My favorite everyday and holiday things...

I LOOOOOVE to Bake! Especially for the Holidays!

Gingerbread anything melts my heart!! I have some stuff in my kitchen year round, along with apple decor!

My #1 hobby other than shopping, is... SCRAPBOOKING!!

I collect Christmas ornaments, especially Gingerbread ones!

Love Snow "people" too!! Very sweet looking!

Of course, my main desire is WEDDING PLANNING!! Our wedding is just a year away- 11/14/09!!

STOCKING SWAP!!

I am so excited for my 2nd swap! I am in the Christmas Stocking Swap with Peggy from Hidden Haven! I cannot wait to get started looking for items to put in her stocking!
Peggy, I'll do a post for you with some of my fave Christmas things!

~Noelle :)

My 1st Etsy Purchase!!!

So there is this very crafty lady on blogspot named Scrappy Jessi. I love to visit her blog to see all the creative things she makes! I just made my first purchase at her Etsy shop for an ADORABLE Fall Bag Brag album. I am going to put a few our engagement pics in it and keep it in my purse to show off!! I can't wait till it comes:)

Here are a couple pics of what it looks like...

~Noelle

Yummy Recipe! I want to make these!

cranberry caramel bars
Recipe courtesy of Alicia's Recipes

1 cup fresh cranberries
2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups uncooked regular oats
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 (10-ounce) package chopped dates
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 (12-ounce) jar caramel sauce

Preheat oven to 350 F and line a 13x9x2 pan with aluminum foil, leaving a little overhang, and you can lift bars out to cut with no problem.

Combine 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl with the cranberries and set aside. Combine 2 cups of flour and the next four ingredients. Stir in melted butter until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup of this mixture and set aside. Press remaining mixture into bottom of a lightly greased 13x9 baking dish or pan (use a piece of wax paper placed over the top to press down the mixture). Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with dates, pecans, and the cranberry mixture. Stir the caramel sauce and the remaining 1/3 cup flour together until smooth, spoon over cranberries. Sprinkle with the reserved 1 cup flour mixture. Bake an additional 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Cool on a wire rack. Lift out of pan with foil overhang. Cut into bars, makes approximately 24

Being Thankful...

I am having Thanksgiving at my house this year for the little side of my family! I've been thinking about what to make for dessert, of course! (LOL) I guess I make a "mean" turkey, according to Brian! It always comes out very tender and juicy-yum!

So all this turkey talk got me thinking about the real reason for thanksgiving; sharing with others what you are thankful for!

I am thankful for...

(1) My precious boys; they make me feel very old and tired at times, but keep me young but teaching me how fun it is to play and be silly:)

(2) My future husband, Brian. He supports our family and works his butt off to give us the nice things we have. He has allowed me to either stay home or work part time to be able to raise our boys and take parts in all the things that I'd miss if I'd have to work full time! I love you BABE!

(3) My mom... she is the only female left in our family! She had taught me the importance of family and how to savor each moment with your children, because they are only small once!

(4) My friends... I have a small group of them but they are great! Always there for me when I need to escape (LOL), to laugh or a shoulder to cry on! Thanks girls... I love you! (Valerie, Amie, Wendy, Becky, Angie...)

(5) That my COLLEGE DEGREE will be completed this December after 6 years!

Don't forget to count your blessings today! Happy "early" Thanksgiving to everyone!

~Noelle

Our Engagement Photos!!!

Brian and I had our Engagement photos taken about 2 weeks ago at Potato Creek State Park! I was thrilled with the colors of the leaves; it was exactly the look I had wanted for our photos. Our wedding is November 14, 2009- so by that time, there may not be many pretty colored leaves around for the wedding photos. So I decided to bring all of those beautiful colors into all aspects of the wedding; the bouquets, the table centerpieces, the wedding cake. I CANNOT wait! My mom and I have been busy purchasing Fall flowers, which are priced great right now, I did choose to go with artificial ones.

The evening that the photos were taken was a chilly one outside but the warmth from my future hubby's romantic embrace made it worth it!!

Isn't our photographer amazing? She is shooting our wedding too!! We got SO lucky finding her!

Happy Halloween tomorrow!

~Noelle

Oh, Scrappy Day!

I was very lucky this past Sunday to head over to my friend Angie's house for her "Croptober Fest"! Where I was able to get caught up on Gavin's album for ages 6 and 7. I chose a few of my favorite pages to share with you. I am able to relax and think straight for once (LOL) while I am scrapbooking; its such a great hobby!

I am hosting my own Croptober Fest this Sunday the 19th; which I hope turns out well. The girls will receive lots of goodies and prizes; I am serving some yummy fall snacks and dinner to them too. I also won a Gift Certificate and a FREE facial from a Mary Kay lady, who I invited to come on over that day to pamper all of us girls too! I'll have some pics from that FUN FALL day to post soon!

~Noelle :)