Now if you ask Mushy (yes...I know she will hate me one day for her nickname! But she is just mushy and sweet! What can I say) or AKA Ava Faith she says she is "Free" as in three today! My little goose is a crack up! Honestly I rarely have moments of insanity with this child! Even at her worst she has me rolling on the ground clenching my stomach with gut wrenching laughter as tears are streaming down my face! She is a comedian! She is sassy...

OK...so I am gonna get a bit country on y'all and tell you that this recipe is ridonkulously delish! I kid you not! Ava Faith wouldn't touch her spaghetti o's (remember Emily Grace is lactose intolerant so I made the kids easy dinner!) and I asked her if she wanted this...she said yes and then ate 2 heaping bowls! I was so hungry I decided to just snap an Instagram photo and not do my long picture ones...but here is the recipe and its way easy! So I apologize in advance for no "how to" pics but I am sure you can figure it out!

• 1 can black olives - cut in halves
• handful of cherry tomato's - also halved
• 1 package of pre-cooked chicken slices (usually you can put in salads etc) browned in a pan
• 1/4 cup (heaping) Pesto (I use Classico brand pesto and can make this recipe 3x with one jar! Store in fridge for your next use...I have never had one go bad!)
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Combine all of the above ingredients while you are boiling a 1/2 a box of noodles. I used ziti and also veggie spiral noodles for this one! Once the noodles are done...drain and toss in the bowl till all evenly coated! Serve and enjoy! We are LUCKY if we have leftovers of this dish! That is how much of a hit it is! Would love to hear what you think! Have a blessed day!

In honor of my sweet Ava Faith turning 2 THIS Thursday...I am offering 20% off at my shop Bliss Baby Designs (not just for babies or kids lots for moms too!) through Friday 10/26! I am loving this photo taken by my very talented bestie Michelle of Chelletography! Thanks Michelle!

Well, I am entering into my 15th week tomorrow! I am so excited I think I could pee my pants (or is that just the fact I have to pee every 2 minutes?!). I have a confession...I skipped blogging yesterday on purpose! I had a plan...yet after my doctor apt I was having such a great day with my family that I decided to work on NEW Fall products to hit my shop soon (I may or may not have taken a pair of the new earrings and stashed them in my pile!). After I was done, I layed on the couch catching up on Guliana and Bill, Secret Princes oh and...hate to admit this...Big Rich Texas (can we say TRAIN WRECK!). It was wonderful! Relaxing and just what this mama needed!

I have been on edge for the last week. I now know 4 people that have lost babies. All were about 18-27 weeks along. My heart is broken for these families and friends. I am in complete shock and have been praying for them. So yesterday my appointment could not get here soon enough! Of course it was late afternoon so I decided to volunteer to help walk the Kindergarten class from the school to the "pumpkin patch" (its a community garden where the out going K class from last year planted pumpkin seeds so the K class this year could pick a pumpkin! Isn't that adorable?!).

I figured it has been awhile since I shared a review on a favorite book of ours! And since its a cold, blustery, hair in your face kind of day we will be heading to the donut shop (priorities I tell ya!) and then to the library so we can hunker in beneath blankets sprawled out on bean bag chairs and just relax! I truly love days like this! We received this book from my Mother in Law as a gift a few years back and honestly has been a hit from the moment we opened it! Its called

I am so excited that the party is now behind me! I must add that I had my little black book FILLED with ideas...but due to being so sick with this pregnancy I procrastinated and did 98% of it 2 days before the party! This party however became my favorite! We invited only our best friends and family and it was completely relaxing! We were planning an outdoor party but the Wednesday before it decided it would break out 80 day streak of NO rain and...well pour! Go figure! But we improvised and it all paid off! I am excited to share the party favors I made for the kids! I love how they turned out and I put a lot of thought into them! But each part was fairly easy! I made boy ones and girl ones!


I took the Hershey mini candies and I covered each one with scrapbook paper to match our party! I found candy necklaces at Winco that I placed in each box. The army men I found at K-mart. The lip kazoo and ring were in the Halloween section at I think Michael's...but honestly cannot remember! In the little containers I made homemade lip gloss! SUPER easy! I found the containers at the dollar store of all places and was shocked! Normally I search high and low for them! To make the lip gloss mix equal parts Vaseline and koolaid in any flavor! That's it! I used the back of a plastic knife to stir and put in the containers! The mustaches are actually magnets I made out of felt! I found magnets that I could cut in half at Michael's and placed two on each side of the 'stache! I hand drew each mustache out on the brown felt before cutting them out!


The only difference in the girl boxes is I made each girl a bow on a no slip clip! These will be going into my shop later this Fall!

The Gable boxes I found from Somerset Market on Etsy! I LOVE them! I think I will be using them for Emily Grace's this Winter as well! And as I have raved about the lovely and adorable Candice of Hank and Petunia on Etsy designed my favor box labels! Aren't they adorable!? She added a lot of main touches to my party that I am dying to show you SOON!! Very soon!

I tied each box off with co-ordinating raffia I found at World Market and made an exact amount for each shortie to take home!

Well...I haven't shown much in the way of Halloween because I have been completely focused on birthday party plans! But now that it is behind me I can show you what I have up! My decorations are very low key...and after I looked at the pictures I realized I didn't even photograph everything (my dining room table, coffee table etc!) so just know that I decorated every nook and cranny I could find!

I made signs last year and loved how they turned out! I found cute scrap booking paper in a modern yet Halloween-ish style and cuts squares and then then tore the edges to make it look all distressed. I then used modge-podge and coated my wood board (found on clearance at Craft Warehouse!) with a nice amount stuck my papers in place and then modgepodged over the top again! Once it was dry I then took stickers I found in the Halloween scrap booking section at Michael's and spelled out Halloween. There are also a few jewels placed and a couple bats! I went over the top of the stickers with a thick coat of modge-podge. Let it dry and voila!


My fireplace mantle has a mixture of Target $1 section (candy corn plate, ghost lanterns) and a few favorites I have found at various stores. I bought the pumpkins (metal) at Pier One...they are meant to hold pictures but I just love the wire feel! I had the kids make picture frames. We bought the cheap $1 frames from Michael's and I painted them black. Once dry the kids took googly eyes and sparkly glue and glued eyeballs in various ways all over their frames! They love it when we pull them out!

Don't laugh at our "sweet" audio system! Yes...those are speakers on top of my entertainment center I bought in college...one of those things you NEVER in a million years thought you would still own...but kids and staying home you prioritize in other ways! The speakers...don't even get me started! 1970 giants let me tell you! And I am probably the only one with a "regular" t.v. you know NOT a flat screen! One day...I have been tempted many times to sit on top of this thing to break it and say "oops...the cat did it!" But I am too chicken! I might get a splinter! I bought the lanterns, the beware sign and the bucket at Target. I stuck my plant in the bucket and it looks like hair on Frankenstein! I tossed real pumpkins around for added ambiance! The jar is:

And the last picture is my kitchen (again not all of it I took pictures of!) The tops of the cupboards are decorated with pumpkins galore! The window sill above my sink is accented with white and orange pumpkins and an orange flowering plant! Over by my Keurig I stuck a mini pumpkin in with the K-cups, pulled out my glass pumpkin candy jar (Target ALWAYS has these every year and they are fun to give to friends with treats inside! I keep it out for Thanksgiving too!) and I hung a sign I found at Michael's!

That's it easy peasy decorations on a budget! Hope you found a few ideas you can snag! Have a blessed day!

Last night I decided I wanted breakfast for dinner! But, I wanted my childhood favorite which has ALSO become my children's favorite...French Crepes. Growing up we called them "egg pancakes"! My recipe has evolved over the years and I have perfected it to the t! Here is what you will need:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk (I use Lactose free milk since my oldest is lactose intolerant but can be any including almond milk!)
• 3 Tbsp margarine melted
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp sugar

Mix all the ingredients together with a whisk. Depending on HOW cold your milk is the flower can be a wee bit lumpy...do your best but not to worry it will not make lumpy crepes!

Flip your crepe!


Spread jelly down the center...I used my homemade strawberry jelly recipe (find it HERE)


Roll your crepes and dust with powdered sugar...my mom has always used lemon slices to drip on the crepes! These are delish!! You can also leave your crepes flat and just use butter and syrup! Have a blessed day!

I asked my dad for an old rake from our farm eons before Pinterest! I SWEAR! lol! But...being the procrastinator I am it sat in my garage with a 1/2 broken handle for a few good years! Collecting dust, gathering cobwebs...until. I decided I wanted it done and I wanted it done now! One thing I have noticed with the Pinterest picture that floats around of this bad boy is there is no "how to". Its just a "look what I did" picture and you sit stumped staring at your rake and looking back at your picture thinking how in the world is mine EVER going to look like that?!

Was this project easy? Ummm...no! Not gonna lie to you it did in fact take some elbow grease and a husband to jump in and save my aching hands! Was it worth it? You tell me! I know I'm in love with it! My bathroom walls are turquoise and the entire bathroom is very rustic I adore it!


The first thing you need to do is find an old rake! If you are not from a farm like myself then you can go to an old restoration shop that sells old doors and windows and you'll usually luck out and find one there! Now I was lazy (I'm pregnant...what can I say!) and didn't take the before/during pictures BUT picture this rake with a knobby broken wooden handle that has a metal band wrapped to keep the wood and the rake together. This is going to be your problem area (see one of the reasons I didn't photograph there was no way its a two hand job!) You are going to take wire cutter...yep good ol' jewelry style pinch it apart wire cutters and start nipping away at the metal in a straight line. I then used pliers and pulled the band back so I could keep getting further down. Now if you have a metal cutter at home...use that and then this project is SUPER simple! You are going to pry and get that puppy (metal band) off! I got half way through and let my husband take over! After all my delicate hands hurt (bwaaahahaha!) He said the wood was fairly simple to knock out with the hammer once the band was completely cut!


Next, I filled one side of my sink with HOT water and a lot of bleach! Someone on Instagram asked me why I was doing that...good question (I was going to post the picture but forgot to send it to myself and now it won't let me! BUT I am britchesnboots on Instagram if you would like to check it out!) I like my stuff clean! I KNOW this rake was used on gross stuff...I mean get real. Its a farm! SO, hot water and bleach does the trick plus its not only killing the germs but its helping to lift and remove some of the rust! I let it soak for a good hour before I removed it and dried with a few paper towels. I then set outside for a few days to dry completely.

Welp...its October! Which means I have 2 birthdays to plan out! But this year since I am sick...tired...and just plain preggo I decided to get clever and combine the two munchkins while I get the chance! Noah will be 4 THIS Saturday (he requested a day of the zoo BUT we MUST go on the train and then he would like to go bowling afterwards! When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday he simply replied...candles. So he can blow them out! Done deal dude!) and sweet little Mushy will be 2 on October 25th! I figured it would be one of the few times I can get away with a double party with little to no griping! SO...mama bear sprung into action and the theme is....drum roll please....

Aesop said "No act of kindness, however small is wasted" I love this quote! Its so true! Doesn't it bring a smile to your face when you are driving along and its NOT your turn at the stop sign but they let you go anyways? Or you are at a store and someone holds the door open for you and smiles nicely at you? The little things can mean the most to people! It doesn't take money or possessions to make the world a happy place...it could be as simple as your words!

Have you ever had one of those days where you wake up FRESH, rejuvenated and ready to take on the world? ONLY, to be knocked back into reality by the world that you actually habitat in? I woke up WILLING myself not to get sick. Munching away on the bland animal crackers and got myself ready. My kids slept in so I got them going fast and thought WOW...I did well today! We did it! Mama earns a gold star for the day! Tuesday is one of my crazy busy days! Between driving my oldest to school and my middle shorty to his school 1/2 away and then work in the evening...with kids...I am zonked! lol! We got in the car. Everyone was dressed, prettified (or studlified for Noah!) and we were off! Got to the school and Noah decided to "fix" his already styled hair! THEN I pull the smallest shorty out of her seat and think I smell an odor. I asked her if she's got a stinky and she says no...never trust a 2 year old!


We got in did the whole pass the kindergartner off to her teacher and we scooted back out to the car! Phew! Mission 1...completed! We get home I notice WHOA mama...Mushy was definitely NOT telling the truth! We get in I change the grossest diaper ever...which also meant changing her entire outfit...if you know what I mean! AND THEN...middle shorty comes in to tell me Bear Bear did something gross on the floor. My head dropped...


Sure enough...our cat must have ate to fast then ran to see something out the window. Nice...thanks Bear Bear. I'll get you back! I take Noah to school and it felt like the day was getting better! Mushy and I scored HOT fresh pretzels at Wetzel's Pretzels! All was grand in the world! We get home wait for biggin' to get off the bus and I decide to wash dishes since we had 15 minutes to spare. THEN...BAM the sink dropped from below. I quickly turned off the water and thought...no, I must be dreaming this! I opened the cupboard and saw this...


$125 later our sink is now fixed! Moral of the story...if your significant other does NOT know how to fix something DO NOT allow him to do it by watching Utube videos! Oy to the Vei! CHECK PLEASE! I'm spent! So if you see me walking down the street today and I seem a bit "off" y'all know why! OH and I DID have an AWESOME blog piece written in the car today...it was playing out in my head nicely. But when I sat to press the rewind button on my brain...this was all that came out............................................................................................................................................

Friday I was so sick...have I said that enough yet this pregnancy?! lol! SO sick (as was I all day! Hence why the post is up so late!) Anyhow, I feel horribly as a mom that we are having an amazing Indian Summer. It has been 80 degrees almost everyday and I am so incredibly sick I can't move from either the bathroom or the couch (I actually begged my husband for new toilet seat lids! I told him my face is on them enough I think its fair!) I finally after days of not going out back noticed my pole beans were nice and dried up and ready to be picked! Weird right?! Picking the dried ones! Oh...but there is a method to my madness!


You see the farmer in me (mama...aren't you proud?!) knows that you always let the last of the harvest "seed out"! Meaning you let the last of the beans hang and dry naturally on the vine so that you can collect the seeds for the next years harvest! The best part is its easy for the kids to do and they once again get to reap the benefits of gardening themselves the following year! Win win I tell ya!

So while this guy does this part...


The little puts the seeds in the bag!


The kids love to garden with me! Whether its picking fruits and veggies from the garden to bring in and then cook or actually getting their hands dirty and working in the dirt! I think its good for their soul and great knowledge for them to pass on as they get older! Its NEVER to late to start gardening with your kids! If you are in an apartment or have a tight living situation buckets and tubs work great as well! And the best part about harvesting the seeds is we will not have to fork out the money for more next Spring! Happy gardening!