And the Winners Are...

 



I believe #3 was Ariana?
And #12 was Maria!

Claim your prize ladies! On the off chance that you both choose the same item, Ariana will have the first choice. Please email me (or private message on facebook) your mailing address along with your selection.

To everyone else, thank-you for entering! I will mark down my remaining items just as soon as the winners choose their prize.

Good-bye Restyle and a Giveaway!

I have been going round in circles trying to decide whether to keep my Etsy shop open. On the one hand, I love, love, love to refashion things and a big part of that is showing off the finished product. Egotistical? Perhaps. Inspirational? More likely. On the other hand, I have so much going on in a day--and no I'm not trying to say "I'm so busy" to make myself sound important. I'm working on updating our 100+ year-old home, making time for friends, and of course spending time with my kids and husband. There are so many things that I want to make for myself and my family that I feel like Restyle gets in the way. Sorry if you're scratching your head by now thinking that I rarely add new items to my shop. I should say that, mentally, Restyle gets in the way. Too often, it's hanging over my head that I need to make more items for my shop so it really takes the fun away from it all. Of course, then I sell something and have so much fun wrapping it up (custom wrapping on all orders) and sending it out that I have a little drive to make another sale. Although, if I'm being completely honest, I could do the same thing with a craft show. Plus, it would be less time in a year and more money. Hmmm....

In the end, I think I would rather just walk away from Etsy. At this stage in my life, it's just not working out. If it starts to feel like a burden, it's time to move on. So, in a few days I plan to discount all of my items to make any "last minute" sales before I close up shop. I'm hoping you'll help me spread the word, and as a "thank-you" I will give away an item of your choosing to 2 lucky winners! Comment for a chance to win, if you share this on Facebook you can comment a second time to increase your chances of winning.

Good luck!

Giveaway closes on Tuesday, April 23. Once the winners have chosen their items, all remaining items will be marked down to 50%.

Official Rules:
Everyone automatically gets one entry. Please leave your email address so I can contact you if you win!
For a second entry, post this link on facebook and comment here to let me know you did.
If you mess up your comment (forget to put your name, etc) you can delete your comment and try again.
Winners will be announced on Wednesday the 24th.

Sorry, immediate family cannot enter. If you want me to make something for you, just say the word!

I'm Trying to Quit

I tried to quit my blog. I really did. I typed up a post and everything. I tried publishing several times (at least 7) and each time, half of my message would disappear. Maybe it's a sign.

Anyways, I'm just not feeling the blogging thing lately. (I'm sure you noticed.) So, until further notice, I'm taking a break. It might takes weeks, or even months. Just the thought of saying, "I'm done" inspires me for some reason. It's time to live without thinking in terms of how I can blog about this activity or that.

Until then, I'll see you on Facebook!

"My New Red and Yellow Bike"

During the beautiful warm weather last week, Adrian figured out how to ride his bike! (With training wheels.) He has been trying since he got his bike in August. He would get so mad trying to push those pedals and I would get frustrated pushing him around on it. Finally, one day he just started pedaling! He was so excited, it's so awesome to see him succeed at something that he has been working so hard at.

He occasionally rides his bike with the neighbor boy who is 5 who also just learned to ride a bike--without training wheels. The neighbor (we'll call him "N") would zip up and own the alley and Adrian would roll down the slight incline outside the garage, turn around, push his bike back up, climb on, roll down. Repeat. The very first time they played (after my garage sale when we happened to be near enough, long enough for them to get chatting), N would give Adrian a little nudge to get him going. I bet he'll be pumped to see that Adrian can actually pedal his bike now.

Kale and Butternut Squash Soup

I have had an idea for this soup floating around in my head for a while now. Recently, I made roasted acorn squash stuffed with sausage and it was awesome. Adrian loved it too. Basically, squash and sausage are amazing together. Here is the recipe I threw together yesterday, it was delish. If you like Zuppe Toscana (from Olive Garden), you'll like this soup.

Please, no awards for my stunning photography.

(That was sarcasm.)


Kale and Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb italian sausage
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 to 1 medium butternut squashed, peeled and cubed into 1/2 in pieces*
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup quinoa, rinsed (overnight soaking recommended but not necessary.)
5 or more leaves of kale, thick stems removed, roughly chopped
1 tsp salt or to taste
pepper to taste (you won't need much with the sausage)

Directions:

Brown sausage with celery and onion. Drain fat. Add garlic and butternut squash, saute for several minutes. Add chicken broth and quinoa and simmer until squash is tender and quinoa is translucent, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in kale.

*I used 1/2 of a squash only because I wanted to roast the rest to use in my oatmeal this morning. It was really good with this amount but I wish there was just a little bit more.

October 6

This was Saturday. First snowfall (with accumulation) of the 2012-2013 season, October 6.

We moved to the U.P. on November 12, 2008. (Wow, it's hard to believe it's been 4 years!) It snowed that day--I can't say for sure if that was the first real snowfall--and it didn't stop until May. I mean, of course, we had a clear skies here and there but winter literally stretched to mid-May. That was the best thing ever. Seriously. We were used to downstate winters that last barely 4 months and don't always have much snow. I was already convinced that winters up here were brutal, snow upon snow upon snow and that they lasted half the year. That winter really did, so I think it prepared me for winter up here. There hasn't been a season that long or that cold since then. I actually don't mind winter up here and I look forward to the year we get back into skiing. So fun!

Eating a Rainbow

Gotta love grocery day! And this is only part of our produce for the week. The very best thing about switching to wheat-free and dairy-free is the variety and amount of produce that was added to our diets. Groceries are so much more inspirational when they have color!