I had to take a break from pink Saturday because I was too busy. I missed visiting everyone, so I am back this week. You can visit Beverly at How Sweet The Sound to see all the other participants or to sign up for next week.

One of the local yarn shops was having a huge sale, so I went to check it out. I got 60$ worth of yarn for $20. There is more, but it is not PINK!! I love to get good quality yarn for great prices, it makes knitting much more affordable.

I got home from the grocery store to find two packages on my front porch, which is always exciting. This one is from the super sweet Deb. It is a gift for hosting the Vintage Pink Christmas Swap. She made the cards, aren’t they lovely! So thoughtful, I love it all! Thank you Deb!

The second package was from my partner for the Just for You FQ Seceret Santa Swap. I know it is not pink, but I was so happy with everything, I had to post it. I really want to make a vintage skirt from the pattern, I love that era of clothing.

A close up of the darling vintage pottery deer, he looks so cute with all of my other pottery!

She also sent me this vintage apron!!!! She attached a note saying if I didn’t like it I could use the fabric for a project! Never, I love it.

Happy Pink Saturday, I must get ready to take the kids to the Library.

XOXO Jen

********************WARNING***************************** There are a lot of photos on this post!

Let’s start with things that are bugging me. 1: I decided not to pay for Premium shipping services for my Shoppe, it was an additional fee on top of my web hosting fees. I thought it was not worth it,now I am thinking it may have been. Every order I have received since I canceled this has had goofed up shipping. I thought I fixed the problem and apparently not. If anyone has wanted to place an order and the shipping stopped them, contact me and I will get it straightened out, plus you will get an extra goodie for your troubles. I hope to get the shipping under control in the next day or two.

2: I lost my cell phone:( On Halloween and keep hoping it is going to turn up. It has not, so I have been using Chad’s old cell since then. UGGGG So if you don’t have Chad’s old cell number, email me and I will give it to you! I hate using his phone, it has a dumb ring tone, it is not pink and it has a LA Dodgers screen saver:(

3: Still can’t get the Cache to clear, I found the tab at the top under tools, and I clicked on clear cache and Nothing happened. UGGG Still can’t upload photos on Flock.

I thought there was something else, Hmm.. can’t seem to remember though!

Ok, on to some fun stuff.

Thank you all for the crock pot recipes and the crock pot web site. I am excited to try them.

ATTENTION PINK CHRISTMAS SWAPPERS!!!- Just wanted to make sure everyone is taking the time to get to know their partners. The send by date is November 25th. If you have any questions please feel free to email me.

There was a garage sale in my neighborhood over the weekend, so I popped in. The lady who’s house it was at was a crafter and quilter, and a vintage quilt collector, it was heaven.

This is a terrible picture, but this is a whole shadow box full of vintage black glass buttons! Love them!!!!!!

1 skein of verigated eggplant wool yarn, and half of a vintage chenielle comforter. Since this one is all ready cut up I am actually going to use it for crafting and not as a pretty decoration.

One more vintage quilt for my collection! She had about 20 for sale and I would love to have had them all, but this one was cheap and the others were not!

I got this one also, it is a small lap size and was super cheap!

Is this not the cutest vintage rocking horse, I got it for 3$ it looks adorable in Grahams room:)

This is a swap I received for the Pay it forward swap. I love everything, I am so excited about the mica flakes!

I made this neck warmer for my swap partner for the Seceret Santa Fat Quarter Swap. I made myself one and I LOVE it!

Here are all he goodies I sent to my Fat Quarter swap!

This is Grahams idea of an outfit to go outside in! Mind you it was freezing out. The girls and I were cracking up!

Here is Gab jumping into the huge pile of leaves. She hates this picture, I love theat she is in mid air! My girls were a bit hesitant to go in the leaves at first, but they got over it.

Playing in the trees!

Leaf head!

Leaf piles are so much fun!

My three G’s in a pretty red tree.  They are in their grubby clothes, but I love this picture!

Miss Gwen jumping in the leaves. I love the look of joy on her face!

I made these heart ornaments out of a vintage quilt.  I am taking them to the craft fair I am going to and if i make some more, I will put a few in the Shoppe.

I made these trees before Halloween, they are not done yet, I need to fancy them up. Sarah wrote a great tutorial on how to bleach and dye trees.

I made this bunting before Halloween, and I had it hung out front, but it would not stay up. So inside it came, I don’t love it here, so I may relocate it again.

These two were both made before Halloween, this picture doesn’t show how sparkley and glittery it is.

I made these ornaments for the craft show. There is a tutorial somewhere online and if I can remember where I found it I will let you know.

I made this ornament the other day, I am planning on selling it, even though I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEE it!  Below is the back, it is vintage wallpaper.

I knitted up this scarf the other night, I am not sure what I am doing with it, it will probably be a Christmas gift!

Sheesh that was a long post!  Making up for the lack of posting lately.  Off to bed! XOXO Jen

All of the things I am showing you today are things I have made. Some a while ago, some recently. I was hoping to get this posted early in the day, but I am currently waiting for my camera battery to charge so I can upload more photos.

I was up until midnight one night making this. Why you ask? Well, I had a slight chance of getting it in a co-op add in Somerset magazine. The owner of Lollishops was putting it together and someone who had signed up before me was flaking out. She emailed me the day of the deadline and asked if I could get something together. So I did and two days later she emails me and says that the other lady got her act together and I will get to for sure be in the next one. I am bummed, that was going to be so great!

Any way this lovely Yard Long Porch Pillow is in my Shoppe here.

I made this last week also. It is a baby blanket, fleece on one side and cotton vintage autos on the other. Perfect for a baby gift! It is available in the Shoppe here.

I made this a while ago when I made one for my friend Jenny in Napa. I love these burp cloths. I started making them when I was prego with Graham. The chenille is super absorbent and gets softer and softer with each wash. I love the vintage inspired ducky fabric. Also available in the Shoppe under the little ones category.

I made this awhile ago, however it says somethings about Christmas under the dog. So I thought it was more appropriate to show it now. In the Shoppe here.

I made this forever ago and have been waiting for cooler weather to post it. It is a size 2-3T. I made them for the girls when they were little and they look so cute with warm tights and a sweater for winter. Too bad Graham is a boy:) Available in the Shoppe here.

I made this last winter. It is a newborn hat. These are the BEST hats, they actually stay on and look cute at the same time. I need to make Graham a new one, he grew out of his hats from last year:( Also in the shoppe here.

Another cute winter skirt I made a while ago. This one is a bit bigger 4-5T.

Check the Shoppe for this one too.

I made myself a pair of PJ bottoms like Gabby’s. I loved hers so much I had to have a pair too. They are made from vintage sheets and are so comfy.

I decided to make a pair for the Shoppe, they are a little girls size 8. I love this vintage sheet, it is so soft and pretty. In the shoppe here.

I finished one of the two smaller vintage quilt wreaths. I love these and will be making one for myself.

In the Shoppe here.

These bags can be used as laundry bags, toy bags or even diaper stacker. I have one in Grahams room hanging on a vintage hook, it is next to the changing table and full of diapers. These will be in the shoppe in the next day or two, I am tired and want to watch dancing with the stars.

They are completely reversible.

I started this purse in CA last fall. It was almost done, it just needed to be lined. Not sure what I am doing with it at the moment.

Binky clip. I used these every day for the first 9-12 months of Grahams life, they are great.

Another burp cloth. I love the vintage inspired golf fabric. In the Shoppe in the “little ones” Category.

A girly burp cloth. How cute are the cherries!

Another binky clip. Pretty colors!

Last binky clip.

Ok, I am done for now! Sheesh, I didn’t realize this was going to be so long.

XOXO Jen

My in laws arrived Saturday night, so we have been busy with them. Sunday we went to Old Salem, which was really fun. We may take Graham to the zoo if the weather cooperates:) Just thought I would pop in and post a couple of projects I have finished recently.

A lot of my projects lately have revolved around Halloween. I have been wanting to make one of these for a while. It is hanging in my kitchen as we speak. I used paper, crepe paper, glitter, vintage sheet music, vintage lace, vintage ric-rack and some cute black and white letters. It was a fun project, I love how it turned out.

Another Halloween goody, this was in one of the magazine, can’t remember which one. I thought it was cute, so I whipped it up. It is sitting on a chair in my family room.

Lastly, I made this snake scarf for my nephew Eli’s second birthday.  I found the pattern online and now can not find the web site again, because it is bookmarked on my laptop.  It is supposed to be back to me by the 6th, thank goodness.

Only a few days left to sing up for the vintage pink Christmas swap.  There are quite a few ladies who have joined all ready.  I am looking forward to assigning partners so we can get on with the swapping.

Off to bed!

XOXO Jen

Let’s start with books, I read The Woods by Harlan Coben. It was a good suspense/mystery book, I had a hard time putting it down. If you like a good mystery, then this is a good one. I had not read one of Harlan Coben’s books before, but I enjoyed his writing style a lot. I am currently reading a book Called the Isle of Palms, which is set right here in the south, South Carolina to be specific. It is a great book and gives me an insight into what true southerners think. I will be done with it tonight and I have had a hard time putting this one down as well.

Next order of business is: Graham went to preschool yesterday!! He will be going every Monday to the Jamestown Methodist Church preschool program from 9-12. I was worried that he would cry being that he is hardly ever away from me, but he was fine when I left. Phew, nothing is worse than when they cry every time you leave them, Gwen was the WORST. Apparently Mr Graham did well until it was time to go outside, he wasn’t to sure about leaving the safety of the classroom. However once he got outside he was FINE, and then when it was time to go back in he cried again because he DID NOT want to go back inside because he loves to be OUTSIDE! It should be interesting to see how he does next week. It was great for me, I got a ton done yesterday and the best part was that he was tired when he got home, so more time to accomplish things.

Goof ball all ready for his first day of preschool.

I received a swap for the group I am in where we swap Fat Quarters, the theme this time was for Halloween. I love the goodies I got. I still have to finish getting together the one I am sending out, I have it about half ready, it is not due until the end of the month. Also due at the end of the month is another Halloween Swap I am participating in. It is called the Very Vintage Halloween Swap- Hosted at Foxglovesfabric&folly. My partner lives in Southern CA, I have started making things for her, I will post photos of these later in the month.

Isn’t the vintage inspired fabric so cute, I can’t wait to make something out of it.

I finished a baby gift for one of my very dear friends Jenny Mccall. If you are reading this Jenny, stop here and come back after you open the gift!!!! I am so sad to miss being there for the shower and seeing the baby when he is born, because for SOME reason my friends in Napa can not figure out how to send me photos!!

This is my second knitted baby blanket, I love how it turned out. The yarn is a super soft cotton, perfect for cuddling up with.

Here is the whole gift. Blankie, matching newborn hat, burpie and wrapped around it is a navy pacifier clip.

While I was at it I made a burp cloth for the Shoppe. I started making these when I was pregnant with Graham and they became my favorite. My favorite use to be cloth diapers, but these are way cuter, they wash really well and the Chenille is super absorbent. I also decided it was time to get back to making tooth fairy pillows, I started making these a few years back and they were quite popular. So, I decided to get back to them and I am really happy with how this one came out. I will be making more, hopefully this week. You can find this one in the Shoppe under Little Ones.

I love this vintage inspired fabric.

The square vintage doily on the front is actually the pocket for the tooth.

Here is the back!!

North Carolina has introduced us to more nature than I have seen my whole life. Saturday Chad called me outside to look at something, and that something was a SNAKE. EEEEK I said to him that does not look like a good kind of snake, its markings made me think of a rattler. I knew it was not a rattler because there was no rattle. Chad had all ready killed it, so Gab and I took some pictures and the girls went and got our neighbor Brad. He said” I think it is a Copper Head.” YIKES. I ran in an and Googled copper head snakes and sure enough our friend was a copper head. OMG they are not good snakes and Chad being the nieve city boy could have been bitten while he was trying to kill it with the shovel. Apparently he missed a few times, so he was lucky. I am now freaked out about snakes running rampant through our yard. I could barley go to sleep last night, because I was thinking about the kids playing in the yard and getting bitten by a poisonous snake. Welcome to country livin’.

EEK, Yikes, Creepy!

Yesterday I used the rest of the peaches and made a peach crisp, it was gobbled up in less than 24hrs. Tonight I made apple turnovers with more of the apples. I love that they look like the ones you buy at the store. I still have at least 3 dozen apples left. I have no idea what I am going to make next??

Yummy!!

That about sums up the last few days. I guess I should go clean or sew or something while the little dude is napping. XOXO Jen

The reason I haven’t posted much this week is because I was sick and now I am finally feeling normal. Today Graham and I met up with a local Mom’s Group for the first time. We went apple picking at an apple farm in Reidsville NC. All the moms were really nice, and they have a lot of fun things planned. This will be my third time joining moms groups. I was just thinking about the first one I joined when Gabby was a baby, the other two moms were in their late 30’s, I thought they were sooooo old and not hip at all. I am now in my early 30’s and in another moms group. The funny thing is I don’t feel sooo old and unhip. Maybe I am in denial. The funny thing about today’s group is I am pretty sure I had the oldest children there minus Graham. These ladies were about my age some a little older, I think most of them went to college and started their family later. I on the other hand started having babies when I was young. Enough about that, lets get on with the apple picking. Graham and I had a fab time, it was nice weather, no sight of tropical storm Hannah. Here are some photos of our adventure.

Graham is all ready to start picking. I got a good work out pulling my 30lb child in a wagon up and down grassy hills.

He kept picking the ones off the ground and saying ball and then throwing them. Everything round is a ball to this boy. He kept calling our baked potatoes balls last night.

Clearly he knows what to do with this “Ball”.

Can’t remember the types of apples, two of the four types were kinds I have never heard of and maybe they are some native to NC. The other two were red and golden delicious.

Aren’t they sooo pretty!

Here are our apples and peaches waiting for me to make some yummy stuff. They give you this big basket and tell you to fill it up and that when you are done it is 21lbs of apples. The best part is it only cost $8.95 and they are fresh and yummy right off the tree. The peaches were in a basket for $5.50 and there are a ton of them. I am waiting for my Grandma to call me back with some recipes for jam and apple sauce. The girls and I will be busy this weekend making all kinds of yummy things:)

So pretty!!

This is completely unrelated, but I had to share one of the knitting projects I finished recently. Gab wanted fingerless mittens, so I got to work even though she can’t wear them quite yet. we both love how they came out. She said to me yesterday, “I can’t wait for it to be cold so I can wear my new mittens, my black puffy vest and one of the beanie hats you knit for me.” I am almost done with my first sweater, it is for the little dude and it is turning out great, one more sleeve to go.

Off to play with my apples.

XOXO Jen

Every day I am amazed at the amount of talented women bloggers. I discover new sites each day and wonder how on earth I will keep up with all these sites. I spend a bunch of time on line as it is and as I discover new sites I think “Yikes, more time online.”   I have been swapping and keeping up with Carrie’s blog and now she and a friend have created a blog called Handmade Holidays through the year.  They had a challenge to make a Christmas binder to get organized ahead of time.  I thought it sounded like a good idea, so I made one. 

Here is the binder before.  I got it at Target on clearance, so it was super cheap. But the best part is it is made from recycled materials.

Now it is super cute. Tomorrow I am going to make the dividers cute and fill in the sections.

Close up.

Here are some pictures of the latest swap I just did.

I knitted this dish cloth for my partner in a “flora and fauna swap”.  Heidi at spiritual knitter posted a picture of the one she made and the site for the pattern, so I decided I too must make one. This was one of the knitted items I finished last week but didn’t want to post a picture until my partner received it.

This is the whole package I sent my partner.

These are all the lovely goodies I received from the above mentioned Carrie.  Isn’t it all so pretty, I love love love it.

I have an idea for a swap I am going to host here on the blog in the next few days, so stay tuned.

Giveaway Part 3.  See giveaway rules HERE.  The question for today is…….When did I stat Blogging?

Good Luck!

XOXO Jen

Why the 3 R’s you ask??  It has kind of been our theme of the week.  We are reducing by having a garage sale tomorrow.  As I have been unpacking, I have been evaluating everything and deciding if it is worth keeping or not.  I have about 10 boxes full of stuff ready to sell.  You would have thought we would have done this before we moved, nope, we were in too much of a hurry so everything got packed.

For Recycle:  Our recycling here is a little in the dark ages, they only pick up every other week, we have to use our own bins and cans, and they don’t accept everything they did in CA. I still recycle everything I can. Chad on the other hand is not as worried about it, so I am always rescuing things from the compactor.  This week we had soooo much recycling; Chad said we looked like WT.  I said no, we look like conscience recyclers.  Wish I had taken a picture, we had one trash can with a lid full of bottles and cans, one Rubbermaid tote full of cans and food boxes, a tall kitchen trash can full of all of the above and a large moving box full of bagged newspaper and magazines.  It did look a little funny:)

For Reuse:  I made something intending it to be pretty and fun and the kids reminded me we could Reuse this item.  I was reading one of my sewing books- Bend the Rules Sewing and they had a page of cloth napkins and they were mix and match.  Soo cute.  They wanted you to do hems on the sewing machine, I decided to modify it and roll hem them on the serger.  The girls loved them and it gave me an opportunity to show them the proper way to set the table, which is important for everyone to know.  Usually we are in a hurry to get the table set, so they throw a fork, spoon and knife next to the left of the plate. As we were eating they pointed out that we were able to “Reuse” these.  So, I decided to make a bunch so we can use them every day.  Gabby asked to help, and she serged about 20 of them.  I will be listing these in the store for sale in mix and match packs.  The girls think they are fun to use and I like the way they look, much better than paper.  Chad was a little timid to use them, I said “they are meant to be used, don’t be scared, USE them.”  It is a great mix of being green and bringing back feelings of the past.

This is a picture of the napkins we made in our napkin holder on our table. They wash really well, even after  Gwen got chocolate cake all over hers.

This is the stack of napkins we have made that are going to go in the store.  I have more that are almost done and I will be selling them in packs of 10.

I also made Graham this cute little pillow case, he only had one pillow case which is not enough.  He really likes it.

I have finished 3 knitting projects, this is one of them.  It is a wrap; I can’t wait to wear it.  Only a few more months until I can wear it.  It is a very simple pattern, it is done all in stockinet, make one button hole and add two buttons and you are done.  I love the color and the yarn is super soft.  The other two I cannot show you as they are gifts.  I will post them once they have been received, don’t want to spoil the surprise.

The girls and I baked a cake and Graham really liked it, especially the frosting.  The frosting was from scratch, it was YUMMY!  Happy Friday!

XOXO Jen

I got my computer back all ready!  They said it would be 2 weeks, it only took a few days from when I sent it out.  SOOOO happy, doing a happy dance!!!  I am finally going to upload the pics from my recent garage sale activites.  BEWARE… there are a lot of  photos in this post.  We  joined our neighborhood pool  about a week ago and have been there every day  except today.  Today we relaxed and cleaned, the weather was finally not a million degrees, thank goodness.    I am really annoyed, my publisher is not working correctly as it is a trial, however I don’t want to spend $170.00, any one have a suggestion how or where to get it for less? Now on to the photos!!!

This is what I received from a swap, Pay it Forward Lucky Parcel.

 This one is hysterical!  Chad on the beach memorial day weekend.  It was about 65 out and windy, he is such a wimp!!

Doesn’t he look cute in my vintage quilts next to my cute vintage 2$ chair.

While Wendy was here, we cooked and baked a lot.  All of the girls had on aprons  so Little dude wanted one too, so I dug through the apron stash and found the least girly one.  He thought he was hot stuff.

This next one is pretty scary,  it is my living room! This is all the pictures, blankets, curtains, and knick knacks that need to find homes still.  For some reason I can”t make a decision where I want things to go, so there they sit in a crazy mass waiting to find homes.  SHEESH

I got these cute chairs at a garage sale for 2$ a piece. Two has always been my favorite number, but it also seems to be my lucky number for buying things.  I happen to love paying 2$ for things, who doesn’t??  I plan to put these in the basement around this table and recover them with a cute retro fabric so that they will all match, not sure what they were thinking.

At this same sale I got all of these super goodies. Except the curtain panels, I got them the same day though.

You will be seeing some of these things for sale in the shop soon.

This pretty plate is hanging in my kitchen and all the cute dogies have gone to live in Gabby’s room with the rest of her vintage dogs.

I love this childrens book, the illustrations are amazing.  The rosey hot plate is in my kitchen also.

I am keeping the beads too, however there were a few other pieces that will go in the store.

Poor little one eyed bug, the lady said all these animals were from the 50’s. I would like to try to give him some new eyes, we’ll see.

A close up of the fab book.

I got this cute pink shelf and this bowling pin at a different sale.  The pink shelf is now in the sewing room, which you will get to see soon:)  The lady running the sale called me a silly girl from CA for buying the bowling pin!  I like the bowling pin, it is cute, it is now in Grahams room, it may end up in the basement or it might stay on the shelf in G’s room.

My funny little dude, he likes to play in the cupboard while I am working in the kitchen.  Could he be any cuter?  Like the UGLY cabinets, I am getting paint in the AM so Hubby can start painting them.  I also need to find hardware for them.

I made these for my friend Heather’s baby who will be born any day now.  I love that they look like mary janes!

I got this neeto quilted pillow last weekend, I Love it and it looks super cute on the sofa!

I like this plate a lot, not sure if it will go on my plate wall, we’ll see.

Sweet little baby doll dress, I will be selling this one!

Another cute pillow, you will see this in the store too.

Hope you enjoyed all the fun photos!  It feels good to be caught up.  The store will be opening soon~

Jen( Notice no fancy font-stupid publisher)