girls' room!

We finally hung up the photos of the girls.  I've had these sets of pictures printed for quite some time and so I finally got around to framing them and tonight, when my man got home from work, it was go time!  Photo credits go to Trisha McKeever, Serena Peterson, Dan Bennet, and Leah Fontaine. We are very fortunate to so many friends who are photographers.  We chose to have the same photographers capture each session with the girls so Trisha did the newborn shots, Serena did the 3 month shots, we captured 6 months with the girls, Dan took Greta's 9 month shots, and Leah did both girls 1 year shots as well as family photos for us at that landmark.  Such sweet memories.

A before shot.  The blank canvases, if you will.

So pensive. 

I've read of ideas on taping a straight line so that all your photos stay under it.  We kind of followed it.

Greta's Wall with the fabulous artwork done by my sister in law!

Audrey's Wall featuring the info by my sister in law again as well as a quilted piece by our friend Marcia.

Photo bombed by G.  The crib back in the center.

The walls aren't done yet but at least something is up there.  I have a large zebra print that I need to paint (hoping to find some great, inspiring scripture) and also some embroidering to do for both gals.  Hope you like it!

front door

Well, technically this isn't my front door but it's the door you enter to get into my house.

Having a porch is one of my favorite features in this house.  It's where I do my quiet time in the morning when it's nice out.  It's where the girls and I play in the afternoon when we need fresh air but can't go out.  It's where my mail gets delivered which always makes me happy.  (Not the bills though).

In an effort to be more creative lately I tried a new Fall wreath.  I was recently explaining this to a friend and I can't get it to come out quiet right but I'll give it a go anyway.  I really want to be creative in the sense that I start with nothing but some craft supplies, and walk away with something else.  So this wreath, although I've seen tutorials on how to do some of the flowers, is my first go.  I just sat down with my felt and fabric, started cutting, glueing, and pinning, and finished with this.  A little sign that says, "hello, welcome to my house, please come in and stay awhile".  At least, that's what I hope it says.

I'm in the middle of a Bible Study on Genesis and I'm sure this has greatly influenced the creative juices.  We serve the Creator of the entire Universe.  That blows my mind.

Update:
I'm attempting my first link up.  Not even sure if I fully get what this is but I love this blog, Homemade Ginger, and want to be cool like her.  Think this will help? Check out her blog and others that have linked up too.  Kind of a fun way to keep up with other crafters!

and the winner is...

Sheree and Greta! Since I only had two gals enter the giveaway I'm awarding them both.  So, ladies, what would you like? A pie? The cowl?  Headbands for your little gals.  If you follow me on Instagram you'll see that I love making these felt headbands for little girls.

My niece Isabelle modeling one of the latest clips.

I'll email you privately to get your preferance!
I can't wait to get you your goodies and thanks for commenting!

Emily

knitting needles

I own this fantastic pair of knitting needles that I absolutely adore.  They are my go-to needles for any project that don't require a specific size.  "What projects don't require a specific size needle" you ask? Why, the ones I make up of course! And the reason I don't know their size is because I'm lazy and the needles are from Japan.

Last night I got the itch to knit again. 
It's chilly out. 
My man was gone.
The girls were in bed.
And I had a cowl in mind. 

If you're the lucky winner of my giveaway and this is what you so choose- here is a sneak peak of the scarf you'll receive!

Just a simple cowl that slides over your head.  Very easy to wear and quite warm.  Also, if you so choose, I'll add some brown buttons for detailing.  Just let me know!

Oh, and the pattern for those of you that knit:

CO 79 stitches.
For the seed stitch you simply knit 1 purl 1* repeat until you reach the end of the row. On the next row you do the opposite by knitting the purls and purling the knits.  For the green rows I either stopped knitting with the oatmeal and added the green in or I knit holding the two strands together.
Knit as many rows as you'd like for height- I probably did 30 or so?
Then BO in seed stitch.

blog! 500 views and a giveaway!

This blog really started as a way to catalog all the things that I make for my babes.  And, in an effort to be really creative lately, I haven't posted anything in a while.  Hoping to get a new fall wreath posted and Greta's birthday dress but until then I'll just remember that I have this space to write in.

So, I'm curious. Who reads this blog? I have yet to have a comment since I started this new one and yet, I'm up to 500 page views (which kind of makes me want to remove the page-view counter that I see right when I log onto blogger because really, what does it matter?)

So anyway- I had an idea.  Comment on this blog- I'll leave it open until midnight on Friday the 19th, and then I'll select one random winner.  You'll have the choice between a pie (apple or pumpkin and only if you live close and I can deliver, a new cowl I'm working on in an oatmeal brown with light green accents, or one of my favorite books The Catcher in the Rye)

I'd love if you let me know how you found Not Without My or me :)

Thanks and Happy Wednesday!

Audrey Lou on our recent apple orchard visit

The birthday girl. Getting way too big if you ask me

neighbors

Last night was National Night Out.  Did your block do anything fun?
We have been invited, in years past and this year, to the block party of the street behind us- our alley neighbors, but have never gone.  This year I've been getting more and more involved with the Cleveland Neighborhood Association and found myself as a block party leader.  Yippee!! So it was time our actual street block off the roads and had ourselves a true block party!

We had a really fun time getting ready for the festivites.  My man and I provided root beer floats to the neighbors. We had snacks from others homes and my neighbor and dear friend across the street, Mel, even blew up her bouncy house for the kids to jump in.  We had a great time!

But I realized, even with all the planning and organizing, and door to door knowing I did, none of this would even be possible without my neighbors.  I'm so glad we live where we live and I know God has us here for a reason.  They teach me more than they'll ever know about what it means to love.

Sorry, no pics, I was a tad bit busy :)

apple peeler

We were recently blessed with some free produce.  I probably had 20 apples of all different varieties and they were all about to turn.  So, I made some delicious apple crumb bars.  They were really tasty!  I also made some home made apple sauce in our mini crock pot and that too was tasty!  But what to do with all the peels and cores?  I felt bad just tossing them and since we don't compost yet I didn't know where to put them (we've also had quit the fruit fly problem as of late so the trash can was out).

Thank you google.
I always appreciate your willingness to answer my questions immediately and with multiple choices.
I could just cook the stuff in a pot of water to fill my house with a lovely scent.
I could make apple tea but since it's 90+ degress out most days I opted out of hot tea.
So I made apple jam.  Well, it's actually more like apple honey.  But's it's super tasty.  We put it on our french toast yesterday morning and I made our lunch with it and peanut butter. Just boil down the peels and cores with at least 8 cups of water.  Then strain.  Then cook the apple juice with sugar (I used about a 1 to 4 ratio of sugar to juice) until it reaches 120 degrees. Then can.  Simple and delicious.

But the whole point of this post isn't the delicious recipes I've been finding/creating lately.  It's about my apple peeler.  (I got this as a gift from my grandmother and I doubt she spent more than $15 on it) The guy that makes it all possible.
Seriously- I know there is something to be said for doing it all by hand but this tool is simply amazing.  Cuts my time in half at least.  Plus- look how cute it is?