December was a blur

So this month really grabbed me by the nape of my neck and shook me hard- I can’t believe it’s dec 27th -  I am going to consistently make an effort to publish weekly 

So much to talk about! 

For those of  you following the front porch progression: 

My mom bought me an antique milk can- I have wanted one for years- and this particular one is very old and heavy and I say it’s safe to assume it’s going to stay on my front porch year round now 

Love it 

Other than Christmas and holiday celebrations last week- the  highlight of my month was getting to take my oldest son jack to go see the play “Hamilton” in Greenville, SC at the peace center. Jack has been obsessed with the soundtrack and so this was his big gift from his dad and I to him- lucky me got to go too! We had an amazing time and loved every second of it! 

After that, the kids were out of school and I’ve been in a hurricane of events, family visits and holiday fervor 

But I have also made time  and space for myself too- which I think is so important during the holidays 

I’ve done a lot of this :

I’m reading a great book about Alva Vanderbilt 

I’m

Almost finished with it and I love it so much! Been such a great read! 

I also repurposed a necklace (cut it up and made it to fit me better used a different design) 

It has a fairy stone on it! And I love this necklace it’s so meaningful to me! Very SwVA 

I also was able to go to the farm and feed  cows with my dad on Christmas Eve 

Such a great morning! 

I received some great Pyrex bowls from my mom 

And fire king mugs from my sister in law Tammy 

And even though I wasn’t expecting it and feel I don’t deserve it - ( because I feel I have too much and really need nothing ) 

Santa (in the form of Brock) came and left me something very nice 

So sweet ♥️

So now here I am present moment  I am thinking of taking down my Christmas decor either today or tomorrow - 

On the cusp of New Years 

I really don’t have resolutions- other than I want 2019 to be full of happiness and joy-  good health - fun adventures and I have a lot of home related projects I wish to tackle. 

If you made it to the end of this post- I truly wish you had a wonderful Christmas and wishing you a happy new year ♥️

Oh Christmas tree

Yesterday we were able to do some family bonding and get our live Christmas tree from Red Barn Christmas Trees near Damascus, Va. These trees are harvested locally from

white top mtn! One of my favorite places! Plus it feels amazing to support a local business and have locally sourced trees

We may have out did ourselves - we bought two trees a small one and a big one - I bought the smaller one for my front porch to go in my moms galvanized wash tub she lent me- and we bought the large 10 foot one for our living room

I was impatient and decided to decorate the smaller one last night 

Yay! I also bought the boys two new sleds for the impending snowmagedon this weekend- that’s what’s junking up the pic behind The tree :) 

We got the larger tree in the stand and let the branches find where they need to be overnight 

And decided to decorate it today 

We used all our ornaments we have amassed the past 15 years! So sentimental- and so us ♥️

Crafty beginning to December

This morning I awoke to a lovely sunrise 

I decided to treat myself to a craft day today: 

First I made myself a headband using a combination of knitting on a loom and crochet 

Warm and toasty- I got the yarn from “a likely yarn” in abingdon - it’s wool but feels so soft without feeling scratchy 

Then I made little gifts for the up coming Christmas season 

Yes everyone and I mean everyone is getting homemade soap and lip balm for Christmas! 

Lastly I’ve added some greenery to my front porch 

I am going to have a live  decorated tree on my front porch placed in a galvanized wash tub - but waiting until

Next weekend to do that 

 So this Saturday was nice and relaxing, productive  

Slowly starting to feel like the holidays

We have been experiencing some cold weather this week- I really have wanted to accomplish more but sick kid, weather meh- 

Some days you just have to play the cards you are dealt. 

However, today even though it was windy and 25f I decorated some outside- it’s a work in progress but I’m slowly chipping away at it 

Here are some pictures of what I’ve done so far: 

I hung a big wreath and garland on my back porch- this porch is probably my favorite place in the house - I’m constantly out there no matter what the season . 

Still have a lot to go on the front porch but it’s a start- going to have a tree 🌲 on my front porch by this weekend :) and more greenery but I have my antique sled and ice skates out! And the watering can is very special to me it was my papaw Claude’s 

My dad gave it to me several years ago. It’s one of my most treasured things 

 Mail box 

 This isn’t decor- this is my dinner - it was so cold I decided to use my mini bge I normally just use for tailgates or family camping- but it was so blustery and cold 🥶 I did not want to have to walk into the courtyard and use my normal sized big green egg- plus with me and the kids I now realize how much lump charcoal I was wasting - this size is perfect for three ppl or less 

And I enjoyed just Popping out the kitchen back door onto my porch to check the food and two feet from the warm house 😂 

Truly thankful for the little things 

Next up: I know this weekend more adventures on tap and more decorating 

Tomorrow am going to try for a cold weather adventure run in the woods after I take the kids to school - 

Black Friday squirrel gravy

 Thanksgiving is usually a big hunting week for my family- we got to the farm Wednesday - Todd and I deer hunted - but never saw any deer 

Which happens! We had fun anyway 

Todd got bored and feel asleep on me in the blind 

So yesterday (thanksgiving) before he left my parents farm my 11 yr old son shot a fox squirrel- it was a great educational moment for me as I had never skinned and gutted a squirrel before only deer and fish was the extent of my reportoire 

This guy was huge! My dad and I skinned , gutted and cleaned mister squirrel with Todd helping and observing- 

And once I got home I placed him in some salt water to soak over night in the fridge 

Todd and I decided we would have the squirrel for breakfast 🍳 

So I woke up at 5 am this morning to start the task of preparing the squirrel- I decided to use my instapot to cook him for phase 1. I placed the squirrel, some water, and salt/pepper and some sprigs of rosemary in the pot and cooked it on the chicken setting for 40 min- 

While the squirrel was cooking I knew it was going to be good because it smelled good :) 

This is what the squirrel looked like after it was cooked and I now have stock for my gravey so that’s incredible and I can’t say enough how good this smelled- honestly it was like I cooked chicken 

So I rolled the pieces of squirrel in seasoned flour and fried it like fried chicken 

I made biscuits from scratch

Then lastly I made gravey with the grease and some

Flour/ milk and the stock from cooking the squirrel 

 The lumps are some bits of sausage I fried with the squirrel to give it more grease 




Todd enjoying the harvest of his hunt 

So end of the day- I felt this experience was so worthwhile- Todd and I both cultivated skills of sustainability- and found it very tasty and enjoyable!and this thanksgiving weekend we are both grateful - As I told

Him when we were having our breakfast “we will never starve” ♥️🤗

Antiquing/consignment finds this week

I admittedly am planning on my “next phase” of front porch decorating- for winter/ Christmas I have some rustic ideas floating around in my head- but knew I needed to hit up some antique stores to bring some of my ideas into fruition. 

  I don’t have all the materials I need - yet- but I did find several things that I was on a quest for and several surprises too! I wanted to share some of them with my readers 

- first off- I love antiquing and consignment shops- I find it so fun like treasure hunting! 

So at the first antique store I go to in abingdon- I find - both an old  tail sled 🛷 and ice skates (oh makes me think of Ethan frome) both of these finds are going in the front porch and will probably stay there until Valentine’s Day 

I was thrilled to find these things! I have a list of several more items that I need I will work on this weekend - when my winter porch scene is complete I will post it. 

So while I was searching for Christmas decor- I found two fire king mugs! I love love love fire king and Pyrex and particularly the Kimberly fire king mugs (with the diamond etched pattern) my parents had these mugs when I was very small so they carry with them very positive nostalgia for me of feeling safe, loved and warm. 

And isn’t the butterfly one so pretty? These are the perfect size for my espresso machine 

Also I found at the antique store - this beautiful sweater- that wasn’t an antique but someone had it hanging there for sale In Their booth for 12.00 - a Judith March sweater that had magnolias on it! 

Love this sweater and it’s so warm!! 

And it was like a Christmas next door in a consignment shop- I found a pair of size 8 hunter boots for 20.00 and they are the exact same shade of pink as my new sweater!! 

So yay! So awesome! 

That’s been what I’ve been up to the past couple days in addition to pre thanksgiving craziness!! Hope all of you have an amazing thanksgiving!! We all have al much to be grateful for ♥️🤗

Adventures this week in crafting

 Beginning of this week I found myself on the struggle bus with a sinus infection (I think 🤔 being out in the cold so long on my hike Saturday) so instead of focusing on fitness- I focused on making good use of my time inside by working on some craft projects- 

Firstly, I crocheted 🧶 myself a hat! I absolutely love the feel of the yarn I used- I purchased it from hobby lobby in bristol- it has a very nice hand (very soft and not scratchy but it’s wool) and it’s so  toasty warm! I also have been experimenting using larger size crochet hooks- 

As you can see this one is gigantic compared to the ones my grandmother would use when I was a child. I love the larger sizes and find them even easier to work with than the smaller size hooks. I don’t ever use patterns for my hats - I really don’t even know what I’m doing- I just start with a chain connect it into itself then proceed to crochet in circles- occasionally trying the hat on and figuring out adjustments so it’s the correct diameter/size until it’s done. 

Finished product 

I like it ♥️

Okay yesterday I was looking at Pinterest for some Christmas decor inspiration- and kept seeing dried orange slices come up in my feed- it occurred to me that I have naval 🍊 oranges in my fridge- also, I have a dehydrator so - why not?? 

I thinly sliced about 10 oranges 🍊 and dehydrated them overnight - this morning I strung them on bakers twine using a needle I use for  finishing up knitting projects  🧶 

Big plastic needle  - I’m sure you could

Used a normal needle and thread 🧵 but I’m such a goof- I’m positive I could of gotten it entangled had I attempted that- 

And the end result is: 

I added several bundles of rosemary to dry and to add some color contrast- 

Some of my leftover orange slices I’m keeping to make oranaments for the tree and also to add to Christmas packages I like to use brown paper for a minimalist look with the twine and now I’m envisioning the orange slices and sprigs of pine or evergreen tied to it ♥️

Christmas for me is still far away- I like to get through thanksgiving first but even this garland I feel is a great transition from late fall to winter and could be  possibly on my mantel until feb 😂 

Hope everyone is having a great week! ♥️ practice self care and  make room in your life to do things you enjoy 😊