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

What I've been doing

There's a taste of fall in the air, do you feel it too? Not that it's cold out...but the leaves are giving a hint of change, the days are a bit shorter, the goldenrod is blooming, and the monarchs are out in full force. Aah! I knew it would begin one of these days!

I've been working on my stitchery from way back here. Don't laugh at how long it's taken me, okay? Just don't. But the point is it's almost DONE! I promised myself I wouldn't show it anymore until it's completed, but I can't help myself. See? I'm sewing the binding on. And you didn't believe me.

I'm in love with that red floral fabric. It's from Hobby Lobby, one of their exclusive prints. The quality seems excellent.

Ok, so that's it til it's really done. Just wanted to show that I am in fact making some progress.

Random thought: One of the things that's been great about this summer is all the birds coming to our feeders. Dave planted a bunch of hummingbird-friendly plants and we see them everyday now. We also get a lot of goldfinches, like this cutie-pie...

And these sparrows having a nosh...

So back to autumn approaching. What are you looking forward to? For me, it's cool weather, leaves turning, apple and pumpkin picking, cozy sweaters and low humidity. Oh, and candles! I've already gotten a head start on that...

The one on the left is my all-time favorite scent. It smells exactly like Yankee Candle's Home Sweet HOme. So whichever one is on sale, I buy. The one on the right is Glade's Country Spice. The candle snob in me was surprised at how yummy it smells.

♥ Jen

Outlet success

Howdy! The kids and I just got back from back-to-school shopping at the Waterloo Premium Outlets. I must say we did great. Annabelle got 4 shirts, 4 pairs of pants, a sweatshirt, a sweater, socks and shoes, mostly from Gap and Justice. The sales and prices were fantastic. Mason got 4 shirts and undies from Gap and Gymboree. I just got a few pairs of socks at Bass, but the new sneakers I ordered from 6pm.com came today!

They were 1/2 price and I just love the cheery gingham. They're comfy too!

Some kids are going back to school soon, right? Down South? Up here it's not until September 8th.  So we've got almost another month to go. Mason's really looking forward to it but Annabelle not so much. What else is new??

We went to Skaneateles, NY on Sunday. It's this really cute town on Skaneateles lake. We walk around, have lunch, and check out the water. At Christmas time, they have a Dickens festival where characters from A Christmas Carol walk around and talk to you, act out little scenes, etc. There are horse-drawn carriage rides and free chestnuts (roasted on an open fire). Anyway in the summer it's just as fun.

Doesn't this one remind you of Seurat's Sunday Afternoon?

I'm in the preparatory stage of working on my nephew Max's Christmas quilt. You may remember that I bought some Riley Blake All-Star FQ's for this quilt. The only problem is, there isn't much of this fabric around anymore and I need a whole bunch of it. Poor planning on my part. So I'm going to mix some others in or pick up some here and there when I find it. I better hop to it though, Christmas crafting needs to start happening now!!

See you soon!

♥ Jen

Cozy stuff

If the entire summer could be like it's been the past two days, I'd be so happy. High 70s with low humidity. Just perfect! We can sit outside or do yardwork without feeling like we're going to melt. Today we played frisbee, played board games, ate, etc. in our backyard. It was wonderful! Back to the disgusting heat tomorrow. Fall cannot get here soon enough!

 I finally made a pillow to match Annabelle's quilt. Nothing fancy, I just made it up from leftover fabrics.

Dave said it looks like a big piece of saltwater taffy. You know I have to agree!

I went to BJ's early this morning and found this cute pair of Carter's winter pjs for Annabelle.

Aren't the snowmen so cute? Don't they remind you of Riley Blake snowmen from last winter?

So swimming lessons are done for the summer...both kids passed their respective levels (yaay!). Next week all we have on the agenda is Honda for servicing on Monday and the outlets for school clothes shopping one day. Love that trip, especially since I always stop at the Yankee Candle outlet there. Oh and Oma's coming to visit next weekend, we love when she visits!!

Have a great rest-of-the-weekend!

♥ Jen

Feeling left out

Mason had been having trouble seeing the clock and things that were far away, so he tried on Annabelle's glasses and he could see much better. So I made the brilliant conclusion that he needed glasses. He went to the eye doctor last week and it was determined that he could use a relatively mild prescription. We ordered glasses and today we picked them up!

I am now totally jealous. Dave wears glasses/contacts, Annabelle's worn glasses since 2nd grade, and now Mason. OK when is it my turn? I've wanted glasses since my twin sister got them in 5th grade. That was many years a while ago! I just think they are so cool and I look halfway smart in them. LOL Anyway Mason is excited. We got transitions lenses in them so they turn into sunglasses outside. Here's a picture with a cute little dimple...

I wrote last time that we were going to the zoo. It was great, our zoo is a good size but not too big. We can see most everything in one trip. The penguin exhibit is awesome. Annabelle made a friend...

And Mason kept moving his head back and forth while this penguin copied his every move...

They even rode a tiger! (Don't worry, it's fake)

The peacocks were strutting around...(sorry about the glare)

Last but not least, two cuddly lions.

 

I told you we went swimming at Green Lakes...here are a few pictures from then. Mason loves to get buried in the sand...

Here are the kids and Dave swimming...way out there...

And a pretty view of the lake.

It's been hot as heck here lately...I did spend several hours ironing though for some reason. I washed all the kids curtains, so then I had to iron them. I'm just glad it's done and they're back up where they belong!

Take care my friends!

♥ Jen

Welcome to August

Good morning! It's early on Sunday...just Mason and I are up...so I'm drinking coffee and enjoying the quiet. Yesterday we spent the day at the beach at Green Lakes State Park and it was great. Warm but not too hot, cool lake water, and beautiful scenery. Then we got home and grilled steak and homegrown zucchini for dinner. Later we had some friends over, and we drank margaritas out on the patio while all the kids played. Fun! Today we plan to go the zoo.

I finished the August block of my coffee quilt, on time even!

 I chose the gingham because I think it looks kind of picnic-y; I love the seaglass color of the cups, that's one of my favorites lately. Just can't get enough Fig Tree fabrics! Anyway another fun block to do. Thanks for the pattern again Pam!

Hope your August starts off great! Fall is around the corner (or so I hope)!

♥ Jen