Celebrating Fall

I love to welcome in a new season and while I hate to see summer go, I do enjoy the fall colors and that crisp feeling in the air.  I like to start on the official first day of fall and add some decorative touches to my home as well as using some fall-scented bath products.

On my front porch, I hang a fall wreath, rip out the flowers in my flower boxes and replace them with colorful fall flowers (from Michael's) as well as a fall garland.

Then I change out our dishes from brightly colored, Mexican-patterned dishes to these.  Nice and warm and I love the poppies on them.

Next, I create a little display on the kitchen island and another on the kitchen counter, along with some fall-colored kitchen towels and place mats for the table.

Then I head upstairs to the bathroom where I replace my summer-scented bath fizzies with ones that smell more like fall.  I get out my fall Fortune Cookie Soap box and start using these great products.  And finally, I change out my shower scrub to one that has a warm scent.  This year I'm using an Ulta brand scrub called Amber Sparkle.

What do you like to do to welcome the fall season?

For more detail, check out the video below.

I link up at the following:
My Flagstaff Home, Inspire Me Monday, Huckleberry Love, Mix it Up Monday, Creative Monday, Inspiration Monday, AmazeMe Monday, Something to Talk About, Art of Homemaking, What’d You Do ThisWeekend?, Make it Pretty Monday, You’re Gonna Love It Tuesday, Tuesdays with aTwist, Tuesday Garden Party, Linda's Lunacy, Tuesdays at Our Home, Hope Studios, Let’s BeFriends, Tickle My Tastebuds, Wakeup Wednesday, Simple Link Party, Moonlightand Mason Jars, Creativity Unleashed, Creative Inspirations, Our Simple Homestead, Homemaking Weekend Link Party, Creative Princess, Homeand Garden Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Grace at Home, Idea Box, Creative Exchange, From the Farm, Farmgirl Friday, Simple & Sweet Friday, FriendshipFriday, Weekend Blog Hop, Friday’s Five Features, What to DoWeekend, Friday Features, Link Your Stuff, Paula’s No Rules Weekend, Weekend(No Rules) Blog Hop, Bouquet of Talent, Follow Who?, Saturday Sparks, PinkSaturday, Silver Pennies, DIY Showoff, SundayFeatures, Chain Linky Climb, Great Blog Train, Themed Blog & Shop Hop,  Share Your Creativity, Wordless Wednesday, #WhimsyWednesdays, Dream, Create, Inspire, Link, A Spirit of Simplicity,  Ivy and Elephants, Pin Worthy Wednesday, Homemade Link Party, Snickerdoodle Sunday, Monday Makeup Madness, #Whimsy Wednesday, Feature Fridays, Must Love Home, 

Wedding Gift Idea

**This post contains an affiliate link.

I was invited to the wedding of a former student of mine from the university where I work. I wanted to get her a personalized gift without braking the bank, so here's what I did.  ***Be sure to take a detailed look on my YouTube video linked below and be sure to subscribe to my channel.***

This is a recipe keeper.  I use one to keep all of our favorite recipes.  So, if I keep going back to the same recipe in a cookbook or on the web, I just copy it into this book for easy access.  I thought that would make a neat wedding gift, so my student can do something similar. The book is by Eccolo ($24 on Amazon.com) and has a bunch of neat features. (This one doesn't appear to be available anymore, but here is a link to another design by Eccolo--Eccolo World Traveler Recipe Keeper, Vintage Utensils, Cream/Blue

It has tabs for Appetizers, Soups and Salads, Entrees, Sides, and Desserts. Within the tabs are pages for writing recipes and a few recipe cards.

In the back is an accordion file that has a Velcro closure to keep recipe clippings.

I personalized the gift by writing one or two of our favorite recipes in each section.

I think this will make a really nice wedding gift.  It's a way of sharing something I love (cooking and cooking for people I love).  It's also a way of passing on a way of organizing that I like to use for recipes and I get to pass along some of my best loved recipes.



I link up at the following:
My Flagstaff Home, Inspire Me Monday, Huckleberry Love, Mix it Up Monday, Creative Monday, Inspiration Monday, AmazeMe Monday, Something to Talk About, Art of Homemaking, What’d You Do ThisWeekend?, Make it Pretty Monday, You’re Gonna Love It Tuesday, Tuesdays with aTwist, Tuesday Garden Party, Linda's Lunacy, Tuesdays at Our Home, Hope Studios, Let’s BeFriends, Tickle My Tastebuds, Wakeup Wednesday, Simple Link Party, Moonlightand Mason Jars, Creativity Unleashed, Share Your Style, Creative Inspirations, Our Simple Homestead, Homemaking Weekend Link Party, Creative Princess, Homeand Garden Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Grace at Home, Idea Box, Creative Exchange, From the Farm, Clearwater Farm, Farmgirl Friday, Simple & Sweet Friday, FriendshipFriday, Weekend Blog Hop, Fabulous Friday, Friday’s Five Features, What to DoWeekend, Friday Features, Link Your Stuff, Paula’s No Rules Weekend, Weekend(No Rules) Blog Hop, Bouquet of Talent, Follow Who?, Saturday Sparks, PinkSaturday, What’s on the List?, Funky Junk, Silver Pennies, DIY Showoff, SundayFeatures, Chain Linky Climb, Great Blog Train, Themed Blog & Shop Hop,  Share Your Creativity, Wordless Wednesday, #WhimsyWednesdays, Dream, Create, Inspire, Link,  Big Frugal Family, A Spirit of Simplicity, Faithful at Home Fridays,  Ivy and Elephants, Pin Worthy Wednesday, Homemade Link Party, Snickerdoodle Sunday, Monday Makeup Madness, #Whimsy Wednesday, Feature Fridays, 

Christmas Holiday Decor

I love decorating for Christmas, but I try to keep it simple.  In addition to having a Christmas tree, I add little accents here and there to bring in the holiday spirit.  ***For a more detailed look, check out the coordinating YouTube video below.***

I added a few accents to the kitchen. This is a cookie jar and a couple of Gooseberry Patch cookbooks (marked with holiday recipes I plan to make during the month of December).

I also put out a snowman spoon rest on the stove and Christmas towels.

There's a little cooking-themed Christmas tree on the kitchen island and a few other miscellaneous decorations on another counter in the kitchen.

In the front room of the house, I decorated our dining table with Christmas placemats and a center piece. In the window, is a reindeer votive holder and I have some candles decorated with garlands.

In that same area of the house, I have an Advent calendar that I made. (I used to make these for my friends when they got married.) I also have a cactus skeleton that is always in the room, but we put Christmas lights on it. And on the stairs, I have these cute scraggly lighted trees.

The guest bathroom downstairs has a little lighted tree and a holiday scented soap from Bath and Body Works.

Heading into the living room and kitchen dining area... I put a Christmas tablecloth on the table with a little arrangement of a metal tree, ornament salt and pepper shakers, and candles. A few arrangements of candles and such on the coffee table, and then the tree. (Sorry I couldn't get a whole shot. With the rearranging of furniture, I couldn't back up far enough.)

Even my two dogs and my cat get a Christmas necklace (collar) to wear. Here's a glimpse of Chloe's holiday bling!

So, that's it! Nothing terribly spectacular, but a few little things here and there to celebrate this special season. Here's wishing you and your family the happiest of holidays!  God bless you.

--Jennifer

Wildflower Gift Confetti

**This post contains affiliate links.

We've all received gifts with metallic shapes of confetti sprinkled inside, but recently I started making gift confetti out of pressed wildflowers.

I have two different flower presses.  One is a traditional version, where blossoms are pressed between thick sheets of porous paper.  It takes about two weeks for flowers to dry completely in this kind of press.

Then I have another that dries flowers in a microwave.  Mine is called the Microfleur Max 9" (23 cm) Refill Pack for Flower Press and is still available for sale.  You put the flowers between two thick pieces of fabric and microwave them in one-minute and then 30-second intervals, checking each time until dry.

Of course, you can always press flowers between the pages of a heavy book, but I recommend putting the blossoms between sheets of paper towel to avoid damaging the pages of the book.

These little pressed flowers add a unique and personal touch to any wrapped gift.  Check out my YouTube video linked below and be sure to subscribe to my channel for more videos.

I link up at the following:
My Flagstaff Home, Inspire Me Monday, Huckleberry Love, Mix it Up Monday, Creative Monday, Inspiration Monday, AmazeMe Monday, Something to Talk About, Art of Homemaking, What’d You Do ThisWeekend?, Make it Pretty Monday, You’re Gonna Love It Tuesday, Tuesdays with aTwist, Tuesday Garden Party, Linda's Lunacy, Tuesdays at Our Home, Hope Studios, Let’s BeFriends, Tickle My Tastebuds, Wakeup Wednesday, Simple Link Party, Moonlightand Mason Jars, Creativity Unleashed, Share Your Style, Creative Inspirations, Our Simple Homestead, Homemaking Weekend Link Party, Creative Princess, Homeand Garden Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Grace at Home, Idea Box, Creative Exchange, From the Farm, Clearwater Farm, Farmgirl Friday, Simple & Sweet Friday, FriendshipFriday, Weekend Blog Hop, Fabulous Friday, Friday’s Five Features, What to DoWeekend, Friday Features, Link Your Stuff, Paula’s No Rules Weekend, Weekend(No Rules) Blog Hop, Bouquet of Talent, Follow Who?, Saturday Sparks, PinkSaturday, What’s on the List?, Funky Junk, Silver Pennies, DIY Showoff, SundayFeatures, Chain Linky Climb, Great Blog Train, Themed Blog & Shop Hop,  Share Your Creativity, Wordless Wednesday, #WhimsyWednesdays, Dream, Create, Inspire, Link,  Big Frugal Family, A Spirit of Simplicity, Faithful at Home Fridays,  Ivy and Elephants, Pin Worthy Wednesday, Homemade Link Party, Snickerdoodle Sunday, Monday Makeup Madness, #Whimsy Wednesday, Feature Fridays, 

Shelf Decor

I have a loft in my house that hasn't been used for much in past years.  It has bookcases and a small desk area that held the printer, Wi-Fi, and office supplies.  But recently, I decided I wanted to use that as my little home office space (I have a another office at work.)  I just wanted to make the area a little more inviting by decorating one blank wall.  I bought some shelves from Target and a few little boxes on sale at Michael's.  The rest I had in my house.  I just went digging through cabinets and draws and found little odds and ends to dress it up.  Here's the final result:

***Be sure to check out the coordinating video on YouTube:

Learning How to Knit Online!

I learned to do basic knitting when I was a kid.  I could knit a long strip, that's it.  So, over the years I would knit a scarf from time to time.  Nothing fancy.  Just a strip of knitting.  Anytime I looked at a knitting pattern, I was so confused by the foreign language of instructions that I walked away discouraged.

Last year a friend offered to teach me how to make slippers, so I thought, "Why not?"  It was difficult, confusing, and I thought I would never catch on.

(The project was a little too hard for an almost beginner.)  I did finish the slippers, but wanted to become more proficient at knitting, so I went looking online for advanced beginner patterns and stumbled upon VeryPink.com.  Stacy at Very Pink Knits has patterns (many of them free), accompanied by video tutorials.  So, I picked out a pattern for an Enterlac Scarf, got my needles and yarn and sat down with Stacy.  It was not a piece of cake.  I ended up ripping parts of it out a few times, but in the end, I made myself a beautiful scarf!!!  And I learned to do it online!!!

When people see my scarf, my friends announce, "Can you believe she taught herself how to knit on YouTube?"  Well, I didn't actually teach myself, but I did learn on YouTube.  Since then I have made a few other scarves for friends, different kinds of dishcloths, and even a little blanket "throw."

I have so many hobbies that I don't have time for knitting every day, but I do find it so relaxing to just zone out from the world and focus in on the stitches.

So, do you knit?  If so, how did you learn?  If you're wanting to learn to knit, YouTube has great resources and I'd highly recommend starting with a visit to Very Pink Knits.

For more details on my journey into knitting and up close looks at some of my projects, check out my video on YouTube: