Sweet Surprises!

I came home from my morning walk to find two packages on my front porch .....hmmmm....what did I order?

Oh -- now I remember! I ordered a special little something from Sherry over at her blog Edie Marie's Attic! Sherry and I have been blog friends since the first day she began her blog, and I, as a pretty new blogger myself, wandered in to say hello. I was so impressed of the beautiful photos of her home that she posted each day, her decorating tips, crafts that she made, and all her thrifty tips and finds.
Of course it took me a few times before I realized her name was not "Edie Marie" but "Sherry," as was written in her profile ... big smile!

Sherry has begun selling decorative plaques and signs recently that she's painted and embellished by hand. Go here to look at all of them! They are all wonderful, and I know a few bloggers have already happily ordered from her, beside myself.

I saw one plaque that I knew would make a perfect gift ... and because it will be that person's birthday soon, and they read my blog, I can't show it here right now, but as you can see below it came beautifully wrapped, along with this surprise....

.... a special little sign Sherry made for me as a "thank you"! It is this adorable rustic "Pat's Bistro" sign, complete with a silvery fork and spoon design! I immediately hung it up by my kitchen window where all my guests will see it!

But that is not all! If you noticed in the opening photo I received two packages from Sherry!

All of these beautifully wrapped surprises were in the second box!

I was so excited opening them all that it felt like it was my birthday and Christmas all rolled up in one!

Sherry enclosed the very touching card you see in the upper left corner of the photo below that said "Your Friendship Is The Nicest Kind Of Treat,"which immediately made my eyes well up with tears. How could someone I've never met, except through her blog, be so kind and generous to me?

These were the surprise gifts she sent -- a very special book full of wonderful quotations about being a grandmother, a delicate tea cup and saucer which is also the perfect size for a serving of espresso coffee, and a package of hand stamped and decoratively cut Christmas gift tags which will be so useful!

(Of course my cat Bo had to help examine everything as he usually does....shhh... don't tell my husband that he was on the table as he doesn't approve of that, even though I make sure I clean it afterwards!)

In the other packages Sherry gave me the most touching and darling gifts for my "grand son to be" who will be making his grand appearance in a few weeks!

She sent a cute board book, adorable blue bunny baby booties, a magnetic "Pat the Bunny" picture frame, and a juvenile fork and spoon set, just right for baby's small hands to use to feed himself one day!

Everything was so lovingly chosen and so sweet and I love them all! I am so utterly overwhelmed by Sherry's kindness and friendship.

Thank you so much Sherry! It was all so unexpected and so generous of you, and you are such a blessing to me!

Please make sure you visit Sherry's blog if haven't done so before and PLEASE look at her beautiful signs for sale! I think you will be impressed!

Gifts In A Jar

When I visited San Diego, California in September, I was fortunate to meet two fellow bloggers, Cori of Gingerbread Crumbs and Company and Joanne of My Little Cottage In The Making. Cori gave Joanne and myself a sweet gift of Oatmeal Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookie mix in a jar, and I recently made the cookies to serve on a day when I had friends over for coffee.

Unfortunately the mix in the jar, and the pretty bag it was presented in, got a little disheveled from being packed in my suitcase, but you can see from the photo above that Cori had a pretty piece of fabric decorating the lid, and a pretty recipe tag with both the directions on how to make the cookies and also how to fill another jar with the cookies ingredients as a future gift.

The cookies were absolutely delicious! They were soft and chewy and filled with chocolaty flavor!
Now that the holidays are fast approaching I thought it would be fun to share this wonderful treat, after getting Cori's permission of course, as it makes a wonderful gift to give a friend, co-worker, neighbor, etc.

This would also make a nice activity for you to do together with older children, or grandchildren, for them to give as gifts to their teachers, babysitters, bus drivers, etc.

Oatmeal Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookie Jar Ingredients:


To one clean quart canning jar add:

Layer one: 1 1/2 cups uncooked old fashioned Oats

Layer two: 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Layer three: 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Layer four: 1 cup packed light brown sugar

Layer 5 ( mix together before placing in the jar):

1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda


Now the jar is completed and it can be presented with these instructions on how to make the cookies:

To Prepare Cookies:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 egg

One jar of Oatmeal Pecan Chocolate Chip cookies mix

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease cookies sheets.
2. Beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in egg until blended. (Mix may appear curdled) Add cookie mix to butter mixture; stir until well blended.
3. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 8 - 10 minutes, or until edges are brown. Let cookies cool on cookie sheets 2 minutes, Remove cookies to a wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

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There are many wonderful "Gifts In A Jar" recipe web sites with many other ideas of how to layer ingredients for a pretty presentation, that will make cookies, soups, brownies, bath salts, etc.

Here are a few links to web site that have "Gift In A Jar" ideas that I thought were good:

Organized Christmas

All Free Crafts

Craft Bits

Heart 4 Home

Budget 101 -- has decorating ideas for the jars


Do you prepare homemade gifts for family and friends? What are you making?