Yep, I spelled that right.  the CRAFT fair was just CRAP!  First of all, it was about 1/10th the size of last years, and it was mostly retail stuff – I would have to say that 10% of it was actually handmade things!  The only thing I got at this fair was a snowman apron – I wore it while putting dinner together!

My mom just left, having spent almost 8 hours with us – we had nice time, but her surgery foot was bothering her a bit, so I felt bad we were doing so much walking.  She’s a trooper though!

First when my mom came we had a quick bite to eat.  Leftover pulled pork sandwiches from our Halloween party yesterday at work.  I added dill pickles to mine!

First we went to the thrift store to drop off some of Tony’s clothes, and they are fully decorated for Christmas!  One whole shelf was ALL snowmen!  I was in heaven! 😀

Here I am in my apron and loot:

These are my purchases:  a snowman lunchbox (yes, I plan to use it!), a hand painted plate, and a SNOWMAN PURSE! 

Here is my purse up close – it was the most expensive at $3.00!

I love it!
I love it!

Here is Hannah – she didn’t realize she was in the picture, but I was trying to give you an idea of the size of the crap fair.

it was only in one gym, where last year it was the whole school!
it was only in one gym, where last year it was the whole school!

So Tony put dinner together this afternoon so it could slow cook in the new stock pot.  It was braised round steak that had been stuffed with olives, fresh mozzarella, sundried tomatoes and olives.  It was browned on all sides on top of the stove, then he put our fresh marinara sauce in and put the top on.  It cooked in the oven at 250 for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours.  IT WAS MELT IN YOUR MOUTH TENDER!

Here’s how it looked first out of the stove.

the pot cleaned up beautifully by the way!
the pot cleaned up beautifully by the way!

Since Mom was here, I wanted her to try the pear soup, and she never tried my shrimp polenta before, so it was a three course meal! 

each person got about 3 ladels of soup, and I added butter croutons on top
each person got about 3 ladels of soup, and I added butter croutons on top

The second course was the fried polenta with garlic shrimp and marinara sauce, sprinkled with parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.

Then the tender meat.  It didn’t even dawn on me that I didn’t prepare a vegetable until I was serving it!  Oh well, just have to have a big salad tomorrow to make up for it!  There were leftovers so I sent some home with Mom.

So it was a fun Saturday.  Other than spending time with my Mom and daughter, and having a yummy dinner, was MY SNOWMAN PURSE!  And since its after Halloween, its officially the holiday season, so I have transferred everything to this purse already!

Hope everyone had a good day!  See you tomorrow!