hello november*costume round-up

 These are the costumes we made this year. A peacock and two little wolves complete with fluffy tails! They wore them for the Ghouls at School event a few evenings ago.

Last night for trick or treating they sifted through the dress up box and became superheroes and a kitty.

 

 Luca was very grumpy and cried and cried while we got him ready. If he were an only child we would have happily stayed in for the night.

 However a proven remedy for cranky kiddos is lots of fresh air and running. Costumes and treats just sweeten the deal!

Today we indulge! Tomorrow we detox...

autumn*apple picking*and filling a canning pantry

Happy day, friends. Today is the Autumnal Equinox! Yesterday we met some friends at a local orchard to pick apples. Sadly due to a devastating frost we experienced in late May the apples in our area are scarce. The orchard we visited yesterday said they lost 90% of their crop. But the weather was lovely and the company was fantastic and it was overall a whole lot of fun!

 {I remembered to charge my camera battery the evening before but I forgot to put the battery back into the camera. Boo. Thank goodness for smart phone cameras, I suppose}

We collectively picked two 22 pound bushels of apples and split them up. I brought home approximately 10 pounds of golden delicious apples from the orchard and stopped at a little fruit and veggie stand on the way home and bought 24 pounds of organic gala apples. Applesauce, pie filling and apple butter production begins tomorrow! I also bought 3.5 pounds of peppers from the kind folks at the orchard. And I harvested 1/2 pound from my own garden the morning before. I am planning a big batch of candied jalapenos for the pantry and will make fresh jalapeno poppers with the leftovers.



 

Speaking of the pantry it is slowly but sure filling up. This is the most recent photo taken last month. I have added a few more items since then. We have preserved our entire garden this year - canning, freezing and drying everything in sight! I have been roasting tomatoes and garlic one pan at a time and freezing them so I can make one huge batch of sauce. Over the next few days I will post recipes for the things I have made this year  - for my reference and yours! My family has a new favorite jam and I cannot wait to share it with you!

 

Happy harvest, loves! I hope you are enjoying this magical time of year as much as I am! xo

 

 

 



autumn bunting winner and giving thanks

harper chose lucky number SIX for the autumn bunting giveaway. that is you erin {sweet smile creations} erin is a very talented local photographer - she took the best photos of my family after luca was born, including the sweetest pics of my little guy nursing and showing off his adorable cloth diaper! 

erin, i will be in touch with you this afternoon! xo

day 2 :: giving thanks

i am incredibly thankful for my family. yes, this sounds pretty basic and generic, but really, i am so lucky to be where i am and i know it. each one of these amazing children has taught me so many lessons about life. luca is currently teaching me about patience and slowing down to savor the moment i am in. i have been feeling frustrated and overwhelmed with his seemingly non-stop nursing. i feel like he should be sleeping more at night and nursing less, both at night time and during the day. but then it hits me that he is not going to be nursing and snuggling with his mama forever. i mean, just look at my family - i blinked and esmé and harper are big kids now. this is harper's last year at home with mommy before he begins his journey through school. and riley and niko are much too quickly  preparing to try out their wings and leave our nest. it is all happening so fast. too fast.

so, i am thankful for my family. every single second, every crazy day, every tuck-the-same-child-into-bed-over-and-over night, the nursing, the snuggling, the kisses every morning. there is nothing basic or generic about any of this, dear friends!

yours in this moment,

erika

pumpkins and dress up

here we are with just a little end of october fun!

big bad wolf and little red.

last minute mama costume.

 a day of pumpkin carving with family and friends.

forgetting to turn off the flash for the big light up at dark.

ah, much better but most of the pumpkins had already gone home.

silly balloons.

colorful glow sticks inside white balloons.

we will certainly have more cute costume photos to share, including some of our wee little lion! 

 

have fun and be safe tomorrow, friends!

happy halloween!

farm visit

last week we visited our dear friend sarah and her family on their small goat farm. it was a lovely afternoon full of wonderful company, wonderful food and wonderful fun.

here are a few photos from our day at the farm ::

currently i am staying busy putting the finishing touches on handmade costumes, getting our home ready to carve pumpkins with friends and family this weekend, cooking, baking, sweater knitting, tea sipping and thoroughly enjoying this beautiful season. what is keeping you busy these days?

smack dab in the middle of autumn.

our tiny street is so pretty in october. the trees are every shade of gold and orange and there are gorgeous virginia creeper vines that turn deep scarlet red and climb all the way up the tallest trees. i have posted photos of it before here and also here. just a couple weeks ago it was still green and lush. it is lovely, yes? so i suppose i should post some new pictures...

it was a terrible time of day to take outdoor photos {we waited until esmé got off the school bus at the end of the day} so i am going to get out there again and take even more photos! it is just too good and too short lived not to.

happy sunday, friends.

a little autumn love.

acorn caps + wood beads + hot glue = the sweetest autumn acorns for our nature table

{there are a couple glass bead acorns in there too}

this one is my very favorite!

♥ autumn ♥

pumpkin patch {and a giveaway winner!}

yesterday we packed up and headed to the pumpkin patch. we were supposed to meet esme's girl scout troop there. however rather than look at a map before leaving the house i simply looked at the address and thought that i could drive right to it. after we were lost for 20 minutes we finally arrived but her girl scout friends were no longer waiting out front. sad little miss. but she got over it pretty quick and we went ahead and did all of the pumpkin patch activities by ourselves.

this was minutes after we arrived. not sure why harper is the one with a grumpy face on.

  here we are on the hay ride to the pumpkin fields.

we made it!

this pumpkin was good for sitting but too big for us to carry.

but these are the right size {uh oh, grumpy face is back!}

they played in this giant box of wheat and corn for about 30 minutes.

these little piggies were so cute! but poor luca was terrified of the obnoxiously loud donkey across the way so we didn't get to visit them for long.

esmé and harper rode the barrel train on our way out then it was time to take my sleepy crew and their pumpkins home. we had a great time even though we never did see the girl scouts. next time i will look at a map. i promise. moving on.

and now onto big giveaway winner news! harper chose lucky number 8 to receive the union suit pattern from little lamby knits - rebecca (knittingwithwords) that is you! watch for an email from me!

i will be back tomorrow with another sponsor introduction and giveaway! see you then!