planes.trains.&.miniatures.

Daddy sent this my way and I had to share!! The world's largest model railway and smallest airport-- both in Hamburg, Germany. Major props to everyone to that worked on these projects!

videos via Big Geek Daddy 

you think I'm calling my Daddy that don't you? haha no. that's the name of the website :)

| autumn bucket list |

We all have those traditional things we love to do every fall... and those things we want to do but never get around to. 

What's on your bucket list this fall? Any traditions?!

Here's a list with some of mine. 

 Visit the orchard {and come home with apples.apple slushies & cider.red hots.pumpkins.straw-in-hair.memories&pictures}

Do a project with pumpkins

 Sit at as many bonfires as possible & watch the stars  

{"I am sensible of a great charm in this brightened moonlight; and I love to watch how the day, tired as it is, lags away reluctantly, and hates to be called yesterday so soon." N. Hawthorne}

 Make and eat lots of tomato soup

Track down and read more books by Baroness Orczy 

 Annual applesauce making day

Do a project with autumn leaves

 Mix up some pumpkin scones & apple scones {load on the pumpkin butter and apple butter too!}
{just made a double batch of THESE pumpkin scones today and with 10 mouths around, they were gone within minutes-- not even time to take a picture of how beautiful they were! sooo yummy!}

Go on a fall picnic... with everything that's warm and cozy<3

Make apple crisps {and eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner- snacks too;)}

 Rake some big piles of leaves 

{slightly tricky at home since our yard never has many leaves. i might just take my rake to a random park :D}

 I pulled these images out of albums from previous Autumns... in the days when I still used my on camera pop-up flash.

 *shudders* 

boints {bullet points}

Loving Pinterest's fresh look:) I've been waiting for it to debut!

{image via PinterestBlog b/c my uploader was being dumb and wouldn't load my beautiful screenshot :\}

And coming soon to a blog near you {aka: HERE!}


my autumn bucket list


favorite recent clothing pattern combos {from my wardrobe}


surprise tutorial {hint: it's perfect for fall decorating!}


a few facts about my wardrobe {in answer to questions concerning it...}

sooooo come back and visit soon! xoxo

{okay. so those weren't really bullet points. oh well. it was going to be. sometimes things take a different turn.}

DIY Tutorial :: Sachets

Just realized this has been sitting in my drafts since... ummm... January. whoooooops.

Here's another super simple tutorial! 

Wait a minute.  Do you notice that I always say that? Well it's cause every time I do difficult projects, by the time I'm done with them I'm too pooped to blog about them and write up a whole tutorial! And also when they're more difficult, I almost *always* forget to take pictures. Especially before and after pictures. Phooey. haha

 I guess it's good news for you though cause you'll always get pretty easy tutorials out of me:)

Materials: 4x4 fabric squares in sets of 2 | sewing machine | lavender or other scented filler

{I used flat cotton batting in mine to stretch my supply of lavender and still fill the pillows. If you want to do the same- watch for the special notes about that}

1) If you haven't already-- cut your fabric into 4x4 squares


2) In sets of two, lay all of your fabric squares, right sides facing each other & pin all four sides. {**If you're using cotton batting/stuffing, only pin 3 sides}

3) Stitch *ONLY THREE* of the sides all the way shut, then stitch the FOURTH side 1/2 - 3/4 of the way shut. Repeat on each set of squares. {**Again, if you're using cotton batting/stuffing, only stitch those first 3 sides closed. Leave the fourth completely open}

4) Now turn all of the stitched squares right side out-- a pencil is helpful to poke those corners out.

5) Fill with lavender.  {**if using cotton batting/stuffing, insert that first and then add the other filler}


6) Fold the open edges of your square inward, pin if needed, and then stitch shut.

Now bundle together in sets if you wish and tie with a strip of fabric or ribbon. These make super sweet and thoughtful gifts! Stash in a drawer, car, suitcase-- you name it! I also sleep with mine at times when I have headaches. The Lavender has excellent healing properties.

dishes & raindrops

I am listening....

to the rain falling softly outside my open window

to this song... which is also song by Ella, Louis, Doris & The Mamas & The Papas  {that last rendition *always* makes me thing of Leap Year... beautiful little movie. love it!}

to someone washing up the dishes from tonight {19 plates, 19 soup bowls, 19 spoons, 19 desert bowls, 19  desert forks-- if you can't tell, we like large groups}

I am thinking...

of this morning's sermon {the most straightforward, honest and simple message I've ever heard on 1 Corinthians 10: 23-33. so good.}

of how I really, desperately need a hair cut but keep putting it off cause it's finally at the length I love

how random it is that my brother is leaving to work out at 9:25 on a Sunday night

xoxo

em

hebrews 10:35-36

absolutely loving this verse. had to share.

DIY: Basic Driftwood Frame

You should've seen my suitcase coming home from both Lake Erie and Lake Michigan this year! Full of lake glass, drift wood and birch bark that I scavenged off of the beaches and side of the road. Call me crazy- I call it resourceful. :D 'Cause not only do I love repurposing things and being challenged creatively by items, I love it when it costs me nada!

The sea glass {and a few special pieces of driftwood} I'm letting be simple decoration-- no plans to use them for projects. But I've had several ideas for using the rest of the driftwood and that beautiful birch.

You might have seen the first finished item -this headband- and now I'm going to share another simple idea. A driftwood/backyard-twig basic frame. The end result will vary depending on what you want to use it for. Originally I was going to make mine a photo frame or piece of art but when the lace from an old skirt caught my eye, all ideas went out the window except one:) Earing holder! {nevermind that I've yet to get around to piercing my ears... I have several sets of earings thanks to Daddy and friends that could use a prettier holder than a drawer!}

I made this just with things I had laying around so I'm going to challenge you to do the same. Get creative and repurpose things! Maybe you'll use ribbon instead of twine... or fabric instead of lace. {You should have no problem finding some twigs in your back yard!}

All you need for the basic frame is semi-thick sticks & twine or other string. Lay your sticks in the shape of a frame with the two horizontal sticks lying on top of the vertical sticks. It might be helpful to hot glue the points where they overlap to make it easier to wrap the twine. Tightly wrap the string criss-cross around the point where two of the sticks overlap as many times as you like. Tie off. Do this for each corner. 

And then here's where you get creative and take it whichever direction you like! Tie on lace, ribbon, thick twine, fabric, etc to hang things from. Or hot glue a doily {cut to size} to the back. Or lash more sticks on horizontally to hang things from. Or make a photo frame. So many possibilities! And now that I have so many ideas running through my mind, I'm definitely going to have to make more!
Send me your results- I'd love to see them! diligent4christ1993{at}hotmail{dot}com

 

DIY: Pinterest Inspired

I mentioned once *here* how I had a small goal to create each project I pinned to my "Next on the Project List" board on Pinterest. Well here's the start of it-- plus a few foodies I pinned and tried. Make sure to click on the title of each project for a link to the tutorial or original inspiration!!

{p.s. Did I mention that every one of these projects so far has been made out of things we already had laying around the house not being used?! except for the crayons cause I bought a new box of them. but they were only .40!! haha}

The first {which I've already blogged about *here*} is the Tie necklace

Peppermint Patties

{yes this photo is from last winter but I totally made these just a few weeks ago cause we love 'em;) I just forgot to photograph them this time around;)}

The Resist Dye Tee
I have no idea what the design on this t-shirt is supposed to be! I just started squeezing glue and this is how it ended up;) This tutorial was awesome though and very simple. An great way to get some extra use out of those stained white tees or tanks you have shoved into the back of your drawer!

Photo Frame Dry Erase Board
I wanted to try out this idea but didn't really need one for myself... it just so happened that we were having a mini-Mary Kay party that night and I had the perfect paper! So I threw this together as a thank-you to the consultant.

Parmesan Tomatoes

Forgot to photograph these yummies as well {photo via eatingwell} but definitely made and ate them. so good. so simple.

Melted Crayon Art
Just another one of those things that looked super fun {who can resist those colors?!} and only cost .40 so I just had to try it! Abigail helped me with this and it really *was* fun! We decided to go for more of a blended and blown look with ours.

envelopes made from: doilies, maps, brown.paper.bags, {and have yet to find the right book pages which would be available for my creative use;)}
I found & used THIS template which makes 5.5"x4" envelopes

 I only had rectangle doilies avail to me so I used the template-- but I can't wait to use round doilies sometime. much simpler!

 None other than an old map of Tennessee we had laying around:) Would love to try this with vintage or world maps.

Who knew Ruche would have such fabulous brown bags... which would in turn make fabulous envelopes?!!!

and nothing like a little Starbucks bag repurposing:)

Yarn Braid

Analiese let me try this fun idea on her hair and she absolutely *loved* it!!

Okay. That's it for now:D

What are some small {or large} projects you've done recently?!!

look of the day: inspired

I'm attempting to get this 'ole blog back on track with posting inspiration instead of all of my silly thoughts and doings! 

Today's outfit was inspired by something that popped up on Pinterest last night. Button up shirt-turned-skirt. {No sew} I saw it and wanted to try it right off! One of my favorite things is wearing things differently than usual {example: skirt as dress}! But instead of stealing   borrowing a shirt from Daddy like I thought I would, I ended up using  a shirt Mama's had since college! Oxford button-ups haven't changed much since the 80's:) {Mama was having a really hard time understanding why.in.the.world I wanted to wear a shirt as a skirt! :D But she's kinda used to me trying crazy ideas.}

{shirt-turned-skirt: Mamas | striped tank: Children's Place | Cardigan: thrifted-Delia's | flats: thrifted- Target | arm-candy: vintage, Tijuana, Mexico, made by Eleanna | sunglasses: gift-Anthro}

I thought I'd put together a mini-list of pros and cons about this style after wearing it to play with 18-20 energetic kids for 2 hours, meeting a friend for some chit-chat, taking a nap outside and workin' the camera to get some shots of Lissie. 

Pros:
Super easy.
Definitely comfortable {except for having to adjust it often}
I had no problem with modesty-- even when squatting, bending, getting down and off the floor
I love the way the back looks

Cons:
I feel like it's a little on the shapeless side of things
The sides don't stay tucked in so every one in a while you've got to adjust them
And speaking of adjusting, you're pulling those sleeves tied about every 3 minutes. More often when chasing kids around!

These shoes have been the best this summer! They are almost like sandals (I rarely wear closed in shoes in the summer unless I'm going to the gym, working on a major project or mowing} which I love and despite having no cushion or support, they've given me no complaints after walking *all over town* {no exaggeration}. I've definitely gotten more than my $2.15 out of them!

Oh, and you want to give this style a try?! Follow the instructions from Mommy Chic!!

 Alrighty. Just looked at these pictures again and feel so dumb! Obviously she tied it in a *double* knot  which a)looks more tailored and b)fixes a lot of those adjusting problems I was having! I think I might just have to give this style a second try after all!

{images via me and Mommy Chic}

adventures.fulfilled | vol. 4, part 1 | Hill Top Farm

And finally the last installment!!

On our way home from Michigan we stopped at the 100th family reunion of my Mama's side of the family where we saw her parents. They were talking about Jonathan going home with them to help my Grandpa with the hay {we always do these things last minute!} and I suddenly realized that I hadn't been to visit them in over four years. Yeah I'd seen them and even been to their farm but I hadn't had the opportunity to stay with them like I used to when I was younger. So then I thought, "but why couldn't I go now? If I don't go now, it most likely won't happen for a very long time. And now's as good as ever cause I don't have anything I need to be home for." My grandparents were quite surprised with my proposal -after all it'd been over 4 years- but immediately they were totally okay with it! {they're awesome like that!}

We stopped at Kewpees after we left the reunion. It's a little hamburger joint in northern Ohio {there are only 3 locations I believe} that's been there so long that my GREAT-grandfather {or grandpappy I guess!} used to eat there. It was my first time though and my grandparents were pretty bent on "giving me the experience"! haha I started ordering one burger and immediately Grandma buts in, "no, she wants two--", and turning to me,  "you have to have one for the road, honey! we always get two!" It definitely beats Micky D's or any other fast food burger joint and their malts... are what Wendy's  frosties were when I was little! Thick and perfect! At their original store, the parking lot is so small {10-15 cars} that they used to have a turntable at the end. When you wanted to leave you'd pull onto the turn-table, they'd hand crank you around and then you'd pull out! {Please don't ask me why they have a naked baby as their mascot or w/e! I never learned that story!}

Edit: I just googled it which sent me to Wiki-- apparently it's because the restaurant was named after the Kewpie doll {read more about the restaurant here}

It wasn't until we were in their jeep headed home to Hill Top Farm that I found out how super perfect timing my visiting them was. Such a God thing! Some how everyone but I had known that the next day my Grandma was going in for cataract surgery and really needed someone to take care of her, my Grandpa and the house for a few days. 

They live in a cozy but spacious log cabin which they built themselves {with the help of the amish} either before I was born or when I was still really young {obviously I don't remember it!}.  It's situated on the top of a hill in southern Ohio {hence the name, Hill Top Farm} in the middle of Amish country. 

The weather ended up being absolutely sweltering and too hot to work in  during the week we were there so the guys spent more of their time indoors than usual. But Johann helped me by cleaning out the fridge one day. Grandma let me attack her half bath, pantry, kitchen drawers, cupboards, counters and utensil crocks... cleaning them out, purging and reorganizing. She was so awesome about it all week! Both Johann and I have always loved doing those things so in many ways it didn't seem like 'work'. {Funny side story: When we were little and would go grocery shopping in Kroger or Walmart, there were so many times where we almost got left behind because we were sitting in the Jello aisle organizing all the jello boxes in their bins!}Next time we go we'll be burying ourselves in that laundry room of hers;)

After way too many phone calls to internet service providers and lots of research, we finally got them highspeed internet access way out in the boonies via an internet card! The jump from dial-up to that internet card was amazing! As my grandpa kept saying, they used to type in the web address, then eat lunch and do the chores before coming back and it'd still be loading! {okay, maybe not that slow-- we were all exaggerating some but it really *was* slow. You could at least go pee and make your bed before it'd be loaded} Oh and we also got a laptop purchased for them while we were there! There was one time when I never thought I'd see the day when my Grandpa would buy a cell phone, much less get rid of his landline or buy a computer much less a laptop! But I'm glad to see he's taking it a little easier and not running the farm as hard as he used to.

One of Grandma and Grandpas favorite things is to just get in the car and drive... exploring and never knowing where they'll end up. I think this comes from Grandpa's years with the Ohio Power Company when he drove all over the state for jobs. One night Grandpa asked Johann and I, "want to go for a drive and find some dinner?!" And thinking he meant driving into town {45 minutes away} we said sure! 2 1/2 hours later we stopped at the Ohio/West Virginia line for some burgers! phew! But we'd seen some gorgeous hilly countryside, driven past places they go to listen to BlueGrass in the winter and heard so many stories from Grandpa's years with the Ohio electric company. {It only took us 1 1/2 hours to get home... we must've taken the *very* scenic route there! haha}

They also love mom and pop restaurants and after raving about them, took us to a few during our visit:)

Old Nellie

One of the amish rockers on the front porch where we'd sit at night

This is *the* swing to spend your evenings on

They've got just one barn cat now {it used to be several}, a black lab {Squirt}, a ferocious black rooster and a passel of hens

The two cows are named Sir Loin and Chuck Roast {The first two they had were named John and Deer and for the next three {which will be angus steer} we've discussed naming them Adam, Hosse and Little Joe:)}

Grandpa's antique tractor... the one he used to farm with when I was little. Now he's got a fancy shmancy one that does the trick.

It was such a great week. I'm so thankful Jesus blessed us to go and be able to do so much for my grandparents and spend so much time with them!