Fall Harvest

We were celebrating these wonderful kids of mine over the weekend, with a fall harvest birthday party. What could be better for November? We had hot soups, warm homemade breads, yummy veggies and lots of goodies-apple pie, and my favorite banana cinnamon cake. The best part for me was, a [then] six & seven year old decided on the theme. Classic, fun & so something this mama wanted to plan. It was a nice, little gathering of close family & friends. The kids had a great day and so did their mama.

This year was so different than last. Over the weekend, I realized just how thankful I am for so many things. Last year was the sickest, most difficult year in the history of our family. Right around this time we had already had numerous ER, doctor and urgent care visits, with more sick days than I can even say. I was a tired, drained mama, just trying to pull everything together and keep up some happy spirits among us. While we haven't hit winter yet {prime sick time}, I am so grateful for the past few months of relative health & happiness we've enjoyed. Autumn has been so wonderful this year! I'm feeling re-energized & so very happy. Happy Birthday kids! Thank you for making my life so full of love & laughter-you're the best!

Apple Picking

We were able to squeeze in a trip to an apple farm, in between colds, cranky kids & rain here. I'm so so happy we did! It will officially be added to of list of family traditions in October. The kids had a great time, we came home with more yummy apples that I know what to do with {118!} , and we spent family time together.  The day was filled with lots of giggles, smiles, and well.. apples galore. I can't believe it's taken me thirty years to go pick apples. Seriously? What did our parents do with us as kids?

On the menu this week: apple pie, apple mash, apple cobbler, some applesauce to store for the upcoming winter, and apple ice cream. {with the recipe from the Jeni's splendid ice cream book. I'll share more on that later this week}

I'm so glad to welcome October! It's one of my favorite months filled with trips to the pumpkin patch, birthdays, craft shows, crispy air and the autumn leaves blanketing everything. I'm totally a fall girl & the apple picking trip has me all excited for the following month!

Fall Equinox

Autumn has arrived! My favorite season with all it's wonderful smells of apple pies, spices and crisp, brisk air. The beautifully changing, crunchy fall leaves. I can't wait until our Japanese Maple turns red-it's officially fall in our yard then. I made this quick little table runner for the season. One side is a colorful mix of Autumn leaves for September & November. For the month of October it can be flipped over to the Halloween side. {Ohh, how I also love Halloween too!}

It's finished with a pretty, orange, hand sewn binding to add just the right amount of color to either side. I'm happy with how it turned out. It adds a nice touch of textiles to the table. We have fewer fresh flowers on the table as the cold weather joins us {boo}. I'm hoping this touch of color & texture will brighten my mood just like the flowers do in Spring & Summer.

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Welcome Fall

Welcome Fall-I've been waiting for you! I've been dreaming of scarves, chunky boots, apple cider and the smell of crisp, fallen leaves. I've been waiting to hit the pumpkin patch and watch my babies parade around in silly costumes, crazy for candy. The cool morning breezes, that bring just a hint to the season that follows.

I've been working, working, working in short moments I can spare to get ready for my fall shows. So many less hours in a day to create. I've been joking with friends that my next craft show will just be me, sitting there smiling, holding baby unicorn-not a kunklebaby bib or blanket in sight. It's honestly not that bad, but as much as I said I was trying to get prepared, there are just not enough hours in a day.

I'm so looking forward to the extra joy I feel during autumn. I think I smile a little brighter, feel a little happier and... well, just love the season so much!
Here's to another great fall this year! YAY!

The Leaves have Fallen!

Leave season is in it's peak here. The tree in front of our home has officially shed it's leaves for the winter. Every inch of grass is now covered by leaves. We got super lucky here and had one more beautifully warm, glorious day!

Watching the kids play in the leaves reminded me of the wonder of the seasons. I remember how excited I was to see the leaves fall, so I could jump and swim through them! Now I normally think,uggg that's going to take forever to clean up. It's great to have little reminders of what fun things can still be! Greatness is all around us, if we just open our eye's and see it!

Scarves are Here!

Fall scarves are starting to be added to my shop. So far, I've added the "Shades of Fall" and "Theo" scarves. There are more pictures in the shop!

The new scarves, make great fall birthday and holiday gifts! The children's size are perfect up to about age 7, and the adult size fit just about everyone!

I really love making these. The winter months are so bleak and dreary here in Ohio. I'm really looking forward to the pop of color these will bring when we leave the house. My kids have already picked out their favorites...and actually so has mama! Haha. They will each be getting one as a gift for their upcoming birthday's along with a knitted scarf. Yes, I've been busy knitting too. I'll show you what I finished knitting at the festival over the weekend tomorrow!

Sunshine

We spent the last few days soaking up some sunshine. The weather has been beautiful and we needed a little break to enjoy it while it lasts. The fall months are incredibly busy for us each year with many birthday's, fall harvest, craft shows, making all the inventory to take to those craft shows, and now add homeschooling to the mix. We are gearing up to be extra, extra busy this fall season due to a few extra shows we are planning on applying to. I'm a fan of a simplier, more relaxed schedule, so my nerves start to get frazzled just thinking about it.

Yesterday was an impromptu trip to the Zoo. My baby brother[yeah he's 18, but will always be called this!] & his girlfriend called and said he was headed to our house. He lives 2+ hours away, so trips from family are treasured events! The bigger kids finished up school for the day just as the arrived. We had a great day both relaxing, fun and informational. {D} & {M} drew pictures of 4 animals while we were there and had to learn a new fact about them.

Welcome September!

September has arrived! I'm looking forward to the cool nights, colorful leaves and brisk air! Autumn is my absolute favorite time of the year. It's so pretty and refreshing. I'm not the biggest fan of hot weather. The sunshine is great, just not the heat. I love fall clothes, the holiday's and the weather. Mmmmm....happy & happy. Getting ready for the harvest too. I can't wait to can our yummy tomato's & veggies, make some cinnamon applesauce to enjoy through the cold winter months.

So grab a snack, a book,put a smile on your face and enjoy the day!

{ Pumpkin Patch }

One of our favorites things to do in October is go to the Pumpkin Patch. The kids have such a great time choosing the perfect one...or 10. Since it's all you can carry, they load up Dad's arms with way more than he could ever hold.

A few years a go, we left with all but one, GREEN pumpkins. The kids decided they were the best one's and had to have them. It looked like we carved watermelons that year!


This year, orange was the desired color and they scouted out the far ends of the field. {M} liked the 1/2 orange and 1/2 green pumpkins, but they had to be small with no moldy spots. {D} was looking for a teeny tiny pumpkin for his little brother. It was so sweet. He thought he found it quite a few times, but all the small one's seemed to have soft spots, so they were no good.

This is {L}'s first Fall, so his first time joining us in the family tradition. He really liked the fields, but wanted to eat the anything he could get his hands on. We found him with a vine in his mouth more than once-lol.


My husband is the best! He isn't really into "holiday's"{he married the wrong girl} but makes them fun for all of us. He goes along with all the parties I want to throw, decorations and travelling. He's a great man & father. This October will be our twelfth year together and fourth wedding anniversary. It still seems like yesterday I was meeting him for the first time.