You're Gonna Love It Tuesday!

Welcome back to You're Gonna Love It this week!

I had the Most.Amazing.Time in the short hours I got to visit my Peanut!

I had thought my son would still be at work when I got there so, imagine my delight to see this as entered the terminal!

After giving my sweet son a hearty hug and belated birthday kiss, I could not wait to wrap my arms around the sweetest little boy, my Peanut!

And, I was so thrilled to get to know my future daughter-in-law better!

The visit ended all to soon and you can be sure I cried as I left.  

I brought back a heart full of memories! And, the flu!  Yep.  I have been sick since I got home! But, it was all worth it!  Now, I am planning our visit to see the new Sweet Pea due on December 6th!  Good thing I've got lots of hugs and kisses stored up! With this being Thanksgiving week, I know exactly what I am thankful for! 

Speaking of Thanksgiving, are you all ready for the day of feasting? Are you hosting or traveling?  We were going to be with Mr. B's family but, his father has been really sick and we all agreed, he doesn't need me to pass along whatever bug I've been dealing with! So, just me and Mr. B this year.  I just may set a pretty table for the two of us.  If I do, I'll share it with you.

Now, as promised, a double dose of features from the last party!

Guess what!  We had a tie for most viewed!  So, you are going to get an extra feature, no charge!

First up, Penny from Penny's Vintage Home showed us how to make adorable Christmas trees.

I will be making some of these for sure!

Next up, Alice from Mums Makes Lists once again caught our attention with her list of 100 Simple Homemade Gifts. 

Perfect timing Alice!  

And our bonus feature comes from one of our very favorites, Debbie from A Debbie Dabble Christmas. Debbie took us on a tour of Christmas In The Stores.

I think one, or more, of those snowmen have my name on them!

Thank you so much ladies! Be sure to grab yourselves an I've Been Featured button and display it proudly!

Now, let's kick off the holidays with a fun party!

Feel free to link up anything you have created.

Recipes, decor, crafts, written or photographed.

Anything you are so proud of you just gotta share it with others.

I will reserve the option of deleting any post that I do not feel fits the

theme of my blog. And please, limit your link ups to just 2 or 3. 

I love to spotlight some of my favorites on my Facebook page and pin them to my You're Gonna Love It Tuesday board on Pinterest so,

be sure to follow me there too! As always, you don't have to

be a follower in order to link up. I want you to follow Kathe With An E

because you want to, not because it is required.

You can sign up to receive my updates by email right here.

I would love it if you would link back in some way so that others come and party with us. Either grab the party button or add my blog link

to your post or on your blog party page. But again, it's not required.

I ask that you please DO NOT link up giveaways, Etsy shops or anything for sale. Save those for the first Tuesday of each month (NEXT WEEK!!)

when, Anything Goes!

Please remember, this is a party. So, after you link up, mingle around

and visit some of the other party guests.

*By linking up your post, you are giving Kathe With An E permission to use your pictures as a feature on this blog and other social media outlets.

Be sure to stop by and visit these other great linky parties this week!

 This week’s party is sponsored by:

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Share the Joy with World Market

It’s that special time of the year when giving is just so easy to do. When I was asked to participate in the World Market Share the Joy Challenge , I was so excited. The question was asked,  “how can you give back this holiday season using items from World Market?”. 

Since they have so many amazing foods, I knew immediately that I wanted to create a gift basket using some of the food and other items available at World Market and give it to someone that I know personally that truly understands about sharing the joy.

Mr. B works with an amazing woman, Ms D. Ms D is one of those types of people just makes you want to be a better person.  She gives and gives and never expects anything in return.

One of the projects she is involved with that brings tears to my eyes is feeding the homeless here in Denver.

Ms D gives so much of herself and her time to take care of others.

One weekend a month she spends the day in her kitchen making casseroles, baking cookies or muffins and preparing sandwiches. She then packs it all up and spends the night at a corner downtown, handing it all out to the homeless. She does this all out of the pure goodness of her heart. No one asks her to do this, she just does it. 

She, of course, always cooks in large batches so, I wanted to create a gift that just she and her partner could enjoy.

I started with a 4 quart enameled cast iron covered pot and added 4 pretty green crocks.

I then lined the pot with a pretty napkin and filled it with food and tools I thought Ms D would enjoy.

I hadn't really planned on going with a theme but as I got to picking out everything, a bright and fun green theme emerged!

From the parchment sheet packaging to the tools and even the olive oil. 

I had so much fun putting it all together, all the while hoping Ms D would enjoy it all and know these were truly gifts from my heart.

The hardest part was getting together with her in order to present here with this gift.  She is such a busy bee!  She not only volunteers her time by feeding the homeless, she also teaches a cooking class at her church for kids.  

Finally we were able to get together at my home.  I explained to her that I was challenged to share the joy with someone that helps others and that she immediately came to my mind. I am such an admitted sap too.  I could barely get the words out and I was already in tears!

As I showed her all that I had put together for her she said that green was her favorite color!  It was meant to be LOL!

Ms D was so surprised and just so humble about receiving this gift from me.  I can’t thank World Market enough for this chance to give to someone that gives so much of herself all year long!

There are other ways that Cost Plus World Market is Sharing the Joy this Season! You can enter their Share The Joy Sweepstakes for 4 chances to win $5,000 for yourself AND $5,000 to donate to the charity of your choice! How amazing is that?

Head on over here and ENTER TO WIN!

Now I challenge you by asking, How do you YOU Share The Joy?

I appreciate the complementary gift cards that I received for the supplies in this post. All opinions are honest and my own. 

More Decor Updates In The Dining Room

As you read this, I am more than likely covering my little grandson, aka Peanut, in hugs and kisses!  I have been posting photos on my Facebook page so be sure to head over there after you are done here.

Of all of the rooms in our new home I'd have to say I am enjoying decorating the dining room most of all.  Of course I am now 99.9% finished so, next time, another room could be my favorite LOL.  But when you consider that we moved in a bit over 2 months ago, the dining room has seen some major transformations already!  

It's gone from this

To this

To this! 

Do you see one of the new additions?

How about now?

Mr. B and I knew we wanted to add 2 more chairs to the dining set and I was sooo excited when I saw that Cost Plus World Market had their furniture on sale for 25% off! (actually, I see that the sale is still going on!) I high tailed it to my local store and picked up 2 of the Verona chairs that match our set. Luckily, they were still in the box in my car because, the next day, Mr. B saw the ad and upon discussion we decided to take them back and get two of the Greyson chairs.

Perfect choice if you ask me!

I believe they add just that right amount of elegance without being stuffy. 

The new chairs aren't the only change in the room. I had been keeping an eye out for "something" to go over the buffet.  A mirror, art, etc., I just knew that perfect "something" would let me know it was right when I saw it.

And by golly, it did!  Right next door to my Cost Plus World Market is a Ross store.  After I loaded up the second set of chairs I thought I may as well stop in and take a look around.  I rounded a corner and Voila!  There she was!  

THE PERFECT SOMETHING! And, at less than what I had budgeted to pay too!

The aged silver compliments all of the brown tones in the room without being too contemporary.

And, the size is just right for over the buffet.

I love the design on the frame too!

Now for the final decor update for today! When I saw this 3-piece mirror set in the Target ad, 

I had knew I had to get it!  Am I glad I didn't hesitate!  It was the last one in stock at my Target!

Just the right thing to fill in the wall between the drapes!

Each frame has a different design with the middle one mimicking the pattern on the drapes! Squeee!  Perfect, right? 

I am still on the lookout for a different table to go under the front window to complete this room but, it can wait.  

That spot will soon be filled with a Christmas tree anyway!

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for the link party.

Pumpkin Trifle With Caramel Sauce

This post brought to you by Carton Smart. All opinions are 100% mine.

 I was given the opportunity to Become Carton Smart as I start my holiday baking. Have you ever noticed or paid attention to the package our holiday baking ingredients come in? I was thrilled when I saw that the Carton Smart Pacific Foods Organic Pumpkin Puree that I used in my recipe below came packaged in a carton instead of a can! It is one small step in the right direction! 

As small as the packaging is, it doesn't take up a ton of room in my pantry or the waste cycle! 

And, I know I will be using the Pacific Foods Chicken Stock to make turkey gravy as well as putting the Pacific Foods Cranberry Sauce on the Thanksgiving table in a few weeks!

This infographic explains more about Carton Smart

I was challenged to create a holiday recipe by swapping out one of my ingredients with one of these ingredients from Pacific Foods. I, of course, chose the Pumpkin Puree because, we all know, I am a huge Pumpkin Eater!!

Pumpkin Trifle With Caramel Sauce

Adapted from The Daily Meal

For the cake :

• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the Bundt pan
• Flour for the Bundt pan
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• One 16-ounce Carton of Pacific Foods Organic Pumpkin Puree
• Whipped cream topping

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 14-cup Bundt pan. Set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl down as needed. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping the bowl down in between additions. Add the vanilla extract.

Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients, followed by all of the sour cream. Blend in the remaining dry ingredients. Mix in the pumpkin purée.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake for 75 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and cool completely.

For the caramel sauce :

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Place the butter, brown sugar, and salt in small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream. Set aside to cool completely, stirring occasionally.

Assembling the Trifles:

Cut a large slice of cake, (save the rest of the cake to eat at another time) crumble and place about ¼ cup into each trifle bowl. Drizzle with caramel sauce; add another ¼  cup of crumbled cake, drizzle with more caramel sauce. Top with whipped cream and finish with another drizzle of caramel sauce.

Here is even more information about how you too can become Become Carton Smart:

Tweet @CartonSmart  Follow #CartonSmart on Pinterest

Now, tell me, how do you plan on being #Carton Smart this holiday season? Will it be your New Year's resolution?

You're Gonna Love It - Week 79

Happy Veterans Day!

I want to thank all of the men and women who give up their lives everyday for our safety and the privileges we take for granted! Whether on the battlefield or here at home, your sacrifice to life and family is never to be forgotten.

I hope you have all been well this past week. I am furiously getting ready for my quicky trip this next weekend to see my son and his beautiful family!  It's been over a year and I miss them every stinkin' day! To be able to hug them all will be a dream come true!

Because I will be gone, there will not be a party next week. I want to spend every second with them and I hope you understand.  I will post double features the following week to make it up to you!

I'm ready to party, how about you?

Last weeks most viewed link came from Alice who blogs at Mums Make Lists

Alice shared a poem about the sadness all of us moms feel as our children grow up.  Watching them go from babies to men and women is something we seemed to all related to. If you missed it, you must go by and read it, tissue at the ready!  Thank you so much Alice, be sure to grab yourself an I've Been Featured button and display it proudly!

Let's Party!
Feel free to link up anything you have created.

Recipes, decor, crafts, written or photographed.

Anything you are so proud of

you just gotta share it with others.

I will reserve the option of deleting

any post that I do not feel fits the

theme of my blog. 

Please limit your link ups to

just 2 or 3. 

I love to spotlight

some of my favorites on my

Facebook page and pin them to my 
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday board on Pinterest so,

be sure to follow me there too!

As always, you don't have to
be a follower
in order to link up.
 I want you to follow
Kathe With An E
because you want to.
Not because it is required.

Sign up to receive my updates by email.

I would also love it if you would link back

in some way so that others come and party with us.
Either grab the party button
or add my blog link
to your post or on your
  blog party page.
But again, it's not required.

I ask that you please 

DO NOT link up

giveaways, Etsy shops or anything for sale.

Save those for the first Tuesday of each month
when,

Anything Goes!

Please remember, this is a party

so, after you link up,

mingle around
and visit some of the other party guests.

*By linking up your post, you are giving Kathe With An E permission to use your pictures as a feature on this blog and other social media outlets.

Be sure to stop by and visit these other great linky parties this week!