Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a busy and fun day in the kitchen. We made as much Thanksgiving dinner ahead of time as possible:
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Cranberry Sauce
Deviled Eggs
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie
Pecan Pie


I think we ran the dishwasher 4 times!




My constant companion.


We dusted the china.


And set the table.




My feet hurt, so I'm off to bed. Good night!

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; His love endures forever.
Psalm 107:1

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours.

Dessert Party

Thank you for your well wishes for Daisy. She is feeling much better! This past Friday, we hosted a Thanksgiving dessert party at our house.


We visited, sang songs and of course, ate lots of sweet treats!


Gingerbread with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting. I used my Gingerbread Cupcake recipe.


M&M cookies.


Chocolate Caramel Candy that my sister, Amy introduced me to. These squares taste just like snicker bars, only better. I have an extra pan in the freezer for Christmas presents. If they last that long. ;0)


I also picked up brownie bites and a cheesecake at Costco.




My mother-in-law has been staying with us for a few weeks and helped me set everything up. We also served coffee, apple cider and hot chocolate with marshmallows.


Thank you for stopping by for a visit. I'm sure many of us are busy with Thanksgiving plans this week. I need to finalize my menu and brave the grocery store!

Weekend Chit~Chat

Good afternoon! The weather has finally turned cold and we have pulled out our slippers and quilts.


Poor Daisy has infections in both ears and a UTI, so she is enjoying some extra snuggle time, too.

I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who participated in our ~Giving Thanks~ week. Thank you for opening your homes to us here in blog land, and for sharing such wonderful Thanksgiving blessings.

I used random.org for the giveaway and Gapgirl from If Only Everyone Thought This Way is the lucky winner. Congratulations! Please email your address and I'll get your prizes in the mail.

We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, and I am especially thankful for all of you and your friendship. Thank you again, for joining in and I'm looking forward to another ~Giving Thanks~ celebration next year!

Please note: Paper Crafting Thursday and Show and Tell Friday will take a one week break due to Thanksgiving.

Transferware Tea Cups ~ Show and Tell Friday!

Welcome to “Show and Tell Friday!” Do you have something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, or a treasured collection. Look around your home for something to share; dig through those boxes in your closet if you have to! Share photos and the story that goes with your special item.


I was dropping off a few packages at the post office this week, and somehow found myself at a favorite gift shop near our historic downtown, afterwards. ;0)


I picked out a few sticker sheets and was checking out when I noticed some beautiful transferware tea cups.


I thought they were perfect for Thanksgiving and brought two of them home with me.






So many pretty details!




We've been enjoying lots of gingerbread spice tea. Thank you for looking at my show and tell!


Please read the Show and Tell Guidelines for step-by-step instructions on how to participate.

If you would like to join in, please leave your *permalink* below, along with your first name only (this makes the list easier to read). If your link has been removed from Mr. Linky, please re-read over the guidelines before re-posting. Have fun!



Links are now closed. Please join us next week!

Homemade Christmas Cards ~ Paper Crafting Thursday!

The winners of last week's paper crafting are Tammy and Dana. Please email me your addresses and I'll get your prizes in the mail!


I am sharing the instructions for a Christmas ornament card this week.


You will need a 5 1/2" x 4" notecard.


Cover front of card with a 5 1/4" x 3 3/4" rectangle of scrapbook paper.


Cut out an approx. 2 1/8" circle from cardstock and a slightly smaller circle from a lighter cardstock or scrapbook paper.


Dab the edges with an ink pad, if desired and glue to larger circle.


Add a sticker or stamp.


Glue to front of card, as shown.


Attach a length of ribbon from the top middle of card, down to the top of the ornament with glue. I used hot glue.


Tie a bow with another length of ribbon and glue to top of ornament.


Send to a friend!


Another version.

Here are a few other things I made recently...


Gift card holder


Reindeer tags


Baby dress card

Items can be found in my Etsy Shop.

Thank you for taking a look!

Paper Craft Fun: Post any kind of paper craft (card, bookmark, tag, banner, journal, etc.) on your blog between now and next week and come sign Mr. Linky. Next Thursday, I will draw two of the names and the winners will receive supplies for a homemade card: blank notecard, envelope, and an assortment of scrapbook paper, stickers (or stamped images), and ribbon. Link back here in your post, so that others will know where to join in the fun, too!

Thank you for stopping by!


Links are now closed. Please join us next week!

Giving Thanks ~ Thursday

Welcome to the last day of our "Giving Thanks" celebration! We have taken this week to prepare our hearts and homes for this wonderful time of year. I am thankful that so many of you have joined in and shared such special things. My Thanksgiving project, daily cleaning challenge and poem, are located directly below this post, along with Paper Crafting Thursday.

I would love for you to join in the fun! Mr. Linky is available for you to sign and here are some things you could share on your blog:

-What you are thankful for
-Thanksgiving traditions or memories
-Recipes
-Craft Ideas
-Decorating ideas
-Your menu
-Cleaning/Organizing "before" and "after" pictures
-Anything having to do with Thanksgiving!

Everyone who participates and signs Mr. Linky will be entered into a drawing at the end of the week! Go HERE to see the prizes. Each day you participate, your name will be entered into the giveaway drawing. If you participate two days, your name will be entered twice, join us all four days for four entries, etc.

Please read the participating instructions carefully:

1. Write a Thanksgiving post on your blog. Link back to There is No Place Like Home so that others know where to join in. You may use the "Giving Thanks" button located at the top of this post. Go HERE for the picture code.

2. When signing Mr. Linky, link directly to your "Giving Thanks" post and not your homepage URL. People will be looking through these links all week long. If you link to your main page, it will be harder to find your post. Go HERE for instructions on how to do this.

3. In order to make the Mr. Linky list easier to read, please type your first name only and a 1-2 word description. Example: Kelli-Recipe.

We are looking forward to what you have to share!

Maple Cream Cheese Cakelets ~ Giving Thanks

Aren't these little acorn cakes sweet? Many of you know how much I love acorns, so when I saw this Williams Sonoma pan, I couldn't resist it.


It was ridiculously expensive, especially for someone who is used to finding muffin tins at the thrift store, but we've been using it often and have each cakelet down to 20 cents
each. ;0)




Last week I made some buttery brown sugar cakelets filled with maple cream cheese and topped with crunchy turbinado sugar.


The good news is, they can be made with mini muffin pans and are just as yummy!



~Maple Cream Cheese Cakelets~
Makes 24 mini muffins

For the cakelets:
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup milk
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
8 tbs. (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten

For the glaze:
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbs. water

For the frosting:
2 tbs. butter, softened
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 tbs. maple syrup
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Raw (turbinado) sugar for decorating

1. Preheat oven to 350F. To make the cakelets, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 30 seconds.

3. Add the brown sugar and white sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk mixture and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat each addition just until incorporated, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

6. Spoon batter into 24 greased mini muffin pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakelets comes out clean, about 10 minutes.

7. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then removed to wire rack.

8. Meanwhile make the glaze: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, maple syrup and water. Cook until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

9. Set the rack with the cakelets over a sheet of waxed paper. Using a pastry brush, brush the warm cakelets with the glaze. Let cool completely.

10. To make the frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the butter and cream cheese on high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, add the maple syrup and confectioners' sugar and beat until combined, 2 to 3 minutes, stopping the beater occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

11. Frost cakelets and sprinkle with tubinado sugar.


Let me know if you try them!

More Thanksgiving Recipes:
Pumpkin Roll
Refrigerator Dinner Rolls