Still working away

I will be working on Christmas presents for the next few says. I hope they all go smoothly!

Finally Finished!

I'm done with the Bible cover I made for Laura's Mom. Their Christmas party is tomorrow so it HAD to be done. This was a doozy. I 'm not sure what would have helped. Maybe a pattern...

On to the next gift! The snow flurries are making me smile.

One down, five to go

I haven't ironed it yet, but I have another order to finish today and I wanted to share. 

It feels so great to have it done. Now on to the sewing machine!

A Christmas tree, a Christmas tree?

Hmmm...

We're trying to decide if we should have a Christmas tree this year.  The other option is a garland over the two windows in the living room with the ornaments hanging from there. The reason is because of space. We got a new dining table and the kitchen table moved into the living room and became my (long awaited) sewing/craft space. Can I spare the table to the garage before Christmas? ( I am making almost all the gifts this year )

For some reason I could not find any photos of the ornament garland idea online. I think I might like it. 

BUT. It is Jaren's 2nd Christmas and he is enjoying the trees and lights at other peoples homes. Should we have one for his sake?

I like these small trees on tables. I just don't know if I can spare the space. Oh the dilemma. 

Snowflakes blowing in

This is what we get to enjoy today. Fluffy snow is falling and actually accumulating this time! 

Fresh air walk

During a walk yesterday Jaren and I went down an alley and came across this bunch of bright moss. The textures of the moss and seed pods are so interesting together.
"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive at where we started
And know the place for the first time."
- T. S. Eliot

 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4

Enjoy some walking, fresh air does wonders.

I'm glad it's warmer Wednesday!

It has warmed up a nice 15 degrees here in western Ohio.. I'm glad since Jer and I walk to church for the Zone around 1:30.

This great article popped up on the Etsy home page and I want to share. It is about St. Nicholas and why there is a Santa Claus. Rich and I are not going to pretend about Santa with our children so I am glad to have this story about where the real man came from to share with them.  

Saint Nicholas: The Story Behind the Myth

Story by swanmountainsoaps
Published on December 2, 2008 in This Handmade Life 

Yes, Virginia – there really is a Santa Claus.

However, he’s not what you might think: you won’t find him hanging out at North Pole sweatshops, sipping triple-fudge espressos and cracking the whip on overworked persons of diminutive size. And contrary to what advertising says, he’s not the sweaty fat guy at the mall in the red velour suit handing out candy canes, either.

Many people do not know that the real Santa Claus was neither a storybook creation nor a marketing ploy. He was a real man. And while he didn’t have a reindeer-powered sleigh or slide down chimneys, he did become famous, in part, for his gift-giving.

St. Nicholas was born in Lycia (modern-day Turkey) in the fourth century AD, and was known for his kindness and charity. The most famous story of his generosity was about a rich man who had three daughters. The man fell suddenly into poverty and decided he had no choice but to sell his daughters into prostitution. St. Nicholas heard about it, and on three nights as everyone slept, he slipped past the man’s window and tossed in a bag of gold.

Eventually, Saint Nicholas became the patron saint of children. In Northern Europe his name was changed to Santa Claus, but he’s also known as Jolly Old Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Papai Noel, Sinterklaas and even Dun Che Lao Ren.

The real St. Nicholas was not fat or silly, but thin and sober. He was, however, the kindest of men. In the Orthodox Christian and Roman Catholic traditions, saints are usually honored on the day they die. In many parts of the world, Saint Nicholas delivers gifts on the eve of his Feast Day, December 6, and Christmas is reserved for the religious observance of Christ's birth, or the Nativity.

Orthodox Christian children around the world leave their shoes by the fireplace or in the church hall while they attend a service in St. Nicholas’ honor. Somehow, when they come back for their shoes, they find them stuffed with oranges, chocolate coins, nuts and small gifts.

These days, even as many parents line up at Walmart bright and early on the day after Thanksgiving to get the best deal on the latest cool toys, we often bemoan the fact that Christmas seems to have become all about the presents. This year, on December 6th, why not take a moment to tell your kids the story of the REAL Santa Claus, and why giving can be so much better than receiving.

Then tell them to check their shoes.

* For more information on the life of St. Nicholas, check out the Saint Nicholas Center.

Yellow Monday

This dreary Monday has some yellow!

Working on tea  towel embroidery is helping to brighten my day!

It will be finished soon, then on to the next gift.


Babies are coming!

At our church we have four expectant mothers and three new infants. One of my closest friends, Cassandra, (her piano was recently torn apart) is having  her second girl in a little over a week. (Her C-section is scheduled for Dec. first.) I finally got these finished.

Onesies for Ruthie. 

It's so exciting to have new little ones around!

Bazaar & Building with piano

Two weekends past I participated in a local Church's winter Bazaar. This was the first time I had run a booth or sold anything besides on Etsy. It was a lot different with the interaction with people and I was nervous the first day but on Saturday it was a little easier to make conversation and explain how my embroidery is created.

On the whole, not a productive time spent. But I learned a lot and it was nice that it was only a few blocks away so Cassandra and I met people from the village that we hadn't before. I'm glad I did it. I was time for a new experience. The monkey did sell. A grandma couldn't resist. 

Then I decided to make a set of hooks for behind the front door.

I wanted a place to put the jackets and coats starting to pile up with the cold weather coming on so fast! So a piece from the Corder's piano that was supposed to become my sewing table is the wood for the hooks to attach to. Once I can get started on a project, I just want to jump in and get it all finished in one day (besides doing dishes). 

So I measured, and cut off the ends. I arranged the hooks. Drilled holes.  
Attached the hooks. 

And Voila! Lots more space fore winter wrappings! It is so nice to have another seat and not have bags, coats and jackets strewn everywhere!
In all it was about a 3 hour job with a 22 month old running around and having to vacuum the carpet after sawing so he wouldn't play in the dust. By myself it would have taken under an hour. I also didn't sand the edges yet (I didn't know where the sand paper was). the coats cover that up for now. 

I hope I will have pics of Christmas creations coming soon! 

Jumping ahead

Here I am, unable to decorate for fall until the temp was below 70, and I am going to post about Christmas wreaths in October. I have a good reason though. 

Next weekend is a Christmas Bazaar and I will have a booth. I am a little anxious, but all the preparation is keeping me too busy to worry about it much. 

 I welcome any advice on organizing and managing a booth. It's definitely helping me look forward to the winter holidays!

Making the most of it

What to do on a cold, rainy Friday, but bake bread?

Now I need to clean. But that should go quickly as I look forward to chilli and the yummy bread for dinner!

Hoping you can enjoy your Friday, especially if its rainy!

Babies, Weddings, and Anniversaries

October is usually a busy month for us, but it has been especially busy this year. At least we were not moving like we did during the Octobers of the last two years.

During the first weekend a friend and I threw a Baby shower for another friend from church. Emily is expecting for the first time and there are two!  Two boys will be arriving around the end of November if God decides to keep them in that long. She is doing well so far and we had an enjoyable brunch on the morning of Saturday the 4th. The theme was 'two peas in a pod' and Christin made the cutest peas by wrapping two green gumballs in green cellophane. We played a 'guess what's in the diaper bag' game by putting the items in a black bag and trying to guess by feel. 

The next day was the wedding of my good friend Megan. We drove to Columbus after church and picked up my sister from college on the way. It was a beautiful day. They had a very traditional ceremony and a reception about 20 mins away at a country club. The attendants were in strapless chocolate dresses with cream sashes and the flower girls wore cream flounced dresses that matched Megan's in style. 

This past weekend Rich and I celebrated our third anniversary (which was on the 8th).  We had a very full schedule for a Saturday on our own (Mom and Dad came to watch Jaren). 

Our first stop was the Frank Lloyd Wright, Westscott house in Springfield. They gave a very nice tour but we could only take photos outside. So you will have to go for yourself to see the interior. The house is fully refurbished to it's original beauty and is celebrating its centennial. 

This piece was not on the original build but was found with part of the plans. It is a birdhouse and is Rich's favorite part of the house.     

This is the garden in the rear of the house, enclosed with the wall and screen. 
This shows more of the lawn.
This is not the front of the home, but the entrance is on the left side of the building, along with the birdhouse and Mr. Westscott's bedroom balcony. The two servant's rooms are on the right with the bath in between. The library is on the left and the entry in the center on the first floor.

This is a shot of the side street with the garden wall and garage (Mr. Westscott made luxury vehicles).

I thought I had uploaded more pics, but I guess you will need to look at the website to see the front of the building. With windows all way across both Mr. and Mrs. Westscott's bedrooms, the house is a beautiful example of Wright's work. 

Here is Christin and my work on brunch.  Set up at church.

Mini cupcakes to represent the sweet peas Jon and Emily are expecting.

And finally, here are Megan and Tom Minturn. Right after their first kiss.

I thought this was so sweet
A very pretty cake. You will have to watch 'Fireproof' for the salt and pepper shaker analogy.

Our October does noot look  to be slowing down any time soon. Rich will be 26 tomorrow and we have the church harvest party to help with. Plus Jaren's Reepicheep costume to finish and the November Bazaar to be creating for. Its a busy season, but I adore it!

Fall Cleaning Saturday

While I clean out my hall closets, I thought I would share these inspirations for Autumn dining that I think are beautiful. They are graceful without being overbearing. Lovely and comfortable. They are also both from Create and Barrel's Fall collection. Let me know what you think!   

I need that wreath.

Enjoy your weekend!

Checking Out

Here are some titles that (because I can't afford to buy them right now) I will check out from the library again and again. I hope I'm not breaking some unspoken library courtesy rule about not renewing library books as many times as possible and then checking the book out again. But these, they are just too wonderful. So I will have to risk the disgrace. 

This is a book I saw on the first visit to our small town library and loved it immediately. It is by Cheryl Mendelson who returns to her homemaking basics, learned from her Mother and Grandmothers, after years as a lawyer. I appreciate her unabashed respect for the art of homemaking and thorough research, even in this modern woman's day, to create a completely comfortable home.

While I haven't used any of these incredible recipes yet (and I really need to get on that) I about drool over the beautiful photography. The preserves have a huge variety (I had never heard of chutney before) and include very interesting herbs, spices, and suggestions for gifting and serving. (did you know that pickled red cabbage can be served cold or hot? Well I didn't.)

 So those are a couple of the books I have enjoyed very much, and you may too.

Enjoy the day, wherever you may be!

Psalm 118:24 

This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Fall Decorating, as of now

I adore Autumn. It is the season I look forward to every year (my favorite, with Spring after). And I even took a week out of the fall semester so I could have my wedding on October 8th.

But, it still feels too early for me to decorate for fall. Its 91 degrees here in Ohio. And although it is September I don't feel into switching things up yet. Still riding on these days of heat and summer sunshine. The AC is still blowing. I think when I can open the windows and cool breezes start to blow, I will be able to get the Autumn mood. 

So instead of feeling behind in my preparations I decided to try out polyvore and create an Autumn-themed collection. Today I was in the mood for dresses. Here is my group of fall time dresses that I enjoy and would love to have in my closet. 

I am always in the mood to think about the next season in clothes!

P.S. I was featured on the home page of Etsy! It was so kind of  Tennekka to let me know the exciting news. It was incredible to see how many more item viewings there were and how many people made my store a favorite. I'm so thankful for the exposure. I'm sweetbunnyhome with the hugs and kisses pillow.

A little Family Vay-cay

We had a couple weekends of family time these past few weeks. I thought I would show you what we have been up to.

Here are Becca (Cassandra's daughter) and Jaren just having some general fun, romping time last Sat. The Dads were playing with the guitars and Bass amp (in background). 

Jaren and Becca ran around in circles singing for at least 5  minutes.

I'm so glad Jaren was happy to be at the Irish festival ( two weekends ago). We had a really great time with my family.

Some family shots from the garden. 

Celebrating the pulling of the carrots! I will pull them earlier next year. I was just glad to get the six that I did this year, so I let them grow for awhile. 

I've also been working on Etsy stuff and Finally got my shop up and going.  

Have a great Friday Friends!

Catching up

Here are some photos from last Thursday and Friday. I stopped to check-out what was new at the Antique Mall in town and there were some stylish automobiles across the street. I also managed to get the iron gate and lovely home in the picture. 

A sweet gate

I finally filled the empty space above the computer. I'm very pleased with it. The cork board was from my husband's cast-offs and the material was on sale at JoAnn's. Now I have more space to post inspiration!

We finish up with more goodies from the garden. The tomatoes are ripening and are SO good! Does anyone have good ideas what to do with cucumbers? 

Tomorrow we will be going to the incredible Irish Festival in Dublin

 and visiting my sister-in-law for her birthday. August is upon us. Happy Friday!