I finished something!

Yes, I sure did! The snowman candle mat is done! I loooooove it.

It was fun and easy to make. The pattern was really well written and it came out even cuter than I expected. Aren't the puffy snowman fun?

 Here it is with the candle taken off.

I think I'm going to have to visit The Pattern Cupboard again to get another pattern. This was just a great project!

Saturday was Mason's 7th birthday! On Friday I brought vanilla cupcakes in to his class...

His birthday started with opening gifts from his Aunts Karen and Kathleen, then from us, then we got ready for his party at 2. We had 13 kids and it went well.  They did a craft (pumpkin magnets)...

Had cake...

Played games...

Opened gifts, and played outside. Then we got pizza for dinner, his request. This weekend is Annabelle's birthday and party...but thank goodness it's going to be at a Bounce House, not at home.

Donna is having a blogiversary over at Sugar, Spice, and Southern Life. Be sure you enter her giveaway, she is going all out with the gifties!! Donna has been a great friend since we met through our blogs. Our tastes are extremely similar and we find that we have lots of  the same stuff. She's just the sweetest person and a very kind soul.

Have a great day!

♥ Jen

More signs of fall

Hello! I hope you had a great weekend. I'm sitting here munching on a Gala apple, picked by me (or one of us, anyway) on Saturday! Oh it is so good, sweet and crispy. The apples are fantastic this year. The trees are loaded with them! Last year, there weren't many and the ones they had were covered in unsightly (but not harmful) spots. These are picture-perfect!

Galas

Cortlands

We picked 46 lbs. in a very short time. What to do with all those apples, you say? Well, Dave used almost half of them to jar 6 quarts of applesauce. Mmmm, it's so appley and fresh-tasting.

I've got plans for others...I have a great apple cake recipe that I want to make, caramel apples, muffins, etc. Don't you love apple season?

I just looked up to see this...

What do they see? Oh! I guess autumn really IS here!

I didn't know deer like bird seed. She's a skinny little thing, isn't she?

The kids and I saw two adults this morning while we were waiting for the bus...maybe this is their little one! I think they're cute, but I do not enjoy them eating my oak leaf hydrangeas. They ate them down to teeny nubs last year. Time to get out the burlap!

I went to Wal-Mart this morning...have you seen the Better Homes & Gardens autumn area there? Oh, such cute stuff. I bought this large jar candle today, I believe it was 4 bucks!

It's GREAT. Buy one, you won't be disappointed!

I've got two rows sewn of my nephew's quilt....woo hoo! Only 16 more to go! LOL Better get to it!

Have a great day!

♥ Jen

Stitching and shopping

Good morning/afternoon! How is everyone on this lovely day? It was bright and sunny out just a little while ago, but it's gotten darker and I heard a few rumbles of thunder. Ideally it will clear up before the kids have to get on the bus! For now I love being inside during a thunderstorm, don't you? It makes me feel all warm and cozy.

Speaking of cozy, I'm plugging along on the wool candle mat. Looking cute, oui?

It's fun and easy! Although I am running out of that tan thread for the cup decorations. It uses all 6 strands so it goes quick. But so far so good.

Yesterday I made a little bag for my niece's birthday. I'm going to put a gift card inside. I don't *think* she reads my blog, but if she does, Hi Katie! Surprise!

The blue fabric is Flower Sugar by Lecien from Sharon's store. Oh I love that one! The rest is Lakehouse, they seem to go so well together!

I went birthday shopping for the kids today...I got everything on my list! In fact I went a little nuts!

Dave if you're reading this, the kids have been really good this year, right? Right!

Ok I'm starving so off to get some lunch. I did my Wii Fit already today so I worked up an appetite. I won't eat too much though, that will defeat the whole purpose!

Have a great day!

♥ Jen

Autumn crafting

I'm working on a new project, in addition to my nephew's quilt. I don't know about you, but I like to have a quilting project going in tandem with a hand-stitching one. That way, when I get tired of cutting/piecing/etc. I can sit down in the family room and do some different work. And two things get done that way!

So I downloaded this pattern from The Pattern Cupboard. Isn't it so cute?!

Photo from The Pattern Cupboard

 I *looooove* working with wool. And what's great about downloading patterns is that it is MUCH cheaper than getting a printed one...you get it instantaneously...and I can print it out myself easily. I had most of the colors of wool already, I just had to get the blue. Now all my pieces are cut and ready for me to stitch!

I'm thinking about giving it as a Christmas gift but we'll see! I might have to keep it for myself!

School has been going well for the kids. This morning they started in the morning running club before school. I love that they like to be active! Speaking of being active, Wii Fit is going great. I do 45 minutes every day and I definitely get a workout. In fact I've lost 2 lbs! My goal is 2 lbs more, and then to tone what's left. LOL Anyway I've also finished working on the kids' school scrapbooks. At the end of every school year I make a two-page spread of that year's highlights. I usually like to do it right when the school year ends but I was a bit late this year. At least it's done now!

I wanted to show you another fall item I got at Christmas Tree Shops last week. You can never have too many autumn decorations, in my opinion. Definitely not my husband's though!

Are you having a good September? We went to a festival at a local nature preserve over the weekend. It was so nice, the setting is beautiful. There were lots of crafts, games, entertainment, and apple cider donuts. Oh yum. I look forward to them every year. We're going apple-picking this weekend at an orchard where they have the BEST donuts. I'll have to up my calorie-burning goal on Wii Fit but it's worth it!

Have a fabulous day!

♥ Jen

New school year

It finally came...the first day of school! Usually it's sunny and hot but this time it was cool and drizzly. Mason was happy and excited. Annabelle was very nervous the past week but she calmed down and even managed to smile a bit while waiting for the bus.

We went to their school yesterday to drop off their bags of supplies and to see where their classrooms are. Annabelle is upstairs this year, being a big fourth grader and all. :-)

I made the September block of my coffee cup quilt...not my favorite, but what's done is done.

Here's a close-up of the background fabric, it has cute little swirlies on it.

My thinking with the mocha-colored cups was for the beginning of fall. And I wanted a light background since this section of the quilt needs some brightening up.

Friends, I've started exercising. I've always considered myself pretty active...I clean a lot, walk, etc. But since turning 40, weight just doesn't come off like it used to. Before, if my jeans felt a little tight, I'd stop eating a nighttime snack for a few days and I'd lose a pound or two. Now the scale is like, Pfft! You're gonna have to do better than that! So for an early birthday present from Dave I got Wii Fit Plus. I knew if I joined a gym I'd never go. This is great, I can keep track of the calories I burn, my weight, BMI, etc. There are lots of fun activities and exercises, from yoga to running to hula hooping. I "worked out" (I hate that term) for 45 minutes today. So I'm hoping this will do the trick!

Enjoy your day!

♥ Jen

I've missed you!

I'm here, I'm here! I do apologize for letting so much time go between postings. I have all the usual excuses...I've been busy and I haven't been overly-crafty lately. But I'm back! School starts tomorrow so I'm sure I'll have more time to blog. Have you had a good summer? It's been fun but I'm looking forward to getting back into our school year routine.

Big news...Dave won first place for his tomatoes and second place for his garlic at the New York State Fair!

The fair was so much fun. Dave's brother and his family came with us this year which was great. Annabelle and Mason enjoyed the rides..

And here are A & M with their cousins in our backyard...

We're bummed that we live so far apart (they're in RI)...we have so much fun when we get together!!

On September 1st the kids and I got the fall decorations out. A bit early but don't you think that date unofficially starts the season?

I made this wall-hanging last year with a kit from Pumpkin Patch Primitives. It's wool applique on flannel and cotton. This is one of my favorites!

Did you make it to Joann's over the weekend? They had big sales. I got some warm and natural batting, a rotary blade, and two cute fabrics.

This cute pink one was on clearance for $3/yard, plus it was 10% off.

This is one of their "snuggle flannels." I see pillowcases out of this!

I do have more to show but I'll save that for the next post...I need to go and help the kids enjoy their last day of summer vacation! Have a great day all!

♥ Jen