Bell Buckle Craft Fair

Hey Y'all! Mark your calendars! The big Bell Buckle craft fair is coming up next month. Bell Buckle, as we call this craft fair for short, is scheduled for Saturday, October 17th and Sunday, 18th. It is a huge craft fair put on by the town of Bell Buckle in Tennessee which is about an hour and twenty minutes away from our area. It is made up of about 150 booths and vendors set up for The Webb School and around 500 additional vendors are always there set up in yards and throughout the town. There are also local shops and the antique stores.

Bell Buckle, TN is a very small and cozy town located south of Murfreesboro. We have made it tradition in our family and several of us are seen there every year. We generally spend Saturday there looking, buying and eating! It's always a good time as the weather is cool in the morning and nice in the afternoon for a wonderful October day craft fair.

So get those comfortable walking shoes out and your fanny pack! Hope to see you there!

http://www.bellbucklechamber.com/events.html

A Biscuit A Tasket

Last weekend I found pork tenderloin on sale at the grocery. I never buy tenderloin because I think it's a little pricey but this time I was all in. So yesterday during my daily jog I was thinking of what to make for supper and the tenderloin came to mind. I could have Shaun grill the meat while I made the sides.. inside. When I started hunting for canned biscuits in the refrigerator I came up short. So I pulled out a cookbook all about biscuits called "The Rise Of The Southern Biscuit" by Maryann Byrd that I had purchased after watching the wonderful documentary on an NPT telethon a couple of years ago. I searched through and found a quick and easy recipe. To my dismay the ingredients that I thought were staples in my kitchen were not there for me this time. I didn't have any all-purpose flour.. which I always have and I had no buttermilk... which I never have. I made my own buttermilk by using 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar to a measuring cup and filling the rest of the way to 1 cup with regular milk. You can also use lemon juice instead of vinegar. Alas, I still had my flour problem. I thumbed through and found another recipe using self-rising flour. I threw them together and turned out pretty pleased with my results. It's a quick recipe in a pinch.

Mother's Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup cold buttermilk
3 tablespoons of butter

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix flour and salt together, cut butter into flour using a pastry cutter or fork, add buttermilk and stir in slowly until dough ball forms a soft ball. Kneed dough on lightly floured surface 10 to 15 times. Roll out to a 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a 2 inch cookie cutter and place on greased cookie pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

I brushed them with a little melted butter when they came out of the oven. They had a surprising lift to them and weren't dry and crumbly when we ate them.

The recipe made about 16 biscuits.

A Recipe For "Me Time"

Now you tell me... who doesn't need a little me time?  Here's a recipe that I hope you will enjoy for a soothing body bath soak.  It makes enough to last a while but not recommended to use every day. 

Me Time Bath Soak

1/2 cup baking soda
1 cup epsom salt
1/2 cup dry milk
1 cup sea salt
1 envelope powdered drink mix (like Kool Aid) - your favorite flavor recommended

Mix ingredients together and store in a pretty glass container.  Use 2 tablespoons for a quick soak and 4 tablespoons if you actually have 15 minutes or more to soak.  The drink mix is optional but adds a little fun color to your bath and a nice aroma.  I have used lemonade and grape in the past.  Feel free to accompany this Me Time Bath Soak with a cold bottle of water or Kahlua and milk followed by a good book and a restful night's sleep.

A Super Duper Summer

Happy Tuesday All! Last night I was scrolling back through a ton of pictures on my digital camera and realized.... "what a wonderful summer it has been!" Since fall is upon us I thought I could get your memory juices flowing and challenge you to think back and name just five wonderful things that happened to you over the summer. Maybe it was a family vacation, something you learned how to do, something you did for yourself or somebody else or maybe just time you spent doing your favorite things.



Here's what I came up with for myself:

1. I GOT MARRIED!!


2. I learned how to make cantaloupe and watermelon popsicles.


3. Got to spend my first summer with my pets and new husband in our new home.


4. Won 1st place at the county fair.


5. Started this fabulous blog just for me and you!

As I started my list I realized there are so many more wonderful things that occurred during summer 2009. I love having my flickr account and digital camera so that I can go back and see things that I did and things that caught my eye. We are all so blessed!

Now, if you want to, take a second and leave a comment letting me know what wonderful things you did this summer!