Country Living

For many years now, Country Living has been my favorite magazine. But I am not alone. My mom would always check out the latest issue, there's almost always one on my coffee table. When she found something she liked, she'd take the page[s] and implement the ideas in her home. Her favorite, and mine, was the 'mirror wall' she created using several sizes of mirrors, all framed in black, for her yellow and black bath. 

My hubby, who is a terrific cook, has used several recipes from CL, including this one for Onion Pie.
 

 He's even commented on decorating ideas he likes. ;-/

The newest CL fan is Erica.

She was looking at the October issue, which has lots of Halloween ideas... including the cake/cupcakes I did a couple of weeks ago. 

As she started to fold down a page corner, I gave her some Post-it flags to mark whatever page she liked.

She continued to browse thru the magazine while her mom and I visited 

and 

        when 

                 she

                          had 

                                  finished...

 well, she's at least a fan of the Halloween issue.

A Good Day

Started the day by picking up Kayla for an all day visit.

Kayla and Boompa were 'twinkies' with black tees and red shorts.

After a wonderful Boompa breakfast - Lil Sizzlers, eggs and cinnamon rolls - and a trip to the store, we baked a cake and some cupcakes to decorate with a Halloween theme. Sonia, Alec, Damian and Willow arrived just in time to assist with the decorating.

The decoration was adapted from the fall issue of Country Living Magazine.


Left: cupcakes & chocolate filled chocolate crackers.
Right: Single layer cake.

"Cupcake Graveyard"

The cake and cupcakes were set aside while we had Chili Dogs with the usual accompaniment. Some days nothin beats chili dogs and today was one of those days.

To expend a little energy and maybe burn off a few calories ;-), we had a rousing game of Skip-Bo.

The 'Graveyard Cupcakes' were yummy and very rich. Sonia, et. al. headed out to retrieve Mike from work and Kayla left to prepare for her return to Denton. During the lull I took a minute to arrange this weeks floral bouquet.

The remainder of the Cook clan, who had just returned from their band trip, dropped by to finish up the chili dogs, have a couple of cupcakes, and relax with an adult beverage (or 2). By then it was time to make their way home to prepare for the next week.

Off and on during the day we enjoyed the sound of rain falling on the parched earth. A couple of inches of rain today, plus what fell last night, brings welcome moisture to our north Texas landscapes and lakes.

All in all, a good day.