Heaven isn't too far away...

Happy Everlasting Winter everyone! You know despite the suffocating inversion, bone chilling walks to the car, sunshine that comes in the window, tempting you to come outside and then you do and it laughs in your face because it's only 37 degrees, winter isn't all that bad! Well not when you have an evening filled with fondue and friends.
Daphne the Kitchen Kween let me borrow her Melting Pot cookbook for V-day and I found this tantalizing recipe in here. Valentine's came and went but I had to try it. So last night we whipped this sucker up and it was fabulous.

In a small saucepan, combine 3/4 C. corn syrup, 1 1/2 C. brown sugar with a 1/3 C. water. Bring it to a boil and then reduce to medium and cook for 20-25 min. stirring every now and then. This means while you are cutting up fruit and cake pieces, give it a stir when you finish the strawberries or whatever. You know what I mean.

Remove the pan from the heat and add in 1/4 C. of butter. That's 1/2 of a stick. Do not read it wrong and put in 1/2 C. of butter and have to nervously scoop out the rest when you realize it's not combining right when you read the recipe again. Who does that? Thoroughly stir in your butter and then add 1 tsp. of vanilla and 1/3 c heavy cream.

Chop up 4 oz. of white chocolate into small pieces and add to your mixture. This is what it looks like towards the end. Creamy dreamy.

Put the mixture into a warm fondue pot, call your gang over and enjoy the cold winter together.
Happy dipping!
~Maren

Total Home Makeover

I love a good project, and this one was a big one! To get to know me a little bit, I thought I would open my home to you!

To give a little preface, the home that I bought was never actually for sale. I fell in love with when I was little (it was where my best childhood friend lived). They moved away and eventually it fell into multiple hands  and finally was a rental property with a landlord who could care less about the tenants and the home. So, we made him an offer. Everything is for sale for the right price, right?

As crazy as everyone thought I was for wanting the home, I knew it was an unpolished diamond. Basically, it looked like this when we bought it:

But, I knew there were gems like these hidden inside:

While still a work in progress, this is the before and after shot of the exterior of my home:

Stay tuned (while I do a little cleaning), I will take you inside my home for more of my projects and  transformations!

-Lauralee

$25 Hobby Lobby Gift Card WINNER!!

HAPPY PRESIDENT'S DAY!!! 

  

We hope you are getting to spend some quality time with someone you love, getting some great deals shopping, making a craft or just having some R and R today!

 

We just wanted to thank you all again for reading our blog and participating

 in the comments and our giveaway!  We look forward to hearing more from you!!

 

So without further ado.....

 

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!
 

ELENA!!!

Congratulations!!!

Have a great day!

 



 

 



$25 Hobby Lobby Gift Card "Giveaway"

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!
We were so EXCITED and THRILLED with our first giveaway response that we had to do another one to say

 "THANK YOU"!!!

$25 Hobby Lobby Gift Card

 

Here are the requirements for this giveaway:

Remember you can get up to three entries for completing all three.

1. If you do not already follow, join our site and leave a comment.

    If you're already a follower, just let us know in a comment.
2. Leave a comment of what your favorite "HOBBY" is? 

3. Visit Hobby Lobby website and leave a comment telling us one thing on sale this week that you would love to have.

THIS  GIVEAWAY WILL LAST ONLY UNTIL
SUNDAY NIGHT FEBRUARY 17TH
AND WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNER MONDAY MORNING!!

GOOD LUCK!

WE WILL ANNOU\NCE THE WINNER MONDAY MORNING!



Ribbon Shamrocks... woven with possibilities!

For the last few years, one of our traditions has been to make these ribbon shamrocks.  
 They are so simple and cheap to make!

My girls love them for the hair....

I think they're fun for a mantle.

They'd look cute on a wreath, a headband, or just hanging by themselves.

Since emerald is the color of the year (read about it HERE), these shamrocks will not only help you avoid getting pinched, but you'll be sporting the "in" color :).

I did not invent these, obviously! I don't even remember where I learned how to make them, but this is my version.

To find out how to make your own, click on "read more" below... 

but first, 

 

ok, now you can click to read more.... (under the "Pin It" button)

Giveaway Winner Announced! Plus a Bonus Winner...

 Congratulations to The Lyman's!! They won the $50 Target gift card!

We read through every comment, and entered each person up to 4 times to the drawing.  We used Random.org- since it is law that these giveaways truly are random.


However, if you didn't win... there will be another great giveaway on Friday! Be sure to check it out!


Also, we're announcing  a bonus winner today....

Congratulations Karalee Mackay

She is our #1 best commenter, and has been since we started this blog.  We soooooo appreciate interaction with our readers. Thank you, Karalee!!

Karalee, you won a book from your wishlist!
If you write in the comment section 3 books that you're wishing for, we'll get one and send it to you.

 Thanks to everyone for checking out our new blog!!

Love,
The Ladies at Potlucks on the Porch

No Slip Headbands

So, I might not be the fittest gal at the gym, but I can certainly be one of the stylish! I was tired of my cheap headbands flipping off my head and hitting the unfortunate soul that was on the treadmill behind me. I noticed a few gals with these great headbands (you know that matched the shoes, that matched their yoga mats, that matched their water bottles...you get the idea). Best yet, they stayed on their heads! So, I shamelessly asked if I could check it out (somehow all pride goes out the door when you are sweaty, stinky and just made a fool of yourself attempting to do a Downward-Facing Tree pose). Anyhow, I thought to myself  "I can make this" so I did.

Here are the simple instructions:

Supplies needed:
- 1/4 yd. of fun ribbon (make sure it is the same width or larger than the Velvet ribbon)
- 1/4 yd. of Velvet ribbon (can be found at most fabric stores). The velvet ribbon is what makes the
   headband stay put when it is on your head.
- 1/2" wide elastic

Step 1: Sew the raw edges of both types of ribbon under.

Step 2: With the wrong side of the ribbons facing each other, sew along the long edges. You'll want to leave the short edges open to slip the elastic in.

Step 3: With the ribbons sewn together, place the headband around your head to see how much elastic you will need. You want the headband to be tight, so cut the elastic so as the headband is shorter than the circumference of your head. This will allow the headband to stretch around your head and stay put. My elastic was roughly 2"-3" long.

Step 4: Slip the elastic into the open slots of the ribbon and sew the seams shut.

Now, if only exercising was this quick and easy!

-Lauralee

*as a side note, I hope that you appreciate my sewing machine from the 70's!

Linking to:
http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com