Happiness is Homemade Chocolate Chili and Mint Milkshakes

I hope all that celebrate had a Boo-tiful Halloween. We had our annual block party in the cul-de-sac. Luckily the winds were calm and it stayed warm enough that we didn’t all need to huddle around the fire pits as much this year. The benefits of Southern California life.

The blog started getting ready for holiday season with these marshmallow free Spiced Candied Sweet Potatoes that are delicious any time of year, but especially Thanksgiving and these easy Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts appetizers that are great for all of those celebrations coming up.

Linda picked some fun fall features for us, and I am not just saying that because she chose my Chocolate Chili. 🙂

Happiness is Homemade #295

Welcome back to November.  Gosh I cannot believe it is already November.  The American Thanksgiving is fast approaching and the Ho Ho Ho time.  Christmas is just 52 short days away. Happiness is Homemade 295 is celebrating Fall and sharing a variety of cool posts. Furniture Redos, Food Drinks and yep even a table. Grab a tea or coffee and sit back and enjoy.

Soups On Sort of

First up is an amazing Chili Con Carne with Chocolate.  Yes you read that correctly chocolate in chili. That Recipe tells us that Chocolate added to chili, or other beef recipe such as this Spicy Chocolate Marinated TriTip, gives the dish an incredible earthy rich flavoring. Most people won’t even realize that it is chocolate that is giving it the extra layer of flavor.

It’s Table Time

It’s November so Fall and Thanksgiving start coming together for those South of the border. How cute is this casual Thanksgiving Table from Deb over at Deb’s Buzz? Deb tells us that Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday of the year, because it’s all about family, traditions, and celebrating in a non-commercial way.

As soon as Halloween is over, I reset tables and the kitchen island. Counters, a glass-front cabinet, and open shelves in the kitchen are also embellished with pilgrim figures, indians and turkeys.

A furniture Re-Do

An easy walk through of wet distressing from Wise Little Owl Furniture. Well I say easy because she makes it sound so uncomplicated that I might want to try this.

Today I am taking it back to my farmhouse roots.  Whoop whoop!  If you’ve been following my blog, you know I’ve been experimenting a lot with different products, techniques, colors and finishes.  While that has been a blast, I wanted to do a simple beautiful piece in a one-color finish with distressing to accent the curves, fluting and details.

Happiness is Homemade Drink Feature

And can there be features without a drink?  I think not.  Today’s special concoction is a Mint Chocolate Chip Milkshake from Ashley over at Simply Blended Smoothies.  Not what one may think of traditionally for Fall but hey it has chocolate. Plus not everyone gets to enjoy Fall Foliage , they may be chillaxing Poolside so this works perfectly.

I am excited to share what is probably my all-time-favorite milkshake ever: a Mint Chocolate Chip Milkshake!  I have always loved mint chocolate chip ice cream, it has always been a favorite of mine, and so making this in drinkable form is a win-win in my book!  

Bonus Feature

And although in my home I cannot start decorating for Christmas until after Remembrance Day (Veteran’s Day in the US) I just had to include this awesome DIY from Penny’s Treasures. Taking a chair with great bones and making your own Christmas slip cover.  How amazing is this.

There was a chair that had been retired to the studio about 4 years ago because it no longer fit in with my decorating style in the house.    The other day,     I decided to bring it back in and preform a make over on it…..not just any old make over….. a Christmas make over!