first day of fall!

Here's a random photo of Sammy from last Halloween. We're saving that costume for Sawyer to use next year since he'll be about the same size. Not sure yet what Sam will be this year, but it's fun to think about. We love Halloween at our house. I really don't know why, or what started it, but we always get so excited for it every year. We just have a lot of fun with it.

Saw online today that the first official day of FALL starts tomorrow. Can't believe it! But it has felt like that lately, and I have to admit I am ready for it. We've (mostly me) been going crazy around here with cleaning and organizing and what have you before the cold sets in. Daniel says it's really just my pregnancy/nesting hormones going crazy, but it feels soooo good to have our stuff all cleaned out, clutter free, etc. The other bedroom is now all ready for paint! Hoping to get to that this week while it's supposed to be nice. We went through all our closets and rooms again (did this last time before we had sam) and reorganized everything and put it all back together ever so neatly getting rid of whatever we haven't used or no longer need. I have only a couple kitchen cabinets to go! The porch is done and painted, just the deck needs a quick coat of stain. All our outdoor projects are just about wrapped up too, just need to put a few more plants in the ground.

Some sewing projects are getting completed also! I finally made myself another set of cloth napkins and am loving them. I finished a Christmas present. I went through all of my sewing stuff and got everything put away nicely and some more Christmas/birthday/housewarming gifts set up to be made. This weekend is the Quilt Expo (my second year of it) and I'm hoping to get some fabric to do the finishing touches on the quilt for our bed. It has been fun to break out the machine again. I'll post some pictures soon hopefully of some of these projects.

Enjoy your first day of Fall tomorrow! I think I'll make pumpkin bread again and a stew to celebrate. :)

cleaner recipes

Here's a great idea! Excited to try it out. Being that I rarely ever clean windows due to my messy boy, just doesn't seem worth it. :) Literally seconds later they will be dirty again. But maybe using something like this will keep it simple and easy enough to keep up with. I also don't buy paper towels, so this really does seem up my alley, especially if it works well on our stainless steel appliances like she mentions. I'll let you know.

Also...my toilet bowl cleaner and counter spray recipe. Not exactly sure where I got them. Probably HERE, but not for certain. Love my counter spray. I had tried a different recipe that didn't have the dish soap added and one that had only a little, but I like it much better with some. I altered it a bit to what I wanted and found to work well for my specific counters and I find that it gives the cleaner a bit more grip and they just seem a little cleaner to me than just wiping them down with a vinegar water solution. I usually use a Method or Mrs. Meyers brand of dish soap. Anyways. Take it or leave it. :)

counter/all purpose spray:

• 2 tbl white vinegar
• 1 tsp borax
• 2 c hot water
• 1/4 c dishwashing detergent (i do not triple this when i make a big batch)
• 30ish drops essential oil (orange, lavender, etc)
• mix together in a spray bottle and shake well before each use to combine ingredients. I usually triple this recipe when I make it because it's so easy to just keep in a pitcher and refill when needed.

toilet bowl cleaner (i have yet to try this):

• 1/4 c white vinegar
• 1/4 c baking soda
• 10-15 drops tea tree oil
• "It will foam like crazy when you add the baking soda. Let it stand for an hour or even overnight. Do the vinegar first, drop in some oil, then later add the baking soda and scrub. **Also great for keeping drains clean. Try before a commercial drain cleaner. Sprinkle baking soda over the drain, pour vinegar over it, let it fizz and then sit for 5 minutes or so, then pour a kettle of boiling water down the drain." (the toby show?)

homemade cleaners

Since Christmas time I've been using homemade cleaners.  Mostly kitchen and laundry ones: counter spray, floor cleaner and laundry detergent...

It's been great!  Something I never really had thought much about or had pictured myself doing.  The big thing for me is it that they really don't take much time to make, and I'm very happy with the 

results.  It just leaves me feeling good about knowing what exactly is going onto my counters, on our clothes, on the floors that our boy plays on, etc.  It's a nice side perk too that I'm probably helping the environment out in some way or another.  

I just made up another batch of laundry soap the other day.  I had kept putting it off and putting it off (it really only takes me 10-15 minutes, but for some reason i just didn't get around to it), and was just using the detergent (biokleen) that I use for our cloth diapers.  A box of that stuff is pretty spendy and we don't use dryer sheets.  The detergent that I make has ingredients in it that keeps the clothes soft and wrinkle free enough for us without adding sheets or softeners.  Anyways...it was getting old, so finally I just set aside some time and made up a batch.  Love it love it.  

I also love our floor cleaners and counter spray.  I've slowly been going through our toilet and bathroom cleaners because 1. I don't want to waste what I've already bought, and 2. they do a decent enough job.  But, I've found other recipes online to make those myself too.  Soooo cheap and easy and should do the trick (and the ingredients really last forever).  So this fall will finally be my complete transition over to homemade cleaners.  It's probably a little silly and somewhat pathetic that I get joy out of this.  I never would have thought this would be down my alley, but it's been great.  I've found sites all over the place online, but one that I seem to have gotten the most from is THIS ONE.  I'm not the biggest fan of her blog, but she does have some good resources in her side bars.  Her hummus recipe is great too.  :)

i think i'll do it myself

I think I'll just tackle a lamp shade myself.  That way I can have it exactly how I want it and save some bucks at the same time.  Nothing a little hot glue can't do!  These seem like very easy instructions HERE.

sam's quilt

I'm very proud and relived that this quilt is finally finished.  It was quite the process due to lots of take ups and put downs over a long period of time.  It's been a busy summer!  I really do not think that this quilt would have turned out so well without my new walking foot.  The quilting and binding were a breeze (time consuming and tiring, but all together SO much easier!).  I'm in love with it, not to toot my own horn, but I'm just amazed at how well it turned out.  It has so motivated me and given me some new ideas for finishing our king size quilt.  

Sam loves his new blanket.  Something about all the different colors and patterns.  I have to say that Heather Ross fabric is just about the best out there for fun and unique children's prints.  More about her HERE.  

Now I am just trying to decide what to do next.  I feel like it is Fall now, and I can resign myself to inside projects without feeling too guilty for wasting precious sun/outdoor time.  Maybe I'll work on some Fall decorations: table runner with a set of seasonal cloth napkins...possibly some matching/coordinating kitchen linens.  Shopping for fabric just stresses me out sometimes.  There is so much good stuff out there--it's difficult to make decisions!!

stewing up ideas

Land of Nod bedding HERE.  Am in love w/this store lately!

I saved all of Sammy's Potterybarn bedding, but I have a small itch to revise some of it and go with a slightly different color scheme.  Loving the quilt and the argyle bumper.  The white quilt would go with Sammy's, but I wouldn't want to go with the animal theme, something different, and smaller to hang above his crib (a friend is making him a baby quilt already--very excited about it, she's amazing!)...not sure yet.  But definitely stewing up a plan to convert my bumper to a style close to this one.

Overhead lighting!

My sewing room is slowing getting cleared out.  Lots of organizing, cleaning and whatnot going on.  And now I am full of ideas for not only the boys' room, but the playroom too.  A lot of this will involve husband help, so we'll see how much gets done when.  He's pretty busy finishing up a bunch of other projects in and out of the house!  I'll post photos and ideas as they come.