Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't been very consistent with my blogging lately, it's been very busy with moving and what not. Plus it has been very hard to get internet, I have to go to somewhere with free wifi and because I've been so busy when I finally get free time I was to lazy to drive somewhere to get internet signal. But I should be moved by next week (eek!)!

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving! I love this time of year, its hard to put into words how the holiday season makes me feel but I absolutely love Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanksgiving is the time of year that I get to tell everyone that I love and care about that I'm thankful that I have all these wonderful people in my life. And Christmas is the time that I get to show everyone that I love and appreciate them and its such a wonderful feeling of... merriment (best word I could think of lol).

Well with it being the season of giving I've been planning christmas gifts, but since my family likes to read my blog I cant get to specific otherwise I'll spoil the surprises. What I usually like to do for gifts is to handmake everybody something and then also buy something, so I've been very busy. I've also been planning for the apartment since I'll be moving into my first apartment next week! So here is what I've been working on lately:

I have been crochetting a lot lately and there are a few projects I have in mind for these little guys!

These smaller motifs I would like to either make patchwork pillows or patchwork seat cushions for my new apartment!

I made the multi-colored square and when it was finished it was so much bigger then the other motifs so I decided that I would make a blanket with theses squares, I have purple and green yarn that matches the mulit-colored yarn. So the blanket will have all three types of yarn. I'll make sure to post pictures of it when its finished!

What do you think? Well I hope ya'll have a good Thanksgiving, and I promise that I will be better at posting blog posts again.

Inspiration- knitting and crochetting

Lately I've been in need of inspiration, for craft projects and  life in general. The best place I've found to find inspiration would have to be pinterest and etsy. I can spend hours on pinterest and etsy if I'm not careful! I love taking the ideas I find on pinterest and making them my own. So here are a few projects and other inspirations I have found lately.

Recently a good friend of mine asked me to teach her to crochet. Well aparently I need a little practice because all I was able to teach her so far were some basic stiches. I will have to get my mother to teach us both some crochet it looks like. But I've definitely been inspired to want to knit and crochet again!

I would really like to make these slippers!

I reallllly want this book, I saw it at Micheals but I'm going to buy it from Amazon. Its perfect for this idea I saw on pinterest below.

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I also really want to make some hats! I love all these inspiring ideas I found on this etsy store

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And I really want to learn how to make animal knit hats or hats with the ear flap thingys (is that what they are called? lol)

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Well I hope you have been inspired as much as I have. "To be inspired is great, to inspire is incredible". Well I have some projects I need to get started it looks like ;). Have a good rest of your day, I'd love to hear what you have to think about these project ideas or any ideas you have as well!

LIfe In My Neck of the Woods

Things in my neck of the woods have been topsy turvy and little crazy. I'm sorry I haven't been posting as often as I would like. I had lots of fun halloween diys planned but do to the crazyness I wasn't able to post them :/. I hope you enjoyed the couple that I was able to post! Anyway, I have some good news, I'm getting my own apartment! I will be leaving the nest for the first time! I'm super excited, but to be honest I'm also a tiny bit scared. I guess I'm a little worried (like usual), so I did what I usually do when something is on my mind that I'm worried about; I got out my journal and wrote about it. I make lots of lists. It helps me plan and helps me organize all my thoughts. First I made a list of all the apartments that I want to check out tomorrow, then I made a list of the furniture that I have and other big items that I will be taking with me. There are also lists for ideas for packing up my stuff. I even have a list of things I will need after I move (but I may be getting a little ahaid of myself though with this one lol). I have so many thoughts buzzing around in my head. For example, I have LOTS of books and my books are very precious to me, so how do I pack them? Do I put them in cardboard boxes or some kind of plastic container? Or how to pack items that are delicate or could break on a budget (isn't bubble wrap expensive?).

Do you have any tips for first time movers? I found this helpful article on moving, what do you think?

Here are some pictures of my weekend:

Lily was a vampire for halloween this year,

but this time around I didnt have any big plans for halloween.

And here are some pictures I've found via

In honor of halloween I found this Nightmare Before Christmas makeup

This cool outside seating

And these yummy looking Chocolate Cookie Dough Brownies, which I am totally going to try to make!

Well I hope you had a good weekend, and a spoooOoky Halloween! I'd love to hear what you did this weekend or what you did for Halloween! :)

Mini Pumpkin Candles- with tutorial

Aren't these little guys super cute! They are also super easy to make! They are great for lighting the way for trick-or-treaters, or perfect mood lighting for a Halloween party. They could also be used for Thanksgiving next month as well (!!).

What you need:

mini pumpkins

(I got mine from Krogers grocery store, they came in a package of 7)

tea lights

knife (I used a paring knife)

sharpie

First start by tracing your candle on top of your pumpkin so that you can get an idea of where to start cutting.

Then cut the top out (just like you would with a regular pumpkin).

Next hallow out your pumpkin (again, just like you would with a regular pumpkin). Now you might have to adjust the opening a little to get your tea light to fit. I used the knife to shave the sides down until the candle could fit.

Ta-da!

Easy to make and super cute little candles. What do you think?

p.s. I know today I'm supposed to do a "Thirty Thursdays" post, but since I've done two halloween posts today I'll resume the thrifty thursdays post next week. :)

Chocolately Peanut Butter Pumpkin cookies

Chocolately Peanut Butter Pumpkin Cookies

I love peanut butter cookies, they are just soooo yummy! I saw this idea watching food network on one of their Halloween specials, but I don't remember what show it was. My mom has this great cookbook form Better Homes and Gardens. She got the cookbook for free when she signed up for their magazine subscription for Read For the Cure a couple of years ago. Here is the recipe that I used. I'm going to share with you guys my secret to yummy peanut butter cookies: Peter Pan Honey Roasted Peanut Butter! This peanut butter is so good I could eat the whole jar in one sitting!

To make these Halloween themed cookies you'll need Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins. After the cookies come out of the oven before they cool place the Reese's peanut butter pumpkins on top of the warm cookies. The heat from the cookies will melt the pumpkins enough to adhere them to the cookies.

I'm apparently not very good at decorating cookies so I just used flat circle sprinkles in halloween colors for eyes for the pumpkins. When the pumpkins are melted enough to the cookies and your finished decorating them, put them in the fridge to harden the chocolate. Also, if you dont have enough of the peanut butter pumpkins, you can melt semi sweet chocolate and drizzle on top of the other cookies and decorate with halloween sprinkles.

Well I hope you enjoy, (I've already had a few, and they were sooooo good!!) If you try making these, let me know what you think!

Happiness

Happiness

hap·pi·ness [hap-ee-nis]

noun

1. The quality or state of being happy.

2. good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.
(definition from dictionary.com)

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Lately things in my life haven't been easy, and its been getting harder to look on the bright side. I was getting discouraged and well, a little depressed. I really don't like feeling this way, I don't enjoy being down in the dumps, so I took a little break from things to stop and think about the things that make me happy. As I've mentioned in an earlier blog post, I tend to be a worrier, so I end up stressed and worried and if I don't watch out it catches me up in its whirlpool trying its hardest to suck me down. The hardest part for me is getting out of the rut, but the thing I always try to remember is that there is no one better at fixing your unhappiness then yourself. So here are the things that have made me happy, and what I'm doing to make myself happy:

I started going to community college right after I graduated high school, and for a year and a half I was going to school full-time and I was also working full-time as well. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, my schedule was so crazy busy that I almost didn't survive (mentally of course). By the time I got to my third semester with this busy schedule it had gotten to where I was only showing up for classes but I was too worn out after work and school to do my school work. Long story short, I took a break from school to concentrate on work. It was a hard decision, but unfortunately I needed the money. I had bills to pay and have been helping support my parents since my dad hasn't been able to work. Well, I have officially decided to go back to school! I'll be starting out at the community college again, but thats what is in my budget right now. I think the main thing I'd like to study and get a degree in is art, I think I'm also gunna look at a business degree as well (but the reason for that is still a surprise). What do you think? Do you have any suggestions for someone going back to school who has been gone from school for about a year?

One of the things that has made me happy these last few days has been Lily. There is just something about a dog that always shows you that she loves you no matter what that just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. She recentely discovered how much she loves to put her head out the window of the car when we are driving around, and its one of the happiest things to watch, especially when her ears are flapping in the wind and one of them flips over (unforunately I wasnt able to get a picture of that lol).

She also did this trick for a friend of mine

(it took her about a year to learn this trick lol)

Here are some other pictures that I found on Pinterest that brought a smile to my face:

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Why great danes are my favorite dog breed :)

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I'm a huge Harry Potter fan (I've read all the books like a hundred of times) and Luna is one of my favorite characters

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this is the cutest idea!

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What have you discovered lately that makes you happy? In other news, I have some great craft posts planned for this week leading up to Halloween, so stay tuned. And dont be afraid to say hi either, its nice to know that I'm not just taking to myself on this thing (lol).

What I Love Fridays

Happy Friday everyone! Well lately I've been on Pinterest and Design Sponge A LOT (lol), and I've been trying to think about couch ideas for the future apartment. So todays What I Love post is all about couch ideas. I love decorating and cant wait to get my apartment and start decorating! Here are five couch ideas that I've found that I would love to see in my home someday.

This first couch is one that I'm seriously considering making for the apartment

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This next couch just looks so comfy!

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I also have an obsession with hanging couches

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This is the dream couch for my dream house someday (but with different colors I think lol)

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What do you think? Well I hope you have a super weekend, I'd love to hear about what you have planned!

Much love!