bura ellen

settling in

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

News flash: Moving is hard. When I announced that we were moving, I thought it would be really great to blog about the process. Not about how to pack boxes or in which order to pack them (although sometimes it felt like it would be helpful if someone would just tell me those things), but more about the emotional parts of a move. The good and the bad. The fun and the not so fun.

But I was hit with a pretty big dose of reality. In December, Michael was on tour and for two weeks we had various band members and their families staying with us (which was a lot of fun). The tour lasted until December 23 and then we went to visit family for Christmas for a week. We then returned home to a whirlwind of packing and preparing for the move. I was still homeschooling during most of that time. I was determined not to get too far behind. Did I mention that I was sick through Christmas, too? Because that makes things cleaning and packing easier.

Honestly, there wasn't a whole lot of time to sit and really digest all that was going on, much less be able to blog about it.

{At this point Michael and I decided we had all we really needed in the moving truck.}

The good news? We are on this side of the move and mostly settled. I found this photo on my phone after Lucy had it the other day. Apparently she is enjoying our new back porch...

As a matter of fact, this picture is a great representation of how we feel right now. Happy. Very very happy.

announcement

2011-12-13T13:26:00.004-05:00

So, my short blog break turned into weeks with not posts. And breaks like that overwhelm me. For starters I was without my computer for nine days. Much longer than I expected, not to mention a bit inconvenient. Then we were with family for Thanksgiving. I am that weird girl that actually has a harder time starting back with the blog once I take a break. It is like I don't know if I should "catch you all up" on what has been going on or if I should just jump right back in. I know it doesn't really matter, but, for whatever reason, those thoughts just make me avoid the blog. I sound really lame, I know.

Anyway, as you may have guessed from the picture, one thing that is going on around here is packing. We are moving! At the beginning of the year we will be able to call ourselves Georgians again. Well, truth be known, I will always be a Georgia girl no matter where I live, but we will physically be back "home."

It is a very busy time to be packing (and purging). We have guests arriving tonight for the week, Christmas is right around the corner, and then we move! Whew! While it is a busy time, there is a whole lot of goodness in the mix. So, I am going to try and enjoy it all. Yes, even the packing (more so the purging). But, mostly, I want this busy time not to distract me from the wonder of Christmas, and the time to celebrate the birth of our Savior. It could be so easy to get overwhelmed with "busyness" that I forget to rest in Him and celebrate Him.

May we all be able to focus on the beauty and true meaning in this season...

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giveaway winner

2011-11-16T21:26:00.003-05:00

So...sorry for the delay in announcing a winner for my giveaway. My computer is at the lovely Apple store being repaired. By the way, I really don't like being parted from it. Tonight I found out their is a Blogger app for my phone, so I am using it now. I am even having to use an image from my phone. Here's to hoping it works.

But let me get on to announcing the winner...Tammy, you are the winner! Please contact me with your info and I will get a CD in the mail to you!

Merry Christmas and thanks to everyone for entering!

*OK so I can't format the text or the photo with the phone app. Oh well, it isn't really worth complaining about. At least I posted, right?

smalltown poets christmas giveaway

2011-11-07T06:45:00.005-05:00

I have mentioned the release of the new Smalltown Poets Christmas album. Well, the day has finally arrived and we are so excited! I must admit that my husband's voice sure is dreamy. The whole album is amazing. You can even here my smalls lending their voices to the last track.

There just happens to be a very large stack of boxes full of CDs in my foyer, and since I think it is imperative that you have a copy, I am giving one away right here!

All you have to do is leave a comment telling me your favorite Christmas song. For an extra entry, tweet about the giveaway with a link to this post (my Twitter handle is @abjohnston) and leave a comment saying you did.

This giveaway will close on Sunday, November 13 and I will announce a winner on Monday, November 14. If you just can't wait to add the album to your Christmas rotation, you can order a copy here or you can download it on iTunes.

Merry Christmas!

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pink lady day

2011-10-24T20:59:00.004-04:00

Wow, I missed a whole week on here! I have good reason, though. My mama came last Monday and stayed with us all week. I had not seen her in over three months. I am almost positive that we have never gone that long without seeing each other. So, I soaked up every single second of our time together. Ya'll, I love my mama.

We visited the apple orchard a few weeks ago, but the pink lady apples weren't ready yet, so I have been calling to make sure I was there the first day they were available. I really love me some pink lady apples. Friday was the day and I termed it, "Pink Lady Day." Truth be told, I squished the cheeks of each of my family members while squealing, "It's Pink Lady Day!" I know they loved it.

{I really think he is so handsome...even while up in a tree.}

{Someone wanted to be like Dad.}

{Someone else also wanted to be like Dad.}

{We went home with a bushel of apples. That is a whole lot of apples.}

{There are a couple of horses at the orchard that are more than happy to take an apple or two.}

There will be lots of apple products coming out of my kitchen in the coming week. Tonight we started things off with this apple crisp that I found on Pinterest. It is delicious! There is a good chance that I will have some of it for breakfast in the morning. Shhhh, don't tell anyone!

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psych night

2011-10-14T11:19:00.004-04:00

I know that my love of Psych is no secret around here. Wednesday was the season premiere so we had a small party to celebrate with friends. And we went with a full-on Psych theme. And wouldn't you know that my camera battery died and I had to use my phone for pics, so only Instagram photos for you today :)

{There is a pineapple in almost every episode of Psych and it is a lot of fun to try and spot it. No Psych party would be complete without one.}

{Our food was based on references from the show, hence our Anna Banana flavored muffins.}

{Alien potatoes getting ready to become a flavor seizure known as Fries Quatro Queso Dos Fritos}

{I saw this idea on Pinterest and used lime kool-aid for the ice cubes to match the theme. Let me assure you, lime kool-aid ice cubes and ginger ale is drink perfection.}

{The spread. Oh, that is a pineapple cheese ball. Delicioso.}

People, it was a fantastic night. Great friends, yummy food and the best show on television. Not to mention, it was a lot of fun to put together. I can hardly wait for next week's episode!

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give thanks

2011-10-10T14:07:00.004-04:00

Last week at craft night we changed things up a bit and rather than each bringing something different to work on, we all worked on the same project. Alison found a fun tutorial for a burlap banner, so we all set to making our own.

For whatever reason, the lettering doesn't show up well in photos, but it does in person. Go figure. Here is a bit of detail...

Our living room is separated from our kitchen by an old brick chimney with wooden pillars on either side and I thought it would be the perfect spot for the banner. As I was taking the photo, I was annoyed by the thermostat because I felt like it was messing with the aesthetic of the photo. I had to remind myself that the thermostat means that we have heat in the winter and for that I should give thanks like the banner suggests.

On the dresser below the banner, we keep our gratitude journals. In these journals we can appeal to our kinesthetic sides as our thoughts take on the physical form of ink on paper...just one way to bring our thanks to the front of our minds and give them a sort of permanence.

Ann Voskamp tweeted today, "God calls us to *do* thanks. That thanks-giving becomes thanks-LIVING. That our lives become the very blessings we have received." My hope is for this spot to be a constant reminder to us to be thankful and to never forget to live a life full of thanks. It is easy to dwell on things that aren't as we wish them to be, and as a result, be robbed of our joy.

"The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving." Psalm 28:7

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insta-friday :: week 8

2011-10-07T09:11:00.008-04:00

{Meet Jillyboo. She showed up at our house and we cared for her a couple of days before finding her a home. I so wish our home could have been hers. Isn't she beautiful?}

{Our latest artist study was of Raphael. The kids really enjoy the projects in this book.}

{It is apple season! We went for our first visit last week and I can't wait to go back.}

{I agreed to have Reptile Day at our house for a group of fellow homeschoolers. Need I say more?}

{There is a large statue of a bear across from our house. The kids love to climb under his belly. Note the shoes. After the bear we headed to the track so she could run. In a skirt and tights.}

{Craft nights are a little messy but always a ton of fun.}

{Sherlock Lucy joined us for school this week. She said she was solving "The Mystery of the Burglar's Hideout."}

Happy Friday everyone!

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fall wreath

2011-10-06T10:41:00.004-04:00

I mentioned in my last post that I had started and finished two projects in one night. People, this is significant for me. I am excellent at starting projects and I little less than awesome when it comes to finishing them. So, I was pretty excite to have two completed projects in just a couple of hours.

I know there have been a lot of wreaths and fall decor out in blogland recently and I didn't want to be left out. Actually, we have several doors in our house that lend themselves to wreath hanging. I made this one last year and it still hangs in our living room. And honestly, I really enjoy making them, so I may have to make a few more. They are such inexpensive projects! I think I have less than five bucks in this one.

I really love looking at these swirly flowers. I also really love making them. Anyone else having fun will fall decor?

finally a little sewing

2011-09-27T09:57:00.003-04:00

I went way too long without using my sewing machine! Last week I had some friends over for craft night and I finally made something! I found this fabric last week and I just fell in love with it. Yellow and brown aren't my usual picks. Well, yellow is, but I guess that particular combo isn't. Anyway, it is a super soft lightweight cotton.

I knew it would be a great choice for an infinity scarf. I only bought a yard and it was the perfect amount for the scarf and it sewed up very quickly. So quickly in fact, that I had time for another project that night that I look forward to sharing this week! There's no stopping me!

This was the first day I could post photos of the scarf because it has been rainy/cloudy for over a week! The rain was great and all, but I was starting to get rather drained. I need sunlight!

I hope your days have been sunny and creative!

little reader

2011-09-26T10:01:00.004-04:00

The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.

-Dr. Seuss

I have said many times that one of the most touching things as a homeschool mom is teaching my children to read. Actually, I get excited about my children learning, period. But, there is something extra special about watching them learn to read. Just seeing all the pieces come together...I love it!

Lucy is learning to read. We use this book for our lessons. We are about a third of the way through it. Most days she will ask to do more than one lesson per day. She gets so proud when she reads something new. Her eyes light up and she clasps her hands together in excitement.

She has not been reading books, but last week during a trip to the library she asked to pick out one she could read. In the past, I have liked the small simple books by Margaret Hillert. I pulled this one off the shelf first and Lucy was very pleased with the pumpkin on the cover.

She was so excited about reading it that she tried to start while we were still walking through the library! Once we got home, she had to have a little bit of help, but I was so proud of how well she did.

Maybe one reason that it is so exciting to see them learn to read is knowing that once they are able to read, they can take some other learning into their own hands. Not to mention all the places they can go with books (thanks, Dr. Seuss)!

I was just getting ready to close this post and Lucy entered the room and I asked her why she is excited to learn to read and she replied, "So that I can read on my own." And then I asked her what is so great about being able to read. And she replied, "You get to read mysteries and funny books. And you get to read the Bible and learn about people in it." I think those are some pretty great answers.

insta-friday :: week 7

2011-09-23T09:42:00.006-04:00

So, I skipped a few Insta-Fridays. Oops. Don't worry, I won't share every photo that I would have posted had I been keeping up, but some of these are a couple of weeks old. Indulge me :) We have been doing artist studies with our history lessons. The photo above was taken during one of our Da Vinci lessons.

{Bird mapping. We love using Apologia's Flying Creature's of the Fifth Day.}

{Nature study with a house centipede we found on the back stairs. Eek!}

{We have consumed more marshmallows in the past couple of weeks that I care to admit.}

{The kids have been taking part in an electricity class with some fellow homeschoolers. They love building batteries and circuits!}

{A little road trip with the family may have involved singing Yankee Doodle to entertain ourselves while we were stuck in traffic.}

{The first banana bread of the fall.}

{Our study of Michelangelo involved seeing what it would be like to paint on a ceiling. In our case, the ceiling was the underside of the dining room table. I use this book along with our history for activities related to each artist. I highly recommend it.}

{The Smalltown Poets Christmas record has been mastered and we are really excited. Lucy was listening to it with Michael in his office/studio/library that we dubbed "Christmastown" during the recording of the album.}

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ok with that

2011-09-19T09:36:00.005-04:00

My, this has been a quiet week here on the blog. I have thought about posting, but every time I would think of something it seemed kind of boring. For me, sometimes when I read other blogs I get a bit overwhelmed and I feel a sense of pressure to post something amazing.

The truth is, in the past few weeks, my days have looked a lot like the photo above. By the way, Lucy took that photo with my phone and I was really impressed with the composition. I haven't created any amazing dishes, or sewn anything, or worn any outfits that would make you all drool, or made an amazing craft to make my home sparkle. And I am trying to be ok with that.

I do remember the day that this photo was taken. I was in a bit of a grumpy mood and I was being very short with the kids. And it made me feel horrible. After I sat and read to them and I got up from the couch, I felt a sense of peace. Kind of like I had a chance to start the day over.

The only thing my children have been concerned with me creating is time with them. Well, and meals. I think they care about me creating meals. But seriously, I am learning that, while crafting and baking and the like do fulfill me, knowing that my children are happy and feeling loved (or, as we call it around here, that their "mommy tanks" are full) fulfills me way beyond those things. And I am more than ok with that.

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balcony homeschool

2011-09-13T08:49:00.007-04:00

We are finally starting to enjoy cooler mornings here! Yesterday morning Michael suggested that we start school on our balcony. He is a genius. We have a pretty large second floor balcony, so we went out on it, spread a quilt and then piled our schoolbooks on it. We actually did almost all of our school day out there until we had to come in for lunch

{I think that being outdoors may have actually helped them focus.}

{The oak tree was kind enough to give us acorns to go along with our lesson about seeds.}

We so enjoyed yesterday, that we have already had school out there again this morning. This may be a frequent happening until the weather gets too cold. I think it was beneficial for all of us. The change of scenery was so nice. It is easy to get in a rut with school, but this was a simple way to change things up a bit and refresh us!

simply connecting

2011-09-05T17:43:00.005-04:00

Today is a rainy day and I am pretty happy about that. I love how rainy days seem to slow us down a bit and make us enjoy simplicity. Michael is home and we actually did a lot of our school together as a family and I really enjoyed it and I know the kids did, as well.

I love spending time with my family. I guess that is a good thing since I homeschool my children! And I love "date nights" with my love. Last night was one such night and you can see from the photo, I really dressed up for the occasion. By the way, I know it is perspective, but my feet look huge. I do have long feet, but they are not bigger than Michael's!

We don't get a lot of date nights out of the house, but at least once a week we have one at home. Once the kids are in bed, I pull out the air popper, mix up a mean batch of popcorn, hit the secret dark chocolate stash and we watch a little television. Ninety-nine percent of the time we watch re-watch episodes of Psych (Hey, I told you that we are addicted. Watch Shawn and Gus and you will be, too.). The other one percent allows for movies and Project Runway. He watches Project Runway with me...I love him.

These date nights may not look like much, but I cherish them. Don't get me wrong, I love a night out as much as the next girl, but I am so very thankful that we can connect in such a simple way. And how often do you get to take your dog on date nights? (See bottom right corner of photo).

So, as this day nears to a close, I am thankful for my family who are happiest just being together, even in tattered pjs on the couch.

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insta-friday :: week 6

2011-09-02T16:32:00.004-04:00

It has been a beautiful week here. We have had a teeny bit of milder weather, so I am now itching for fall. Who's with me? Anyway, here is our week in review in Instagram photos.

{Any other mothers of daughters find that these are everywhere you look?

I really don't mind though because I find they are so very cute!}

{My little helpers for the surprise cookies}

{Friends came over one night with a soft pretzel recipe.

Have I mentioned my soft pretzel addiction? These didn't help me overcome it.}

{A little chalk art to help the kids remember Columbus sailing the ocean blue.}

{My new necklace from heather's happys. It does make me happy, as does Heather's blog.}

{We are studying this (we love this series) and Lucy loves to draw while I read from it.}

{My sweet fella helping me with a surprise for his little sister.}

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surprise cookies

2011-08-31T09:38:00.003-04:00

I know most people are already pinning away over on Pinterest. If you aren't, you should get started. It really has changed my world. I love the ease of pinning things I find interesting or projects I want to try. I also find myself actually trying new projects now. In the past, I had been able to remember a project or recipe, but rarely could find them. Not any more! I have tried several projects and recipes lately thanks to Pinterest. (My "I'm Hungry" board may be getting out of control.)

I pinned these cookies a fews days ago and then immediately set out to make them with the kids. By the way, what is it with me and baking on cloudy days? It is almost impossible to get a decent photo of food on a cloudy day.

Anyway, these very well may be my new favorite cookie (along with these, of course.)

And so that you can experience the bliss, here are the details:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

adapted from Liv Life

1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup granulated sugar (plus more for dipping)
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter, divided
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
¾ cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375º. Whisk together first four ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl beat together sugars, butter and ¼ cup of peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg, beating to combine. Stir in the flour mixture and stir to combine, blending well. Set dough aside.

Stir together the powdered sugar and remaining ¾ cup of peanut butter until smooth.

To put the cookies together, break off a generous tablespoon of chocolate cookie dough, flatten a bit with your hands and then place a smaller bit of the peanut butter mixture in the center of the chocolate dough. Wrap the chocolate dough around the peanut butter center, pressing to seal. Gently roll the cookie into a ball. Drop into a bowl of sugar and roll the cookie in the sugar. Place cookies on a silicone lined (or lightly greased) baking sheet 2 inches apart (I use parchment paper). Using the bottom of a glass, flatten each cookie to about a ½ inch thickness.

Bake at 375º for 7 to 9 minutes, or until set. Let stand on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then move to a wire rack.

An added bonus with this recipe is that I let Lucy use the bowl of sugar to practice writing her letters. Throw in a little kinesthetic learning while you bake!

{Gotta love the remnants of a temporary tattoo on her hand}

singing in the trees

2011-08-28T21:35:00.011-04:00

Last Christmas I mentioned that my husband was working on a Christmas record. I am very excited that the new Smalltown Poets record is almost finished! I got to hear the (almost) final mixes tonight and I am in love. The album is so amazing.

The guys are working on a video in bits and pieces and Michael filmed his portion this weekend. We got up squirrelly-early on Saturday morning and traveled a little bit north to visit one of my best friends from childhood because her husband owns a Christmas tree farm (a great place for a Christmas video, right?)

First of all, it was so great getting to see her as it had been WAY to long. Second of all, does anyone know how much I love Christmas trees? People, I was surrounded by them on all sides and it was heavenly.

Can't you tell I had been up since 4:45?

We had a lot of fun amongst the trees and crickets. I even got to pick out my Christmas tree for this year. In August! How exciting is that? This beauty is now tagged for my family. Eep!

And I just have to post one more photo of my love. I just find him so swoon-worthy...

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insta-friday :: week 5

2011-08-26T08:33:00.008-04:00

Another week in Instagram photos! And this time I am actually posting on Friday! As I mentioned last week, we we took a little trip this past weekend to Virginia. We spent Saturday in Colonial Williamsburg. We all loved it, but you really need more than one day to experience it, so we hope to go back very soon.

{Who knew the kids would love the hoop and stick game so much?}

{This was our audio enjoyment for the ride home. Fitting since we were in Virginia.}

{The ride home was quite rainy.}

{My girl's drawings of our family and my boy's first diagrams!}

{He loves reading and listening to audio books.}

{She wore this vest everyday this week except for when she wanted to dress like her owl.}

{Roasted sweet potatoes are nothing new, but these were particularly delicious.}

{Possibly the strangest thing I have every seen at the thrift store, and I've seen a lot.}

I hope you all had a great week!

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reaching up :: a repost

2011-08-25T12:18:00.003-04:00

Twice in the past week I have read someone's blog and had this post from several years ago come to mind. And honestly, it is on my mind today, so I thought I would share it (or reshare it, I guess).

At the time of the original posting, my grandmother was battling with leukemia. It was about three weeks after her diagnosis and about two months before her death.

From February 18, 2008...

We just returned from a visit with my grandma. The night before we left, a huge storm came through the area. My parents received over five inches of rain overnight. Michael, my cousin, Jamie, and I went back to the pond on their property to check to make sure the water level was decreasing since it was so near the top of the dam, which is not good.

After removing some tree limbs from the spillway to ensure that the water was able to easily move from the pond to the creek, we decided to take a walk by the creek. With the recent drought, the creek has been pretty much non-existent. However, yesterday the water was actually rushing through the creek! It was a beautiful sight and the sound was so soothing.

While walking, I found these two trees growing right next to each other. When I looked up to the sky, the tops reminded me of hands reaching up. I realized that is how I feel. All I can do right now is reach up to God and be filled with His hope and love. He is so good.

insta-friday :: week 4

2011-08-21T09:13:00.008-04:00

Oops, this week's Insta-Friday is on Sunday. We were traveling on Friday, so I couldn't post. But, I am pretty sure you won't be offended. We have had a full week...

{We finished our first week of school and it was great. There was counting, and coloring, and writing, oh my! And even some Florentine relief in the style of Ghiberti!}

{I am an almond milk drinker and wanted to try making ice cream with it. I found this recipe and it is delicious! Everyone in the family loved it and it has almost no sugar which is a huge bonus!}

{We have popcorn probably three to four times a week. I can't help myself. We started popping our own quite a while back and I will never go back to microwaved popcorn. Throw a little melted butter, salt, garlic powder and oregano and it will change your life.}

{We love listening to audio books on road trips and this one was no exception.}

{We stopped for dinner at Joe's Inn in Richmond, Virginia. It was delicious (Baked Spaghetti-Greek style!)}

{I found this blue wall to be irresistible.}

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looking back

2011-08-16T20:10:00.004-04:00

Yesterday Lucy and I talked about rainbows and as I was taking her photo, I suddenly remembered taking a very similar photo of Larkin on his first day. I even blogged about it.

I love comparing photos of my kids at the same ages! Does any one else do that? It really is fun to see Lucy experiencing school and to have the memories of Larkin learning the same things. It seems like just yesterday.

So, two days of school complete and I really do think this is going to be a great year!

first day of school

2011-08-15T20:38:00.007-04:00

Our first day of school is in the books! I am now officially homeschooling two. My baby is now in kindergarten. How did that happen? And I have a third grader! Oh, and the picture above? We don't have any apples, but we do have some lovely Asian pears for the teacher. (And hey, I'm not complaining!)

{My sweet peas}

{It doesn't take long to get silly}

{And even sillier}

{I really can't believe she is now in kindergarten}

{About to take off running}

{Too cool}

{Pointing the key thingy from the old doorbell on the door}

{Did I mention she is in kindergarten?!}

{She was so excited this morning!}

We took dozens of group photos. Why is there only one in which we are at least all facing the camera? This is normal, right?

I know this post is short on words, but I am exhausted! Last night I went to see The Help with a group of friends and I got in bed too late! But, it sure was worth it. I loved the book and the movie is fantastic! But now this mama/teacher needs some sleep! I hope your week is starting off as fun as ours!

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insta-friday :: week 3

2011-08-12T09:34:00.006-04:00

{Delicious poundcake made for dinner with great friends. I should post this recipe some day. It is the bee's knees.}

{What a great reminder. I should probably get this plate out every morning.}

{Hand washing some fabric. I had forgotten how calming hand washing can be. I have also been hand washing more dishes this week. We'll see how long that lasts!}

{My girl adding a bit of love to her Daddy's Christmas album. Her brother was on the other side of the mic.}

{Lots of game time yesterday morning. This one was followed by this, this and this. We love games!}

{Last night I made my first "from scratch" pizza. It was divine! This is definitely going in the regular rotation!}

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my midweek view

2011-08-10T10:32:00.006-04:00

Today has been a pretty quiet. The kids are content to sit in the schoolroom and build Lego creations to use with Littlest Pet Shop animals. They can sit quietly for hours and build with Legos. It really is astonishing.

Of course, they also get out every spare container and book to build houses, or sometimes kingdoms. Oh, the stories I have heard told between the two of them about what they are building! I love when tales from our history lessons make it into their play time!

Today I am enjoying my view from the school table where I sit and try to finish up some school plans. (And blog, obviously.)

I did have to get up and sneak this photo. What is it about little hands holding tiny treasures?

I would love to say that my workspace at the moment looks a little better than the floor, but as you can see, that would not be very truthful.

{Where does all of this stuff come from?}

{What? You don't have a bowl of monsters and lima beans at your house?}

{What? You don't have a jar with a dead cuckoo wasp at your house?}

Although my view may seem chaotic, I am actually finding myself quite peaceful and content. I hope everyone is finding their midweek view to be a pleasing one!

my new friend

2011-08-08T09:31:00.004-04:00

After MANY years of longing, I am finally the proud owner of a bicycle! A few weeks ago Michael came to me and showed me a few he found on craigslist. This was my favorite and I was so afraid that it had already been sold. When we lived in Atlanta, good deals on bicycles went really fast, but I guess that is not the case here. Yay for me!

Many years had passed since I had been on a bicycle, so I have been slowly venturing further and further out on it. I circled our driveway for quite a while before getting brave enough to take it around the block. Then I took it to the library about a mile away. I have to be honest, I still feel a little afraid when I hear a car approaching from behind!

This past weekend, I finally took my new ride to our local farmer's market, which is one of the main places (along with the library) I have been wanting to take it. The ride is only about a mile and a half and it is a lot of fun. I even stopped at a yard sale on the way home! Speaking of the yard sale...$5 for hardback books?! I know they were hardbacks, but seriously? No thanks. Anyways...

I think the basket is perfect for fresh fruits and veggies...

This may not be the biggest news that you read today, but it is pretty big around here. I am still downright giddy about it. I just love the feeling of riding..more so the downhills with the wind in my face. The uphills aren't so bad, just not quite as relaxing ;).

linking up with

insta-friday :: week 2

2011-08-05T11:34:00.007-04:00

Even though I have been knee-deep in homeschool planning, I did manage to take plenty of photos. So here is a bit of a recap of our week.

{Enjoying tomato season}

{Homemade oreos using recipe from here}

{Lucy's first Instagram pic}

{This girl makes me happier than a bird with a french fry.}

{A visit from a dear friend. Her shirt had little owls on it and was so cute!}

{Learning a new song for the violin}

{Watching the rain}

linking up with

busy times

2011-08-04T15:37:00.002-04:00

{Funny how the titles of my favorite readers do seem to reflect our life right now}

I have been knee deep in reorganizing and researching for the new school year. Lucy will start kindergarten so I will (officially) be schooling two! Like most years, I find myself tweaking plans at the last minute. There are just so many options! So many, in fact, that I sometimes find myself paralyzed trying to make decisions. I can happily say that this morning I placed my final orders (with the exception of some "extras" that I will order throughout the year)! What a relief. Now just to wait for the packages to arrive and dig in to more planning. Honestly, I love the planning part. I get so excited for the kids!

This is a quick post since I can spy three loads of clothes that are begging me to fold them (not to mention they are all on my bed and I am pretty sure I will want to sleep in it at some point tonight).

How about everyone else? Do you have things that are keeping you busy at the end of summer?

sunflower and atome

2011-08-02T09:19:00.001-04:00

Meet Sunflower and Atome (pronounced Atom). A couple of weeks ago I checked out Sew Darn Cute: 30 Sweet & Simple Projects to Sew & Embellish from the library. Lucy immediately started flipping through it and loved the Square Bear project and shared it with Larkin. They both decided they wanted one. I took them to the fabric store and let them each pick out their own fabrics. It really was a lot of fun to watch them match things up.

Well, the finished bears were a bit hit. As a matter of fact the bears seemed to come to life. They also were quite busy trying to fit in...

{Sunflower thought the shower was a fun place to hide.}

{Atome wanted to see what all the fuss was about Lego Star Wars.}

{Sunflower couldn't help but try out some hair clips.}

{Atome decided to take in a good mystery.}

{Speaking of a good mystery, doesn't Frank look a whole lot like Ricky Nelson?}

{Sunflower wanted to try her hand at a bit of art.}

{Atome decided to check the weather.}

As you can see, Sunflower and Atome have been quite busy and quite happy to be here.

insta-friday

2011-07-29T13:09:00.004-04:00

{Started the week off with some yummy peach cobbler}

{Time to clear out and switch out books for the new school year}

{Thrifting and antiquing with my girl}

{Followed by a silly lunch}

{Followed by more antiquing and a milkshake stop}

{This morning's new reading from the library}

{Bracelets made by my girl for all of her friends}

linking up with

fig and ginger jam

2011-07-27T15:17:00.001-04:00

What do you get when you mix figs and crystallized ginger and sugar? Pure deliciousness, people. I made this jam last year and knew that I had to make it as soon as our figs ripened. You can find the recipe here. I love that the recipe is super simple (it has only a few ingredients and cooks for about 30 minutes). The bonus is that you don't have to place the jars in a hot water bath! Each batch is small and can be kept in the fridge for six weeks. But there is no way it will make it that long in our house!

gingham apron happiness

2011-07-25T21:34:00.003-04:00

I posted last Monday that I had won an apron at our family reunion auction. I think it is the perfect apron! You can't go wrong with gingham and aqua!

Michael's mom contributed it to the auction. After I won it, she confessed that she almost kept it at home to put in my Christmas stocking this year. Clearly, this apron and I were meant to be together!

I love the simple cross stitch along the bottom.

I love to wear aprons as often as I can. I have even been known to wear one outside of the house. (Which reminds me, did you see Shannan's skirt? It is perfect!) When I wear an apron I feel homey and nostalgic. Oddly enough, protecting my clothing is the last thing on my mind...that's just an added bonus! I love what Heather had to say about aprons being a reminder of the importance of serving others. I am glad for that little reminder and great reason to tie one on!

goats on the roof

2011-07-20T08:40:00.006-04:00

While we were in Helen this past weekend, we took a few minutes to stop by a place called Goats on the Roof (even though it was rainy and chilly, hence the dark photos). When I saw a sign announcing that it was up ahead, I assumed it was just the crazy name of some souvenir shop or something. While it was somewhat a souvenir shop, it did indeed have goats on the roof!

You could even feed the goats using foot power! They had these bicycles rigged up with feeding cups. You put your food in the cup, pedaled away and the cup would be delivered to the goat. The kids loved it!

{I love the look of determination on Lucy's face.}

{The cup rising to greet the goat}

{The goats were more than willing to partake of the food.}

They also had some mining set up for free. The man working there assured Larkin he wouldn't find anything. Way to dash the hopes of the young, fella. However, as you can see above, Michael celebrated his discovery of some gold.

So often while traveling I see places on the side of the road where I wish we could stop. I love when we can take the time to visit little gems like this. I guess I love to feed our curiosity. Not to mention, the benefit of just getting the kids out of the car. You never know what sorts of things you will find. Like these lovely folks just up the road at Fred's Famous Peanuts.

Do you like to stop at places like this? Do you have any favorites?

crafting for auction

2011-07-18T10:30:00.004-04:00

This past weekend was our family reunion. I have posted before about the auction that we have every year. I didn't get very many items completed this year. My favorite were these hand towels from this book I picked up from the library. I plan on making a few for myself. They are so simple and fast.

I made a couple of other items as well. Sorry for the poor photography. I finished the projects at night and the next morning was cloudy so I decided I would wait until we got to the reunion site. And then I didn't remember to take photos until during the auction. Geez. Conference room lighting is not exactly ideal.

Anywho, here are a few pics of projects and craft time...

Clockwise from top left:

{A fun headband I made using this tutorial (warning: highly addictive)}

{Flip-flop refashion using this tutorial}

{Hubby crafting with me!}

{My girl raiding the button stash while I crafted}

You can see a few past auction items here and here. It is always fun to see what everyone brings to auction. And I love being with family! I won a fantastic apron that I will have to post this week. Did anyone else do anything fun over the weekend?

right now(ish)

2011-07-14T09:40:00.004-04:00

It has been a busy week for the sewing room. I hope to have some things to share soon. As a matter of fact, I need to be finishing up a few things right now. In the meantime I thought I would copy this idea from Eren over at This Vintage Chica. Simple but fun. So, here we go...

Right now(ish), I am...

listening to: Amelie soundtrack

watching: this (it is fantastic)

reading: this and this by myself, this with larkin, and this with lucy

eating: honey nut cheerios with almond milk

planning: a day of sewing and crafting

needing: some girl time

thankful for: my new bicycle

praying for: direction

drinking: organic coffee with half and half and sugar (but hey, I have cut back on the sugar)

feeling: inspired

waiting for: motivation to shower

wondering: why my tomato plants aren’t producing

happy ten

2011-07-12T08:02:00.003-04:00

Last week Michael and I celebrated our ten-year anniversary. And I must say, they have been amazing years. I have a wonderful guy. I remember when I was much younger and would hear of someone celebrating their tenth anniversary. I thought it was such a long time. And I guess it is quite a while, but man has it flown by! You can see a little bit of our wedding day in this post from Michael (and the very sweet thing he had to say about me :) )

We didn't have big plans for the day. It was very low key, but nice to just do whatever we wanted for the day and not have to be anywhere.

That morning Lucy and I got out our new paint because she wanted to make something for us. While she was painting I decided to make a little something for Michael (Obviously, I am not a painter). You can see a bit of it up above.

Lucy made us a sweet little painting.

I absolutely love it. Can you see where she wrote mom and dad at the bottom? Sweet. And this little bird it just too cute...

She also picked up this little birdhouse at the craft store the other day and painted it for us. I especially like the blue around the inside of the hole.

I love that we are a family who likes to make things for each other and I hope that value sticks with our kids. I don't expect all of our gifts (received and given) to be handmade, but it is nice to take the time to create something for someone else or to know someone took the time to make something especially for you.

farm community

2011-07-08T15:25:00.001-04:00

We arrived at my parents' a couple of days before we left for the beach. As I have mentioned before, they live in a rural area surrounded by farmland. One of the perks is having easy access to fruit and vegetables. Just up the road from their house is a large blueberry farm and the guy that owns it lets them come and pick all the blueberries they want for free.

We went one morning and ate blueberries right from the bushes (pesticide-free). Pure bliss. I hate to think of how many I ate! Actually, I don't hate too think of it because I was in heaven! We also had several bags to take with us.

{With her Sitti. She really does love that hat!}

{With his Papa. Note the "roll-up" sunglasses Larkin is wearing. Um, yeah.}

There were blueberries as far as the eye can see. It was glorious.

He also had corn as far as you could see in the opposite direction. I think corn is one of the most beautiful crops. I love to see the tops swishing in the wind.

There are peanuts planted on my family's land. One of my all-time favorite scents is that of "peanut dirt." For real, when you pull up peanuts from the ground the smell is intoxicating. I know it is just dirt, but it is amazing.

I love where I grew up. I love going home and soaking up all the things I took for granted as a child. Being surrounded by farmland is grounding. And I love the community that is woven through that farmland. It seems that every couple of days, my parents find a bag or box of fresh produce at their back door. Even when we returned from the beach, there was a basket of corn in the back of my daddy's truck. I love how everyone provides for each other while asking for nothing in return. That is community.

a new life

2011-07-06T10:34:00.007-04:00

My words failed me before I even started writing this post. I am not the most eloquent writer which can be frustrating when writing about the most wonderful things in life.

It is so easy to be proud of our children. They are walking, talking wonders. They amaze me every day.

But when one of them (in this instance, that sweet guy up there) asks Jesus into their heart, it takes your breath away. All other moments of pride and joy seem so dim in comparison. The thing you have prayed for daily, that they would accept Him and know His truths, has happened. And again, words fail me. How could they accurately describe the joy in my heart?

He was so excited about getting baptized and wanted to do it soon. It was so perfect that Michael's brother's church was having a baptism service this past weekend and that Larkin could be part of it...near all of our family.

{Waiting his turn}

{Still waiting and listening so closely}

{I couldn't stop taking photos of him. My first born, born again}

{I love his face. The way he watches the water on the backs of his hands...so focused and happy while his Uncle Myles speaks.}

{My little guy, ready to be a light to the world}

I can't wait to see him grow and mature, knowing that he holds the truth in his heart...

library bag

2011-06-30T09:45:00.000-04:00

I would love to tell you that I gave my mama her Mother's Day gift on Mother's Day. But, I am not that cool. I just finished her gift right before we left for vacation. I wanted to be able to give it to her when we got there.

I have mentioned before about my love (and my mama's) for the local library. However, neither of us had an official library bag. A while back, Michael's mama gave me at least half a bolt of nice soft denim fabric and I immediately thought of all sorts of projects for it, including library bags.

I wanted to make one for my mama for Mother's Day, but I wanted to make it special so I had Lucy draw a picture for me to embroider on the bag.

I had this great blue fabric I decided to use for the lining, so I coordinated the embroidery threads with the colors in the fabric.

I used the same fabric for the tag with her name on it and attached it to the handle with some "yarn" I had leftover from a rug I made for Michael's mama three years ago!

Here are a few detail shots of the embroidery...

Lucy had fun helping create something for her Sitti and I love the special touch that her artwork added. My mama got a library bag and her granddaughter's artwork all rolled into one..definitely a win!

A couple of nights ago I noticed I had just enough of the lining fabric for another bag, so I started on one for myself! I am not going to embroider on mine, but I am trying to come up with a fun embellishment for it. Any ideas?

beachy :: part 2

2011-06-29T11:52:00.000-04:00

This is one of my favorite streets in St. Augustine. It is so beautiful and the porches are full of flowers and greenery. I loved driving and walking down this street multiple times last week.

You know what else I loved? Eating at a restaurant on the beach called Mango Mango's. The food is delicious and the atmosphere is so fun!

One of our traditions is to visit the St. Augustine Beach Farmer's Market on Wednesday morning. This year seemed larger than previous years. My favorite vendor was there (all the bread and pastries you could ever want) and several new favorites including a beekeeper who answered a whole lot of questions from me ( I hope to own a few hives one day).

And I don't know about you, but our local farmer's market does not have a vendor with starfish. It is fitting for a beach one, though.

A trip to the beach would not be complete without some Fiesta Falls miniature golf (at least not for the kids). And it is right next door to the condo, so it couldn't be more convenient. I love my girl's putting form.

This was the first year that we took the kids to Castillo de San Marcos. We all loved the cannons. Especially these made in Sevilla, Spain, a place near and dear to our hearts. We went on a mission trip there several years ago and made some dear friends.

I took this last photo as a storm was approaching while we rushed into the Santa Maria restaurant where the main draw is that you get to feed the fish (and some birds) through a hole next to your table.

I miss the town so much, but I love that we have plenty of happy memories!

beachy

2011-06-28T10:37:00.000-04:00

We just returned from a wonderful week at the beach. I am always sad when we leave. I actually get sad a couple of days before we leave just thinking about going home. Pathetic, right? Maybe. But I can't help it. I just feel so different when we are there. No stress, just peacefulness. I love the salty air and the roaring ocean. It sets everything right. (This necklace says it all.)

These peeps love it too...

This year my sweet girl learned how to swim a bit and we had a hard time keeping her out of the water. And this was one of her favorite things to do...

That is some seriously good form. As is this...

Who knows, maybe they will turn out to be Olympic divers.

Lucy wasn't the only one to learn something new. Larkin was excited to find a boogie board in the condo and he had a blast with it.

And I just have to post another photo of the girl and her hat (that she says is a bear hat, though I've never seen a bear with stripes). The hat gets constant compliments. It is pretty swell, isn't it?

This past week has definitely refreshed me. My head feels a bit clearer and I feel ready to take on some summer projects. Yay for summer!

whistle while you work

2011-06-15T09:35:00.005-04:00

Why in the world am I showing you a photo of my floor? What, you don't drool over photos of floors? Well, you see this guy?

Isn't he handsome? Well, that handsome little fella can now mop that floor. Yep. And this is one happy mama. Not that I don't find great pleasure in mopping, mind you, it is just that I want him to experience the joy. And actually, so far, he is pretty excited about it. Who would have thought?

And, do you see this girl?

Well, apparently her brother is making mopping look so fun, that she is begging to get in on the action! She already gets to clean the sinks and thinks it is the greatest thing ever.

I am not kidding, folks. My children are enjoying chores! I have tried a couple of different methods with them, but the one that works the best for them (and me) is this free site. I can type in all the chores, how often they need to be done (the options are almost endless) and who can do them (I even include us parents). Each week the site generates a chore chart broken down by day and person.

It is so great to have it broken down for all of us. The kids love to see what they have to do each day and they {mostly} don't complain about it. The funny thing is that after using this system for a couple of weeks, I found that the house stays relatively clean because we all are staying on top of things, even mundane things like wiping down appliances.

As much as I love being able to share the housekeeping load, I am even more excited about what our children are learning. Not only are they learning skills that will serve them well in life, but they are also learning about responsibility (both individual and shared) and I really believe they are building self-confidence. I mean, you should see how proud they are when they finish what they consider a tough task. So, while I am enjoy watching the children learn and grow, I can also admire my gleaming floors.

weekends are for dancing

2011-06-13T15:21:00.004-04:00

Lucy had her first ballet recital yesterday. And we made a big deal out of it. There was excitement in the air...mostly about the recital, but also about making these yummy cookies for the reception.

I must tell you that I have a very shy little girl. Once she gets to know you, she will entertain you for hours. The hard part is getting her to feel comfortable. We started this ballet journey about two and a half months ago. The first few weeks were hard and she was afraid to go to class. There were tears every week. I will be honest with you, I am not a parent who will make a child do something they do not want to do, but I knew how much she loved the class once she was in there and how she would count down the days until she could go again.

I just felt like I couldn't let her give up. Up until two weeks ago, I had to go into her class with her every time. She is just now ok with me sitting in the hall with the other moms, but I have to sit right at the threshold of the door. No, really. Right at the threshold.

But, I know this is a big step for her. She doesn't do well going into new situations with people she doesn't know. I am mostly fine with that, but it can be hard because I want her to experience things that I know she will enjoy once she gets over her fear. I know that this time will pass, so I just have to do my part to help her adjust and feel safe. And let's be honest, having a child who wants to be near you is not the worst thing in the world :)

So, with that said, indulge me in my excitement over this weekend's recital.

{She was so patient while I helped her get ready}

{Pardon the blurry picture...I just love it!}

{Checking the bun height. You know, those cute little crowns can be quite difficult to secure.}

{She loves her daddy.}

{Right before going on stage}

Her teacher took them behind the curtain to the other side of the stage from the dressing rooms when it was time to go on. Lucy had her eye on me and made sure I was walking right with her and then as they got to the curtain I couldn't cross with her. I was so afraid she would panic once she realized I wasn't there.

But, she made it!

And she danced her heart out.

And every picture from the dance was blurry. Every. single. one. Oh well, at least I documented every other second of the day, right?

There was no need for me to doubt her. She is stronger than I gave her credit for. And I know that in order for her to grow, she will sometimes have to go out of her comfort zone. Isn't that true for all of us? I believe so. And I do believe that this weekend, she grew just a little taller.

catching up

2011-06-07T09:38:00.006-04:00

{My sweet boy serenading the passersby}

With the exception of my Easter post and my one last week, my posting has been, well pretty non-existant. And to tell you the truth, that is not the way I want this blog to exist. You know, to sink and sink and then come up gasping for air when I throw it a lifeline like once a month.

In the past few months I have been thinking about the blog and exactly what I want it to look like. I feel that my "taste" in blogs has changed and it has made me look differently at mine. I mean, my taste hasn't changed drastically, more like a smidge. Still, I want this blog to have more purpose or direction or something (as you can see, I am very clear on this mission).

Apparently, when I have all these thoughts going around in my head, instead of continuing to blog, I just freeze with panic. OK, maybe panic is a strong word. But I do freeze.

At times I have even wondered if people even read the blog. (It is kinda hard to read if I'm not posting. Hmm.) But then someone will say something about my blog that encourages me. And I realize people are reading even if they don't comment.

Anyway, I feel like I am about to start rambling. So, I will just cut to the chase. I am back. Hopefully, now that summer is upon us and school is out, I can really try to resuscitate this blog and give it purpose. I know you all aren't dying to read the words flowing from my head, but I still have a need to put them out there. I enjoy documenting life...capturing the simple everyday bits that make it so special.

In an effort to make up for lost time, I thought I would just give you photos that kinda document the past few months. And yes, they were all taken with my phone. The Instagram app is just too addictive and easy to use. But as I type, the battery for the real camera is charging.

{A little thumb war with Grandpa}

{Date night with the most amazing husband and father}

{Learning how to make salves and tinctures with my fellow farmgirls}

{A bit of resourcefulness}

{A whole lot of trips to the library}

{Blooming calendula (good for all sorts of things)}

{My little ballerina waiting her turn}

{Vintage girl wearing a dress that belonged to me}

{Some good ol' Rice Krispie treat making}

Oh, by the way, since I am trying to give the blog more direction, if you think of something you do like about it, feel free to tell me!

a birthday apron

2011-05-26T14:11:00.003-04:00

I just have to start his post by asking, "Is anyone else tired of allergies?" That question has nothing to do with this post. But, as I type, my throat and ear feel like they are on fire and I just had to complain for a second. Moving on...

My friend's little girl just had a birthday, and I decided I would make an apron for her. I wanted a full apron, but I didn't have a pattern, but I did have the vintage pattern above that I tweaked a bit to get the result I wanted.

Lucy picked out the fabric from my stash. I think I have had this particular print since Larkin was a baby! Lucy was my {not so willing} model for this post. I think it was the fact that she had to get out of pajamas. But, at least she did it.

The pattern had little cap sleeves on the dress apron. I didn't include those and I added a pocket to the front.

I also made the apron reversible. The other side uses the same fabrics, just switched.

And I just had to include this photo. In this shot she was saying, "Can we please just be done with this?"

easter, how i love thee

2011-04-26T15:39:00.005-04:00

I do love Easter. And this year seemed to be the best one yet. We read this with the kids during the Lenten season and it was great to be able to talk about the true beauty of Easter.

Also, this past week, I found my way back to my sewing room. In true Amy fashion, I had waited until the last minute to make an Easter dress for Lucy. And even though I procrastinate, I find such joy in making her Easter dress each year (This and this were two of my faves). A few years ago I bought this bunny tea towel at Anthropologie. I knew I wanted to make something for Lucy with it, I just hadn't found the perfect project. I pulled it out a few weeks ago and decided to use it for something soon. I was contemplating an Easter apron. While looking for a pattern for her dress, I came across this one and knew it would be perfect.

I was even more excited to get home and find that I had the perfect fabric to match the towel. It was fabric I had left over from making this doll for Lucy several years ago. And how perfect to have a matching doll on Easter!

Man, I love these kids...
And I must admit, this family of mine sure does make me happy...

There was much fun with dyeing and hunting of eggs and candy making this weekend. I hope your Easter was splendid as well!

the must-make bread

2011-03-10T14:53:00.004-05:00

A friend of mine shared this bread recipe with me several months ago. I could kick myself for having just now gotten around to using it. The recipe is from Mother Earth News and can be found here. It is by far the easiest bread I have ever made.

You spend a few minutes making the dough (without kneading!) and after letting it sit for a couple of hours, you can use it. The recipe makes a large amount, so you refrigerate the portion you do not use right away. When you want bread, you just cut off a hunk of dough and quickly shape it (without kneading!) and after it rests for a little while, you toss it in the oven. You can make several different breads from the recipe, including pizza crust and naan. And it is so simple! Michael says it is the best bread I have ever made.

And seriously, after the few minutes mixing on the first day, I love that I can bake a loaf of bread every day with hardly any preparation! What's not to love about that?

books :: the library bag

2011-03-08T13:03:00.003-05:00

I went to the library to pick up a book or two I had been wanting to check out concerning self-sufficiency and natural home remedies. Well, as it turns out, I got to the shelves and ended up with a lot more than I had planned. I just kept seeing titles that intrigued me. Here is a snippet of what I picked up.

Storey's Basic Country Skills :: This book has all sorts of information from plumbing (no thanks) to gardening (yes, please). There is a lot of information that I would never use, but it is still a lot of fun to read.

Mary Jane's Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook: For the Farmgirl in all of Us :: Considering myself a farmgirl, I have read some of this book before and I think it is full of practical information. As many of you know, I am a big fan of Mary Jane and I love that she is so excited to spread the farmgirl spirit.

Traditional Kitchen Wisdom :: I have to admit that I picked this one up because I thought it was pretty. And it turns out that it has some helpful info as well.

Natural Beauty Basics :: Having sensitive skin, I am always looking for natural products. I recently switched to washing my face with honey because my skin was going through a phase of disliking pretty much everything I put on it. Actually, everything. Someone recommended that I try washing my face with honey. And I have loved the result. I then decided to look into more recipes for natural products which led me to this book.

The House That Cleans Itself :: Honestly, who wouldn't be attracted by that title? I checked it out assuming that it would be useless, but I was quite pleased when I found it to have some very practical methods for getting (and keeping) your house in order. I have implemented some and it has made a big difference.

Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper :: I have been researching beekeeping for a while because I would love to keep bees. I picked up a few books on the subject and thought this one looked quite interesting.

It seems that recently I have seen more and more self-sufficiency/country skills/home remedy books. Are there any that you have read or would recommend?

books :: the bedside table

2011-02-09T10:28:00.004-05:00

I have just noticed that while this stack of books is on the bedside table, there is also a slew of others on the floor and a crate of them in the living room. People, I can't help it. And I will share those books with you later in the week. But for today, I thought I would share my current daily reads.

One Hundred and One Devotions for Homeschool Moms :: My friend, Cindy, recommended this book to me a long time ago and I have been reading through it this school year. It is full of great encouragement, just right for those who homeschool.

Amish Peace :: I saw this book months ago at a local bargain outlet. I was intrigued by it and considered purchasing it, but I wasn't really sure, as I had never heard of the author. Weeks, even a couple of months went by, and I kept thinking of it. I finally went back in the store and after digging for a while, I found it and decided to read a chapter in the store. And, well, now it is on my bedside table. (And would you believe I have seen it in two other stores since then?) I am really enjoying this book. I love to read about the Amish and am intrigued by their simple life. I read a chapter each day (they are only a couple of pages). Each chapter ends with a few questions to get you thinking about simplicity. I love the way it has challenged me during a time in which I have been trying to simplify our lives.

The Girl Who Chased the Moon :: I just realized that the same bargain outlet that led me to the last book, also led me to this book. Sarah Addison Allen also wrote a book called The Sugar Queen and after seeing it at the bargain outlet, I checked it out at our library. It was just the right amount of quirky with some fantasy (not my usual read) and I decided to check out another of her books. So far, this one is proving to be just as interesting. Oh, and apparently the author lives only a hour from me.

The Sacred Echo :: I recently read Scouting the Divine by Margaret Feinberg. I must admit that it was the first non-fiction book that I actually read all the way through to the end. It was such a wonderful read and made me see things in the Bible in a different light. I was very fortunate to win The Sacred Echo through a giveaway on Margaret's site and it is proving to be a great read as well.

I hope that these book posts aren't too boring. I love seeing what other bloggers are reading and I find a lot of great books that way. Oh, and remember when I said that I didn't want to count my collection of vintage books for teenage girls for fear of the number? Well, I counted anyway, and it turns out I have 63. Not the astronomical number I had feared, but they do take up quite a bit of shelf space.

What is on your bedside table right now (or next to your bed)?

book nest :: january and february

2011-02-07T13:27:00.005-05:00

I talked about these little bird friends and their book nest last month. I did what I had planned to do by rotating out the books, I just didn't get around to posting last month's nest. It is the one above. I thought it might also be fun, at least for vintage book lovers like me, to talk about some of them each month. With very few exceptions, I find my vintage books at library book sales and the majority of them cost around a dime a piece.

The January nest took on a cool, crisp theme. Here is a bit about some of the books...

More Silver Pennies :: Yes, I know the title on the binding is upside down, but for it to be right side up, the top of the nest would be the back of the book and the cover is just too pretty to hide (you can see a better image of the cover in the link). This is a very sweet book of children's poems published in 1949. As for the theme, er, I just thought the color of this went well, and ice is kinda silvery...

At the Back of the North Wind :: Michael and I both love George MacDonald's writing. We have a nice sized collection of his works.

Snowbound with Betsy :: This book was written by Carolyn Haywood. I have a large collection of her books as well. She made it into the December nest. And I am pretty sure you will see her again. Thinking back, we should have read this one aloud while we were snowed in a few weeks ago.

Lets us move on the February nest. I went the obvious route and let it take on a lovey-dovey theme.

First Love-True Love (by Anne Emery), Lasso Your Heart (by Betty Cavanna), and Confusion by Cupid (by Janet Lambert) :: When I was much younger, I would comb the library by my grandmother's house for these type of books, mostly written in the 1950s by several different authors. I was attracted to earlier time periods even when I was young and I loved reading stories about girls during the 50s. Several years ago, I purchased by first copy of one of these books and I have been collecting since that day. I haven't counted how many of these I have, partly because I am afraid the number will be astronomical.

The Valentine Party :: This book was also written in the 1950s, so I guess I have more than one theme this month. We haven't read this one yet, but I plan to this week.

So, that catches us up on the book nests. I am planning on posting more about books this week. I have quite a supply from the library that I am excited about and want to share.

rest

2011-01-20T13:47:00.004-05:00

I had the opportunity to attend a women's retreat this past weekend. It was through Cup of Joy and was held at Winshape, a beautiful retreat site designed to resemble the countryside of Normandy. The whole place is breathtaking. I really wouldn't mind living there! Above was the morning view from my room. Not bad to wake up to, right?

{The view from the main lodge.}

{This is the top of the cottage where they stored bicycles that you could rent for the day. This was next to the potter's cottage and the arts and crafts cottage. Lovely.}

{The backside of the dining hall. Some of the buildings were renovated from existing barns.}

{This shows the bottom of some of the cottages that overlook a large lake with a gorgeous view, of which I don't have a photo. You will just have to trust me.}

The theme of the weekend was rest...resting in God. God used this weekend to speak to me. I realized that I don't do a very good job of just abiding in Him. I am too often prone to trying to rely on my own abilities. And that is not what He desires for me. His desire is for me to lay my burdens down and rest in Him. After all, He is the one in control, not me. And for that I am forever grateful.

happy things

2011-01-13T20:02:00.004-05:00

There are a lot of things that make me happy. And most of these things are not things that I can photograph and share. Many of them are intangible and would require a good bit of thinking on my part to share them. Especially, to share them well.

But today, those are not the things I am sharing in this space. The things I am sharing today are quite tangible and photographable. And new.

I must admit some pretty swell things came into my possession over Christmas. How have I gone this long without owning rain boots? And such lovely aqua ones at that!

And speaking of aqua, how about this beautiful cast iron dutch oven? I have always wanted one and I believe Michael did a great job picking one out. I just keep staring at the lid. So pretty. Anyone have a great dutch oven recipe to share?

And what boot collection would be complete without some cowgirl boots? Well, not mine. I have wanted some for years and now I finally have a pair. Hmm, I am definitely seeing an aqua theme to my Christmas gifts.

And last, but not least, look at the bird feeder that Michael's dad built for me...

And look at those blue skies. This was just before Christmas when the weather was so beautiful. Now all that green is covered in white. We have had a lot of fun this past week watching the different birds visiting the feeder. I guess they are having a harder time finding food in the snow.

And do you know what else makes me happy? That I have posted two days in a row. What?! Yep. Apparently my new rule is working for me. Have a great weekend!

P.S. My dear friend, Kristi, has opened an Etsy shop. She has some great vintage and handmade items and some original photographs. Ooh, and she is hosting a giveaway right now. So, go check her out!

christmas revisited week :: what happened?

2011-01-12T16:32:00.003-05:00

New rule around here: I will not say what/when I am going to post on this blog. It seems that every time I get a plan together for a particular post and then mention it here on the blog, something always comes up and I don't do it. Remember, when last week I was going to do a Christmas revisted week? (Probably not since I have lost so many readers due to my flippity floppity posting routine.) Well, I actually sat down and planned the week out in photos. I was proud of myself. Unfortunately, one of the smalls got sick and I somehow managed to get even further behind on household responsibilities.

For those of you who are still coming by the blog to visit, thank you. And since nothing blog-worthy has been occurring around here in the last week, I am going to make you look at a couple of more Christmas pictures. I could let them go, but some were quite fun for us and I want to share.

Of the utmost excitement was the fact that this was my first white Christmas. Growing up in the south did not lend itself to many encounters with snow. I think it snowed one time when I was growing up. And then it was only enough to dust the ground. So, we were all thrilled to wake up to snow on Christmas morning.

This week we got more snow and have been mostly house bound since Monday. On the up side, after a day and a half of back to back loads of laundry, I can finally say I have caught up...at least with laundry.

The week before Christmas, I bought some of these from Bake it Pretty. The actual store is only a short drive from home and well worth it. It is such a fun place to visit! The lollipops were a huge hit with the family. I think my grandpa looks splendid...

And my personal favorite...

christmas revisited week :: day 1

2011-01-04T13:13:00.005-05:00

Wow! How is it already January? December kinda went by in a blur. I had planned several things to post over Christmas, but we got so busy right before Christmas and then we spent a week with family that I couldn't seem to find the time to post. That and we have discovered the show Psych on Netflix and have four seasons just sitting there waiting on us. Well, not so much waiting since I have the overwhelming need to watch at least one episode every single night. It is so addictive. Anyway, back to Christmas. I decided that while I try to get us back on track with homeschool this week and find our groove, I would just post the things I was too ~~busy~~ lazy to post in the past few weeks. So, for those of you who, like me, are still enjoying the Christmas spirit, enjoy!

I had planned to spotlight some of our Christmas decorations. It was weird being in a different house and having to figure out where things should go, but it was fun just the same. In this house, our living room does not have the space for our regular tree, so the small one that used to be in our kitchen is now in the living room. Oh, and the pic above is the regular one in another room. I would have a tree in every room if I could :)

Michael and I bought this nativity when we first married. We bought it at our local Ten Thousand Villages. One day I came in the room to find baby Jesus on the back of the ox and then he went missing for a few days. This incidence produced an odd feeling. But moving on...

Once I saw this wreath that Eren made, I wanted to make something similar. OK, very similar. I love it, and am considering leaving it up all year. I think I have a total of three dollars in the project.

These birds found their way to our home this year. And I have had these books for years with no way to display them. I think this is a great way. And I have so many vintage books that I think I will rotate with the seasons/holidays.

I have a bag of bottle brush trees that I bought several years ago. This year I found this cute jar and decided to put a tree inside. I would love to have a whole display of these in different sizes. I will have to build up that collection up slowly.

One thing we have never had is a mantle. We have always hung our stockings from a door frame. This Thanksgiving while we were at my parents' I had my dad take me out into the woods to find a limb to bring home. I had no idea what I was going to do with it so for a couple of weeks it sat on our front porch. Then one night, Michael had the great idea to hang it above the couch and hang our stocking from it. I love it! I am also going to leave it up and hang something different from it the rest of year. I have a few ideas I want to try. But if you have a good idea, let me know!

As I mentioned in my last post, we did make our first gingerbread house this year. I used this recipe and I altered a pattern from this site. I was pretty happy with how it turned out, and now I know some tricks that will be helpful next year. The most important thing is how much fun the kids had with it!

Lucy made a sled with people wearing hats. I love it.

So, there you have it. A small tour of our Christmas home. I am pretty sure that Christmas will be on our minds quite a bit this year. I posted earlier about Smalltown Poets releasing a Christmas album this year. Last night Michael cleaned out the studio/library and got things set up. He has named the room, "Christmas Town" and has informed me that we will move the white Christmas tree into that room. And of course, Christmas tunes will fill our house for months to come. It will be fun!

swans and gingerbread men

2010-12-15T20:31:00.003-05:00

You know how once in a while there is a project that just makes you giddy? Well this lovely swan has made me giddy. I ordered the pattern from Jen at The Fabled Needle. I fell in love with her photo of the project. I had to copy the color of felt and the way she displayed it. (I hope you don't mind, Jen!)

This swan is completely made by hand and it is by far the most fun I have had sewing in quite a while. I really can't give this project enough praise.

I mean, look at those eyes, and that sweet, sweet capelet. A capelet! I really want to make another as a gift. It is just that much fun!

In food news, our kitchen was a bit underused while we were all under the weather. We did manage to make ourselves a treat one day. Have you seen the new gingerbread marshmallows? Yep, gingerbread. Well, the kids and I made some Rice Krispie treats with those marshmallows and then cut them out using a gingerbread man cookie cutter. Get it? Ok, so it is not an earth shattering idea, but it was fun and yummy.

Lucy even made a gingerbread lady by hand. So sweet...
We are planning on making a gingerbread house from scratch in the next week. We have actually never made one. Anyone got any tips?

in the bleak midwinter

2010-12-10T09:48:00.003-05:00

So, that was some blog break. Once we got back from our Thanksgiving holiday, we all started getting sick. All four of us have suffered through various sinus issues. And we are still trying to get back to normal around here. It needs to happen quickly because I only have a few days to make Christmas gifts!

I hope to do just that today, but I had to stop in here just long enough for a little announcement. As some of you may know, my husband, Michael, was the lead singer for the band Smalltown Poets. Well, we are very excited that, after quite a break, they are back to recording and are going to release a new album next year. But as a sweet treat, this week they released a single from the album. And let me assure you, it is fantastic. And I must admit, my love sounds quite fantastic on it. In The Bleak Midwinter is now available on iTunes. So go get your copy. You won't be sorry! Thanks!

susie

2010-11-20T18:32:00.005-05:00

Meet Susie. She is a milk cow. She has a large muzzle. We had our farmgirl chapter meeting last weekend and we all learned how to milk a cow! We also made cheese and ice cream from fresh milk. I must say, it was a lot of fun, but I am glad I don't have to milk a cow to have my bowl of cereal in the morning! It kinda takes a while.

And for those members of my family who need proof of this event, here I am milking Susie.

She later tried to bully me a bit when I was taking some more photos of her. She is not a fan of the paparazzi.

Oh, and remember a couple of weeks ago when I fell down the stairs? Apparently, I didn't want to stop at that. Two nights ago we went out to eat so I could get the best potato soup on the planet. Lucy and I ran across the street and jumped up on the curb. Well, our landing was less than stellar in that it involved me tripping over her and becoming air born before planting on the sidewalk. I now have a busted elbow and knee to go with my fading bruise. Someone help. I am not sure when I became so accident prone. For reals.

In happier news, today started our week of visiting with family and for that I am very thankful!

smallest small is five

2010-11-16T16:16:00.003-05:00

We celebrated little L's fifth birthday last week. I can't believe how fast time flies. Seriously, my youngest is five? Goodness! We spent her birthday with just the four of us. We started out the day eating out for breakfast and then coming home for presents.

She loved the gift big L picked out for her...sponge rollers! Here she is giving him a hug because she was so happy.

With hair curled, we had a small party for her on Sunday afternoon. She wanted a Littlest Pet Shop cake, so I did the best I could...

I use the same cake recipe every year and it never fails me. Just enough sugar to put one into shock. And I had great image in my head of how to decorate the cake. The actual product wasn't quite as perfect, but she loved it! I was going to try to get a better photo but people started arriving and I had to put the camera down for a second. And then suddenly the lighting in the room was very sad. I was so disappointed that every photo from the party was blurry. Oh, well.

I think the one of the best parts of this birthday is that for days she would come up to me and grab me and say, "I am just SO happy!" What mother wouldn't want to hear that every day?

falling time

2010-11-10T13:12:00.005-05:00

Like a lot of folks, I really enjoy the time change each fall. I actually like the sun coming up early. Honestly, I almost have to have it that way in order to get going each day. I end up being much more productive. And I don't really mind it getting dark earlier. And you know how people say we gain an hour? If only that were true. Sure, we get an extra hour's sleep on one night, but what if we truly gained an extra hour? I don't know about you guys, but I could really use one these days.

My plate isn't just full, it is piled so high that things are oozing off the sides. OK, that sounded kinda gross. The word ooze, even without its meaning, is kinda gross, right? Anyway, I digress. I have so many things going on right now and it is driving me crazy that I don't have time to do all of them right away.

It all started around the time my mom, aunt and I went to the Country Living Fair in Atlanta. I can't believe I haven't already mentioned it. It was fantastic and I came home with inspiration coming out of my ears. Seriously, when I got home I carried a notepad around with me because ideas kept coming to me and I wanted to write them all down before I forgot them.

Since then I have made Halloween costumes and am sewing two period dresses for a friend. And I have a dress for Lucy waiting in the wings. And all that inspiration I have been carrying around? It is still waiting. Although, not very patiently. I want so desperately to work on these new ideas, but I know there are things that I have to finish first.

So I should get the stuff done and move on already, right? That sounds simple. But guess what I have been doing instead of focusing on crafty things? I've been deep cleaning and organizing. Yep. Somehow I have been overwhelmed by the need to clean things out. That is all fine and dandy, but it leaves my blog looking kinda sparse. I mean, who wants to see photos or posts about my pantry or our bathroom closet? Exactly.

On top of all that, we have moved into the Middle Ages for our history lessons and I can't get enough of it (hence the photo above). When I am not teaching, I find myself searching for books and projects for history. Oh, and I have handmade Christmas gifts to make soon...

So, see what I mean? I think that all of my "problems" are actually good things. Great things, even. But why do they have to all come at one time? An extra hour would be so helpful. It is times like these that I wonder how a person can ever be bored. I don't think it is possible.

holloween

2010-11-03T16:45:00.005-04:00

Yes, I know how to spell Halloween, but little L likes to refer to it as Holloween, so there you have it. When we lived in Atlanta, we only went to a few houses to trick or treat, so the kids only had a handful of candy at the end of the night. Well, this year we went to the neighborhood of some friends and circled their block. I thought Larkin might explode with excitement over his load of candy (which still wasn't a full bucket). Apparently my children have been deprived in the candy area.

I was so excited that for the first time ever, I finished their costumes several days before Halloween. I could hardly believe it. Little L wanted to be Tinkerbell, so I used this pattern and altered it a bit for a better fit. Making wings isn't quite as simple as I thought it would be. But I did survive the construction. She was mostly concerned with making sure I put green puffy things on her shoes.

Mr. L wanted to be Padawan. I used a combination of this pattern and this one. Once I finished the tunic and the vest, I was about to make pants when he told me that he could just wear his brown cords with it. Easy peasy. For any of you Star Wars experts, don't examine this too closely. No, it is not perfectly accurate, but my little Jedi was thrilled with it and that is what matters to me.

Life with Tink and a Padawan is always full of laughs...
And completely unrelated to Halloween, this has been my view this afternoon...

Why? Well, I took a tumble down our wooden stairs and have quite a nice bruise/knot on the back of the top of my leg to show for it. I have been sitting on an ice pack. I will say that the smalls were extremely helpful as soon as I fell. They quickly went into emergency mode. They were ready to call dad and within two minutes they had brought me a homemade ice pack, a cup of ice water, and the best part, some string cheese (in case I got hungry on the stairs). I love those two. As for this view, take note of our dog laying in front of the fire hogging all the heat. She has been there all day. And don't you love my less than attractive warm socks that happen to be over another pair of socks? I have been a bit cold the last few days to say the least. I just can't bring myself to turn on the whole-house heat just yet.

an apple a day

2010-10-27T13:17:00.003-04:00

Why haven't I blogged in a week? We are up to our eyeballs in apples around here and I haven't been able to make my way to the computer. Well, that is not totally true. Michael's parents came last week and we went to a local apple orchard and had a blast. However, I think we overestimated how many apples we would need. It was just so much fun! Of course "riding" into the orchard was pretty cool for dad and the smallest small. Although, their ride out (downhill) was most spectacular.

The kids really loved picking the apples right from the trees and they loved sampling to see which variety they like best. The both agreed on that Pink Lady takes the prize.

We ended up with Pink Ladies, Winesaps and Cameos (of course). My mother-in-law was kind enough to wash all of the apples. I think this is such a pretty sight...

I put up ten pints of apple butter last week and made some dehydrated apple rings. Still on the agenda are apple jelly and apple pie. And since I have plenty of apples, I found a few other things I would like to try: apple cheddar scones, baked apple donuts, and apple cobbler cupcakes with pumpkin pie frosting. Who knows how many I will actually try, but don't they all look sooo good?

feed bag tote

2010-10-20T11:42:00.005-04:00

I have seen a few feed bag totes floating around the interwebs recently and when it came time to find a project for one of our Farmgirl Chapter meetings, I thought this would be lots of fun for everyone. All you need is a feed bag and some creativity. I am not sure what the bag material is called but it is like a plastic-y/nylon woven bag that makes a lot of crinkling noise when you touch it. How's that? Anywho, I like the simplicity of the bag I found, it was just five dollars and I could actually use the feed.

Here is my completed bag. By the way, this is the first photo I took after the whole water-logged camera debacle. Each photo has gotten better so I think my dear is going to be fine. Whew.

I bought the navy gingham fabric and made the ruffle bit and the white ruffle on top is some trim I picked up at the store. I was going to buy some nylon mesh for the handles, but I decided to go with this navy linen-like fabric I had from one of my scrap boxes and just make my own handles.

I had some of the navy gingham left over so I made a flower out of it and covered a button for the center using some more fabric out of the same scrap box. I really should share a photo of that box sometime. It is a box from my grandma so it has scraps from clothes she made when I a child. Very fun. Anyway, here is the "flower."

Here is a shot of some of us farmgirls showing off our bags!

checked out and returned

2010-10-06T14:02:00.004-04:00

I am not really sure where the weeks have gone. Somehow, without meaning to, I have unplugged a bit. I do know that I have been busy, even if I don't have much to show for it. Inspiration left me for a bit and I haven't felt much like writing about anything. I haven't been keeping up with my usual blog reading either. It is funny how I can feel so inspired reading about things other people are doing and then sometimes, when I am already feeling completely uninspired, those same things can make me feel quite inadequate. Tell me I am not alone here.

During this blog "time-out" I have had a lot of time to revamp our homeschool days and I am really enjoying where things are going and how much smoother our days seem to be. I have also focused on getting some of our household chores under control. Does anyone else find that sometimes, out of nowhere, the house seems to explode...laundry piled high, toilets needing to be scrubbed, the dog seems to shed at least three small animals and the kitchen seems to breed dirty dishes? And then you go out of town for two days and even though no one was home, somehow there are more things to clean when you get back? Well, I am happy to report that I have gotten it back under control and I am beginning to feel like myself again.

Over the weekend I finally got some inspiration and have something fun to show you, but at one of the smalls' soccer games on Monday, my camera was in the bag with a leaky water bottle and it soaked up a good bit of water. I am still letting it dry out, so no new photos to share, hence the random photo I took earlier this summer.

And just so this post isn't completely useless, I thought I would share a random list of loves with you. A list that doesn't warrant a post on its own, but needs to be shared.

Cameo apples :: I sure do enjoy living in apple country. If you haven't tried a cameo, go do it right now.

Flower Patch Farmgirl :: I found Shannan a few months ago and have been completely smitten with her blog. She is funny and she is real. Check her out...you won't be disappointed.

Library book sales :: We just had one here this past weekend. A room full of books at $3 a bag? Or if you are lucky, $1 a box! Yes, please. This link has a list of them!

Goat's Milk Soap :: I just discovered this when we moved to North Carolina. The link is a local farm that sells it and they are so great! The Strawberries 'n' Cream is unbelievable. It is by far the best thing I have ever used to wash my face.

Simplicity :: No link for this. It is what it is.

I hope to be back soon with a dry camera and a bucket full of inspiration!

sunshine

2010-09-29T09:56:00.005-04:00

Thanks to those of you who said my parents are adorable. They really are quite swell if I do say so myself. We had a great weekend together. They left on Monday afternoon and Michael left that morning for a retreat, so what did I do? Well, after I was pouty for a bit, and shed a tear or two, I pulled myself together and made mac & cheese and popcorn and enjoyed it on the couch with the smalls while we watched some old episodes of The Pink Panther.

It is a rainy day here. Nothing new with that as it has been raining since Sunday, with a bit of a break yesterday (not exactly great for a girl who is missing her family). However, the little bowl up there has brought me some sunshine. My parents just took a trip to St. Augustine. Yes, they went without me, which was a little bit difficult seeing hows I love that place so much. But, knowing me so well, my mama brought me some treats from my favorite city. The little dish came from one of our favorite shops. She used to sing that song to me all the time as a child and now I sing it to my smalls.

She also got me a charm to go with the schoolhouse charm I got on our trip earlier this year. It is a charm of St. Augustine's city gates. Isn't it cute?

Another thing that is bringing me sunshine on this otherwise rainy day is the fact that my sweetheart returns this afternoon. Yay for me!

they're here!

2010-09-24T21:02:00.003-04:00

My parents are here! They came bearing boiled peanuts, cream filled donut sticks and the best little cookies on earth (from the bakery in my hometown). I can't wait to our weekend together. I hope you all have a great one. See ya next week!

out of doors learning

2010-09-21T13:43:00.006-04:00

We are beginning to enjoy some fall-like mornings and evenings around these parts. This morning after the smalls saw Michael off to work, they came running inside asking if we could spend some time outside. Little L said, "Mama! Mama! It is fall! It is cold!" (Not quite, but we will take what we can get at this point!)

Armed with coffee and sidewalk chalk we went out to spend some time enjoying the coolness. We weren't out long when I asked if they would like for me to read history while they played in the dogwood tree. They jumped on the idea and added that we should take our nature notebooks out as well.

After a few minutes of gathering our books, pencils, games and a blanket we were all set up to enjoy school. We had a great time! The weather was perfect for some of the notebooking I had scheduled for later in the week. (I love it when that happens and I am ahead of schedule!) We searched our yard for monocots and dicots to sketch.

Tiger lilies (sans the flowers) and gardenias were our favorites. I was proud to see Larkin really putting an effort forth to capture the gardenia rather than just scratching something down.

Our plant hunt then moved on to mosses and then quickly to insects which meant another trip in the house for our insect field guild and our magnifying glasses.

After the nature hunt we settled down for a bit of history. Josephus to be exact. The kids had fun building some of the key words using our Bananagrams game. (I love that game because it comes in handy so often!)

After history, the smalls finally got around to what they had planned in the first place--tree climbing. They have grown quite fond of our little dogwood tree as it is easy for both of them to climb up into it and provides a great shelter for secret missions.

I hope that we have many more mornings like this. I find it amazing how the joy from a little bit of time outdoors like this seems to fill us up and spills into the rest of our day.

old salem

2010-09-19T22:07:00.008-04:00

The family took a trip over to Old Salem this past Friday. The town was founded in 1776 by Moravians. The buildings have been preserved and costumed staff lead tours and hands-on activities from the 1700s and 1800s. Friday was a homeschool day with lots of fun activities. We had an amazing time. I have been to a lot of historical attractions, but this was quite possibly the best I have ever visited. I was so inspired by the village. I love the simplicity of the building and the trades of the inhabitants. I know I can't do the experience justice here on the blog, but I wanted to share a few photos of our day.

I fell in love with these water buckets. These particular ones were in the home for unmarried men. We also saw some in the tavern, but they were unlabeled.

I told Michael I was going to get buckets for each of us in the family. Especially since the kids loved pumping water. We couldn't keep them away from the pumps!

{George Washington visited the tavern and may have slept in this very room.}

{This is the public room of the tavern. I love the wide plank floors and the grey trim.}

{This is a wall in the doctor's house. In the center is a tool he used to pull teeth. Ouch!}

{We visited the ladies who were dying wool yarns. The colors were so beautiful.}

{The kids had so much fun making paper out of old clothes.}

{Painting the endangered Schweinitz sunflower.}

{Sketching in the fire house.}

It was a great day and I look forward to going back for the Christmas Candlelight tour. Actually there are a lot of events that look worthy of a return visit. Their classes look pretty great, too. If you live near the area, I highly recommend a visit!

stuffed poblano peppers

2010-09-18T21:53:00.004-04:00

This week I bought some poblano peppers for the first time. Actually, that is not true. My friend Cindy picked them up for me from the farmer's market and somehow I didn't have the cash on me to pay her back. Oops.

Anway, I had never cooked with poblano peppers before. In all truthfulness I had never eaten one either. I did a bit of research online to find a recipe. Feeling inspired, and not having all the ingredients to complete any of the recipes, I decided to just try something on my own. And I must say, I am extremely pleased with the outcome! I wish I had a better photo, but I forgot to take one while they were all so lovely in the dish. Man, they were delicious. I can't wait to make more! I hope my favorite vendor has some at the farmer's market today.

Ingredients

1 can enchilada sauce

4 poblano peppers

1 can great northern beans (these are a staple in our house)

1/2 cup corn meal

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup shredded mexican cheese (plus more for sprinkling on top)

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Pour enchilada sauce in bottom of casserole dish.

3. Cut tops off of peppers, scrape out seeds and cut in half lengthwise.

4. Mix remaining ingredients together to create filling. Spoon into pepper halves and place in enchilada sauce.

5. Sprinkle extra cheese over the top.

6. Bake for 45 minutes.

wordless wednesday :: botany

2010-09-15T21:02:00.003-04:00

gathered clutch

2010-09-13T14:06:00.005-04:00

Over a month ago I finally got around to making the gathered clutch over at noodlehead. I have had a lot of compliments on it. I had so much fun making it and it was a quick project. I chose just to have card holders on one side of the interior (there is an option for a divided as well)...

I love the gathers on the front of the clutch. They make me quite happy...
I made another one as a gift and forgot to take a picture! Someone please tell me I am not the only one who does that.

Anna has now added a pattern for the tutorial as well.

Penny hosted a Gathered Clutch Swap. I wish I had known about it in time. It would have been so fun! You can see everyone's wonderful creations here.

I haven't sewn anything since this and I am itching to get back into the sewing room. Hopefully, now that we are getting settled into our homeschool routine for the year, I will have some time to sew. It seems that lately my spare time is still filled with homeschool doings. It is funny how you think you have it all planned out only to find that it all needs to be tweaked after the first week. But I think I finally have it figured out. My sewing machine thanks me and hopefully my smalls do too!

thankful thursday

2010-09-09T22:48:00.003-04:00

A friend of mine recently wrote about abundance and being thankful for the great things our lives. I haven't sat down each day and made a list, which I thought about doing, but I have been consciously noting things as I come across them (even tiny flip flops left at the bottom of the stairs). And really, has any good ever come of dwelling on the negatives in life? So today I present to you some things for which I am thankful...

{I am thankful no one was injured when the leg fell off our table while we were eating supper.}

{I am thankful for a tomato plant that has completely taken over the garden area. People, this is one plant. It is almost six feet tall and just as wide.}

{I am thankful that the largest of my smalls is really making an effort to improve his handwriting.}

{I am thankful to be able to go through this book with the smallest of my smalls. Her sweet little voice sounding out the words is heartwarming.}

{I am thankful for a new spiral notebook. I have one in red, too!}

Those are just a few from my "list" today. What are you thankful for today?

the view from here

2010-09-06T14:03:00.005-04:00

I am on day six of a cold and it is finally kicking me in the rear. The view above has been my main one of the day with a couple of others thrown in just for variety. Day four of this cold had me believing I had recovered. I got up and went to a small's soccer practice, visited the farmer's market, canned scuppernong jelly, cleaned the entire house, and organized our library. Late that night as I was getting in bed to read, that sneaky little guy snuck up on me and took away my ability to breathe without sounding like I was wearing scuba gear. So here I am riding it out.

Lucy made me a lovely flower with her vegetable chips...

On a happier note, I made a little Etsy purchase last night while watching one of my favorite Cary Grant films. I am so excited. Studio Mela has some amazing prints! I couldn't wait to get this one...

And this weekend she is having a buy one get one free sale, so this little beauty will be coming home with it. I am so excited!

Happy Labor Day my American friends!

visit

2010-09-02T15:39:00.004-04:00

The smalls and I just returned from visiting my family. We discovered the joys of audiobooks on this trip. You have to do something for those six hours in the car. Our library has an amazing selection! On the way down we listened to Nancy Drew and on the way back we popped in Little House in the Big Woods. Such a great way to enjoy books!

On our first morning there, we had breakfast at one of my favorite spots. It is called Bobby's Treat Shop. Did I have you at "Treat Shop?" (By the way, I may have also eaten lunch there and possibly breakfast again on the day we left. But who's counting?) We happened to park by my dream car. A Chevy Bel Air. This one was a '57. While I wouldn't turn it down, I really want a '53. And in case you are wondering, yes, my knowledge of cars ends here.

We also enjoyed some time in my parents' yard. I know this may not seem like a big deal, but they have the biggest greatest yard ever. There are endless opportunities for exploring. It is a shame that I have such bad allergies. We started out the day going around and examining all the various types of mushrooms that had popped up. Here are my two favorites.

{This guy was no bigger than an acorn. Cute!}

{I love the shape of this one and the perfect little pleats around the top.}

We also examined the muscadine and scuppernong vines very closely as well as the pear trees. Speaking of muscadines and scuppernongs, yesterday morning before we left, my grandpa went out and picked at least two gallons of them for me to bring home. He is so sweet!

We then enjoyed a picnic under what I call "my tree." It was the photo in yesterday's post. When I was a little girl, I would load up my lavender Jordache backpack (it had the horse on the front) with art supplies and I would go in our front yard to the little oak tree to draw and craft away. When I told the smalls about it, they immediately wanted to have a picnic there. So we did.

{Lucy took this photo of me and my mama at the picnic.}

I also got the chance to go out with my sisters one night. Good grief. I sometimes forget how crazy they are. I will spare you the details, but trust me on this one. Here we are at another of my favorite places, Danny's Pizza. It happens to be across from Bobby's Treat Shop. That street has it going on!

My sister Michele (on the right) asked my sister Fran (in the middle) if she thought she could fit that Frostie sign in her purse. Would you believe that is the mildest of the craziness? After dinner we went to watch Eat, Pray, Love and we had the theater to ourselves. My sisters in an empty theater. Crazy. And for the record, we did not use our purses to sneak in candy. Nope. Wasn't us.

I love my family and every chance I get to spend time with them. Is it possible to have two "Home Sweet Homes?" I think so.

wordless wednesday

2010-09-01T18:46:00.001-04:00

salute for second grade

2010-08-23T16:42:00.011-04:00

Yesterday we started school and I must say it was a pretty good start. I mean, you have to factor in the fact that brains have been on summer vacation (mine included) and it takes a little bit of effort to get back on a schedule. I always like to look back at our previous first days. We always take a photo at our front door. Not that I thought it would be the same front door for all of school, but it did hit me that we have a different front door on a different house this year. And it almost made me sad. Almost.

Do all kids get ridiculously silly during photo time?

I finally got them to stop giggling for a few seconds to capture these...

And since we have a new front door, that means we also have a new school room so I thought I would share!

We are really enjoying having a room just for school and it is right off of the kids' rooms. Our previous one can be seen here.

And since people often ask what curriculum we use, I'll tell you:

Math :: Saxon 3

Science :: Apologia Botany and nature study

History :: We are combining Story of the World 2 with Mystery of History 2. This year we are starting a timeline book and I am so excited!

Grammar :: Rod & Staff, Preparing to Build with some First Language Lessons

Writing :: Writing with Ease

Spelling/Vocabulary :: Spelling Workout and Wordly Wise

Ok, well I have some cinnamon bread to go check on...

i'm over here

2010-08-18T22:22:00.004-04:00

At any given moment this week you can find me under a pile of homeschool books. If I'm not there, look and you will find me in a dark corner hunched over my computer with a wild look in my eye as I try to find the very best deal on each of the books I have left to order. People, I have it down to the penny. Just go look at my spreadsheet. On second thought, don't. I'm not even sure it makes sense to me. And let's not get started on my process for planning out the year. But you know what? I absolutely love it. I can hardly wait to get started this year.

If I am not under a pile of books, or hunched in a corner, you can find me if you look for the blur going through the house as I prepare for a visit from a very special lady. My friend Cindy and I decided that when we moved here with our families we had to start our own Mary Jane's Farm chapter. And tomorrow is our kick-off meeting. We are calling it Simply Farmgirls. We are so excited that Mary Jane will actually be here with us! We are going to have a blast...I just know it.

my little chest of drawers

2010-08-17T15:34:00.005-04:00

What a lovely(?) shade of purple. Paired with such a lovely(?) shade of lavender...

This little chest of drawers has been with me since college. It was the first piece of furniture I ever bought. It was already old and rickety when I bought it a shack of a store called the Swap Shop. Very classy. It was a sickly shade of pale green. And I was going through a phase of immense love for purple. Especially royal purple. This phase included a room with purple sparkly saris for curtains and white, silver and purple on the bed. With my daddy's help, I sanded the green away and painted it this glorious purple. I even chose this coordinating lavender for the inside of the chest and the insides of the drawers. And silver painted knobs. My goodness.

Fast forward a several years and my sweet Larkin comes along and he needs a changing table. Purple would not do, so I sanded my dear little chest of drawers down yet again getting ready to make it just right for his room. It looked a lot like this:

And almost eight years later it still looked a lot like that. In fact, it looked exactly like that. It went through many a diaper change for both children. Looking just. like. that. It now sits in our living room and I had decided that it really was time that I painted it. I was wandering through the home improvement store one day and passed by the "oops" paint. And unlike most passes by that cart, usually full of blecky tan, I found a beautiful color and bought it right away at the great steal of $5 for a whole gallon (not that I needed a whole gallon).

So, finally, after all these years of being neglected, my little chest of drawers has a new coat and I think she is quite happy...

flower girl

2010-08-11T15:00:00.005-04:00

I have really been loving the trend of necklaces with multiple charms on them. The other day I was going through a box of old trinkets when I came the charm that I got when I was a flower girl in my cousin Peggy's wedding. In the same box were this little heart charm that I had when I was little as well as the clear heart with a mustard seed in it (referencing Matthew 17:20). I immediately thought it would be great to place them on a necklace together.

I found the perfect chain at Target that was 18k gold over silver for just $9.99. And I have been wearing it a ton in the last week. I love that each of the charms has a special meaning for me. Here is the back of the flower girl charm. I have had it for 30 years! Wow!

And to impress you even further, I even have a photo of me at the wedding wearing the charm! I'm the blond on the far right. I kindly stole this image from my cousin's Facebook photos. Thanks Dana!

strawberry fig preserves

2010-08-09T17:09:00.003-04:00

My mama just visited us for a week and we had a great time. As usual, the time felt a little too short for my liking, but we made the most of it. One of the things we did was make strawberry fig preserves. Our fig tree is loaded with figs and I have been making all sorts of fig goodies (fig newtons, fig and ginger jam (this one in particular is ridiculously good), and figpote to name a few). It has been a lot of fun as this is my first year cooking with figs.

We recently had a storm that knocked a bunch of figs off the tree and unfortunately those have started to ferment and the ants, wasps, bumblebees and honey bees were swarming all over the ground as we tried to pick figs off the tree. The good news is that we are pretty sure they were all drunk on the fermented fig juice since they were not evenly remotely phased by us walking all around and over them. It was crazy! We did get plenty off the tree and there are so many more that aren't ripe yet. So, I see figs continuing to permeate my near future.

You probably can read the recipe that my mama brought to me, but I will type it out just in case. This recipe is very simple and quick.

Strawberry Fig Preserves

(makes about 7 half-pint jars)

3 cups mashed figs

3 cups sugar

2 small packages strawberry jello

1 package Sure Jell

1. Mix all the ingredients in a pot.

2. Cook over low to medium heat for about 10 minutes.

3. Spoon into prepared jars. (I wash my jars, place them on a cookie sheet and place them in an oven at 275 degrees until I am ready to use them. For my lids, I place them in water and bring to a boil and then turn off and leave them in the water until they are needed. I have had great success with them sealing using this method.)

Here are some photos from our process...

{Fresh figs washed and stems removed}

{Mashed figs. I prefer the hand squishing method. It brings me a similar joy to that of Amelie placing her hand in the sack of grain. Have I ever mentioned that is my favorite movie?}

{Mama measuring the sugar}

{All the ingredients layered in my measuring bowl}

{Beautiful preserves ready to eat!}

tea towel tote

2010-08-04T21:41:00.007-04:00

Thanks for all the interest in a tutorial for my bag. As I mentioned, I made another one for our family reunion and took photos of the process. This is my first tutorial, so bear with me.

Materials needed:

One tea towel

Three 2-yard cuts of ribbon or strips of fabric (see below)

Thread

Let's get started!

1. Pick out your tea towel. Obviously, ironing does not matter in this case :) And all your edges are finished for you already. Woo hoo!

2. Take the short ends of the towel and turn the edges over to the wrong side about 1.5 inches and press.

3. Sew a 1/8" seam along the finished edge of the towel. This will form the casing for your handles.

4. Fold the towel in half widthwise, with wrong sides facing, so the edges you just sewed are touching.

5. Starting at the bottom of the tote, stitch the edges closed, placing your seam just to the inside of the existing edge seam, stopping when you reach the seam at the bottom of the casing for the handle.

This is what the edge of the tote will look like when you have finished step 5. I like this bit of detail.

And here is the body of the tote before handles...
And the inside of the top of the bag just for reference...

6. To make the handles for my bag I used the same method as for this necklace. However, for this tote I just braided some grosgain ribbon, knotted at the beginning and end of the braid. As I mentioned in the materials list, I used 2-yard lengths. The length is really up to you. I used this length because I knew some would be lost in the braiding and I am always afraid of not having enough. I ended up with a bit extra.

7. Once you braid the whole length you will need to cut it into two pieces for your handles. Find the center of your braid and stitch back and forth several times about 3/4 inch to each side of the center. Then cut through the center to form the two handles.
8. Feed each handle through the casings at the top of the tote.
9. Gather the tote along the handles until the length is to your liking.

10. Take the ends of each handle and stitch them together, going back and forth for a strong seam. Here is where you may find you have excess handle length. If that is the case, just overlap the handles before stitching them and then cut off the excess. Clearly, pretty stitching is not necessary.

11. Pull the handles back through the casing until the stitched ends are hidden and then gather the tote evenly across the top.

12. Enjoy your new tote!

I hope this tutorial is easy to follow. Please let me know if you make one or if the instructions are unclear.

peanut butter ice cream

2010-07-28T11:34:00.007-04:00

Wow, has a week already passed? Thanks for all the bag love! I am working on a tutorial and will have it up next week.

We have been so busy around here! We decided to finally tackle a bathroom redo and paint another room. And we did them both this weekend all while planning for a large gathering at our house this past Monday night. Crazy? Maybe. Rewarding? Absolutely. We have two more rooms to paint and then I can rest (and share pics).

In the meantime, I have really missed baking but the house gets unbearably hot if I so much as look at the oven. So, to sort of scratch the itch, I have been looking to oven-free desserts. I have an extra special one to share, but it will have to wait until next week as well. (The suspense! Perhaps I have been watching too much Poirot. Is that possible? Nah.)

Yesterday the kids and I not only decided it going to be a lazy day (the kind of day that ends by taking off the previous night's pajamas just to put clean ones on), but it was also time for some ice cream. We chose peanut butter because everyone in this house loves it.

{There are peanut butter cups involved. Enough said.}

{Here it is in all its glory.}

Peanut Butter Ice Cream
(for a 1.5 quart ice cream maker)

1 cup peanut butter (I used creamy)

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup milk

2 cups whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

scant 1 cup chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (I used two packages.)

1. Beat the peanut butter and sugar until smooth.

2. Add the milk and mix until blended.

3. Add the whipping cream and vanilla and mix until well blended.

4. Place in the refrigerator until chilled. (We left ours for about an hour)

5. Pour into your ice cream maker and let it mix until thickened (about 20 minutes).

5. Add the peanut butter cups and let it mix for five more minutes.

6. Place in a freezer safe container and freeze for a while if you like it to be firm or eat immediately if you like it very soft.

mama's got a brand new bag

2010-07-21T13:09:00.006-04:00

{Doesn't it look lovely in this light?}

{Doesn't the handle play nicely with the fabric?}

{Don't you just love it?}

OK, so I know there are more exciting bags out there. But I haven't had a new bag in quite a while, so I am beside myself. I bought some great kitchen towels from IKEA over a year ago and placed them in my stash thinking they would make cute bags. When I was busying away with making stuff for the reunion, I decided to pull one out and make a bag as well.

Um, I kinda fell in love with it and decided not to part with it.

Oops.

Fortunately, this thing was crazy easy to make so I made another one for the reunion and I did part with it. And guess what? I took enough pictures of the other one to make a tutorial, so I am working on that. Anyone interested in the tutorial? It took under an hour to make and it only requires the most basic of sewing skills. Really. All of you lurkers, now is your chance to make your voice heard (while boosting my confidence and reminding me that people actually read my ramblings).

I know... a kitchen towel bag tutorial may not make you want to shout with joy, but the end result is quickly and easily obtained (bonus points for that). And did I mention it is super cute?

*Tutorial has been added here*