just thought i'd share

this has been a favorite read of mine lately. love the blog too! 

check out the digital copy here!

loving list

 a short list of things i'm LOVING:

• fall porches
• stirring up the compost pile in hopes of a rich soil for spring
• this free plumes printable 
• finding loads of inspiration in ripped out magazine pages ( cleaning out is very good )
• pinterest
• equal parts red wine and glogg ( a swedish spiced drink you can get at ikea ) it makes the most delicious mulled wine
• light ( candles, string lights) in these darkening days
• feist's new album metals
• a handknit, from a sister most dear.
• this lovely blog 3191 miles apart
• kinfolk
• knitting baby things for friends and "one day"

a good reminder that distractions need to be dealt with...

sometimes technology sucks the time right out from under us. we let it. i definitely let it. this caught my attention. i hope it catches yours as well.

a little more love from our trip

most of the national parks we visited were selling these retro looking cards. we instantly loved the  look of them and started a collection to remember our trip. they were reprinted orginal artwork for posters done for the parks in the 1930's. you can read about the full story here. pretty fun stuff.

For your listening pleasure

 

some fresh "new" CHRISTMAS MUSIC!

if you are anything like me, you are a bit tired of listening to your christmas music collection already. 

i hope you enjoy these merry tunes.

weekending

a couple of weeks ago, i had the pleasure of attending my first produce auction. a small town not to far away from where we live geographically, but very far out of the normal suburban neighborhood. while we didn't end up buying any produce, it was a fun experience. bidding on the seasons freshest produce at a very discounted bulk rate. its definitely something i'd like to do more of in the future.

the rest of the day was spent wandering around rennigers flea market. getting peaches from a local mennonite family, eating tomato sandwiches and peach pie with my friend's grandparents, perusing a fabric store and local natural food store, echo hill. they have an amazing supply of organic flour and grains. i will be making a trip back there at some point. it was a most enjoyable day, discovering some local treasures that were previously unknown to me.

craft bazaars, donut dates and more

so my sister and i went to art star again this year! possibly the best craft fair in pa! its held at penn's landing in philly! we go mostly to get inspiration and enjoy what our local folk are making. a few purchases were made. hard to resist those homemade candles, endless colors of felt and reusable snack pouches.


a new donut/ coffee shop opened up a few months back. donuts on main, which is only a couple minutes away from our house. so one morning last week jason took an early break from work, and we met for donuts and coffee. they make cake donuts and sell my favorite local coffee. we were surprised to find we knew one of the employees, a young girl from our church. it was a lovely overall. so glad to squeeze little moments like this into our day!
there has been a lot of hard work going on around the house. lots of generous people, helping us work on our project home. scraping paint, digging holes, smashing plaster, wiring electric.... the list goes on. in all of that mess, i like to go out doors. i've planted herbs, and hope to plant some flowers shortly. a garden will have to wait for another year i'm afraid. when we have more time to dig it up and plan it out.

sunny on the inside

i pulled out the yellow tablecloth today. trying to soak up all the yellow around me, its quite swampy outside and with very little hope of letting up.
i've been enjoying this new single from matt pond pa. you can enjoy it for free here! happy for good music, that inspires me on these gloomy days.

fall garland

so, i've been eying up this lovely fall garland for most of the autumn season. and with that as my inspiration i finally got around to making my own! i've come to realize that joanns has a limited color supply of felt, but i was still able to find some pretty great colors. jason traced and i cut and sewed them together. all in all it only took about an hours time to make.


and this wall art is what has me inspired this week. all made from toilet paper rolls. check out the how to over at growing up creative. its brilliant!

my weekend

i had the delight of going to see this movie on friday. it was beautifully done. not so sure it was a "kid movie" per say, but as adults having read the book, it was magical.
max was great, the wild things were spot on. the characters and their personalities were heartfelt. the soundtrack was lovely. the ending... well, i think that max and his mom should have fell asleep in a pile.
happy november, and weekend to all!

loving right now...

• homemade apple cider
• these moccasins from L.L. Bean. i remember wearing my sister's old pair in the early 90's and here they are again.
• this apple pie recipe from posie gets cozy
• cool crisp days, with the wind whirling around me.
• do it yourself magazine. they have so many fun projects i want somehow implement into my living space
• sickle pears. i've just discovered their yummy little goodness. smaller than regular pears and sweeter too! delicious.
• a chance to finally see brooke waggoner at world cafe live.
• all the yummy pumpkin recipes i keep seeing everywhere!

one hot day.

the local library holds a used book sale about twice a month. when i can, i try to head over to take a quick peek and see what they got. or if i have more time, take about and hour or more and scour over the shelves and shelves of books. yesterday my long looking paid off in some most fabulous finds! childhood favorites, books i've been wanting to read, and some fun finds.
it was so hot yesterday, we actually turned the air conditioning on in our whole apartment. we try to avoid this as much as possible, and with this summer the weather has been most pleasant, but yesterday felt so steamy all day. i had time to make summery meal, which consisted of farm store corn ( so delicious) . heirloom tomato gratin and pan fried chicken.
the tastes of summer are here, and we are relishing in them!

so excited!

for this movie to come out!!!!! it looks so fun and inspiring. i saw the book this weekend at the book store and can't wait to pick it up.

crafty crafters and stitching

i heart cupcakes! lately i've been opening myself up to a world of crafting i'm not so familiar with and one is cross stitch. so this is my first real attempt at it. i'm pleased. i am going to make other baking/ cooking ones to adorn my kitchen with one day!

these yummy looking treats are from yummy pancake. so cute. my sister, nieces and i went to this awesome flea market, shupps grove. they have local artists come out for crafty by nature the first of every month. yeah for sisters who find the best things ever!

movie <3

i am looking forward to the release of this movie. a little quirky, but it speaks to my sometimes restless heart. i find myself wanting to travel the country. not looking for a place to raise my children yet, but for a place to raise jason and i right now. to raise our spirits, and find a group of people besides our family that we can call family. not that i do not love the people around me, it just feels like there is something missing something more...

away we go trailer

local craft show

my sister and i went this local craft show yesterday. by local i mean penn's landing in philly!
it was so so so much fun. the day was a beauty
i was inspired by all the creative brains in this area. i got a cute little headband and print by La Belle Avenue. this will have to be a yearly visit.

a little adventure, before a big one

a little urban exploration, if you will. loads of fun. loads of pictures. here is one to share with you. we leave for germany on sunday! i'm so excited. i've been looking over maps for the last hour in anticipation!

friday finds

here is a little discovery that brought me cheer. feed your soul...
with a little free art. its a site that allows you download some artwork that artists donate a piece to, so we can enjoy. they are fun. check them out.

gifts

this is it folks. may i present to you our bed. i know, your thinking who cares, but for those of you who do know, and care, here it is. our bed was a handmade wedding present from my father-in-law! its beautiful. modeled after the bed above, i saw in window of a store while i was in london. ours is a lovely take off of that one. jason's dad is an amazing wood crafter, and now we have this original to rest our heads and weary bodies each night.

oh, and the first is of my new toms shoes. i love these. mostly because of what it goes towards. check them out. they are doing good work.

inspiration

amazing life, we've been given.
i know that you had some troubles, i have had some troubles.
we've been wasted, we've been complacent.
we've given in to getting through the days.
i hear the dogs singing in the trees.
they call the dusk to tell us not to sleep
a coming dark can't hide what we can't see.
the algebra
of innocence is lost in the bathroom mirrors,
practiced bode and steady.
we've complacent. we've been bad neighbors,
we've been unfaithful in our blind age.
to open up, to see what happens next, to see our
hearts, to risk breaking
our necks, to chop it down, to follow there against, so we'll be young
again
amazing world, the ground that gives.
i know that you've had some
troubles, i have had some troubles.
we've been wasted.
we've been complacent.
we've given in to getting through the days.
i saw a star fall from a green sky.
i saw you laugh, your eyes were open wide.
i saw your skin uncovered in the night.


this song has taken hold of me. the whole album is beautiful. and its free! here!