Thanksgiving Crafts and Cooking!

~Repost from Friday~

Ok, so as promised in yesterdays post, today I have gathered some different examples on how to add to your holiday enjoyment through simple crafting and creative cooking. It has always been my belief that the family that drinks crafts and cooks together stays together.

 

So let's get started...

It's always fun to show your holiday spirit through fashion and nothing says I'm thankful like a sweater vest!



So go ahead and make a real sleeveless statement and flaunt your bounty in a cozy colorful poly acrylic blend. These timeless beauty's are a cinch to make, just cut the sleeves off an old sweater and hot glue on some seasonal applique!

When it's time to gather with the kids here are a few craft ideas to really drive home the true meaning of the day.

Toilet paper pilgrims!

 

These TP pilgrim puppets will keep the little ones delighted for hours and while they're spending time exploring the new world you can work on "covering their base" by whipping up this lovely crochet toilet tissue cover!



Seriously, your friends and family will definitely feel the warmth of your giving when they go to grab that swaddled roll.

Now lets move on to the kitchen...

Not everyone in you clan may be up for a poultry feast so it's alway a good idea to serve a vegan dish as well, and I find that a nice jello mold always puts a smile on those meat free mugs!



This dish will take a little time to set up, so start preparing right after you tap the wine when you wake up, and remember to garnish with a little fresh fruit. If you don't have any fresh, a nice can of cocktail will work in a pinch.



Now, if you remember, yesterday I made quite a to-do about cranberry sauce and how I'm particular to the can brand, but today I found an enticing new way to serve cranberries in the round...



Now that's what I call going "full circle" and trust me when I tell you that I'm looking forward to making that bold leap from jellied disc to molded ring!

But I realize that not everyone may share the same love of the little red berry and so for the rest of you I found this to set upon your holiday table...

 

Beautiful right?

Ruby red crocheted fauxberries, ridges and all!

Ok, winding things down, it's always nice to have a wide array of desserts to offer. Tired of the same old hum drum pumpkin pie?

Try these...

 

 

Rice Krispi Turkeys with mini marshmallows and fruit loops!

And last but not least lets not forget our four-legged friends!

 

 

They will be truly thankful Thanksgiving only comes once a year.

Well, that wraps things up for my Thanksgiving Tips and Treats post, have a great weekend!

 

Trailerpark Turkey Talk

This weather is CRAZY!

The wind has been blowing so hard and it's been raining pigs and chickens.

They're calling for thirty hundred inches of snow in the mountains and some even as low as a thousand feet which means us baby. I think.

Ok so yesterday like a hundred readers {Kenna Marie and Andrea P} asked for some Trailepark Thanksgiving recipes. Oh my gosh! I got so excited I could barely wait to write this post!

You see I love love love Thanksgiving. It is without a doubt my favorite holiday. All of the family stress and pressure without the shopping.

I have never been one of those people who wake up when it's still dark to start cooking and frankly, I don't know what those people do in the dark. For all I know they're in there tapping the box so as to be a little more thankful and a lot more grateful.



I don't even start cooking until mid morning.

Here's an unbelievable fact.

I have never served nor tasted a green bean casserole.



I know huh... A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

I tackle Thanksgiving the easiest way possible. I use powdered gravy from a plastic jug that I buy once a year at Costco. I use instant mashed potatoes from a box I buy at Winco. I use store brand stuffing mix and store-bought dinner rolls and canned green beans and for SURE canned cranberry sauce cut in the round and I LOVE  the way the can leaves ridges on the sauce. And why do they call it sauce anyway? I do serve fresh asparagus and the one thing I am MOST particular about is... The sweet potatoes yams.

I don't use sweet potatoes because they're not very colorful and up to a year or so ago I never even knew there was a difference but anyway,  I always use yams, but I call them sweet potatoes. I boil them up just like I would a regular potato for mashing, but then I pour in some real heavy cream, tons of butter, handfuls of brown sugar and mash it all together and top it off with a package of mini marshmallows. The colored ones add an extra festive feeling to the dish.



But my most accomplished Thanksgiving dish ever was prepared the year I spent with my sister a few years back.

She asked what I wanted to bring and knowing full well I could never live up to her culinary prowess I figured I just better go big on what I did best.

Trailerpark Cuisine.

Since I knew I couldn't compete with whatever Julie would be serving I decided to create my own playing field where I could stand alone and take home the gold.

And that my friends is when Trailerpark Sweet Potato Yams were born.

Oh I did all the usual things, heavy cream, brown sugar, butter and mini marshmallows, but the secret ingredient on that special day was the...

Circus Peanut.

Yes, you heard me, the Circus Peanut. Laid atop the snow-white blanket of mini marshmallows in maple leaf formation.

It was truly a sight to behold, a vision no one had ever seen the likes of before and may very well never see again, but on that day, that glorious day, in my mind, that dish stole the show.

Don't get me wrong, the perfectly basted turkey was moist and mouth-watering as were the fresh cranberries and hand kneaded delicately risen rolls, but I must say, those sweet potatoes yams were like manna from heaven.

So there you have it everyone {Kenna Marie and Andrea P} my favorite Trailerpark Thanksgiving recipe!

See you tomorrow, maybe with some Thanksgiving Craft Ideas :)

I don't blog during the summer.

Or if I have company.

That's  so dumb because that's when the best stuff happens.

I'm trying to think of something to say or a funny story to tell, but I got nothin.

I think I'll get a perm . In February.

And some new shoes.

Here's a picture of Pooter and Astro.

Not Very Alarming...

Ugh... My brain is in spaz mode right now because for like the thirteenth morning in a row my alarm didn't go off,  and today I woke up with only six minutes to get Wyatt out the door. I'm not sure what I even packed in his lunch, for all I know, he may be having a can of Spam and some sweetened condensed milk for lunch, and I guarantee you he isn't wearing clean underpants but I do know he took a swipe at his teeth albeit I'm sure with a dry brush.

Oh well, we get a do-over tomorrow.

And tonight I'm going to get a different clock, I'm through giving my stupid other broken one chances. I mean it.

Wendy was here yesterday ♡

We had a really nice day even though she's still pretty sick. Every time she coughed I thought she was going to spit a lung out on my coffee table so I dosed her up with cough syrup and cough drops and some Sudafed which helped, but she was still coughing and gagging all day, so we just took it easy and watched documentaries about obesity and meth addicts. I know that sounds depressing, but really it makes you feel good about who you are because you don't weigh a metric ton or snort battery acid.

SH!T!!!!DARN!!!

I forgot to take the garbage out and the truck just went by.

Mannnnn I hate it when I forget to take the garbage out, but when 6 is gone we hardly have any garbage. I wonder why that is.

Back to Wendy.

She looks good, but she has jet black hair with two red stripes in the front on either side of her face but I just acted like I didn't notice and I didn't say anything, but that got shot all to hell when Wyatt came home and said

WENDYYOURHAIRISBLACKWITHREDSTRIPES

and so then I said  oh yeah, cute :)  I kind of think she knows it's pretty wild, and she is in beauty school and I just need to settle down and remember that when I was in beauty school I had red hair for Valentines Day and green hair for St Paddy's Day and dated Wayne Radder and so maybe this too shall pass.

The wind blew so hard here last night, I think some of your stuff is in my yard. The dogs were barking all night as things crashed and banged and I laid in bed remembering the Wizard of Oz and envisioned chickens being blown past the house and that skinny b!tch from the mobile spaces riding by on a stationary bicycle.

I think Astro just pooped in a plant.

See ya tomorrow.

Sickness & Celebrations

Hello?

Can you hear me?

I have ben sooooo sick I thought for sure I was gonna tip over.

I was so sick I envisioned my kids arguing over who was going to get Pooter and Pearl after I was gone...



And knowing for sure a fight would ensue over Astro the cutest kitten in the whole world.



And as I laid there I wondered if my family would really follow through with my wishes of playing Fly Me To The Moon and Lime and the Coconut at my services and serve wiener winks and Little Smokies in grape jam like I requested or if they'd just bring in a pizza and some garlic bread from Papa Murphys.

If my Sister was in charge of things I know she'd serve a nice lasagna and offer a variety of pies.

{Note to self, put Julie in charge of  send off social}

Anyway I'm up and around today but moving pretty slow, well slower than usual... But up is good, and being able to breathe is good and being able to talk is good (for me) and being able to Twitter, Facebook and Etsy is really good (no laptop.)

Wendy is coming out today!

I haven't seen her in a few weeks so I'm soooper excited to see her and hear how school is going and hopefully she'll tell me that she's seen the light and realized what a d-bag her stupid boyfriend is and that she's met a wonderful, smart handsome guy with a car and a job who doesn't live with his parents and has a valid drivers license and can pass a drug test with his own pee. I know, I'm asking a lot, but I can dream, right?

And..... Last but not least, today is 6's Birthday!



I have nothing romantic or mushy to say, only this... Thank gawd you're finally older than me (you can tell by the picture how old he is) and I hope you have a wonderful day in Canada and I hope that you get me a way better gift for my Birthday than I got you for yours.

In other Birthday news, my oldest friend in the whole world is celebrating today too!



I  have nothing mushy to say to you either.

Thankfully we established a non sensitivity pack in the very beginning of our friendship when you gave me a bloody nose when we had to walk hand in hand to the lunchroom because I had sweaty hands.

So, my gift to you Valerie is that I have ALWAYS let you be skinnier than me and a reminder that you were NEVER the purse watcher.

I love you both.

❤

Seasons Greetings!

oh. Ma. Gawd.....

I'm sitting here with a fire going, my first cup of Christmas creamer coffee hot and steamy goodness in front of me and Christmas music on the t.v holiday channel.

I feel like I should be wrapping gifts. Maybe I should get a jump-start and just tell everyone this year Christmas is themed and the theme is free or found around the house. I could give my mom a nice desk lamp, my sister a colorful set of  plastic summertime outdoor wine glasses and my other sister a set of lovely gently used cookbooks and three or forty crochet dishrags. I could give 6 some work boots that I already know fit him perfectly, some nice wool socks and a pair of genuine leather work gloves. I could give Wyatt some scissors and printer paper for art projects and eighteen bazillion Bionicles. And I could give Wendy what's left of a can of hairspray I've had for four years  (she is in the beauty industry now you know) an almost new tray of coordinating eye shadows and a box of panty liners. {I want to make sure and keep her gifts personal and not give her anything that her douchebag boyfriend could use or enjoy}

I totally feel like I'm on to something here.

Remember this picture...



How handy is that, my Dad is already wrapped!

I'll re-gift him to myself. He's like the gift that keeps on giving because he's made me happy since the day we met and it doesn't even matter if he's in a box now, just thinking about him makes me smile :)

Well. That's a good feeling, having the holidays knocked out before the stupid seasonal commercials start screaming at me that I need to get up and get out and spendspendspend!

No segway.

Last night I made PW's skinny pork chops.

~PW's Photo~

I can't use my own photo because they aren't on a plate long enough to photograph.

Ummm... They are SO simple and SO deeelicous, they are simply deeelicious.

I swear these will become you very most favorite quicky cheapo dinner.

Mouthwateringly deeelicious.

Did I say how good they are?

Very good.

Ok, I have a rug to finish and I should probably get busy putting up the tree.

See you tomorrow, Merry Christmas!

Kitchen Chaos

This morning as I was loading the dishwasher I did something so shocking I almost blew my own mind. I loaded the silverware heads up. Not just to be a rebel, but to see if there really is a difference in how clean the utensils get. See I was always a heads UP girl and then Trina said that was wrong because then you handle the heads on the way out which totally makes sense to me and add that to the fact that there is less risk of losing a finger or slicing your wrist open heads down but there has always been that nagging voice in me that says heads up.



My sister has a fancy pants dishwasher where the silverware lies on its side on its own shelf and I have anxiety even writing this because I don't get it. See there's a system to loading that kind of rack and if you're the kind of person that struggles with heads up heads down how can you possibly handle on its side in certain order.



I'm having a grit in the butt of my glasses issue with my washer too. I wonder what that's all about.

Now I'm going to tell you something that might make you decide you don't like me.

I'm going to share with you what a freak I am.

A few years ago 6 got me a set of Rachel Ray pots and pans but I gave them to his mother because Rachel Ray drives me nuts because she's always licking the corner of her mouth and I couldn't concentrate on cooking, all I could think about was Rachel Ray licking the corner of her mouth and I would end up a total basket case before dinner was even on the table.



Then my sister gave me a Rachel Ray cookbook and I had to pass that on too because the thought of her on the shelf in my kitchen licking the corner of her mouth was enough to give me fits.

There's more...

Shortly after I passed off the set of Rachel Ray pot lickers 6 got me a set of Paula Dean cookware (I wonder if he's a secret shopping channel watcher...) but I can't stand her either because she's so political and I don't want to be thinking about Paula's political opinions when I'm making a pot roast or no bake cookies. I really love her love of butter but hold the opinion please, if I want to know the state of the nation I'll turn on the news thank you very much.



So I've decided I'm going back to cast iron frying pans and Walmart Target Kmart garage sale pots.



OMG!

I always forget about the garage sale my Grampy left up in the barn, there's enough miscellaneous bits and pieces of this and thats up there to outfit seventy hundred kitchens!

I gotta put my boots on, I'm going shopping.