All Rested Up and a MIl Update - Last Chance to Enter Giveaway

Whew-This past month really whipped me and Thanksgiving seemed to cap it all off.  I spent the last week doing a general house cleaning overhaul.  It seemed more like spring here than Thanksgiving, between the spring cleaning and the 70-80 degree weather.  Now the house feels good and fresh, but the projects continue.  Working with a non-existent budget makes things go at a much slower pace.  I do have several projects to reveal soon. And I will be posting a new giveaway this afternoon.  The Cheerios Cheer Project giveaway ends tonight so hurry to enter.  I love the cereal dispenser. 


Neil's Mom progress is much harder to judge.  One day we go in and she looks so much more alert and you just know things are turning around.  Then the next day, not so much.  I'm really concerned about her being so swollen and warm feeling.  She did run a low grade fever this weekend.  They are still hoping to ween her off the ventilator but haven't yet.  They continue to treat her for infection also.  Neil seems to be coping with things much better for now.  I hope God is giving him this time to prepare and adjust for the inevitable, whether it be now or a year from now.


The outpouring of love, support and prayers from all of you in blogland have been what kept me and continues to keep me strong.  God bless you all for being exactly who you are....the best friends ever!

Love....Tracy

P. S.  Just in case you haven't heard it enough, don't forget to enter my giveaways, just click the pictures below.  And be sure to watch for 2 great new giveaways for your home, starting later today.

Cheerios Spread the Cheer

  EatSmart Retro Scale

 

Savannah Granny's Having a Shabby Apple Giveaway

My sweet friend Ginger @ Savannah Granny is having a giveaway to make you even more glamorous during all your holiday partying.  One of her lucky followers is going to win this dress from Shabby Apple.  Just click here or the photo above to visit Ginger and enter her giveaway.  You'll not only have a chance to win a gorgeous dress, you'll get to know the sweetest person too.

Good Luck!

P.S.  My Cheerios giveaway ends tonight 11/28 at midnight.  Please enter if you haven't already.  The Eat Smart giveaway ends on Dec. 5th.  You don't want to miss these.  Just click the pictures below to visit each and enter.  And remember I'm listing giveaways that I find throughout the day.  This is just the latest.  Click that previous post button at the bottom of this one to keep going back and see what you might have missed.  I also have a few more of my own to list starting Friday.  I promise you don't want to miss them.

 EatSmart Retro Scale

Cheerios Spread the Cheer

I Love Using Natural Elements In My Home

We have such a short fall season here, it makes me really appreciate the warm brown tones in nature that we get.  We used to get to travel more and I would go crazy in North Georgia and the Great Smokey Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee in autumn.  All those beautiful colors and the crispness of the autumn air.  Aaahhhh ~ I just love it.  Here are a few of the Thanksgiving things I made the last couple of weeks.

I like to use what I have.  And this whitewashed reed bowl was perfect to hold all the pine cones.  I've had this beautiful candle for years and bring it out every fall through Christmas.  I love the embedded apples and greenery.  

This year I didn't get any cinnamon scented pine cones.  (I hate buying them knowing that they are on the side of the road and in yards everywhere here)  But I love the smell.  I found an easy tutorial here at Suzy's Sitcom to scent them yourself. 

I found the tutorial to make a pine cone garland thanks to Jessica @ Two Shades of Pink  and put my own spin on it and came up with this garland for my kitchen/dining room bar.

I love my Willow House hurricane lantern that I won from Heidi at Decor & More this year.

Another item from a thrift store that I've had for the longest time is this cute little turkey that's just right to hold walnuts and pecans.

And my table wouldn't be complete without a table runner.  So I made some patch work turkeys.  The plaid fabric is such a soft flannel feeling wool blend that I tea died.  I just cut some half circles and scalloped the edges in 3 different fabrics for the turkey feathers.  Then I sewed them on with a zigzag stitch.  Okay zigzag stitching the individual pieces for 7 turkeys was a little time consuming and tedious.  But hey, I'm totally happy with the end results.  Much cuter than my photos show.   I used brown flannel to cut out Mr. Turkeys body and head for a simple silhouette.  I made a wider burlap runner to go underneath.

Another simple and easy to make decoration are these adorable pumpkin candles.  Already having the twine and the glue.  I spent a total of  $2.  $1 for a package of balloons, which I have plenty left and $1 for the pkg of 2 flickering candles from Dollar Tree.  No chance of fire with these.  It's as easy as blowing up a balloon and wrapping it with jute twine.   I'll post the simple tutorial later.  I think I could make some really cute ornaments with this idea.

We had a late dinner this year.  Instead of the usual 2 o'clock meal we ate at 6:30.  I loved having it by candlelight.  I've had these metal twig candle holders for years and still love them.  I didn't have a tall candle for the big holder so a simple trick was to take 2 of my autumn leaf embedded candles and stack them on top of one another for the look of one large candle.

Well that's it for my Thanksgiving decor.  I hope you enjoy looking at it.  It's time to pack it away and think about Christmas now.  I love looking at everyone's Christmas decorations.  Being a crafter, sewer, etc...I love seeing these things months ahead of time.  If only I could start doing them in July and have some for Etsy early.  I think that is going to go on my calendar for next year.  Start Christmas crafts in July.


And for those of you who got your decorating done yesterday or even this weekend ~ Big, major kudos to you!!!  I on the other hand am still in the exhausted after Thanksgiving mode.


It was a really nice Thanksgiving.  I think it was all the projects that I took on before Thanksgiving that whooped me.  I'll be sharing more of those this week.  We had my cousin, Greg over.  I told you about him a week or so ago.  He was having heart problems but seems to be fine now.  It was great having him over.  The sweet guy, brought me a hostess gift and cooked greens (yum) and a green bean casserole himself.  He helped me in the kitchen and we laughed and had fun.  We all ate too much.  It's hard to cook Thanksgiving for 3 and not eat to much.  You just want to have a little of everything available.  We had so much fun that I completely forgot to take pictures.

Another reminder not to forget to enter my two giveaways.  Just click the pictures below to visit each and enter. 

 EatSmart Retro Scale

Cheerios Spread the Cheer

Have a fun weekend Ya'll!

Check out the fun party hops below that I've linked up to this week.

Giveaways Galore - Something For Every One

 I have a new giveaway that I just heard about today to share with you.  I know you're all busy with Thanksgiving preparations, if not on the road traveling (stay safe ya'll) but I hope you'll take a break every now and then and stop in to visit today.  Between all my projects I will be sharing giveaways that I find and know you'll love.  So grab a cup of tea, cocoa, coffee or coke and join me here today.  You know you need a break and I always love hearing from you.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.... An Debbie is in the spread the cheer Christmas giving spirit.  She's giving one of her readers a chance to win this cheery table runner from her Willow House shop.  I love Willow House and this wool table runner with hand stitched scrolling is no exception.  So stop by here and visit Debbie to enter.  Be sure to check out her new Willow House catalog while your there.




Don't forget to enter my two giveaways.  Just click the pictures below to visit each and enter.  

 EatSmart Retro Scale

Cheerios Spread the Cheer

Good Luck and most of all, Happy Thanksgiving Ya'll.

Eat Smart Review and Giveaway

I'm so excited to share with you one of the coolest products in my holiday gift guide.  This is my new scale from EatSmart Products.  I just love the cool factor of this EatSmart Retro Scale!  I've been wanting a scale for my kitchen for some time but really wasn't wanting to crowd up the counter top with some functioning but unattractive product.  I mean after all, I have just spent a lot of time trying to pretty up my kitchen.  

Well Eatsmart offered me the perfect solution.  Not only is this a precision scale to meet my needs in the kitchen but look at all that way cool style!  It's so cute it wouldn't even need to function is packing decor sass.  Oh' but it does function.  Do you see all that fruit.  It's not only weighing it but it serves as a bowl.  No counter space wasted there.

I love the big, easy to read dial on my EatSmart Retro Scale too.  Isn't it cute!

I've already loaded it down with tangerines, lemons and nuts.

Just click on this Amazon link to read more about the size and features as well as other models.  EatSmart is donating 100% of the proceeds in November to the American Diabetes Foundation and December to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Each month they will be choosing a different foundation.  I really like to purchase products from companies that giveback.  I think it's the responsible thing to do and I want my spending power to show companies that I appreciate that kind of civic responsibility by choosing to buy from them.

With all the cooking going on in our kitchens this time of  year, I bet you could use one too.  Well EatSmart wants to help one of  you out by generously giving my readers a chance to win one.  That means it could be YOU!

Here's how you can enter:

You must be a Cotton Pickin Cute follower and leave a comment telling me that you are a follower.

How about some extra entries?  Just be sure to leave a separate comment for each one, telling me what you did.  If it says 2 entries, please leave 2 comments.

• {2extra entries} Post a link back to this giveaway on your blog.
• Follow EatSmart Products on Facebook.
• Follow EatSmart Products on Twitter. 
• Sign up for EatSmart Products monthly newsletter.
• {1 extra entry per tweet per day} Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter with @cottonpickincute. (see button at the bottom of this post)
• Follow Tracysuz (that's me) on Twitter (see button at the bottom of this post)
• Like or Friend Tracy Suzanne (that's me again) on facebook (see button at the bottom of this post)
• {1 extra entry per post per day}Share this giveaway on your facebook page.

Be sure to leave your email address so that I can contact you if you win.  Please don't forget to leave a comment for each entry.

Giveaway ends on Dec 5th, at 11:59pm EST.

Good Luck! 

Disclosure: This giveaway is sponsored by EatSmart Products, no monetary compensation was given and I received the Eat Smart Retro Kitchen Scale to review.  All opinions are my own.

Be sure and check out my previous post.  I  have several giveaways right now.