Merry Christmas!

Things have been hectic, as they often are this time of year!  I've been busy making and wrapping gifts and trying to make sure that the clients at my work have a wonderful Christmas.  So I do have good reasons for neglecting my poor blog, but I hope to be back soon with regular posts.  Until then, I hope everyone has a lovely holiday full of family, friends, and good cheer!

Image courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

Deck the Halls

Shop Crush - Spun On Cotton

Thanks to Pinterest, I recently found this sweet little etsy shop full of lovely spun cotton art done by a very talented gal.  Spun On Cotton is full of ornaments and little one of kind pieces of art.  I may have ordered some Christmas gifts from the shop right away, so if you're on my list, do not go shopping for yourself until after December!  If you need some last minute ideas for me, though, shop away!

You can find all of the above items and more here.

Snow Day

We tried to plan some fun advent activities outside of the home for Sundays this month, but the snowy weather meant we had to plan something fun to do inside.  We made ornaments, taught Oscar how to cut paper snowflakes, and kept warm with peppermint cocoa.  I wouldn't mind some more fun snow days!

Baby, it's cold outside!

We got our first snow of the season yesterday, so I've spent the last two days at home with the boys.  We've mostly stayed in our pajamas snuggled under blankets.  Today our house is filled with the smells of chili and baking brownies, because snow days call for good food!  We decorated for Christmas last week, but the snow has really put me in the Christmas spirit.  Here's a good old fashioned Christmas playlist to add to the mood!

Holiday baking is off to an early start!

Oscar really loves making things, from crafts to baked goods.  He's definitely my creative little soul.  Our advent calendar is full of fun and easy projects, so he should be a happy boy.  We haven't actually gotten to the baking cookies activity, but Oscar has been wanting gingerbread for weeks now.  Who am I to deny a poor kid his gingerbread cookies?! 

Thanksgiving Recap

We did things a bit different this year and celebrated with friends.  We had a delicious feast, the best company, and the sweetest hosts.  I am forever thankful to have such wonderful people in my life.  I was much too busy eating and chatting to worry with taking photos, but I did manage to snap a blurry picture of our amazing desserts!  I let Oscar use my Instax camera, so we have some great shots of the lemonade and terribly unflattering pics of everyone in attendance, but I won't share those.  I hope everyone reading in the states had a great holiday! 

My Favorite Christmas Song!

December is officially here and I am already seriously feeling the Christmas spirit!  We used the long weekend to decorate and I even started wrapping gifts.  I am way ahead of the game this year!  I hope everyone had a great weekend.  Enjoy this sweet video of lights synced to the best holiday song ever!

Bless The Barges

I am really impressed by the community of Instagram users.  I have met so many sweet and amazing people who I now call friends.  One of those friends, Jaclyn, recently went through a really tough time.  Her husband was diagnosed with cancer.  After completing chemotherapy, he is doing well, but their family is left with the hefty medical bills that come with this type of diagnosis.  You can read more of the Barge's story here.  An auction of donated goods has been arranged to help raise money for the Barges and I was more than happy to participate!  The auction is happening tomorrow.  Sorry for the short notice!!  The auction will be on Instagram which can be viewed on mobile devices and online here.  Here is a link to the sweet gal who has organized and will be hosting the auction.  Please check it out!  You can see some of the donated items by searching #blessthebargesauction.  Here is what I have put together to be auctioned off-

Recent Vintage Finds

A lot of my finds recently have been Christmas gifts, so I can't really share them here.  I feel like the thrift shops have been a bit picked over lately and sometimes the antique store prices are just too high for a cheapskate like me, but I've managed to find some goodies.  It has been extra exciting to start seeing Christmas items out in the shops, so hopefully I'll have some new decorations this year!

You're probably wondering what the hell this crazy thing is supposed to be, aren't you?  Well clearly it's a pretty onion lady!  It's also something I just couldn't leave behind!  I actually have two similar decorations for Easter, so she fits in well.

I think it's pretty well known by now that I have a weakness for old toys.  I especially love old rubber toys.  I think these little guys were supposed to be $1.50 each, but the girl at the register gave them all to me for that price.  They're hanging out in some recent Pyrex finds from the same thrift shop.

 I've had my eye on one of these Fisher Price irons for awhile, but they're usually a little higher than I like to pay.  This one is a bit sad and missing most of the decals, so it was cheap, but it still plays music when you roll it along.

 Again, I'm a sucker for old toys!  I do seem to have a serious fondness for musical ones.  Oscar and Ben seem to have inherited that same fondness, because this sees a lot of action in our house!

 I actually found this cake carrier awhile ago and it was the second one I saw that day.  The first one was $12, but I found this identical one at another shop for $3!

So I know I said I am a cheapskate, but sometimes I will pay a little extra for something I really want.  I love these Dansk pots, so when I saw this one at an antique store, I knew it was coming home with me if it was reasonably priced.  Everything in the booth was on sale, so I think I ended up paying about $30.  That means it cost more than the combined price of everything else in this post, but it's so worth it.  Can't you just smell the soups cooking in this lovely pot all winter long?!

A Little Peek Into Our Library

It's been so long since I've shared any house photos!  This is a room that gets a lot of use.  It's full of constantly growing collections of books and toys, the floor is typically strewn with puzzle pieces and toy instruments, and occasionally we break out some records and have a little dance party right in the middle of the room.  It's one of my favorite places in our big old house!

I'm thankful for playlists

That's why they call it fall, mama!

Our lawn is covered in big yellow and brown leaves that have fallen from the tree that towers over much of our back yard.  There are really too many to rake, we usually mow over them all, but the boys and I had fun trying!

Inspired by Nature - Owls

How have I gone so long without doing this post?!  Owls are super popular these days, but I've kind of always had a love for them.  I have a small collection of big gaudy vintage owl necklaces, a few brooches and a shelf full of little owl figurines.  I even have an owl tattoo!

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Collections - Hazel Atlas Bowls

This is just a very small collection, but one I would probably trade in all of my Pyrex to add to!  I just adore Hazel Atlas patterns.  I know that a lot of my glassware is Hazel Atlas, but the bowls seem harder to come by.  I have actually recently added one more bowl to this collection, but I forgot to add it to the photo.  It's been ages since I've done a post of thrift finds, so I'll try to remember to show it off later!

All Aboard!

A few weekends ago we headed to the Lancaster area to visit the National Toy Train Museum.  It was kind of a spur of the moment trip and we ended up having a train themed day.  That's always a good thing with the boys!  The museum isn't too big, but it provided a lot of entertainment and didn't disappoint.  They have lots of cases of antique toy trains and several layouts with trains and buildings that can be controlled with buttons around the edges.  Lights go on, people and vehicles move, and the trains go all over the place!

The museum is right next to the really cool looking Red Caboose Motel & Restaurant where you can sleep in a train car!  We were all pretty excited about that and promised Oscar that we can stay there for his birthday.  There's also a small petting zoo, some play areas, and a silo that's been made into a lookout tower. 

The last stop on our adventure was The Choo Choo Barn, a 1700 square foot model train layout.  It was pretty neat and complete with replicas of actual area attractions.  The whole thing cycles from day to night every few minutes too.  There was so much to see- firemen putting out a house fire, a funeral procession, a huge circus!

Maybe Sparrow

Super Crafty Fun Time

I'm back with another clever title!  I'm sure you miss those when I'm being a slacker.  I just adore my niece, Charleigh.  She likes to craft, keeps my boys entertained, and is pretty darn cute!  She recently spent a weekend with us and after the boys fell asleep on Saturday night, we got crafty.  She had so many fun ideas and I was impressed with her creativity!  She pretty much planned all of our projects and I just helped with the gluing.  I was glad to share my happy place (my craft room) with her!

I'm back and so is Musical Monday!

 

I've been ignoring my blog for the past week.  I don't really love the time change.  It makes me feel sleepy and a little depressed.  I feel like the past few weeks have been a bit stressful at times, so I've been a little antisocial.  I do that sometimes, pull into myself.  It helps me recharge and is what I needed to get myself back into a better mood.  This playlist is completely random, but makes me feel warm and fuzzy.  Enjoy!

Foodie Pen Pals

I've recently posted about pen pals and mail swaps, but I don't think I mentioned the foodie pen pals program.  I read about this on a food blog I was browsing one day, although I can't remember which blog to give them proper credit.  This program was started by Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean and is open to people in the US and in Canada, keeping matches within the same country to avoid problems with customs.  If you live in Europe, you can find more info about a foodie pen pal program here.  You can sign up each month, with matches being announced on the 5th and packages being mailed by the 15th.  There is a $15 limit and you must include something hand written.  It's up to you and your match to exchange emails detailing any allergies, dislikes, or dietary restrictions. 

I signed up for the October swap and was matched with a lady in Seattle, WA.  I wish I had taken a photo of the goodies I sent her, because I don't believe she has a blog.  If I remember correctly, I sent her some pumpkin butter, amaretto peach pecan preserves, oat & honey pretzels, some licorice, bread & butter pickles, a cookbook of Pennsylvania recipes, and a little handwritten note.  Everything I sent was locally made.  Here is what I received in return-

  
I haven't tried everything yet, but let's just say that caramel almond popcorn is long gone!  It was really popular with everyone in the house.  Doesn't everything look yummy?  I can't wait to do it again this month!

I'm so goth I'm dead.

Happy Halloween!  Here is a little list of spooky items to make everyday like Halloween!

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October Crafternoon

 I'm a little behind on posting.  This month's crafternoon actually happened on the 19th, but better late than never!  We made Halloween jewelry this month and were encouraged to come in costume.  I came as Courtney Love, hence the trashy pose, smeared eyeliner, and bad blonde wig in the photo above.  You can see some of the other fun costumes here on Heidi's post.  Heidi is always such a sweet hostess!  She made everyone Halloween themed mix CDs and treat bags, fed us delicious vegetable soup, bread, and witch finger cookies, and shared a bunch of great jewelry supplies.

Misty Meadows Farm Creamery

After picking pumpkins last weekend, we treated ourselves to some yummy ice cream from a neat little local place.  This place is more than just an ice cream parlor.  They have farm animals, pedal tractors, and lots of little fun activities.  It probably doesn't hurt to mention that they have tons of delicious ice cream flavors, sandwiches on homemade bread, and the biggest darn hot dogs I've ever seen!  Go check them out!