Homemade Banana Peppers

It's that time of year when our gardens begin to yield their harvest and everyone shares the fruits of their labor.  We were fortunate enough to have some friends share their banana pepper harvest with us.

We love banana peppers around our house.  We love them on salads, sandwiches and even pizza.  But, there's one problem; I've never pickled or canned before. EVER.  One good thing?  My family has a long history of "putting up" vegetables, so a good pickling recipe was well within my reach.  Here is the one suggested to me to be the easiest, so I decided to give it a try, and it IS easy.

Seed your peppers and cut them in to rings. 

In a saucepan, bring the following ingredients to a boil:

2 cups Distilled White Vinegar
2/3 cup White Granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp Mustard Seed
1/2 tsp Celery Seed

Pour the hot liquid over the peppers, filling the jar to within 1/2" of the lid.  Wipe the rims to be sure no liquid is on them, and then screw your lids on.

Now, here is the most difficult part, wait 2 weeks!  It's gonna be tough, but I'll let you know how they turn out.

We Got Game(s)

It's your resident party thrower here, and what would Fall be without a Football Party?  Which game, you ask?  Well, all of them, of course!  We invited a whole slew of friends over to enjoy some good food, and good football.

Do you like our re-fashioned shirts?  Check back later in the week to see how we made them!

Not everyone was a fan of the same team, so I tried to incorporate all of our favorites in to the festivities. This bunting was made from sheets of felt.

 I found the team logos online, printed them out and traced them on to the felt.  Then, the kids cut them out and glued them on to the pennants with fabric glue.  At the end of the party, I detached each pennant and sent them home with the junior football fans.


I know it's technically Autumn, but this is Florida, and a good ole' fashion crawfish boil is always in season!

Here's a tip: Add a little vinegar to your water when cooking shrimp or crawfish still in their shell.  The meat comes right out of the shell!

This sweet and sour bean dip is DEE-LISH and BEE-autiful!  I'll post the recipe later this week, so don't forget to check back in. 

I made a centerpiece for the food table out of items I found around the house and a few pennants I had made for the bunting.

Can't we all just get along?  A few canning jars and chalkboard labels are all I needed to personalize these rivalry cocktails...

And remember these?  They were perfect for holding the essential game day snack...

Good food, Good friends, Good football, what s'more can a girl ask for?

Fancy Schmancy

Mason Jar Mania continues! Today we're gonna dress up our casual favorite.  Every southerner knows that drinking from a Mason Jar is part of our heritage. We've drank (yep, that's what we said) lemonade from a jar at the southern themed restaurant in town, or a sweet iced tea at a tourist attraction somewhere in the mountains.  


But what about wine? or a fabulous cocktail? Well, that right there calls for something a little more fancy schmancy...

We love our Southern Sippers, and they're so easy to make!  Here's how we did it:


Start with a Mason Jar, a candlestick, and our favorite adhesive, E6000...

Put the E6000 around the candlestick

Place jar on top ....

and voila!  Use it for every day cocktails, or you can break em out just when "company's" comin!

Here's one we dressed up for halloween!

Look for other ideas tomorrow and our Mason Jar Mania Linky Party!  We want to see what you can do with a Mason Jar!

Linking to:

Thrifty 101

Somewhat Simple

House of Hepworths

Fireflies & Jellybeans

The Idea Room

Delightful Order

A Little Tipsy!

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Twinkle, Twinkle Little Jar...Frugal party decor

How beautiful and wondrous you are!  There's nothing like having a little sparkle in the evening.  We love these Mason Jar Lanterns!

So simple to make, you won't want to stop with just one!  You will need:
*mason jars (we used quart, wide mouth) approx. $12/dozen


*wire (we love the grape vine wire we found at our local Hobby Lobby, but any kind of strong wire will do)


*wire cutters/needlenose pliers (ours do both)


*votive candles (about .30 each)

*and if you want to get fancy, something to decorate the bottom of the jar around the candle.  Think "theme"...sand in the summer, beans for a cookout.  I think they would be awesome with just a touch of white spray paint on the outside bottom third of the jar...kind of like snow for a winter party!


Tutorial for you, easy peasy!


1. Make sure your mason jars are clean, you don't want cloudy lanterns!
2. Cut your wire to 24" and loop around the mouth of the jar under the mouth ridge

Use your needle nose pliers to twist wire securely

3. Loop wire over and use pliers again to wrap wire around itself, forming a handle and twist to secure

4.  Add your candle....

5.  Hang and enjoy!

Total cost per lantern, approximately $1.45....cost of fabulous ambiance for your party $Priceless!  Enjoy!

Linking to:

House of Hepworths

30 Handmade Days

Somewhat Simple

A Glimpse Inside

Truly Lovely

Bear Rabbit Bear

Tidy Mom

TATER TOTS and JELLO

Candace Creations

Remodelaholic

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Mason Jar Mania...please join us!

We ♥ mason jars, yes we do.  They make our hearts go pitty-pat with all their crafty-organizing goodness!


According to Wikipedia, Mason jars were invented by John Landis Mason in 1858.  Mr. Mason intended them for canning and food storage which, I am sure was their main purpose for a very long time.  My mother canned, maybe yours did too, but I sure don't. 


Yet...there are 4 cases of Mason jars in my trunk at this very moment.  We are going to have some Mason Jar fun this week, yes sir-ee, Bob.


Like many, I have been feeding my Mason Jar obsession on Pinterest (follow me by clicking that little button in the sidebar).  Wow, the things you can do with a humble little Mason Jar....

Of course you can use them for canning, but how about....packing your lunch, decorating for a party, dispensing soap, holding pencils, using as a "keepable" vase for flowers, holding toothbrushes, using as gift wrap, as a design element for a  decorative chandelier, to hold candles for a tablescape, using for premixed cocktails at your tailgate party, to mix salad dressing, store playdough....there are so many fun things, I could go on and on.....and I will because Mason Jar Mania is going on for a week, ending with a Linky party on September 22.  We hope you will join us and link up your creative Mason Jar ideas!

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