Fall into Fall

The weather has been heavenly lately. I've been trying to enjoy it in between teaching, sewing christmas items for my shop, embroidering, cooking, and being a mommy and wife. We plan on a pumpkin field trip this friday with our friends.

We had a really fun weekend, in which we started on Friday by traveling to Indi to visit the Carter's Toy Musuem. Really alot of fun for the kids, complete with a carousel, bumper cars, and tons and tons of coin rides.
The kids had a blast checking out all the cases and cases of toys.





We also did a bit of shopping. We needed to gear up for the season's changing.

Okay, half my post was deleted, bummer!
I will re-write it, some of it ;(
I was sharing how I came across the most amazing food blog the other day called "Joy the Baker." The recipes are endless, and her humor I love as well

I have cheddar broccoli soup on the menu this week. I have to say dinner is one of my fave meals of the day. I tend to splurge as far as calories and fat go. I am not a breakfast eater, just coffee. Lunch is my least fave meal of the day. I tend to eat tuna or deli chicken with hummus and veggies. Snacks usually consist of cheese, sunflower seeds, and a few pretzels here and there. Then my time to shine is dinner time.
Over the past year my husband and I have successfully weaned ourselves off of sugary drinks. I used to drink full sugar soda, juice, and eek I hate to say it, Kool-Aid (one of my childhood faves). And now I have worked my way off of diet sodas and drinks. I am now simply doing a lemon flavored stevia drink. It took us a little over a year to do it, but we are proud they we have slowly done it.
Next on the list is to grind my own grains for bread. I want to have the organic grains freshly ground for each loaf. I planning on hunting for a grinder near the holidays.
I have been trying to simplify the look of my blog today. I need to do some work on my header. I want just a simple font. Still trying to decide on it.

Okay now that I wrote this twice :0 I plan on crawling under a blanket and watching some Netflix. The added Wonder Years! One of my fave shows as a teen!!!

I'm still here

I am so excited that fall is here. We have been going full swing lately. We had marked off apple picking on our list of to-do's for the fall, next will be pumpkin picking. We have really been having some nice cool weather. Perfect for boots, jackets, and leggings. Love it.
I have been cooking up a storm. Last week I made garlic naan bread for the first time. I almost couldn't believe how simple it could be.

I used this recipe. You have to use a cast iron skillet!
The week before last I made my fave Chicken Pot Pie. You can't go wrong with making your own crust. Simple and fast. I use the Betty Crocker cookbook for both the pie and the crust. Total comfort food!

As a miniature enthusiast I was really thrilled when I heard about the wonderful contest by Emily Henderson from "Secrets from a Stylist." It is a contest to design the most amazing dollhouse. You are the giant in a miniature world. I have already started building what I call a flea market enthusiast, city living couple. They live the city live in a small two room apartment. I have been sketching out what I have invisioned. I hope to build most of it myself. Except for some few minor detail I will have to buy. I can't wait.
I am on the hunt for a bunch of low-carb dinners this week. One of the list is some homeade Tomato Soup. Now don't get me wrong, I love me some campbell's soup, but fresh sounds even better to me!
I hope to make some carmel apples this week as well. We have to skip on the nuts due to allergies, but I may try something out with sunflower seeds.
I have been getting the itch to get working again on cross-stitch and embroidery again. I needed to take a break for a bit to just adjust to the school year and such. It has been nice to think about things that don't have pressure associated, like orders that have to go out. I want to make some holiday items, so that is on the list, but I also have some ideas for embroidery that I would love to try.
Have a great day!

Birthday Weekend

I've had a nice relaxing weekend. This weekend was my birthday. We had a nice lunch, followed by some shoe shopping, and then I had some fun with my new desk and cabinet I made for my house.
I came across these booties last week and I couldn't stop thinking about them.

They are Blowfish, I have owned several pairs from them, and have never been disappointed. These are the "hatfield bootie."

I also wanted to try my hand at making whoopie pies. So I decided I wanted "carrot cake whoopie pies" for my birthday cake. They are super yummy. Now I'm dying to try them in chocolate!


I worked on a desk and cabinet based on an ikea style. I had wanted to make an accompanying cabinet with drawers but unfortunatly my neck got tweeked and I was pretty much crooked neck all week. I'm happy to say this weekend it felt light years better, right in time for my birthday. Here's some pics of the work in progress.


I started on working on a couch too! I can't wait to finish it. I just need to get some upholstery tape and I'll be on my way to finishing it up. It was actually alot easier than what I had expected. It takes time but well worth it. Thanks to MitchyMooMiniatures Tutorial!

We went apple picking for the first time last week. It was a family owned orchard. We went with our local homeschool group and had lunch, played tag, and fed ponies. Now I need to do some apple baking this week.


I have a roast in the oven with carrots and potatoes. A perfect end to the weekend!
Have a nice Sunday!

Busy Bee

Well we kicked off our first week back to 'the ole' grind' as my son says. I am learning how to teach two kiddos now. It is actually going pretty well. I'm not going to say we don't get a bit fussy with each other at times, no worries though.
It will be nice to a three day weekend!
Tuesday night the husband and I had a date night to see "Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings." It was pretty awesome. They did not disappoint, and came out two more times for several more songs. If you have never listened to gillian welch, your missing out!

Her guitarist Dave Rawlings is pretty amazing as well!
I made some time this week to take some mini picks. I found these amazingly detailed guitars on ebay a couple of weeks ago and I was very pleasantly surprised when I got them in the mail. The detail is amazing!
I got an ovation and a gretsch guitar. I took a little studio shot the other day.


The other day while on Flickr I came across a link to a blog called "My Milk Toof." I was pleasantly surprised by the amazingness of the pictures and the little adventures of the milk toofs. Even more excited, they were made into a book.
The pictures are just too adorable. Seriously check it out!

I am planning on relaxing with a capitol R this weekend. I might work on some dollhouse related things but other than that, relaxing is on the agenda!
Have a great weekend!

A New Schedule/Orange Chicken Lo Mein/ Etsy Likes

As our summer winds to an end, I've decided a new schedule must get in order. This summer I have been quite lazy as far as getting out of bed before all the critters converge on my room. I am just not an early bird. But I want to change this. The new schedule must start out at 7:00 a.m. No more 8:00. I officially started this today. Wake at 7:00, excercise for about 40 minutes, get a cup a', start the dishes (if not done the night before), kids are playing, make breakfast, vacuum, make beds, let the dog out, start school by 9:30.
I already feel better, and more awake to take on the day. We still have this week to finish out summer. I've ordered all of our new workbooks and wrote out some projected lesson plans. We start Latin this year, which I'm pretty excited to learn myself.
I made orange chicken lo mein last night. It was quick and easy. One reason being, I used La Choy orange chicken stir fry sauce. I didn't make it myself.
I used about 1 pound and 1/2 of chicken cooked in a few cloves of garlic. Chopped red pepper and onion. I cooked some frozen brocoli. Whilst I started boiling lo mein noodle, key to give the chinese taste. Once the chicken is cooked almost all the way , toss in your chopped red pepper and onion. After that cooks a bit about 5-6 minutes put a cup of the La Choy orange and ginger stir fry sauce. Let that stew for a few minutes and thickens up. Once it has thickened throw in your drained brocoli and your cooked noodles and toss. I have to say, it was quick, easy, and delicious. I am trying to come up with healthy yet fast meals for the school year.
I know I'm weird, but I really do love to slave in the kitchen. It's fun to learn new techniques, and try new meals.

I love Etsy for all the amazing artists of all sorts.
Love these earrings! I haven't worn earrings in about 2 years, yikes, but these colors by Toshisworld

I can't get over how amazing these necklace are by megjroberts

I absolutley love these espresso cups by jimbobart!

I love anything in mini form so when I saw this mini viking ship in a bottle by "tiny world in a bottle" I couldnt' believe my eyes!


Have a great day!

Closed, Until Further Notice

Well I have had to make the decision. The decision about my Etsy shop. With the school year starting next week, I have decided it's time to take a break. It was hard making this decision, but if I'm going to be truthful with myself, it would be far too stressful. I have in recent months been a ball of stress. I hate how it makes me feel and act. I think this will be one less thing to harbor this feeling. Now, I can't imagine myself not making things, it's relaxing. and how my brain works. I hope maybe this time will renew me and maybe ever bring back an even more creative side. I plan on still selling locally, but on a nice slow paced scale. Ahhh, and can take deep breath now. I had originally started my shop to make some extra money for the family, and after talks with my husband, he was not at all opposed to it.
With this all said, I'm excited! I kind of want to start making stuff for fun again. I haven't done that in ages. I want to get a new craft book and work my way through some projects. I want to not have pressure or be on any time restraints. I want to make crafting fun again. Woo hoo! I said it.
I have been watching "Project Runway", and I am getting the itch to get clothes making again. I love making clothes. I know I have some requesting costume making coming up her soon, so I'm putting that on the sewing machine agenda. I was really excited when I saw these patterns from simplicity the other day "Lisette."

The styles are very nice and taylored.
I also need to make myself a nice handbag. I have been using a teeny one for awhile, so I thinks its time to make a new one.
That's all for now! Have a great day!

Oh My, I'm Still Here

Wow, summer is really winding down to an end. I can't believe it's already a couple of weeks into August. We have been enjoying these last couple of weeks before our homeschool begins. I have been planning out what needs to be accomplished this year and buying different books here and there. This year I will be embarking on teaching two kiddos. I'm not too worried about it. That is why I am making sure to write down a lesson plan so I make sure I don't forget anything. I checked out a stack of books to help me with the planning.

We had a crazy storm over the weekend and lost power for about a day and a half. Not too bad. I was very thankful I hadn't gone grocery shopping. We couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather to not have power. We spent our powerless morning walking alongside the ohio river on our downtown walkway. It was fun.

We are going to the fair this weekend. We haven't been in about three years, and the kids are all old enough to enjoy the games and such. They have been telling us that they want to go on; bumper cars and the ferris wheel. I don't know about anyone else but I'm all for the food. I like all the little acts to watch around the fair as well. Oh, and funny enough, I really do love seeing all the farm animals!

I finished working on a new picture that I plan on putting in the shop. I just need to paint the frame.


Oh my I almost couldn't believe how delicious this recipe sounds "Carrot Cake Whoopies." Are you serious! Bye the way, I really am enjoying "Kit and Nancy." Such a beautiful blog! I found it thanks to "lucy violet vintage."

I was so excited when I heard about the exhibit they are showing at the "Mad Musuem" in New York titled "Small Realities" featuring various minature artists. Thanks to "call of the small" sharing, you can submit your own pictures in the gallery. It was pretty cool seeing mine on their site. Check it our here.
So neat to see other miniaturist that I know in the gallery as well!

The flickr group "Re-ment Addicts" was having a "back to school" themed contest, and I had so much fun trying to come up with a pic. I couldn't get the idea of packing lunches out of my head. As a kid, I looked forward to lunch all day. So I used my little bento box as the main theme of the picture.


Have a great day!!