Events & Holidays
Family Recipe: Never Fail Flaky Pie Crust
Many years ago my Great Aunt Naomi gave me this recipe for her “Never Fail Flaky Pie Crust”. It has been a great flaky pie crust recipe that is easy to make. I have made this pie crust multiple recipes over the years for a variety of pies. As the fall season approaches and we prepare to make delicious pies from fresh picked berries, apples and other great fruits this pie crust will come in handy.
Never Fail Flaky Pie Crust:
- 3 cups Flour
- 1 cup Shortening
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 1 Egg, well beaten
- 5 tablespoon Water
- 1 tablespoon Vinegar
Mix flour, shortening, salt with pastry blender. Combine egg, water, and vinegar then combine with flour mixture. Mold into 4 balls chill awhile then roll out for pie. Balls will keep up to 2 weeks in refrigerator for additional pies. Yields: 2 double pie crusts
If you want to just do enough for 1 complete pie crust (top and bottom) cut the recipe in half.
Photo by Joe Beone
Giveaway: $10 Walmart Gift Card
I am doing another giveaway on Blessings Multiplied!!! The winner of this giveaway will receive a $10 Walmart Gift Card! As a Mom of twin daughters I am always looking for ways to save a little extra when buying groceries, school items, household supplies and more for the family.
- Sign up to follow my blog (if you haven’t done so already) and leave a comment below telling us how you follow Blessings Multiplied.
- You can get a bonus entry into the drawing if you leave a separate comment below sharing one of your favorite supplies you like to get at Walmart!
All comments must be made by September 30th at 10:00 PM EST to be entered into the drawing. On September 30th, I will randomly draw a winner from those who have entered the giveaway.
CONGRATULATIONS to Our Staples Gift Card Winner!!!
The name has been drawn for the giveaway!
CONGRATULATIONS to Adriana
for winning a
$10 Staples Gift Card!
Thanks for making a comment in honor of our Giveaway!
An email has been sent to you with more information*
Enjoy Your Supplies
Don’t forget to enter our next Giveaway!!!
*Giveaway must be claimed within 5 business days of the prize being announced. Failure to claim the prize within the allotted time frame means you forfeit the prize.
Summer Activities – A Hammock Full of Memories
Swinging and relaxing for a few minutes in the Hammock! A few months ago for Mother’s Day Jake gave me a hammock! It wasn’t until this Summer that I realized how much the gift meant to me. As a family we have spent some wonderful time together talking, laughing, reading, and just relaxing together in the hammock. Jake hung the hammock in the shady part of our yard near the jungle gym, swimming pool, and where I can see the majority of the yard, house and driveway.
Karlie hanging out with us on the hammock! Once Karlie was done swimming she ran inside the house to change so she could have some relaxing time on the hammock with Mom and Dad. I cannot count the number of times she has fallen asleep on the hammock as we enjoy time together.
Brina loving the extra time talking and relaxing with Mom, Dad and Karlie. The girls love getting a chance to swing on the hammock with Mom and Dad. They have a blast talking about anything and everything. It is a great location to have some heart to heart as well as reminisce about all the fun memories we have together as a family.
Skipper, our faithful guard dog while the family enjoys time on the hammock. After Skipper has made a complete loop around the entire property she will settle down at a spot right next to the hammock. She occasionally will look at us but for the most part she is checking out all the activity in the woods and creek area. Although she has never been on the hammock she seems to enjoy it when the entire family is outside nearby.
A moment of rest. Every once in awhile when we are on the hammock the girls will fall asleep. It is such a great place to spend a few moments together. Life has a way of getting so busy that we need some time to stop, focus on each family member, enjoy being outside and relax.
A peaceful view of nature! This is the view looking up from the hammock. You can enjoy the beautiful trees, baby blue sky, and white puffy clouds floating by. Just looking up and watching the leaves rustle in the breeze and the clouds drifting by makes the time relaxing even better.
I have gone out many times over the last few months to relax, read, think, pray, do my devotions, write, brain storm, or hang out with Jake and / or the girls. I am thankful for a thoughtful husband who gave me a gift that not only helps me relax but to slow down and enjoy a few precious moments with him and the girls. Our hammock is so much more then just a hammock it is full of relaxing moments sharing memories together as a family. Sometimes it is the simple things in life that make the most treasured memories for our children. I am already looking forward to watching the leaves change colors as we move closer to the Fall season.
Summer Activities: Cleaning the Pool
The girls have a blast “helping” Jake clean out the pool. I am not sure how they can stand the ice cold water but they enjoy splashing around as the pool is cleaned and refilled. It has been fun having a small pool for the girls to play in at home. Here are some of the pictures from our last pool cleaning process:
Brina getting ready to spray Daddy as he is cleaning the pool while Karlie is jumping over the hose! Karlie thought it was so cool to jump over the hose during the cleaning process while Brina got a kick out of spraying Daddy when he wasn’t looking her way.
Lounging in the pool as it fills up. Aw…..what a great life it is having the opportunity to relax in the pool as it fills. They were laying there like this chatting back and forth about summer, trips, and life in general. I enjoy seeing them relax and have fun together.
You never know what friends you'll find while cleaning out the pool. Karlie spotted this eight legged spider in the pool as we were cleaning it out and filling it up. A black widow spider is not the type of friend I like to swim around with in the pool. Thankful he was discovered right away when we are cleaning out!
I am truly thankful for the time I was able to spend at home with my girls. It is a blessing to have many memories of our summer together. The summer has been packed full of travel, crafts, parks, picnics, and many other great adventures. I am treasuring the last few days we have together before school starts again (only a few days left)!
Book: “Who Do You Love?” by Margaret Wang
Several years ago my parents gave the girls Who Do You Love? by Margaret Wang and they still love it. I have read the book to them many times and now they can read it on their own. The book is encouraging for the kids because it goes through the variety of people in their lives that love them. This is a terrific book especially for younger kids as they are learning about the family members, (including siblings, parents, and grandparents). When the girls were little after reading the book we would talk about their grandparents and share memories. It is now great seeing them read it together and share memories with each other.
Family Recipe: Scotch Shortbread
Jake’s Grandma makes awesome Shortbread cookies. These are a staple in our household especially around the Holidays, however, they are perfect any time of the year. My husband REALLY enjoys these cookies so they are fun to make at our house as a special treat for him.
Scotch Shortbread:
- 1 1/2 cup Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 2/3 cup Butter
- 1/2 cup Confectioners’ Sugar
Sift flour, measure, add salt and sift again. Cream butter, gradually add confections’ sugar and continue to beat until light. Combine the dry ingredients and creamed mixture until blended thoroughly. Pat the dough into an ungreased 9 inch pie plate. Flute the edges with fingers, prick the surface all over with fork. Or use an 8×8 inch pan and mark into square or oblongs before baking. Bake in a moderate oven 325 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool before removing from pan. You can also do a variety of shapes with cookie cutters as well.
Photo by Angela Anderson Cobb
Craft Activities: Time to Paint
The girls enjoy summer and all the fun activities that come along with it! One of the activities they insisted on doing regularly was painting. They have a blast doing it and I like that it helps them work on their hand eye coordination as well as creativity.
Karlie concentrating on her painting project! Karlie had so much fun coloring her craft that she used up almost all the paint that came with it. She was really good about rinsing out her brush!
Brina carefully painting her craft! She wanted the picture to be perfect! Brina had fun painting her pretty picture.
I am thrilled to see how much the girls enjoy crafts. It is neat seeing them take time to be creative, neat, and make the craft extra special. They are even getting better about not making such a huge mess (which is nice for Mommy too). My babies are growing up so quickly. I am thankful for our time together this summer and will be sad to see them go back to school soon.
Delicious Butterfly – White Chocolate Raspberry Pretzels
White Chocolate Raspberry Butterfly Pretzel As a special treat a this summer the girls picked out these White Chocolate Raspberry flavored Pretzels to share when they were on sale. They were delicious! As they were snacking on the goodies the Brina pulled out this one, the butterfly. They were super excited that there was a butterfly in their container of goodies. The butterfly came complete with “beautiful wings”. They told me that they next time with make chocolate pretzels they were going to make a lot of butterflies! Even a butterfly pretzel can be a true source of enjoyment for the kids. It is the little blessings that come in small packages that bring smiles.
Love It – Skippies (Water Toys)
Our Skippies after a fun weekend in the ocean, still with some sand on them! My girls picked out a pool toy, Skippies by Fluid, to give to Daddy for his birthday a couple weeks ago and we got to try them out on our recent trip to Charleston. It was a BLAST playing with these floating discs!!!! I have to admit I was thinking of using the Skippies mainly for time in the pool because I thought we would lose them in the ocean with the waves. Since we didn’t have the opportunity to use them at the pool first we decided to test them in the ocean anyway. The whole family had a lot of fun playing with the “Skippies”! They floated really well, were bright colors which made them easy to spot in the water, and light weight so if one managed to hit you it didn’t hurt (we tested that theory, Jake even managed to hit me on the forehead one time). Plus they were easy to grab and throw even for the kids.
Several people in the water near us stopped us to ask about them. I was impressed with how entertaining they were and how easy they were to use even for our girls. It is a great time of year to check out these neat pool toys as the summer season begins to wrap up. They are not expensive and can provide a lot of fun entertainment for your whole family. I found them on clearance at our local Sports Authority when they were closing down the store on Laurens Road. I am looking forward to trying them out at the pool now that we tested them successfully in the ocean! They come in a pack of 4 and measure 3 inch in diameter. You can find them at Toy Splash!
“Love It” is a series of posts on items that I use regularly or seasonally in my household that I love! There are some items in our daily lives that make life more enjoyable, efficient, or just plain fun. I will be sharing with you some of the products that have been given to us (or to me) that have made it to the top of my list. It’s my way of giving a huge thumbs up!
