wishing for: accessories from head to toe

1920s Cloche Hat from Orizu

Striped Bow Tie Necklace from Maryanka Studio

Golden Yellow Corset Belt from Desira Pesta

Knee High Knitted Socks from RGideas

Sunny Handmade Leather Flats from Chebran

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!  In honor of the holiday, check out this Treasury I was featured in.  It was curated by a fellow RNEST member, Jennie.  She creates handcrafted clothing + accessories over at her shop: TurtleFly, so check out her Etsy shop, too!

It's what's for dinner!

While I'm on crafting hiatus as we adjust to being a family of 4 (!), I figured I'd share something else being made... dinner.  It has to happen, whether or not anything else is happening.  So, here's what we are eating tonight:

Sausage + Lentil Stew (Slow Cooker style)

serves 4-6

1 cup lentils 

2 cups beef broth

1 (12-ounce) package smoked chicken or turkey sausage, sliced--your choice of flavor. 

1 cup chopped carrots

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes

9 ounces (or so) fresh spinach (to add at the very end)

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Rinse your lentils under cold water, and place them into an empty slow cooker. Add beef broth, and sliced sausage. Add the entire can of tomatoes and a cup of chopped carrots. The broth and the seasoning from the sausage is enough to flavor this dish-- there is no need for additional spices.

Cover and cook on low for 5 hours, then stir in fresh spinach. It'll look like a lot at first, but the spinach will wilt and I promise it will all fit. Cover again and let the spinach soften for about 15 minutes. Serve in a shallow bowl with cornbread.

Found this recipe at Stephanie's awesome blog: A Year of Slow Cooking

Also posted at Comestibilis - a recipe blog I post to with friends

Merry Christmas!

Hope your Christmas is full of bright and beautiful things! God bless us, everyone!


My son's 1st homemade Christmas ornament.

Clean, not wet.

A cup Dom wanted to use requires the use of a straw if you want to use the lid.  As I got rid of the straw awhile back, this voids usage of the lid.  After him begging to use the cup anyway, I told him he could have water if he sat on the floor, and the cup got less than an inch of H2O in the bottom.

He got mostly through his first serving before I heard him say "Uh-oh."

Then he attempted to show off his Spanish...
"Water on pantaronis."

Me: "Dom, you made a mess."
Dom "See, clean!"


Well, I have succeeded at teaching him that water doesn't hurt anything...  though I don't think Mama is ready for open-topped cups anytime soon.

In other news, Baby OII checks in at a cauliflower this week, weighing in around 2 lbs!

Autumn colors.

Etsy's front page just screams fall beauty at the moment... here's the Treasury it's based off of.

Love, love, love this beautiful combo of handmade items!

Autumn Love

Two season inspired Treasuries I was recently featured in!  Love the autumn/fall colors going on.  This is my oh so favourite time of year.  

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Fall by UnklesAMarcotte

Autumn in Rochester by SoftShellCrafts