Porches and Petals

I have a few new additions to my Christmas décor in my living Room this year. I found this mantel decoration at Goodwill for $6.99, and I found the candles to put in it the same day so they match perfectly. The Santa has to be where the most amazing finds my mother pointed I while we were shopping in Bliss Thrift store. We could not believe when it had a $20 tag attached to it. I had been thinking last year that I would like a Santa that was more life sized but I knew it wasn't practical.  I did not really have any real plans on buying one until I saw this and that it was such a great deal . The Santa does not move or anything like that, and he is lightweight and easy to carry myself,  now I just need to figure out where to store him until next year. The beautiful red and gold tablecloth is another item I picked up for less than one dollar at Bliss Thrift Store.  I think it is perfect for Christmas! The Santa is another Bliss find from earlier this year. He wa

I don't remember how I came across this recipe for quick raisin bread, but I tried the recipe last month and I thought it was absolutely delicious! The recipe I'm sharing today is going to be a little different from the one I found.  The first time I used the recipe I did not have baking powder available so I did without, and I really did not see much difference this time, it tasted great and came out fine anyway. For my version I did not bother to soak the raisins or do any thing different as far as when or how I added the ingredients,  I just put everything into a bowl and mixed it up.  It was very gooey and sticky but I was able to scrape it out into the pan, which I of course had greased beforehand. I also did not pre-heat my stove as I tend to always forget. I think the preparation time took about 10 minutes and the cook time was around 40 minutes . This is such a delicious raisin bread, and I'm not even a fan of raisins usually, but there's something so d