A very special announcement!

I have some very exciting news to share!!! I have been moving forward with Robutton, and I just delivered my first batch of dresses to the cutest boutique in Kensington Maryland called Re*Enchanted! The shop owner is such a nice woman and the vibe she has created is just soo magical and I think a perfect fit for my designs. 

Be sure to check the boutique out- she has the greatest collection of items- many of which would be perfect to start to you rholiday shopping! 

Happy Veteran's Day

Yesterday Brendon, Cordelia and I took a trip out to Rock Hall. My Grandfather had invited us to a memorial service at the chapter of the American Legion he participates in. The memorial honors members of the chapter who had passed away that year. This year Granddad was standing in as the representative for his branch of the military. 

I have always respected the fact that both of my grandfathers served our country. However, there was something about the memorial service that really resonated with me, and really made me think about how much of an honor it is to have them as my grandfathers. I also want to take this time to say just how grateful I am to all of the men and women who have served, and who are serving our country.

I also feel really blessed that Cordelia is getting to know Granddad. Grandparents have always been an important part of my life and while it makes me sad that she couldn't meet all of them I love that she gets to spend time with some of them. Granddad is even still up to swinging her around and sitting on the ground with her. 

I think next week she and I are going to take a trip to visit my other grandfather who was laid to rest in Arlington cemetery about six years ago. 

Granddad was mostly just impressed that his uniform still fit- this was him wearing it when he was just 21. Have a happy veteran's day everyone! 

I am not a Domestic Goddess

I have discovered that I am not a domestic goddess, and I am ok with that. I sew well, but my house is kinda messy and my baking these days has been kinda 50/50, and that's ok. 

We decided to make an apple pie as a family since we had all of these wonderful fresh picked apples. I normally don't make pie, my sister makes beautiful pies- the kind of pies that belong on the cover of Martha Stewart, and she has been making pies since she was 10. So naturally I stay away from pie. 

Our pie was a team effort, and at times the process was a little stressful. Baking with a toddler is difficult and don't let blogger photos convince you otherwise. 

I was a little upset by how messy the crust was. 

and by the burnt crust (I put foil around the crust but when I went to rotate the pie, because our oven is a little uneven, it came loose). However, it's ok because it still tasted good, and we made it together. I am not a domestic goddess, and I am ok with that. 

Happy Halloween

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love the costumes, the decorations, the candy. However, I enjoy Halloween even more having a kid to celebrate it with. Brendon and I aren't party goers so for many years we didn't have much to do on Halloween. I take great joy in planning Halloween costumes for my little family and I am taking full advantage of being able to pick what Cordelia is- I know it isn't much longer before she will want to decided for herself what she dresses up as. In fact I would be surprised if she doesn't pick next year- she has already told us she wants to be a pirate, which I can totally get behind. 

Cordelia was a bumblebee and I thought for a moment that she would refuse to wear her wings- which really surprised me because she has pink fairy wings she loves.

 My mother's church does an activity called Trunk or Treat. It's a lot of fun, it normally involves a pot luck, some fun activities, and then the church members decorate the trunks of their cars and the kids get to trick or treat in the parking lot. Cordelia went this year and had a lot of fun- and it was nice for me that she got more use out of her costume than just the one night of Halloween. 

They had a cupcake walk (participants walked around dots with numbers on them and when the music stopped a number was picked out of a hat, and the player on that number got a cupcake). Cordelia got really excited as soon as she saw the cupcakes but the game was a little confusing for her- the girl running the game noticed and called Miss C's name really fast.

This Halloween I learned that taking pictures of a toddler, hyped up on sugar, in low lighting, is incredibly difficult! 

On Halloween night Brendon and I complemented Cordelia's bee costume by dressing as a Bee Keeper and a Flower! I can't take credit for the idea- my brother suggested it after watching the price is right. Brendon's bee keeper outfit was pretty easy- just a disposable work suit, and we covered his straw hat with a drape. My flower costume turned out ok- but it was the last thing to get done and it didn't really match my vision.

Cordelia's costume was perfect. I was really proud of my idea to use lace as the black stripes and I love how well the yellow of her dress matched the yellow of her wings! Did you have a happy Halloween? Did you dress up and do anything fun?

Apple Picking

My sister Shauna is really wonderful at pretty much everything- in fact she is so awesome that as a younger sister I really have to try not to be annoyed by it. She sews, builds things, knits, crochets, cooks, reads super fast, is great at math- and she cans and preserves things. I posted before about our trip to pick strawberries, and previous to that we went for blueberries. On Tuesday we went to go pick apples and broccoli; this trip I think has been my favorite so far! 

Shauna, Cordelia and I brought my nephew Charles and my dear friend Patrick along with us for our adventure. We went to a different farm this time, which was further away than the one we normally go to, but the prices were better and I really dug the vibe. (We went to Larriland Farm and you can check them out here). I normally don't buy anything from the little stores attached to the orchards but at Larriland I picked up a bunch of stuff for dinner for the rest of the week. 

Larriland grows many of their apple varieties similar to the way grapes are grown so most of the apples are easy to reach. I think apple and broccoli picking is more enjoyable too because the weather was beautiful! We weren't sweating like crazy like we do during strawberry and blueberry seasons. I just love the fall weather- however Miss C seams to have allergy problems this time of year, she has been stuff nose and red eyed since this trip. 

Picking enough broccoli for everyone didn't take hardly any time at all because broccoli is gigantic! I had no idea it grew so big. We tried to grow broccoli in our garden but only got tiny little guys. 

  

I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of in love with fall and I can't wait to make a pie with all of my apples! 

What We've Been Up to Lately

Some weeks move soo fast you don't have time to stop and breath. Last week was one of those weeks and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't manage to find time to blog. Here is a little re-cap of the week. Monday Cordelia and I did the grocery shopping for the week and she insisted on wearing her flower girl dress (and her new pink not crocks). We didn't get quite as many funny stares as when she would go in her tinker bell costume, but some people did look at us kinda funny. I really could care less what they think- it makes me really happy when she insists on wearing something I made, and most kids don't get enough wear out of their "fancy" clothes.

 Monday and Tuesday nights I worked overnights (working 9pm to 6am if you are wondering). I love doing overnights because it's calm, and quiet, and you get to transform the whole store and make everything perfect. However, overnights do leave me a bit of a zombie and wondering why I can't nap as well as a cat (that's my sister's cat Earl, he is an exceptional napper).

 Wednesday I went with my sister to get her hair cut- she only has it cut professionally about once every 5 years. Her hair is so fresh and light now it's amazing. We  also got to do some shopping and ate dinner together which is nice because we don't get a chance to spend much one on one time. 

 

Thursday my hubby surprised me by bringing home roses, sweets, and cooking me a yummy dinner. I always nag at him to buy me flowers for holidays (i.e mother's day, valentines day) but this time I didn't even mention them, so I was very surprised.

Friday was our 5 year wedding anniversary. I cannot believe it's been five years already. Well that's not true- because really it seems funny that it's only been five years. I felt like I have spent my whole life with this crazy, amazing, wonderful man. The top left photo is our first dance, and the top right is his face when I walked down the isle. Last year we took a trip away to celebrate, which is what we had planned for this year, but we couldn't quiet get our act together. Instead we had a really great evening playing skee ball (my favorite game) and  went to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. The movie was ok, but getting time just the two of us was the best. 

 

I also spent all day posting embarrassing old photos of us on instagram. . .

Saturday I took the day off of work so we could do family things. We had a really great playdate with a new friend of Cordelia's (and his parents) at an indoor play place full of moon bounces. The kids had a lot of fun, and it was a good way to burn off some energy after several rainy house bound days. Afterwards we took a family nap and then the hubby and Cordelia took me fabric shopping. I know, it sounds mundane but I love fabric shopping, especially when I have back up for Cordelia. 

Sunday we braved the mud and visited the Maryland Renaissance Festival. I love going this weekend because five years ago we went the day after our wedding. It's just fun to remember that day someplace that really doesn't change year to year. This was our first year taking Cordelia- and it was hard. We couldn't stroller because of the mud so we spent a lot of time carrying her. I was impressed by how much she liked the shows and the people- but she was less then impressed at looking at the booths which is my favorite part! However, we did have fun, and when we got home she still had time to play with her friend. It was the end to a really great family weekend. 

P.S her jumper got more compliments then anyone else in our group- my sister gave it to me at Miss C's baby shower so this is her third year of life wearing it!