This was supposed to be a post about my growing passion for vegetables (yes, the pumpkin pie belongs to the vegetable family as well), but it devolved into a slightly more crass topic; grocery shopping. My least favorite adult chore. The little “G” shaped character that lives on my shoulder, constantly tapping on it to remind me that we’re out of bread again. Who else feels like they live at the grocery store?
Hey friends, this is just a quick photo dump from our recent trip to the Weston Red Barn Farm in Weston, Missouri. If you haven’t gotten into the mood for fall yet, this place will do it! Mums, apples, the quaintest country shop (with apple slushies), scarecrows, hay, the works. And they have the biggest selection of pumpkins and gourds I’ve ever seen, including a blue variety. Yes, blue! There’s a chicken coup, baby cows, and ponies, there is a lot to see. This is my favorite little farm spot, without a doubt. If you live nearby and haven’t visited, it’s worth a trip! There are more details here on their WEBSITE.
A couple of other fun local places that we’ve gone for apples and/or pumpkins are the HISTORIC WESTON ORCHARD AND VINEYARD, SALT CREEK VALLEY FARM, and CIDER HILL FAMILY ORCHARD.
I just have to pop in and show off Lilah’s little nursery because it’s taken seven and a half years of parenthood, four kids, and six(ish?) moves to feel like I’ve finally put together one acceptable kids room! Her space is an eclectic mix of old pieces we’ve had for years, bargain finds, and thrifted & handmade treasures. Honestly, there’s nothing fancy or even noteworthy here. But when I found this new woven rug a couple of months ago, it really pulled it all together and made it feel finished. It was a bargain find from Tuesday Morning–I love decorating on the cheap–and it’s definitely the best part of the room because it’s so soft and says “sit down and play on me!”
Actually, there’s really not a single thing here that was expensive! The IKEA SNIGLER CRIB came second hand from the thrift store, the shelves are also from IKEA and Hobby Lobby, the dollhouse is an antique, the dresser is old, old, old and used to be in our master bedroom, the wood crates are from Walmart (bought like six years ago, I don’t even know how they’re still in one piece!), the black banner is handmade out of paper and jute, and that large wicker basket that lives in the corner has a bottom that’s about to fall out (don’t tell). In other words, it’s basically all junk! But it’s a very happy, colorful collection of junk and it makes for a very friendly little girls’ room.
Hey moms, how was your summer?
Ours was fabulous! Except if I had to be more specific, the best words to describe are probably, um….long, dry, hot, messy, chaotic, and boring. You’d think that boredom and chaos would cancel each other out, but they don’t. Haha, sigh! The plain truth is that 1) Thane started a new job and was traveling quite a bit 2) there was no fun-filled family vacation to the beach + suburban dry-rot was at an all time high 3) there just wasn’t much we could get out and do between the crazy heat and the hectic nature of having all four kids home. In other words, it was a just-get-through-the-day, every day, kind of summer.
Hello photo-taking parents! I’m excited to write about one of my all-time favorite topics; how to take better indoor photos of your children. As a stay at home mom with four young kids, we take a lot of photos inside our home because naturally that’s where we spend most of our time. Indoor photography can be challenging though. For those of you who love photographing your children but are struggling to capture pictures that you really love, this is for you!
