Peter Piper

Peter Piper

Picked a peck

of pickled peppers

where's the peck of pickled peppers

Peter Piper picked?

Oh there they are!

Our garden, or should I say the garden Dean has worked so hard on this summer has produced a number of tasty tidbits for us to eat. I've made loaf after loaf of zucchini & squash bread. We didn't grow even half as much as last year. Last year our squash & zucchini plants almost overtook our whole garden. We didn't want to make the same mistake again. One plant of each yielded quite a bit of yummy goodness but my hope is next year we will grow two of each. Can you believe all the different peppers he grew? Most are sweet and have the most delightfully mild flavor. Only one plant ended up producing mildly hot peppers. Some of the peppers are smaller but a few of them are huge! Even bigger than the one Aris is holding.

Green eggplant

Purple eggplant

He also included 3 different eggplant varieties. Let me tell you, there is nothing yummier than fresh Eggplant Parmesan. Dean made it the other night & even picky eater Aris ate two helpings.

Mini watermelon

I'm hoping next year we can grow more watermelons. These were so tasty and the perfect size. Not to small & not so huge that half the melon goes to waste. He also planted some lettuce & tomatoes. The tomatoes did terribly this year. I hear we aren't the only ones who struggled with them. I'm so grateful Dean has such a green thumb. He loves learning about the whole growing process. Considering we got such a late start this year in putting our garden in I'm amazed we grew as much as we did. Growing our own food never ceases to amaze me. There is something special about adding freshly grown veggies to a recipe or salad that your husband has taken the time to grow. 

Dean's plans for this fall are to make some compost bins for our two compost piles. He also has gathered enough glass doors and windows through the remodels he has worked on to make a nice sized greenhouse. That way we can grow fresh veggies all year long. Yard cleanup & winterizing the garden is next on his list of things to do. The chilly nights and mornings are here to stay and the first snow will be here before we know it.

Did any of you grow a garden this year? What was your favorite thing that you grew?

Blessing Day

10-10-10

Today my little Omri you were given a name and a blessing. It was the sweetest & most humbling one & I will remember it always & carry it in my heart. Just as I do my other little ones. You were so good & quiet. I was told you looked up and gave a little smile while the blessing was taking place. I'd like to think it was because you felt a little bit of Heaven on earth right at that moment. So glad that you came into my life. So grateful you chose our family. Thank goodness we didn't wait another week. I don't think I would have been able to fit you into that sweet little outfit that my brother wore 32 years ago. I love you my little man. I love you more than all the stars in the sky. And that's a lot.

New Pillows

I have wanted some pillows for our living room for quite some time now but I haven't been able to find exactly what I want in the budget that I have. Don't get me wrong, I find lovely pillows all the time. Like pillows from Anthropologie, or something from this lovely shop. I just can't afford them. 

You can imagine my surprise when I found these at a thrift store for $1.50 each! The picture doesn't do them justice. They are the prettiest golden color. They are 100% silk and dry clean only. I normally would never buy anything like that but for $3 I didn't mind. I figure I'll take them in ever few months for a nice cleaning.

The only bummer was not having the fills for these beautiful pillow covers. I looked around for a good two weeks and everything I found was at least $10 or more. So I got out my trusty sewing machine and made my own pillow fills out of muslin that I had on hand and stuffed them with polyfill.

I love the pop of texture they add to the room.

A perfect background for the other pillows I will add in the near future.

::I'm linking up to::

Sew Can Do


&

Blue Cricket Design

If Babies were in the Mafia.......

So I was talking to the boss you see, and he wondered where the shipment went. You don't know!?! What do you mean you don't know?

So you're saying you can't find it? I don't think the boss is going to be to happy about this.

What! What'd you say? Are you talking to me!?! Are you TALKING TO ME!?!

Well then screw you!

(Sorry mom, I couldn't help myself)

No knees were broken in the making of this post.

Spooky Halloween Hallway Makeover

"Spooky entryway" before

So here it is folks. Behold the ever so stylish entryway. If only I wasn't joking. Eventually the popcorn ceilings will be scraped throughout the whole house, can lights installed & this gosh awful flooring replaced. Don't even get me started on the cheep textured wallpaper. Gag. But for now it will have to do. 

Halloween, Thanksgiving, & Christmas are my most favorite holidays. I love decorating for these holidays but Halloween most of all. There is something fun about being able to decorate with orange, black, green, & purple and no one gives you funny looks.

I know this wreath is too tiny for my door but I still love it. I plan on making something bigger for next year. I really wanted to make a fun entryway on a dime. This year I bought a table runner for $9, a cute plate for $4, & a fancy bowl dish for $4. I figure if I just buy a few favorite things each year eventually I will have a nice collection of holiday items I love. I also try to buy items that can work for both Halloween & Thanksgiving. 

"Spooky Entryway" after

Please don't mind that pile of laundry in the background. Or that hideous fireplace for that matter.

Our little Halloween tree I got on clearance from Pottery Barn a few years back. The kitty basket is from Target & the Halloween lolly I won last year from the talented Sweet B! Gingham mini runner I whipped up the night before out of some fabric I bought from an interior designer that was cleaning out her stash. I bought it years ago so I can't remember the exact price but I want to say for around $2. I finished the edges off with a strip of vintage sewing measuring tape to add a pop of yellow.

I made the flag garland with the same black & white gingham & added a vintage orange fabric with witches to the top. 

My kitty I bought years ago at Target. She's probably one of my favorites.

On the other side of the hallway we have the gallery of "Spooky things"!

I wanted to make the kids a big part of the decorating process this year. Dean bought all these frames at a yard sale a few years back for $1 each thinking that I might be able to use them someday. Sadly they have sat in our garage ever since. I thought wouldn't it be fun to create a gallery wall where the girls can draw "spooky bones" as the girls like to call ghosts, and I can hang their drawings inside these frames. We will add drawings as often as they feel. 

"Spooky bones" by Zoe

My hope is that by Halloween we will have quite the frightening gallery!

& just for fun I thought I'd share this little gaggle of dress up birdies I'm working on. I hope to have them in my shop next week. What are some of your Halloween traditions? Do you love the holidays as much as I do?

Swing on by tomorrow. I'll be sharing my pillow project I'm finishing up tonight.

::I'm linking to::

The Shabby Nest