I tried....

Here's a photo of the felt advent calendar that I vivaciously (yes, vivaciously!) started sometime the first week of December. Yes, it was after the first week of Advent. I made great strides and did not give up. In fact, days before Christmas I was embroidering numbers on the pockets. I got to about 13, I think. I have now put it away, and hope to vivaciously pull it out BEFORE Thanksgiving next fall. We shall see, eh?

My Four Favorites-

I wanted to share my four most favorite blogs. These are the ones that I have discovered through surfing around from blog to blog, and I check on them regularly. They are as follows:

• Method's Blog: A friend sent me this link, and I love it! This woman is an incredible baker. Since I've been following, she has mostly posted cookies and pastries, with occasional savories. A sweet tooth like me! But, I love how she substitutes wholesome ingredients into her creations. The pictures are always mouth-watering. So, for some kitchen inspiration, check it out!
• The Frugal Girl: A very practical site for homemakers. Kristen is so positive and encouraging. She blogs about being cheerfully frugal- mostly with groceries, but also other creative ideas. She posts her supper menu plan weekly, reports on her grocery costs, and every Friday takes a picture of her food waste that she throws out from her fridge. It is very motivating for me.
• Eyes of Wonder: This is the blog of a lovely wife and mother who live in the country somewhere. The photos and music on this blog are amazing. It makes you feel like you've been transported back in time at least 100 years. I think it's incredible to see families actually living like this in our day and age. Breath-taking.
  
• Anna Maria: My new ultimate favorite. If I had to describe my style, I would show people this blog. It is so gorgeous! Color, color, color. In fact, I discovered this blog off of a "10 Most Beautiful Blogs" list. My sewing skills are not quite up to par yet, but Anna Maria really inspires me to keep on creating beautiful things!

Quote I need to absorb into my skin-

"A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
By : John Henry Newman

I remained calm. . .

This is Corbin's first big school project that we had to tackle together at home. It is a salt dough map of ancient Egypt. He was so funny when he brought home the instructions two weeks ago saying with big eyes: "We have two whole weeks until this is due!" But, did we start on it that first week? Of course not. Did we end up doing the whole thing the night before it's due? Of course we did. Grumble, grumble.
Overall, I did very well, considering. (Those of you that know me well, know that I have always struggled doing art projects, a.k.a. messy things, with my children. Like I live in some kind of pristine, glass box or something?! What's my problem?) I mean- where is the line with these kind of projects? My 8-year-old son can not do this kind of thing himself without disaster messes (one at home, and one to turn in at school), I'm sure. But, determining what to let him do, so that I don't do the whole darn thing for him, is tough. Ended up; he drew the map, he put the food coloring in for the brown land, he splatted the "land" dough onto the map, he cut out the labels, and put the labels in the correct spots. I didn't lose my temper and the mess wasn't too bad. And actually, I think it turned out nicely and he loved the experience. He actually seemed to have no idea that I was not thrilled with the experience, as he was.
He said- "I wish we had projects like this all the time in school!"
And I thought- "I'm sure they'll keep coming, and I will need to pray for continued wisdom and patience." and I just sighed.

Lindy's New Curtains-

I made these to replace the old-lady lacy white foofy things that have been up since we moved here. I love the fabrics I found for this- purple vertical lines and aqua eyelet, both cotton. And I have plenty leftover to make skirts for Lin! Thanks mom- for all of the help. It was her idea to add the purple material at the top of the valance- this solved another issue, but I love how it ties the two fabrics together. I will be making tie-backs for the panels, which I think will really make them extra-cute.

Check this out-

I stumbled across this website purely by accident and I love it! If I had an unlimited budget of money and time, these are the kind of things I would love to buy, decorate with, wear and create myself. So refreshing, unique and lovely!
poppytalkhandmade.com