Happy Thankgiving !

Saturday was the opening day of the deer hunting season here in Wisconsin...So of course , we needed to put on our finest blaze hats and vests just to walk about outside a bit. The landscape is getting wintery and the trees barren. We had our very first light snowfall of the season as well....I hope you're planning a wonderful and festive Thanksgiving in your neck of the woods.

Winter Preparedness

One of the things that we needed to do this year was to change the axe handle.
In the cold of winter, this tool is extremely significant for day to day living.
We buy our handles at the local farm store. This just saves time for us.
 I came across this and wanted to share .

• So grab a cup of coffee or tea , sit back and watch..

 How to change an axe handle ...Enjoy! 

Healthy Fall Blondies with Almonds

     
                                             

• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Serves: 16
• Ingredients

• 1/2 C old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/3 C all-purpose flour
• 1/3 C whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 C plus 2 Tbsp butter
• 3/4 C plus 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 lg egg
• 1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 C slivered almonds, divided

Directions

1.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 8" x 8" baking pan with cooking spray and line bottom with foil, leaving a 2" overhang on 2 opposite sides. Spray again on foil.

2.

Put oats in food processor and pulse until finely ground (1/3 cup). Whisk together oats, flours, baking powder, and salt in small bowl. Set aside.

3.

Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Stir in sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook, stirring, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour into large bowl. Add egg, vanilla extract, and reserved dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in 1/4 cup of the almonds.

4.

Pour batter into prepared pan, spread evenly with spatula, and top with remaining 1/4 cup almonds. Bake until a wooden pick inserted off center comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, 18 to 20 minutes.

5.

Cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Lift out foil and cool completely on rack. Remove foil and cut into 16 bars. (Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

                                  

1.                     

Blog Giveaway! WIN 100 EYE SHADOWS!

Would like to thank Madison Street Beauty for featuring Dina Michelle Jewelry.
All-Natural Handmade Mineral Cosmetics. Color that R-O-C-K-S !!
 
 WIN 100 EYE SHADOWS!

Just share this post at https://www.facebook.com/MadisonStreetBeauty for a chance to win and tell your friends. If they win I’m sure they will share :)

 .

My Fall Roasted Chicken Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place chicken in a roasting pan, and season (I use Lawry's Seasoned Salt and Pepper ) generously inside and out .  Place 3 tablespoons margarine in the chicken cavity. Arrange dollops of the remaining margarine around the chicken's exterior. 
3. Bake uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove from heat, and baste with melted margarine and drippings. Cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest about 30 minutes before serving.

FALL GIVEAWAY!!

Hello all,
Just wanted to tell you about an awesome  GIVEAWAY!! 
  faverittecreations.blogspot.com

                                                  

                                         
You could win these earrings from my shop at the link above, plus many other beautiful handmade gifts.

Harvest Moon Golden Pearl Drop Earrings

 

Winter Pantry

Hello all! I love Fall...It's my favorite time of the year! We are busy with things like , truck repair, gathering wood for this winter and stocking up on food .Why?? You might ask.Well first, I'd like to make it clear that I'm not a "Survivalist". I don't hoard food or store it under my bed.What we do here is a winter pantry.This practice has been very useful for us.We start buying a little extra in late summer and add more to our pantry throughout the fall. That way, I'm assured of having plenty when we need it. We had a big snowstorm in 2010 and our small pantry was the best thing I've ever done.We don't have a walk-in pantry. What I have is just a small nook in our kitchen.(I'll post photos soon) I just buy more of what we like and use frequently, just stock up on things when they're on sale. Like, when the soup we love was on sale for 99 cents a can 3 weeks ago, we got 10 for the pantry. if you do this starting in late summer, you'll be ready for winter.(This way the cost is kept quite low) Our pantry is no more than  6 shelves of nook space along two walls. I'll be painting and adding cute kitchen curtains at some point.I've found that stocking a winter pantry is money and time very well spent....Happy Fall :)

Wonderful Fall Cake idea!

Found this wonderfully easy to make Fall cake idea(which I plan to try)Was thinking of filling it with pumpkin pie filling and cream.I bake a Fall Apple Spice Cake most every year (to welcome in the apple season here) Wanted to share this really cool cake idea with you....Enjoy! :)

Southward Migration..Fly on winged dancers

Summer is coming to an end here...and soon ,too soon ,I'll have to say farewell those tiny winged dancers. The ones that zoom about my head each morning while I sip my hot coffee.I feel sad to see them go,but go they must...On to their southward migration.They stay most of the summer here, raiding the two large feeders,which we fill daily...Yes , I'll miss them all....If fate is good , I'll see them next year with new stories of winter to share...So fly on winged dancers! Take my love home.
If you love hummingbirds, see the vintage print hummingbird tote at my design shop

My Small Jewelry Business

Hello all.... I've been away from blogging awhile , mostly working on my small jewelry business. http://www.etsy.com/shop/DinaMichelleJewelry. It's a one-woman operation, so I'm often busy designing, making, shipping, photographing, gift wrapping and working on custom orders. I'll be adding post about this part of my life as well.Right now I'm having a cup coffee and thinking about what will need to get done around here before the wicked Wisconsin winter arrives. ¸.•´¸.•*´¨) (¸.•´ (¸.¸.•*´¨) ´♥ Give me a "LIKE" on facebook ♥ SIGN UP TO DINA MICHELLE DESIGNS ON FACEBOOK FAN PAGE HERE https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dina-Michelle-Designs/19380084135 I add new things often so I encourage you to come by again and see my designs.

Blogger Home - BookSneeze® - Bloggers get free books in exchange for a review

Blogger Home - BookSneeze® - Bloggers get free books in exchange for a review

Free Reads

I was happy to read this book from former Facts Of Life child star Lisa Whelchel. This was a fun read.Friendship for Grown~Ups is a kind of self~help book on maintaining friendships.Women today are busy .It's not that easy to make and maintain friendships.I liked this book and would love to see more books written about female friendships.Lisa writes about her need for friends and how difficult it was to find and maintain these new relationships.She talks about her faith , how it played a part and helped her in this journey of discovery. http://www.amazon.com/Friendship-Grown-Ups-Missed-Learned-Along/dp/1400202779/ref=cm_rdp_product

Bloggers can receive FREE copies of BookSneeze® products.