a suite christmas

since we've downsized to a one room suite, Christmas decor needed to be chosen carefully. so the dollar store came in so very handy. my sister in law planned a Pinterest craft to make the wreath with just dollar store bulbs and a hanger. and Design Sponge taught me how to make votives with just an LED candle and some wax paper.

and a few bucks filled my frames. literally. on a few levels.

and this little guy was just too cute

and ian picked a baby red tree

downsizing can be a beautiful thing. we brought the best - our homemade stockings from our first Christmas and our mistletoe. that's all we need.

christmas advent.

since my last post, my husband and i have been completely swept off our feet by a little bundle of sweetness.  her name is bay, and she is 5 weeks old. 

bay has been the impetus for many new traditions that we have already begun to make, and hope to continue to make as we grow our little family.  this year i wanted to make an advent that we would be able to use for years to come.  it will be a surprise for my husband and i just can't wait to show him. 

using this photo as inspiration, i made a trip to the Ikea salvage room where i picked up this old shelf piece for just $3.00.  with some clothespins, a red paint pen, and some hot glue, it was a snap to put together.

if you are looking for a little advent inspiration of your own, here are the 25 ideas tucked inside each of our envelopes (not necessarily in order):

1. Go and light all the candles you can find in the house, and then sing together “Go Tell It on the Mountain”.

2. Whoever has gone the longest since brushing their teeth must sing “All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth”

3. Put this cinnamon in some water on the stove, and let the house fill with the Christmas aroma.

4. Slice up this orange to make sweet-smelling ornaments:  Slice orange thinly, blot dry, place on parchment paper on baking sheet, sprinkle both sides with 10x sugar, and bake at 200F for 2-3 hours, flipping halfway.  Once cool, string on ribbon!

5. Roast these chestnuts over an “open fire” (or in the oven ;o) ).  As you put them in the oven sing “The Christmas Song”.

6. Make yourselves piping hot mugs of hot cocoa, and tell each other the best part of your day.

7. Pop up some kernels of corn and string them to hang around the Christmas tree!

8. Get out some fluffy marshmallows and roast them to perfection over the stovetop. 

9. Get in the car and drive around to look at Christmas lights.

10. Pick out one favorite book and curl up on the couch for daddy to read it aloud.

11. Go outside and find the prettiest leaf that you can.  At the count of 3, everyone throw your leaf in the air and say “goodbye” to Fall.  

12. Hop in the car and head to John James Audobon’s farm for their Holiday Openhouse!  Sunday, December 2^nd, 1-4pm. The house and museum will be decorated for the holidays inside and out. Events include:

live owl presentations, live music, workshops, and a scavenger hunt! Enjoy cookies and cider. 

13. Snuggle up in a mountain of blankets and watch a favorite Christmas movie.

14. Make a batch of delicious Christmas cookies and take them to our neighbors.

15. Curl up around the Christmas tree and turn off all lights except for the tree.  Have daddy read the story of Jesus’ birth aloud.

16. Call Great-Grandpa Bill/Grandma Sally and Great-Grandma Elsie and sing them a favorite Christmas carol.

17. Call Great-Grandpa/Grandma Berger and Bee-Bee/Pop-Pop and sing them a favorite Christmas carol.

18. Grab some paper and scissors and make paper snowflakes to hang in the doorways!

19. Bundle up and walk downtown to the Firebird Festival!  Saturday, December 8^th, events all day. Firebird Burning starting at 8pm.

20. Open stockings as a family, starting with the youngest person first.

21. Read Philippians 4:6, and take time to pray for those around the world who may be hurting, in need, or who don’t know Jesus. 

22. Read these verses and talk about all that was accomplished through Jesus coming to earth:

John 3:17               Matthew 18:11

John 12:46             John 10:10

1 John 3:8              1 John 4:9

23. Go on a “midnight” walk in the dark before bedtime. 

24. This one’s just for mommy and daddy: 

Grab this mistletoe and head to the closest doorway.  Hold the branch over your heads and give each other a big ole kiss. ;o)

25. MERRY CHRISTMAS!  Celebrate with food, family, fellowship, and gifts, and remember the reason for it all.  Jesus came so that we may have ABUNDANT life in Him.  

-- jessie

booties for baby & scarf for mommy

hello world!

so thanks to this wonderful and easy tutorial, i made these little felt baby shoes for our upcoming bundle of joy. it didn't take me long at all (and i'm a crafting slow poke). it was also pretty exciting while i sewed to imagine teeny toes being kept warm inside them very soon.

oh and today was the first cold day for us, so i could finally wear the scarf i knit last year! it's a seed stitch cowl, my first ever knitting project. i kind of just made up my method as i went along (not recommended!). but i found this easy and free pattern if you are interested in trying it yourself!

two weeks and counting down!

hope you have a lovely day.

bek

moss covered initial

here's a really simple project that only took me a few minutes to make.

i found this wooden "M" from a thrift store for 50 cents about a year ago. but i never really knew what i wanted to do with it. until yesterday, when i came across a bag of moss i used for christmas ornaments last year. once i got the idea, the glue gun did the rest...and voila!

happy autumn everyone!!

ethan's apples

my nephew's first trip to the orchard was on a warm, fall day. the trees were just low enough for him to grasp on his own, but only after some effort.

he and his mama just slowly walked through the orchard, picking out the perfect apples.

and then dumping them:)

ethan's hard work paid off into two apple pies, an apple crips, with a 1/2 bushel left to share.

one pumpkin, three ways

decorated...

 soup...

candied seeds...

recipe:

ingredients--

about 5 T brown sugar

1/2 t. cumin (if you want a little kick)

1 t. nutmeg

1 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground ginger

raw pumpkin seeds from 1-2 large pumpkins

cooking spray

salt

2 T. butter

directions--

heat oven to 325 degrees.  line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  in a large bowl, stir together first five ingredients and set aside.

place the pumpkin seeds on the prepared baking sheet and spray them liberally with cooking spray.  sprinkle salt overtop.  bake the seeds in the oven for about 15 minutes and then toss with additional cooking spray.  put them back in the oven and bake until lightly golden and crunchy, about 15 additional minutes. 

heat the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium/medium-high heat.  stir in the toasted seeds, along with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.  cook and stir until the sugar and butter carmelize around the seeds, about 5 minutes.  

stir the carmelized seeds into the sugar/spice mixture.   toss to coat, and let cool. 

on the overlook

spending a week in the forest of eastern pa,  i planned a short afternoon lunch and rest on this cute little cliff for the hubby and i. 

the forest floor is covered with moss, that is just begging to be transplanted into a terrarium for our new bedroom.

the hubs enjoyed a quiet rest and talk with his girl. 

in a few days, i won't be able to have a glass of wine with my mom at noon. until then, we continue to relax.

rainy day crafting

there's a lot of rain around here these days. and what better to do on a rainy day than craft?

i'm currently working on a birth record for our baby. it's going to be a family of three owls on a branch-- with the baby's name, birthday, and weight stitched at the top. it really just makes me so happy to quiet down my life, curl up on the couch, and make a little something for our little one. 

 but since this stitching is going to take while to complete, and it's always nice to finish a project, i got up and made some cards too. 

i just love the coral and teal theme of this paper. i found it at michael's this year to make a valentine for my hubby. we framed it afterwards. you can find the DIY instructions here.

well that's all for now!

a little shower

on a work day, a pretty summer night, a little shower to celebrate a new life.

a fresh start.

underneath two layers of old contact paper lay the possibility of a fresh start for this trash-picked dresser.  this dollar tree toile contact paper (only $1!) did wonders, and this newest addition to our soon-to-be nursey is excited to hold all of the upcoming treasures and trinkets for our little one....

 

drawers before: 

after:

- jessie

summer bliss.

back from over three weeks of vacation, and feeling so very rested and blessed.
when i wasn't lounging around the lake or enjoying precious moments with relatives, here are some of the things that occupied my time. 

needing a new journal, but only having an unsightly one on hand, the old one was decoupaged using a half-glue, half-water mixture.  the sketches are from an old james audubon book.  i love the little birds and have already begun to fill the book with writings...

i spent some time baking, my favorite item being these delicious cinnamon buns.  the recipe is pulled from my favorite recipe book,  "family meals" by maria helm sinskey...

using my aunt's incredible punch-out, these gift tags were easy as pie.  i used old book pages and wallpaper samples from anthropologie to make them.  i now have dozens, so many of you can expect to be receiving them as little gifts ;o) ....

 i'm neck-deep in this book and simply love it...

crocheting this little baby cocoon and hat for our little one was such a sweet treat...

these homemade cards were fun and quick.  once again, a little glue-water mixture and card stock did the trick to whip them up in no time...

thanks to my mother-in-law's love for jewelry making, i used her supplies to make many earrings and necklaces.  it provided hours of relaxing diversion with precious family.... 

i hope that you all are enjoying your summer as much as i have.  blessings to you all on this beautiful day.


- jessie

reunited

since last summer my dear sister, emily, has been overseas with her husband doing missions work in asia. my heart has been very full this year; full of joy at their love for the Lord; full of heartache as she has been too far away to hug; full of anticipation to see her again. 

and now for the month of july she and her hubby are back in the states to visit. 

and these days have been more than precious to us. 

to celebrate their homecoming, i asked my better half to whip up some paper airplanes for a garland. he happily agreed, and within minutes i had a pile of book pages folded into aviation origami. 

fresh flowers in old jars.

vintage postcards.

welcome back.

<3

jam

i wanted to get to the strawberry fields with my little sister, but far too often life happens and spending time bent over in beautiful rows of berries doesn't. but the grocery store is second best.

and so, being a national holiday with no work, i spent the morning making jam that will hopefully last into the winter.

a celebration.

this past weekend we had a highschool graduation party for my dear sister.
here are some pictures of the festivities....

all of the graphics you see are from the graphics fairy, my favorite one stop shop for beautiful vintage images.

the party was truly a wonderful celebration of the life of my sister, and i am sad it ended so quickly.  i hope that you all enjoy your next several weeks, as i will be taking a break and enjoying a sweet, life-filled virginia vacation.  ;)

blessings.


- jessie