A Giveaway on All Saints Day

Today I'll be busy all day taking down the Halloween decorations and transforming the front porch tree into a Thanksgiving tree.  I'm also gonna have a little giveaway to celebrate All Saints Day...a day to celebrate all Christian saints, particularly those who have no special days of their own.

THE GIVEAWAY:  Cranberry Chutney!  What is Chutney you might ask?  Chutney is a relish originating in India made with fruit and spices.  The Chutney preserved the fruit itself so that it could be eaten out of Indian curries.

Taste of Gourmet's Cranberry Chutney is a sweet flavorful condiment filled with whole cranberries and spices to serve with roast turkey, chicken, or pork.  You can mix a little of the Chutney into chicken salad or spread it on sliced turkey/ham sandwiches.  A great party food treat:  Cover the top of Brie cheese with the Cranberry Chutney, wrap it in pastry, and bake until browned!

For a real treat, add some Cranberry Chutney Bagel Spread* to your bagel...it's one of my traditions on the "Day After Halloween!"

Recipe for Cranberry Chutney Bagel Spread:
2 to 3 tbsp Cranberry Chutney
8 oz cream cheese at room temperature

Mix the Cranberry Chutney into softened cream cheese.  You can add a bit of milk or orange juice, if needed for softness.  Spread onto warm bagels and enjoy!  The spread will last in the frig for a week).

The Cranberry Chutney is the Taste of Gourmet "Product of the Month" during November.  Taste of Gourmet has a "Product of the Month" each month...a fundraising project to benefit the St. Jude Children's Hospital.  Purchasing the Cranberry Chutney during the month of November will generate a $1.00 donation to St. Jude Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.  The hospital is devoted to research and treatment toward eliminating chronic childhood diseases like leukemia and is the only childhood cancer research center designated by the National Cancer Institute.

THE GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES:
One winner will receive a jar of the Cranberry Chutney.  All you need to do to enter is leave a comment!  That's it...easy peasy!  I will announce the winner of this giveaway on Saturday morning, November 3, 2012.  The winner MUST contact me at:  Miss Janice {at} Miss Janice {dot} com no later than Monday morning, November 5, 2012 to claim your prize!  If not...I will redraw!!!!

I'm Not Skipping Thanksgiving

No Ma'am...I'm not skipping Thanksgiving this year! I've spent the last few days bringing out my Thanksgiving decos and will keep them out until the weekend after Thanksgiving. That probably means I'll be half-dead by that weekend, with the Thanksgiving Feast, early morning Charity Turkey Trot 5k race, Thanksgiving Day parades, Black Friday marathon shopping, et cetera....then, taking down all the turkey decos and putting up the Christmas decos. Lord have mercy, I'm already exhausted just thinking about it all! Actually, I plan to spend some time at my Mama's between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I'm not going all out on the Christmas decorations this year...yes ma'am, that's the plan!

This morning I went to Church and since it was All Saint's Day, the names of departed souls were printed in the Church bulletin. It always makes me sad to see my daddy's name there...still can't believe he's gone! I lifted up prayers for several close friends who are ill, my family members, close friends, and several social network friends, whom I've never even met.

"HERE'S WHAT I WORE"

Boucle Dress Suit: Talbots...long time ago.

The flower pin is from Stein Mart...long time ago.
Accessories:
Pocketbook: Chanel
Shoes: 'Vara' pumps, by Ferragamo
Cologne: Ferragamo
Hair bow: I actually didn't wear the gold barrette, but wore a tan grosgrain ribbon bow.
Lipstick: 'Talisman' by Chanel
Earrings: Pearls
Wedding Band: 'Eternity' by Cartier
"The Roost" is ready for Thanksgiving...
Autumn wreath is on the front door...
The tree is decorated with turkeys...
Old glory on the tree top...
Faith, Family, Friends...

Little feathered turkeys all over the tree!
This afternoon, I'm actually doing some planning for Thanksgiving...favors, treats, Thanksgiving Feast menu, et cetera...
The cornacopia is out...
Love my cornacopia!
Jazzed up the mirror with this feathered wreath...
I'll probably give out more of these gifts for Thanksgiving...Turkey Spice Rub!
I'm very OCD...organized to the hilt. Plan. Plan. Plan.
Organizing the platters, dinnerware, and serveware.
The kitchen is set up with some Thanksgiving decos...
Kitchen table...
Mums...Lord, I've already killed about 5 mums this season!
Thanksgiving dessert on the sideboard a few years back.
Thanksgiving tablescape...pilgrims and turkeys.
Most definitely will have the same leftover plan...white gift box, autumn tone shred, plastic plate, with the leftovers to take home.
Leftovers...ready to go...raffia and cute Thanksgiving tag!

Are you skipping over Thanksgiving this year? Is your home already decorated for Christmas? Don't be ashamed! Lord, in years past, I've been known to already have ten Christmas trees up and decorated by this date!

THE THANKSGIVING TREE

What a beautiful fall weekend we have had here in South Florida! I've been busy taking down Halloween decos and putting out a few Thanksgiving decos. I'm also bringing out the Christmas decos at the same time. Lord have mercy! I thought y'all might like to see some photos of the porch decorated for Thanksgiving...

I peeked out the window this morning and a daddy was telling his little girl what the sign said..."Happy Turkey Day!"
My UPS boy (better known as this shopping girl's best friend) told me that he took a photo of my sign and sent it to his mama in Georgia...so that she would know there were some real Southern people here in South Florida!

Last week the tree was decorated for Halloween. Poof! Now it's a Turkey Tree!!!

I definitely give thanks everyday for my faith, family, and friends!

Pumpkin fever on the tree...

Turkey ornaments, autumn garland, and autumn-toned ornaments...

Pumpkins hiding in the branches...

The crown...a BIG turkey! Gobble Gobble Gobble y'all...

The tree is gorgeous at night. I overheard one of my neighbors walking by the porch last night...she said to her friend "Oh, now she's got turkeys on it!"

A little treat after dinner with my friend Harvey who drove up from Broward County...Apple Cider Spritzers* and Paula Deen's Apple Butterscotch Mini Bundt Cakes.

Recipe for Miss Janice's Apple Cider Spritzers:

Pour equal amounts of apple cider and seltzer water on ice and enjoy!

You can buy Paula's Apple Butterscotch Mini Bundt Cakes and her other delicious baked goodies from the Bakery Deparment at WALMART! Yes ma'am, y'all know I'm one of the new people of Walmart:)

I'm off to have lunch with friends. Have a wonderful Sunday and thank you so much for visiting with me today! Just in case you missed my post on Friday, I'll leave you with a photo of the wreath I hung on the front door...it coordinates well with the tree!