Hello, Autumn! Blog Party and Giveaway *Week 2!*

Happy fall my dear friends!  Have you enjoyed your official first week of autumn?  (I'm looking forward to the weather changing- I'm dreaming of the day that the outside temperature gets lower than 85 degrees!)

I hope you entered last week's giveaway! It's still going if you have not...

I'm so grateful that God made the earth to have seasons...  changes in the atmosphere- cool weather, lighting, colors, smells...  God created variety- yes, the "spice of life".  :)

Well, I promised you a new topic this week and here it is:

 

Do you have some favorite fall recipes?  Something that has to do with pumpkin or apples and of course- cinnamon?

Well here are some that I found that look yummy:

 

Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie

 

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Pumpkin Cookies

Coconut-Pumpkin Soup

(my dad has been begging for this :)  )

Marbled Chocolate-Pumpkin Brownies

 

Maple Pumpkin Custard

 

and for those of us just trying to get into the season but it seems that the weather has some catching up to do...

Cranberry Ice-Cream Pie

 

All right- now for this week's giveaway.  I figured it would be nice to have something that goes with this week's topic:

 

Nope.  Not cupcakes- well- not it the sense you're thinking.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcake Soap

by

Soap Much Love has generously sponsored one of those adorable little soaps for the winner of this week's giveaway!

Look at these lovely products that she has in her shop:

 

How to Enter

 

Mandatory:

Visit Soap Much Love -leave a comment telling me that you did!

 

Extra

Leave seperate comments for each “entry.” If it says “2 entries,” leave two comments, etc.

~

Subscribe to my feed (at the top of the left hand sidebar)

{3 entries}

~

Add the giveaway blog button to your blog’s sidebar, and leave me the link to your blog.

(sorry- my html isn't working properly... if you would like to add my button to your blog you will need to first copy the image url http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv116/fjazzbass/AmysBlogpartybutton.jpg and add it as a photo then attach this link to it http://aheartsurrendered.com/?tag=hello-autumn-blog-party-and-giveaway)

{2 entries}

~

Blog about this week’s topic (fall recipes) and leave me the link.

{3 entries}

~

Blog, Tweet, or Facebook about this giveaway and leave me the link.

{3 entries per}

~

Add my link to your sidebar.

{2 entries}

~

For those with Etsy accounts, “heart” Soap Much Love.

{2 entries}

~

Purchase something from  

Soap Much Love.

{10 entries}

 

For those of you who do not understand how this giveaway works:

Every week I will add a new giveaway- they will all end on October 20th and the winners for each giveaway will be announced on October 21th.  If you still don't understand let me know and I'll help ya out... :-)

 

And again- don't forget to enter last week's giveaway if you haven't already!

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More Blog Partying...

Thanks so much for everyone that has entered my giveaway so far...  (if you haven't entered go now!)

As you who entered probably saw, you can get extra entries if you blog about this week's topic:  Fall Crafts and Decor.  A few of the lovely young ladies that entered (so far!) have done that very thing- check out their posts for some more fun fall ideas!

 

Kelsey at

 

Grace at

 

Alyssa at

 

Great job, girls... thanks!

180 Movie

I believe it was back in early August that we found out that "180" was coming out.  It was right after Operation Save America and about during the time that we were evaluating our place in the "Prolife" movement.  After I watched the trailer I could not wait- I did not like having to wait a more than a whole month to watch the film!

What had changed those people's pro-choice views so quickly?

Today is the day that it comes out- you can watch the entire thing (only 33 minutes- so no excuses that you don't have the time!) for free online here.

We watched it last night on YouTube (because it was technically Sept 26 in other parts of the world :)  ) and loved it- we almost watched it two times in a row ( my 12-year-old sister Melody said we should watch it over and over 'til we memorize it :P ).  We were afraid of being "let down" because of all the build up of the trailer but we were not disappointed by any means!

***I do want to warn younger children- let your parents watch and/or evaluate the film before you watch it.  There are some graphic images that they may or may not want you to see***

Don't waste any time- watch it as soon as possible and pass it on to as many friends as you can!

God surely seems to have His hand on this thing...  :-)

Hello, Autumn! Blog Party and Giveaway

 

Today is the very first day of autumn and to celebrate I'm going to be having a giveaway every week for the next four weeks beginning each Friday all of them ending on the 20th of October (winners to be announced October 21).  Every Friday I will announce a new prize (or two!) and will talk about a new topic.

This week's topic is:

My family was very excited about getting our house decorated for fall... and making crafts is a good way to do it!

Check out these great ideas and tutorials:

(Click the images to be directed to the sites)

This is a fantastic resource:

~Homemade Autumn Wreath~

~The Thankful Tree~

Beautiful idea- no instructions but by looking at the photo I think you could easily figure it out ;)

 

~Family Fun Crafts~

~More Crafts~

 

All right- you probably want to know

what I am giving away this first week-

and it goes with my crafts and decor topic:

I have two wonderful sponsors this week...

 

Look at these lovely things that are in her store....

(Those are all candles!)

She has generously sponsored these beautiful

~

Pine Cone Votive Candles~

The next wonderful sponsor is

       

Look at these beauties in her store...

 

 

She has generously sponsored this fun

Vegan Shea Butter Candy Corn Soap

 

How to Enter

Mandatory:

Visit both shops, leave a comment telling me that you did!

 

Extra

Leave seperate comments for each "entry." If it says "2 entries," leave two comments, etc.

~

Subscribe to my feed (at the top of the left hand sidebar)

{3 entries}

~

Add the giveaway blog button (below) to your blog's sidebar, and leave me the link to your blog.

{2 entries}

~

Blog about this week's topic (fall crafts and decor)

{3 entries}

~

Blog, Tweet, or Facebook about this giveaway and leave me the link.

{3 entries per}

~

Add my link to your sidebar.

{2 entries}

~

For those with Etsy accounts, "heart"  Crafts by Noel and Cassia Aromatics.

{2 entries}

~

Purchase something from  

Crafts by Noel or  Cassia Aromatics.

{10 entries}

 

Happy Entering ;-)

 

<center><a href="http://aheartsurrendered.com/?tag=hello-autumn-blog-party-and-giveaway" _mce_href="http://aheartsurrendered.com/?tag=hello-autumn-blog-party-and-giveaway" target="_blank"><img alt="A Heart Surrendered” src="http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv116/fjazzbass/AmysBlogpartybutton.jpg”/></a></center>

I AM working on it...

For those of you wondering about my apron-

I AM working on it!  Really!

I just also have a life separate from sewing and it happens to be pretty full...  ;-)

 

Proof:

I scrapped this idea...

My experimental pair of jeans...

I found a pillowcase that I got at the Goodwill clearance center because I liked the fabric and decided to combine it with the jeans but it's still in the works...

 

I get distracted easily so if you don't see photos of a finished apron 'til Christmas time, you won't be surprised!  :-)

How Do You Measure Up?

One of my favorite books of the Bible right now is Philippians- so many wonderful verses to "chew" on.

Here is one that I have been thinking about and would like to share with you:

 

"Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that your are standing firm with one spirit with one mind striving together or the faith of the gospel."

Philippians 1:27

 

I heard a talk by Francis Chan earlier this year discussing this verse.  He likened it to a scale- if the gospel of Jesus Christ was on one side of the scale and your life was one the other side of the scale- would it be equal?

Allow me to expound upon this...

The sacrifice of Jesus was so immense.  The blood that was shed- the pain, torment, mocking that he underwent- is enough to make any of us sick.  But a lot of people don't realize that that wasn't the worst of it.  God poured out His wrath upon Jesus.  Every sin that had ever been committed and ever would be was poured out on Jesus and He had to take the punishment for it all.

Does your life reflect your gratitude for what Jesus did for you?  (I know I definitely need to work on mine!)  When life gets "tough" do you lash out or do you remember how much more Jesus suffered and meekly endure?  How do you measure up to the standard of the cross?

 

Just what I've been thinking about this morning...

I Need an Apron!

I've been cooking/baking since I was about nine years old- it's been roughly nine years since...  every time that I have gone to cook or bake something I put on somebody else's apron!

 

Today is the day that I will put an end to this "borrowing aprons" business.

I have decided to make one for myself.

(I can hear the dramatic gasps running through the crowd...)

 

At the moment I have a pile of jeans sitting on the island in the corner of our dining room- hopefully by the end of the day they will be an apron... :)

Now I picked out some aprons on Pinterest for us to take a look at to get some inspiration on how to design my own:

Really love the criss-cross at the top- the ruffles are a little much though...

(don't get me wrong- they are cute but for an apron?)

I love how it looks like a  dress!

I just LOVE the colors and the crisp clean look of this one...

the ruffles at the top are adorable...

I love this one- it looks so Shabby Chic  :)

 

Ah, well...

Photos to come of my sewing adventures today :)

The Reveal!

Some of you have already seen it- via my dad's Facebook page- but here it is...

Everything that I've been working on all week (well, almost- more on that later!)...

The product of blood, sweat, and tears- ok, not really...

So there you have it...

By the grace of God it DID get done and it DID work out!

I would love to post some more photos of the wedding but I'm running late...

More to come :)

The cake is almost done...

Ok, apologizing once again for the terrible lighting in our kitchen and the quality of some of these photos (a few were taken with our cell phone)!

But I finished all the tiers at 1AM last night (or this morning?)...

I smoothed the icing with parchment paper...

(it's AMAZING- just make sure to let the icing dry a bit before you do it!- ask me how I know...)

 

You can see Grooveshark in the background...  it helped me to keep my sanity- well and FB ;)

First tier done!  I wasn't in a right state to take photos every step of the way with each tier (technical issues) I did manage to get shots of each finished tier...

 

The middle tier...

 

...and the top tier!

The stacking and finishing touches will take place later today at the wedding so hang tight!

I thank God that nothing disastrous happened (!) and that He gave me peace through the whole process... I prayed as I was making it and I believe that He heard my prayer.  I had a few hiccups but I was able to overcome them by His grace.  I know that without Him (Sadly, I've tried it before...) that the results CAN be disastrous...

He cares even about small silly things like wedding cakes.  :)

"'Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So do not fear ; you are more valuable than many sparrows...'"

Matthew 10:29-31

 

Alright...  I'm off once again- this time not to don my apron but to empty my camera card and get my equipment ready for this evening...  pray that I do a good job :)  Once again very nervous...

 

Source: thevintagebird.blogspot.com via MaryBeth on Pinterest