Jane Austen Tea Party

Mrs. Wilt of The Sparrow's Nest was originally going to host a "Jane Austen Tea Party" where you took a picture with your favorite Jane book and a cup of tea. I think she got a bit busy though, because I haven't seen any postings about it! (Correct me if I'm wrong please!) Since I already took all the pictures, I decided to go ahead and do mine anyway!

Here is my teapot hard at work:

And my Peppermint tea from Tilly in my china cup (Thanks Tilly!):

And finally, Me in my Regency dress, sipping tea, and reading Pride and Prejudice. (Terribly staged, of course... I don't actually read with tea in one hand. Lol)


And a big thankyou to my sweet husband who lovingly puts up with my silliness and took the picture for me!

Also... I stayed up SO late tonight, and I'm HALFWAY done with my shawl! YAY! With some determined knitting this weekend while driving and while at the beach, I should hopefully be ready to wear it by next friday!

Yum!

Dinner tonight is one of my favorites... and its dinner for one, since my hubby is working late.

Chicken Tettrazini
Cook to directions one package Wide Egg Noodles
While still hot, mix in one half stick butter
While this is cooling, cut up one skinny tall jar of olives into little pieces. Drizzle olive jar oil onto noodles. Sprinkle noodles lightly with italian seasoning.
Cut up cooked chicken and mix into noodles. Sprinkle with LOTS of parmesan cheese.
Microwave your bowl- its best pipin' hot! :) I made a little cheesy garlic bread to go with it.

I normally wouldn't cook for just me, but this makes GREAT leftovers and my husband is already looking forward to eating it for lunch tomorrow :)

The OTHER jar! :)

It's all varnished and ready to go.

And well.. this picture... kind of speaks for itself... Lol.
Apparently I am attracted to polka dots. And these two colors... because when I came home from Ross today... I realized I matched the shower curtain.

The jars, continued...

I finished painting one jar today- which to my dismay turned out a little looking like a child had painted it :) Ah, well... painting is not one of my gifts. I'll have to wait until I get my September craft allowance to buy the candle for it- I spent the August allowance already :) Tee hee.


As you can see, I endeavored to paint a pumpkin in the foreground with a fall tree losing its leaves in the background. Tomorrow I hope to finish the kitchen one- painted with cherries of course!

Painted Jars

I recently saw a bunch of sweetly painted jars at a local shop. Adorable, I thought, and how cute one would look in our apartment! I took one look at the price tag though... and thought, Hmmmmm... could I do this myself? So here goes the quest for a cute painted jar.
I found these "smooth jars" at Michael's, and spray painted them with a glass primer. Here they are looking quite ugly and grey:


I got one of them painted a base color of brown today. I'm thinking this weekend I'll try to paint it with a little fall scene. I do love fall.

Emma

I've been happily following Mrs. Wilt's "Fortnight of Jane Austen". I am a bit of a fan myself (haha, understatement) and I have just about finished reading Pride and Prejudice AGAIN. :) I love the books, I love the movies (well, most of them), I love the clothes (I have made a few Regency dresses for yours truly- patterns here!) and I decided to finally post on Jane today since Mrs. Wilt had written about Emma. I read Emma while my husband and I were on our honeymoon- a perfect honeymoon story. It was romantic, sweet, cute, and playful- I loved it! The morning we flew out, I realized I had forgotten to pack a book. I am an avid "beach reader" as I don't actually like to swim in the ocean too much :) So my dear, sweet, brand new husband told me I could go pick out a book at the airport bookstore. I saw Emma, and knew it was just meant to be.

What I've been working on-

Another pair of finished baby booties for a lovely baby boy at church. They are airplane and car printed flannel, lined with white flannel.


The infamous baby blanket is finished. Infamous because I have been working on it for at least two years. I would work on it a bit, then put it away. It is finally done, and well, not very pretty. But I figure this way I won't be worried if it gets messy :)

As you can tell, it is much to big for my knitting basket. I just need to finish stitching the last panel on.



And finally, I have started knitting a wrap for myself, hopefully to wear to my Great Aunt and Uncle's fiftieth anniversary celebration on September 7. Its the loveliest shade of soft pink angora blend yarn. The only problem is I am covered in fuzz when I'm done knitting. I've discovered the solution though- knitting in my apron! :)

The color looks a bit off in the photo because of the lamplight.

Busy as a bee...

I don't have too much to say today except that I am glad to be home! I woke up very early this morning and had just enough time to dress and dash out the door. It seems like I've been awfully busy this last few days- and I've been neglecting a few things! Tilly and Rachel, I am officially writing letters tomorrow. Sorry about the delay! My momma had a minor eye surgery today, so I spent the day resting with her. Hopefully I'll post more fun things tomorrow :)

Happy 27th Anniversary, Momma and Daddy!

As I was trying to pick out a picture for this post, I realized something tragic. I don't have one of their wedding pictures on this computer... or any computer... because 27 years ago, there wasn't any digital film. Hmph. Then I began to look for just ANY good, cutesy, romantic picture of them. I don't have one. This is terrible, I begin to think! But what I have realized is that, like all other loving parents who dote on their children, one of them is always *behind* the camera! So in this happy anniversary post, I shall do my best to paint a mental picture instead.
Picture this man in a brown tux, with a totally 80's mustache, and the biggest smile possible on his face: (Yes, in this picture, he is pretending to eat the rose Momma was trying to convince him to pose with)


And this lovely lady:


In this dress:


Lol. Allright, someday I'll see if I can dig a real one up and scan it in, so you can compare it to my "mental picture" I'm trying for :)

In a nutshell, my parents are amazing. They love the Lord, love each other, and very sacrificially love their two grateful children. One of the biggest reasons I was looking forward to marriage was the example they gave of loving throughout the years. My father has worked unfathomably hard to support us all and allow my momma to stay home and raise us. No words could express what his sacrifice meant to us all. So happy anniversary, and may there be many, many more!

Natural Household Cleaners

I'm not endorsing Dr. Weil here or anything like that... but this article had a lovely list of make your own type natural cleaners.

Here's the list from the article:

• Baking soda: An all-purpose cleaner; especially effective on glass coffee pots and glassware; removes red-wine stains from carpeting. A paste (made with water) can shine stainless steel and silver; the paste can also remove tea stains from cups and saucers. Make a paste with a castile- or vegetable-based liquid soap and a drop of essential oil (tea tree or lavender) to clean sinks, countertops, toilets and tubs. Pour 1 cup down the sink to clear a clogged drain, followed by 3 cups of boiling water.
  
• Boiling water: Use weekly to flush drains and avoid clogs.
• Coarse salt: Cleans copper pans and scours cookware. Sprinkle salt on fresh spills in the oven, then wipe off. Sprinkle salt on rust stains and squeeze a lime or lemon over them, let sit for several hours and wipe off.
  
• Essential oils: Mix lavender or tea tree essential oils with water and spray on kitchen or bathroom surfaces for an environmentally and people-friendly antibacterial spray.
  
• Grapefruit-seed extract: Add a few drops to water in a spray bottle for an odorless way to kill mold and mildew.
  
• Lemon juice: Use as a bleaching agent on clothing, and to remove grease from your stove and countertops. Add 2 Tbsp lemon juice to 10 drops of (real) lemon oil and a few drops of jojoba oil to clean and polish wood furniture.
  
• Olive oil: Use to lubricate and polish wood furniture (three parts olive oil to one part vinegar; or two parts olive oil with one part lemon juice).
  
• Potatoes: Halved potatoes can remove rust from baking pans or tinware - follow with a salt scrub or dip the potato in salt before scrubbing.
  
• Tea tree oil: Can be added to vinegar/water solutions for its antibacterial properties. Use it to kill mold and mildew, and on kitchen and bathroom surfaces instead of chemical products. Add 50 drops to a bucket of water to clean countertops and tile floors.
  
• Toothpaste (white, plain): Cleans silver; can remove water stains on wood furniture - dab on, allow it to dry and wipe off
  
• White vinegar: Cleans linoleum floors and glass (from windows to shower doors) when mixed with water and a little liquid soap (castile or vegetable). Cuts grease and removes stains; removes soap scum and cleans toilets (add a bit of baking soda if you like). Pour down drains once a week for antibacterial cleaning. Add to water in a spray bottle to kill mold and mildew.

Beverly Lewis' New Book!

I am -very- excited!

I tried linking directly to the "preview" of the book, but it won't work! If you go to the main page about the book here, you can scroll down to where it says "related media files". Click on "The Parting Excerpt" and enjoy! :)

If you don't know of Beverly Lewis, she is one of my favorite authors. She writes about Amish people, and when I read her books, I always end up wanting to visit Amish country... I'm sure its not as picturesque as she makes it sound though :)

Here's the description from BeverlyLewis.com:

The People themselves dare to challenge the Old Ways of their heritage…and each patriarch must choose a side.

Nearly one hundred days have passed since the untimely death of Nellie Mae Fisher's beloved younger sister, Suzy, and Nellie dares again to dream of a future with handsome Caleb Yoder. But with rumors about Suzy still flying among the People, there are those who would keep the young courting couple apart…including Caleb's own father.

Meanwhile, a growing number of Honeybrook's Amish farmers are demanding tractors and other forbidden modern conveniences. When a revival adds to the tensions, passions flare. With the Old Order community pushed to the breaking point, Nellie and Caleb find their families—and themselves—in the midst of what threatens to become an impossible divide.

On diggin' through your purse

Which is something I do quite often. I'll stand there, rifle through my bag, search and search, and come upon every item that is not the item I'm searching for... most often, my ringing cell phone. This problem stems from:
1) I have a "Mary Poppins" purse. Rachel called her purse this, and I have to agree that mine is too. You never know what you'll need- and from cowboy printed band aids to books to water... I've usually got it all.
2) My purse is a bag. With no dividers or pockets. A foolish move on my part, true. But the canvas holds up so well!

All credit goes to Rachel, for teaching me how to crochet over the weekend.



An action shot. The ties hold it on the strap of my purse.




Problem solved! Yay for crochet!

From Mama Didn't Raise No Fool... such a great name for a blog! ;)

More Video...

More Video!

Scene: I have a handful of fish food, and I am giving them to the fishies one at a time. My husband comes up, and tosses my whole pile at once into the water. Hilarious.

Fort Worth Koi

Video!

I tried to embed the video, but alas... I am not technologically gifted.

This weekend we visited one of my best friends, Rachel, and her sweet husband, Bret. Bret is a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. It was an absolutely wonderful weekend, filled with the many blessings of fellowship. I'll share various pictures of our fun weekend- but firstly I had to put up a funny video we took at the Japanese Gardens. Needless to say, there were a LOT of Koi fish, and we had a blast feeding them. When my husband took this video, Rachel and I had decided the fish were so frenzied, they might just eat out of our hands. Then we got very girly and chickened out :)

A beautiful Post.

This post truly touched my heart. How beautiful.

Today...

I have been working on my duvet skirt. Lol. It just needs hemming! Amazing how much you can get done in a couple of days when you don't have too many distractions. I used this pattern... the long version, but I put a deep, very ruffly, ruffle on the bottom. I thought it would give it a feminine touch :)
Its a simple dinner tonight, pizza rolls inspired by the Sparrow's Nest. I use turkey pepperoni and mexican cheese, with tomato and basil sauce for dipping.
I hope everyone has had a lovely day, and I will post pictures when the duvet skirt is all done up.

A giveaway!

Crystal is giving away a $25 gift certificate to Vision Forum! How exciting... run over there and register! :)

Fall

My favorite season. I anxiously await its arrival every year. For me, its a beautiful time of preparation, thankfulness, and joyful family gatherings. The crispness of the air, leaving your windows wide open for the breeze, soft snuggly blankets... ah, I just love it. And I usually start preparing for it a bit early :) On that note- here is my first fall decorating project. Can you tell I love pillows?

Ree-diculous deals

Yesterday my mum and I ventured up to the outlet center (about an hour away). Normally, I consider the "outlets" absolutely worthless, because everything is still so expensive. Ah! But... yesterday they had their "end of season" BIG sale. Definitely worth the drive. I found this spring jacket (which I can easily wear into at least October here in Texas) for $5. It was originally 78$! Wow.


I got this twin sized duvet cover for $9. It was originally $99. Why
are you buying a twin sized duvet cover, you ask? Confession, I bought it... to cut it up. Its yards and yards of the prettiest ('buttery soft' my momma called it) baby wale thistle colored corduroy. I can just picture in my head a little girls' winter coat made of it. And a skirt for me. And probably several other projects too :)

Happy Day!

The Duggar Family welcomed its 17th blessing from God. Wow! Welcome to the world, Jennifer Danielle! :)


"Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."

Psalm 127

Confession...

I sometimes shop in the children's section. Sad, but true. They have cute clothes over there... and nine times out of ten, they are way cheaper than adults clothing. On that note, I've always wanted a pair of boots that go with long skirts. All adult boots I've found either are pointy toed (can't stand it), cowboy boots (I'm not cool enough to pull that off), high heeled (just not going to happen), and finally, way, way, way, too expensive. I think I might have found some that actually meet all my standards... in the children's section. My husband likes them... so I'm excited :)

Bitty Baby Booties

For a friend... :)

Black and white polka dot fabric, lined with white flannel, stitched with pink embroidery thread and a stitched on pink bow. Made from scraps!

My favorite "Texas" phrases

Things I love to say...

"What's time to a hog?"
translation: Don't worry, I've got plenty of time!

"That dog won't hunt."
translation: That will never work.

And the most recent- "You just keep your powder dry."
translation: Be patient and ready.

Ha ha! My momma called me with the last one. She heard it on the news... and knows my affection for southern phrases. Anyone else know any good ones? :)

Ta da!

One down... One to go.


A close up. So much measuring... But my husband absolutely loves the finished product, which is more than enough inspiration for starting the second pillow :)


The pillow cost $3.50 total. The ones in the store were $50. And they didn't have a ruffle :)

On another note, I've started reading Stepping Heavenward, by Elizabeth Prentiss. It's making me very introspective. Which is good.

Birthday Meme

My first Tag! :) Thanks, Serena!

Here's how it works:
Go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday (month and day). Then choose 3 Events, 2 Births, 1 Holiday, and tag 5 friends. There are 5 blog slots in the meme list. If you are tagged, you remove the name in the first slot and bump everyone up so that your blog name can be added to the bottom. Participation is optional!

The list:
Earnest Parenting
The PandaBeanery
MrsLaurenChristine

3 events:

1775 - American Revolutionary War: Patriot revolutionary forces under Col. Ethan Allen attack Montreal defended by British General Guy Carleton. Allen and his troops were disorganised and soundly defeated; however, U.S. Brigadier General Richard Montgomery's force entered Montreal unopposed.

1942 - World War II: Naval Battle of Guadalcanal - U.S. and Japanese ships engage in an intense, close-quarters surface naval engagement during the Battle of Guadalcanal

1990 - The World Wide Web first began. (Wow!)

2 Births:
354 - Saint Augustine of Hippo, North African theologian

1955 - Whoopi Goldberg, American actress, comedian, and singer

1 Holiday:

R.C. Saints - Mother Cabrini

Hmmm. I never knew so much about November 13! :)

If anyone would like to participate, please do! I don't know who reads regularly that hasn't already been tagged!