Food

Simplifying Thanksgiving and a Giveaway! {Thankful to bHome}

- Julie 33 Comments

Now that Halloween has come and gone, it’s time to get serious about the upcoming holidays.

One of my favorite things about this time of year is getting together with my blogging friends to bring you inspiring ideas for holiday entertaining, decorating and more.  

thanksgiving-brunch-table

This week, I’m joining a very talented group of bloggers from bHome to bring you ideas, inspiration and thoughts about being thankful during the Thanksgiving season.

thankful-to-bhome-blog-tour

A complete list of the participating bloggers and links to their sites is at the end of this post. Read more

2015 Year in Review

- Julie 9 Comments

Is it just me or did this year fly by?

It seems like this was the year that I wasn’t ready for each season to come nor to end.

Couldn’t the spring weather and flowers lingered? Couldn’t the lazy days of summer lasted just a little longer? And where did the holidays go? Is it time to take down the decorations already?!

In a few days it will be the new year and I hope that I will be able to mentally catch up!

To help get me there, I thought it would be fun to look back to see what I’ve shared with you this past year.

As I usually do, I start off each year purging and getting things organized. Last year, I created a small family command center that has been such a great help!

small family command center

It really doesn’t take a huge wall or a big space to keep your family organized. Read more

Easy Strawberry Jam

- Julie 2 Comments

If I could only name one thing to love about summer it would have to be all of the fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season.

We got lucky this summer when we visited my parents in Minnesota. We happened to be up at their summer cabin on the first day of strawberry picking at the local strawberry farm. Oh happy day!

We easily picked a bucket full of fresh plump strawberries in about 15 minutes. We excitedly brought them back to the cabin and immediately ate some of that fresh goodness right away!

Then we had to figure out something to do with them so we could transport them home to Texas with us.

I needed something fast and easy that didn’t require keeping them frozen, was messy or couldn’t make it through security at the airport.

I found this super easy strawberry jam recipe from Martha Stewart.

easy strawberry jam recipe

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Posted in Appetizers and Snacks, Food, Recipes - Tagged canning, jam, jams and jellies, strawberries, strawberry, strawberry jam

Fresh Herb Bouquets

- Julie 1 Comment

It rained again yesterday and the week before that it rained, too.

That might not sound like a big deal to many of you, but rain during the summer in Texas is usually a little out of the ordinary.

But this year has been anything but ordinary!

My yard has never been so green and lush.

When we came home from visiting my parents in Minnesota last week we found that our yard was a bit out of control!

My herbs, in particular, needed a substantial pruning. Some had begun to flower and others were wild and unruly.

When I do a big pruning like this, I’m left with an abundance of fresh herbs. Of course, I could give some away to friends, family and neighbors (and I do!) but here’s another suggestion – make herb bouquets!

herb bouquets

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