Hello friends.  Can you believe next week is Christmas?  Are any of you ready with all of your gifts?  Well, I have a few last minute gift ideas that you might like.

I love giving mason jar gifts to my neighbors and friends in my various groups.  Mason jar gifts are fun and so easy to make.  All you need to make these gifts is a mason jar, ribbon, a tag, and chocolates or candy of your choice.


Below you will find the links to the blog posts I did on how to make last minute mason jar gifts.

Chocolates in a Mason Jar Gift

I made back in December of 2015 chocolates in a mason jar HERE and this was so easy to make.  Mason jar gifts make gift giving easy and are perfect for teachers, neighbors, and even the hostess at a holiday party.

I made some of these for the ladies in my crochet group last year and they all enjoyed this gift and the chocolates.  You could even make them look cute and use Christmas colored M&Ms inside the mason jar.  How about making homemade cookies and putting them in the mason jar?

Reindeer Droppings Mason Jar Gift

Last year I received this reindeer droppings mason jar gift from my teen's Christmas Fair held at her school.  I loved this gift idea and I enjoyed eating the raisinettes that were inside the decorated mason jar.  I thought this was such a cute idea and it really gave me a good laugh.

If you would like to make one of these reindeer dropping mason jar gifts, then you can click HERE.  If you don't want to use the raisinettes then you can use brown M&Ms.


Hope you all have fun and enjoy making these last minute mason jar gifts.


NOTE:  This will be my last post for December 2017.  I am taking a break to spend time with my family and friends.  Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I will be doing one last post on Monday December 25, 2017 to post the features from our Cooking and Crafting with J & J Link Up!  

Hello friends.  I know Christmas is almost here, but I wanted to share with you the crochet star and Christmas tree ornaments that I made a few years ago.  I really enjoyed making these and I even made some for a Christmas ornament exchange that I participated in a few years ago.

You will see below the white cotton star ornament that I made.

These crochet star ornaments are very simple to create and make a perfect last minute gift or you can even use for your own Christmas tree.

You could even use the stars on a present with a gift tag and that would look really pretty.

Crochet Christmas Star

For the pattern and details to make the crocheted star, you can click HERE.

These stars would look great made in different colors.  You could even crochet them for the summer holidays in patriotic colors.

I hope I've inspired you to create these cute stars.

Crochet Christmas Tree

I was so happy when I found the pattern to crochet these Christmas tree ornaments that I made a few years ago.  These are so easy to crochet and would look perfect on your Christmas tree.  To see the pattern and details to make the trees, you can click HERE.

I think a great idea for the trees is to make them into a banner and hang it on your mantel or somewhere in your house.

I hope you like this idea for last minute crafting and make these crocheted ornaments.



Thanks so much for stopping by and hope you all enjoy the rest of the week and weekend.

Don't forget to visit us at Cooking and Crafting with J & J Link Up.

Hello, friends and Happy December.  I can't believe it's the beginning of December already!  How did the year go by so fast?  LOL.  😯

Well, I really enjoy using the crockpot during these busy days during the holidays and the long winter months.  I love the way the kitchen smells when a roast is cooking in the crockpot.

I have this super easy and delicious Crock Pot Applesauce Pork Roast to share with you.




The easy part about this recipe is that you just add your vegetables to the bottom of the pot, and then add your roast on top of the vegetables.  The juices from the pork roast make its own gravy that cooks right in the crockpot.

I added carrots and celery to the pot, but you could even add in cut up potatoes and onions.

Hello friends.  I hope you are all having a nice week.  Did you all have a nice Thanksgiving?  I did and I'm really enjoying eating all of the leftover food.

Well, I love yarn, as most of you know, and at the end of the summer, my niece and I visited the store Purl Soho.

I did a blog post recently HERE on my trip to Purl Soho and just in case you missed that post you can read all about it.  If you are not familiar with the store then you can read about it HERE.

Purl Soho - New York City

I had a wonderful time shopping in the store and bought some really beautiful yarn, to knit a scarf.

Below is a photo of the yarn I bought.  It's called Alpaca Pure in the color Gray Fig.  I love this yarn because it's so soft and the color sort of reminds me of a fig.  It sometimes looks like a dark purple color or a shade of brown.

Alpaca Pure Yarn in the color Gray Fig

I have a little bit of the scarf started and I am knitting it in the seed stitch.  I love working on this scarf a little bit at a time, in the evenings while I'm watching tv.

I am not a fast knitter.  I know this will take me a while to complete, but at least I do not have to rush to finish it for any reason.

This knit scarf is the seed stitch and I am working on size 9 US or 5.5 mm needles.  I also cast on 21 stitches.




Julie

Twice Baked Potato Recipe

Twice Baked Potatoes are the perfect side dish to serve for Thanksgiving and for the holidays.  The potatoes taste so delicious and in my family we just love them.  To make the potatoes, you can click HERE.  I hope you'll try these twice baked potatoes, as it's a favorite recipe from my mom!

Sausage Stuffing Recipe

I've made this Sausage Stuffing so many times and it tastes so good.  This stuffing is so easy to make and just a basic sausage stuffing recipe.  If you would like to make this, just click HERE.
** If you do not like any sausage in your stuffing, then you can always leave it out.  I hope you enjoy and like this as much as we do.

Hello, friends and Happy November!

Now that the weather is cooler and the winter months are right around the corner, I love using the crockpot to make dinner.  I'd love to share with you this easy recipe to make Crock Pot Baked Ziti.

Have you ever had crockpot baked ziti?  Well, I made this crockpot dish after finding the recipe on Pinterest.

Guess what?  It tastes so good made this way, and you would never know that this isn't made in the oven.




The best part of this recipe is that you don't have to boil any pasta.  You just add all of your ingredients to the pot and let it cook for a few hours.



I made my sauce meatless, but you can always add in chopped beef to the sauce.

This dish tastes so delicious, that you would never know that it was made in a crockpot.  This crockpot baked ziti is the perfect weeknight meal and you can even make this for a holiday party.

You can serve your crockpot baked ziti with a tossed salad and homemade garlic bread.








Click HERE to see the great parties I will be linking up to!


Julie

5 Year Blog Anniversary at Julie's Creative Lifestyle

Thanks, everyone and enjoy!

Julie

Halloween Outside my House 2015

Thanks everyone and enjoy!

Julie

Hello friends.  I went to lunch at Jack's Wife Freda, in New York City, with my niece back in August.  I posted about this awesome restaurant recently.  If you missed that blog post, than you can read about my luncheon HERE.



We both decided after lunch to go yarn shopping at Purl Soho in New York City.  If you are not familiar with this store than you can read about it HERE.

My niece also loves yarn, and she likes to knit scarves, hats, and shawls.  We had so much fun visiting the store and when I asked if it was ok to take photos of a few things, they said yes!  Well, I took a lot of photos and I hope you enjoy looking at them.


The wall above and the window below were displayed with books, knitting kits, all kinds of colorful yarn, and fun creations.




On the opposite wall, there are large shelves, filled with so much fun and colorful yarn to choose from.

I spent a while looking at all of the yarn displayed on the shelves, and I happily decided to treat myself to some pretty yarn.  I bought three skeins of this yarn Alpaca Pure, in the color Gray Fig, to knit a scarf using the seed stitch.  The seed stitch is a nice stitch, but you have to be careful and pay attention as not to mix up the stitches.

I did not realize when I was paying for the yarn that I mistakenly picked up a skein of yarn that was $26, thinking that it was $19.  This will be a splurge present for myself when the scarf is finished.  I could of bought two skeins of yarn, but I am going to make either hand warmers or a cowl with my left over yarn.

I have not made a scarf for myself in a long time, because I almost always donate my creations to the church sale in November each year.




Below are some knitted hats on display.  Aren't they cute?  I love the beautiful stitching on the knitted grey and pale pink hats.




The store has some really neat books.  This one below is for arm knitting.  It sounds like a really interesting craft to try out.  I think this is great for people who don't know how to knit with knitting needles.

Arm Knitting Book

Weaving on looms seems to be all the rage right now.  Displayed below are small weaving looms.  There were so many shelves full of pretty fabrics to choose from for sewing projects.

Weaving Looms and Fabric

I thought the colorful string looked like fun to make bracelets.  The store has all kinds of different crafts to choose from.

They also have a huge wall to buy different knitting and crochet items, pom pom makers, embroidery, sewing, and weaving items.

Assorted colored string to make bracelets

Below are some pretty shaped pot holders that were on display.  I really love the colors of the cream and grey pot holders.

Rectangular Shaped Pot Holders

Don't these red and white round pot holders look awesome?  I am so inspired to make these round pot holders.  If you visit Purl's website HERE, than you can see all of their free patterns.  They have the pattern to make these potholders there.

More Pot Holders in a Round Shape

I have never made a shopping bag before, but I love the one below that they had on display.

I think those scarves made with the thick yarn would be fun to make too.  I love using thick yarn and large knitting needles to make cowls and scarves.

Thick scarves hanging and a bag full of yarn

Jack's Wife Freda - Soho Lafayette location

Hello friends.  I love visiting different parts of New York City.  I was recently there with my niece and we went to Soho.  I love going to Soho as there are so many designer boutiques, big chain stores, art galleries, high end restaurants, and nightlife.

What I like to do best, is to go have lunch, and then do some retail shopping.  😀

We went there at the end of August and we decided to have lunch at the restaurant Jack's Wife Freda.  This popular restaurant was recommended by my teen, who has been there with her friends for lunch.

The day we met for lunch, the weather was nice and warm, and I took this photo while waiting for my niece to arrive.  It's such a small and cute place to eat and they had some tables set outside.

If you do decide to visit this restaurant, it can get really busy, since it's so small inside.  You might have to wait outside, but we were lucky as there was no wait for a table.

Jack's Wife Freda

Below is a small map of the location to the restaurant Jack's Wife Freda, located on Lafayette Street, in Soho.  The streets are narrow, and some of them are even cobblestone streets, and the area has so many small shops and restaurants.






We both decided to sit inside to eat our lunch.  I took a quick photo of the menu.  The food is just so good and I love the breakfast and lunch menu.  The food is American-Mediterranean and they have a wonderful food selection to choose from.

The next time I visit I hope to sample the dinner menu.

Part of the lunch menu at Jack's Wife Freda - Soho

Shown below is a sample of the dinner menu at the Lafayette Street location.  The other location of the restaurant is on Carmine Street.





I really liked the breakfast (not shown on this menu) and lunch selection of food.  The decision was made, we both decide to eat breakfast since it was early afternoon.

Mediterranean Breakfast

I chose the mediterranean breakfast.  It consisted of two eggs over easy, a chopped salad, with avocado and pita bread.  I had fresh ice tea to drink that I really enjoyed.

My niece picked the breakfast bowl (sorry no photo of that) and that consisted of eggs, quinoa, kale, spaghetti squash, and avocado and a fresh watermelon drink.

Mediterranean Breakfast at Jack's Wife Freda - Soho

The restaurant even has a cookbook that you can buy and make some of their delicious recipes!






Have you been to the restaurant Jack's Wife Freda yet?  I'd love to know.

Jack's Wife Freda