Keeping up

I have to admit, it's been really hard keeping up with all this. 

I really want to be doing fun posts on holiday crafts and art projects...but seeing as how I'm not actually doing any...

All of my fall decor is still in the attic at the old house, so we are sadly lacking in fall holiday spirit. I have two little pumpkins on my kitchen table...so sad...
 

This is my life right now.

 Lots of little wallets.  My Very Jane deal was a huge success. Sold out in ONE day. Thanks to any of my friends who posted the link on Facebook.

Because of how busy I am making stuff...I am falling behind on getting the house put together.

The house has a lot of wall space, which we aren't used to.  So we actually have somewhere to hang all of our artwork. And we actually have quite a bit.


I have to embarrass my sister and share this piece that she did in high school. It's a technique where you take a picture and put it on a graph and then graph the canvas and you paint each square one by one. This is pretty amazing because it looks exactly like the photo.  I am happy to have it up, but it is very lonely and need some more friends on the wall with it...

 

 So here is a book that might interest my bloggy friends. I am reading this for my English class and it's all about how blogging began, the importance of blogging and how it's change the media world, etc. SUPER interesting!


So I am off to do some normal mommy things, like take my kids to the library :) Everyone enjoy your day!

Oh The "To-Do" List

I've always loved making lists.

I apparently love losing them too...

I'm notorious for making 3 mile long to-do lists and then conveniently losing them. 

Lately, I've been living by my to-do list.  

Does anyone look back longingly on the days when you could just speed through the housecleaning as soon as the kids went down for naps and then spend a couple hours vegging and watching your DVR'd episodes of The Real Housewives?

Things have definitely been picking up with my little Etsy store :) and while it's been awesome, it's been interesting making "life" work.


And I can really be a space cadet.


Like the constantly updating activities of all my friends on Facebook on the right side of the screen.  That totally distracts me and my 2 minute "check" on Facebook turns into half an hour of wandering aimlessly.


So I've actually been using my to-do list and keeping it at my side at all times.

And I am learning:
1) Make TIME LIMITS
2) Do not pull up Facebook, Pinterest, or anything remotely interesting during "work" time.
3) Don't forget to stop and relish something wonderful with the kids in the middle of sewing craziness.


Which is so essential for weeks when your washing machine decides to DIE.

 Thus, Bela's first trip to the laundromat. Fortunately, this happened to be a morning Lenny was at school. Otherwise chaos would have ensued.

This little lady is my buddy on Monday and Thursday mornings while big bro is at school.


She is a handful.


Life is crazy. But it's also sweet and wonderful.


Take the time to taste the sweet parts too :)

Very Jane Feature and Keeping the Crafty Alive

Make sure you hop over to Very Jane today because my adorable Mini Wallets are being featured TODAY!

They are only $5 so grab a bunch for yourself and to give as gifts :)

Im super excited because I really love my little wallets :)

 Snag a bunch for yourself and for gifts for friends and family, can't bear $5!

My little Etsy shop is starting to get a little busy and I have to say it's been a little challenging balancing everything, but I am getting the hang of it.

Despite being busy making little bow ties for two weeks (and moving too), I have managed to actually make a few things that I have had on the back burner for a few weeks.

I've been in DESPERATE need of jewelry organization and both of these have totally rocked! The tutorial for the earring holder is HERE. 

I cannot find the necklace holder tute to save my life, but it's just a small rectangular canvas with fabric wrapped around and some cup hook screwed in the bottom. Super easy!

 I very rarely make things for myself, and I always get nervous wearing something I made because I fear I'm not quite cool enough for some of it, but this one took less than 10 minutes to put together and I have worn it nearly everyday with all kinds of outfits. The tutorial can be found HERE.

It's not "chilly" here in Florida yet, so this is a light way to get the scarf look without sweating while you're at it.

Everyone have a happy Tuesday!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

So I promised that I would bake up something yummy this weekend and I only got around to making a couple loaves of Chocolate Zucchini Bread. My experiment for today will hopefully be whipping up some apple chips :)

A great way to monitor what's going in your children's food, is to just make it from scratch. You can use organic ingredients, modify recipes to make them vegan or gluten free, there are no limits. 

I love baking and wish I could do it more often. This recipe has very simple ingredients and it doesn't have a stick of butter in it either ;) The zucchini makes it moist and delicious!

My husband totally looked at me cross-eyed when I told him what I was making...but he absolutely devoured it! The kids are huge fans too.

I have no idea what happens to the zucchini in this crazy delicious, moist, chocolate-y bread. But it's in there :)

This is a really moist and dense bread so it works awesome with cookie cutters. Lenny loves these in his lunchbox.

And a little side note...if you bake a lot, you should have this stuff in your arsenal.

I haven't used a cupcake liner in a few years now, all I use is this stuff and everything pops out so nicely :)


Get the recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bread here

Natural Food Faves

I think I could say that my kids eat pretty healthy. But recently, I have been trying to switch to a diet that is mostly organic and free of artificial flavors, dyes, and preservatives.

I don't like to get on a soapbox about these kinds of things, but there is a lot of scientific evidence to suggest that children are very susceptible to the pesticides and artificial "junk" in food because their systems are not fully developed and they tend to eat the same things, therefore are exposed to more of the bad stuff.

Ok, so let's face it, your kids still want the yummy stuff. And sometimes all-natural, organic treats are not so yummy. Now the best way to limit exposure to harmful things is to make everything...but that's not always possible. Here are some faves we have picked up along the way. 

 Annie's Cheddar Bunnies (these last longer for us than Goldfish)

Pirates Booty Aged White Cheddar Puffs (I think I just like hearing my son ask for "pirate booties". It's hilarious.

Stonyfield Yo-Kids Squeezers

Country Choice Organics Sandwich Cookies (AWESOME!)

Cascadian Farm Fruitful O's (my kids LOVE these)

Tree of Life Grape Fruit Spread - pricey, but it tastes incredible and a little goes a LONG way. If you have a PB&J addict, it's worth it.

We also like Van's Natural Foods frozen breakfast products like their waffles. They are only $2.99 so a great deal.

I mentioned these particular items because most of them have coupons readily available. Mambo Sprouts is a great place to get organic coupons. Whole Foods also has lots of coupons too.  You can request coupons from many organic food companies as well.

Organic IS more expensive. BUT the upside is that I find that I am doing LESS impulse buying of snack foods and focusing more on spending those extra dollars on a few quality treats and organic produce.

It can be a hard adjustment, because I am SOOOO cheap, and we can't go organic with everything, but every little bit helps.

I am looking forward to posting on Monday because I am going to try my hand at some all natural baked goods this weekend :)

Making it Home-y

I LOVE this time of year.

I live in Florida, so it isn't feeling quite "fall-ish", but that doesn't mean we can't try!

Right now the house really bland. I haven't hung anything up, none of the decor is out so I headed to the kitchen to whip up some homeyness in the form of these little bits of heaven.

 These are AMAZING! Snag the recipe HERE. There is a frosting that goes with it, but I saved that for the grownups ;)

Nothing like pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg in the oven to fill the house with warm fuzziness :)

 I lit my apple cinnamon candle too, for more fall-feeling-awesomeness.

Now to pawn these cookies off on my pumpkin loving friends so I won't eat all of these!

Have a blessed Wednesday!

We're in Here...

Ok the move is over and we are in our new place. I could not have fathomed how hard it would be moving with two toddlers...but they really did a good job considering. It was still really hard!

If you are gearing up for a move, I recommend heading over to Flylady.net  and checking out her moving tips .  There are lots of awesome tips on making your move smoother. I know they helped me quite a bit.

Things are still a bit everywhere though.

 This is my craft area...need I say more...This will hopefully be remedied by end of day...maybe. That terrible plaid curtain HAS TO GO!

 Furniture is sort of in place, but we are getting some new pieces so I'm not committing to placement yet. And we have TONS of BARE walls!

 The kitchen is the only room that is pretty much in order. Happy to still have lots of cabinets! I am liking the layout of this kitchen.

The view from where I'm sitting...I can still see my little ones watching Thomas so all is well :)

I will make one note. MAKE SURE TO BRING THE COFFEE POT!!! 

Day 1 - Forgot the coffee pot at old house

Day 2 - Hubby forgot it again

Day 3 - Got the pot...no coffee filters (I don't use paper products so not even a paper towel!)

Day 4 - FINALLY having a cup of coffee in my new house. Now if only it would quite raining so I can enjoy my coffee on my little deck out back!

I'm so happy to be back and blogging and I am going to be posting MUCH more often, so please subscribe or follow me on Twitter to stay in the loop!

Happy Tuesday!

Moving

So this week there won't be any blog posts because we are moving! 

 

Not far, actually to the neighborhood we lived in before we got here. So basically a few minutes away.

A new place, means a great excuse to bust out some of the DIYs I've been eyeing on Pinterest :)

So hopefully, there will be lots of fun new things to blog about once we get all settled.

My kids are enjoying the moving process.

I can't say that they are very helpful...but gosh it's cute! Right now they are hiding in the suitcases and giggling. It's hilarious.

The Etsy shop will be open and I'll be keeping up with orders during the move (my sewing machine will be the last thing taken out and the first thing set up!)

Everyone have a wonderful week! And pray that I can finish packing my house, despite my crazy children!