I Get By With A Little Help – From a Blog

Thursday, November 16th, 2017     by Debra DuPree Williams     Start the Conversation
by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams


Do you look with envy at all those Instagram and FaceBook posts where people’s homes are decorated to the nines? You know the ones I’m talking about. Your sister who has every cutesy-pie little decorative piece here and there and everywhere and she posts photos of Every. Single. Thing. she owns. You do realize that you are not the abnormal one in this picture, don’t you? So many of us are in the last-minute-club that looking at those photos just sends us into the Guilt Zone─much scarier than the Twilight Zone.


Blog, Book, and Busy
I’ve been writing this blog for a few months now, but I’ve also been working on a book for a couple of years. I’m in the midst of edits and am trying to get it ready to go out to editors and agents. I’ve won some awards and my book has garnered some attention this year, but it needed the help of a good red pen. Enter an outstanding editor.

My editor is the best. Her suggestions and catches are making this a much better book. She even has me doing written exercises in my weakest areas, all to make me a better writer. Now throw in cataract surgery, remodeling a home, six hundred miles from where I currently live, and the absolute need for quality hugging time with my granddaughters. I just have to have that sugar fix. It’s what keeps this DD going and it’s so much better than chocolate! I failed to say that I’m in Florida and our girls are in northern Virginia. Busy, busy.  But that’s life.

So, in the middle of the night, when I do my best thinking, I began looking for ways to make the upcoming holidays a bit easier. I started with my Library of Resources (LOR). My social media coach told me I need one of these, and it has been a lifesaver. If you don’t have one, you need one, especially if you are a writer or a blogger. So here a few of my favorite sites. Some have been in my LOR for a while, but some I just found in the wee hours this morning.

Some Favorite Blogs
One of my favorite blogs is Hymns and Verses. Doreen Cagno has such a pretty home and she tells you where to purchase her finds. I love that. You won’t believe what all she can do with the simplest of things from Wal-Mart or Ikea! Check her out and you’ll see what I mean. If you like her, don’t forget to sign up for her newsletter so that you get her outstanding ideas. She has fall décor as well as her current look for Christmas. Don’t forget to dig into old posts. She has gems in there! https://hymnsandverses.com/

I found this great blog this morning. Flea Market Gardening. She has great ideas for all seasons, but you will love her Christmas décor. Even though her blog posts appear to be a bit older, they still generate great ideas. Go check it out at http://www.fleamarketgardening.org/ So many ideas, with links to each within her blog. Be sure to search for one that has twenty one ideas for Christmas.

Another one I found this morning has so many fantastic projects, I won’t ever get around to half of them. One of my favorite things about Shaunna West is that she is a fellow-Alabamian. She lives just up the road a piece from my hometown of Andalusia, Alabama. You’ll love her blog, I promise. And, if you live in or near Troy, Alabama, she has a store there, y’all!  Her blog is Perfectly Imperfect. I love that name. From gorgeous painted furniture to a teaser for an HGTV show, her site is fabulous.

Of course, there are the ones you would expect to see, Martha Stewart, House Beautiful, Southern Living. Of these, my favorite is Southern Living as it has everything from great food, to décor for any and all seasons.

The nice thing is, even if you don’t go all-out like these bloggers, you can use their ideas to create something you do have time to do, something that works for your family. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Your family will think you are a genius and that you worked so hard to make the holidays special. And besides, its’ all about making memories, not about perfection. I have to interject one more blog here. Check out Just 18 Summers by my friend Michelle Cox. Talk about making memories. It isn’t all about the holidays, but you’ll love her blog.
http://just18summers.com/

Just to help you out a bit more, I’m including my sister’s recipe for Busy-Day Chili. I’ve been making this for years and it couldn’t be better or easier. I hope you enjoy it.

What are some of your favorite blogs? Have they helped you make the holidays less stressful? Share a link with us and tell us about them. 

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I Get By With a Little Help – From a Blog @DDuPreeWilliams

Bobbie’s Busy-Day Chili


3 pounds ground beef (you may use turkey)
Two Envelopes French’s Chili-O seasoning mix
One 30-Oz. Can Tomato Sauce
One 30-Oz. Can Petite Diced Tomatoes
Three cans Bush’s Seasoned Chili Beans (use the heat level you prefer, and don’t rinse!)
Two to three cans additional kidney beans (I mix them for a variety of color. Rinse and drain these)

Brown the ground beef.
Add the packets of Chili-O
Stir in the Tomato Sauce followed by the tomatoes
Stir in the Chili Beans
Stir in the rinsed and drained kidney beans
The only water I add is that used when I rinse out my cans. It’s isn’t a lot. Less than a cup. Pour from one can to the next, slosh it around and pour into the next can.

At this point, you may add any other spices you like. It isn’t necessary, but if you like yours hot, by all means, grab that bottle of hot sauce or that little bottle of red pepper and shake away.

Cook on low, stirring pretty often as the sugars in the ingredients will tend to stick and may burn if you have your heat too high.  I cook mine at least an hour just to blend all the flavors.

Serve with shredded cheese or a dollop of sour cream.
This takes less than 30 minutes to throw together.
It freezes well.

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