Cuties

This is Natalia. She is 9 months old. 

I love her little scrunchy face when she smiles.

I love how she poses when i pull my camera out and she never gets fazed, no matter how close I hold the camera to her face.

You can't see it here, but her eyes are an adorable dark, dark brown.

She is smiling, huggable, kissable cuteness in a little bundle.

Too sweet.

This, lovelies, is Chloe. She is 3 years old.

She also has adorable dark, dark brown eyes. They light up when she's happy, which is just about all the time.

She smiles as soon as I pull my camera out.

When I come home from school, she says "I missed you, Em!"

Chloe called me her best friend the other day.

Too cute.

I love editing pictures of these two!

Hope you all have a good weekend!

"I'm homeschooled. That's why I'm such a chatterbox."

Hazel in Dolphin Tale.

A post which I cannot find a creative title for

I had fun putting the floral-y designs along the side. I love the vintage-y look of this photo! I also love my headband. :)

reading... "An Old Fashioned Girl" by Louisa May Alcott
listening... Knowing You'll Be There by The Gaither Vocal Band. Next up? Can you Feel the Love Tonight from The Lion King. :)
drinking... Half iced tea, half lemonade. Great stuff!
eating... saltines. Next up is Mac & Cheese.
anticipating... A road trip to Connecticut with my sister and mom.
loving... my little siblings.
looking... forward to a four day weekend next week.
inspired by... the yarn baskets sitting in my room.
{post idea from Katie}

Because...I don't really have a reason for this picture.

Isn't she just the cutest thing?

I am entering this photo in Kelsey's Photo Contest.

And now, to leave you with a quote from Emma:

"Whom are you going to dance with?" asked Mr, Knightley.

She [Emma] hesitated a moment, and then replied, "With you, if you will ask me."

"Will you?" said he, offering his hand.

"Indeed I will. You have shown that you can dance, and you know we are not really so much brother and sister as to make it at all improper."

"Brother and sister! no, indeed."

I don't really know why I like that quote, but I do.  Maybe because at that point Mr. Knightley loves Emma, but she doesn't realize that she loves him yet. :)

Do you have any favorite quotes from any books?

I hope you all have a good day!

What I Wore Today - Gray

Today in school someone told me that I looked like an elf.

Yeah, I guess I can see that.

Anyway, this outfit was sort of inspired by Gabby's post last month on the color gray. It really is a great color. It is a neutral color like black and white, but it is a much softer tone. It goes with anything.

I apologize about the bad pictures, but I had to take them without a tripod with my flash. However, I really like this outfit and wanted to share it with you all.

I started with a light gray tunic. I haven't worn this much as it is too big and pretty shapeless. However, I discovered that I really like wearing a sash around my real waist. I wore a dark gray skirt underneath. I love the layered look. :)

Anyway, I just really loved wearing this outfit to school today. :) And I wanted to share it with you.

Hope you all had a good day!

Psalm 37:7-8

Psalm 37:7-8

Entering this photo in Lily's photo contest.

"Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;

Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way

Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;

Do not fret - it only causes harm."

These are good verses for me to remember because I have a tendency to worry and to be jealous of people who continually do wrong things and still gain by it. But I need to remember that they will be punished and those who persevere in the LORD will be rewarded.

Have any verses been on your mind lately?

What has God been teaching you recently?

Baking-ness

Today, I baked.

First I made Apple Crumble. I know most people call it Apple Crisp, but it has always been Apple Crumble in my house. :)

Apple Crumble is one of my favorite fall treats to bake.

It's easier and takes less time than apple pie.  

Note to self: I will have to make my family's apple pie sometime and post the recipe. It has a cinnamon/brown sugar topping on it instead of a top crust. YUM!

But I do have the recipe for Apple Crumble at the bottom of the post.

I made this apron for myself a while ago. I like it. :) The pockets are in just the right spots...

Sorry about the wrinkles. I had been using another apron for a while and this one was folded. :)

Next, I made these delicious things.

Monkey Bread Muffins.

I had found a recipe for them a while ago, but I hadn't had any refrigerator roll dough to make them with. But I did today. I love basically any dessert with cinnamon and brown sugar in it.

Here is the recipe for Apple Crumble:

Apple Crumble

Place in a 13" x 9" pan about 8 cups of sliced apples or as many as you want, just as long as there is enough to cover the bottom of the pan. (Oh, and no need to grease the pan).

Blend until crumbly:

1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup flour

1 cup rolled oats

2/3 cup margarine

1 1/2 tsp. each cinnamon and nutmeg

Spread over apples.

Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is brown. 

Serve with Cool Whip or whipped cream.

Enjoy!

If you have any questions or run into any problems, be sure to let me know. 

Oh, and lastly: there are a couple giveaways going on. The first is over at Giveaways of Blessing. The second is over at An Old-Fashioned Girl. 

What did you do today?

Crumb Cake

This cake is, by far, my family's favorite dessert. It is sort of like a spice cake. It's from an old war recipe handed down through my family. It's amazing!

This recipe originally made a smaller pan, but we always double it so there's enough to go around. Here I am sharing the doubled recipe.

I thought I would share the recipe with you all. Here it is:

Crumb Cake

Directions:

Mix:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 cup shortening

2 tsp. salt

Rub together as for pie crust with a fork or pastry blender.

Save 1 cup crumbs to sprinkle on top of cake later.

Add:

2 cups sour milk

1 tsp. each of baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla.

Mix. Pour into a greased 13 x 9 inch pan. Sprinkle crumbs evenly on top of cake.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

I hope you're all having a great day!

Note: I am re-posting this to enter in Miss Johanna and Miss Grace's Walk Through the Orchard.

This weekend I...

This weekend I...

1. Went to the drive-ins for the first time on Friday. My family and two other families from my church went. The movie we saw was "Dolphin tale", which was really good!

One of the families brought popcorn for everyone to share. :)

2. Went to Willowbrook Museum, a great place. They have displays set up with carriages and objects from the 19th century. They also have houses and shops set up to look like they would have looked 200 years ago.

On the day we went, some men were acting as men from the Civil War. They demonstrated how to shoot their guns.

There was this really cool bridge that I love.

There was a sweet little store where they sold candy sticks for 20 cents. I got a lemon one.

I thought these candles looked really bright and cheery...so I took a picture. :)

This barrel actually had dill pickles inside! I love pickles, Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to have one of these. maybe someday. :)

3. Finished Emma. I am now reading An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott. I have to write a paper in school about an author, a poet, and an artist from New England. We have to read two books by our chosen author. My author is Louisa May Alcott, and I chose to read An Old-Fashioned Girl and Eight Cousins.

4. Finished the scarf from this post.

5. I started and finished this green hat/beret. I love the star/floral pattern on top! I think I am going to make a lot more of these. :)

6. Went to this lovely spot called Hacker's Hill. The view was gorgeous!

Just a little piece of randomness to leave you with...

What did you do this weekend?

Hope you have a blessed day!

Raindrops, clover, and macro photography

This morning I woke up with a cold. Oh, joy. My first cold of the season and it's only September 24? What is this craziness?

So, it became a messy bun, t-shirt and jeans, take pictures day. 

Those kinds of days are always fun.

Macro Photography makes me happy. Just saying.

But it made me happy that it rained early this morning so I was able to go out and take pictures of the raindrops. The little droplets of water really add something to a picture, in my opinion, especially when you've photographed pretty much everything in your yard. :)

I know that clover is typically considered a weed, but I like it. 

Purple clover flowers are so lovely! They add little spots of color to a field of grass. The clover itself adds texture where there would only be grass otherwise. Sure, it doesn't make a yard look as nice and manicured as most people want their yards to look, but I like it.

Raindrops on spider webs are beautiful things. Understated and simple, but beautiful. 

Black and white photography. Beautiful. Enough said.

"Life is like a good black and white photograph, there's black, there's white, and lots of shades in between."  Karl Heiner

My sister had a small garden this year. She enjoyed the process of gardening more so than what the garden produced. I enjoyed her squash and tomatoes.

Shoes

I bought these shoes the other day.

I love them. The plaid, the leather looking straps, the buckle....

Guess how much I paid for them?

$5.

I love Goodwill. :)

Entering this photo in Francesca's Photo Contest.

I like wearing them. They make my small-ish feet look even smaller. :)

I don't know why, but I have this thing for shoes. I like trying them on, buying them, wearing cool and funky shoes everywhere...they just add a little personality to any outfit.

What kind of shoes do you like?

I will have a real post coming soon with some pictures that I took today. I just don't have time to write and upload pictures right now.

Have a lovely day!