Liebster Award - a little late!

Today I saw a post that Polka Dots and Paisley was nominated for a Liebster Award.  It made me remember that a million years ago I got an email saying something about this, way before I really knew what it meant.  Since I hope there isn't a statute of limitations, I figured its better late than never!

Jeanette & Leigh over at Crafty in Crosby nominated me.  They are cool mother-daughter bloggers who seem to have a love for Halloween!  Isn't that the funnest holiday to decorate for anyway?  Here are some of their cool posts!  

And one non-Halloween idea that I thought was awesome!  

So go check these gals out!  Anyway, back to the Liebster :)  A little more about what this award is, for those who like me had no idea! 

The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers with less than 200 followers. Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome. 

 The rules I received about accepting the award are:        

1. Post about your win on you blog
2. Link back to the blogger who presented you with the award and follow their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award button to your blog (you can right-click on the Liebster label from my page, save it to your computer, then save to your blog.)
4. Present The Liebster Award to 5 blogs that have fewer than 200 followers that you think deserves to be recognized.
5. Let them know by leaving them a comment on their blog.
6. Please share 5 random facts about yourself.

As you can see this is an exciting honor, to both give and receive.  And now some random facts about me:  

1. I LOVE the color pink. Love it. Almost to a scary ridiculous level.  Almost... :)  

2. Even though I can be quite girly, I also have a bit of a tom-boy in me. I like to learn about cars, love watching baseball, and when I was a little girl my favorite toys were my baby-dolls and Spider-man. 

3. I cannot tell the difference between bitter and sour. It drives my husband crazy, and as soon as we think I've got it, I try to give an example and he just shakes his head because I've got it wrong again! I might be a lost cause on this one.  

4. I saw Polka Dots & Paisley went through her purse, so I thought I'd copy her lead & let you know whats in my purse too!  I keep buying bigger & bigger purses, and it seems like I am always running out of room. I've got my wallet, my iPhone, tylenol, advil, IceBreakers mints, gum, Pepto, tampon, Benedryl, pink headphones, lipstick, lipbalm, chapstick, mini golf score card, a spoon, car keys, house keys, 2 alcohol hand wipes, almonds, sunglasses, 5 pens, a Tootsie pop, and an eye glasses cloth. 

5. My husband & I are that couple that has multiple nicknames for each other.  Some of them include Brain, Earthworm, Monkey, JuiceBox, and no I am not going to tell you who is who!  

Now to the part where I get to nominate 5 other blogs for the award!  

1. Jenny @ CreativelyBlooming

2. Ali @ Crafty WI Mama

3. Kayla @ Home Coming MN

4. Paula @ SewyStuff

5. Glory @ AnythingOnMyMindPR

Happy Monday #20

Have a Happy Monday!
~ Melissa

It's Apple Time

Its fall and here in Wisconsin, that means it's apple time!  I was recently a recipient of a bag of apples from the apple tree in my brother's yard.  With the fall-like weather and the Packers playing football today, it was a great day to bake with all of these lovely apples.

Apples!!

The first thing I made was this delicious Fall Apple Crisp.

Fall Apple Crisp
8 cups of apples cored and sliced
3/4 cup of sugar
1 TBS flour
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking spice
1/4 cup of water

1 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup quick oats
1 stick of melted butter

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Peel & slice apples and lay in the bottom of a 9x13 greased pan.  Mix together 3/4 cup of sugar, 1TBS flour, 1/2 tsp and 1/2 tsp baking spice.  (If you don't have baking spice, just double the amount of cinnamon).  Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the apples. Slowly pour water over top of cinnamon/sugar mixture.  (If you're apples seem to be juicy, skip this step)

To make the crisp, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, brown sugar, oats, and melted butter.  I find it easiest to mix the topping by hand.  Evenly sprinkle over the apples.  Bake for 45 minutes.

Let cool for the crisp to set.  Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Since there were still quite a few apples left and I was still in the baking mood, I also whipped up some Apple Bran Muffins.  These are a healthy snack and freeze great.  I made a batch and then froze most of them in batches of two.  That way if we want a treat, we can just grab two out of the freezer, microwave, and enjoy.

I still have more apples, what next? What is your favorite thing to make with apples?

Cheese Please!

I'm super excited to receive my first VoxBox from Influenster!  They couldn't have sent me a better one - Sargento Cheese!!

And we all know that this Wisconsin girl loves her cheese! In fact, Sargento is made right here in the Dairy State, and is our favorite brand of cheese. Don't believe me? Check out the meat & cheese drawer of our fridge!!

I'm a snacker during the day, and I like to find something high in protein which doesn't spike my blood sugar.  Along with a couple crackers, these cheese snacks are the perfect afternoon snack!  They keep me satisfied until dinner, without that sugar crash and at only 80 calories - are a great option when watching your weight.

Snack Break at the Office

I chose the Colby-Jack snacks but they are also available in other flavors such as Sharp Cheddar, PepperJack, and of course Mozzarella String Cheese - which is always fun no matter what your age!

And right now, through September 23rd you can enter to win Free Cheese Snacks for a year - just go to http://www.sargento.com/whatsnew/choose-cheese-and-win/ , build your favorite snack with Sargento cheese, and enter to win!



**I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.**

Pillow Cases for a Good Cause

I'm super excited to share with you what I've been working on this Labor Day Weekend.  Arrow Sewing Cabinets is hosting a pillowcase drive for Conkerr Cancer in Madison, and I've been making pillow cases!   I've seen a few of these drives around in the past, so when I saw this one I knew I wanted to participate.

I had the perfect fun Dr. Seuss fabric and whipped up these two cases using the "hot dog" method.  Have you guys ever done this?  Its super quick & easy!

In fact I had so much fun making those, that I wanted to make some more. :)  Since they stated they were specifically looking for sports themed pillowcases, I headed off to Joann's to look for more fabric.  I found some generic looking baseball fabric, which was ok...but not spectacular. And then while I was waiting in line at the cutting table, I just happened to see the PERFECT fabric!  What's better then the Wisconsin Badgers?!?  Not much, well maybe besides the Packers :)  So I tossed the baseball fabric & made two Badgers pillowcases as well!

 
They will be on their way tomorrow, I hope they are able to bring someone as much joy to use them, as it was for me to make them!

Happy Monday #19 - Happy Labor Day

Have a Happy Labor Day Monday!
~ Melissa