AND THE WINNER IS............

And the winner of my 100th Post

Giveaway is......

Book yeti

Congratulations!!

This is what happens when your

name gets put in

THREE times!

Send me your mailing address

to my email.

And I will mail it out next week!

Thank you to every one that

entered the giveaway.

There will be more

in the

future.

Yarn, Tassles, Ribbons, Oh My!!! (Plus Giveaway)

First off, I have not forgotten

about the

GIVEAWAY.

I just don't know what happened

to the month of

November!

It went whooshing by like a

freight

train!

So please, if you have not

left me a comment,

added your name

to the

"Following" list

and maybe even posted

the giveaway on

your blog, do so, and I will

draw up names

in December.

I have to give a deadline though,

so December 16th will be it.

Click here for the

NOVEMBER GIVEAWAY

if you leave a comment,

your name goes in once,

if you "follow" as well,

that's twice,

if you post it on your blog

that's three times.

Best wishes!
(By the way, this is my
100th Post, whew)

Now to go onto other great

and exciting things that

I have done

this month.

My dear friend

Valerie and I took a

girls

NYC

trip.

And we saw some eye candy!

We went to

Lion Brand Yarn store

and it was

beautiful!

Here's their Mascot

And the wall of Yarn

The ladies at Lion Brand were so nice

and allowed us to

take pictures of their lovely store

After that we hopped on the Subway

and headed to Union Square

not realizing what was

in store for us when

we came up

from the subway station

UNION SQUARE FARMERS MARKET

and scones the size of a softball

we had to split

a pumpkin scone and was it

delicious!

and there were tent, after

tent, after tent of

crafts, herbs, spices,

teas, handmade items,

baked goods,

things from

other countries, it was overwhelming

and so much fun!

But we were

on our way to this wonderful

place

TINSEL TRADING COMPANY

It was beautiful when we walked

in.

I love the details of the building

inside

The workers in here were also

so helpful and kind,

we spent quite

a bit of time in here,

taking it all in.

Then on our way back to the subway

we were ready to cross

the street and

Valerie looked over and

spotted this

amazing,

colorful,

large,

a crafters paradise

M & J TRIMMING 

Do you see the beautiful

pink tassels?

They had these I think in

every color

out there!

So yes, we had a blast.

I've lived in NYC, born and raised

and have never

been to these

shops.

How sad, I know, I hear you

crafters out there!

But now that I know where they

are at

I will be back!

Hope you enjoyed the tour,

don't forget to go to

my Giveaway Post!

Organic Make-up Call!

Good morning out there in

blog land.

Today is a beautiful, crisp Fall 

day, 

which if you haven't figured

out already, 

I LOVE FALL!

Anyway, 

I've been having skin issues

lately,

on my face.

Now I know I am getting

older

because I've NEVER had

skin issues.

But I'm dealing with inflamed

redness around

my nose

and it goes from being

tender

to itchy.

Not pleasant!

So it may be time for me

to try

Organic

make-up.

Who would of thought?!

So are any of you

using any

organic products,

mainly make-up

you know,

concealer,

face powder,

blush 

things like these?

There are so many websites

its hard to know which

to trust.

Leave me a comment

and let me know.

Don't forget to 

sign up for 

the

100th POST GIVEAWAY

A Giveaway!!! 100th POST!

Hello, today is a BEAUTIFUL Fall Day!

Brisk and windy

with the sun shining brightly today.

Well,

I just realized that I am coming up to

my

100th Post!

I can't believe it,

and I just realized I've been blogging

for over a

YEAR now!

Time Flies!

So, this is my 97th Post.

November is a

month where I will be sewing and

playing in my craft room.

So, to be honest, I

have not decided what to give away just

yet, but it will be something

that I made!

HMMMMM, what will it be?

So if you'd like to enter

Here are a few rules:

1- leave a comment

2- share the giveaway

on your blog

with my link

3- if you're already "following" me

then you'll have a double

chance.

(I will check and see if you have posted this on your blog, just to make sure :)

So I wish you the best, and when I know

what I will be giving away,

I will post it.

OK, need to lie down, not feeling well,

darn COLD!!

(This giveaway will last until the middle of November)

Leisure Fall Day

Enjoyed a beautiful Fall day yesterday with my Dear Husband

Then we drove to a local town and visited

an old Covered Bridge

It was a perfect Fall day!

Hope you're enjoying Fall wherever

you are at!

A Sweater Obsession.....

Have you seen the new

and

gorgeous Fall sweaters

out there?!

If not, where in the world

have you been?

My DF Valerie and I went

shopping last

week,

and the different,

gorgeous selections of Fall

clothes out there

is pretty

amazing.

I think more so because

they look

FEMININE!

I'd forgotten what it looks

like to see a

woman dress like a

WOMAN.

(Look at the old black and white movies)

I do my best because I

am a girly

girl, thanks to my mom,

and Great-grandma.

But, ladies, SERIOUSLY!

Do you need to look

like you crawled

out of bed.

Do you need to wear

your pajamas in

public,

I don't care how

comfortable they are,

there are clothes

out there that

are comfortable to wear

and at the same

time

flattering, or is it

that you just

DON'T CARE?

Well,

this year we're surrounded

by Feminine

beauty.

Isnt' she a beauty?

How can you resist?

I found these on

Anthropologie

(a little bit pricey for me)

They have an amazing

collection,

I drooled a little!

But for a little bit less

( I have this one in a Dusty Rose with

that adorable belt too.)

They are having a sale

now and I do

love their

selection.

(this one is so soft and girly, it's the

Corsage Sweater)

(This one too I LOVE)

I LOVE that Argyle is every

where!

These sweaters are BYGO

50% Off

right now at

New York & Co.

So ladies, go out there

and buy at

least one, maybe two, go

with a GF and split

the sales

prices, do what you have

to.

Let's see the Feminine

come back!

Fall Comfort-Gluten Free Apple Cake

A year ago I would of turned my nose

up when hearing

Gluten Free.

But after many hours of research,

finding

great websites and blogs that

feature

Gluten Free Recipes has

been a

WONDERFUL

thing

for me

and dear hubby.

When I first starting baking

with GF flours

it was awful.

The dessert would be

grainy

and

dense.

But there's an Organic market

The Common Market

It's a 45 minute drive from our house

so

I'll make a day of it and run other

errands down there.

But they sell a wonderful GF flour

mix in their

bulk section and it's like using

regular flour.

It's light and airy and my desserts

now come out

as if I used regular white flour.

Now DH loves

my GF desserts.

I made this apple cake on Monday

in a 9x13 Pan

and there is only two pieces

left!

I even have my friends eating

GF,

I don't tell them until after

they take a

bite

but by then all you're hearing

are

OM Goodness, this is

INCREDIBLE!

Gluten Free Apple Cake Recipe Here

(I would cut back on the sugar next time)

A New Diet??!!

Hello, all, are you feeling the cold?

It feels like Fall here.

Cold, wet, damp, YUCKY!

But a great day for

Lentil Stew which I love making

and eating,

but I found out today,

NO MORE LENTILS FOR ME!!

So disappointing!

But I'm desperate so I 'll listen.

I know I've posted this

before,

but I have digestive issues which

has led me to a

Gluten Free

Wheat Free

way of living, but there is still

some issues

I'm dealing with.

So after much research, and

frustrations,

I kept stumbling upon this

Blood Type Diet.

Have you heard of this before?

Well, it's very interesting.

I've read many

websites between last night

and today.

There are many restrictions

but nothing

that I can't handle.

At this point

I will do anything.

One of the

sites even had recipes

for all

blood types which is very

helpful.

So I will start one day

at a time.

I know many of you out there

also deal

with these issues and so many

of you have some

great blogs or sites which

I've found helpful.

So I will be posting my

journey of this new

diet that I'm going to try

and that I

hope is the answer to my

problems.

We shall see.

New Language Class

Hello, everyone, are you

ready for

FALL?

I am so ready!

Today its cool and cloudy.

The past

few days have been so hot

that I had

to break down and put on

the AC.

We're also being attacked

by STINK BUGS

here.

There isn't anywhere you

go that

you don't see them

climbing up

walls or coming at you

with that

buzzing sound.

I HATE BUGS

well,

annoying ones

anyways.

So yesterday was our

first

language class.

I posted about that some time

ago.

Some of you asked what

language

we were learning,

well,

we're learning

Hindi!

In our area we're having

so many

from India moving here

and the surrounding

towns,

which means

yummy restaurants

around

us.

Some of you know that my

husband

and I are Ministers as well.

We're out in the

ministry

pretty regularly

and we're coming across

many who

speak

either

Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi

just to name

a few.

So we,along with 24

others are

taking this language

class.

Yesterday it was over

Three hours

and by the second

hour my

head was

literally pounding.

It was pretty

overwhelming.

I couldn't sleep well last

night and neither

did hubby.

There's a lot to learn,

we're excited

but

overwhelmed.

We had a good time

with everyone,

laughs,

frustrations,

a moment of when

I wanted

to cry,

but

didn't.

We have 15 more weeks of

it.

It's every Saturday for

16 weeks.

So its a commitment,

but that's OK,

the people

we meet in our ministry

make it worth

it.

TORNADO-in Brooklyn NY??

(this is in Queens, NY, on the corner of
where my parents live)
It's around 6:45pm, my phone

rings,

"Arlene?"

Asks the concerned voice,

"Hi mom, you OK?"

"Well, we just had a tornado

hit here!"

"WHAT??!!"

I could tell in her voice,

she was scared

and confused!

She couldn't believe it,

the windows

rattled, she thought

for sure

they were going to shatter.

She hid in the corner

of the room.

I felt helpless, she said she's

fine!

"Where's Dad?" I asked,

"Well......"

"Mom is he OK, did you

hear from him?"

"Yes I just did, he scared me

half to death"

Evidently my father had called

my mom as he always

does when he arrives

to the car, after

he gets off

the train,

to let her know he's on his way,

when he did this,

at that moment

electrical lines fell onto his

car,

people were screaming at

him to

GET OUT NOW!

He's screaming

with my mother

on the

phone

all he kept saying was

Oh, my God!

So my poor mom felt

helpless!

He got out of the car

and he's fine.

Somehow he managed

to get back into it

and maneuver

through

the streets of Queens, NY.

He says it looks

like

a war torn city now.

As I talked to him

I can hear

in his voice the fear

and

the adrenaline

still kicking!

Why are they so far

away from

me?!

They're OK now,

but the City is not.

One person died

so far!

Click here to see pictures

Now they're just waiting

to see what happens.

But they're OK!
(I will be posting more pictures
from my dad)

We Had Visitors for Two Weeks!

 I would NEVER claim to

be a

Domestic Diva,

but

I will anyways.

I was one

from

Friday until Tuesday!

From

sun up to sun down

I cleaned,

organized,

threw out,

scrubbed,

polished,

froze corn or fruit,

until I collapsed

last night.

But what a wonderful

accomplishment.

I had a goal

to get all this

done

BEFORE

September 1st.

and I did.

Now I still do have somethings

left to do,

but they'll have to

wait til cooler

weather.

But if felt good.

My home

hasn't been

cleaned this way

in a year.

But sadly I threw

things out

that should never

of been

thrown

out.

FOOD!!!!!

What  a waste that was

and it

just ripped into

me.

GUILT!

That will not happen again.

From now on, buy

ONLY

what we need.

Even if its

on

SALE!

WALK AWAY!

That goes

with clothes as well.

I'm trying to be more

disciplined

less wasteful

more organized.

Now on a different

topic,

we  had visitors.

Would you like

to know

who?

Can you tell what

by looking

at this photo?

How about a closer look

then?

It's a visitor that no one

wants

to have in their home.

Well, for

two weeks we've been

killing these

in our house.

Majority in our home office

the rest

in our bedroom.

We've

killed between

15-20 per day

for the past

few days,

altogether,

over

70

Yes,

70!

The final straw was when

I was still sleeping

yesterday

morning and at

7AM

I felt something

crawling

on my arm

and it was

a Yellow Jacket!!

I am

HIGHLY

allergic to

bites and stings.

So after waking

up screaming

I could then

hear them

in our

wall.

THAT'S

IT
I"M CALLING
THE
EXTERMINATOR!!!!

As he geared up in

100 degree

weather,

I stood far away.

I felt

sorry for him, it

was horribly

hot

and when he

started

spraying

they were angry!

But it's

done,

they're

gone,

I HOPE!

So yes

some exciting times

in our home.

Evidently

there is an infestation

of bees in the

area.

It's this dry hot

weather here.

Who said there were a

shortage of

bees in this country?

Come to my

yard,

you can have some!

Storing Spices Enjoying End of Summer!

(Is this the life, or what?)

My Kahlua,

he works so hard at being

so bad,

a kitty needs his rest so he

can torment

his siblings later!

Can't get over how fast the summer

has gone.

Despite how HORRIBLY

HOT

its been,

it's still about over and I will

miss

being able to go outside

and sitting

out there on our porch

enjoying these

lovely

views

I just took this picture,

it is

so BEAUTIFUL out today.

Fall is

knocking on our back door.

It's breezy,

dry and cool out today.

Sadly, we

didn't get to use our new porch

this summer,

it was too hot!!

But now we're enjoying it, trying to

take advantage

of these

lovely days.

Cool days like this put me in the

mood,

HMMMM, in the mood for

what?

For cooking, of course, and baking

and curling up

on the couch

with a warm yummy dessert

and cup of

Joe!

I made Stuffed Peppers

and they were YUMMY!!!

I used my

homemade sauce, which reminds

me, I've got lots of sauce

to make and

freeze!

Last night, I was cleaning out

my fridge

and I bought these adorable

spice jars

at Christmas Tree Shops

They had different shapes

there, and

I loved the shape of these.

So, I took out these

spices

from their original packaging

and put them in

these lovely

jars.

I have Turmeric, Curry, Mustard Seeds,

and Garam Masala

(which I'd like to make my own,

The Spice Goddess on the Cooking Channel

has a recipe for Garam Masala

so I'd like to make it

myself)

Remember my last post, I want to

make all kinds

of recipes of different cultures

and I'm starting out

with spices.

Well, anyway, I need more of

these jars,

they were cheap so I'll

probably go

tomorrow and get more.

Did you know that you should

store dark

colored spices in your

refrigerator?

I read that in a Cooking

magazine years

ago,

they stay fresh much longer

and I must

admit, I think they do.

Try that,

any red, brown, yellow or orange color

spices,

store them in your fridge.

But

whatever you do

DO NOT STORE YOUR COFFEE

IN THE FRIDGE!!!

It ruins your

coffee and makes it

stale.

Ask any coffeehouse

how they store their

coffee

and they'll agree

with that statement.

It's a SIN to do

that!

LOL

Well, not really.

Enjoy the rest of your summer,

it'll be another

seven months for

us NE folks before

summer

returns,

(sigh).