I see pretties, lots of pretties….

“Who needs Canton when you have a mom and mother-in-law like mine?”

That’s exactly the question I was asking myself when I got home yesterday from a weekend of fun with my mom and mother-in-law in…you guessed it!…Canton. <Well, actually we hung out at my in-laws house near Tyler, TX for the weekend…but with the purpose of exploring Canton Trade Days to see what kind of pretties we could find. *wink*>

Mom took the day off of work on Friday to catch up on some things and make her way down to MW at a leisurely pace…so needless to say she was nice and relaxed by the time she got to me. I, on the other hand, had worked all day (minus the 30 minutes I slipped away early) with the highlight being the full-fledged screaming, crying, arms-crossed fit of a kindergartener.  I was not quite so relaxed…or nice, come to think of it…as we began our weekend adventure.

I’m thinking Mom had the right idea.

After a late night of stuffing ourselves with Debbie’s yummy baking and lots of girl talk, we woke up and set off for the Trade Days. I’ve been a couple of times before, once with Mom, but it was Debbie’s “Canton initiation.” And what an initiation it was. I can’t think of many other places I have ever been where it was so. stinking. crowded.

Overall we had a nice time, but holy moly…it was hard to do much shopping, or even looking, with the wall to wall crowds. The temperature was even bordering on just plain hot; blessedly there was a cool breeze that would blow through just when you needed it.

I’d say the lesson of the day for us was this: don’t go to Canton in November. We aren’t hardcore enough shoppers for that craziness.

In the midst of the madness we did manage to find a few bargains…here are mine!

Fruit of the Spirit painting…I’ve seen several similiar to this on Pinterest, so now I’m happy to have my own!

Neither my mom, or Debbie, or Chris understand why I would buy this next piece…but I love it! I saw “&” signs all day long…so when I found this big one for a reasonable price I decided to go for it. I’m excited for us to us it during our family photo shoot next weekend, and I think it’s a fun piece to add to our decor!

(*I actually bought this last piece at a really cool store Mom and I stopped at on Sunday…I think I could have bought almost everything they had!) Chalkboards seem to be all the rage these days…I’m definitely feelin’ it!

I also bought Chris an ammo can (for really cheap apparently; he wishes I would have bought more than 1!), but that was about my budget limit. I’m happy with my purchases and what they add to our little love nest…but they don’t even begin to compare to the other pretties I received this weekend. Honestly, I can say that nothing I saw at Canton was quite like the goodies I was given by my Mom and mother-in-law…nor quite as beautiful. I’m blessed to have such talented ladies in my life!

Over the last year or so Mom has been collecting vintage ornaments to make beautiful themed wreaths. She knew this one would be perfect with my fruit themed kitchen/dining room, and I couldn’t agree more. I love it!

(She also brought me a gorgeous red and blue toy soldier themed wreath to match my Christmas decor…I can’t wait to hang it as well! Don’t worry, you’ll get to see it when the time is right!)

My mother-in-law is an amazing seamstress…just look at the stockings she made for Chris and I!

I am in *love* with them. I know they will be part of our Christmas celebrations for many, many years to come. So special!

There was enough fabric left over for her to make me a matching apron…this picture is just a preview. It’s so cute I’m sure I’ll be taking plenty of pictures while wearing it this holiday season!

She also whipped up a few napkin/dishtowel/rags/whatever I want them to be for me. I just love the vintage look of the fabric!

I’d have to say, I’m pretty spoiled. I love all of my new pretties, but I love the women that gave them to me even more. Spending time together this past weekend was just what I needed, and I just can’t say enough how thankful I am for the two of them.

The only thing I wish I would have gotten that I didn’t?

A picture of the 3 of us together.

Guess we’ll just have to do it again sometime. 😉

KEEP CALM & THANKS FOR A GREAT WEEKEND

P.S. – To all of my Bangs friends…my mother-in-law is selling stockings at the Bangs Christmas Bazaar that’s coming up. You are definitely going to want to check them out!

Slap yo’ mother-in-law good!

*Clarification: Never, and I mean never, should you actually slap your mother-in-law. No good can come of that. Just roll with today’s post as an expression of speech!

Now that we have that cleared up, I’ve GOT to share this recipe with y’all. My mother-in-law made it for us the last time we went down to visit, and I practically gorged myself on it. So, so good. Of course, she made it using fresh ingrediants from the little produce stand down the road from her stand, so that made it just that much better.

I sooooo do not want to break any copyright rules here, so let me direct you to the exact pages you can find this recipe. They’ve got it in an easy-to-print version, as well as lots of other yummy looking recipes! I’ll definitely be cruising around these sites a little more myself. Show them some love and look around a little yourself…http://www.southernliving.com/ and My Recipes.com.

I wish I would have gotten a pic of this tasty dish, but I was too busy eating it. 😉 Give it a try!!

Bacon Potato Salad

*For more tips & prep information, make sure you check out the recipe at  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/bacon-potato-salad-10000001079910/!

Ingrediants:

– 6 to 8 medium potatoes, peeled & cut into 1-inch cubes

– 1/2 lb. bacon, cooked & crumbled

– 6 green onions, chopped

– 2 celery ribs, finely chopped

– 2 TBS diced pimiento, drained (*D left this out when she made it…we aren’t big pimiento fans)

– 3/4 tsp salt

– 1/4 tsp pepper

– 1/2 cup mayo

– 1/2 cup sour cream

Garnishes: paprika, celery sticks

Directions:

1. Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender, then drain and let cool slightly.

2. Place potatoes in a large bowl. Add bacon, chopped green onions, and next 4 ingrediants.

3. Stir together mayo and sour cream until blended. Pour over potato mixture, tossing gently to coat.

4. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. Garnish if desired.

5. Stuff yourself!

This dish would be perfect to take to a summer get-together. (*Just remember to refrigerate…mayo is involved!) Just blogging about it makes me wish I had a big ol’ bowl of it to eat right now!

KEEP CALM & SLAP YO’…OH NEVERMIND.