"The Pink Present" Blog Holiday Giveaway

Today is finally October 27th and I'm excited to be able to announce Sweetheart's Nest, along with Shabby Cottage Shops are doing what is called "The Pink Present" Blog Holiday Giveaway! This contest is valued at $350 and there are some gorgeous items contributed by the members of Shabby Cottage Shops. The giveaway started today and will end on November 30th at 12:00 PM EST! This includes a $75.00 gift certificate from Shabby Cottage Shops to use at any one of the participating shops! To be eligible to win these gorgeous items and participate in our Blog Holiday Giveaway at Shabby Cottage Shops, the guidelines are outlined here:


"The Pink Present" Blog Holiday Giveaway make sure you sign up here & follow the instructions and be tickled pink if you are the lucky winner!

Make sure & go to our website Sweetheart's Nest and search for the pink bulb! If during your visit you happen to make a purchase on our website a little Sweetheart's Secret will be included in your order! Before I forget here is a picture of the pink bulb so you know what you're looking for:

I also wanted to share a picture of some of the fabulous prizes that you may win in The Pink Present contest:

Good Luck Everyone!

Announcement: Sweetheart's Nest Joined Shabby Cottage Shops

I wanted to stop by and make a special announcement that Sweetheart's Nest has joined Shabby Cottage Shops & together we have some exciting activities going on! I am proud to have my very own cottage. I'm the one with the Victorian style pink tower! This gives you a direct link to my online gift shop. I'm excited to say that I am going to be listed on the back of Somerset Life Magazine! This will be our first time in a magazine. They focus on imaginative ideas for inspired living and here is a link if you're interested in seeing what there magazine is all about~ Somerset Life. This will be on newsstands January 1st, 2010! We are also going to be included in Romantic Homes Magazine for their Valentine's Day Issue which is on newsstands December 22nd! That is such a gorgeous magazine, if you have never seen one it is well worth checking out!


Join us for our Pinkalicious Christmas Party! This week's theme is A Vintage Christmas. Make sure & check out our Santa Claus Magical Key which is at a special price for a limited time. If you haven't thought much about Thanksgiving then I wanted to mention I have put the Autumn Splendor Dinnerware Set on sale regularly $83.99 on sale for $79.99! These are beautifully designed by folk artist David Harden.



Stay tuned for our The Perfect Pink Present Giveaway starting October 27th. There are some fabulous gifts you can win from all the members at Shabby Cottage Shops. I can't wait to tell you more!

Happy Almost Halloween!

I was incredible lucky this week! I rarely win anything and this week I won one Halloween Vintage e-book from a really fun site called VintageHalloween Ideas.com. When you sign up for their newsletter you receive 3 free gifts that had some really great ideas for Halloween! I was lucky & won a full digital edition of a vintage Halloween book. I chose the 1923 Dennison's Bogie Book. I love anything vintage Halloween. I think the last time I won something good was when I was 5 or 6 in this Father's Day Contest so I had to share this win with you!

Our Christmas Woodland Animals

I couldn't resist these guys and I already have them out! I love the detailing of these whimsical animals. They can be used inside the home, which I am doing. I think they would look way cute around the Christmas tree. On the other hand you could use them outside to decorate your front porch! Anyway if you get a chance check out our Christmas Woodland Animals customers have been taking them home for the holidays! I guess you could say I am already in that Christmas spirit! I drive Mr. Ford nuts by listening to Christmas music starting November 1st, sometimes earlier... I'm eagerly waiting for the XM Christmas music channel! Last year I started a Christmas movie collection that I thought would be a fun idea for the holidays & have a couple movie days for friends & family. Christmas movies seem to hit you right in the heart but they do help instill the true meaning of Christmas! I usually need a box of tissues to get me through them all! I picked up some of my favorites & a couple of new ones today! The Christmas Shoes & The Christmas Blessing, Christmas Child, A Time To Remember, Holiday In Handcuffs & Snowglobe. These were actually double features so this saved some money! Don't forget to check back for our Pinkalicious Christmas as I will have some good sales for this Thursday!

Pinkalicious Christmas Parties "Home For The Holidays"

We are proud to announce our first Pinkalicious Christmas Party that will be featured every Thursday starting October 15th thru the holiday season! Each Pinkalicious Christmas Party will have a different theme and this week's theme is "Home For The Holidays" This will be a one day event every week through December 31, 2009. Sweetheart's Nest & the members at Shabby Cottage Shops will have a wide array of wonderful items for your holiday shopping needs! So plan on attending every Thursday to see new products, specials & sale items!

There will also be a great "Blog Giveaway" this holiday season! The "Pink Present" will be filled with fabulous gifts & creations! Be sure to stay tuned for more information on this exciting event!

Weekend Getaway

The weekend was fun but we ran out of time on our date day but here are some pictures of autumn at its fullest~

These pictures were taken at Country Mercantile in
Pasco, Washington. They specialize in homemade ice cream, fresh baked pies, salsa, chips, tamales and enchiladas. They have quite a few activities going,

here are just some of them:

1. Hayride out to the pumpkin patch.
2. Two massive straw bale pyramids.
3. A craft straw bale maze for the kids.
4. A big red barn full of farm animals, also known as a "petting zoo."
5. A HUGE 4 acre corn maze to get lost in (come and take chances to see if you can make it out).

6. Face painting

We never had time to get our pumpkins this last weekend so we are shooting for Friday or Saturday. I was in no big hurry since they decided to do another filbert harvest after I spent hours scrubbing & rinsing our front porch & driveway so I could decorate for Halloween. I've had about enough dust to last me for a year! But that's what you get living next to filberts.

One Of My Favorite Autumn Recipes:


Apple Cake With Cinnamon Sauce


4 Cups peeled, cored, chopped sweet apples such as Mollies, Delicious, Crispin, Red or Golden Delicious
2 Cups Flour
2 Cups Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Salt
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 tsp Vanilla


Cinnamon Sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter & flour a 9 x13 inch pan. Place apples in a large bowl & sift dry ingredients over top. Mix eggs, oil & vanilla together. Add to the apples & flour mix mixture and mix until well blended. Bake in prepared pan for 35 to 45 minutes or until cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool. Serve with Cinnamon Sauce. Makes 12 servings



Cinnamon Sauce: Melt 3/4 cup butter in a small saucepan. Add 1 cup confections sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg & 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, then simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Cool & pour over individual servings of cake.



I like to serve the sauce over the cake warmed! Yum! Enjoy!



For a helping hand with this recipe check out our Cupcake Cake Tester, so cut & a great stocking stuffer that actually fits!
Make sure you take a moment & check out our matching cupcake products!

Click here to go to our website!

Fall Harvest

We live on 65 acres of filbert orchards and every year we are in a dust storm for about 3 days. This year was no exception! We were able to snap a cute picture of this little guy who was more interested in having his afternoon snack than us taking his picture. Almost every year I whip up a batch of filbert roca from an old recipe my mother came across years ago. That's the first sign of the fall harvest. We live on a small hill with a beautiful view of Mt Hood and we are almost at that point where I can share some pictures of our incredible view of the mountain & the brilliant shades of red & gold that autumn has to offer...

I would like to point out one of our new additions, which is a book called, The Gathering Of Friends. The book is just gorgeous & the photos are stunning. I keep mine out just so people can view it! There couldn't be a more perfect time of year then to start thinking about your preparations for the holiday meals. Check out the chapters The Autumn Gathering & A Christmas Celebration which features a couple of cakes that won't add to your waistline! The recipes are well explained & the tablescapes are easy to create! This heirloom quality book is a treasured keepsake and would make an exquisite gift! Here's a little about it:

The Gathering Of Friends Was Created To Introduce Food As Love Language, Enhancing Traditions, Fortifying Relationships & Celebrating Life... Its unique style combines savory recipes & elegant design in 16 stunning gatherings. Each chapter will leave the readers prepared with simple recipes, original tablescape ideas, a ready to use shopping list, and inspiration to create their own 'gathering of friends'. Hardback, 209 pages, with slotted folder in back.

Here's a link if you would like to purchase one for yourself or for a gift!

The Gathering Of Friends

I have continued with my Halloween decorating this week and I'm expecting some new products in any day now to add to the ensemble. I purchased some Country Living magazines dated back to 1992 and I thought I would share these images with you. They are vintage Halloween inspired and I just love that over all effect. Mr. Ford has actually taken a liking to this decor; it is about time he came around! It's funny to think that the products we buy now will someday be vintage! We have our so called date night this weekend; I guess it is a date day where we will be venturing out in search of the greatest pumpkins! Will share the pictures of our adventure!

October 1st Official Website Launch Date!

October 1st has finally arrived & I couldn't be happier! Not only is it our official website launch date but it is the beginning of Halloween month! If you haven't already, make sure & check out our new website just click on the link below! I'm still in the process of listing tons of new products for the holiday season! So I will be adding alot more in these next few weeks.

Another reason that I love fall is all the craft fairs & bazaars start! We went to this one just the other day. This was called the Country Calico Antiques & Craft Bazaar & they had a collection of antiques, furniture, fall, harvest & Halloween.

I have started to get out more of my Halloween decor so I thought I would display some of it so you get an idea of what I have collected over the years. To be honest I've been a bit more in to it this year and have had my share of retail therapy with the Halloween decorations this year! Here is some of my collection I thought I would give you a peek:

I will add some more pictures as I get further along. On October 11th Mr. Ford & I are going on our annual pumpkin hunt for the perfect sized pumpkins, I also like to display the little Jack-be-Little gourds with my larger ones. Then I use the artificial fall leaves that you can get at your local craft store to place around them. Last year I had my own garden with just about everything in it you can imagine! We even grew Ghostly White Pumpkins called Casper. I did however miss the long country rides to all the pumpkin patches & seeing the beautiful autumn colors so this year will make some more memories! I will take some pictures of our journey and share them with you! If you'd like to share any of your travels or Halloween decor I'd love to hear from you!