Laudable Links: 3rd Edition

Can you believe it's December? So, in honor of "the most wonderful time of year," this Laudable Links is Christmas-themed!

RECIPES

• Cathie Filian's How to be Domestic blog always has great ideas.  I love these recipes for chocolate-dipped goodies.  They would be so cute wrapped up to give as gifts.

(photo from How to Be Domestic)

CRAFTINESS

• This adorable yarn ball wreath is super simple to make.  The Pleated Poppy's tutorial is easy to follow.

(photo from The Pleated Poppy)

• The Crafting Chicks have a great tutorial for a cute-as-pie Christmas Countdown Garland with fun daily tasks to prepare for the big day!

FLUFFINATION (this phrase was coined by my friend Wanda and means "the art of fluffing the home")

• PeasandCarrotsToo's etsy.com store has these adorable Christmas tree napkins for sale.

(photo from PeasandCarrotsToo on etsy.com)

• The Inspired Room has a great post about How to Decorate a Christmas Mantel.

GOOD FOR THE SOUL

• Advent season is upon us.  I posted earlier in the week the link to the outline that I follow. Here it is again.

• Another book that is an excellent resource is by Nancy Guthrie. Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus can be found HERE.

Laudable Links: 2nd Edition

RECIPES

• Kelly over at Kelly's Korner also has a recipes Web site that she updates whenever she's found a recipe that her family particularly loves.  I want to try her recipe for Taco Soup and Garlic Cheese Biscuits.

• This recipe for No Bake Cookies was a standard of ours in India because it's egg-free (for our vegetarian friends and neighbors).  I think Skip to My Lou has a good version of the recipe.

(photo from Skip to My Lou)

CRAFTINESS

• Tatertots and Jello has a great idea for a Thankful Fall Garland to adorn your home and remind you of all the things you are thankful for this year.

 

(photo from Tatertots and Jello)

• This post over at Tip Junkie has dozens of tutorials and patterns for tote bags. I love a good tote bag!
  

FLUFFINATION (this phrase was coined by my friend Wanda and means "the art of fluffing the home")

• Better Homes and Gardens has some great ideas on how to "warm up" your home for winter to make it all nice and cozy.  I'm planning to use some old sweaters that I no longer wear and make throw pillows.

(photo from BHG.com)

• The Crafting Chicks featured a dining room hutch makeover that I am going to do for my home to serve as a china cabinet.  I absolutely love it!

GOOD FOR THE SOUL

• As we are entering the season of Thanksgiving, please remember all that the Lord has done. 

Laudable Links- 1st Edition

I am going to try to do a "Laudable Links" post at least once a month.  We'll see how that goes!  This month is fall-themed!

RECIPES

• KraftRecipes.com has a great slow-cooker recipe for Three-Bean Turkey Chili that I made this week. It was super tasty! I put it in the crockpot during my lunch break, and it was ready to eat when I got home from work.

• Try this delicious recipe for pumpkin cookies from Design Mom.

(photo from Design Mom)

• Another recipe that I can't wait to try is Spicy Roasted Pumpkin and Sunflower Seeds from Joy the Baker.  I'm going to the pumpkin patch this weekend and plan to roast some seeds on Sunday!

CRAFTINESS

• This post from Tatertots and Jello has a great array of do-it-yourself ideas for fall and Halloween wreaths.

• I love this idea for fall tea towels from Uncommon.  It would be an easy applique project.  So cute!

(photo from Uncommon)

FLUFFINATION (this phrase was coined by my friend Wanda and means "the art of fluffing the home")

• Throughout the month of October, several bloggers are doing a "31 days" series.  I'm following along with all of them, but I wanted to feature the "31 days to Autumn Bliss" series at The Inspired Room.

• The Nester hosted a Fall Mantel Party recently.  And even though I don't have a mantel, I can dream, right?  Love this one by Domestic Princess in Training.

(photo by Domestic Princess in Training)

GOOD FOR THE SOUL

• Of First Importance recently posted this quote by J.C. Ryle about Christ's death.  Good one.

That's all! I hope you enjoyed the first edition of Laudable Links.  Have a great fall evening!

I love FALL!

Y'all, these last few days in South Georgia have been fabulous...I've been loving cool (cold!) temperatures, enjoying abundant sunshine, getting to wear closed-toe shoes and jackets for the first time in a year and a half and eating pumpkin bread.  Fall is my favorite season.  Here are a few reasons why.

1.  autumn decor.  I love the colors of fall and the exciting ways people use them to decorate their homes.  Some of my favorite autumn-inspired projects that I've seen in Blogland lately are  Make It and Love It's Autumn Wheat Basket and The Inspired Room's Gilded Pumpkins (pictured below...image from Country Living).  Better Homes & Gardens (BHG) always has a bunch of great ideas.  Click HERE for a few.

2.  clothes.  When it's time to start wearing longer sleeves, closed-toe shoes, boots and cute jackets, I get really excited!  Something about the fit of fall clothing is comfortable yet flattering.  Some of my favorite fashion sites include InStyle.com (this is their fall fashions link), The Faithful Fashionista and Sensibly Styled.  If you've never visited Shabby Apple, do so now!

  

Harness Boots by BeautifullyAdorned featuring Burberry

3. pumpkin-spiced goodies. Yummy pumpkin-spiced food screams "FALL!"  I love the pumpkin bread recipe that I posted a few weeks ago and have made it several times.  Some new things I want to try include Joy the Baker's Pumpkin Spice Pancakes (pictured below) and Design Mom's Pumpkin Cookies.  Also, my friend Andrea in South Asia has some tasty recipes at SouthAsiaRocks.

4.  soups.  It's the best time of the year for tasty soups, stews and chili.  I am almost always in the mood for a hot bowl of goodness at this time of the year.  Try Eliz's Hamburger Veggie Soup (pictured below) or Simply Recipes' Spicy Vegetarian Chili.  Find a host of other soup recipes at BHG.