Hello!  I’m back for the time being.  Our house is Under Contract, and I’m 31 weeks along!  Being at home has afforded me a lot of extra time to finish things way ahead of schedule.  And so, for the first time in my life, I actually have the majority of my Christmas presents made and bought before Thanksgiving!  I never thought I’d be one of those women!

Here’s a pretty picture of the vanilla extract I made for the ladies in my family (who hopefully don’t read this blog!):

Vanilla&Clementine 007

And just for kicks, this is a picture of my ugly little sidekick Clementine:

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Now: On to finishing some Christmas cards!


11Jul09

My husband and I are in the process of putting our home on the market–which is very exciting, especially considering the prospect of moving to a cheaper county and hopefully beginning the process of eliminating our debt!  But, with the pregnancy added on to that–including some recent complications (nothing to worry too much about, but taxing, nonetheless)–I’m going to be taking a break from both this blog and my Etsy shop.  I’m hoping to have everything backup and running soon after we’ve either settled into a new home, or have realized that we can’t sell this one and begin unpacking again!  I don’t know how long that will be, but let’s pray it’s not too long, no matter what the outcome is!

Hope to be writing and Etsying again very soon!

Naomi


Kitchen

Found a new aptly-named blog today called Absolutely Beautiful Things, which I highly recommend visiting. The above picture is from that blog, and suggests something I should have already considered for my kitchen a long time ago: a sink skirt!


CardsAren’t these business cards clever?!  I’d love to come up with something this inovative and unique.  The above picture is from The SCOOP. The rest of the post has some really lovely pictures as well. Check them out!


QuiltAnother beautiful project starting over at A Quilt is Nice!  I’m really looking forward to seeing the finished product!  Nettie is very gifted.

You can also visit her Etsy page here.


All Amercian Tarts2Recipe for these beautiful (and, I’m sure, delicious) All American Summer Tarts over at Good Things Catered. Boy, you guys are gonna have the most delicious Summer with all these amazing recipes!


BagI’d really like to make a bag like this to tote around all my Summer what-nots.  I’m not very good at sewing yet, but I firmly believe that (with my experienced mother at my side), I should be able to accomplish this –or something a lot like it.  Now, what pattern would I like to use?!


SaleJust reduced everything in my shop today! Take a trip over and check out my milk glass collection!  And don’t forget that awesome Ivy necklace!

While you’re here, why not promote your own Etsy shop in the comments section, or give a shout out to your favorite spots–preferably on Etsy, but elsewhere is great too!

I hope everyone has a wonderful night!


WatermelonThis amazing concoction is called Watermelon Crush, and the recipe is available at Hostess with the Mostess, but I’m reposting the whole thing here.  Don’t let that stop you from checking out the site, though!

8 cups seeded, cubed watermelon (about 4 pounds)
1 1/3 cups light rum
1½ cups freshly squeezed orange juice, or more to taste
½ cup orange liqueur
¼ cup powdered sugar, or more to taste
2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice

Put the watermelon cubes in a plastic freezer bag; freeze for at least 8 hours Puree the watermelon and the remaining ingredients in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth, scraping down the sides occasionally. Combine the processed mixture well. Serve in a large old pickle jar or punch bowl and scoop the mixture into Mason jars, tin cups, or other festive glasses


Skirt

Take a trip over to Pleasant View Schoolhouse to get the warm-and-fuzzies this afternoon.  I love that blog.