Holiday Ornament giveaway at Frontier Dreams!

For those of you who know (and love) the magazine Living Crafts, may have seen the article about the ornament exchange in the latest edition.

Nicole over at Frontier Dreams has graciously offered one of her knitted fruit baskets as a giveaway - the very same as she made for the exchange! You can get in on this by hoping over to her blog and leaving a comment. The giveaway will be open until 6pm pacific time on December 13th (St Lucia's Day)... so hurry over for your chance to win!

And many thanks to Nicole for this opportunity!

Meal Planning Monday

After a hectic first week back to work - I'm back into a routine and here's my menu for the week! It's light, as we'll be away for the holiday at my sister-in-laws house here in New York. I am listing what I'm making my sister-in-law's after the weekly menu

Monday - 1 pot chicken and rice dish
Tuesday - clean out the fridge left-overs

Wednesday - Saturday - Sister-in-laws

For the 4 days away includes:

Graham cracker crust pudding pie (in chocolate)
A side dish (need to confirm with SIL what my MIL and FIL are bringing first)
Brunch 1 day (breakfast meats, eggs, and either french toast or pancakes)
Making leftover turkey soup (we had a turkey given to us I'm bringing to cook and make into soup)
plus drinks, snacks for us and the kids

Make sure you go over to I'm an Organizing Junkie and catch all the other menu's planned for this big holiday food week!!

Blog Spotlight

Make sure to visit Garden Mama for a lovely reading of an interview she had with Hip Mountain Mama... as well as to see about the lovely giveaway Garden mama has organized from Hip Mountain Mama!

WIP Wednesday: a new knitter in the family!

Well, its wednesday again, and still no pictures (maybe someday I'll post the FOs at least).

Well, last night i started teaching my oldest daughter to knit. She's getting the knit stich itself down - but they are tight stitches... and she is somehow increasing at the ends.. LOL... we'll figure it out - but her attempts at this age are SO much better then mine ever were when my grandmother tried to teach me.

I've also finished making the fingerless gloves for my co-worker, and made another set for my son - he love's them!

Now, it's a debate if i start making a doll for my 6 yr old, or the Bell's gloves for my oldest. Decisions, decisions!!

Meal Planing Monday

So, as you can imagine, I've been a bit slow to catch up with everything since the Car accident... obviously, the blog has been put to the way side during this time. But - in an attempt to get back to reality, Here's my menu for this week!

Monday: BLTs (depending on the person, this could be bacon, lettuce, tomato, or bacon, lettuce and toast - LOL)

Tuesday: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Wednesday: Pasta night (I wont be home - DH can handle this!)

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner (we keep trying to do this, and never seem to get it done)

Friday: Chicken fingers and french fries

Saturday: Pizza night!

Sunday: Turkey Soup (a HUGE family favorite!)

ANd of course - make sure you head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu planning inspiration!

WIP Wednesday

Ok - so i didn't think i would want to post... being as I'm camera less for the moment - but alas! I will update this posting with pictures tomorrow.

My current FO (as if i didnt finish it 2 days ago - i'd be my WIP in the posting!) is a pair of fingerless mittens i made for a co-worker.

My current WIP is another pair for my son/ He's hands are much shorted/smaller so i think i'll have this spit out rather quickly.

I also am getting ready to cast on Bella's Mittens to make for my soon-to-be 11 yr old - only I'm not sure if it will be for her birthday next month, or Christmas.

Well, untill i add photos - that's it from me today - look back tomorrow to see pics!!

A week off....

So, no menu this week, and no WIP Wednesday either.

Our family was in a car accident Sunday after picking apples at a local u-pick apple orchard. Thankfully, the only major injury was to me, and it is a small fracture to my right arm.

I'll be back next week, posting for both MPM and WIP Wednesday, as I'll be replacing my camera battery this week!

Another Week.... another menu

But hey - until my camera has a new battery (this week maybe?), its the only thing keeping coming to my blog! So here's to another week! And make sure you check out the list of other MPM bloggers over at I'm an Organized Junkie!



Monday: grilled cheese or "pizza sandwich" (grilled cheese with pizza sauce inside on each slice - yum!)

Tuesday: Chicken and rice, with broccoli

Wednesday: Butternut squash soup, and crunchy bread

Thursday: Breakfast! Spiced pumpkin waffles, fruit and some breakfast "meat"

Friday: TV dinners - after working all week - mama needs a break!

Saturday: Dare i say it - i think a day w/o the kids s- hubby and i will play this day by ear

Sunday: slow cooker stew

Back in the Habit... Meal Planning Monday

So - here it is - Sunday night, and another week looms out ahead of us. So, with that in hand, and knowing that now that school is in full swing, it's back to some regular meal planning! Here's our week ahead:

Monday: Grilled Cheese and Soup

Tuesday: Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken sandwiches, side salad

Wednesday: Pasta with tomato/red sauce, and garlic bread

Thursday: "little bit of everything" night (aka leftover night), homemade apple-pear sauce

Friday: Pizza Night!!

Saturday: Breakfast for dinner

Sunday: Broccoli and cheese stuffed shells

If you too would like to get in on the Meal Planning Monday fun, hop over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more details!
(the irony is - i wrote my 1 and only other MPM post exactly 1 year ago!!)

Hip Mountain Mama: Natural Art Supply giveaway!

That's right - an excellent blog, and excellent giveaway!

For September, Hip Mountain Mama is running a giveaway for a set of natural art supplies. Can't get much better then that, if you ask me!

I suggest running over to her blog, check it out, it's a blog worth reading, giveaways or not!

WIP: Wednesday

So you may have noticed i haven't been keeping up. While i Have been able to get online - my camera's battery died - and therefore I've been unable to post any pics (or even take any!) for any of my current projects!

I hope i can update soon (even if it's not a wednesday!)... but in the mean time - make sure you check everyone else out who is partaking in WIP Wednesday!

A leave of absance

Well, at least this time i am warning everyone!

I'll be offline starting next week, and likely for 2 weeks after that. Not only will i be starting my new job, but we also are leaving this apartment, and will be crammed into a tiny efficiency for the summer. It will not be ideal, but it will work, and hoping to have lots of weekend camping going on to get out of the tiny space.

We will have phone/internet there though - but it will take time to move over... so i hope I'll be able to update here by WIP Wednesday on the 24th!

WIP Wednesday: Where I've been

So, you may have noticed the last couple of Wednesdays, My lack of posting (basically, since my first WIP Wednesday post!). We've had the fortunate event of visiting family that came from out of state at my in-laws, my brother's wedding, father's day, kindergarten graduation... all in all, no time for crafting.

But here we are back again, today just some yarn and fabric for some items I'm starting for a swap, gnomes and crayon rolls.





I hope to update on my gnomes and rolls next week, but may be offline for a couple of weeks after that, more family visiting, camping....

WIP Wednesday - Joining the crew

OK - so in attempts to revive my blog, I'm going to try what i've seen around called WIP Wednesday. Here's the blurb about it from Musings From the Fishbowl : W.I.P. (Work In Progress) Wednesday is a fun and stress-free opportunity for you to share whatever your crafty little self is working on with the rest of the blogging community. You are invited to showcase a project you’re beginning, working on, or maybe even finished with. There is no skill or talent-level requirement and you can share anything in any medium!

So here is my current WIPs.

This is the doll cardigan pattern that was featured in the winter issue of Living Crafts, by Waldorf Mama. I'm making this for my youngest daughter for her birthday this month (plus a new doll outfit, and fixing her doll's face - the mouth has come undone).

And here is the Jack Skellington I started for my husband as a Father's Day present. He loves the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas so this was a perfect item for him. I also found a pattern to make Zero, Jack's "dog" to go along with Jack. I did make a few changes from the original pattern, and I think for the most part, it's coming out great!

The patterns for these are both on Ravelry for those who are interested.

CSA... for sheep?

Now my title might through you off a bit. But alas - if you have never heard of a CSA - let me start there. CSA (which is short for Consumer Supported Agriculture) is general a farm or such that you buy shares of, that you then receive shares of in terms of produce. This is usually done on a weekly basis, and is a great way to support your local farms and farmers.

Well, now something new i've only recently heard of, that other fribe loving people might enjoy - a CSA where your share is helping to buy/care for sheep, and in return, getting back wool yarn or roving.

If you'd love to read more about 1 such CSA, you can check out THIS BLOG about the Serenity Sheep Farm, located in Montana, USA.

If you are interested in buying a share, or other fiber related items, they also have a Etsy shop.