Friday Favorite

 One of my favorite things is getting "hand me downs" from my friends and sisters. Some of my favorite "go to" pieces are the ones that have been passed around a time or two. A while back I went through my Mothers things with my brothers and sisters, and I got a couple of her "hand me downs". In the weeks since that day a new favorite has emerged.

Moms old Cowgirl hat!

I remember the way she used to rock that hat, and how beautiful I thought she was in it.



Now, I feel like a small part of her style and grace is passed to me through her lovely hat.

Super Duper Easy Dress Tutorial:)

I got a bug, it is that time of year you know? Not that kind of bug that makes me sick, but the kind that makes me want to be super crafty, and make cute things for all the people I love. I almost always get the "crafty bug" around Christmas, probably because I'm thinking "give, give, give". I don't have tons of moola , but I don't want that to stop the giving fun:)  So, I turn to hand made gift goodies.

I saw a tutorial on http://elleapparel.blogspot.com/ and it inspired me to make this little number. After I made my dress I had enough leftover fabric to make a matching dress for layla, so I couldn't resist:)

 (pictures of the finished product at the bottom of the post)

For my dress you will need:

any old shirt

yard of fabric

2 inch wide elastic

First of all, you will want to try your shirt on, and decide where you want the waistline to be, then leave an extra 1/2 inch for the seam. Mark the shirt, and cut it to be the right length.

next you will cut out the skirt fabric. I wanted to have the skirt gathered at the waist line, so I cut out 2 rectangular pieces of fabric. However, it would also be super cute to cut out an A-line for a little flare. If you are doing the A-line, you will probably want the top to be the same width as your shirt.

Next Step: Sew the two rectangles together on the sides. You will lay your rectangles together facing each other, so you can see the inner side of the fabric. Just do a straight stitch down each side, and you'll end up with a big tube. Flip the tube right side out.

 Next step: Measure your waist, and cut the elastic to the same length as your waist. Sew it together to make a loop.

Next step: Lay the elastic over the top of the skirt. If you are doing it A line style, then just sew it straight on. If you do it like me, you will need to scrunch the skirt fabric as you go to make it gathered. Tip: do the front side first, so if you cant scrunch as much towards the end you won't have a funny looking front;)

Next step: Pin the shirt in place at the top of the elastic.

Next step: Sew the shirt to the elastic.

 Last step: Hem the bottom of the skirt. You can get creative with this part, and make it skinny, fat, zig zag, straight, whatever you like.

This is the dress I whipped up for Layla, and it was a complete experiment, so I don't have pictures of the process:( sorry. After this picture I added another dart on the front neckline so it wouldn't be so wide. The next time I wear the one I made for me I'll try to remember to take a picture of myself standing up so you can see it better.



I guess they turned out pretty good, because nobody at church asked if I made our dresses....Success!

More hand made fun to come:)

Favorite Fridays

Sometimes we all have "bad mommy days"! Those days when you worry about your kids. You might wonder if you are patient enough, or too patient. If you have taught them the things they will need to be successful in this world, but not given them too much information. You might worry if you are feeding them the best food, making them feel loved, keeping the house clean, laundry done, and

bla bla bla.

The best cure I've found when I have a "bad mommy day" is to just sit down with the kids, and create something together. We all have busy hands, but our minds are free. This is the best time for us to share deeper thoughts with each other, and reconnect on a deeper level. This week we made a "Thanksgiving centerpiece". It was a fun little project, but it ended up taking up our entire table, hahaha.

 1. Have your kids gather 10 sticks from the backyard.

 2. Let them paint the sticks any color. (each of ours are a different color)

 3. let the kids help you cut out circles, and glue the circles onto a plate.

 4. Paint the letters for "GIVE THANKS" on your circles. We decided to cut some of the letters out instead of painting them:)

5. Tape the painted sticks to the back of the plates. Find 10 containers, and stick your signs in them.

There you go!

You will get a cute craft for your table, quality time with your kids, and that "good Mommy" feeling again;)

favorite friday

Yummies!

Need I say more?

You really can't go wrong with Chocolate dipped....anything!

So have fun with it. Get wild. make a mess. And enjoy:)



Tooth Fairy

Here's a question for you. How much does the tooth fairy leave your kids?

This is the short version of Carter losing his first tooth.

Me at gym, kids at Aunties house.

Bathroom in use (by Carter).

Carter wiggling tooth...while working on other things;)

Tooth comes out.

Auntie hears "Aaaaa, it's bloody" and yelling...from the bathroom.

Auntie opens bathroom door to find undressed boy, and bloody tooth in his hand.

Yikes, that was a bit dramatic me thinks.

That night Mom and Dad fall asleep watching movie before tooth fairy arrives.

Lot's of sleeping.

Mom wakes up (6:00 am) to sad little Carter saying the tooth fairy couldn't come because he was awake all night.

Mom convinces Carter to go to sleep.

Tooth fairy made it.

Every one is happy.

Hair CUT!

Craig and I seem to have this continual disagreement regarding hair.

He likes it SHORT, and I like it long:)

Such is true when it comes to both myself, and our children.

Benson's hair had gotten pretty long, and started looking a little shaggy around his ears, so I decided it was time for "a LITTLE trim"...my words exactly.

Craig was home, and he is our resident Barber (most of the time, but sometimes I'll get brave and do it myself...and that can be scary!), so I got everything set up for him.

tall chair...check

towel...check

buzzers ready with Longest attachment available...check

comb...check

water bottle...check

scissors...check

baby stripped down to diaper...check

strawberry sucker...check

We were all set, but my phone began to ring, so I ran out real fast to grab it. I made the call short, because I didn't want to miss the action. I walked back in the make-shift "Barber shop" just in time....in time to see Craig buzz right down the middle with the SHORTEST attachment!

Ahhhhh! Stooooop......too late.

Before

After

Still, He is so so super cute, and I just want to eat his little cheeks, but I miss his long strawberry blond hair. It's amazing how your baby can turn into a little boy in a matter of minutes!

He looks SO much older to me, and I think that is really the part I don't like.

Favorite Fridays

I'm always looking for yummy, easy, fast recipes to add to my collection...aren't you?

We ended up with a BUNCH of Utah Peaches this year (Soooo juicy and delicious!)

We (and when I say we, I actually do mean WE. As in Craig and Myself...isn't that awesome! Mr. Hall scores major points with me for helping out in the kitchen:)) bottled a bunch, ate a bunch fresh (with cream and sugar..YUM), and froze the other bunch. I am normally NOT a fan of any kind of fruit pie, cobbler, and anything of the sort. But, I'm here to say, I am a changed woman.

I found this spectacular peach cobbler recipe, and the best part...It is SOOO easy!

It's awesome for the times I have company coming over, and just changed a ripe diaper with super power strength oder, and I need to cover it up FAST (not that we have ever done that of course).

I just whip this baby together and pop it in the oven. by the time they come my home smells heavenly, and if they stick around, they even get to leave with a tasty treat in their belly.

So, here it is:

Easy Peach Cobbler

serves 10 (I half it)

1/2 C. unsalted butter

1 C. all purpose flour

2 C. sugar, divided

1Tbs. baking powder

pinch of salt

1 C. milk

4 C. peaches

1 Tbs. lemon juice

Ground cinnamon or nutmeg

1. Melt butter in a 9x13 baking dish

2. combine flour. 1 C. sugar, baking powder, and salt; add milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moist. Pour batter over butter (do not stir)

3. Bring remaining 1 C. sugar, peach slices, and lemon juice to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly; pour over batter (do not stir), sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg.

4. Bake @375 for 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown. serve cobbler warm or cold with ice cream or whipped cream.

*note: instead of doing step 3, I use a bag of my frozen peaches. I just spread them out over the batter, and sprinkle the cinnamon on top

I hope you get a chance to make something yummy this weekend, and get to eat it with great company:)

Bear World

 The other day we decided to to take the kids to Yellow stone, since we live 2 hours away, and they have never been. We packed up the cooler, and hit the road. We were in for a long, fun, day in the car, looking for animals in the wild.

20 minets down the road...it started.

"Mom, are we almost there?", then "How much longer do we have to be in the car?", and "this isn't any fun!", repeated several times.

We soon passed a fun little place called "Bear world", I said jokingly to Craig "we should just go there, and tell them it's Yellow Stone". we looked at each other, and realized we were thinking the same thing.

BRILLIANT!

Carter was our Animal photographer for the day.

We saw wolves, bears, moose, dear, elk, Buffalo, baby dear, and lots more.

I have to say, It was the best day trip to Yellow Stone I've ever had;)

Pumpkin Patch

 We have this fun little pumpkin patch in town called Swore Farms, and it's a must every year!  They change it up each year, so I never know what exactly we are going to find, but it's always loads of fun. This year they had a couple different versions of  the "corn maze", and the the real thing. Carter was a school, and Craig was at work, so it was just me, Benson and Layla....and Layla's entire preschool:)

On another note, we took family pictures here 2 years ago, and they turned out super cute!

 They had a bunch of these cute little picture areas set up all around, and who can resist smashing their face in a little hole?

 This is Laylas' Preschool teacher "Mrs. Jen". She is also my first Cousin.

 In this picture you can see the "tape maze" (I don't know what it's really called) behind the kids. This one was the funniest, because the kids would just run right under the tape. Layla made it through in record time and said, "Wow, that was SO easy!" haha. One advantage of being short!

 The Start

 I bought these adorable rain boots for Layla at a yard sale, but I was thinking we would wait a year or so until they actually fit her....she didn't like that idea. They are about 3 sized too big, and slush around with each step she takes, but she still feels the love for them...go figure.



Ok, so my camera has started doing this thing randomly where the pictures turn out like this (see above picture). It's like the shutter isn't closing all the way...or something, I don't know, but it's annoying.

Also, Benson's face in this picture kind of has a devilish look, don't ya think?

(there I go, leaving a question at the end of my post again:) )

ps. is again spelled wrong? I don't know how else to spell it, but the spell checker is having a fit!

Autumn

Have I ever mentioned that I love fall? I used to be more of a summer person, but each year I gain a deeper appreciation for Fall. The crisp  in the air that calls us to bring out our sweaters and scarves, and the sweet aroma that drifts around us as we pick apples from the tree. I love finding the prettiest leaves, and and baking fall treats to warm our tummies. But, my favorite thing about fall is...the color scheme.
 My home was designed to host fall decor!
The kids felt like we didn't have enough decorations, so they made some new ones of their own:) See if you can find them.

 Do you see this amazing wreath? My Dad gave it to me for my birthday. I should have taken a close up of it for you, because it has about 30 different flowers, weeds, feathers, fruits, and veggies, it's gorgeous.

 I included this picture because it shows our cute brick chimney:) one of my personal favorites.

 We replaced our windows last year, so I made this fun little guy from one of the old basement windows.

 In my giant clothes pin, we placed one of our "fall place mats" that I did the tutorial on for a "favorite Friday" a couple weeks ago. we obviously make them rectangular usually, but we did this one square to use more as a decoration kind of thing;)

I placed some fake apples in a black spider web bowl (on my left in the picture), and Layla tried to eat one of them. They are very realistic after all:), so I told the kids not to eat the green apples in the bowl, because they were poisoned. Carter added that the witch from sleeping beauty snuck in and poisoned them, haha. So now they tease me and say "Mom, I'm going to eat this yummy apple", and I say "NOOOOO, not the POISONED Apple!", and save them from that horrible fate.

What are some of your favorite things about Autumn?

(leaving a question at the end of my post is my sneaky little way of encouraging you to leave a little comment...just so ya know;))

I realized something looking through these pictures from last weekend...I like to open my mouth really big when someone points a camera at me, or so it would appear.

what's my deal? I have no idea! Really, I didn't even know I did that until this very moment.

any who, here are a couple pictures of the fun we had. My Man and I don't get away by ourselves very often, but when we do, it's like we just went back in time 10 years.

Really, we act like crazo teenagers, but I love it!

We laugh, take funny pictures, talk about funny things, make strange noises, and eat yummy food. This weekend was SO last minute, that we had NO plans. When we got to our destination we had dinner at Olive Garden, YUM! Our waitress was very nice.

She came to our table and said "Hi, my name is Rebel, and I live up to it!"

 I started laughing, but then stopped, because I realized she was serious (and that she could crush me if she wanted to).



I know this is FAR from a wild and crazy thing to do with your spouse, but hey, this was really more about relaxation anyway. I have been wanting to go through the LDS Church History museum for a long time, and figured this was our chance to take our time, and really enjoy it. So we did.

 In this shot I really can't tell if I'm supposed to be preaching to the choir, or belting out a good one?

 After the museum we were walking down town, looking for somewhere to have lunch, and we found ourselves in the middle of a protest. I have not a clue what they were protesting, but they meant business!

 This is an "art display", in case you weren't sure....because I wasn't. The artist was striving to capture the natural movement of a single blade of grass against the elements. I've always wondered what it would feel like to be a little bug in the tall grass...now I know:D

Last but not least, we found the pepprage farm Thrift store. Craig is either so excited he is going to cry, or really in need of a bathroom....don't know.

Time for another weekend, hooray!