I really wanted to make my own Christmas wreath this year for my back door.  I was so happy and thrilled to visit the dollar store back in November for all of my supplies.  I LOVE the Dollar Tree store!

I also used some items I already had in my stash such as the ribbon and garland.  I bought the red and white ribbon (that was already curled) in a local card store and the garland in a local dollar store.

This wreath was so much fun to make and it took me less than a half hour to make.

• 5 Christmas Ornaments
• 1 Bow
• Garland - I had this in my stash
• Red and White Ribbon - I had ribbon in my stash (The ribbon was already curled) 
• Glue Gun
• Small Wreath
• Small Door Hanger

I laid out all of my supplies on newspaper.

I took the pine cone and holly off of the red bow as in the photo above in the lower right hand corner.  I used instead the red and white ribbon.  The red and white ribbon came already curled, so I didn't need to curl the ribbon.  I used the twist tie on back of bow and tied it to the wreath.

Next I decided where I wanted my ornaments to be placed on the wreath.



I next heated up the glue gun.  Once the glue was hot, I hot glued the garland, ornaments, and bow onto the wreath.

Dollar Store Christmas Wreath

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope I've inspired you to do some crafting and make your own Dollar Store Christmas Wreath!

Enjoy the rest of the week and have a nice weekend.



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


Julie

Hello blog friends.  I thought it would be fun to participate and answer these twelve questions with a holiday theme at The Blended Blog Link Up for December.

You can join in the fun and answer the questions if you like in the comments section!

Christmas decorations with candy canes.

Real Christmas Tree 2017

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

I love making new handmade crochet ornaments each year for our Christmas Tree.  I decided this year that I wanted to make an angel.

I've been crocheting these angels since October for our tree and as little gifts for family and friends.

I really love all sorts of angels.  I have a lot of different angle ornaments and decorations.  I thought that crocheted angels would look cute on the Christmas tree. 



I was searching around on the internet for an easy angel pattern.   I was so happy when I found this pattern and they had them made into a garland.  I thought that angel ornaments would work out just perfect.   This pattern was not too difficult for me to make the crocheted angel.




DETAILS TO MAKE CROCHET ANGEL ORNAMENT:

Yarn:  You can choose any color and use any type of yarn for this project.  I chose yarn that I already had in my stash.  It didn't have any label on it.  The yarn I used was white and silver mixed together.  I think that the sparkle mixed in the yarn looks nice for this project.

Pattern:  The pattern is from Interweave and can be found here.

Crochet Hook: US size I hook.

Hello blog friends.

I hope you're all enjoying this week and staying warm.  It's is so cold and windy here and I've been staying inside.  I am still battling a terrible sinus infection, so I've been doing some Christmas decorating around the house this week.  (WARNING THIS BLOG POST IS LONG)!

I like to make lists of all the things I need to do for the holidays.

I like to make lists of people I will need to make or buy presents for.  I do half present shopping online and half in the store.  When I have a present I cross it off the list and then I try to wrap the present right away.  This will happen sometime next week for me.

I usually save my Christmas card list from year to year.  I like to see if I will be adding or taking off people on my list.  You can also buy your holiday stamps at the post office or online.

You should decide if you are making photo holiday cards, buying your cards, or even making your own handmade cards.  There are sales specials now on photo holiday cards to take advantage of.

If you are sending out any packages to family or friends you should get your packages ready to send out early.  I like to do this early as this time of year the post office is super busy with long lines.

You should figure out menus and if you will be entertaining any parties or get togethers with family and friends.

Start thinking about outfits you will be wearing and if you need to go shopping for any clothes.  This applies to the children also.

I like to have extra food around just in case I have anyone drop by unexpected for coffee.  You can make extra food and then freeze it.  When you are in a rush and don't have time to cook you can plan ahead of time and take food out of the freezer and just defrost it to have for dinner.

I love to make quick and easy meals for weeknights and weekends.  I love using the Instant Pot for a really quick meal and the Crock Pot for weeknight meals.  You can click here to see some of my easy recipes for weeknight dinners and the holidays.

Now is a great time that you can start your holiday baking of cookies, candy, and any other holiday treats.

You should figure out if you will be buying a real tree or a fake tree.  If you are putting up a fake tree, you can get it up early and decorate the tree.  Decide if you need to buy any new ornaments, lights, or decorations.  This is a great time to sort through your holiday decorations and decide if you are keeping them or if the ones you don't need you can donate to charity.  (Some of you might have your tree up and decorated already, so please ignore this one).

I like organizing my decorations and I usually decorate the inside of my house right after Thanksgiving.  I am in the process of doing this right now!  This also applies for decorating the outside of the house too.  Last year I organized and went through my Christmas decorations.  I donated a lot of them to our church.

The bottom line is just try to stay organized and try to have family members help you out.  One of the ways I like to do this is by having my college girl invite some of her friends over to decorate the Christmas tree and do some holiday baking.  It's always fun when you have everyone involved and helping out.







Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you all enjoy the rest of the week and weekend.  :)


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


Julie

It's a day to all be grateful.

Last year I made corn pudding casserole for the first time and it tasted so good.  I never made this casserole before and I was happy to find the recipe on the blog Kitty's Kozy Kitchen.  This casserole makes the perfect side dish.  I was only able to get this shot of the casserole because it tasted so good.  To see the recipe just click here.

Enjoy the rest of the week and weekend.  :)

Hello blog friends.  I seem to have made a mistake and tried to edit this blog post from many years ago (back in 2013) and it posted again with the comments.  Has this ever happened to any of you? 

Well, I guess I am posting this again.  Perhaps some of you would like to make this fast and cute Crochet Christmas Ornament using any leftover scrap yarn that you might have.
 
Christmas is right around the corner and how would you like to make your own Christmas Ornament?

I've made and designed a really easy pattern for a Crochet Christmas Ornament that can be made in one one sitting.

This is a great way to use up any scrap yarn that you may have left over from another project. 

Below are the details to make your own crochet ornament






For this pattern I used kitchen cotton, but you could also use acrylic yarn if you don't have any cotton yarn available.
Thanks everyone and enjoy.

Julie

I can't believe it's been six years that I have been blogging!  I'm really amazed at how fast the time has gone by.

Blogging has become now a daily part of my everyday routine.

I enjoy visiting your blogs each week to catch up and see what is going on with all of you.  I love the blog friendships I have made through this amazing blogging community.

I am so inspired by all of your talents and helpful hints.   I love seeing all of your recipes, crafts, fashion, and beautiful homes.  I was so happy when I even had the opportunity of meeting a few of you in person.

Some days I hate blogging due to some of the changes with blogger and some days I just want to quit it all together.

I just seem to keep on blogging each week as I'm enjoying it right now and I will continue to blog.  :)

I've noticed that some bloggers have stopped blogging altogether or they have moved over to Instagram instead.  I like Instagram and I enjoy how easy it is to post and share photos.  If you would like to follow me on Instagram I am at @brklynhousewife and I'd love to connect with you there.

Thanks for your support and the blogging friendships I've made with all of you!  You are the best!

I love visiting Trader Joe's and on a recent trip there I picked up a box of TJ's Banana Bread Mix.

I was in the mood for something fun and easy to bake.  Making the banana bread mix into muffins was the perfect idea!

I used the muffin recipe right off the box and I used creamed butter instead of vegetable oil as in the picture below.  I added in two ripe bananas and they were the perfect add-in.


Some add-in ideas:

Ripe banana, coconut, berries, walnuts, or peanut butter frosting.

NOTE:  These muffins can also be put in the freezer for another time to eat.  When I want a quick snack I just take out one muffin and put in the micro wave oven for about 20 to 30 seconds.  These muffins tastes so good nice and warm.

What you'll need

Trader Joe's Banana Bread Mix Muffins



Ingredients

Trader Joe's Banana Bread Mix
2 large eggs
1/3 cup creamed butter
3/4 cup water
2 ripe bananas, mashed


Directions

Preheat conventional oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease muffin tins with butter.  Place mix in a large mixing bowl.  Add eggs, water, mashed banana, and mix together until blended.  Fold in creamed butter.  Do not overmix.  Pour batter into tins and bake until golden brown; 20 - 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

SO GOOD AND YUMMY!

To see another banana bread recipe I made you can click here.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the week and weekend!



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


Julie

Hello friends.  I hope you are all having a nice week and enjoying the fall weather.  :)

I recently crocheted a baby sweater I made and shared with you last week.  If you missed that post and want read about it, than you can click HERE.

I decide to make a matching crocheted baby beanie since I had more left over yarn.

Crochet Granny Square Baby Beanie

This pattern is easy to follow and it can be found here.  Some of the stitches in this beanie pattern remind me of a granny square.  I thought that the hat and sweater would make a nice set and look cute together.

I will be donating this crochet baby set to our annual crochet/knit sale held next month at my church.

You can see below what the baby beanie and baby sweater look like together.  You can get creative and use any baby yarn and colored yarn you like for this project.

Crochet Baby Beanie and Crochet Baby Sweater

DETAILS:

The pattern to make this crochet baby beanie can be found here.

The yarn I used for this beanie is Red Heart baby yarn.  You can use whatever baby yarn or colors you like for this project.

I also used a size US I crochet hook.


I enjoyed making this crochet baby beanie and I'm happy that it matches with the baby sweater.  I hope I've inspired you to crochet this baby beanie or even crochet the whole set!


Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the week and weekend.

Hello friends.  Happy Friday!

My Friday Favorites are.....


1)  My Fairy Blog Mother


I am so happy I had a mini blog makeover!

If you've visited my blog recently, you might have noticed that last week, I had a few changes done to my blog look.

I had a new Header, Pinterest Pin It button, Share It buttons, Read More button added, and some yellow accents to the side bar.  I love the way it looks now with the accent color yellow added.

It's been about two years since I last had any changes done to my blog.  I really wanted an update but nothing too major to be done.  I just wanted a few tweaks to improve the look and function of my blog.

I had my blog friend Linda from Life and Linda do a few blog design changes to my blog.

Linda is a very talented blog designer at My Fairy Blog Mother.  Linda designs many Blogger websites and it was such a pleasure to work with Linda.  She works with you and is professional and works in a timely fashion.

If you are in need of a blog makeover or you want a new blog, please visit Linda, you will be happy you did!

If you read this Linda, thanks so much for the mini blog makeover.  I love it!

2)  The Movie - A Star is Born




Last weekend my husband and I went to the movies and we saw A Star Is Born starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.  Wow, let me tell you this movie was so good and I loved it!  Bradley Cooper directed the movie and he stars in it and both he and Lady Gaga's performances were amazing.

The movie is about a musician who helps a young actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.

If you have the chance don't miss this movie.


3)  My New Longchamp Bag

Longchamp Le Pliage Collection Tote Bag

I recently went shopping at the Longchamp Store.   I bought the Le Pliage Collection Tote Bag - Small - in the color Gun Metal.

These bags are all the rage right now and can be seen on so many people of all ages.  When my teen bought this bag in the Large size, in the color Navy, to use for college, and I saw how nice it was, I knew I wanted one too!

I love this bag because I can fit so much into it and it's perfect for everyday use.

These bags can be folded up into a small envelope and are great for traveling since they can fit into a travel carry on bag or suitcase.


4)  My New Fall Mums 

Last week I visited a stand in my neighborhood that had mums in many different colors.  I planted
these colorful mums and arranged them on my stoop.




 I even added the cute Harvest decoration from The Dollar Tree Store.  You all might recognize the decoration I bought from my Dollar Tree Haul.  I love the way the mums look and it brightens everything