Happy Halloween

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Halloween! 

 My family's favorite pumpkin patch is...

...a small side-of-the-road stop. I love that people still believe in honesty, refreshing. 

 This time, they were bringing more out on this awesome old tractor.  Of course...

 ...we asked for a picture, and they told us to get on it! No wonder we love their little patch. 

My instagramed version. 

My plans for the night consist of trying to play card games with boyfriend while being interrupted by cute trick-or-treaters every few minutes (: Can't wait! 

What are your Halloween plans? 

EOW

A year ago I wrote this post.  As this day comes around it means it has been an entire year since two little girls I love so much lost their father. A year since one of the strongest women I know lost her husband. A year of the "firsts" without him has passed.

I wear this bracelet every single day. It's now so faded you can barely see what it says--but I know.

I never know when it's going to hit me.  The other day with J's entire family, someone mentioned another officer death in the state...I had to leave the room because I didn't want to loose it in front of all of them. I can't watch an episode of "Cops" where there's a bank robbery, it makes me ill. 

So please, just pray for his family--his beautiful family--& friends as they finish out a year of firsts and try to cope with a new "normal." 

As I pray about and dwell on these things, I hope that you hold your family tight today, and everyday.

The Perfect Autumn

...consists of... 

...savoring the last days of heat with a walk with J.

...spending time with my sisters.

...nightime fires with the family & friends.

...fried food cookout with the family--pickles, onion rings & chicken--I'm getting hungry again.

...the annual library book sale--stocking up for my classroom (:

...pumpkin Spice Latte. (sidenote: I don't like coffee--I know, I know--so I get it with one less shot of espresso and one extra pump of flavor...delicious) Also, very impressed that he spelled my name correctly-everyone always spells it wrong. 

...vacation with J that included wine-tasting in Traverse City. More on that later. 

...playing this with my two favorite girls when I babysit them.

 ...Grand Rapids Art Prize...incredible. 

...pumpkin spice donut from the local (as in 2min from my house local) apple orchard. 

I can't wait to continue to create my perfect autumn (: 

What would be included in your perfect fall?

Pinbusters: Nail Polish Remover

I find a lot of awesome tips & recipes on Pinterest*, but who knows if they really work? I've decided to make a series called "Pinbusters" (ever seen the show Mythbusters?--I know, I'm clever) to let you know what really works! 
*and around the web...this is one I Googled tips for, but GoogleandPinbusters doesn't sound as cool.

This one was sparked because a male friend (who wishes to remain anonymous) got his toenails painted. I tried to help him get it off, but there was no polish remover in his house so we got creative.

FYI: These ideas were all found on google in various locations--we just wrote them down and most were found on sites like ask.com and sites where I could not find authentic/original credit. 

Here are our results. 
1. Hand sanitizer.     -We didn't have much faith in this one, but even     
     letting it soak a bit didn't get anything off. 
2. Hydrogen Peroxide.
    -This one seemed a little more promising. Used a
     cotton ball just like normal remover. Nope again.
3. Rubbing Alcohol.
    -I really had faith in this one. Used a cotton ball.
     I wouldn't call this one totally busted. However,
     it took far too much effort for barely any to come
     off--not worth it. Plus there was a strong
     warning about how drying it could be, so I
     wouldn't risk it--especially on finger nails.   
4. Vinegar & Olive Oil.
    -Yes, it smelled awful. Unsurprisingly, it didn't
     work.  After the failed attempt we went back to
     see what may have gone wrong...this method
     was designed for use on wooden surfaces! haha
5. Nail Polish Remover.
    -Finally! Something that worked...a day later. 

As much as we worry about chemicals around, sometimes nothing works better than the product that was made for it.  

It's official, this "pin" is *busted.* 

5 Years

...is how long J and I have been together.

I edited this picture before we started dating.  We were seniors in high school. 

Someday I'll write our love story...but we officially met in 5th grade, so it's a little long. 

Our entire relationship up until July was long distance (except the 3 months we spend studying in England).  Which means that it has not even been close to perfect--but we worked at it because it's worth it. 

So here's to my best friend and the love of my life.  Someone who challenges me, teaches me, comforts me, makes me laugh, helps me grow. 

And here's to the next 5. 

  

My Dilemma

When I first started this blog, I was doing a really good job of keeping up with it.  I took some terrible pictures, linked up to tons of parties, and did as many "weekly" posts and I could.  I think it's this reason that I kind of fizzled out.  It was a lot of work, and I felt pressured to turn out great post after great post and try to procure a lot of readers.  I wanted to make tutorials for everything and basically just tried to follow every single tip to getting lots of readers.

After thinking about what I love most about my favorite blogs, I've come to a conclusion.  I love personal posts.  I used to think that I had to have lots of perfect crafts/tutorials/projects to have people like my blog (and maybe I do), but I'm going to emulate the people I truly admire.  I really thought about changing my blog name altogether, but thought I'd stay with what I've got.

I hope you'll still stay with me (:  Feel free to skip over any posts that aren't your style! I'm about to make this a mix of topics (something I once read wasn't a good idea for a blog...rules were made to be broken, right?) 

Thanks for reading!

(Thanks to Target for these adorable Andy Warhol-inspired cans.  I totally realize these don't match the topic...but every post needs pictures, no?)

Celtic Knot Headbands

So I have a ton of jersey left over from cutting up all my t-shirts for my (still unstarted) t-shirt quilt.

 

Found a tutorial on Love Stiched for something similar a while back (here). Made thicker pieces and decided to mix colors for interest.  Made the one above and this one below for middle sister who is going to Central Michigan University. 

Couldn't make some for one sister without leaving the other one out.  Used some strips of my old high school t-shirts for littlest sister who plays lots of sports and always needs a headband. 

Here are all four together.  They're super easy and a lot of fun to make!  

My Very First...Quilt

I have this thing about gift-giving.  I really hate buying gifts for people.  Pretty much I like to make things hard on myself.  J is impossible to buy for--he never knows what he wants, and when he does, he just buys it for himself.  

Last Christmas I decided to make him a quilt.  And, in typical fashion, I went way out.  Start out practicing on a mini-quilt or placemat? Not my style.  I made him a quilt that is taller and wider than I am. It's a bit over 5ft square. He went to the Ohio State so the block O seemed like a fairly easy pattern to make myself, and it was! 

I just pieced together some extras and matching fabric for the back.  I actually kind of hate it because it looks like a giant letter "F." 

Too bad I didn't realize that before.  I'll probably add a label at some point which should break that area up.  Oh well, it was a learning project.

It was at this point, when it went in the washer, that I was freaking out.  Would the fabric bleed? (Couldn't find my color catcher sheets) Would it actually get crinkly?  Would my hand-stitching on the binding hold?  It did (: 

Rolled it up.

Tied it with a spare piece of jersey. 

It may not be perfect, but he really likes it.  I did a simple straight-line quilting grid about 1/4in away from the seams.  On my little machine it was difficult, but totally worth it.  I can't wait to make another--more girly this time.  

The Lil Journal Project: Week 1

One of my favorite blogs, Lil Blue Boo, is doing a journaling series called The Lil Journal Project.  Now, I've never been good at keeping a journal, but I love writing.  In this project, Ashley has been posting journaling prompts--really awesome ones.

Here's my first week. 
Day 1: She gave us a quote to write...with our non-dominant hand...I hope I never break my right hand. 

Day 2: Map the first classroom you can remember.  I decided to do the classroom I student taught in.  The one where I was truly a teacher for the first time.  This I will love to look back on. 

Day 3: A list of simple pleasures.

Day 4: People Watching.

Day 5: Practice Handwriting.  I decided to start a list of names of people who are really important in my life.  This list is ever-growing--each in a different handwriting style.

Want to join us?  You should, it's really great!  I use the prompts and have been able to make them relevant to me.