pumpkin crisp

when i said that i loved this pumpkin cake, i wasn't joking.

but then when i was looking in my recipe book, i found the pumpkin crisp.

i only made this 2 times last year, and it was a new recipe so i forgot how yummy it was.

until now!

1, 15oz can of pumpkin mush

1 cup evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

1t vanilla extract

1/2t ground cinnamon

1 package of butter flavored yellow cake mix

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup melted butter

stir together the first 5 ingredients. pour into 9x13 greased pan. sprinkle cake mix over the top evenly. then sprinkle pecans. drizzle butter over the whole thing.

bake at 350 for 1 hour. remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

serve warm or at room temperature with cool whip or ice cream

i take after nana!

so my nana (below, on the boardwalk in atlantic city) took up painting in her late 50s. no real reason, she just thought it would be fun.

of course, i thought she was the most wonderful artist in the world.

for my high school graduation gift, i received this amazing painting.

on the right hand side, in about the middle of the painting you can see me (in blue) and my cousin cheryl (red) picking up seashells. this was suppose to be of our beach in brigantine.

i always put this painting up in the summer.

this painting nana made my brother patrick for his graduation.

see-she was an awesome artist!

(and an even better person.)

this weekend i was doing my fall/halloween decorating (it was interrupted for a few weeks due to strep) and while sorting thru all the boxes i wanted something new for the bathroom.

and i decided i wanted to paint it.

nana used to oil paint, but since i didn't have any i just used some acrylic paints. some of them were goopy so in some places it has that heavy, oil paint look.

i got these two little canvases from di (originally from target) for 50 cents each.

i primed them with a spray primer then sprayed them with krylon saddle tan.

i didn't really know HOW to paint pumpkins.

my only real experience painting was parkers wall.

so here is my end result! im pretty geeked about it!

on my bathroom wall!

and up close!

im pretty proud of my paint job! i might just have to take a class in oil painting!

nana would be so proud!

 

wow! take a look at me!

first, i should say that if you aren't following the new-ish site 'polly wanta crafter' then you are crackers.

that being said, guess who is featured!?!

ME!

and guess which craft?

no...not a balls one.

my halloween blocks!

so check out polly and look around-she has some great crafts!

homemade costumes from years past...

the famous jedi costumes. i used mccalls costume pattern 268. 

half the neighborhood ended up using this for their own jedi costumes.

different year same movie. simplicity pattern 4795.

hair by mary!

no pattern needed for han solo...just the thrift store for a vest and black pants. oh and a wig!

this one is from 1975. my dad made me and my little brother train engines.

i love the tin foil smoke!

this wasn't a halloween costume-my niece was having a farm themed party and i got dressed up!

it was the early-90s and those pants were suppose to be that high!

and this was my dad, about 1980.
i have no idea what he was dressed up as. he always put together his own costumes and surprised us each year.

he liked to scare kids.

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im a happy hippy homemaker!

my friend summer always find great deals on food.

one time she called to see if i needed any bananas because she got a butt-load for 20 cents a pound!

another days she asks if i want any tomatoes. her deal?  how does $1.00 for a case sound?

so when she came across some free peaches i jumped!

growing up, my family canned tomatoes for gravy. we also made jelly, and wine from grapes. a lot of wine. but-hey-that is was italians do! especially immigrant ones!

so how do i can peaches? that just wasn't something i was familiar with. so i used my best friend google and found out that you can freeze peaches!

i'm certain most of you knew that, but i learn something new each day!

i used the directions found on this website but here are some photos from my day of being the happy hippy homemaker!

millions of peaches, peaches for me

millions of peaches, peaches for free

a nice cold ice bath!

yes, someone needs to clean out her freezer!

scarey halloween costumes of years past!

this is chris and i from 2008. it was a shrek themed halloween party. im sleeping beauty and he is the wizard from shrek 3. (yes, there are shorts under the robe!)

here is me, jeffery, my brother patrick and dayna (she was my neighbor, jeffery is her cousin).

we were in pittsburgh at the time, hence the steelers jacket over the magicians costume.

and the snowcoats on under everything else!

chris as bill clinton halloween 1997. my sister in law borrowed the mask to wear and her now hubby dressed up in a blue dress (monica). very disturbing.

but one of the most disturbing...halloween 2007.

that is parker, mitch, kameron, sawyer and nate.

im CERTAIN that mitch would love to know that this photo still exists and will be brought back to haunt him.

ps-still struggling with strep here. im on my second medication and although i can swallow, im sleeping alot. sorry if i dont email you back!

the countdown begins!

no not for christmas (btw-only 85 days away).

for halloween!

time to start counting down!

again, always the copy catter, i got the idea here .

i made two sets-one for us and the other for my niece ella (she was 3 at the time).

some have spider rings and roaches.

some have candy.

all of mine have 2 prizes because i have the two kids and it isn't worth the fighting about who gets what.

last year when i took this photo i didn't know how to use my camera. so i apologize for the poor quality of the photo.

ps-all it cost was for the little boxes. hobby lobby was having a sale on cardboard boxes, so they were 50 cents each. and the scrapbook paper, magnets and embellishments i just had around.