give thanks.

i love these cute cards we created as teacher's gifts for thanksgiving. these boys are always so thoughtful and so good to their teachers. i love working with their momma on new ideas.

tomorrow i'll show you the cute stocking stuffers we've whipped up for these guys.

baked peanut butter oatmeal.

while in the midst of designing and organizing the house, i got the sudden urge to bake something. i remembered seeing a recipe for baked oatmeal on tidy mom. it's supposed to be a breakfast food, but it sounded absolutely delicious. i had all the ingredients already in the pantry, so i decided to give it a shot. it was super easy to make and made the house smell yummy.


to make this yummy recipe or snack, you'll need the following:

• 1 1/2 c cooking oats
• 1/4 c packed brown sugar
• 1/4 c granulated sugar {i used splenda}
• 3/4 c milk
• 1/4 c melted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 c skippy peanut butter

preheat the oven to 350 degrees. grease a 9x13 pan {i wanted to use a pan that had more of a harvest appeal than just a clear 9x13, so i improvised}. mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and stir well. spread into pan and bake 20-25 minutes {my oven took exactly 20 minutes}, or until edges are golden brown.

tidy mom calls for you to serve with warm milk poured over the top. the recipe doesn't call for it, but i added raisins to ours before putting in the oven. i didn't measure them, but sprinkled just enough to cover the top of the batter and then folded them in.

this wasn't as sweet as i thought it would be {which makes it a good breakfast} and travis thought it tasted like the clif bars he likes to eat while climbing. i think if i make it for a snack again in the future, i might cheat and add a little more sugar.

november has arrived!

the holidays are just around the corner, but today we wish you the happiest of fallidays. it may seem a little funny to have this picture as the blog header and then also find it here in the post, but we so frequently change the page, and i sometimes lose track of what we've used. i'm going to try to make a point of blogging these so i'll be able to look back on them in the future.

happy halloween!

happy halloween from jack & myself! have fun with those kiddos. here's to lots of treats & very few tricks.

zoey bear.

meet the newest member of our family, our sweet niece zoey. zoey is amanda and zach's new baby boxer. we love her already.

buffalo chicken dip.

my friend megan tree posted a recipe for buffalo chicken dip earlier this month. since she posted it, i have been dying to try it. i thought i would share it with you as well. you can also check out megan's orginal post for this recipe.

pictures belong to and were taken by megan tree

ingredients:

• 10 ounces of chicken {megan uses two cans of canned chicken}
• 2 cream cheese {10 ounces}
• 1 cup of ranch dressing
• 3/4 cups of frank's red sauce
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

directions:

• put the chicken and frank's red sauce in a saucepot and heat on the stove
• add the cream cheese and allow it to melt completely
• add the ranch dressing and mix together
• lastly add the cheese and let it melt
• serve with your favorite chips

if you don't already follow megan's blog, i would highly recommend that you do. she is a hoot and a half. i wait each day for her to update.

happy friday!

what better way to leave you this friday than with a wall full of notecards? my love of paper, will it ever end? i should think not.

this picture is taken from paper love, a store that actually recently closed down. it makes me sad to think their shelves are no longer stocked with beautiful colors and designs and it urges me to remind you to support your friends, families, and all local entrepreneurs in their endeavors. happy weekend, my dears.

bubble. bubble. toil & trouble.

this invitation makes me want to live in a historic home, and deck it out with creepy cobwebs, bubbling cauldrons filled with green witches brew, and dry ice creating a swampy fog. what are your plans for halloween this year?

mamarazzi of tulsa.

you know all those gorgeous pictures i'm always posting by jenny collier photography? well you can now learn tips and tricks for making your own photos fabulous. jenny has teamed up with photographer ashley thompson to create mamarazzi of tulsa, a workshop for mamas {and other family members} who want to take better pictures of their kiddos, families, etc.
they will be hosting their third workshop this month. it may be too late to enroll in this month's workshop, but be sure to sign up for their mailing list so you'll be the first to know when their next workshop is.

home is where your boots are.

a friend of mine, ms. kalan chapman, has recently published a novel. kalan and i were friends in high school and i've worked with her on several projects since starting notably noted. kalan loves throwing theme parties and always has the cutest ideas. she has always wanted to publish a book, and now that dream has come true for her. i had the pleasure of reading the manuscript when it was still in draft and thought i would share the finished product with you. it's so important we support other women in their business endeavors.



{below you can read the summary provided by lulu.com}

the misadventures of miss lilly: home is where your boots are is about lilly atkins, small-town girl turned big-city lawyer. she's a southern belle and rhinestone cowgirl, balancing sugar and steel with wit and grit. she traded her hometown for dallas to earn a law degree and an old money fiance, losing herself in the process. while her career flourished, her relationship floundered, and she finds herself the brunt of a bad cliche. so she hauls her bags and her cheated heart back across the border to her hometown; brooks, oklahoma, where the creek is cool and the gossip is hot. having grown up there, lilly has always known brooks is the kind of place where everyone knows whose check is good and whose husband isn't. But when she comes back,
she's smacked with some down-home deceit. lilly is suspicious and intrigued when her "bad-boy turned good" old flame wants to be her first client and the local funeral home director is her second.