to wear it today to my niece's Halloween party & parade at school too. And he'll probably wear it on Sunday if his grandparents come by.

My mom came by tonight to see Landon in his costume. Oh, how that boy loves his mama. And I love watching them love each other. That's my treat.

He's not crying in this second picture. He's been laughing hysterically.

I'm linking up with {kids*stuff*world}

Breadstick Bones

I received an email from Pillsbury last week & it featured a recipe for bone-shaped breadsticks. I am going to make these for our Halloween party on Saturday, so I decided to do a practice run first. I think they  turned out pretty well.  I skipped the seasonings since we were eating these wiith chili, but am going to sprinkle with Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic and parmesan on Saturday.

Breadstick Bones

1 can Pillsbury refrigerated breadsticks

1 egg white, beaten

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1 can (8 oz) pizza sauce , heated (I used marinara sauce)

Heat oven to 375°F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Unroll dough; separate at perforations into 6 breadsticks. Roll each until 12 inches long. Loosely tie knot in both ends of each breadstick; place on cookie sheet (do not twist).

Brush breadsticks with egg white. Sprinkle with cheese and basil.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm "bones" with warm pizza sauce for dipping.

Boo! {and a free download}

Do you Boo! your friends & neighbors for Halloween? I always send Ally little treats to surprise her. She looks forward to it now. This year I have several people on my Boo! list. It's so much fun to add a little brightness to someone's day.

And in the spirit of Halloween, I have this free Boo! kit for you. Don't you love the little poem I came up with?!

© The Hillbilly Chicks (for personal use only)

Happy Boo!ing

Halloween Wreath Supplies

This morning I was listening to one of my favorite groups, Gold City Quartet.  I always enjoy my morning worship time - time to reflect on how God has blessed me, and also time to tell Him how thankful I am. I never let a day go by without counting my blessings and there are so many.

I am getting ready to start working on my Halloween wreath. It's been a hectic week for me, but things are slowing down. Landon had a reaction to his antibiotic, but is much better now. Thanks so much for all the prayers.

Here's what you'll need to make a Halloween wreath...

Supplies
8" styrofoam wreath form
Halloween cupcake liners - design or orange & black
hot glue gun
ribbon for wrapping &  hanging

I'll have pictures of my wreath up tomorrow evening.  Jen over at Tatertots & Jello has a great tutorial. Check it out here.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow. I have a great {free} download for saying BOO! this Halloween. And don't forget to enter my latest giveway here.