All I Can Think About....

So I have a million things that I need to finish. This is not an exaggeration but more of an observation. I still have boxes to unpack. I still have a vintage light that needs to be hung in Aries room.

I have a craft studio that is crying for paint (still undecided of the color and still lacking a bit of motivation to paint again).

I have dishtowels that I want to make and have been making and continue to make.

I have a good vibration quilt that is slowly making process but still needs a hand cramp more squares.

Did you know that Halloween is this weekend ...this one coming up? Well add one chicken coming out an egg costume to the things I need to finish! 

So how is it that all I can think about is Lucy's (Attic24) crochet bag and running out, getting gobs of yummy happy colored yarn, and making one of my own? ...Cause I am sick!

At least I got one thing done :) my post for White Wednesday !!!! 

Also linking with Coastal Charm Nifty Thrify Tuesday :)

Sneak Preview

I am giving you, my blog readers, a lovely sneak preview. I have finished several dishtowels and will be adding them throughout the week to my shop.

These are one of a kind, unique, hand made dishtowels. I will never make the same exact dishtowel twice, so once it's gone it's gone.

This is my live, laugh, love dishtowel - all hand embroidered and sewn. It will be is in my shop on Sunday. If you miss out on this one ... don't worry I will be adding different ones through out the week (I will post updates here). Have a GREAT weekend :)!!!!!

Motivation .. Where are you?

I've been having a hard time getting motivated to paint again. When you have been painting for what feels like 2 months straight it gets rather dull.

I would rather embroider something, sew a quilt, or make a Halloween costume (what I really need to do soon). The only problem is ... what I need to paint next is my craft studio. Until it's painted I don't want to unpack all my supplies. Until my supplies are unpacked I can't organize them or use them .... see the vicious cycle?

I have no clue what color I want to paint it! How do you pick colors?

Johnathan Trumbull turned 300

This weekend I made a cake for a cake decorating contest celebrating Johnathan Trumbull's 300th birthday. The   cakes had to be  a colonial or revolutionary theme. This is what I pondered about for a 2 weeks. Dear hubby suggested the Boston tea party ... but trying to get that on an 8" cake was going to be near impossible.

I decided to do a colonial flag, make the writing on the top of the cake look like a cross stitch sampler, and do some nice swags around the cake with stars. Of course all this decorating had to be done when the monkeys in the house were sleeping. When the finished product was on our dining room table, I was covered in flour and my kitchen was a bit disheveled.

The other contestants cakes were amazing. I had some tough competition!!! It was nice to meet other woman from town that have the same creative crafty minds as me.

Here are the cakes from the contestants:

(This cake was done by Karen Davis and took 1st place)

(This is Madison's cake, she's 12, and her cake took 2nd)

(My cake which I was lucky enough to get 3rd place)

Runners up:

I know the people voting must have had a hard decision. There were a lot of comments like "How could I eat this?!" or " I don't think I could cut into something this beautiful!". What was great was that anyone who voted had a chance to win one of the cakes to take home. I hope the man who won mine, finds it just as yummy as it was beautiful.

Stripes are FUN!

Didn't I promise some before and afters of the house? Well I suppose I can show you some of our mudroom we just finished.

This is a before

This is after

We painted the door red and the walls are Dove White by Behr. I love the stripes we painted on the ceiling - it gives it a little something.

This is a before

This is after

In our metal buckets we plan on having herbs and succulents. The herbs will be handy since the mudroom is right off the kitchen and gets enough light that we should have nice fresh herbs to cook with.

Can you imagine fresh lemon thyme, lavender, basil, cilantro, and maybe some chives in these silver pots? The mudroom will smell heavenly when you first walk in! 

Now I am going to tell you the real reason why the mudroom was the next room to be done in the house. Although fresh herbs to cook with is a nice thought, the monkeys that live in my house like to take their shoes off anywhere. One day, while coming home from grocery shopping, I opened the door and stumbled upon 5 pairs of shoes. I proclaimed that there must be a different and more efficient place to put the famous pink boots and the must have DC sneakers. So now there is a such place.. it will take some reminding (like everyday for 3 months) but eventually their coats, backpacks, and shoes will be put away the minute they get home from school.

I must say it's a stylish and fun place to put your shoes away!

Feeling like Fall

It was a wonderful weekend. The weather stopped raining here and finally started to feel like a New England fall.The kids had a wonderful weekend playing outside and enjoying their pumpkins they got from my mom.

Seasonal weather means seasonal colds and it looks like the cycle in our family is coming to an end. Fall is my favorite season. The smell of cider, cinnamon, and pumpkins fill the air. There is excitement of what to be for  Halloween and what costumes I get to make this year. This year it looks like a zombie, Tinkerbell (maybe a zombie Tinkerbell), and a chicken hatching from an egg.

I hope everyone had a wonderful fall weekend like we did! Go enjoy pumpkin pies, hay rides, and apple cider. I must go start Halloween costumes .. maybe I will do a costume tutorial on how to make a chicken coming out of an egg :)

Aprons go with pink boots

I have a tradition that I started. Every time I go to Brimfield Antique Show, which unfortunately hasn't been too often lately, I must get an apron. They make the perfect wall decoration in a kitchen, being both practical and beautiful. 

So while taking this picture, to show all of you the wonder of my aprons, Aries told me something just wasn't quite right. She went over grabbed her pink rain boots, placed them under the aprons, and said "There perfect!". She was right - they make it perfect!

Perfect Yellow

We got the kitchen painted this weekend! YAY! It feels good to get some things scratched off the gigantic list you create when you move into a new place. Rob also hung up our glass doors, put the hardware on the cabinets, and installed cabinets lights. He is not a fan of Ikea right now .... maybe I am not the only one with an Ikea love hate relationship?!

Almost every box that was marked kitchen has been unpacked. It was noted that I have a lot of dishes. It was also noted that I am the one who cooks in the house and all notation stopped after that. Although the kitchen has made HUGE leaps since we moved in I am still not ready to show you the whole thing yet. We still need to do the tile backsplash and the floors. 

 It has been very damp, rainy, and cold here for the past week. The leaves are starting to turn colors. Aries keeps singing her favorite song. Damien is getting a little stir crazy being inside so much. Odyn is very sleepy and has a little cold that won't go away. 

To keep the kids from cabin fever we decided to make cinnamon bread together. The extra bonus was the wonderful smell that filled the house. The sweet smell of cinnamon, the warmth from the stove, and the gloominess outside made us all think of winter. 

So for now I guess I will embrace the rain because it's not snow and keep unpacking. 

Aries Song