Nov 30, 2014

Beautiful Free Christmas Printables


I can't beieve that Christmas is just around the corner. We thought it was the next big holiday until Johnny informed us his birthday was the next big one and then Christmas. Anyhoo, it's time in the Leslie house to tear down the autumnal decor and replace it with the glitter of Christmas. I luper love this time of year and it's easier than ever to infuse Christmas Spirt in your home thanks to some brillant artists from around the web.

Here's my list of great Christmas printables from arond the www.

1. PeaBee Designs has this really nice printable available for download. Thanks Courtney!




2. Jeni, from the Small Seed has 4 beautiful printables available, they're amazing. 



3. I love the simplicity of this chalk graphic, it's so sweet and simple. You can find it at A Well-Feathered Nest.

5. Look at this lovely printable from Fotina over at Glamourous Affordable Life


6. I love this print from the life of a Crafty Wife.  It says it all!


7. Look at this great burlap printable that Shannon is offering from AKA Design + Life




8. I love the three above printables from Falala Designs



9. Erin is offering this great colorful printable from How to Nest for Less


10. Look at this beautiful chalkboard printable Shannon has made available from AKA Design+Life.

Anyhoo, it's about time to start Christmas-fying your home and I hope this helps!! Make sure to leave a comment for the talented artists that made thses available. 


siggy

Nov 28, 2014

It's official!

Okay so I know that so many of you put up your Christmas tree weeks ago and that's cool but in our house the Christmas season doesn't officially begin until the turkey is gone!


So Zoi and I want to officially open the 2014 Christmas season!! Her heart is in it regardless what her face says!

siggy

Nov 26, 2014

Bless His Name

(right click and open in a new tab, click and then right click to download this lovely wallpaper)

I just want to say thank you to the Lord for all the blessings in my life. He's been too good to this sinner and has given me a life I never imagined. I enter His gates with thanksgiving for:

~ my eternal salvation provided through the blood of Jesus
~ the Bible that reveals to us the mind of God
~ my husband and closest friend in the world
~ the privileged to be mother to three great kids; Cody, Josh and Hannah
~ the role of wife and homemaker that God has placed me in
~ the amazing adventure we call missions in Croatia
~ the contentment God has placed in my heart for His will for my life
~ my best friend Amanda and all she means to me
~ dear friends in the States and around the world that love us
~ our wonderful people here in Croatia that are true family to us

There are so many more things I could list but when would I ever get the turkey cooked? I'm also so thankful for the world wide web and the opportunity it allows for me to know such special people from all around the world. 

Hoping this Thanksgiving is the best ever!! 

siggy

My Very first Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Besides U.S. Thanksgiving, it's also National Game and Puzzle Week...what game have you played most recently, and who were you with? Have you worked a puzzle of any kind in the past week?

Games? We don't really play games anymore now that we only have our daughter left home. We played Phase 10 last and yes, I won!! I would love to put puzzles together but my family just aren't puzzle lovers. 

2. What is one place you were thankful for this year?

I'm extremely thankful for our little church. Victors Baptist Church in Varaždin, Croatia. It's a warm welcoming place. It's a rare church because we have no cliques or groups and everyone loves everyone. 

3. Take a nap, watch football, go for an after dinner walk, or hit the stores...which ONE is on your must-do list for Thanksgiving day? For those of you playing along who aren't in the US, answer as it relates to any big holiday meal.

When we were in the States for Thanksgiving stores weren't open on Thanksgiving so we would play games. We have a large family and groups would separate and games would ensue. We always knew to stay away from the card games with Uncle Bijan, he counts cards and it was impossible to win.  
4. Besides Thanksgiving, what's your favorite home cooked meal?

My new low carb favorite is chicken parm. My daughter makes it and it' delish! she serves it over zucchini noodles and We have it almost weekly. 

5. What product from an infomercial would you most like to own?

I would love to have the No No! hair remover. I've debated about getting it but always decided against it, plus it's expensive and who knows if it really works. 

6. Christmas shopping? Have you begun? Finished? Will you shop on Black Friday? How do you feel about stores opening on Thanksgiving Day? What percentage of your Christmas shopping is done online?

Wow, is Christmas coming up? It's actually crazy that we are already looking at Christmas right around the corner and how some folks have even decorated even before Thanksgiving. I've officially purchased one gift online and one from the store and i'm feeling like i'm even more ahead of the game than usual. I remember when stores weren't oped on Thanksgiving and we had no other choice than to play board games, football or just sit around laughing. Life sure has changed and I prefer it the way it was. 

7. What are you most grateful for that adds beauty to your everyday life?

Hmm, I am so happy for all we have it's hard to decided. I actually love my house plants. I was never able to keep plants alive when my children were little, I guess I prioritized and plants came in last. Now that my children are all grown, I've got somewhat of a green thumb. They make a room feel so alive. Now it I just had a larger room to house them. 


This is one of my favorite house plants. No, no not the girl, that's Hannah, she's 17 and suppose to be busy with school. I told her to pose and this is what I got. Anyhow, I love this plant, it was a housewarming gift from one of our sweet ladies and it's grown like crazy. 


Okay so this is what Hannah looks like normally. She's a joy! I'm so thankful for her. BTW, she blogs too over at Particularly Hannah.


8. Insert your own random thought here.

I've been thinking about snow. Since tons of Stateside friends have snow I'm wondering if we will. Usually when the States get blanketed we don't and vise-versa. I'm hoping with my everything crossed for a white Christmas.  At least some white on Christmas and then it can go back to being just cold. 


siggy

Nov 24, 2014

Sunday Review Monday 11/24/14

We had an amazing Sunday at Pobjednici Baptist Church including a sweet baptism afterwards. Our little church is growing and our people are becoming more like Jesus every day. 


Nov 23, 2014

Unique Personalized Gifts for Her


I can't believe we''re even looking at Christmas being just 4.5 weeks away. It's crazy how quickly this year has gone by. My best friend Amanda is always on my Christmas gift giving list but she is the hardest person to buy for. I don't like generic gifts. I mean, I love receiving gifts, any kind but I like to give unique, thoughtful gifts.  So I'm always on the lookout for special gifts for her and from my searches I've compiled a list of unique gifts for her.


Nov 21, 2014

Friday's Fave 5


So today I am participating in Living to Tell the Story's Friday's Fave Five Link Up. 

God has been so good to us and my blessings are innumerable but here's my 5 for today. 

1. My youngest child Hannah. She's not so young anymore, she's 17 but she's still the baby of 3. Hannah came out of the womb singing. She sings all day long, every day. When she's not singing she's playing some sorta instrument. She is a true joy to be around. Her upbeat personality brings me up when things are so great. I'm so thankful God gave us a Hannah. 


2. All the help Johnny has been this week after my foot surgery. He's been such a servant and pulling his weight and mine all week. He takes such good care of me and makes me feel like it's his joy. 

3. The $12 we paid for my foot surgery. Social medicine isn't great and there are a lot of negatives to it but only having to pay $12 for my foot surgery was awesome!!

4. Loving the crazy warm weather of November. Usually this time in Croatia it's already seriously cold but our weather's been in the high 50s and it's glorious!

5. Lap dogs! Never realized how awesome lap dogs were till we got Zoi! Who ever thought there were dogs that don't shed? She's amazing and my favorite puppey ever!


If you'd like to participate in Friday's Fave Five, jump over and visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

siggy

Nov 20, 2014

My running story

Well my running story started back on April of this year. I had always envied runners and thought that they must be extreme athletes to be able to run and enjoy it, because why would anyone run if they weren't being chased, I mean really? I just thought they were super crazy type A personalities and since I wasn't I'd never be a runner.

Back in April, right after my 41st birthday Johnny and I began the Atkins diet. After finding out that I had a sensitivity to gluten I cut it out completely and figured it was a great time to start a diet since I was quite over weight. I've always had a weight problem but I had never been able to beat it.
Anyhow I've secretly dreamed of being a runner. Like I said, I didn't even imagine that I ever could run but here I am, I'm a runner.


Nov 19, 2014

The Perfect Family? - Guest Post

I recently read a great blog post about the Perfect Family or the lack thereof. We put so much pressure on ourselves to make sure that our children turn out like they should and when they don't in falls heavy on our shoulders. Anyhow, Lou Ann Keiser from In the Way wrote a great post on this subject. She graciously allowed me to re-post it here on Home Away From Home. Please go by and check out her blog, In the Way, she has a treasure trove of helpful information for ladies.



Nov 18, 2014

Low Carb Taco Soup

I love this time of year. I love crisp days, warm fires and yummo soups! I love the cozy feeling of cuddling on the couch with a blanket and my Baby Love. Last April I completely cut out gluten and started a low carb high fat way of eating. I've lost 50 lbs and cured many of the ailments I was experiencing. Anyhoo, this low carb taco soup is a serious contender for the "Yummiest Soup of the Season or Ever!" award. 
What's great about it is that the family will never know it's low carb cause it just plain delish! My family eats it with corn tortilla chips and they love it!



TACO SOUP 

INGREDIENTS 
1 lb of ground beef
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of chili powder
8 ounces of cream cheese
2 10 ounce cans of Rotel tomatoes (I only added 1 can of tomatoes to try to cut back on the carbs)
1 can of beef broth
3/4 – 1 cup of heavy cream (I added only 1/2 C and it was still creamy)

DIRECTIONS
1. Brown your meat and drain fat
2. Add in garlic and onion and cook till onions are translucent
3. Add in spices and mix well.
4. With the back of a wooden spoon mix or smush in the cream cheese until incorporated. 
5. Add, tomatoes, broth and heavy cream and simmer for 5 minutes. 
6. Enjoy with some chips (if your not low carb) and family!

*The soup may seem a bit thin but it's thickens after a few minutes. 

Makes 8 cups or 6-8 servings
Freezing not recommended

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Per 1/6 Recipe: 361 Calories; 29g Fat; 18g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 6g Net Carbs
Per 1/8 Recipe: 271 Calories; 22g Fat; 13g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs

For more great low carb recipes check out Linda's Low Carb Menus and Recipes

siggy






I'm participating in the following blog hops!




Nov 13, 2014

My Missionary "Dom" Tour Part 2



Okay so part 2 of my "Dom" ("home" in Croatian in case you didn't see part 1) tour is my bedroom. When we moved into the house we had to do some changing up to do to make it us. This is what the bedroom looked like when we arrived. 

Nov 11, 2014

Sunday Review Monday *belated*


Okay so I'm a day late with my Sunday Review Monday but better late than never. We had a great church service Sunday. It was our annual Harvest Sunday and we had a wonderful time in God's house. We had several visitors and had one man walk the isle for salvation. 

Our little church was packed and makes us realize that it may be time to dig up some more room in our building. Maybe even knocking out a wall or something. 

Nov 8, 2014

Free Thanksgiving Printables

I love seasons! I love decorating for Christmas and Thanksgiving, not so much the rest but I love the holiday seasons. I discovered that it's really easy to dress up the house and make it feel festive simply by printing beautiful themed art and putting it in already existing frames around the house. Hey with the internet and printers it's super easy to spruce up our homes for the holidays. The great thing about doing this is that when the holiday is over you can simply take out the festive art and put your everyday image back. I even leave the images in the frames behind the everyday image so it's easy to change for the holidays. Anyhoo, here's a list of some great Thanksgiving art offered by some very talented bloggers available around the blogsphere.

1. Mallory over at Classy Clutter has some lovely printables available. Very easy on the eyes!

2. Janet has some great subway art over at Today's Fabulous Finds


3. Erin has a really nice Thanksgiving chalkboard print available at  a Bird and a Bean

4. Jenn also has a chalkboard printable available over at Ruffled Sunshine.


5. And yet some more chalkboard art and Kelli has some great ones over at Nest of Posies. 

6. Look at the nice subway art that Kristin has to offer. Pretty!

7. Look at Amy's lovely Thanksgiving art over at Positively Splendid.

8. Katie over at Sweet Rose Studio has some really nice poetry prints for Thanksgiving. 

9. Laura Beth has some really nice different printables to match really any decor. 

10. I love what I found over at Stay at Home Artist, Kacey is very talented.  

11. look at the pretty printable from Bitty Birdie

Anyhoo, hope you find a printable you like, I know I did!.



siggy