LIVE: Shopping, Crafting & Eating.. Oh my!

As I'm sure you've all seen buzzing around our blog and facebook for the past few weeks, we have been preparing for Rosewood's Holiday Preview Party that took place this past Friday.  Let me just start by saying that holy cow, we had a blast. 

Jen and I got to meet so many great people!  We crafted, we shopped, we tried things on and bought amazing clothes, we drank wine... For those of you that came, thank you!  It was really such a huge success for Kathryn.  For those of you that didn't or couldn't come, we hope you do next time! 

I snapped a ton of photos of all the action.  Check them out...

1 - Getting a tree start to show people what to do. 2 - Clothes! 3 - Some of our example trees displayed on Rosewood's shelves.

1 - An action shot.  2 - Jen helping the youngest little crafter we had all night.. what a little angel! 3 - Our new friend, Shannon working on her tree.

1 - Our new friend Naomi concentrating on the perfect placement of her page pieces. 2 - More new friends! Kim and Ashley. 3 - Stripes and polka dots!

1 - Jen! 2 - More action. 3 - More crafting!  Our friend Ana decided to stop by (in the center).  So happy she came!

Some of the masterpieces!  I love how different every single tree turned out!

Jen is showing Kathryn how to make rosettes for a tree out of pieces of pages from a book. 

We want to thank everyone that came out.. and we especially want to thank Kathryn and Rosewood for having us be a part of her awesome event.  We had such a great time!  If you are ever in the area, I encourage you to stop by and say hello to Kathryn.  As soon as you walk in Rosewood she makes you feel like you are old friends.

On Wednesday I'll be sharing the how-to for the project we did at the event.  Stop back and check it out!  It will be a great, easy project to do over the holiday weekend!

Weekly Photo Wrap-Up: Fall Fest and Preparing for Rosewood

1. Haley getting an elephant on her cheek 2. The obstacle course

3. Connor's first hayride 4. Leaves

This past weekend, the cold weather took a little vacation and the temps were in the 70's. I didn't want to waste what I was sure would be our last warm days in PA before winter rolls in, so a neighbor and I took our kids to a local fall festival. 

There were some indoor activities like crafting, cider tasting, and an indoor obstacle course that the kids all loved. There was also a beanbag toss where you could get candy if you made it in. Connor decided to bypass the game portion and went straight for the candy. Of course he won them over immediately and got his hands on several suckers. It's kinda hard to resist his little squishy face in front of you when he stands there begging, "Tandy?" over and over. And over. In other related news, our 8 1/2 pounds of Halloween candy is almost gone. Yeah, he hasn't been deprived of tandy at all.

5. Checking out the scarecrow 6. Silliness with friends

7. Enjoying a juice box on the hayride 8. Mastering the hay maze

Outside, we took the kids on their first hay ride. They both loved it, and I enjoyed watching how excited they were to wave at all the people as we passed by. It's wonderful observing these little moments in my kids' life and remembering how magical everything is at their age, even if it's just a hay ride to me.

9. Being a fire fighter! 10. Connor in the "big truck"

11. Trying to figure out how to work the horn 12. Future fire fighter?

We wrapped up our visit by checking out the big fire trucks and construction vehicles they had on display. Connor's just recently gotten into trucks, so he was overjoyed to be able to climb into them and press all of the buttons that we never let him touch. He figured out how to honk the horn on one of the trucks and it made his day.

All in all, it was the perfect way to celebrate the end of the warm days. Now, we're ready for snow!

Check out what we shared this week:

                           Harvest Napkin Rings                                       Maple Roasted Acorn Squash

Also if you're in the Mt. Lebanon area of Pittsburgh, be sure to come check out the Holiday Preview Party at Rosewood tonight! It's going to be a fun night of shopping, crafting and socializing. If you follow us on Facebook, you may have seen a little sneak peek of the trees we'll be making with all of the guests:

Shannon and I had a lot of fun making these together this past week, and we can't wait to show you how you can transform a few household materials into cute little Christmas trees for your holiday decor. We hope to see you there!

FOOD: Maple Roasted Acorn Squash

To some, the word "squash" might conjure up bad memories of being force-fed the stuff at dinner. Unlike many, I have some great memories of eating squash on cold winter nights - maybe because my mom always doctored it up to taste more like a dessert than a vegetable? I feel the same about sweet potato casserole. I could eat bowls of the stuff at Thanksgiving!

It's funny what a little brown sugar and maple syrup can do. It transforms a simple squash into a delicious fall side dish. I'm not promising that your kids will miraculously turn into squash lovers overnight, but this recipe might give them a boost in the right direction.

The acorn squash is actually a very pretty (and tasty!) vegetable, and you can find it at most grocery stores right now. If you've never tried making squash before, never fear! This recipe only involves a few simple knife cuts and a handful of ingredients. Who knows, maybe it'll even be a new addition to your Thanksgiving table!

ONE: pick up some acorn squash at your local grocery store or farmer's market. You should choose squash that are a decent size and heavy when picked up. Lighter ones usually indicate that they've lost water and are drier inside. Look for acorn squash with some orange coloring, which indicates maturity. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
TWO: with a sturdy knife, cut your acorn squash in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and pulp. Discard the innards.
THREE: score your squash several times (which will help it cook and absorb the seasonings better.)
FOUR: place the halves in a casserole dish filled with an inch of water on the bottom. Fill each half with 1-2 tablespoons of butter.
FIVE: fill each half 3/4 full with brown sugar.
SIX: drizzle syrup into each half and then cover with foil. Cook in a preheated oven for 45 minutes on 350. Remove the foil and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until tender. Insert a fork into the flesh to check for doneness. Serve immediately.

I like to scoop each bite of squash and dunk it into the maple and brown sugar in the middle, it's so good! I hope you enjoy this recipe, it's an old favorite of mine. And, if you're not already, I hope it's turned you into a squash lover like me :)

Check out our link party page to see where we link up each week!

CRAFT: Harvest Napkin Rings

I'm very fortunate this year that I've been excused from hosting Thanksgiving at my house.  My wonderful mother gets to do the honors,so I promised to help embellish table.  I came up with these easy, but adorable napkin rings.

What you'll need:

pages of an old book

glue gun and glue

a tiny stamp (i just cut mine out of rubber to make a triangle)

a paint stamp pad

fake maple leaves

First:  Fold your book page over and over until you have a long skinny rectangle.
Second:  Glue the last fold down to keep the rectangle in place.
Third:  Roll into a ring shape however wide you want it to be and glue down.

Fourth:  Glue your leaf to the ring.

Fifth:  Get your little geometric stamp and paint pad.. stamp a little pattern around the ring.

AND THAT IS IT!  So easy!

Check out our link party page to see where we link up each week!

This project also linked up to DIY Show Off

LIVE: Weekly Photo Wrap-Up

So last weekend we hit a rather unique estate sale.  While most would have probably found this house to be somewhat repulsive, we found it to be... fascinating.  The things these people had collected over the years told such an eccentric story.  I snapped a ton of photos to share with you.  This is one of the things I love most about estate saling... seeing people's histories.  It's really quite amazing.

Clockwise from top left: 1 - This photo doesn't do it justice, but this was an incredibly creepy crawl space in the basement.  Obviously, I watch too many horror movies because I immediately assumed there were cadavers hidden back there. 2 - The outside of the house.  3 - An old rusty bike in the basement. 4 - A plethora of paintings. 

Clockwise from top left:  1 - This house had an absurd amount of stuffed creatures everywhere! 2 - Nook of books. 3 - My loot: A vintage Medical Anatomy book from 1882, vintage spice jars, mini loaf pans, a wooden tray and some John Lennon glasses.. 4 - More art.

Clockwise from top left:  1 - A very Anthro-esque wall of empty frames. 2 - A crazy plant and a stuffed squirrel. 3 - A stuffed fox chilling on a leather ottoman. 4 - Mold. Gross.

Clockwise from top left:  1 - A rack of deer feet. 2 - My favorite little space of the house.. so romantic feeling. 3 - I love that crazy violinist painting! Why did I not buy it?? 4 - The beautiful staircase

Clockwise from top left:  1 - An accidentally perfectly styled credenza. 2 - More beautiful antique frames. 3 - An amazingly old and awesome Bible (there were about 25 different antique Bibles scattered all throughout the house). 4 - More stuffed creatures.

This was by far the coolest house of all the estate sales we hit.  I felt like I had been transported to the early 1900's.  It's houses like these that make me want to have met the people who lived there.. to have just one conversation with them. 

We hope you all have an amazing weekend!  We will be spending our time getting ready for the Rosewood Preview Holiday event next Friday! We are so excited that Kathryn asked us to be a part of her fun night!



CRAFT: Leather Leaves Necklace

You can find some hidden treasures at estate sales if you look hard enough (and Shannon is the master of estate sales, check out her 3-part guide to estate saling 101 HERE.) While rummaging through some things in the garage of at a local estate sale recently, I came upon a bag of leather scraps for dirt cheap. They were on a high shelf, sitting unassumingly among odds and ends.  I grabbed them up as soon as I saw them and my mind began to churn with all the possibilities. You can buy bags of scrap leather at Hobby Lobby for pretty cheap, but you can't beat finding a bag of leather scraps at an estate sale for $3!

For my first leather project (ever!) I made this simple fall-themed leaf necklace. It's become my new favorite, I wear it with everything!



SUPPLIES: suede cord, 2 large jump rings, 2 beads, 1 head pin, scrap leather, round nose pliers, wire cutters, and a leather punch or Crop-A-Dile.

ONE: cut out 2 leaf shapes from your leather scraps. Make sure one of the leaves is larger than the other.
TWO: use your punch or Crop-A-Dile to punch a hole in the top of both leaves.
THREE: insert a large jump ring through the holes in your leaves but do not close.
FOUR: place your beads on your headpin.
FIVE: wrap your headpin around your round nose pliers to make a loop, then wrap the end around the pin a couple more times and clip the excess. Insert the loop onto your open jump ring with your leaves and close the jump ring with your round nose pliers.
SIX: string some suede cord through your second jump ring and close it around your first jump ring. Tie a knot in your cord to close.

This necklace is so perfect for fall, and it goes with everything! Have fun playing with your bead colors to personalize it to your wardrobe.

Check out our link party page to see where we link up each week!

FOOD: Homemade Applesauce

I had never tried homemade applesauce until I moved to Pittsburgh and my mother-in-law taught me how to make it. There are just some things we tend to get used to buying from a jar, but the real deal is SO much better and really not that difficult to make. Case in point: applesauce. I will say, peeling all of the apples took some time (and if your MIL is the apple nazi like mine is - catching every little piece of peel that was accidentally left on - it may take a little longer ;) But all in all, the flavors and feeling of accomplishment that come from making your own batch of homemade applesauce is totally worth it.

INGREDIENTS: roughly 20 macintosh apples (or enough to fill a 5 qt. pot to the brim), 2 1/2 + cups water, 3/4 cups sugar, 1 tsp. lemon juice, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 5 qt. pot, masher.

ONE: clean and prepare your apples.
TWO: peel and core your apples.
THREE: slice your apples into small pieces to make them easier to cook.
FOUR: fill the 5 qt. pot with your apple slices and 1 1/2 cups water.
FIVE: cover and bring to a boil on medium heat. Once the water has boiled, uncover and add 1/2 cup water. Stir. Reduce heat to medium and cook on low for 10 minutes. Stir. Add 1/2 cup water and cook for 10 minutes. Stir.
SIX: your apples should now be ready to mash. If not, cook longer covered on medium heat. Mash your apples and add more water if the consistency is too thick. Add 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp. lemon juice and 1 tsp. cinnamon.

Let cool and enjoy!

There's nothing like homemade applesauce in the fall! Do you have any favorite fall treats?

Check out our link party page to see where we link up each week!