A Dinner and A Winner

Via

What's for dinner at my house? 
For a veggie, it's one of my favorite dishes. Sauteed squash. I modified the recipe found on Food.com and made up this:

Sauteed Squash

3 large size fresh squash sliced in 1/2" thickness
1/2 can French's Fried Onions
2 tablespoons light olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat oil in frying pan. Add squash. As squash starts to get soft, add fried onions. Continue to saute with lid on top until desired softness. Salt and pepper. You can add any fresh vegetable such as zucchini, tomatoes and/or my personal favorite, mushrooms.  

We'll add another side of fresh whipped mashed potatoes. For the meat it'll be another one of my concoctions, adapted from Paula Deen's meatloaf recipe, our family's favorite. It's so good, I thought why not take some of the same ingredients and use them for another dish so...

Via

Hamburger Steaks With Gravy

1 pound ground beef

1 package Lipton Onion Soup Mix

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup quick-cooking oats

Topping/Gravy-

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 375.  Mix all ingredients well, Form into individual patties. Place in baking pan. 

Mix all ingredients for gravy. Pour over patties.

Bake for 1 hour. 

And no meal is complete without a little sugar. The Doc has requested cream cheese pound cake. He likes it plain but I like to top it with fruit and whipped cream. It's also good topped with any fruit salad recipe.

Via

 From who else but the butter queen Paula Deen. (Click on the link under the photo for recipe.)

 And now for the winner of the E.W. McCall giveaway.

Congratulations to #17, Sally-

 "Love the things in the shop. I've liked EW McCall on Facebook. 

Thanks for the opportunity to win :)"

Thanks to all who entered!  No blogging for me today or the weekend as we'll be spring cleaning outside. I'm about to go plant before the sun gets too hot. It was 86 degrees yesterday! What will the temps be in July?

E.W. McCall Giveaway

I've met a very lovely lady, Lois, the Etsy shop owner of E.W. McCall.  The shop specializes in hand made one of a kind fashions.

They carry clothes and accessories for women, men, boys and girls.

Shop creations are a family effort.  They love to create and repurpose/recycle.  Lois' husband is a minister. Their ministry touches many people.
The sales from E.W. McCall help finance mission trips. Lois would love to go to South Africa with her husband this summer. To offer my small part, I'm hosting a giveaway. The winner will receive a $20 gift credit towards any item in her shop.

All you have to do to enter is like E.W. McCall on facebook-
HERE
and leave a comment telling me you've done so. We'll announce the winner next week!
Thanks for your support!

Savannah Tour and A Winner

Via

Last weekend we attended a wedding in Savannah, GA. I really miss living there. Hope you don't get tired of me saying that.  If you haven't visited yet, you should plan a trip. Here's a little clip of the gorgeous architecture and sites downtown.



Thanks to everyone for all of your nice comments on my foyer. You'll never know how long it took me to get it to that point. So simple but yet so hard. It was quite hilarious how many times I changed things before taking photos.

I'm still sick with the flu. I pray none of you get this stuff. It will not go away!  Hoping I'll be back to a normal schedule of blog visiting next week.

And for the winner of the Shabby Apple skirt...
Congratulations Erika of Just Peachy Photography!

 Wishing each of you a restful weekend. May you sleep like a baby!

Shabby Apple Giveaway

 

 

Izzie

Shabby Apple is once again graciously offering a giveaway to my readers!
How adorable is that skirt? You can win "Izzie" by entering this giveaway.

I love their dresses and skirts!

Maple

Louisa

Ferris Wheel

To enter: go like Shabby Apple on facebook and leave a comment telling me you've done so.  That's it! 


And just in time for your spring shopping, here's a Shabby Apple 10% off coupon. Enter this code- beatricebanks10off

Thanksgiving and a Winner

Country Living

Announcing the winner for the Shabby Apple Dress giveaway.
The lucky person is...
#18- Podso!

She is such a delightful person. I always enjoy her blog posts. Congratulations my friend!

Some Thanksgiving loveliness from Country Living...

With the warm temps we've had, the above tablesetting is not out of the question. But we'd rather graze around the dinner table from noon until bedtime. My daughter is coming home from college today. It will just be our little family for Thanksgiving but we are happy to all be together. I'm signing off until next week so I can soak up the moments.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway

In celebration of my 2 year blog birthday, I am partnering with Shabby Apple for a give away.

Shabby Apple carries so many pretty dresses.
 

They are offering my readers a 10% discount on any purchase (use this coupon code-beatricebanks10off.) 
Go take a look!

You can win this dress!

Classic black and white is perfect for any occasion. It would be great for a holiday party!

Enter this giveaway by leaving comments for:
1. Being a follower of Beatrice Banks.
2. Liking Shabby Apple on facebook.

You have until the 20th to enter. (Sorry, but it's only open to US residents.)

I appreciate each of you who take time to read my blog. I am so thankful for all of the friends I have made in the past two years, friends whom I wouldn't have met otherwise. It's a wonderful thing.
Thank you!

Til Death Do Us Part

Doesn't this couple look royal?

Meet the beautiful bride, Kelly, another one of our beloved sponsors for the $125 Giveaway.  Kelly's blog name is Til Death Do Us Part. 
How fitting is that on this big day?

This newlywed knows how to create some pretty things.

 Kelly also has an Etsy shop-

You can find sweet things like these-

 Q&A with Kelly-

What is the best blogging tip/advice you have learned or been given?

Be honest, and blog when you have something to say.  You have to be yourself, and you can't make your life into something it's not.  There is beauty in everyone's life and home and endeavors, even if you live in the the most plain house and aren't particularly creative.  Sometimes, the pressure to post every day or almost every day has caused me to "force" posts.  When that happens, the honesty vanishes.  I think that above creativity or inventiveness or style, people value honesty.

Do you have a method of commenting and visiting blogs and if so, what?

It's so hard to visit all the blogs I want to and keep up with all the creative women who blog.  To try to manage my blog reading and responding, I keep a big blogroll on my sidebar, and I try to respond to comments right away so they don't build up.  I also try and comment on as many blogs as possible--I know how much hard work and energy goes into crafts and design and how much I appreciate feedback, so I try to give that to others every day.

L-O-V-E

 
Be a follower of Til Death Do Us Part for another chance to win the Giveaway, which is now extended through Tuesday, May 3rd.  Winner to be announced Wednesday, May 4th. 



Thank you Princess Kelly for your generosity!

Ruffle Heaven

With ruffles being all the rage, I'm pleased to take you to a little bit of ruffle heaven, Etsy shop Raggy Girl. 
Owner Tracey is next up on the list of generous sponsors for the awesome $125 giveaway here at Beatrice Banks.
This chicka knows how to sew some ruffles!

 How about a little Paris whimsy?

For the vintage collectors, Tracey also owns Etsy shop-
Raggy Girl Vintage. 
Charming vintage finds.

Go shop til you drop.  And for another chance to win the Giveaway, become a follower of her blog-
Raggy Girl Vintage. 

Tracey gives the following blog advice and tips-

The friend who first introduced me to blogging gave me the advice to comment lots, and to link up to parties. This definitely helped “launch” my blog. I try to keep this up as time and posts permit. Be authentic and specific in your comments.

The best tip I have learned is to post the best quality photos you can, which can sometimes be challenging with time, lighting or other constraints. I’m working on this! As creative people, many of us are very visual so good pictures are what catch our attention.

Thanks for being so sweet Tracey!

Say It With a Card...or a Tag

Make yourself happy when you shop at Cards by Carla!
Carla is another one of our generous sponsors in the $125 giveaway for Beatrice Banks.  She is graciously offering the lucky winner a $20 gift certificate to her Etsy shop.  

I love her tags! 

Need some for Easter?

So many beautiful tags-

 The little robin is my favorite.  It's what drew me to her shop-

If you've bought a greeting card lately, you know a pretty one will cost over $5.  Carla offers beautiful handcrafted cards for $5!  Who wouldn't want to receive a gorgeous handmade card rather than the generic store bought ones?

She puts such effort and detail into all of her creations.

Carla also has a blog- Paper Pastorale.
Being a follower will give you another chance in the  giveaway. 

We can live and learn from others who have experience.  Carla offered some great words of wisdom when I asked her to share blogging tips. 


This is what I've learned. When I first started my blog, I posted about 360 days a year for two years. I was on a lot of design teams, and I needed to use and show the product I received for free. This eventually became incredibly overwhelming, and I wound up taking almost a year off from my blog. I am slowly trying to get back into it and show a little moderation this time. My advice is simple: Do not let your blog control your life. 

When asked do you have advice on how to keep up with blogs, her reply was-

I have no helpful advice on this question. I don't know how people keep up with so many blogs. I will say that if a blogger is only commenting in order to get comments, then it's just not genuine. Do the best you can. Blogging can be edifying and fun, or overwhelming and stressful. Guess who gets to decide which one it will be?

Hmm... I think I know the answer to that one.

Smart chick!

  
Thanks Carla!