Practical Magic

A hundred years ago, in a moment of heartbreak, a woman placed a curse on any man who dared to love an Owen's woman. That curse held strong and true for all that heartbroken woman's ancestors, right down to the latest set of Owen's sisters to live in the big house on the bluffs.

Practical Magic is another one of my favorite Halloween-time movie's, as well as a favorite of Brittany and Shilo's also. Full of magic, murder, mystery and romance, it is the perfect chick flick. Just listen to the song on this video...isn't that beautiful. The music in this one is great, all the way from "You Put the Lime in the Coconut", (which we have been known to sing at the top of our lungs while dancing around the kitchen), to Willie Nelson crooning "You Were Always on my Mind". The bad boy, Jimmy, is handsome and frightening,(When I want to creep my girls out, I turn to them and say, "I'm feeling very into sister's right now" in my best Romanian bad-boy Jimmy accent), the good guy is just the right blend of rugged and sweet. The magic is wonderful and fun, sometimes a little scary.

If you've never watched Practical Magic, and you like magic and chick flicks, run and get it. You won't be disappointed.

Child Of Glass

Sleeping lies the murdered lass;
Vainly cries the Child of Glass.
When the two shall be as one,
the spirits journey will be done.

This poem riddle from the 1977 Disney movie Child of Glass has remained in my noggin all these years. I loved tales about ghosts when I was a kid and this old Disney movie was one of my favorites. I have often tried to find a copy of this movie over the years but without much luck. It was released on video sometime in the 80's but not yet ever released on DVD. When I have located a copy on ebay, the bidding has gone up to an incredible amount so I've always dropped out pretty early on. Anyway, Child of Glass is one of those movies that I would have to watch every October if I had it in my possession.

It is the story of Alexander, whose family moves to an old mansion that, surprise surprise, turns out to be haunted by a little ghost girl named Inez. Inez' spirit is stuck in this world until the riddle is solved, releasing her to move on and once again reunite with her family. This is a great old movie, full of wonderful ghostly special effects.

Do you enjoy ghostly movies this time of year? What are some of your favorites? I don't do super scary, mostly the fun magical ones. Stay tuned this week for more of my favorites.

Three Little Pumpkins

Three little pumpkins sitting on a gate -
The first one said, "Oh my it's getting late."
The second one said, "I'm ready for some fun."
The third one said, "Lets run and run and run!"
AHH-WHOOOOOoooooo went the wind
And OUT went the lights
And the three little pumpkins rolled out of sight
(I'm not sure who the author is, but this is a fun little song that my kids liked to sing when they were little.)


These fantabulous goodies came from my swap partner, Tammy. We participated in Heidi's Homemade Halloween Swap and I was so lucky to receive Tammy as a partner. The homemade candy corn scented candle and lotion are incredible. Mmmm....better than the real thing for sure and I don't get sugar stuck in my teeth! Head on over to Tammy's blog to take a peek at the beautiful quilts that she makes. Wonderful!

Tammy got a sweet wool felt pillow from me, and my rocking chair is sporting a new one as well. I love working with wool, so easy and forgiving.

A few of my fall time pictures made a set of perfect autumn note cards. It was really fun smearing ink onto the paper cards, cutting the photo's into fun shapes and then sewing the pictures to the cards using my machine. I did some decorative stitches around the edges and love how they turned out. Too fun!
Have you gotten some spooky craftiness done this year?

Fabulous Fall Foods - Recipe 3

A wonderful fall chili is what's for dinner for this weeks Fabulous Fall Foods. This recipe came from last years October/November issue of Taste of Home. I do have to admit that the last time that I made this chili, it was better than this time. Don't know what I did differently but it was still good.
This recipe is for a slow cooker, so it's perfect to throw together in the morning and have a great dinner waiting for you when you get home. Makes the house smell delicious as well.

Black Bean 'n Pumpkin Chili

1 onion, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chicken broth
2 15-oz. cans black beans
2-1/2 cups cubed cooked turkey
1 15-oz. can pumpkin
1 14-1/2-oz. can diced tomatoes (un-drained)
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoons chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1-1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large skillet, saute the onion, yellow pepper and garlic in oil until tender. Transfer to a 5 quart slow cooker; Stir in the remaining ingredients.
Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or until heated through.

Serves 10

~Enjoy!

I serve with shredded cheese and homemade bread or cornbread, generally. Delicious~

Hmmm.....

Free Delivery ~ great! But then, in small print, For Dine In Only. Now how does that work? I don't need to tip my waitress? Or will I need to go back to the kitchen and get my pizza pie myself? Things that make you say hmmmmm.....

October is my all time favorite month, but it is also inventory month at work and since I am the inventory queen, October is just a blur for me anymore. I've been out of town, inventorying some of our other stores up and down the coast. Now I'm back but working long long hours doing pre-counts and getting our humongous store and warehouse ready for the big count next weekend. Cannot wait until it's over!!! So sorry I haven't been out there visiting my favorite blogs, but in about a week and a half I should be able to breathe again.

In the meantime, please pop over to Craft Hope for details on Project 5. Quilts for homeless children in the Minneapolis area. If you can, what a blessing to help keep one more child a little warmer on a cold Minnesota night. Hurts my heart to think of those poor little one's out there on the street. I will be making a simple quilt to send for sure.

I promise to be back soon with more Fabulous Fall Recipes and a few pictures from our trip to Leavenworth, Washington ~ a Bavarian village in the Cascade Mountains of Washington. Magical indeed. (My header photo is from there)