Granny Circle Afghan Complete!!

I finished up the granny circle afghan last night! I'm not sure if I like it or not, but I'm happy it's done and I actually completed a project(something I have been very bad at lately). I guess the only thing that matters is that my 4 yr old likes it, I told him it was for him and he was thrilled. Of course he quickly had to brag to his older brothers that it was his blanket :)

It's not huge, but just the right size for a munchkin to snuggle up on the couch with :)
And speaking of munchkins, here are my youngest two. Mason just adores his big brother(the 4 yr old). He will just randomly go up to him and give him hugs and kisses( he really doesn't do this for the rest of us nearly as much). I think Mason knows he took his place as being the youngest, so he is making up for it with lots of affection.

And don't forget to hug the ones you love. And prayer for all those families in the south.

Tiff

Shhh! Hubby Doesn't Know Yet......

Yes, the pictures above have EVERYTHING to do with this post :) I gave in to my girls and we adopted these sweet bunnies from the Animal Refuge League yesterday. I picked them up this morning and they are now getting used to their new home. Aren't they sweet? The lop eared one is a boy and the other is a girl. They are bonded pair and about 3 years old. They are both neutered and vet checked. They are both very friendly and will come up and investigate you.And, they are litter box trained!! Though I'm sure there will be accidents, especially in the first few weeks. We are still deciding on names, which can be a struggle with so many opinions in one house!

And hubby, I LOVE YOU! just remember that :) You have 2 more mouths to feed ;)

Have a hoppy day,

Tiff

Hopefully a Solution, & Yummy Cookies...

It's no secret in my house, that I have a real problem with paperwork. I don't like to see it, but I don't know how to organize it either. We don't have room for a dedicated office space, and I don't like to see "things" that aren't pretty(such as school papers, bills, flyers, etc) out in the open in the kitchen. I have tried bins, baskets, buckets and what not, but they tend to just get filled up with no rhyme or reason. So, it led me to this morning, trying to figure out how to organize papers that come in the house, I'm hoping that I finally came up with a solution. I made a hanging fabric organizer for the back of the pantry door. Didn't cost me a dime, just some time. Ok, yes the fabric was bought, but it was leftover from another project, and I didn't run to the store for any of this, so in my mind, it was a "free" project :)

It was a very quick sew, and not quite perfect(a little man kept asking for my attention), but it is sturdy and I hope it lasts. I stenciled the kids names on each pocket with acrylic paint.
I will make another one two hang on the other door, with the youngest two kid's names plus pockets for "bills", "medical", and "other". And while these match the kitchen, I can shut them away inside the cupboard.

OK, I can not take the blame for these cookies and what they will do to your hips and thighs, it's all Gina's(from Cat Nap Inn Primitives) fault!! She sent me the recipe :)
YES, that is an OREO stuffed inside a chocolate chip cookie!!! And surprisingly, they weren't crunchy(or soggy) after baking, they were just about the same texture of the chocolate chip cookie part. And talk about tasty!! YUM!! We ate ours with a helping of ice cream on top. These guys are big, you could cut them in fours and still have a big cookie to eat.
Here is the recipe, just in case you want to give the a try ;)

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks softened butter

3/4 Cup packed light brown sugar

1 Cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla

3 1/2 Cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

10 oz bag chocolate chips

1 bag Oreo Cookies, I used the double stuff

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer cream butter and sugars until well combined. Add in eggs and vanilla until well combined.

2. In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips until just combined. Using a cookie scoop take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of an Oreo Cookie. Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of Oreo Cookie. Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Oreo Cookie is enclosed with dough. Place onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and bake cookies 9-13 minutes or until cookies are baked to your liking. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Serve with a tall glass of milk, enjoy!

Makes about 2 dozen VERY LARGE Cookies

Have a lovely evening,

Tiff

Silhouette Update!!!...

Ok, these are addictive and actually not very hard to make. I decided I didn't like the white background, but all the other card stock I had in the house only had 3 or 4 sheets of each color(nice taupes and ivories) and I didn't feel like heading 30 minutes to the store to get more paper. I finally found enough sheets of one color in my daughters room, it's an off white creamy color, not quite what I wanted, but much better than the white. Can you see the difference(look at the post below). I then recut all the silhouettes and added more detail to the hair and cut the bottoms differently. I like them much better now. What do you think? Better? (and my oldest is home, so I did his)

Oh, and I have no plans on doing hubby or myself, I absolutely can't stand my profile!! This is strictly a kid thing :)

Now I need to go clean up a million little paper cuttings(the only down side of this). But really, if you have put off making these, please give them a try, it only takes a little of your time and virtually no money.

Tiff

Finally, I made the kids Silhouettes!!

Last night I finally took the time and made the kids silhouettes. These picture frames have been hanging on my wall empty for months! And yes, one still is empty, my oldest son was at a friend's house last night, so I wasn't able to take his profile pic. When he gets home this afternoon I will make his.

So what do you think? Keep in mind, this was my first attempt at these, so I know they aren't perfect. I'm also not sure if I like the crisp white background for this room, maybe a cream would look better. What do you think? And what about the arrangement, does it work? I've struggled to find old wood oval frames over the last few years, and I think the two smaller ones still need to be replaced with larger ones, but this is what I have for now.

Here are some close ups.... This is my 7 yr old son, he wears glasses, can you tell that in the silhouette?
This is my oldest daughter... I like the way I cut her hair on the bottom instead of the flat way the others are.
And here is Mason.... very hard to get a profile pic of an active toddler!!
Here is the family room wall....

And if you are wondering how I did it... I took photos of the kids against a white background. Loaded them on my computer, then traced the images while they were on the screen with pencil and white paper. Cut out the white paper, then traced their profiles onto black card stock. Cut out the black card stock and glue sticked it on to white card stock. I'm sure this was NOT the easiest way to do this, but it worked for me :)

Have a glorious day,

Tiff

My Hubby is the Best!

For months now I have been saying how I want to start painting things, not furniture, but pictures. I have an itch to paint animals, cows, pigs, goats.... Hubby kept telling me "do it". I kept saying "I'm busy. When the house is done. After such and such. Canvases are so expensive. " You get the point. Well, what showed up on my doorstep this afternoon.... A surprise package of canvases and paints!!! I have no excuses now. I just need to do it :) Thank you my dear sweet hubby! I love you !!!

Tiff

Paint, Paint, Paint! No! It's for the Sale!!!

The bunny above has nothing to do with this post, I just thought he was awfully cute, and if they didn't pee, poo,or shed I would love one as a pet ;)

So I painted the walls of the garage yesterday, touched up the trim work today, and I'm painting pieces for the sale. As I'm painting the stuff for the sale I keep having to tell myself "NO! It's for the sale!" and I have no more room in the house and that is the reason for the sale!!! But man, some of the stuff is so cute :) Oh well, it will be fun setting up the garage like a store. I have decided the sale will be May 13-15th, so if you are local, look for it in the paper or email for the details. I have two other people who will be putting some of their stuff in too, so hopefully it will be packed full of treasures.

Stay tuned!

Tiff

Bench Redo & Little Rocker....

Do you remember this foot stool bench thing that I picked up at GoodWill awhile ago? It has been out in the garage ever since I bought it. I had the fabric, batting, and tacs to redo it, just never found the time. Well, with the sale looming and needing to clean the garage out this weekend, I finally did a quick makeover on it yesterday. It was a gorgeous day out, so I took it to the back porch and stripped it, cleaned it, and painted it.

And here it is done! I painted it "pearwood" by Olde Village paints, the same as my fireplace mantel, and the fabric is a brown ticking with black upholstery tacs. The top of it looked a lot better when I finished it, but the kids decided they really liked it, so after a day's worth of them sitting and climbing on it, you can see the results. Oh well, it is meant to be used.
And I kept forgetting to share this little rocker that my daughter bought for me at a local antique/junk store. You know my fondness of children's rocking chairs, so when I saw this one, I fell in love with it. I have never seen one like it before. I have seen adult versions of the carpet bag rockers, but this one is so small, just Mason's size. Anyone know anything about it? Age? Value?
And the whole thing collapses too.
And here is Mason enjoying the bench.
Have a lovely weekend, it will be full of work for us!

Tiff

Update....

Oh my, I didn't realize how far behind I was in emails/comments. I have gotten caught up on quite a few, but not nearly as many as I hoped. And some, I just had to go to your blog and comment because of the no reply thing. Ok, I need to make a new commitment to myself, reply as much as I can on a daily basis instead of letting things build up. Again, I apologize, no excuses, just my own procrastination.

In other news, did you ever have one of those days where you just felt like you could cry at the drop of a hat? I have been like that all day. Just not myself. There was no one thing that brought this day on, maybe it was building over time and a combination of things, but boy do I hate feeling like that. Hubby and I had a nice long talk this evening and the tears did start flowing, and I think that is what I actually needed. Just to let the tears out. I don't know why, but I actually feel better. Nothing has really changed, other than talking and crying, but that seemed to help. Maybe my body/mind just needs to shed some tears every now and then to clear away built up emotions. *BIG SIGH*-----AHHHH ~~~~~~~~~~ Maybe now I will have some energy. I have a lot of work to do this weekend.... cleaning out and painting the garage. The big sale will be here before I know it!

(((((hugs))))) ,

Tiff

Emailing you all...

I'm spending this evening and tomorrow evening catching up on email. Some of you know that I am a horrible emailer, so it's no surprise to you that it takes me forever to write back, but for those of you who are new, Now you know :) The only thing I can say is that I apologize for my lack of email promptness and I hope you understand. Oh, and if you have "no-reply" as your setting for leaving comments, I can't email you back, so if you have commented and don't here from me today or tomorrow, that is why.

I really do love reading the comments everyone leaves and please know that they are very much appreciated.

Have a lovely night,

Tiff

Treasure Hunting in the Backyard....

My girls went off picture taking in the woods this afternoon and came home telling me about all the neat old jars they saw. So after I finished Spring cleaning the back deck, I handed the baby to hubby, put on my wellies and trecked out to the woods with them. We had known that this was old farm land, and that there was the farm "dump" in the back of our property, but we never really dug into it before. We started out by just bringing that little plastic bucket you see in the wheelbarrow, but soon realized we needed more, so we got the wheelbarrow and a shovel.

I know it is hard to see the "treasures" in this heap of mess, but there really are some cool things.... A bright blue enamel coffee pot, lots of old medicine bottles(with cool imprinted labels), milk glass make up jars, perfume bottles, a coin, a broach pin, a intact vacuum tube from a tv, a silver spoon, belt buckle, booze bottles, canning jars, and more. We only brought home the intact items, there were so many beautiful things that we left because they were in pieces... pottery, depression glass, enamelware bowls, rusted out buckets, etc. Though we did leave about 4 or 5 bottles that were totally intact with lids and all, but they were nasty science experiments with their contents still in them and there was no way I was going to open them up!!!

My oldest daughter, texting her friends about what she was doing. Surprisingly, my youngest daughter and I called it quits before her, she wanted to keep digging.(can you tell how gorgeous it was out? Shorts weather, but still snow on the ground)
Youngest daughter searching the small brook.
Ok, this is a really scary picture of me, but I thought I would post it anyway! :) Here is my youngest daughter and myself brining it all back into yard. Oh, and for future reference, don't wear braids on the first day of outside Spring cleaning!! I have a wicked sunburn on the back of my neck!
We came home and gave everything a quick rinse and everything is currently sitting in a bleach bath in the wheelbarrow. I will bring it in piece by piece and give it a thorough scrubbing this week.

It was a fun afternoon and we really felt like archeologists discovering hidden treasures and it was even neater because they were from people who lived on our property before us.

Have a terrific night,

Tiff

Pillow, Work in Progress, and Favorite Fruit...

I've been wanting to make some new pillow covers for the family room for awhile now, so last night I finally got started. I made a quick log cabin cover in browns. Nothing fancy, just quick and simple.

I did the back in a solid print with a pillow sham closure. I think I will make a few more up this week, but in different quilt block designs.
I'm still working on the crocheted afghan. I have about 45 of the granny circles done now. However, remember I said I only had one skein of each(the multi and the blue), well, I ran out of the multi color and when I went to buy more, they were sold out. So I bought 3 skeins of another version in the same line. Not the exact same colors(the ones on the left), but I think when I mix them all together it will turn out fine. I'm going to attach them together with plain white yarn, to give it more of a pop.
My kids absolutely LOVE Clementines, we go through them like mad. I like them too, but I have discovered a new orange that I like even better, it's called a Cara Cara naval orange and they are grown here in the USA. Honestly, I don't like many oranges because their flesh it too chewy, but not with this orange. It is so tender and easy to eat, and the taste is mild but sweet. The flesh is on the pinkish side, but not to the point of being a blood orange. It's an early to mid season orange, so if you get the chance, try one! (It's the big one in the pic, and I am now out of them so I need to go get more!)
I have lots of emails and comments I need to reply to, so if you haven't heard from me, I'm getting to it :)

Have a fantastic day,

Tiff

About Me ABC's

Age: 37

Bed Size: King Sleigh bed with pillow top mattress

Chore You Hate: Putting the laundry away.

Dogs: Mini Schnauzer who drives us crazy with her barking

Essential Start of Your Day: Kissing my hubby goodbye

Favorite Color: Don't have one

Gold or Silver: Gold

Height: 5'7"

Instruments You Play: Zip

Job Title: Mommy and wife and all that comes along with those.

Kids: 7 munchkins

Live: Maine

Mom's Name: Patsy

Nicknames: TT, Tbrid, T

Overnight Hospital Stays: Baby deliveries and appendix

Pet Peeve: People who lie to impress others, chewing with your mouth open(or talking with food in your mouth), and people being late.

Quote From a Movie: "You soaked his underwear in meat. That is so wrong. Funny, but wrong."

Right- or Left-Handed: Right

Siblings: 2 sisters

Time You Wake Up: That depends, 5 something when hubby leaves for work, but I don't get out of bed until about 6:30am, unless it's the weekend then we sleep in

Underwear: Yep, I wear them!

Veggie You Dislike: Can't think of any that I don't like

What Makes You Run Late: I am very good at not being late, but when I have been, it is usually because we are waiting on a child or two to get ready.

X-Rays You Have Had: Dental, Ultra Sounds, and one for a thumb that was slammed in a car door.

Yummy Food You Make: Monkey Bread!!! Warm from the oven with a dollup of ice cream

Zoo Animal You Like Best: The elephants, but I really hate zoos, I think they are sad and cruel.

Thanks for listening! :) How about you? Copy and past this list to your blog and after you fill it out, leave a comment so I can come see!

Tiff

Little Things...

Oh how little things can make you happy !

A trip to goodwill on Saturday made me quite happy with a few little things that I picked up. I couldn't resist this vintage sprinkler, I have never come across one at GW before and I knew it had to be worth at least the $2.99 they were asking for it. Any ideas on it's age or what it is worth? This is one area of collectibles that I know nothing about. I think it will sit somewhere in my kitchen for a Spring/Summer display.

Then I found another wood bowl for my rack that I will prim up. Also a round wood tray for the top of one of my crocks.
And look at this big bag of apples and pears, they look quite real. Not sure what my plans are for them yet, but they made me happy.
And little things make little people happy too.

My 4yr old asked me for a super hero cape this morning, so I gladly whipped him up one in his favorite color, Red.
He was Very happy with his new little thing and went zooming around the house.
And one of the 7 best little things in my house, the "getting very big" little man Mason!
Enjoy your Little Things,

Tiff