Progresso Soup and MY FIRST GIVEAWAY

I just received a sample of the Chicken Tuscany soup from Progresso to taste, along with a prize pack that includes two branded soup mugs and two branded spoons. The Chicken Tuscany soup was so good, loaded with wonderful flavor and only 130 calories per cup (but I ate the whole can!!) Try it out.

There are four new, great tasting Progresso soups that have 28% of the recommended Daily Value of fiber per serving (7 grams) and have no added MSG* or artificial flavors. And we all know why we need fiber! The new varieties include Chicken Tuscany, Creamy Tomato Basil, Hearty Vegetable and Noodles and Homestyle Minestrone.


And the best part? I'm offering my first GIVEAWAY. A gift pack like I received! To have a chance to win a can of Chicken Tuscany Soup, 2 branded soup mugs and spoons (provided by Progresso), just leave me a message telling me how you incorporate fiber into your daily diet.
You can leave me a friendly message daily for more entries and I will draw a name on NOV 4th.

Thanks Progresso for providing me with the free product, information, and prize pack through MyBlogSpark

Apothecary Jars

I wanted a slew of apothecary jars for the holidays and I had already spent about $60.00 on a few at Marshall's and Pier 1 Imports. As I was strolling through the thrift shop (on 1/2 price day) I had an A-HA moment. I spent under $3.00 on a 6 items and created my own.
I bought 3 candlesticks (they don't match, but that's OK) and 3 cheap jars with lids. I also spent $4.00 on epoxy - which is a MUST for gluing glass to glass. I placed the epoxy on the top of the candlesticks, removed the jar lids, and placed the jar on the center of the candlestick (looking down through the jar to center it on the base). And within a few minutes (epoxy dries quickly), I had these:

MY 1st GIVEAWAY - STOP by Thursday for a chance to win
Drawing NOV 4th

I am joining Leigh for Thrifty Thursday:

WWHHHEEE

My husband sat in HIS chair all weekend watching football and baseball. While surfing the web, I saw this chair on I New Idea site:
I had a vision of him sitting in this chair, me sneaking up behind him, pushing down his shoulders , letting go, and the dear ol' loved one flying thru the air......ever have one of those days?

I'm a winner...

Bella Casa News had a giveaway and I was the lucky winner!

She promotes
Product Reviews - Giveaways - Saving Tips - Blogging Tips - And more on her blog. and this is what I won:Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters "Snack Pack" Prize Pack...LUCKY ME!

Thanks, Isabella! You can also visit her at Bella Casa-Beautiful Home!

Guess who's coming to see Nana...

Carter is coming to NY for the weekend to see Nana and Grandpa.
It's a 7.5 hour drive - can you imagine being in a car that long with a 3 1/2 month old?

Carter is wearing the very costume I made for his mother 26 years ago:
So, I won't be blogging this weekend, but I will be coddling and spoiling and hugging and kissing....

A little more MacKenzie-Childs

I'm joining Bloggeritatville for Thrifty Thursday and Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday

A quick tutorial on imitation:

I needed one more thing to match my MacKenzie-Childs knock-offs I made to match my new M-C clock, so I bought a cylinder at GW and covered it with M-C tissue paper.

This is how to adhere tissue paper to glass. Cut the tissue paper a bit larger than needed.
Slap on some mod podge with a brush and gently lay the tissue over the glue:
Work in sections and repeat!! Trim the edges with sharp scissors. It's as easy as that.



I am joining Between Naps on the Porch today for Tablescape Thursday. Hop on over to see some lovely tables.

I would love to pretend that this is my kitchen and these are my dishes and glasses, that I polish this silverware weekly and that this cool checkered table and chairs are all mine...
...and that this is my dining room, with the most lovely fluted bowls and plates and the sweetest stemware.

But I can't take once ounce of credit. This is the farmhouse at MacKenzie-Childs in Aurora, NY and these are the displays in 2 of the rooms. It is the most happiest house to visit. The gift shop is so stunning and, although I didn't buy anything for my table, I did purchase this clock:

I suppose now I should consider setting my own table, huh?

Bound and Determined

Well, I did it.

I made my own MacKenzie-Childs lampshade.

As I said earlier this week, while touring the farmhouse at MacKenzie-Childs in Aurora, NY, I spied some lovely lampshades. Unfortunately, they are not for sale and I was told they were made specially for the farmhouse.

When I want something, I GET IT! A challenge!!

So, with a little bit of tissue paper from the MacKenzie-Childs store and a new lampshade ($1.99), I made my own:
And then I ran to the Dollar Tree to buy a clear glass plate and also adhered some tissue paper to that:

And they coordinate so well with my new clock: and remember the bowl?
My motto: If you can't buy it, make it!

Shopping and Wine...

What better to spend a day shopping and touring wineries? Seven of us decided to begin our
Saturday at MacKenzie-Childs, which is in Aurora, NY and I must say, it is one of my favorite stores. After shopping, we took the farm house tour. I had to return to the store to buy this. I was disappointed that they do not sell the lamp shades that are in the farmhouse - but I have an idea (I KNOW I can make them - stay tuned)

Pumpkin Hill Bistro is one of my favorite places to eat in the Aurora area. After a great lunch, we decided to go to Long Point Winery. This was the first of 5 wineries we would visit!This is the view from the winery on the east side of Cayuga Lake:

We decided to tour the wineries on the other side of Cayuga Lake, so we drove south through Ithaca and then stopped at The Thirsty Owl Winery, which was SO busy. People laughing and wine tasting, and many just enjoying the view from the grounds. I had to buy some Blushing Moon wine ...mmmm...my favorite! And as you can see, we bought plenty:



The Goose Watch Winery had a huge statue of a goose over the pond:



and the view from there was just breathtaking:For those of you who have never gone on a wine tasting tour, there are people traveling in cars, some in limos and others in buses. At this point we were all quite giggly and were happy to have a designated driver! Knapp Winery was the next stop:
and then we ended at the Swedish Hill Winery. Just look at these beautiful grapes on the vine:

Our fabulous day ended in Skaneateles at Joe's Pasta Garage for dinner.

I'm happy to say that the new wine rack is almost filled! Off to have a glass of wine.....

The Goodwill chairs

These are the oak chairs I bought Wednesday at Goodwill for 3/$20.00:
I removed the seats, cleaned them up with Murphy's oil soap and Liquid Gold:
I covered the seat with a drop cloth ($5.00 at Lowe's):
And TA-DA...3 extra dining chairs for only $25.00

Without HIM...

Today I am joining Shanty 2 Chic for "I Made It Without My Hubby".


This chair was purchased at a flea market for $15.00. It was scratched, wobbly and had no seat. I really liked the detail on the back and legs, so I took it home. I glued it to tighten up the joints, primed and painted it white, washed it with a watered down tan paint and then painted the detail. I cut out the seat with my scroll saw, padded and covered it and screwed it on.

The same fabric was used to make this cornice in my dining room. This is simple to create and maybe one day I will write a tutorial !
So, those are a few things I have created without my hubby! Stop over at Shanty 2 Chic to see what other woman have created without help!

Read next post for Thrifty Thursday......

Thrifty Thursday #6

I am joining Leigh for Thrifty Thursday again.

These are 3 chairs I bought Tuesday at the Goodwill Thrift Shop:
I saw them and decided to go home and think about it - of course, when I got home I thought "why didn't I just buy them?" The price of the chairs was $8.00 each. I knew they were oak, but was focused on the fact that I just needed a few extra chairs for the holidays. I returned after dinner and asked the manager if I could have the 3 chairs for $20.00 and he agreed. BARGAIN!

While paying the cashier, a customer behind me began inspecting the chairs and offered me $30.00 for them. I just giggled and said "no, thanks". As I was loading them into the car, he offered me $40.00 for them, again I giggled and said "no thanks". He then informed me that they were mission oak and that I should research them on the internet. As I said, I just needed a few extra chairs and just "liked" them.

I just surfed the net and found these chairs which are quite similar and they are selling 6 for $1850.00. I am sure there is quite a difference, but I like mine. Does anyone know anything about these chairs?

I can't wait to clean them up and recover them...stay tuned...

To see other thrifty finds, visit Bloggeritaville!

Better than apples...

After apple picking on Saturday, we went to the winery. All of the wines are made from apples
They have wines and hard ciders - the difference is the alcohol content, wine having more than the hard cider.
And right across the street is the distillery where vodka is made from the apples.
The vodka is bottled in tall slim bottles with a label that shows the beautiful view from the grounds.
And the view is lovely, looking toward the reservation, just south of Syracuse. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day and the foliage isn't at peak around here. Good thing wine and vodka tasting can be done in any type of weather!

A day in the apple orchards

Saturday afternoon was spent apple picking in Lafayette, NY. Unfortunately the sun didn't join us, but neither did the rain, so no complaints here.
The best part of Beak and Skiff Farms is the tractor ride into the orchards.
We picked Macintosh and Cortland apples...
...and the trees were filled with bright red apples
And of course, like a little boy, as soon as hubby saw a ladder, he HAD to climb it.
Off to bake an apple pie....

And speaking of pumpkins...

Carter is 3 months old...just had to shareThis photo just makes me laugh, too