Winner of Vinyl Banner Giveaway

Each week I'm so excited to announce new giveaway winners. Today I'm pleased to announce that Jubilee from the blog Notes of Jubilee is the winner of our Vinyl Banner Giveaway from Uprinting. Congratulations Jubilee! Thanks to everyone for entering, and a special thanks to our wonderful sponsors at Uprinting! You guys are great!

-Jerri

Sweet Thursday: Halloween/Fall Edition

I hope everyone has a great Halloween this weekend! If anyone out there is still looking for a sweet treat to make for the holiday, or if you're already making your Thanksgiving plans, here are some yummy creations to choose from.

Join The Round-Up: If you have fall/Halloween dessert that you'd like to have included this round-up, just leave your link in the comments section, and I'll add you.

November Round-Up: The next round-up will be on November 19. The theme will be Family Favorites. So anything goes!

Pumpkin Cake from Maltese Cakes & More

Great Pumpkin Cookies from Joy in my Kitchen

Jack-o-lantern Cake from Joy in my Kitchen

Apple Pie Muffins from Chaya's Comfy Cook Blog

Apple Tart from Chaya's Comfy Cook Blog

Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Filling from Sweet and Savory Says it All

Pumpkin Streussel Bars from Sweet and Savory Says it All

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Filling from Nina's Recipes

Candy Corn Cookies from Nine More Months

Easy Crumb Cake from Secrets of a Southern Kitchen

Ginger Bars with Chocolate Chips from Millie's Place

Witch Cupcakes from Simply Sweet Home

No Bake Caramel Cookies from Simply Sweet Home

-Jerri

Featured On Skin MD and Giveaway Reminder

I just got word that my blog is now listed as a featured blog on Skin MD. Yay! Go check it out.

Also, don't forget to enter the lotion giveaway from Skin MD through next week! Thanks again to Skin MD for the feature and for the great product sample and giveaway!

Also, tomorrow is the last day to enter our apron giveaway from Happy Find and our vinyl banner giveaway from Uprinting. So get your entries in!

-Jerri

Witch Cupcakes

(Photo credit Parents.)

This week I wanted to share something fun for Halloween. My stepmom Donna first saw these witch cupcakes in a magazine, and she's planning to make them for a big Halloween party and hayride that her son and his wife hold each year for the kids.

By the way, Sweet Thursday is coming up this week. If you have a sweet Halloween treat or a fall dessert to share with us, send it my way!

Recipe for Witch Cupcakes

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups chocolate frosting
1 package (4-3/4 ounces chocolate cones (Nabisco Oreo Cones)
Orange nonpareils
1 can (16 ounces) vanilla frosting, divided
Neon-green food coloring
12 cupcakes, removed from paper liners
Chocolate chips
Green and red tube icing
Mike and Ike Tangy Twister candies
Chocolate Jimmies

Directions
1. Place chocolate frosting in a freezer-weight zip-top bag and snip off a small corner. Pipe base of cones, dip in orange nonpareils, and set aside.
2. Place 1/2 cup vanilla frosting in a another zip-top bag and snip off a small corner. Tint remaining frosting green and frost cupcakes.
3. Turn cupcakes on sides, then place decorated cones on top. Using vanilla frosting, pipe eyes on cupcakes. Attach chocolate chips for pupils and pipe a dot onto chips. Use red icing for mouths, green icing for warts; shape candies into noses. Pipe chocolate icing onto cupcakes for hair and sprinkle with chocolate jimmies.

-Jerri

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I'm posting a link to this post on the following sites:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by Blessed With Grace.
Homemaker Mondays is hosted by 11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.
Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.
Ultimate Recipe is Swap is hosted by Life as Mom.
Friday Feasts is hosted by Momtrends.
Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family
Hooked on Fridays is hosted by Hooked on Houses

"Call Me!"

Hello everyone. Today I'm seeking the advice of my fellow bloggers. I'm in the market for a new cell phone. Well, actually I just bought a cell phone through Sprint. I got the LG Rumor 2. And guess what? The features and the style of the phone are great, but I can't use it in my own house!

We've had the phones for just a few days, and we've already had a ton of dropped calls and missed calls and bad reception. It's completely ridiculous, and I looked on the Sprint website and found out that our good is in an area that gets "good coverage." Um....Okay! Well, I suppose we should be in an area that gets good coverage. Our neighborhood is behind a Target Shopping Center and we're only a block over from a medical center and other businesses. And of course as soon as you leave the house, we get great reception....of course!

Oddly enough, the other day my phone and my husband's phone were sitting right by each other. Mine had five bars and his had one! How can that be? And we both got the same phone!

We actually don't have a house phone, because we have no need for it, so we must have dependable cell phones for personal use and especially for business use. So we've decided we are going to cancel the contract that we just got, even if we have to pay a penalty, and we're going to go with another company.

I know that they have "signal boosters." But we've decided against that. It costs $100 for the equipment, and then you have to pay $20-$25 a month extra to use the signal booster. The bill is already $200. I don't think we should have to pay an extra $20 to $25 a month just to use the phone in our own house!

So I'm currently researching phones. And I'm just wondering if anyone has any recommendations. I want something with a QUERTY keyboard that's separate from the number pad. (No blackberrys for me...no offense to anyone that has them. They're just not for me.) Currently I'm looking at the the Krave ZN4. I like it's features a lot. I just wish I knew somebody that had one! I've read some reviews which were mostly good, and I've seen some videos on youtube. But you can never be 100% on these things.

So if anyone out there has used the Krave, do drop me a line and let me know how you like it. I'm also curious about the Motorola Rival A455. (It looks kind of neat, but I read that it drops calls too....on the other hand, I also read about how great the Rumor 2 was...so....not sure how much you can count on these reviews. )

So everybody out there, write in and tell me what kind of phone you have and how you like it, especially if you have a Verizon phone, because that's the service we're going with. Thanks!

-Jerri

More Winners

Sorry I'm just now posting this! Hubby and I are getting our business cranked up, and things have been crazy! But now that I have a free moment, I have 2 winners to announce!

Kirsten of Dyed in the Wool is the winner of the $50 bundle of Not So Scary Halloween downloads from You Can Make This. Congratulations to Kirsten!

And Geri from Heart N Soul Cooking is the winner of our Tablespoon.com Pass the Inspiration giveaway. She has won two pot holders, a measuring cup, and a set of measuring spoons. Congratulations Geri!

Thanks to everyone else for entering, and don't forget you still have a few days to get in on our apron giveaway from Happy Find and the Vinyl Banner Giveaway from Uprinting. And I also just launched a lotion giveaway. (All giveaway links can be found at the top.)

-Jerri

Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion Review and Giveaway

I was pleased when a representative at Skin MD Natural contacted me about trying their Shielding Lotion. Today I'm happy to tell you about this product and give you a chance to win it.

What is shielding lotion?

A shielding lotion keeps moisture-robbing irritants away from the skin while the proprietary 'super' humectants hydrate the skin throughout the day. Skin MD Natural™ is promptly absorbed, without the slightest hint of any greasy or oily feeling or residue, transforming the outer layer of skin into a hydrating invisible shield.

And shielding lotion allows the natural oils and moisture to remain in the skin so it can heal better.

Why do we need this product?

There are thousands of skin irritants in our modern environment that didn't exist only 50 years ago. These irritants can strip the protective barrier off your skin causing dry skin, eczema and other skin problems. These changes in our environment have brought about the need for a new type of dry skin care solution – a shielding lotion.

Shampoos, antibacterial soaps, cosmetics, fragrances, colorants and other irritants bombard and penetrate the skin. These harsh chemicals and irritants can break down the skin's natural protective ability. Some strip away moisture, while others lodge in the pores where they cause irritation and other negative reactions.

Unfortunately, traditional lotions have one basic goal - to simply make up for the moisture that our bodies are losing by adding an external source of moisture. Many common household products and even soaps are absorbed directly into your skin, causing skin disorders or just plain dry cracked skin. Also, when participating in other activities from gardening to painting, furniture restoration to fishing, or exposure to harsh weather, you are further drying and irritating your skin.

What did you like about this product?

I love that it's a natural product. And the fact that it's unscented makes it suitable for you to use at any time. The fact that it's natural and unscented also makes an ideal product for allergy sufferers and for those who live with allergy sufferers. I was also pleased to find that you can use it as a base for makeup and protect your skin against the chemicals in the make-up. This is an excellent product that I would recommend to all who want to moisturize and protect their skin.

One Simply Sweet Home reader will win a bottle of Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion. This is an $18 value.

Giveaway Closed. Thanks for entering!




-Jerri

Click here to see the entire Blog Hop List....

Easy Italian Chicken

Here's a dish that requires very little prep time....we're talking less than 5 minutes here! It's called Easy Italian Chicken. It's really tasty and goes great with vegetables or salad. And this is perfect for a small family dinner or for when company is coming over.


Recipe for Italian Chicken:

Ingredients:

Chicken Breasts

Zesty Italian Dressing

Pepper to season

Directions: Line a baking sheet or casserole dish with tin foil (for easy cleanup). Pour Zesty Italian Dressing over the chicken. (I put the dressing on both sides of the chicken.) Sprinkle with a little pepper or other seasonings of your choice. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

Tips & Suggestions: If you like you can place your chicken in a ziplok bag or container and let it marinade in the fridge for an hour or overnight, but it's not required. You can also chop your chicken into pieces if you like, and/or you can cook it on the stove up in a pan rather than using the oven.

-Jerri





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I'm posting a link to this post on the following sites:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by Blessed With Grace.
Homemaker Mondays is hosted by 11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.
Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.
Ultimate Recipe is Swap is hosted by Life as Mom.
Friday Feasts is hosted by Momtrends.
Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family
Hooked on Fridays is hosted by Hooked on Houses

Falling into Fall Decor

Need a few ideas to brighten up your home this fall? Here's a few to get you started.

Welcome Sign from BHG. Here's a great project that adds a simple charm to your decor.

Pumpkin Vase from Martha Stewart. A centerpiece really brightens up your table, and this pumpkin vase with wild flowers is just perfect!


Naturally Beautiful Wreath from Southern Living. If you're looking for something a little different from the orange and yellow harvest wreaths, here's something for you in green.

Modern Fall Cornucopia from BHG. I love this idea! The greens and purples are just lovely for fall or any time of year! And you can always use other colors of your choice for you own custom look.

Mantle Decor at About.com. And a little color and fall cheer to your mantle with a few pumpkings and some leaf garland.

Harvest Centerpiece from From You Flowers. There are so many different centerpieces out there for the fall. And the colors in the piece add so much warmth to your table or buffet.

-Jerri

Blogiversary Giveaway Winners

I have some winners to announce in a few of my blogiversary giveaways. All winners will be contacted by email in the next day or so.

First off, there was the Greeting Card Giveaway from Uprinting. Congratulations to Cindi from Tally's Place. She has won 250 greeting cards!

Next we have a winner in the Nature Valley Granola Nut Cluster's Giveaway. The prize pack included all four varieties of the Nut Cluster Snack, along with a water bottle, flashlight, binoculars, and backpack.

Our winner is JC at http://tcarolinep.blogspot.com/.

And we have four winners in our O'Charley's Kids Giveaway. Each winner gets 5 Kids Eat Free passes to O'Charleys. The winners are:
Janet from The Money Jar and Life in Focus
Amy from Those Funny Little Girls
Christie from Divine Calling
Liz from The Halton Mom

Thanks to everyone for entering! And don't forget to enter the other giveaways we have going on right now!

-Jerri

Miss Bonnie's Sweet Bread

In honor of my blogiversary celebration, I made husband's favorite: Sweet Bread. When I first started dating my husband, he traveled down to Mobile to have Thanksgiving with his family, and he brought a loaf of Sweet Bread back with him. It was yummy!

My husband's mom (a.k.a. Miss Bonnie) has been making this recipe for years. The "official" title for this recipe is "Aggie's Sour Cream Pound Cake," but my husband calls it Sweet Bread or Nut Bread. And it actually reminds me a lot of Amish Friendship Cake (or bread), which my dad used to make a lot, (exept with this recipe you don't have a starter, and it doesn't take weeks to make, which is a really good thing!) Whatever you choose to call it, it is delicious!

Recipe for Miss Bonnie's Sweet Bread:

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups sugar
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
6 eggs
2 1/2 sticks margarine
1 8 oz cup sour cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp flavoring (any kind) **I used vanilla.
1 cup nuts (optional) **I used walnuts.

Directions: Cream margarine and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beat after each. Add flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix. Add sour cream and flavoring and beat for 2 minutes. Add nuts and fold in till evenly distibuted throughout batter. Pour into large tube pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and bake for one hour and thirty minutes.

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I'm posting a link to this post on the following sites:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by Blessed With Grace.
Homemaker Mondays is hosted by 11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.
Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.
Ultimate Recipe is Swap is hosted by Life as Mom.
Friday Feasts is hosted by Momtrends.
Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family
Hooked on Fridays is hosted by Hooked on Houses

-Jerri

Apron Giveaway from Happy Find

Isn't this a lovely apron? Happy Find offers a collection of the most beautiful aprons I've ever seen, as well as some other handcrafted items that you're sure to love.

This Apron is called "hello Delilah." There's a version of it available in pink right now in the Happy Find shop which sells for $40. And today I'm happy to be giving away the "hello Delilah" in aqua to one very lucky Simply Sweet Home reader. The hello Delilah in aqua has never been featured in the Happy Find shop before, so this is a very exclusive giveaway!

Here's a little info. on the apron that's up for grabs:

So sweet and demure. Delilah is a lovely host! A lovely piece that is light and soft. Tailored halter top with empire waist, long straps to tie either in the front or back, generous pockets and a ruffle detail. 100% pre-washed cotton fabric. Fully lined. Fits sizes 6-16. Quality made!

This giveaway is now closed. Winner to be announced.

-Jerri

Happy Blogiversary to Simply Sweet Home!

I'm so happy to be celebrating my 2nd blogiversary today! What a milestone for me and the blog!

Thanks to everyone for stopping by here every week to read and comment, and thank you to all the advertisers and giveaway sponsors who have made my second year of blogging such a success!

For the Grand Finale of my Blogiversary Celebration, we'll be having special blogiversary cake! (To be posted tomorrow). And later today I'll be having a very special and exclusive apron giveaway sponsored by Happy Find. And later this week I'll be announcing our winners in the rest of the blogiversary giveaways.

Thanks again for reading and following Simply Sweet Home!

-Jerri

Not-So-Scary Halloween Giveaway

Is everyone busy getting ready for Halloween? You Can Make This has a ton of projects and ideas for Halloween and all occasions!

And this week I'm happy to announce that you can win a $50 bundle of Halloween downloads from You Can Make This! This is the perfect prize for all you crafty ladies out there, and if you're a little crafty-challenged, then you could pass it on to the crafter in your life!

Your $50 Bundle of Halloween downloads will include the following books:

Fancy Filled Tutu with Bonus 40 Tutu "Recipes"
Pumpkin Polly Patterns
Paper Piecing Project: Pumpkin Patch Pillow
Frayed Applique: Too Cute to Spook!
Little Miss Spider Applique Patterns
How to Applique the Easy Way
Hocus Pocus Patterns
Just a Little Something for a Happy Halloween Table Runner

One Simply Sweet Home reader will win this $50 bundle of "No So Scary" Halloween ebooks from You Can Make This. To win visit You Can Make This and leave a comment on this post, telling us an idea or project that you would like to try.

Giveaway Closed. Thanks for entering!



-Jerri

Pinto Beans

I just love pinto beans! I can't tell you how many pots of pinto beans were eaten in my house as I was growing up, but I can tell you that they always got eaten, and we never got tired of them! They are the ultimate country food and my favorite bean to eat. And they are so delcious with chicken & dumplins, fried potatoes, and corn bread. Yum!

Recipe for Pinto Beans:

Ingredients:

1 lb dry pinto beans

10 cups water

3 or 4 pieces of bacon, a ham hock, salt pork, or a little oil

Soaking Instructions:

Quick Soak Method: Rinse and sort beans. To 1 lb of beans add 10 cups hot water. Bring water to rapid boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for one hour. Drain soak water and rinse beans.

Overnight Soak Method: Rinse and sort beans. To 1 lb of beans add 10 cups cold water. Let stand overnight or at least -8 hours. Drain soak water and rinse beans.

Cooking Instructions:

Stove Top Instructions: Add 6 cups of water to drained and rinsed beans. Simmer gently until desired tenderness is reached, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add salt and pepper to taste. Salt pork, ham, bacon, or oil may be added during cooking for extra flavor.

Crock Pot Instructions: Add 6 cups of water to drained and rinsed beans. Add oil/ham/bacon/pork. Let cook all night on high. (If you have a fast cooking crock pot, you should check your beans in the middle of the night and give them a stir. You could also start your crock pot in the morning so that your beans will be ready by dinner time.

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I'm posting a link to this post on the following sites:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by Blessed With Grace.
Homemaker Mondays is hosted by 11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.
Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.
Ultimate Recipe is Swap is hosted by Life as Mom.
Friday Feasts is hosted by Momtrends.
Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family
Hooked on Fridays is hosted by Hooked on Houses

-Jerri

Hand Stamped Jewelry Winner

Congratualations to Janine at Life Unscripted. She is the winner of the $25 gift certificate for RHB Designs Unique Hand Stamped Jewelry. Thanks to everyone who entered. And thanks again to Rosaylnn for hosting this amazing giveaway! I hope you will all go by and see her. Her shop has so much to offer!

-Jerri

Tablespoon.com Pass The Inspiration Giveaway

Need a little inspiration in the kitchen? Thanks to MyBlogSpark I had the opportunity to learn about a new website called Tablespoon.com. This website was launched by General Mills, and it features more than 25,000 recipes!

And that's not all! You can also share the recipes from tablespoon.com on places like Facebook and Twitter, and you can add your own recipes to the the site and create your own versions of the featured recipes. If you add your recipes to Tablespoon, you could even be featured in the Tablespoon newsletter. And you could save up to $80 every month with printable coupons from the brands you love!

As someone who loves to cook and try out new recipes, I was very pleased to find this site. I frequently visit the websites of different name brand companies, looking for stuff to try, and I was happy to find that a lot of the name brands I love were all brought together on this one website. This is a definitely a place that everyone should bookmark!

One Simply Sweet Home reader will receive a Pass the Inspiration Prize Pack courtesy of MyBlogSpark and General Mills. The prize pack includes a set of measuring spoons, a measuring cup, and two terry cloth pot holders. (Very nice!)

To enter this giveaway, just visit Tablespoon.com, and come back here and leave a comment, telling us a recipe that you'd like to try. Deadline to enter: Oct 14 at 7PM Central. (US Residents Only.)

Additional Entries:

-One entry for following me publicly on blogger.

-One entry for joining my feedblitz mailing list, or 2 entries if you are already a member prior to this giveaway.

-One entry for subscribing in a reader.

-One entry if you have my button displayed on your blog.

-One entry for following or subscribing to my new business blog.

-One entry for following me on twitter.

-One entry for tweeting about this giveaway.

-One entry for becoming a fan of Simply Sweet Home on facebook.

-Two entries for writing about this giveaway on your blog and linking back to Simply Sweet Home.

*Just leave comments for each additional entry, and please leave a user name/link or something so that I can verify. Thanks!*

*Don't forget, if you don't have a blog or a profile with a visible email address, please include your email address in your comment so that I can contact you if you win. (Can't stress this enough!)*

-Jerri

Click here to see the entire Blog Hop List....