Fall-ifying

We've been doing lots of fall-ifying around our nest lately with fun seasonal decor and treats!

First up were some delicious soaked pumpkin pancakes! I was so excited when a store near us started to carry organic pumpkins so I could make homemade puree - so easy! I used this recipe but soaked the flour and water overnight with a bit more ACV than called for, and used coconut milk instead of soy. They were really good and cooked better than any other pancakes I've ever done. I topped mine off with some raw coconut butter, banana, and a bit of drizzled raw coconut nectar. YUM!


This beautiful leaf branch Lovebug and I took from a friend's backyard was our first piece of nature to bring in for the season and it inspired much of our fall decor. I love the heart shape and pretty brown color of the leaves.


Next up with our homemade pumpkin puree we made soaked pumpkin cupcakes for a family get together, which we topped with a delicious cashew and hazelnut frosting.


Inspired by the above leaf branch I made some leaves out of brown packaging paper I had saved and hung them on thread. Lovebug loved doing this alongside me and made some darling little leaves herself:). I really enjoy lighting candles this time of year and have lots of soy ones leftover from my sister's wedding everywhere along with some pillar ones I recently made.


I think pinecones are so unique and beautiful. These ones we collected during a recent family photo shoot and the large acorns were given to me by a dear friend.


I adore soups, especially this time of the year. There is nothing better than warm soup on a cool day! This sweet potato, squash, and apple soup which my Love adapted a bit by adding carrot too was delicious and such a lovely fall color.


This is sitting in our dining room and is just a little vignette of dead branches from our backyard, a few leaves, and pinecones. Simple. I like it.


I really love our fall decor this year! It very much looks like fall around our parts as we don't see a ton of reds, oranges, and your typical "fall colors" but I still appreciate the colors we do see :). I think it's beautiful.

Have you been fall-ifying too?

Another rainy day

I think today is going to be another rainy one so we'll probably be doing more of this! I have always dreamt about my kiddos and I sitting around creating art and crafting together. It's something I always did with my mom and grandma, both of whom are incredibly creative and talented, and I envisioned having that special time with my own children very very often. Well, Lovebug absolutely loves to color and we sit down many times daily to do so. She often asks me to draw bowls and babies while she creates just the most beautiful abstract pieces of art :). I love seeing her create.

We started coloring pretty early on but for whatever reason I hadn't brought out the watercolors yet. I guess I was waiting for a rainy day, and WELL, we have had quite a few of those lately so out came the paints! We spread out an old tablecloth of my mom's on the floor and just painted. It was so much fun and pretty much just how I imagined! I should have taken all of her clothes off to begin with but once I did that, it all went alot smoother. :) She LOVED it and did NOT want to stop. She is going to be thrilled, as am I, to do it again today...

Have a wonderful one!

A weekend of parties

Our weekend was pretty delightful as it was full of birthday parties and wonderful family time. We hosted one of the parties and had some outdoor activities planned. It was rainy though so we stayed inside, but everyone just chatted and played which was still really fun. The birthday and mini pennant banners I made for this party showed up again in a new way.


I love these little colored beeswax candles from here...they're so cute! Of course, a party isn't a party without the tablecloth getting dirtied up a bit with the yummiest chocolate cake ever from here :).


Some of the colorful doilies from this Antique Weekend found their way into the decor too...along with some soy tealights and glass cup vases.


For one of the birthday boys I decided to make another pencil case like this one but I started it the morning of the party, which is not terribly unusual for me unfortunately. :) My sewing machine kept acting up and I was getting really frustrated because we had to leave for the party soon. SO we now have a new rule in our house that presents (since we try to mostly give handmade ones) have to be finished at least two days before they are to be given. Otherwise, the projects are not to even be attempted. It's a good rule, and honestly it's going to be really difficult for me, but I'm going to do my best to follow it. I just get too frazzled under the time constraints when I (or the sewing machine:) mess up and it takes alot of the fun out of the whole process. The pencil case did end up really cute though and the birthday boy liked it alot, which made it all better :). So do any of you have a similar rule you've made for yourselves?


By the way, thank you for all of the sweet comments on Lovebug and her fall! She's doing great and it's healing well. And to the anonymous commenter, YES we are actually filling the darn sunken living room in! It's been on our to do list for quite some time now. That Lovebug incident moved it up to the top for sure and will hopefully be done ASAP! Thank you for offering that idea though.


Well, we need to pack up soon and head out to a friend's to celebrate yet another birthday! :) Have a great day.

Daddy's Day

Yesterday, our day for Daddy was very enjoyable! My Love went kayak fishing in the early morning while I got up and started the doughnut dough. I made the same recipe last year, but my yeast was dead so I ended up with cookies. But THIS year, the baked doughnuts turned out great and were super yummy. I got the recipe from 101 Cookbooks...she has some great ones, so look around. I health and vegan -ified it with whole wheat pastry flour, coconut oil in lieu of butter, and flax mixture instead of eggs. I loved them...well, AM loving them, as there are PLENTY leftover. They certainly are a VERY special treat though and are wonderful with coffee. Most importantly, my Love really enjoyed them! Over brunch, I shared a funny doughnut hole story that had us laughing all day, right babe? :)


When my Love got home mid-morning from fishing, Lovebug had this little tank on that I had embellished with the heart and "Daddy". He LOVED it and said that was probably his favorite little "gift" of the day. Using the stencil I created for his Valentine's shirt made the whole process much easier.


Lovebug and I also gifted Daddy with this awesome cookbook that he is extremely excited about, as it's full of vegan recipes from some of our favorite chefs. Some of the recipes look pretty difficult and time-intensive but I know our "top chef" is up for such challenges and I cannot wait to see (and eat of course) the results! The rest of the HOT day was spent seeing our grandpa and dads, which was alot of fun.


My gorgeous sweet Love, thank you so much for being the most amazing father possible to our Lovebug. We are truly blessed to have you as ours and we love you so much! Thank you for being such a committed, patient, fun, and loving father. You truly are the BEST. Happy Daddy's Day!

Get Well!

My youngest sister had surgery yesterday, but thank God everything went really well and she is recovering at home. Today is also her birthday so I whipped up a little card and some fun poppies to help brighten her day (aren't poppies beautiful?). I added in some of our Super Soup my Love made to help nourish her healing body and some chocolate chip cookies for her to enjoy. Lovebug and I just got back from delivering this little get well basket, so for any concerned family members out there, the birthday girl is in pain but is resting and doing pretty good.


OH and a BIG thank you again to Joslyn...Lovebug's party was on Party Perfect yesterday thanks to her!! I always love the parties Sara chooses to post so I am deeply honored by that. It made my week for sure! Big thanks to all of the other love as well from new visitors. Welcome and hope you come back often! :)

Have a fabulous weekend!

Our Heart Day

Hope your Valentine's was as perfect as ours! Wasn't it so much fun that it fell on a Saturday? It was a slow day at home with the three of us just hanging out and enjoying each other. We ate some delicious food (and desserts:), crafted a bit, and caught up on some of our favorite shows online. I thought I'd share some hearts and such from our weekend...


Yummy whole wheat chocolate chip pancakes made for me by my sweet Love...


Lovely patch I made from recycled shirts, then embroidered and sewed onto one of my Love's undershirts as his little gift from me. He loves it as he has always wanted a tattoo of my name, so this was something in that direction :)...


Delicious and simple homemade pizza made by my Love for dinner...


Adorable new leg warmers on Lovebug as her little gift...


Precious little conversation people customized for us by these Etsy gals that inspired my Valentine's look this year...


Fun little banners and mobiles I made from newspaper, acrylic paint, and cotton yarn...


Hope the rest of your week is full of yummy, lovely, delicious, adorable, precious, and fun things! OH and thank you so much for all of the sweet comments on Lovebug's party, especially to Joslyn for putting it on Kirtsy. I felt so honored and am super glad I finally posted it! :)

The 1st Birthday Party

Right off, I'm forewarning you that this post is long, so if you don't want to hear LOTS of food and decor details from Lovebug's birthday party, DON'T read on! You could just scroll down through the pictures...It's ok, I promise I won't be offended :)!

Alright my friends, THIS is the long-awaited (and long) 1st birthday post...yes, it's been 2 months since the event took place but whatever. I have had this thing in my draft folder for forever and darn it, I'm posting it regardless of how long it has been!

The party was so lovely and turned out so well and our little birthday girl enjoyed herself immensely! I certainly feel for those with December birthdays (and their parents) now though as it truly is harder to put something together during the holidays. Sometimes it seems the children get the shorter end of the stick because of it, don't they? I want to ensure that never happens to Lovebug though, so I tried to make it as un-touched from the holidays as possible.


First off, Lovebug LOVES animals and always has. In fact, she has this beloved wooden puzzle that her grandparents gave her of farm animals when she was a tiny baby. SO we decided to go with a farm animal "theme" of sorts. We emailed Pingg invitations with this photo...


The next thing I tend to decide after the invitation is the ensemble to go with the theme/design of course! I searched for quite some time but finally found the right Eliza Gran dress. I loved the vintage-y almost farm-ish look to it, and the colors and adorable ric rac were perfect! I had the hardest time though tracking it down and never could find it in Lovebug's size despite many calls and emails. I ended up scoring it on sale, but the catch was that it was 1 size too big. It all worked out though because it fit her pretty well except in the shoulders, so just a few temporary stitches here and there and VOILA, Lovebug's party dress! It was a little long too but I thought it looked cute that way actually and it didn't seem to bother or hinder her.


I normally make Lovebug's hair clips but I sourced the felt cow out to Two Punky Peas who makes adorable ones. She had a great holiday deal going on and I had never attempted an animal clip before, so I left it to an expert. I made the satin ribbon headband and Gracious May made her cute shoes that we already had. I highly recommend both of those gals and their Etsy shops.


I really like to incorporate presents, if there are any, into the party decor, so one of Lovebug's birthday presents was the vintage Fisher Price farm we got at Antique Weekend this last fall. She won't be playing with it for awhile though since it is plastic, which in general, we don't allow. We will make exceptions however for well-made vintage toys, but only if it's something Lovebug won't be sucking on. Anyway, it became the centerpiece of the table...


The table was accented with some mini hay bales that I bought from this truly lovely Etsy seller. She makes them herself at their farm up in New York and they're very reasonably priced. They will work for future events or seasonal decor too which is great. Isn't Etsy the BEST? Nearly all of the decor came from wonderful Etsy sellers! The vintage white cloth napkins with red, blue, and yellow trim were all bought from different vintage Etsy sellers SO reasonably priced and will get lots of future use. I don't think you can ever have too many cloth napkins! The little vintage metal plates have cute farm animals in the center and were also an inexpensive Etsy find from Happy Day Vintage and Lovebug now loves to play with them :). You truly can find amazing stuff if you do a little searching.


I tried to incorporate mini red ric rac here and there to compliment her dress so I sewed some onto the table linens and made an entry banner outside with some. I made a little garland of it with a "1" in the middle made from cardboard, some Eco Glue, and some leftover raffia I've had lying around forever that I simply cut up to look like hay. Then I accented it with some felt farm animal puppets from Mahar that I know Lovebug will love to play with when she's a tad bit older.


The ric rac accents worked really well because I incorporated it into our Christmas decor too which I ended up loving! For the party though, I made a little "happy birthday" banner with it that hung over the table. I used mini clothespins, leftover red and white cardstock we had lying around, and vintage crossword letter cards from Boston Bag Lady. She went through all of her cards to fish out the exact letters for "Happy Birthday" and "Merry Christmas" because I turned around and switched the cards out for the holidays which worked out perfect! Again, isn't Etsy the best?


The birthday crown was inspired by Ruby Ellen's beautiful ones but we used Amanda's instructions in her book. My Love actually made it all himself which I think is super special. We kept it simple using white 100% wool felt with some red ric rac lightly sewn on in a few places and a mini cow button that we got from yet another Etsy seller (SHOCKER I know). Our plan is to add another little button or adornment that fits with the "theme" of each birthday party every year. You can take the elastic easily out if desired (we tried it) so hopefully she'll enjoy the special crown her Daddy made her for many birthdays to come!


Lovebug's other little present was this beautiful set of wooden farm animals...aren't they adorable? I searched and searched for the right ones and finally decided on these because I love their colors and modern design. In case you're interested, Cheekeyes is the brand and they have some other cool animal lines that I cannot wait to get in the future. Anyway, these went on the coffee table in the family room, so again the present became part of the decor...


Let's talk some food, because a party isn't much without it, is it? We kept it super simple since it was in the middle of the day between lunch and dinner. I made some of my "treehugger bark" and some mint chocolate chip cookies in lieu of cake.


My favorites were the popcorn balls and the below mini apple bites, which were both on a stick. They were super fun and the paper sticks got composted post-party so no worries about the waste. I got the general idea for the apple bites here, but we just did vegan chocolate chips and some chopped up almonds. They are really easy once you get the hang of the melon baller in the apple.


The popcorn ball recipe we got here but used coconut oil in lieu of vegetable and added sunflower seeds and raisins. Personally, I really appreciate when food is labeled so I always try to let people know what they're eating. For this party, we used a mini chalkboard we found at Antique Weekend a few years back and just had it simply sitting on the table with the menu listed on it.


For beverages, it was spiced apple cider, coffee, or water, and the drinks had labels of course which is a must at our nest parties seen here and here :). As also is customary around our nest, it was a waste-free event with cloth napkins, and real plates and glasses. In addition to the obvious green aspect of this, it just takes the party up a notch in my opinion.


I know most everyone goes to a first birthday party waiting to see the little ones either tear into their presents or dive into their cakes. Well, we did neither of these :). I searched forever for a vegan nut and wheat free cupcake or mini cake option that I could bake. We don't want Lovebug to have wheat, nuts, or grains for another year and had a couple failed attempts with coconut flour unfortunately. Thus, we decided to just go with something easy that she loves without the stress or worries - SO chopped up banana it was! It's one of her favorites already so we knew she would love it. We added some strawberries (which she didn't love) and for fun, we added some vegan coconut cream icing. This recipe is yummy and I highly recommend it! A much healthier option to powdered sugar icings and can be used on coffee cakes, bundt cakes, cupcakes, or whatever!


In lieu of any games, we had a little slideshow of Lovebug's 1st year that was constantly playing on our TV as the entertainment. It was nearly 40 minutes long :) so people got bits here and there but it's a great keepsake for her box and I think we'll do one every birthday now to re-cap the year for her in pictures. The children mostly played outside...poor Lovebug wanted to go out there with the older kids so badly.


I love coming up with ideas for party favors as I think it's a fun little tradition to send the guests home with something. However, especially with the holidays, we decided that in lieu of any favors, we would make a donation to Heifer International, which is one of our favorite causes we like to support. Plus, it went with the whole "theme" of farm animals :). Anyway, please check out Heifer's online catalog as they are a wonderful organization with such an incredible mission! We also requested that in lieu of any presents, guests make a donation to them as well because our nest is already super blessed.


Well thank you for reading the birthday post...yes yes yes, lots of details with heavy emphasis on the decor, but you must remember I am an event designer by trade so my little personal parties are my outlet! :) It was definitely a successful party in my eyes as I think the guests enjoyed themselves and, most importantly, Lovebug had tons of fun. Here she is rolling around in the leaves after we finally let her outside...she might have enjoyed this more than anything else from the party!


So THERE, it's DONE...I feel SO much better now that I have posted this and can finally scratch it off my list! :) Thank you to anyone that actually read the whole thing. I highly recommend you check out the above Etsy sellers when you have a chance. Happy Friday!!!

Valentine's Week

How was your weekend? Hope it was beautiful! Ours was. I love the weekends so much with the three of us all being together! For the second weekend in a row, I got some sewing in and whipped up this little felt pencil case for our sweet niece's birthday. I know, I'm one of the last ones getting in on these, but it was pretty simple and easy to make. I really want one now for myself! :) OH and the pencils are from Stubby Pencil and are made from 100% FSC certified wood. They are beautiful and very easy to grip.

SO Valentine's Day is this Saturday in case you didn't know! I am a lover of it and always have been. Yes, it is a marketing holiday and I'm not a fan of the consumerism aspect of it but I think it's a fun little day. I truly truly believe you should treat your loved ones like it's Valentine's Day every single day though!


We tend to give homemade or handmade gifts (or nothing) rather than the traditional gifts, but there are lots of ways you can green your typical Valentine's gifts. If you do flowers, then you really need to opt for organic, either bought at a health food store (Whole Foods, Central Market, etc.) or online at Organic Bouquet or California Organics.

If possible, find locally grown flowers too. The commercial flower industry is scary with ridiculously unfair labor practices and an incredibly scary amount of natural resources and chemicals are used to grow those beautiful things. So really go organic or as another option, go with a plant which will help to clean your loved one's air!


As far as Valentines, make your own from craft or everyday materials lying around or buy ones made from recycled or hemp paper. Or send an e-Card!

Another traditional gift is chocolate, right? Yummy. Well you can certainly green that by buying fair trade organic! Dagoba is my personal favorite but there are alot of great choices out there now. In terms of the amount of pesticides used on crops, non-organic cocoa is 2nd only to cotton so it's really important to buy organic chocolate! When you buy fair trade you are supporting fair labor conditions and pay, as well as good environmental practices.


There are tons of adorable things on Etsy of course too...or whip up something of your own! There isn't anything better than getting a present handmade by someone you love.

I'll share later in the week what I am making for my two Loves...I certainly need to get to work on them! Have a wonderful week full of extra love and sweetness everyone!

Handmade

This last weekend I was finally able to get some crafting in. It felt like forever since I had done anything terribly creative and it was most enjoyable. My dear friend is expecting their second baby in about the next month, so the occasion I was creating for was her baby shower. She requested only handmade gifts, which is such a wonderful idea. It was neat to see all the beautiful things that her friends made for her, all different with each artist's individual unique touch.

My Love got in on it too (which is always so fun) as he cut out the bib for me and then embroidered a quick "R" onto it. Then I hand-sewed it and he added the pearl snap. It was a team effort for sure! The material is a super soft organic cotton/hemp blend and it's really yummy.


The little block is made with the same fabric as the bib, but I put the soft part out on two of the sides. It is filled with organic Texas cotton and then I added 4 big bells inside for some jingle. Hopefully the beautiful baby will enjoy playing with this when he/she gets a bit bigger! Poor Lovebug kept wanting to play with it and I had to keep telling her it was for another baby :). I think I'm going to make her some for Valentine's though.


We also included in the gift some of our fave organic baby legs, some organic cotton nursing pads, and a wooden rattle from Vermont that has always been one of Lovebug's favorites. Some other handmade items we included were a relaxing foot soak for my pregnant friend, a deodorizing room spray, some lavender sachets, and a bum spray for the babe along with our recipe for it. I packaged everything up in one of the containers our weekly spinach comes in. We save nearly all of them and keep them for random storage containers and gifts. They work great and tend to go with anything since they are clear, and they are recyclable which is a must. I love giving gifts to our loved ones, especially when we handmake and create them together. So fun! I cannot wait to meet the new baby whenever he/she decides to come! :)


Speaking of handmade, did everyone hear about CPSIA? I'm sure most of you have, but anyone who hasn't, it has been decided by the CPSC Commission that there is going to be a "stay of enforcement of certain testing and certification requirements of CPSIA" for ONE year (via Buy Handmade). This will allow more time for it be further reviewed and hopefully amended. The law hasn't changed (only Congress can do that) but CPSC is saying they are not enforcing the law for one year regarding the testing and certification. However, products STILL have to conform to the new lead and phthalate standards.

Here's a quote from a CPSC press release:
The stay of enforcement provides some temporary, limited relief to the crafters, children’s garment manufacturers and toy makers who had been subject to the testing and certification required under the CPSIA. These businesses will not need to issue certificates based on testing of their products until additional decisions are issued by the Commission. However, all businesses, including, but not limited to, handmade toy and apparel makers, crafters and home-based small businesses, must still be sure that their products conform to all safety standards and similar requirements, including the lead and phthalates provisions of the CPSIA.

Further, the CPSC can and only is "staying" their own enforcement and NOT that of the attorney generals, whom still could go after someone in violation of the law. So much work needs to be done in the next 12 months! Here is a description from a staffer of South Carolina Senator DeMint's (who is sponsoring a bill to amend CPSIA) about something we can all do with specifics. So, some good news I guess, but still so much that needs to be done!