Saturday we went to a pumpkin patch, it was a beautiful day!

Graham with all of our goodies!

Me and Graham.   Gabby took this photo.

Trying to get a good photo of three kids is always a challenge. This is the best of a ton that I took!

We got home about 4:15 and had to be at the carnival at Grahams school at 5:30. Gwen got ready quickly and only needed me to put freckles on her face. Gabby was originally planning on being goth, but we decided it wasn’t appropriate for the church carnival.  So we dug through the costume totes and she decided to be a fifty’s girl. She got dressed and then I did her makeup. I also dug out my old Minnie mouse costume for Gabs friend Emily. After I applied Gabs makeup I did Emily’s. I then had ten minutes until we were supposed to be there. I woke Graham up and got him in what I thought was going to be his costume.  He was going to be a Train conductor. I was planning on him wearing his overalls.  Well, they were about 3inches short, so he looked like a huge dork!  The freaking out began. I have totes full of little girl fluffy tutus and costumes, but no boy costumes. YIKES!  He ended up wearing the cheetah costume as it was the least girly.

YIKES- the water mark got HUGE!!!

He only got called a girl once!

I made this costume for Gab when she was 4, and Gwen wore it when she was 5.  Graham is not even two, yes it is a little big but still.  Big ol’ boy!

Gwen, Emily & Gabby.

I made & wore the Minnie skirt when I was 19.  I made the poodle skirt for gab when she was in kindergarten, I had to pin it so it would stay on her then, now it fits perfectly.  She has now decided to wear this on Halloween.  She said to me” I wish I could wear poodle skirts every day, maybe we can start a trend”.  That’s my girl!!!

Pretty girls!!

Gab & Emily our neighbor.

Emily needed a costume so I lent her my fifty’s outfit.  I made the skirt and the sweater is vintage!

Tonight we carved pumpkins, Graham was funny. He kept saying EWE!!!

Goof Ball!

Not clear on the concept son, you are supposed to take the seeds out not put them back in!

Gab helping Graham!

Busy girls!

Yummy!

OOOH!

Sweet hands!

Happy pumpkin week!

XOXO Jen

A very nice person out there in blog land left me a crock pot recipe in my comments last night. I am bummed because I accidentally deleted it, while deleting 30 stupid spam comments, and I can’t get it back! I don’t remember the persons name, blog or anything. It was a chicken recipe! If you are reading this please comment again!!

On to the topics at hand!

Here are the books I have read recently.  True Evil by Greg Iles and All Fall Down by Erica Spindler. Both were suspense filled mysteries!  They were good, I don’t know that I would personally go out and buy them.  We had All Fall Down in a box of books in the basement, and our neighbor lent us True Evil. I really enjoy Greg Iles books and look forward to reading more in the future.  I am trying to read all the books in the box in the basement so I can pass them along and get rid of the box:)

On to the good mail!!

I came home the other day to a large package on my porch and had no idea what it was because I had not ordered anything??  I opened it, and to my surprise it was a vintage bread box and inside were two vintage pink shiny brites!!!   I had made a comment on a blog that I visit often, Livin’ Vintage.  I commented that I LOVED the bread box she had found on her thrifting adventures.  Emily is so sweet she sent it to me because I loved it!!  THANK YOU!!!! 

Isn’t it pretty.  I am going to add a vintage knob and line the bottom with some pretty paper! I may even use it in my sewing room, so I can enjoy while I am crafting:)

On to the swaps…

Here is a swap I sent.  It is for the Pay it Forward Parcel Swap on Flickr.  Each person lists 10 items they would love to have and you pick five of the items to send to your partner.  My partner requested:  Ephemera, so I put together a packet of goodies for her.  She also requested an orange FQ,  and aqua FQ and a polka dot FQ- they are all on top of the vintage pillow case she requested. She also asked for small super glue gel, which I found at the dollar store!!! Her last request was anything birds: so I copied a bird that Carrie had sent me in a swap awhile ago:)

Here is another I sent out recently- It was a secret Ghost swap for the five things group on flickr.  The rules were to send 5 things- one of them handmade. So I made another pumpkin and some crepe paper ruffles!

I had been on a swap break for a while and now there are a ton of amazing swaps for the holidays.  I am involved in quite a few!  I am answering the questions below for my partner for the Vintage Christmas Stocking Swap. Which is being hosted by Priscila at Casa Bella Chic, who is my partner for the Vintage Pink Christmas swap.  My partner for this swap is the wonderful Heidi at Fox Gloves Fabric & Folly, she was the hostess of the Very Vintage Halloween swap and the upcoming Very Vintage Christmas Swap.

On to the questions!

What do you collect: Everything!  Vintage quilts, pottery, aprons, Christmas decorations, milk glass-pink & white. Anything with roses on it, vintage books, and the list goes on and on!
What inspires you:  All the amazing women in blog land who are have turned their love of crafts, vintage, home decor and any other hobby into a successful business!
Favorite pastime:  I guess it would have to be knitting.  It sooths your sole, the repetition calms your mind when you are stressed out.
Whats one of your favorite vintage pieces in your home: That is a tough one, I love it all.  Maybe, my pink milk glass punch bowl!
What decoration or christmas item would you love to have:  I would love some of the little vintage houses, mercury glass anything, a vintage tinsel tree, a cloche, I could go on and on on this one too:)
What vintage piece would you love to have:  A beautiful buffet for my dining room!
Favorite Goodie or hot drink: I love milk chocolate and hot chocolate, apple cider is a fav at this time of year!
Any family tradition:  Yes, but they are going to be different this year because we are going to be here in NC while the Fam is back in CA & OR.
Greatest Christmas Memory: That is tough because I love Christmas and I mostly have great memories of them all.  When I was little I got a Barbie dream house from Santa, that was super exciting!  And the year Santa brought me diamond earrings was pretty great also.  I think my favorite memories are of the kids at Christmas, especially when they were little, it is so magical to them.  Graham should be fun to watch this year, hopefully he doesn’t try to climb the trees!!!

Time to get ready to go to the pumpkin patch.  Have a great day!

XOXO Jen

Welcome to this weeks addition of Pink Saturday. I knew on Monday what I was posting this week, which is a great feeling, because I am usually racking my brain all day Friday. On Monday I received a present from my parents. It is something I didn’t have but have been wanting for a while. Not only did they get me this present, they got it in pink! Yeah for me!!

A pink crock pot, aren’t my parents the best!

I have been married 12 years and have never used a crock pot! Crazy! I may have had a hand me down one before we got married, but never used it. I made pork tenderloin in it the other night and the fam LOVED it!! If any one has a really yummy crock pot recipe, I would love to have it!

Stop by Beverly’s to visit all the other fun Pink Posts!

Have a great weekend!

xoxo Jen

Friday Flea Market

You can visit all the other participants of Friday Flea market by following the link above. I thought it would be fun to participate in Friday Flea Market, because I love a good Flea Market! Now on to my flea market items. You can find all of the items in the Shoppe in the Friday Flea Market category!

You can find this lovely Vintage piece of McCoy pottery .

$9.00 plus shipping.

Vintage Baby Comb & Brush

$4.99 + shipping

Vintage Skeleton Key Necklace.

On sale for $15.99 + shipping

Vintage Cookie cutters- Perfect for the Holidays

$6.50+ shipping

There are more fun items, but you must click here to see them all.

Have a great Friday!

XOXO Jen

Artsy Mama is hosting an Autumn Gathering party today! You can click on the button below and on the right side of her site is a list of all the participants. I can’t wait to see everyones amazing decorations.

For the Autumn Gathering Party I am going to show some of my decorations and some fun photos of Graham at the pumpkin patch at his preschool.

I actually exist in a photo, it is a miracle. Graham goes to preschool at the Jamestown Methodist, they have a pumpkin patch and hayride on the premises. On Monday it was his classes turn to visit the patch. Here we are on the hayride. The kids loved it.

He looks all sweet and innocent, HA. Two seconds after I took this picture he decided the pumpkins needed to be kicked like soccer balls!

Having fun walking through all the pumpkins.

One of the many pumpkins he sat on.

More pumpkin photos!

Look at my pumpkin!!

I may have posted this before, but I made it and I LOVE IT!!!

This is my vintage printers drawer, I decorate it for every holiday.

Trick or treat sign! Look at the black spider web, I made it and have them in a few windows.  They were really easy to make.

Here is a close up.  All you have to do is take some black puff paint and put it on a no stick cookie sheet in a spider web shape. Let it dry for 24hrs, peel off carefully and stick where ever! I saw this in a magazine, can’t remember which one though!

Here is one view of my foyer!  Not that anyone ever comes to the front door. Everyone comes through the kitchen, NICE!

Both of these were from Martha Stewart Living last year.  This year you can buy the bats all ready made.  I love the thing above the door, it took me forever to cut out! This is the door way into the living room off of the foyer.

These mice were also from Living magazine last year.  This is the stairway off the foyer.  I think you can buy these now too.

These are also in the foyer. They are on top of my hall tree.  These were from Country Living last year or the year before??  Super easy to make, not as easy to store.

One last corner of the Foyer.  I got this shelve a few years ago at a yard sale for 5$.  Usually it is full of girly pink things.  I made the black flowers a few years ago out of tissue paper.

I love this wreath, I got it a few years ago at good old Target. This is on my front door!

Built ins in my family room.

Close up!  These will stay out until thanksgiving.  After Halloween I will take down all the Halloween decor and put up more fall goodies!

My Grandma framed this picture of Gabby and I. I have been putting it out for the last 10 years, I love it, she was so cute!!!

This is in the family room also.  I made the cross stitch at the top.  Gwen drew the witch when she was really little. I think it is the cutest witch ever!  She critiques it because it is not perfect, now that she is older!

Gwen also drew the owl in the foyer next to the shelf!

PHEW, this is the last one.  This is my dining room table.  I will be adding more after Halloween. There are  quite a few more decorations in my house, but this post is long enough.  Plus I was suppose to have it up this am, it is almost 1pmEST! YIKES!

Happy Fall!

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

Here are the questions for my Vintage Pink Christmas Swap in case some of you missed them. I am also answering them for my partner.

1. What is your favorite Christmas decoration?  That is a hard one, I have so many that I love.  I really love all of my Vintage ornaments.

2. What colors/themes do you decorate for Christmas?  I decorate two trees, One that we use to get flocked pink when we lived in CA and they flocked trees, the second a regular green one.  The pink one I decorate with white, silver, gold, pink, pale blue and pale green- lots of vintage ornaments.  The second tree I decorate in traditional red and green, lots of vintage .

3. What Christmas item would you love to have?  I would love to have a vintage feather tree, or more mercury glass bead garland.

4. Favorite goodie & hot drink?  I love all milk Chocolate,  Hot chocolate and hot apple cider.

5. Are you a crafter? If so what crafts do you do?  I knit, sew, collage, make jewelry, and scrapbook(which I have not done in a while)

6. What is your favorite pink item in your home?  There are so many to choose from- Probably my vintage chenille comforters, or my pink vintage pyrex or my vintage pink wall phone.

7. What do you collect?  Vintage quilts, vintage pottery, vintage pyrex, vintage books, I could go on and on, if it is vintage and pretty I Love it.

8. Do you have special family traditions for the holidays?  We use to, now that we are not near our families, it will be different this year.

My kidos are Gabby 11, Gwen 8 and Graham 21months.

Off to knit and watch a movie with Chad!

XOXO Jen

Today we went to the Harvest Festival at Gwen’s School. We had a lot of fun. Afterwards Gabby said “Graham had the most fun, I had fun with him”. I explained that is what being a parent is like.

As you can tell, Gabby was less than thrilled to pose for this picture!

BOO!

My water mark is miss spelled on this one-NICE!

Gab was not too cool to put balloons on her head:)

Bounce house fun!

I asked Graham if he had fun and he said “YEAHHHH” loudly. Then started crying when I put him in the stroller.

Playing on the playground.

The first time I put Graham on this and stepped back to get a photo he decided to say “three” and jump off. His version of 1.2.3! That is why the girls are cracking up because he was “threeing” again.

Big kid slide all by himself. This slide was very tall, I though he might be scared- NOPE!

Big fun!

THE END

Tomorrow I will be posting my answers for the VPC Swap.

I finally got with the program and thought about what I should post for pink Saturday. I usually wait until late in the evening to think about it. However, today I thought about it around noon:)  To see all the lovely pink posts or to participate next week visit Beverly at How Sweet The Sound.

Mr. Graham decided he wanted to sit where Mommy takes pictures of all her pretties for her Shoppe.

Since he was sitting on my photo backdrop I figured I better take his photo. Even if it is PINK!

I Love his goofy expression:)

I am a winner! I won these aprons two weeks ago for Show and Tell Sunday. Aren’t they pretty! The pink and white one was the prize and Cindy of JunqueArt so generously sent me the other one also!

The story of two tea pots. We have had the bigger one in the back for a couple of years, it was all pink until last evening. Ok, we are teapot addicts, we never use the microwave to heat water, always the teapot. Last night like most evenings I asked Chad to start the teapot. I was in the process of sending out partners for the swap. Which means I was not paying attention to the tea pot. After a bit I realized that there was no whistle and the water has to be hot by now. I popped into the kitchen and there is the lovely pink teapot all blackened. I got mad at Chad for not putting down the whistle lid, and he said “didn’t you hear it” UH NO! I just so happened to have a spare, still in its box all shiny and new. I got it at Ross when we first moved here. We used the new one last night and all today. Tonight Chad asked me what I am planning to do with the old one. I said” I will try to clean it”. He picks up a sos pad and wiped it a bit and off came the black. So he gave me a hard time for being mad at him last night!

Now we have two working pink teapots!

****VINTAGE PINK CHRISTMAS SWAP****

Since this is the first swap I have hosted, I had no idea what to expect. I am very excited because we have so many participants. I have enjoyed reading everyones blogs. I wanted to keep each one of you as a partner:)

Partners have been assigned. If you signed up and did not receive an email from me with your partners info, contact me right away. If for any reason you are unable to complete the swap, please let me know so I can make sure your partner gets something. We have such a great group I am not anticipating any problems.

Below you will see a list of get to know you questions. Please cut and paste these and use them on your blog so you and your partner can get to know each other better. Feel free to add photos if you have them.

1. What is your favorite Christmas decoration?

2. What colors/themes do you decorate for Christmas?

3. What Christmas item would you love to have?

4. Favorite goodie & hot drink?

5. Are you a crafter? If so what crafts do you do?

6. What is your favorite pink item in your home?

7. What do you collect?

8. Do you have special family traditions for the holidays?

I will answer the questions on my next post. Off to bed!

XOXO Jen

I have been sewing, sewing, sewing.  Everyday, I spend a at least three hours sewing.  In the evenings while we watch TV I cut out projects or knit.  I also added a ton of things to the Shoppe, some sewn some vintage. I have also been busy matching up partners for the Vintage Pink Christmas Swap.  If you are participating, I hope to get your partners info to you tomorrow!

Remember a couple of days ago I said MCcoy, here it is.  I picked it up at the estate sale I went to last Saturday.  It is in the Shoppe in the China cupboard.

New Ephemera packet. Be My Baby

Here are some of the reusable market bags I have made.  They are also now in the Shoppe.

Fun vintage pin, now in the Shoppe.

Fun bangles.

Pretty vintage Holly pin.  I entered a ton of other jewelry, so check it out.

Ok, had to show you this one, isn’t it pretty.

I will be posting all the fun sewing projects in the next few days.

XOXO Jen