SHE: Had a Fabulous Holiday

Hey Y'all,

I hope your Christmas season has been one that filled your heart with love and gave your sweet memories for years to come.  Ours was all that and more.  We had a precious candlelight service, family time, lots of yummy food and even some sweet gifts to top off the day. It was so much fun, we forgot to take any photos!! Can you believe that?? We are bloggers... pictures of everything are a BIG Deal.  Sorry to let you down. But it was all good and that's what really matters. 

Now we are looking forward to the freshness of the New Year ~ a clean slate for whatever our hearts desire...   Join us next week as we return with regular tips & "I never knew that's", recipes and everyday how to's.   

Until then, I can be found finishing off the Christmas goodies and enjoying the last of those awesome Hallmark movies. Have a great week friends!! 

xoxo,

Amy

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It's Christmas Week Y'all!

Hey Friends,

Can you believe it is Christmas week?  Well, it is and just like you we are all crazy busy. 

How are you doing on your Christmas lists? Checking off all of your to do's ? My list is getting

pretty close to complete. 

I finished my baking yesterday ~ Pecan Tassies, Salted Nut Bars (PayDay bars), Buckeyes and white chocolate trail mix.  I really enjoy baking and sharing treats with friends. I have an assortment of goodies in gift boxes ready to deliver to some sweet friends and coworkers tomorrow.  Hope they enjoy them.

Need any last minute gift ideas for the challenging name on your list? Are they the ones who "have everything"?  This is typically my hardest friend to shop for.  Here are a few suggestions, that I think would work great for anyone on your list.

1) Give them gift cards to restaurants, to their favorite grocery store or gas cards.

                  A gift card works for services too. What about one for car washes? for a manicure? 

a hair salon? lawn service? Something they need during the year.

       

2) A set of all occasion cards ~ pre stamped! A friend suggested this and I love it! 

3) Food is always a hit ~ homemade or purchased

Remember that the presentation is as important as the present. So put a little effort in it to wrapping up your items.  And with that, it's time for me to get wrapping... (I could use some little elves.)

Merry Christmas sweet friends ~  

We have had a wonderful year and hope you have too!

Wishing the you happiest of weeks with lots of love, fun and family time. 

Amy

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SHE: Makes Christmas Happen

Hey Y'all,

It is certainly the Most Wonderful time of the Year! But I think it is also the busiest time of the year. 
So much to do and see in a short span of time. Hopefully you are finding it an enjoyable time too.

I am a list maker.. and this comes in handy when my days get crazy. A list keeps me on track and helps me remember what I have and what I still need.  My list consists of decorations, shopping, Christmas cards, baking & special events ( Christmas programs, parties, gift exchanges) and is always with me. It is a sense of accomplishment checking things off!

Decorations go up Thanksgiving week, Shopping - begins Black Friday of course, Christmas cards and goody baking is usually 2nd or 3rd weekend of December, and fun times are held throughout the month. 

Thanksgiving weekend is when I decorate, but I have been know to get a jump start on it to enjoy it longer.  It is done is 1 day. I can't take those boxes and storage bins scattered throughout the house.  I love the house to be all "Christmasy" and clean. 

Shopping ~ With a little one, I shopped throughout the year and made sure to get that must have toy.  It was also helpful to spread the spending love out over a few months, instead of waiting until the last few weeks.  As my family got older, my Christmas shopping plan changed. I don't have to shop for a special toy so I typically haven't worried about an item being sold out.  (or so I thought! I have encountered that this year, but hope to be successful with a replacement item.) And so much can be ordered on line ~ Amazon Prime is fab! and you know, they sell everything!  But I still make my list for any gift I need to purchase. And of course plan how these items will work in my budget. 


Baking ~ I organize my baking list with all the ingredients I will be needing and start purchasing extra spices or sugar/ flour when I am grocery shopping. Everything comes out of the pantry on baking weekend and the fun baking times begin.  I have always enjoyed holiday recipes. We have so many yummy ones; which one is your favorite? I love to share the treats with friends and family, coworkers and neighbors.

As for my Christmas cards, I admit that we do not send one to every person we know.  I mostly send them to those we don't see as often, but want them to know we are thinking of them.  And those I do while watching a Christmas movie ( or 5 ~ this weekend was The Family Stone & Christmas With the Kranks).

We always made sure to have a special Christmas activity each year. I always enjoyed driving around and looking at all the lights.  The 12 days of Christmas ( I think this was Brittney's favorite tradition).We saw the Rockettes one year in Nashville. The Nutcracker is always fun and so pretty and festive.  My favorite is the candle lit service on Christmas eve at our church.

This week starts the 12 days of Christmas. We loved this tradition!  It starts on the 13th, and each day Brittney got a small gift with a note: do a good deed, share some Christmas spirit, snuggle up and enjoy a Christmas movie....  Just a short little note and a gift. It was often a movie, a popcorn tin, Christmas pjs, hot cocoa and new mug... little items hidden each day for a special little treat leading up to Christmas morning.  It helped spread the holiday magic out a little longer and we were able to enjoy every day.  What are your favorite traditions? 


Does this sound like your December too? I think most Moms have a similar version.  The trick is to stay calm and actually take the time to enjoy the special moments with your family. One year in particular I was very busy with work and our Christmas plan was a little behind schedule. My daughter just knew Christmas was ruined. She couldn't figure out why things weren't happening just like they always had...   I told her Christmas doesn't just "happen" ~ It takes a lot of work to pull it off. And a little Christmas magic never hurts.

Have a great week friends!      

xoxo,

                                                       Amy

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SHE Found Open Doors & Patience

Happy Friday! Y’all that is one of my favorite things to say!

Anyways, today I’m going to keep it fairly short and a little bit personal. It’s not so much a how-to, but more of a reminder.

Today my reminder is – everything will work out in the right timing for you. I know, cue the eye-roll. That is the most overused and annoying phrase out there. But, be patient because your time is coming and It’ll be better than you expected.

I started knocking on doors somewhere between a year and half and two years ago. I would knock and knock, someone would open and I’d see a teaser and then they’d slam right in my face. I would smile and put on my “it’s fine” face and say something along the lines of “it’s okay, this (fill in the blank of what I was looking for) clearly wasn’t right for me/us and something better is out there for me/us.” But on the inside – I was mad. I threw around the word “unfair” a lot. And sometimes I pouted like a three year old. Every now and then I would see why a door closed and I would be thankful, but there weren’t enough of the moments to be okay with all of the closed doors. I fell into a pretty unhappy rut. 2016 was supposed to be the best year – and you know what it kinda sucked.

Back in mid-October I was done. I was ready for January 1^st so I could have a clean start. “Okay, 2016 was clearly not my year, but 2017 will totally rock!” I was saying the words but didn’t quite feel them. And then it happened. A door for almost everything I had been wanting opened. Like within a couple weeks of each other. It all happened so fast, I thought it was a dream. My husband found a new job that he loves, we’re moving into a house next week, we were able to go the beach for Thanksgiving and have another small getaway planned for New Years and I’ve got a couple more things in the works.  Suddenly, 2016 decided to end on a good note.  I personally felt like I did a complete 180 returning to my old happy self and I couldn’t be more thrilled (I was annoying myself. So to my loved ones out there – thanks for putting up with me!!).  I’ve still got a few doors I’m knocking on but after having these past few open so perfectly, it helped remind me that they’ll open when it is right.

So to everyone out there struggling with closed doors – I feel you! Enjoy this holiday season and put your worries aside. Be patient the best you can (trust me I’m not a patient person and that is the hardest part!!), your open door is coming I PROMISE!

xo Courtney

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SHE Degree Christmas Market

Hey Y'all,

We had such a fun time at our Christmas market a few weeks ago. 

Here is a video to show you a little snippet of the event. 

Have a great week friends. 

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SHE Packs & Moves Her Kitchen

Hey y’all! Can you believe it’s December? I know I can’t. My sister, my mom, two very close family friends, and I all have birthdays from the 13^th – 21^st. Combine that with Christmas and all the holiday parties and you’ve got yourself one hectic month!! But I love it, it’s by far my favorite month of the year.

This year I’ve lost my mind though… My husband and I started looking for a rental house to get out of our apartment and guess what? We get the keys December 16. ONE. WEEK. BEFORE. CHRISTMAS. As someone who usually decorates in early – mid November, not having my tree up yet has been very difficult for me! Let’s not even think about the fact that I’m moving at the worst possible time!

Anyway… there have been a few things that I’m doing to help make this smooth. Since we’re moving in the middle of parties galore we have to pack whenever we get a chance, but how do you pack something like your kitchen two weeks before you move? Here is what I’m doing…

First, I’m going to the grocery store this weekend and making a handful of freezer meals in aluminum pans (think casseroles – something like Shepard’s Pie has your meat and veggies all in one dish, no need for sides!). This way all I have to do is pull it out of the freezer, place in the oven, and then throw away when done. No need for pots and pans! Go ahead and pack those away.

Second, while I’m at the grocery store I’m getting paper plates, plastic utensils, napkins, and solo cups. Again all throw away stuff so I can go ahead and pack all my dishes!

Isn’t this so much easier? Not only can you go ahead and get another room packed, but now you don’t have any dishes to do! It’s a win-win!

Do you have any tips on packing your kitchen or surviving without one? I’d love to hear it!

xo Courtney

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SHE: Tips for Holiday Baking

Hey *|FNAME|*,

Hope you have recovered from the holiday weekend.  Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday baking season for me.  And I am sure it does for you too.  Today I want to share a few tips with you to help make your treats extra tasty.

image via Bing

When baking cakes or cookies using eggs that are at room temperature makes a big difference in the texture. They will be lighter and fluffier.  If you are in a hurry, soak eggs in warm water for 10-15 minutes to bring them to room temperature. Then bake according to your recipe.

Butter versus margarine:  unless the recipe specifically calls for butter, you should be okay using margarine in your recipe.  Butter is a must for pastry, candies, sugar cookies and shortbreads. 

Whichever you  choose the temperature of your butter or margarine is more important.  Too soft, cookies will spread out too much, too cool and the mixture won't cream together well. It will take 30-45 minutes for the butter to reach room temperature.  The finger poke test is the best indicator for the correct temperature.  Poke your finger into the stick of butter, if your finger makes an indention in the butter, it is ideal temperature and will make the best cookie. This is a great article!

When making rolled or cut off cookies, separate the dough. Keep 1/2 in the refrigerator and roll out the other. Keeps it from getting too soft.

I keep evaporated milk on hand for baking too. I substitute it for water in recipes for a richer flavor.  You can also use Almond milk or heavy cream to improve your recipe flavors ~ low fat is never a option! It 's a dessert, just embrace it. 

Keep a few boxed brownie mixes on hand for when you need a quick dessert, but don't have a lot of time.  Adding an extra egg, using whole milk and a teaspoon of vanilla will really bring a homemade taste to your dessert.  You can also add 1/2 cup of chocolate, toffee or butterscotch chips, nuts, chocolate syrup or caramel... whatever flavors you like. 

One last tip~ parchment paper. It is life changing when baking. (Now, don't confuse it with wax paper.. wax paper does not go in the oven)

What do think? Were you already familiar with these tips?  We love to share and plan to have more over the next few weeks.   I will be baking several of my traditional Christmas treats and will be sharing my recipes with you.  We would love you to share some of your family favorites with us. You can  never have too many good recipes.

Let's kick off the season of baking!!     

Xoxo,

Amy

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Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving friends!

As I sit here writing this I'm staring at the beautiful beach and it's helping to remind me just how thankful I am.  For many people this day is filled with driving all over the place and spending time with people you'd rather not. The fact that mine is nothing like that brings me so much happiness. 

A few years ago, my family started the tradition of going to the beach for Thanksgiving. Its a nice long weekend filled with nothing but relaxing, playing games, and having a blast with each other.  We all got in yesterday and spent the evening at our favorite restaurant, Peg Leg Pete's! We stuffed ourselves with fried crab claws, crab legs, and shrimp and downed a few margaritas. We laughed and told stories and then danced with the band.  As I sit here this morning I'm thinking back to the laughs we shared last night and can't help but smile.

I'm sure whether you are from Chattanooga or not, you've heard about the tragic school bus accident that happened Monday.  My heart goes out to the families who will have one less person at dinner today and with the families who will eat in the hospital as they pray their child makes it. 

Wherever you are today and whoever you are with - remember to be thankful. Life is short and full of unknowns. Be thankful for your food and your home. Be thankful for your family and be thankful for your life. 

Have a wonderful holiday!

xo Courtney 

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SHE: Thankful, Blessed, Grateful (& Stressed)

Hey Y'all,

Happy Thanksgiving week!!  What are your plans?  Our day should be pretty low key ~ we are celebrating with my Hubby's side of the family and are looking forward to spending the day together.

I know the holidays can get a little crazy for families when you are stretched between multiple holiday dinners in a short amount of time.  If this is you, try to make the best of it by being prepared. You may find that as your family grows you establish new traditions. That doesn't have to be a negative!  It may require some planning... SHE loves to plan.  And good communication is the best way to mitigate conflict and confusion.  Don't just assume things have to stay the same. As families grow, the opportunity for new traditions is given. The key is flexibility, communication and a great sense of humor never hurts!

Some quick ideas and suggestions if you have many sides to your family:

• Rotate each year- Thanksgiving Day with one side & Leftover Day with another side
• Suggest one side of the family host the weekend before Thanksgiving
• If you have a smaller extended family, invite everyone and each year a different family hosts
• Lunch with one set of family members, dessert with another
• Sunday Brunch with out of town family members before they head home
• Offer to host everyone at your house if possible, this is good for families with little ones
• Remember your little ones will not be impressed with long dinners, so don't expect them to remain interested ~ make sure there are activities for them other than listening to the adults talk politics and weather....puzzles, coloring, crafts that are quick that need entertainment

I hope these were suggestions you might fine useful.  Good, bad or crazy ~ if you have family and the opportunity to share the day with them, you have so much to celebrate.  So whether your plans are to have one big dinner with all your friends and family or 4 different dinners on Thursday ... I hope it is enjoyable and that your blessings are abundant. 

Happiest of Thanksgivings to you and yours,

Amy

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SHE: Is Ready

Hey Y'all,

We are crazy busy around here! It is market week and we are tying up loose ends to ensure an awesome weekend for our vendors and of course the attendees. 

Please tell me that you have made plans to attend if you live in the area.  The list of vendors is a fun mix of people and products.  It will be a great time to kick off your Christmas shopping and get into the Christmas spirit. 

Be sure that you are following us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  (We apologize in advance, but we will be MIA in the blog world this week.)   

Also, it is "wedding week" for our sweet SHE Riley &

her hubby to be RJ. 

Congratulations to you both!! 

We wish them a lifetime of joy. 

So as you can see, we are very busy SHE's this week and we wouldn't want it any other way.

Xoxo,

Amy

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SHE: Shares ~ Christmas Market Vendors

Hey Y'all,

Our SHE Degree Christmas market is less than 2 weeks away!! We are getting so excited and hope you are too.  Ladies, this is going to be such a fun event! Please bring the family and plan to check off items on your Christmas list. 
Not sure what to expect?  Visit SHE Degree for a preview. 

The market will be November 18th and 19th at Camp Jordan arena. I hope you already have it marked in your planner with a cute sticker or washi tape. 

Have you been SHARING the word with your friends and family?   ~ it is super easy to do if you follow us of Facebook. Click on the event link and invite away. 

We are happy for the opportunity to partner with Toys For Tots this year collecting new, unwrapped toys to be distributed in our area.
Plan to bring one for free admission to the market.

Which vendor are you most excited to see?  Check back often as we are adding to the list daily! Thank you all for your support of SHE Degree this year!! It has been so much fun planning this Christmas market. I hope you will come out and meet us and of course shop with these awesome vendors! 

   

Xoxo, Amy

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SHE: Wishes You a Happy Halloween

    Hoping you and yours have a fun treat filled Halloween ~

If you need a few last minute ideas, follow us on Pinterest and I bet we can help you out. 

And here are so jokes your kiddos will love. 

Trick or Treat friends!!

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Last Minute Costumes ($5 or less!)

Hey y'all! We're four days from Halloween. Who is still missing a costume? I'll raise my hand for sure! 

I'm usually all about my costume, but this year I've been so busy that Halloween just snuck up on me. So with the lack of time and me not wanting to spend a fortune, I thought I'd share a list of ideas. The hope is that these are things you either already have or can purchase for under $5.

Witch

This is a classic Halloween costume, but one that is so easy. We all have either a black dress or black pants/skirt and top. Buy a cheap witch hat and ta-da. If you're working with a $10-20 budget you could get more accessories to spice it up, but that is definitely optional!

Spa Day

I like this one, mainly because I like to be comfy! Throw on your robe and some leggings. Buy some face paint to look like a face mask and throw your hair in a bun. Now you're set!

Pajama Girl

Same concept as above. Robe. PJ pants. Hair in curlers. Bam!

Cat/Mouse/Bunny

Another classic costume. Buy some cheap ears (although you may already have some) and draw some whiskers on with your eyeliner. 

If you're looking for some good cheesy costumes, this link has some great ideas!

I hope this is helpful for you! If you have any ideas I would love to hear them! I can't decide which of these I want to do.

xo Courtney

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SHE: Countdown to Halloween

Hey Y'all,

It is almost Halloween.  How do you celebrate?  While we don't get too crazy with decorations, I still try to make it a fun holiday with costumes, candy, snacks and movies. 

Our house isn't in a subdivision, so we rarely have any Trick or Treaters.  I know, isn't that sad....  But it just might mean we get to enjoy all those treats ourselves.  A SHE is always prepared for company to drop by, so I make sure our cute pumpkins are filled with treats...just in case.

image via google

Like every holiday, we have certain traditions
that we enjoy. Of course there is pumpkin carving and No, painting them isn't nearly as much fun ~ though they may last longer. We tried (without success) to roast the pumpkin seeds. Can not figure that out. Not being in a subdivision also meant, no door to door trick or treating. So we would dress our little girl up and off we went to see our friends and family and collect way to many treats.  We couldn't go without a quick dinner of Mummy Dogs ~ a definite family holiday tradition.  There are so many cute and creative ideas, I shared several on our Pinterest board.

No Halloween season would be complete without the scary movie marathon ~ Mike & I both love our old scary movies (ie, ones we saw when we were dating.)  They are so cheesy and predictable but I still get nervous and may or may not squeal at certain ones.  Do you have any favorites?  The Halloween season movie event must sees: "Halloween",  "The Shining", "Friday the 13th" (but only the first 1 or 2) and of course "The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown". 

Do you dress up in costume?  We dress up every year at my office. It is so fun and our patients love it!  It's not a productive day, but it is definitely a fun one. We have a large group, so we try to stick with a theme. We have dressed as the Wizard of Oz, 101 Dalmatians, and this year I will be Mrs. Scarecrow. Fingers crossed I can survive the "hay" all day.  We have the best group for creativity!  Are you still searching for an idea? I have a few cute ideas pinned here.

As empty nesters, your holiday looks a little different.  And this one is no exception.  Meet our new friend "Bob", he has been riding around with my hubby for the past 2 weeks! He is a hoot!


Ok guys, the countdown is on! Let's celebrate big! Please share pictures of your Halloween pumpkins, treats, decorations and costumes.  SHE shares her tips with her friends ~ 

Happy Halloween week!!  

xoxo,  Amy

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SHE is ready for Halloween!

I love Halloween.  Because I love candy and dressing up in a costume!  I don't think you are ever too old!  So don't ruin it if you think I am!!  Now to wait.

Well, this table will be opened up and I will have chili and hotdogs and all kinds of dios and chips...but can't put that out yet!

Love my ghost.  Thanks to my friend Carla that gave me that treasure!!  

Now to make cotton candy to give out and for friends to come and hang out and party!  How do you and yours celebrate???

Lisa B

 

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SHE of the Month: Cindy Brady Premier Jewelry

Hey Y'all,

If you have been following us very long, you might remember our SHE of the Month.  SHE of the Month, highlights a lady and her business.  SHE's support, encourage, build up and are genuinely happy for one another.  Today we are introducing you to a great SHE!

Say hello to Cindy Brady!! 

Cindy is a Jeweler with Premier Designs who lives in Ringgold, GA with her husband of 25 years, Brent.  They have two young adults - Bailey, a 21 year old junior at Mercer University in Macon, GA and Josh, 18 and a freshman football player at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, AL.  When Josh started his senior year in high school Cindy realized that she needed something meaningful to do to help fill her “empty nest”. 

Having a strong background in sales she started looking for something  in that area.  Knowing she would be traveling to her son’s football games each weekend she realized flexibility would be very important and she didn’t want the pressure of quotas. 

Having been a Christian for most of her life and being a 2 year cancer survivor it was a priority for her to be a part of something where she could make a difference for eternity.   As her sponsor, April Meeks explained that Premier is a Christian based company that gives a huge portion of its profits to support missionaries worldwide and puts God front and center of everything they do, she knew it was a perfect match for her.   Premier’s founder, Andy Horner is a very devout Christian who believes in encouraging women to be all that God has planned for them. 

In addition, Premier offers many opportunities that other Direct Sales companies do not.  Their jewelers are paid very well and they are very generous with hostesses who allow jewelers into their homes to do jewelry parties and bless them with lots of jewelry.  Premier stands behind their products with a golden guarantee that no other jewelry company can compete with.  Premier Designs has been and continues to be a life changer for thousands of women.  

Are you looking for that special sparkly piece to set your outfit off but not sure "what" you need?  Cindy is just the lady for the job.  You can reach her by phone at (423)718-0141,  email, Bradymommy@aol.com or visit her website.  She is available to help you find just the right accessories for your fashion needs.   

While perusing Cindy's website you can see all the beautiful items Premier has available, schedule a party of your own, or join Cindy's team.   So much flexibility, it is crazy not to sign up.  And as a bonus! Cindy has offered a special discount to our SHE Degree friends.  Be sure to mention the promo code "SHE Degree" to receive a discount on your next purchase with Cindy's Premier Jewelry.

Everyone loves  jewelry~ so share a catalog with your friends and get your party started.

          XoXo, 

Amy

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SHE Makes Glittery Pumpkins

I went to a local fall festival this past weekend.  They had these fabulous silver and gold pumpkins.  I just had to have them!  I love the silver and white pumpkins.  They just remind me of Cinderella and Prince Charming.  We are doing a bridal shower this weekend and needed something to go with my silver pumpkin. So, I got out the glitter and made these other pumpkins.  How many of  you have the traditional colored pumpkins at your house?  Well, I do too!  So I made a few gold and bronze colored pumpkins too.  

I haven't added flowers to them yet. Sorry!   Trying to decide where I want them and what I want them to hold.  I think I may add candy to one and put a vase inside the other to hold my silverware. Or a mason jar with fresh flowers??  I can't decide!

 Anyway,  here is how  I made these pumpkins.

First, I bought the plastic pumpkins for about $1. 

Then, I spray painted the inside and outside with a coat of silver/gray paint.  I didn't want the bright blue or orange to show on the inside.  I was thinking I would add a candle or flowers..or even fill with my silverware.  

The next step is get rid of the face on the plastic pumpkin.  I used Plaster of Paris.  (You can buy a tub of this at Michaels or Hobby Lobby). When you mix it be careful.  Read the label!  Watch out and do not ingest the dust when mixing it.  I mixed mine in a throw away styrofoam bowl and used a plastic spoon.  This stuff sets up like concrete.  

Put a little in the face indentions and spread and smooth it out.  It is like icing a cake.  Work fast because the Plaster of Paris dries fast.  Don't worry if it is not perfect.  Look at real pumpkins.  They have "spots" where they have been laying on the ground.  

Once this dries, you can paint the whole surface.  You can use chalk paint, craft paint, but I used a sample of Valspar's wall paint.  (It was the color I wanted and I had it from a previous project.  And it went on fabulously.). You can get the sample size at your local hardware store for under $5 in any color.  

Now, this is the part that would be scary to most perfectionist. Your pumpkins won't be perfect.  But as soon as you get the paint on to help with the imperfections I immediately sprinkled on Epsom Salt and glitter.  It gives it dimension and hides flaws. Plus who doesn't like glitter....  Now this needs to dry.  Once this is totally dry you need to spray a sealer on top!    Then you can add sand and candles,   or you could go with flowers.  

I had the hurricane globes from another project. I did add glitter to the top of my sand.  (I covered the candle with a cupcake liner while I sprinkled the glitter so it wouldn't get on the candle.) 

I hope you make a Glittery Pumpkin!  I would love to see how yours turns out.  I want to know what colors you use and how you finish it out...candles...or flowers...or silverware holder!  I am curious!  

Lisa B

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SHE: Celebrates the Occasions

Hey Y'all,

It has been a very busy week around here and I couldn't be happier.  You know I love fall ~ October in particular for so many reasons.... We celebrate my birthday, (6th), our wedding anniversary (8th), my hubby's birthday, (19th), and this year our SHE Degree anniversary, (7th). 

The celebrating has gone on all week.  I truly have the best family and friends.  So many took time out of their day to wish me a happy day and Mike & I a congratulatory happy anniversary (#34 is a pretty big deal, don't you think?).  Our home is filled with sweet cards, fragrant flowers and too much leftover dessert. We had yummy dinners with the ones I love most too.  Don't you just love to feel loved? of course you do ~ it's how we are made. 

With social media, it's so easy to send a quick text or post a tweet wishing others a happy day. But I received hand delivered bouquets, cards in my real mailbox, homemade dinner... things that my sweet friends and family did personally "on their time" to make my day and me feel special. 

All this special attention got me thinking about whether or not I make those important to me feel special enough.  I think I try, but... I can probably do better.  So for my first goal of this new year, I am going to do better ~ I am putting special dates in my planner and will be visiting my local card store this week to get prepared.

Tell the ones you love "thank you" and truly take the opportunity to celebrate each day.  I am guilty of wishing them away.  But remember, we are given a certain number of days in our lifetime. Let's make sure we use them wisely.

 Have a lovely week friends~

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Happy ONE Year!

Hey y'all! Today is such an exciting day. This time last year we sat around the table at our meting and said "ready or not, here we go" and made SHE Degree live and told all our friends and family.  It was a scary day - would people like us? Would we succeed? The answer turned out to be yes!

I just want to take a minute to reflect over the past year... 

We've held a class, a market, and have another market on the way.

We've written countless blog posts and shared tips.

We've been on TV!

We've learned that we have the most supportive friends in the world and are so thankful for you all.

We've learned that we have the most supportive husband's in the world too!

We text almost daily and have become the best of friends (although we were already best friends, this just brought us closer.)

We're so thankful that you've joined us for this ride. I hope the next year is just as wonderful.  

In case you missed any of these, here our the top five most popular posts from the past year:

1. SHE's Fine!

2. Christmas Decorations: Brittney

3. SHE Cooks: Homemade Biscuits

4. SHE Sets a Table

5. SHE Never Knew That!

Help us out? Over the next year we want to make sure we're still moving in the right direction. If you've got 2.5 minutes, we'd sure appreciate it if you'd fill out our reader survey!

Thanks you all of you, because without you we wouldn't be here!

xo Courtney

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SHE: Packs it Away

image via google

Hey Y'all,

We are starting to have some nice dips in the temperature. That can only mean "sweater weather" is on the way.  It's time to pack away the summer items and start lining your closet and dresser with leggings and sweaters and sweatshirts.  I move all my summer items out of my closet and pack them away for the winter.  It gives me more closet space and keeps things a little more organized. A few things to think about before you begin.

I recommend that you take your time doing this. Use it as an opportunity to purge but also to repair.  

1) Be sure they are clean before you pack them away, six month in a storage tub allows all sorts of stains to appear.
2) Evaluate the quality of life left in the items... do you really need to hang on to that ratty t-shirt you will never wear again? This goes for all the stained, torn, faded items in your closet.  It will make more sense to toss it out now. 
3) Check for any needed repairs: are all the buttons in place? How is the hem? 
4) And my personal favorite...does it still fit? No? Toss it/ donate it.  In the event you lose weight~  you will want to reward yourself with some "new" items. 
5) Pack items neatly. You will be so happy you have next Spring when you do the wardrobe swap.

Hope you all have a great week. October is my birthday month~  so let the celebrating (and sweater weather) begin.

                                                                                                  xoxo,

                                                                                                            Amy

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SHE Cooks: Creamy Cheesy Crockpot Chicken & Rice

Happy Friday! The other day I made this tried and true recipe that I've had forever and knew it would be perfect to share with you!  The cooler weather has hit us (at least this week) and it's perfect crock pot weather now! 

Let's start with ingredients -

3-4 Chicken Breasts

1 can Cream of Chicken

1 box Yellow Rice Mix (7oz)

1 can Corn

1 - 2 cups of Cheddar Cheese

Onion

Now let's talk about these ingredients. First, I realized while pulling this post together that I didn't flip the cream of chicken for the picture (embarrassing...), so that's what that random can is. Second, you can almost make this recipe what you want it to be. Hubs and I don't like chunks of onion, so I use minced instead of chopping one up, but you can do whichever you like. We also like a lot of cheese so I ended up using 2 cups of cheese even though the recipe only calls for one!

To start lay your chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot and cover with onion. 

Scoop the cream of chicken on top of the chicken. Cover and cook. If using the low setting, cook for 4-6 hours. If using the high setting, cook for 8-10 hours!

In the last 30 minutes of cooking start preparing your rice according to the directions on the box. (Hint: you could also do this the night before and just have it waiting in the refrigerator.) 

Add your corn to crock pot while the rice is cooking so it can begin warming up. If you cooked your rice ahead of time go ahead and it now too so it'll be warming up. 

You'll notice my chicken is shredded at this point. The chicken is so tender at the end of cooking that I just stirred it and it fell apart!

Once you've added the corn and rice, you can add your cheese! Stir it in and then recover and let cook a few more minutes so the cheese can melt.

That's it! From there you're ready for a nice delicious hot meal!

I hope you enjoy this meal and I hope you're also getting nice temperatures right now. 

Happy fall and happy weekend!

xo Courtney

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SHE: Has the Best Connections

Hey Y'all,

I hope your day is going well. Don't you love to see how simple activities can open a door to something better than you ever expected.

This weekend was a great example of that for us, the ladies of SHE Degree.  You know we are hosting our Christmas market in November, so I am always (always!!) messaging folks, thinking of who we can invite that would be successful and unique and of course fun... trying to find the best vendors for our event. It is a running joke among the group that I will reach out to anyone that might have a business I think would work well at our market.  Apparently,  I invited a very sweet lady from New Mexico to participate, she politely declined.  So of course when we were invited to a local church craft fair we decided to try it out. We didn't have any "crafts" to sell there, but we did have our cookbook and it would be a chance to explain SHE Degree to others and an opportunity for a few of us to hang out together.  No pressure on our part, just show up and do what we love to do ~ socialize. 

This event was not widely publicized, the local county fair was going on and a little football was being played in Knoxville.... Knowing these things, we didn't anticipate an overwhelming turnout of people, but it was a very small fee to participate so what the heck. Let's do it!  

Worst case scenario we might sell a cookbook and hopefully invite some people to the Christmas market. Knowing too, that if there wasn't a lot of traffic, it would give us a chance to work on market details, planning our sweet Riley's bridal shower and of course just visit with each other. So we knew we would have a fun day regardless. 

Saturday gets here, we set up and people start strolling through.... And while there was not an abundance of people, it was the most awesome selection of people.  As we were just hanging out discussing details about the Christmas market that we still needed to work out ~ a couple walked up to our booth. Turns out they are connected to Toys for Tots and would love to help facilitate getting the toys collected at the market to our local Toys for Tots. (You know you can bring a new, unwrapped toy to the market for free admission). The detail of how to get the toys collected to Toys for Tots had been discussed not 5 minutes earlier. They had been at breakfast earlier that morning and just happened to over hear about the craft fair and decided to stop by.... Wow!

Throughout the day, we visited off and on with the couple next to us. They are from Georgia and make all types of beautiful cutting boards. As we are visiting, they mention that they have LOTS of "vendor" friends who would be perfect additions to our Christmas market. They recommended a wooden toy maker...  the need for some children's toy vendors had also been a subject of discussion. Wow again right?

By not being overwhelmed, we were able to speak with everyone who walked through the church gym doors and they now know ALL about SHE Degree. Mission accomplished ~ that is fabulous. But wait.... it gets better! They loved our cookbook, they want to come to the market, they signed up for our emails~ Tweet, Tweet and best of all they loved the concept of SHE Degree!

At the end of the day, Lisa and I were packing our booth away and both commented on how great the day turned out. We had both prayed that the Lord would put the right people there today. Wow! Isn't it cool to see how God just open doors for us when we give him the chance.   Who knew what doors he was opening when Lisa  invited us all to her home for dinner for the first time. What an amazing year we have had ~ God has truly blessed us all.

Have a great week friends ~ watch for those doors to open!!

Amy

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