Here's to you.

AN ODE TO ORANGE...

...and the fact that I finally got to experience fall weather that was lower than 80 degrees!

As instructed by Kathleen Kelly....

Don't you love New York in the Fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies - I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name or address.

Watching You've Got Mail and going to New York City in the same weekend has to be the coincidence of a life time.

I actually wrote a whole post about You've Got Mail because well, You've Got Mail is like a pair of warm socks on a cold day or the first splash in the pool on a hot one. It's refreshing. It's warm. It's perfect.

As we explored around the city, I felt a little bit of Kathleen Kelly. Both in me (on high alert for daisies! the world's friendliest flower!) and around me, like she was watching. And I think it would be a great honor to have Kathleen Kelly watching me explore her most beloved city.

Our day was actually a "disaster" by first world standards. First, we missed our flight. BUT! I ended up going to a new state, so check New Jersey off the list. Then we had to wait 10 extra minutes underground on dirty Ebola encrusted benches because I lost the directions to my subway pass. But I don't have ebola...yet. Then we walked around the city for about 2 hours only to miss the ferry to Lady Liberty.

So! As watched from the promenade as the last ferry left (without us on it, that's the kicker) Kathleen Kelly came in a vision, dancing on the Hudson, and said in a breathy voice  "To Brooklyn."

And so, we went to Brooklyn.

(shoutout to shadow dad and fly catching mouth kryn. But it's Fall and I didn't mind wearing jeans so we gotta celebrate...by throwing baby leaves!)

Thanks New York!
And with that, I hope your mango is ripe.

PS: if you don't get that: go watch You've Got Mail.

Blue Ridge and Hockey thoughts (clearly related!)

HMMM....how cliche is this? Let me use this inspiring photo and make a complete left turn: HOCKEY! Our 2nd night, we went to a hockey game at Liberty and...GOOD GRAVY, HOCKEY IS THE GREATEST! I actually walked in thinking I was gonna cry (it seemed to be the thing that trip, ya know?)  It was loud and cold and LOUD. But lo and behold, hockey is the bestest! The brawling, oh my. I have never before taken delight (or even interest!) in grown men fighting but apparently, it's quite enjoyable. Anyway, left turn. Backtracking to autumnal things....

▲▲ Blue Ridge ya'll. And what is it about fall that makes me say ya'll? Rhyming, I guess, but then, I digress.

I'll stop now.

Oh, and thank you blogger for making my pictures blurry! So sweet of you!

▲▲ Clearly, I have mastered the art of looking scenic, whatever that is.

X and O's to infinity for you Fall (or let me be hipster, AUTUMN.) And if I were really hipster, I would be saying this whilst drinking a pumpkin latte or whatever those are. But I destest drinking wood, so hot chocolate for me!

Weekends and such!

A few things about this photo, and life in general!

We went to Universal this weekend and apparently I am not a Universal person? I think Disney is more my style- there's a lot more pink, cute little mice and high pitched singing. I can handle that! And E.T! Whoever came up with E.T hopefully  has become a hermit and whoever thinks that E.T is cute should hang their head in shame. I am all for extra terrestrial whatever,  but COME ON. At least make it a cute alien!

And also, Volleyball is over which means I ACTUALLY HAVE TIME again! My Birthday in in a month,  have a sickness called pumpkin fever, and have a serious urge to wear sweaters.

So in other words, not much is new!

How have you been?

In which we pick pumpkins!

An awkward photo! But what else would one expect?

So the other day, yesterday actually, we went pumpkin picking! At first we set out on our bikes ready to ride the "patch" in quotation marks because it was publix. We city folk can't be picky! But low and behold, we apparently have a pumpkin patch, A REAL ONE, less than a mile from our house! Which was helpful in the end because riding with a 10 lb pumpkin in your bike basket is risky business.

 What can I say, I like to live on the wild side! Having a pumpkin in your bike basket is practially the definition of risk.

▲▲ Is there something about wearing plaid whilst pumpkin picking? There must be some unofficial rule that when ever one does anything fallish they wear plaid. On the hunt for a plaid shirt, starting now.

▲▲And here's punkin' transportation, island style!

On a final note, we are doing great with Holidays! We had a Christmas tree last year, WE DECORATED IT (major score!), we went outside for fourth of july and now I have a pumpkin! (named penny!) This is our greatest streak and maybe we'll make homemade stuffing for Thanksgiving! Clearly, we are on a roll.

XOXO and cheers to pumpkins and patches and all things fall!

Behold, Boston!

Photo dump!  Beware friends, you might be here a while!

So Boston....? Boston! I have to say, I did really like it. (of course, someone tell me a city I don't like!) New York City was so much fun, a big adventure. But Boston felt really comfortable, it felt normal. Like a big city but not too big, and who am I kidding, I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Just go to Boston, and you'll figure the rest out for yourself!

And out with the triangles!

▲▲ I believe they call this a "right place, right time" photo ???? I seem to have a thing for catching glorious sunsets while on trips. It's a gift! (Boston Skyline taken on Nahant, doesn't that name just sound so Nantuckety?!?)

▲▲ It's me and a boat! And Emily and not pictured are the LOUDEST cannons my poor ears have ever been shocked by. Also, we like boats only because our art teacher is a pirate, no joke.

▲▲ For whatever reason, there were pianos all over Boston. And so the Asians would play and it would be some wildy impressive Sonata in Z  Major and then I would just be like "M-a-r-y - h-a-d- a- l-i-t-t-le -l-a-m-b." It too, was impressive! For a 5 year old, maybe.

▲▲  Cheesy Smile, as per usual, but hey! When you've been best buddies with someone for 12 years, it's pretty fun. 

I have to say, the one disappointment was that I never heard a really strong Boston accent! Our trolley "conductor, Peppermint Patty (bless her heart) tried her best. I feel as though Boston accents are more "accent" while used in angry rage? Next time, I will find myself an angry Bostonian! I promise.


Kryn, over and out!

PS: You can check Emily's blog, although she hasn't posted any Boston photos.....YET! (Right frem?)

#KRYNGOESPLACES

Good morning all! I'm here to inform you that it's Boston/Maine week here on the old blog. We took a trip this weekend and it was one of those trips that went by so fast but felt like years (in a good way! happy years!) I feel as though I won't find a humorous way to share my thoughts about the trip, mostly since my thoughts are like "GAHHH! MAINE IS MAGIC!" But maybe you find that humorous? Maybe read these at 2 in the morning, since everything is funnier then.

Even my blog posts, I hope!

Today, a video! But first, let me apologize for a few things....
-I got my hair cut! Of course, hair never looks how one wants while traveling, so please pretend you didn't notice.
 -And I really liked my shoes, apparently! Hope you do too, since you will see them about 90 times.
-My video making skills make our day look like a snooze-fest. I promise, it wasn't!
-the name is purely inspired by forgetfulness and laziness. I'm overflowing with fruit of the spirit, clearly!





It was a nice try! Someone please introduce me to a tripod, I feel as though we might really hit it off.

DUN DUN DUN, September!

And so, it' is September and I'm not sure how I feel about it. But! We are one month closer to fall leaves and Christmas so I guess I can handle it. MAYBE. But, have I told you about drama club? My dear mother decided it was high time I put my drama to good use (I swear, I'm not dramatic at all! Except about candles, grilled cheese and everything else in life. Sheesh!) and so here I am in drama. But then, there is this tiny thing called, oh I don't know, A BRITISH ACCENT, in which we must master and actually USE in public.

No comment.

So my main goal for September will to be survive, British accents and volleyball, thank you very much. Not like I'm complaining or anything! But, feel free to bring me cupcakes at any point and time, okey dokey?

-WORK ON BRITISH ACCENT

-Not miss any serves in a game

-post one outfit post (i have a feeling i might regret this, but we shall see!)

-play tennis

-get a succulent

-write more letters

- do fun things with friends.

And now, would you like some tea? Because I feel like when homeschoolers try and do British accents, that's all they say. That or some uber romantic line from Pride and Prejudice which I guess is fine by me.

Have a great day, and If it were possible to type in a British accent then I totally would. Cheers!

THANKFUL 2012

What, another dog picture AND a hash tag!?!? Seriously guys, I wasn't joking when I said I had problems. But admitting it, that's the first step to recovery...RIGHT?

Well for one thing, I know I'm not super serious here on de blog. I'm not really a serious type person, so well, I don't get serious too often. But anyway, here's for a change! (kinda sorta.)

#THANKFUL 2012

FAMILY - Wow, this is SOOO cliche. But they are kind of awesome so, duh. They put up with my whining and boo hoo-ing and failed jokes and still buy me chocolate milk....WHAT?! I'm keeping these people, FOREVER. (frem, you're in here too)

*PUPPIES- Okays, so MAYBE I just got finished watching the dog show, but I would have brought it up anyway. These puppies (CLEARLY) are my favorite. Without them, I would take zero pictures, not have a snuggle buddy (I sound really cool now, I'm sure.) and basically my bff. Dff? yes.

EXPERIENCES- I've moved a ton, sometimes didn't see my dad for months at a time, and my mom has been sick ever since I was born. But honestly, these things have shaped me into who I am today. It's fun to look back and see how God worked, even when we had NO IDEA what was going on. He's just like that. We're at a point now where we can see the good that came from it. I'm truly grateful for that.

HEALTH - Our family has been going through some health problems recently this year, and I'm thankful that I'm healthy (clearly, not at the moment, but for the most part.) I mean, I have a cold. Not  cancer or a broken arm or sickle cell anemia. I can handle a cold.

BIBLE STUDY- Before we moved, I was involved in a REALLY awesome bible study (girls, if you are reading this, I love you!) I didn't realize HOW MUCH I missed it until I started going to one here, it's amazing. I love the studies and have absolutely learned so much. It's amazing.

HANDWRITING- This is going to sound weird, I LOVE my handwriting. It's not fancy or really even that nice. I just kind of love how it's mine and unique to me. No really, I'm not a stingy person. (um....what?)

ENJOY LIFE- I have this mini project I've been doing for the past few months. It has been so fun. And by fun, I mean eye opening and literally amazing. Maybe I'll show you sometime, it's so different than what I blog here.

AMERICA- It's changed so much, even since I've been alive. It almost makes me sad to talk about it, but I just LOVE IT. I was writing something for my project about it on election day, and I was bawling (not that that's unusual or anything.) This is my country, I'm an American, and I am SO PROUD of it.

That's it, at least for this list anyway. Now it's your turn, what would you put on your #THANKFUL 2012 list? I'm all ears!

(and all cheese.)

*Sophie ran away today, but thankfully we caught her. If we hadn't, she would have seriously messed up this list.

We did the cha cha

Mom and dad were gone yesterday. And if your parents have ever left you at home alone, you know what means....

PARTY TIME!!!

First on the agenda was the cha cha slide. For the record, Sophie's not very good at it. I'm sweet and usually overlook her few imperfections. I mean seriously, WHO doesn't do the cha cha slide?!?

Wait, everyone?

Okay so never mind. One thing we DIDN'T do was the cha cha slide. Instead we did yoga to Beethoven. I hear that's all the rage.

And by the way, Sophie's way better at yoga that the cha cha slide. Just saying.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies

 I was having problems getting on board with Fall until, really, it was Fall. Now that we've had some chilly days, I'm practically the conductor of the train.

Did that make any sense? I don't think so.

BASICALLY, I'm here to inform you that I once again have fallen head over heels for pumpkin because it's bananas. Well, not really. I'm probably going to be putting pumpkin in EVERYTHING I eat, which means I'll be chowing on pumpkin grilled cheese and pumpkin perogies because that's how exciting my diet is.

Now, about these cookies. Like I mentioned, they're banana's. It's basically pumpkin bread. BUUUUT, the only thing better than pumpkin bread is pumpkin bread with chocolate chips and in cookie form. It's basically magic. And don't be surprised if you see a few unicorns in your kitchen...Never mind.

Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients:
½ c. sugar               2 ¾ c. flour
½ c. brown sugar            2 tsp. soda
½ c. Butter          1 tsp. ginger
2 eggs                    1 tsp. salt          2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla                1 tsp. baking powder
1 ½ c. pumpkin            1 c. chocolate chips


Directions: Blend sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla. Add flour, salt, soda, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon. Add pumpkin and chocolate chips. Drop onto cookie sheet (greased if needed) by large spoonfuls. Bake at 375 for 10 min. Makes 5 dozen delicious cookies.

 GO! BAKE!

Caps is seriously the only way to express important-ness.

Green Jeans

On a normal schools day, do your pants look like
A.) regular jeans
B.) half sized (shorts or course)
C.) vegetables

Naturally, C should be your answer. That is, only if you are wearing colored denim.

Seriously, I wore green jeans the other day, and I felt invincible.  Like a very nice invincible green bean. It was major happiness. And my legs were wrapped in it. Happiness on you legs, who knew? And if pants had facial expressions, those babies would always be showing their pearly whites.

Basically, your life may or may not be complete unless you invest in colored denim. I invested $11 dollars and it seemed to do the trick.

Invincible green bean, that's what I am.

We feel fall

We've only been waiting for, I don't know, FOREVER?!?

Um, okay, a whole year?

We use the word "Fall" very loosely here. It's better known as "The few months between the endless summer."

Endless Summer as in REALLY hot. If we seriously had and endless Summer as in NO school, we'd all be living on top of one another.

Three things you need to know:

1. It smells like fall.
2. These are VERY typical photos.
3. I took these while wearing my volleyball uniform shirt and a floral skirt.

And then I just almost told you I took these outside...........

(and I think we'll end this conversation here.)

I've got so many reasons to be thankful

10 Things I am thankful for:

• That I am a daughter of the king
• Warm weather
• Fabric Flowers
• a fantastic family
• a cute/bedraggled puppy
• Laughter
• Eggnog
• Pumpkin pie
• Good Friends
• God's amazing and never ending love
  

Happy Thanksgiving girlies! Have a wonderful day!

Pretty Peices

These are the colors for my quilt this year. Aren't they all so pretty? Quitilting is really not my style though. Its all to perfect. Every seam must match. Everything must measure out equal.

It's sort of like math.

And it all goes downhill from there.

The Circle Garland

I LOVE this garland. I whipped it out 12:30 last night (Make that this morning.) When I first saw this, I wasn't really enthused.But then I had the idea to use old cards my sweet friend Leia had sent me. I was hooked.

For the string, I used white yarn. The original was made with embroidery floss. I'm sure that would have been lovely, but I didn't have any. So I just used what I had and it worked great.

From there, its just circles glued together!

I used polka dots - everyone needs more polka dots in their lives.

And geometric patterns.


I am planning on using Christmas Scrapbook paper to make a garland for our Christmas tree. There are so many fun variations to this project, I'm just getting started.