September Acres

One of my favorite cookbooks is " The Martha Stewart Cookbook" .  I've had it well over 15 years and it's very well used.   One of my favorite and most used recipes is her banana bread recipe (that paper clip makes it easy to find, too).  It's super easy and really tasty.  Even with the 'changes' I make sometimes... As I was trying to use up alot of what I had in my fridge the past couple of weeks, I knew I would be making this recipe because of the bananas that were ripe enough for bread.  I thought I needed to finish some sour cream too but upon further inspection I realized that the sour cream was not usable.  I still wanted to make this bread though and wasn't planning a trip to the market for sour cream. This is why I love this recipe:  while the sour cream is great I have found a few substitutions that work well.  They are:  1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/2 cup of plain yogurt (greek or regular) OR 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt. The va

It's almost the end of the school year & one of the fun things for the kids is recognizing their teachers.  I love to give crafty type things that are also useful and the kids can help with.  Younger kids will need assistance with these but other kids can take over and really complete these ones on their own. One thing we did for Teacher Appreciation week that would work well for the end of the year is this bottle of iced tea (LM's teacher's favorite) with the tag that says 'thank you for being a tea-riffic teacher'.  I didn't think up that little saying.  I found it on the internet somewhere.  But for a tea loving teacher it was perfect.  I just typed the words on the computer, printed it out on cardstock, used a large circle punch, cut the words 'tea' with my Quickutz, sponged the edges green, punched a hole & added the ribbon.  It would be just as easy and cute to have your child write the words himself. Since 2nd grade I have h

I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free, And I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me, And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today, 'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God Bless the U.S.A. ~Lee Greenwood Thanks to all the service men and women who have sacrificed so that we can live in freedom. Remember, 'freedom isn't free'. Happy Memorial Day!

This will be the first weekend we have been home in three weeks (four for my husband) and I couldn't be happier.  If you are looking for me I'll be here, reading this :  And when I tire of the heat I am headed to the office/craft room to work on that.  This room should be my highest priority but sadly, it's not.  Which surely explains why it's in the state it's in.  I have gotten some fun ideas for decorating from cutie pie Nate Berkus (wallpaper on the back of your bookcases anyone?) which I hope to get to sometime in the very near future (famous last words) but first I need to tackle the mess (aka clutter, a word I am growing tired of). Next week we will be in the last week of school.  LM is not happy about that.  I thought she was but she's not. This morning she asked if she could go to school all summer long... Have a wonderful weekend!

LM has these cute little hooks by the door in her room.  I got them when she was a baby from Pottery Barn Kids.  The idea was that I could hang her jackets or a backpack on there.  As time went on and she grew older, they kind of became a catch all area.  Anything that could remotely be 'hung' went on the hooks.  Which lead us to this: Obviously, the hats don't get worn everyday but I couldn't figure out a good place to put them so they didn't get damaged.  Until one day I was putting things away in the closet and noticed this space to the left of her shelves.  I took one hat over to see if it fit in the space and it did.  I headed to the tool box and got 3 nails and a hammer and ended up with this: She can reach them all, they are out of the way but she can still see them when she's picking out her clothes. So there's no fear of them being forgotten like they might have been in a drawer. I used nails so this was a no cost fix.  Always love

Last week was a total blur.  Before I knew it, Friday had come and gone.  It was the oddest thing.  I feel like I really never stopped the entire time.  I'm sure you can all relate, right?  It was teacher appreciation week and I helped with that a couple of days.  Doctor appointments for LM and me (great scheduling on that one but at least they're out of the way now.)  LM's big school project, which is a business that the kids set up and run for a week, was due last week with 'grand opening' on Thursday morning.  And more... LM and my husband finished up their hockey seasons. Field trip hike to observe weathering and erosion. There are seven days of school left.  Like every year, it's hard to believe.  I'm ready though!  I know LM has had a great year and loves school but I think she's ready for a break.  A break.   I'm not sure that's what it's going to be though.  With hockey camp, junior golf, babysitting

We have received five graduation announcements so far this year.  I think that's going to be it.  I think... We received 2 high school announcements and 3 college ones.  For high school grads I usually just send a check.  I hate to send money but they are usually children of friends whom we don't know very well but want to remember.  This year the high schoolers are a niece (who we really don't know that well) and a friend's son who my husband has coached in hockey for 10 years.  So we know him well but he's a boy and I just don't know what to do.  My husband says money, so as boring as that is I believe that's what he's getting. I stumbled across the print above on Etsy at a shop called Between Everything .  I LOVE this idea for a college grad.  Brooke will personalize each print with a building on the college campus, date and colors.  She will also frame and matte them for an extra charge. I think they will look great in an office or for the