Fall ~ Things I'm Looking Forward To

The scent of Fall is in the air and the weather here has been cool and rainy. I've been dreaming about all the things I want to do and experience this Fall and wondering if we'll be able to squeeze them all in. I am constantly reminding myself to take life by the horns and Live! I can dream up all sorts of fun, meaningful, relationship building things, but it means nothing if I never do them. It is so easy to get busy with life and forget to Live. We have one chance at life and to live for the glory of God. We all too often enslave ourselves all in the name of security instead of living our dreams. I am telling this to you and to myself:

Get out and live your dreams and do whatever it is you love!

Here is a list of some of the things I'm dreaming about this Fall. I will follow up later and let you know if I lived out my dreams!

1. Roasting hot dogs over a fire in our yard
2. Knitting a project I've been dreaming about
3. Crocheting a reusable Swiffer cover
4. Cutting and splitting firewood with Trey
5. Going on a camping trip to a local State Park
6. Shopping for sweaters and winter clothing after shrinking out of most of my clothes from last year!
7. Experimenting with yummy, Fall-time, Trim and Healthy recipes
8. Doing a few projects using reclaimed pallet wood.
9. Wearing cozy sweaters
10. Spinning some yarn using wool from Trey's sheep
11. Wearing my Minnetonka five-layer fringe boots a lot!
12. Finishing a pair of baby socks that I started knitting early this Spring
13. Making homemade soap
14. Sewing a reverse applique shirt
15. Going for leisurely walks through the woods
16. Sending a few things snail mail
17. Being cozy on the couch and eating a yummy snack while watching Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Eyre, or Anne of Green Gables.
18. Camping out in the backyard
19. Cuddling up on the couch with a good book
20. Observing the leaves change colors and finally fall

I'm excited to see how many of these things I can make happen!

What are some of your dreams for this season?

Autumn Is Here!!!

Happy Fall everyone! 

I can't believe that another Autumn has come to call on us all! Here in Southern Illinois we are starting to see signs of the season. A few leaves here and there have just begun to change but the best is yet to come, and the last few days have been wonderfully cool! Not so much so that I can wear a sweater, but enough that the air conditioner has actually been off most of the time.

You haven't heard a lot from me lately. I've been so busy living life to the fullest (which includes a trip to the ocean that I'm excited to post about!) that I haven't had the chance to share it all with you. We had a great summer and I'm looking forward to recapping some of the highlights.

Today I'm sharing pictures of a few of our "pets" and my new Minnetonka Five-Layer Fringe Boots! I've been wanting these boots since the end of last Winter but I couldn't bring myself to pay full price for them. I scouted ebay until I found the perfect pair and voila'!  

I love the way the fringe swishes as I walk, creating a dramatic effect! As with my other Minnetonka moccasins and sandals I'm sure they will become a new favorite. I will certainly stick out like a sore thumb here in Southern Illinois, but that's okay. I have my own unique style and am not overly concerned about following the latest trends. Life's to short to wear something that doesn't make you smile!

I love my chickens, mostly because they produce the most amazing eggs I've ever eaten!

 Here are our lovable cats Bob and Blackie. They are most certainly faithful friends and are always ready to cuddle.

So, what item in your closet makes you smile when you see it???

Counting down from Twenty ~ Random Facts

20 ~ Plants in my herb garden.

19 ~ Pairs of shoes! That's way more than I thought I had, but that does include my rubber boots and slippers. (Sheepish look.) I think the next thing I will declutter is my shoe collection.

18 ~ People on my side of the family (including Trey and I, my parents, my siblings, and their children).

17 ~ The number between 16 and 18. Hee Hee!

16 ~ People on Trey's side of the family (including Trey and I, his parents, his siblings, and their children).

15 ~ days left of Summer, which means 16 days until the first day of Fall!

14 ~ Steps from my kitchen sink to my piano on the far end of the living room.

13 ~ th Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.

12 ~ 2 hours past my ideal bedtime.

11 ~ Chickens to my name! (3 hens and 8 chicks that are half grown).

10 ~ Ingredients in our supper tonight.

  9 ~ Tubes of lip balm. Wow!

  8 ~ Postage stamps in my desk drawer.

  7 ~ My second favorite number. My first favorite number is 3. 

  6 ~ Delicious Raspberries that I just popped into my mouth.

  5 ~ Favorite pastimes as they pop into my head: Singing, reading, exploring, photography, swimming. 

  4 ~ Books by Jane Austin ~ Read: Pride and Prejudice, and Emma.  Audio book: Persuasion, and Mansfield Park . 

  3 ~ Potted plants in the house.

  2 ~ Pet armadillos (that way they could reproduce! Can't you see those little babies?!!! I will have a pet armadillo someday.) 

  1 ~ Amazing, wonderful, handsome, thoughtful, sweet, loving, kind, generous, hard working, Husband that I respect and love to the moon and back! 

This was so much fun!!! I got the idea from the The Freckled Fox Blog and it was actually harder than you would think! Feel free to do the same on your personal blog, Facebook, journal, etc. If you do, leave a link to your blog in the comment section.

Have a great day!

Clair

Wall Art ~ Jewelry Organizer

I'm so excited to share our latest project with you!!! (Drum roll, please!)

I'm constantly going through our things and trying to pair down. An overabundance of things can be a drain on your time, energy, and thoughts. After reading the Clearing out Challenge  from Always Rooney a few days ago I went through my stash of jewelry and purged it of everything that I no longer wore. It felt good to get rid of all of the clutter and organize things a bit. After sorting through the more delicate jewelry in my jewelry box I moved on to what I had hanging in my bathroom. This is where I kept all of my long necklaces and my earrings. 

After sorting through them I realized I hadn't gotten rid of much because these were all my favorites! I also realized what I have now known for several months; I needed a new place to hang all of my long necklaces and preferably a new place to hang my earrings as I was forever afraid that the toilet would gobble up an earring or two. 

I began designing a jewelry organizer in my head. At first it was a short, wide board with nails the entire length, but that would only solve my necklace problem. By the time Trey came home from working I had the design well on it's way. I wasn't certain that he would agree to this project as he is so busy with other things, but I kept my fingers crossed! He agreed and we began work on it first thing the next morning!

We began by disassembling a pallet, then Trey cut the boards to the right sizes and angles. Before long it was starting to take shape!

Trey had other responsibilities that took him away and I got to stay home and begin the painting process!

The next afternoon we sanded all the pieces down and applied the stain.

It was late that evening before we had a chance to begin assembling it, so Trey started putting it all together while I cooked supper. 

It was 10:00 p.m. by the time we pounded in the last nail and I couldn't wait to hang it!

I was even more excited, though, to actually hang all my jewelry on it!!!

I had the perfect amount of room to hang everything that I wanted!

I am so pleased with how this project turned out! We had so much fun designing and working on it together!

Simple things like this just make me smile! They give me that warm, fuzzy feeling all over. I find myself drawn to our bedroom just to take another look at our work of art.

Feeling creative!

~Clair