Trick or Treat

Here we have Super Woman. My two year old.
This one was pre-star on the head piece. But her dimples were too cute!
My little Snow White with the poisionous apple.
The handsome Luke Sky Walker, my seven year old.
And here is the happy gang all together. I was very thrilled to get these finished. Our Trick or Treat is on Halloween, so it isn't until Sunday. Now I can relax, and fix any finishing touches if need be. I'm not sure sewing three costumes was good for my sanity, but I am pleased with how they turned out. I didn't use a pattern, the pieces were pretty simple to figure out. I took their measurements and them kept trying them on. I have to say, getting kids to try things on is quite the challenge, that is why I usually dont' sew regular clothing for them. All of their costumes were their ideas. My two year old was sitting at dinner one night when we asked her what she wanted to be and she said, "Supa-woman" and super woman she got.
Well have a great Friday, and have a fun Halloween weekend!

Pumpkin Carving...Roasted Pumpkin Seeds..and Vegan Happy Cornbread

My husband and son decided on doing "Arthur" this year. He free handed it, and I think it turned out really good. We are Arthur fans around here.
My youngest wanted a cute kitty, so this one was cute and simple enough.
I had such a hard time getting the best shot of "Snow White.' My daughter is going to be Snow White for halloween, so she was certain she would need a matching pumpkin.

I roasted the pumpkin seeds this morning. I found a really tastey way to make them. I have made them before and didn't know what I was doing.
I boiled them in water with a few tablespoons of salt for 10 minutes, drained them, then I put them in the oven on a cookie sheet with olive oil and salt for about 20 minutes or until they are brown enough for you. Let them cool a couple of minutes, and you have roasted pumpkin seeds.

A couple of weeks ago I made some Egg free/Vegan corn bread to have with soup. I have been using this vegan recipe for several years. It is delicious! And notice he came out with a big smile!

Here's the recipe which I found on Recipezarr from Chef Eggless.
1 cup of cornmeal
1 1/4 cups of flour
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 1/4 cups of rice or soymilk
1/2 cup of olive or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease on 8 by 9 square pan
Combine the dry ingrediants, cornmeal flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
Stir in the wet ingrediants, milk, oil, vinegar
Pour the batter into the pan
Bake for about 20 minutes or until the sides pull away from the pan, and you can put a toothpick in to check as well.
Seriously some delicious cornbread, I eat it for days.

And I Am Back....

We had such a wonderful weekend with family. We ate a whole lot of delicious food, and had the most amazing soft pretzels. It has taken me a bit longer to get back to the blog, my son has been sick too , so lack of sleep and tending to him has been the haps around here. I am almost done with the snow white costume, and need to finish super woman and luke skywalker. *deep breath* Let's hope I can get these done. I am way behind on where I would be with Christmas items for my shop. I am trying to just not get overwhelmed. I have a tendency to put alot of pressure on myself. When I start getting this way I try to step back and realize that this is meant to be a side project, not my whole life. It's not the end of the world if things aren't done. I will get it done in time, and if I don't, again, not the end of the world. With having a family I must tend to the them and their needs above anything. Making stockings and ornaments can't all wait. It has been so hard to find motivation to work in the evening. I think lack of sleep and worrying about my son being sick definitly takes a toll on any motivation. I would rather flop on the couch and watch t.v.
We started watching the show "Bored To Death." I have found it quite entertaining. We borrowed the discs from Netflix. Defintily very entertaining. If you like Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, and various other flicks) you will like this show. He is the lead character along side Ted Danson and Zach Galafanakis ( whom I find extremely funny).
I dont' have any pics to share today. I am kinda tired and lazy to find any too. We plan on carving pumpkins tonight. We all need to decide what we want to carve. We have four pumpkins to plan out. I will have pics of those.
Well have a great Tuesday!

Split Pea Soup My Friends

Thats whats on the menu today. My husband loves split pea soup, and I do too. Now if you are not a meat eater, skip the ham hocks, but they really add alot of flavor. I use this recipe , and I doubled it to have leftovers (already doubled for you)
2 cups of dry split peas (rinse and drain)
4 cups of chicken broth
2 cups of water
1-2 pounds of ham hocks
3 medium carrots
2 celery sticks (I skip these, noone likes these at our house)
1/2 cup of onion
Do all your chopping, rinsing. I cook mine in the crockpot so I don't have to watch it all day. I put the peas in, then the ham hocks, then the veggies, then the chicken broth and water. Finally add a dash of pepper. Then put in your crockpot on high heat for 5 to 6 hours. Delicious!
I must take a pic of it when its done, it is the rperfect savory meal in the fall
Pair it with a nice crusty bread
Another one of my fave fall soups is a clam chowder. My father-in-law makes the best in the world. Hands down. He made me a batch the last time he came so I could eat it for many weeks. And trust me I did.
I really love the etsy shop "Paper Pastries."
When I was a kid I thought it was the best thing in the world to get cool pencils, I still do.

Have you visited "jikits?"
Her ever so cute "Danke Thank You cards are absolutely adorable!!!

I will be back in a few days. We are going to be enjoying family in town!
Have a great Thursday!

Quick one...

Busy bee this week. We have family coming in town, which we are absolutley thrilled about. We did a little bit of bowling today. It is quite the feet with three kids. And with a 2 year old, sometimes I'm not sure what I got myself into ;)
Okay , I have talked about Miyasaki before, the creator of "Totoro," well my brother gave me the heads up that he has created a new movie based on "The Borrowers." I was so excited and shocked, considering my son and I just finished reading this book. I don't know when it will come to the states, but I believe it came out in August in Japan.

I am super stoked now! I must must get my girls costumes completed this week. I have been slow to get to work on them, but I don't think they will be too hard, knock on wood.
Have a great Wednesday!

Pumpkin Time

We did our annual pumpkin picking trip. We have done this for the past five years, and I make sure to schedule it in. It is one of our family events that I look forward to every year. I still haven't convinced anyone to go apple picking. Buying them at the store makes more sense to everyone. I think when they get bigger I can figure out a scheme to pick apples.
Last night I started some of my Christmas items. Crazy it seems to already to be thinking of Christmas, but last year I didn't anticipate how busy I would be so I told myself last year that I would get started on my Christmas goods in October. I have some new fun ideas I have planned for my stockings I sell. I just love Christmas , so I'm super excited to get some stuff going.
I plan on cranking out some costumes this week. I took all the measurements for the girls.
On Saturday I roasted some butternut squash, lets just say it was super delicious. I peeled my squash and then cubed it. I had the oven on 400 degress and I drizzled it with olive oil and then sprinkled cinnamon, suger, salt, and a hint of pepper. I baked it for about 25 minutes, but you can do it until its tender. I also woke up Saturday before the pumpkin picking and made another batch of pumpkin muffins. I can't get enough of these.
I am on the hunt for little jeans and shoes tonight. And we are going to have a nice greasy pizza. That's my kind of night!
Have a great Monday!

Stylin's

Photo from "Style Rookie."

Have you ever read "Style Rookie."
Tavi is an amazing teenager with the fashion world at her finger tips. She blogs about fashion, wears fashion from top designers, and has the most amazing blogging skills. I have known about her for a couple of years not, and I almost cannot believe how successful she has become, well, I can believe it, she's brilliant!
I was checking out her blog today when I was struck with the most amazing leggings by "Romance Is Born." They are afghan printed leggings, amazing!
I'm almost cannot believe these exist. Crazy cool. Now if only I could get clothing from a designer ;p
I was shopping for some nail polish the other day for the wedding, when I came across Rimmel London Slate Grey. I love this color. I still need to take a pic of the polish. I check the web , but couldn't find a good one. If you like grey or just something diffrent check it out. I also want to try a brown next. It is a dark brown color. The Rimmel is nice and thick and inexpensive.
I can't believe it's almost Thursday. It have felt like I have needed alot of days to unwind from driving over the weekend.
This weekend we plan on heading to the pumpkin patch. We are going to be having the most perfect weather this weekend. A perfect 72 degrees. I can't wait.
Have a great Thursday!

My Mask

We have a novelty store in town that really has some quite amazing masks and costume selections. We go every year just to look around, even if we don't buy something. Last year I spotted the fox mask, and didn't buy it, so I was hoping they had it this year, and the did! I love foxes! I hope to wear it for halloween, but if not, I plan on hanging it up for decoration. It would really be awesome to find a fox tail.
Short and sweet today, have a great Wednesday!

Well Hello...

Today has been a busy day, just normal mommy stuffs. Today we made a kaleidescope. I want to find one of the types I had as a kid. Ours are pretty homeade, but the kids were just excited that we made them.
I have been working on a more funny cross stitch picture that has something to do with brass knuckles. Whilst searching images for what they look like I came across these.

found here
You have to check all the other uses for brass knuckles on this sight, it's quite funny. I thought the grass was nice and subdued, for brass knuckles sake.

Oh my goodness, did you watch the Grover commercial making fun of the "Old Spice" commercial, it makes me laugh everytime. He is telling how to smell like a monster.

Grover is one of my favorites. We watch alot of Sesame Street around here.

This has long sort of day. I'm ready to relax. We may watch "Bride of Frankenstein." I am trying to get alot of the old, and new I haven't seen, scary movies for the month of October. I have my decorations sitting in a pile ready to put up for halloween. This week I hope to start planning out the girls costumes.

Okay, well have a great Tuesday, what is left of it.

Monday, and a whole to talk about

We had a whirlwind weekend driving and going to my cousins wedding. It was a beautiful day for a beautiful bride and groom.
I finished my cross-stitch picture that I have been dreaming up, working on, and designing for several months now. I haven't framed it yet, but I can't wait to hang it up! It was quite the challenge. I hope to make it available to sell for people to make or ready to hang. I am trying get a program to make pdfs, so I hope to be able to soon.
My husband and I needed a night to relax, and we were in the mood for a scary sort of movie. We ended up watching "Let the Right One In." If you dont' mind blood, this is the movie for you. It is a vampire movie. Now I am not a twilight sort of fan, so I didn't know what to expect. It is a Swedish film with subtitles. It was extremely entertaining, and original. It is definitly not what you would expect from a vampire movie. Definitly one to watch with Halloween looming.




In loo of vegetarian month , Saturday I made "Vegan Pumpkin Muffins." They were just magnificent. I found the recipe here.
I plan on making this many many more times.

Have a super Monday!

White Tag Sale

www.cowboybunny.etsy.com


I'm having a bit of a sale in my shop this week. Most items have 5-10 dollars taken off. Just thought I would do a little bit of shameless promotion.

I will be going to my cousins wedding this weekend. I hope to stop at the Gap outlet to find some goodies. I am making a "Home Sweet Home" cross-stitched picture for their home together.
It seems this week has been quite busy, and when I'm busy I get wound too tight. I'm looking forward to getting away for the day and spending time with family.
Okay I got some "Sleeping Beauty" to watch. Have a super duper Friday!

It Is Finished...

I finally finished my "Built by Wendy/Nine to Five" frock/dress. It went smooth except for the zipper. I love everything about this dress, but the zipper tends to pooch out at the neck. I modified it about a thousand times (exaggerated) but it still wants to stick out. Oh well, I plan on wearing it anyways. I love the look of it. It has a vintage feel to it which I like. The button belt really adds the perfect accent to this dress. It is the type of dress that is flattering to all body types. The material is a light wool, perfect for a crisp fall day. Built by Wendy's frock book is definitly for someone who has been sewing for a bit, not for beginnners, she leaves out alot of sewing steps that you would otherwise need to know. There are so many more patterns in this book I want to make next. Well I must mop my floor and give children bathes. Have a great Thursday!

"I Have All Kinds A Deeas..." quote from my daughter.

found here


Do you have all kinds of ideas? I think it is about time that I get an idea book going. I get so many things in my head that I have to keep a mental list of the ideas. So many ideas, so little time. Now I will have to make time for an idea book;)
It is so important to have that time of creativity, time to be yourself, time to let you mind get lost in something, especially as a mommy. I find myself getting irritable when I haven't had time to create. I try to have that time at bedtime usually or when I get a break in the middle of the day. It really works as a natural stress reliever for me. I had a conversation this morning with my son about this very thing. He loves legos, he's 7 years old. Sometimes if he can't find the right pieces or a creation is becoming quite frustrating he gets overwhelmed, as most of us do. But he told me, " I really like doing it alot though." I told him sometimes if our hobby gets overwhelming we need to step back and realize, this is a hobby, something we do for fun, when we start making it stressful, then it isn't fun anymore. That is the way I look at sewing, or my shop, or coming up with an idea. If I put too much pressure on myself, where has all the fun gone. I can always take a break for a bit, and come back to it with even more zeal and excitement to make it work. With three kids, things can't always be perfect, my ideas may take way longer to create, but nevertheless, they are still my ideas, and I can take joy in one day making them.
I plan on making my daughters costumes here in the next couple of weeks. My 2 year old decided that she wanted to be "Supa-woman" as she says. I can't wait to see her in it. My four year old wants to be Snow White, she loves princesses. There fabrics end up being the same color scheme, crazy. I plan on just winging it as far as patterns go, I don't think these will be that hard to figure out.
Have a super Tuesday!

found here

We had a really nice weekend with a few sprinkles here and there. It was so nice. We went to the St. James Art Festival. There are some amazing artists. We ate a yummy gyro and relaxed my the historic fountain. It was a brisk, breezy fall day, perfect for walking and looking.
We have a really nice local art musuem called the Speed Art Musuem, and I was excited to see they have a collection of Andy Warhol's called Myths, free to see too. The witch is from the collection at the top. The collection features pictures of characters from cinema in the 1950's. I will definitly get over there before the 31st.
I got alot of work done on my dress last night. I have to get it done for this weekend. I will take pics once I get it hemmed and the belt made. Thats all that is left. It resembles a Mad Men type of office dress.

I was listening to my pandora last night while sewing and I heard this song by "Jaymay" called "You are the only one I love" and the album is "Autumn Fallin'" , how perfect. Such a beautiful song!

I also heard the song by Paul Simon called "Father and Daughter." Such a beautiful song. It reminds me of my husband. I'm such a sap for those types of songs.
Have a great Monday!

Fun With Glasses.....

So everytime I go to the thriftstore I sort through the glasses to see what I can find. I usually go for mostly brown frames. I have been lucky enough to find some pairs recently. I bought one of the pairs at Wal-mart for like ten dollars. I love the tortoise color in them. I plan on getting some new frames here soon, so I wanted to have a fun pair and a serious pair. I had such a nice afernoon getting my hair done. I didn't realize it had been nearly 4 months since I had last went. Yikes. So it was so nice. I relaxed getting my hair cut and colored, went to Borders to pick up a magazine, (btw, did you read the little article in Bust with Amy Sedaris, crafstercize, it was hilarious), stopped by the store. It was a beautiful day as well, with some evening showers. This evening I had some fun taking pics with my various frames. I did a sixties polaroid twist to them.


This is my frightened big glasses look.



This is my disapproving mom/librarian.



And this is "You have to be kidding me." If you know me, this is something I say quite a bit.

So what do you think? I like the second pair.