Simpilee Living

Taylor Swift Gowns

2015-02-03T15:35:00.001-08:00

So I am in love with Taylor Swift Blank Space

It is an really amazing video with some amazing fashion. I wanted to put them online for sale for my team and I to recreate, but I got several legal notices that I was not allowed to. So if you are looking for a great copy of great outfits, keep reading.

Click Here for my etsy listing for this black lace gown.

This took a few extra liberties but if you want a truly vintage inspired look, Click here for this adorable day dress

Please note, I am not associated with Taylor Swift or anything around her. Please don't sue me.

All images are captures from her video. Once again, please don't sue me.

Infusing a bit of new style

2014-09-19T13:27:00.003-07:00

So I have been working on infusing some more Kate style with a bit of my style.

I adore this dress Kate wore:

I just found out that I am able to get a hold of the fabric finally!!! If you are interested in purchasing one it will cost $110. International Shipping is available

Here is a close up of the fabric

Go to my store and send me a message, here is the shop link, Click here

So I decided to upload some of my favorite works over the years to my shop. If you are looking for new and different check out the shop. But here are my personal favorites

Grey Faux Fur collar Winter Coat

Red Wool Coat with Brown Fur and Cuff, it comes in a fabulous White also

I love this coat, not just for the Lace but the cowl is removable for not so cold days

Click here for the listing

And the most wonderful of all my coats ever....

Click here for the listing now available in Mocha!

It has been a long time...

2014-09-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

I wonder some days how I got to where I am. I know I am crazy because being a full time student and having 3 children and a house, I feel like sometimes the world is about to come crashing down on my head.

But tonight I was reminded of how I got here, how I learned who I was and what I wanted to do and setting that example for my children. I really owe a bit to my very patient husband, but a big part to Mary Jane Butters and everyone over at the Farm (click here). If you don't know what MJF is I recommend looking into it. I adore everyone in the forums and their wonderful advice. My favorite was the badges, I loved earning them and I did my best at them. I even was the farm girl of the year for 2012.

So tonight I was scrambling between outlining chapters of Principles of Management, Statistics 2, and a touch of learning to speak German. I felt a heaviness in my heart. After getting 2 out of 3 kids to bed I pulled out the latest issue of Mary Jane Farm.

As the baby ran (yes run, he started walking over the summer) around the coffee table, I was able to take in some of the articles. The issue was heavily dedicated to bread. Coincidentally I had made two loaves of Apple Bread earlier today. It reminded me of my early days "on the farm forums". We were going through a financial setback at my house and we didn't have enough money to buy bread, not to mention the extra cost in gas to travel the 20 minutes to Walmart.

So after a few interesting posts to read I decided, I could do that, and thus was my first homemade batch of bread.

It is amazing in my time as a dedicated farmgirl what I learned. For example last week I had some berries on the verge of going bad that I tossed into a pan with some sugar and made about 1/2 cup of jam. Not for any reason other than Mary Jane taught me how to not waste things. In the early summer I was able to collect raspberries from my bushes, nearly 2 pints. I was elated at them, they never made it to jam. Between learning to can applesauce, and then teaching my city mother, to saving my cranberry sauce a few years ago on Thanksgiving.

As for my etsy shop, that started off as a merit badge, and now is a full job too. It does even contribute a nice little slice to my household budget. Mary Jane taught me how to pay for my books this semester. Even blogging is a merit badge.

I was a very lost woman in 2009 when I discovered Mary Jane's Farm. Through everyone in the chatrooms and alot of learning, my life is moving forward. As difficult some days are to juggle everything, I would probably be just as lost as I was if I had not found Mary Jane and her Farm.

So this is my formal Thank You to everyone on the boards and at the Farm and especially to Mary Jane helping me and my family, in so many ways that I can't even count.

7 months later

2014-03-26T06:46:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone!

7 months later and I am just posting again. So back in January I decided to go back to school, York College to be exact, and I love it. Tons of work with the three kids but work every moment. Still dressing up everyday here, I hope to get a video of my 15 minute beauty routine in the morning, just because you have kids and full time coursework does not mean that you can't look fabulous. You might see the new tab, Duchess of York College because I will be writing my reviews for classes and keeping them there to help future students of those Professors.

Also on the diet, I ended up joining Weight Watchers, and right now I am down 30 lbs! Nearly at married weight! I am in a plateau right now, as I was back in 2009, but I am still fighting. Last time I gave up. I want to be down to my dream weight in about 30 to 35 lbs.

I did start a new blog, not that I don't love you, but please check it out Repli-Kate.blogspot.com it is for those looking for Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge's looks and accessories on budgets. Please also like the new Facebook page for it!

It is an exciting year here and I hope that I will be able to write more posts for y'all with my time between classes.

Have a great day!

Start Working Out!

2013-07-26T13:49:00.004-07:00

So yesterday it was 5 weeks since my Little Mike came into the world. We are so please and he is developing leaps and bounds. He is showing signs of smiling and it is wonderful. We celebrated his christening at our Lutheran Church a few weeks ago.

And as always here were the cakes!

And my little Will's 2nd birthday cake

But now that my cake is over, I have to concentrate on getting my body in better shape. This has nothing to do with loosing weight really, more about toning up. I am 40 lbs heavier than when I was married 7 years ago, never ever go on the birth control shot. So I am starting to work out as much as I can. Today we started simple and did some stretching yoga. I am under no thought process that I can do an intensity workout, but I want to work my way up to them. So today I did a simple yoga and stretch on my Comcast On Demand. After 24 minutes I was feeling the burn. I wanted to know where I was loosing weight so I made up a simple Workout / Fat Loss / Tone Up Log. You can download the pdf here . Take your measurements and weigh yourself. And let us tone up together!

Baby Has Arrived!

2013-07-08T16:32:00.001-07:00

So, my newest little one arrived on June 20th, 2013. It was a boy, I was so suprised and happy, he was happy and healthy. He weighed in at 8 lbs 7.5 ozs and was born at 3:25 in the morning.

Here is my little guy close up.

So this week is his baptism and I will be baking cakes and making cookies until my hands fall off. Stay tuned for more information.

But I will let you in on a little secret, I am starting to cheat at my cakes. I am using box cake mix! Ohhh no!!! Not extactly. Instead of following the directions I am using the box mix, the correct amount of water and instead of oil, melting the equal amount of butter. I also add an extra egg, it makes for a wonderful cake, with alot less work.

Check up on the blog this week, because there is lots of work to be done, and lots to blog about!

Dear new moms...

2013-06-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

So, as of today, there is still no new addition to our family. Not to be discouraged my hubby took me to the mall to walk. After our usual once around we found ourselves in Boscovs. Now I had a feeling to check the purses and we found the most perfect diaper bag.

Now I have nothing against diaper bags that you can purchase at the major box stores but more than likely you will buy something like this

But after one year of use your diaper bag will look like this.

But what is a diaper bag essentially, it is something that you can put into your car that has a wide enough base to accommodate a can of formula, two bottles, a bottle of water, four or five diapers (or one or two for short trips) wipes and a changing pad.

So why does this item that seemingly all moms must have be so... loud. This being our third child on my registry I selected 2 diaper bags, both for about $100 each, they were ohh so stylish and adorable, then came the angry calls from my family. Why should I have such a nice diaper bag? Why can't I have just the regular kind that you can buy in a store?

My question back would be, why can't I have a nice diaper bag? And to that they would have no answer. So as my wonderful dear husband was having me walk the mall to start up some labor contractions, we ventured into Boscovs. I wanted to have a look at the purses and saw one that had what looked like bottle carriers.

We tend to use taller and wider bottles, so this particular purse here was not a good fit. But it got me looking, what else would they have that could be good for a diaper bag. Instantly my husband and I found one, all leather, nice high and wide sides and deep enough to carry our regular diaper bag items. London Fog ended up being the brand here.

We are really excited about this diaper bag and it is a high enough quality that it will stand up to the year or so of use and abuse that diaper bags tend to go through.

Remember, just because we are moms doesn't mean we have to have... loud items. Proud haute momma here.

Contraction Cupcakes

2013-06-10T13:15:00.001-07:00

Contraction Cupcakes

This is a short post for everyone, I am writing in between contractions. I started these contraction cupcakes earlier today, not realizing it really might actually do the trick. These are Red Raspberry Leaf Tea Cupcakes with a pineapple on the bottom and Lemon Drop Icing.

Here is how to make the cupcakes:

First brew a cup (9 oz) of 2x strength red raspberry leaf tea. Let sit for about an hour or more to really brew together.

Take a pineapple, and cut the top and bottom off.

Cut off the outer skin.

Cut the pineapple into thin-ish slices, about the thickness of a two quarters.

I used my canning funnel, but cut circles out of edges of the pineapple, don't worry if you get some of the core in there, it will not matter.

Place the precut circles into a lined cupcake pan.

Using Dark Brown Sugar sprinkle a bit on the pineapples in the cupcake pan.

Mix together the batter for the cupcakes now...
Set 1 stick butter in saucepan on low heat on stove to melt.

Using a funnel, and a coffee filter, drain out the tea leaves from the tea.

Put the entire bag of white cake mix.

Add 4 eggs.

Once butter is done melting down SLOWLY add it to the batch.

Once the butter and everything is very mixed together, add it to the cupcake liners.

Bake in a preheated oven of 350 degrees for 20 minutes for standard cupcake size.

Once they are cool enough to handle place in fridge to get colder.

Let us make the frosting now...
Using 8 Tablespoons of Butter and 6-8 Tablespoons of Vegetable Shortening, blend together.

Add the juice of one lemon. Also the zest of the same one lemon.

Using the mixer put in about 1 lb of confectioner's sugar, mixing until very smooth looking.

Place into gallon bag.

Cut off a corner and move icing to that side for instant icing bag. Ice the cupcakes away!

I know this was a terrible blog post, but seriously I am in some serious contractions right now.... hopefully we will have baby news soon.

Recipe:

Contraction or Labor Cupcakes
Cupcakes
1 fresh pineapple
4 tablespoons or so of dark brown sugar
1 box white cake mix
4 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
4 tablespoons of red raspberry leaf loose tea, or two tea bags of it
9 oz of boiling water

1. Brew tea with boiling water, let sit one hour.
2. Cut the pineapple into thin slices and cut small circles that fit into the bottom of lined cupcake pans.
3. Sprinkle on brown sugar to pineapples in lined cupcake pans.
4. In a mixing bowl, mix together eggs, cake mix and 1 stick melted butter, and filtered tea, mix together.
5. Put batter on top of pineapple slices in lined cupcake pans.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes
7. Once cool, take out of cupcake pans and place in fridge to cool more.

Icing
1 stick butter, room temperature
6-8 tablespoons of vegetable shortening
1 lemon
1 lb of confectioner's sugar.

1. In a mixing bowl blend together butter and vegetable shortening.
2. Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice into icing mixture.
3. Using a small grater, zest the outside of the lemon into the mixture.
4. Blend together again and then slowly add confectioners sugar, mix until smooth.

To Ice the cupcakes place icing in gallon bag. Cut a bottom corner off and push the icing to that corner. Do a fun swirl or design on it. Enjoy!

Gardening and Muffins

2013-04-15T10:38:00.001-07:00

The garden is coming along splendidly. We are very excited about our investment and the potentional payoff of it. I has been difficult this year with the investment of the light shelves for seedlings. Along with finally putting the last fence post in and then stapling a critter proof fence to the split rail. We only needed to purchase 12 Kale plants so far. Along with all of the seedlings we had to try something else new, hardening off seedlings. This made me the most nervous of all. We purchased a set of shelves and then mounted them to a simple board with wheels. I was able to roll out the plants, several hours every day and then roll them back into the garage.

The first day the plants were out 8-12 then 8-2, then 8-4, then 8-8, then 24 hours a day. This plan worked wonderfully since we had some beautiful weather last week. I was able to plant 27 cabbage plants, and 18 Broccoli plants. I then watered them with Miracle Grow Organic Plant Fertilizer. Using a simple hose attachment I watered all the new plants, here is the one I purchased at our local true value . It worked wonderfully for the fertilizer and the fruit tree spray. We also purchased a new Cortland Apple Tree and planted it near the Golden Delicious from last year. I sprayed down both trees very well, hoping to avoid the Apple tree scab that we had last year.

Here are the Cabbage Plants

The peas have seriously sprouted

Some of the broccoli is looking a bit shocked this morning, but not too bad, I have faith that it will live.

Onions and the Kale have sprouted, just waiting on the carrots.

This year we also put in a garden gate. We just purchased a simple gate kit from Home Depot and installed it. After a few tries we had it level and ready to go. Hopefully this will help keep the critters out also.

Today is a big day for seedlings, today we are going to be starting our Tomatoe and Pepper plants, also we will be working on transfering some Lettuce starts to bigger pots.

Now onto the best part of the day, other than coffee, my new recipe for Oatmeal Cranberry Muffins, using Mary Jane Farm Baking Mix

1 cup milk
1 cup Quick Cooking Oats
1 egg
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 2/3 cup Baking Mix
1/2 cup apple juice infused dried cranberries

In a mixing bowl, mix up the milk, oats, egg, oil, sugar, and baking mix. After mixed through fold in the dried cranberries. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Bagels and Badges

2013-03-10T07:45:00.001-07:00

We are working on merit badges for Mary Jane's Farm Farmgirls today. Writing and submitting, here are my some of my recent submissions.

Quilting-Intermediate

Heirlooms Forever - Beginner

Tatting - Beginner

Alot of people that know me, understand that the Farmgirls have changed my life and and how my family lives. It is an amazing sisterhood of women that want nothing more than to help each other and make everything at home. For more information about the Forums and all the great information on them go to http://www.maryjanesfarm.com/snitz/default.asp and for the Farmgirl Sisterhood http://www.farmgirlsisterhood.org/

As for today my family is in love with bagels. I wanted to post our recipe for making homemade bagels in a very easy way. They barely last 24 hours in our home. You can make them by hand by mixing the ingredients and then letting rise until doubled. But to save time I use the dough setting on my bread maker.

Homemade Bagels
3,5 cups Flour
4.5 teaspoons of yeast
3 Tablespoons of Sugar
1 Tablespoon Salt
1.5 Cups Hot water (110 degrees)

Boiling Water bath
1.5 Quarts of water
1.5 Tablespoons

Place Bagel ingredients into breadmachine in manufacturer's specified order. Set to Dough setting and run.

This is what the dough looks like when it is done.

Make into 8 balls and then poke holes with thumb into center. Stretch them out a bit and place on wax paper. Let rise about 10 minutes.

Prepare the Boiling water bath in pot.

Using a slotted spoon give the syrup a stir in the boiling water bath.

(can you tell I made Spagetti Sauce)
Place the bagels into the water and let boil on each side for about 30 seconds. Place onto Renoyld's Non-Stick Foil on a cookie sheet. (I have also used a LATHERED with butter flavored crisco cookie sheet)

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes.

After they are finished immediatly pull them from the foil and cut with a bread knife. Enjoy!

A Friend In Need

2013-02-02T16:50:00.001-08:00

So after my post about baby diapers I received an email regarding Post-Partum Reusable Pads. This woman was very unsatisfied with what she was finding online and wanted to know if I could come up with a pattern for her. This pattern uses the leftover pieces of fabric from my previous diaper post. If purchasing the fabric for the liners you will need 12 inches of PUL fabric, and 6 inches of one sided fleece. Each pad requires one cloth prefold diaper and 1/2 yard of 100% cotton flannel. Also you will need snaps. Also about 12 inches of ric rac for each pad.

For your PUL fabric and one-sided fleece I will plug the Kids in the Garden here For the Prefold diapers you can purchase them at Babies R Us (12 for 16.99). Last the Snaps, I love KamSnaps to no end here . For the 1/2 Yard of 100% flannel I suggest grabbing it at Joanns, every once in a while, the price drops to 2.79 a yard.

First to do is print out the pattern here when the pieces come together they will look like this

You must cut the following pieces, per pad.... 1 one-sided fleece of "Pad Liner", 1 flannel of "pad Liner" and "Pad Shell", 1 prefolded diaper of "Pad Liner", 1 PUL of "Pad Shell".

Here are all the pieces cut out for 2 pad sets.

To sew the liners, place the right side of the fleece to the right side of the flannel, topped with the prefolded diaper, pin together.

I left the space to turn it right side out along the side.

To Pin the ric rac in, place it about two inches from the very ends of the pad shell, pin in place.

Now place the lining on top and pin together the Pad shell PUL to the flannel.

I left the opening to flip right side out on one end of the Pad shell.

Sew along the edges about 12-13 mm away from the needle all the way around, leaving the opening to flip right side out.

Cut notches all round the curves.

Then flip right side out.

Stitch about 12 mm again around the outside and across the wings to secure the seams. Coming close to the edge of the opening used to flip it right side out.

For the Pad Liner I doubled stitched.

The Pad Liner fits right into the Pad Shell under the ric rac. Add a snap on each of the wings to secure it to the undergarment.

They do fold nice and discreetly fit into a purse.

These are great practice if you are trying to gear up to sew some diapers, same fabrics and same snaps.

Have a wonderful day.

Diaper Pattern and Directions

2013-01-30T16:19:00.000-08:00

Diaper Day!

As promised I am going to share with you my diaper pattern for a reusable pocket diaper. Plus the directions on how to make them for sizes Newborn to 5 (27 lb+). A few things that you need are some fabrics. I use Kids in the Garden here you can purchase the fabrics by the inches, every 20 inches of the PUL fabric I get 3 diapers. I also like to get the white microfleece one-sided for the linings, or side that will touch the baby's skin. It is really soft and stays soft. Another thing to get are snap pliers and snaps. I know I have seen them at Joann but I love KAMSnaps here they have great customer service. Please note if you buy the size 16 or smaller snaps you HAVE to buy the extra long prong. For diapers I love the size 20 snaps. Each diaper needs 16 sockets and caps and another 6 studs and caps.

The last and final thing is to find 3/8" wide button hole elastic the example here is 6 mm wide. The only place that I have found is on ebay through this seller here I cannot say my opinion on the seller or the feedback. I am only saying that you need a very thin button hole elastic. You will also need 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch buttons. Colors don't 100% matter, but if you are making diapers with the white PUL I would suggest white or clear buttons. There are 5 buttons per diaper.

So first thing is first. You need the pattern and I uploaded it. Click this link. DO NOT hit the green download button. Scroll down and you will find a red button underneath the opening page that reads "Download". This will open up adobe reader and the document. This document is not for commercial use without my permission. Please message me or email me to gain permission. Print the document THREE times. This is so for every 20 inches you can pin all of the patterns at once. Line the A lines up, B Lines and C lines. Tape the paper together and then cut out the diaper shape. The picture above is three of the pattern in tracing paper.

Starting with the PUL fabrics, cut the three diapers. I line them up with one flipped, this allows all three to fit. See the picture below.

When cutting the one-sided fleece you can do the same thing as flipping, but you don't have to because the fabric is 60" wide. But you will want to either bend down the tab on the one side of the diaper. We only need that with the PUL not the fleece.

Now take a pin and one of the pattern pieces and stab holes in the black dots on the pattern. Using a permanent marker use the holes to transfer onto the pattern. Do this to all the black dots.

Now you get to use the snap pliers. You must set the first 6 snaps on the 8 snap set. You will want to cut small squares of PUL from your excess because the prongs are too long for a single layer of fabric. Using the awl tool punch the hole through the two excess squares and the black dot on the diaper. The socket will be the good side of the fabric. KamSnaps has some wonderful videos online here they are great at showing you how to use the pliers. Do the first 6 snaps on either side of the diapers with sockets only to all the diapers.

You can see the use of the excess squares here, on the wrong (shiny) side of the PUL Fabric.

Next we must sew the tab for the elastic down. This is done with a single straight stitch.

For the button hole elastic of this part of the you only need to finish off one side. Mark the last four holes A through D.

String the good edge through the channel and then sew the excess raw edge down.

Sew a button right under the edge of the open side of the channel, so that way the back can be adjustable.

The channel should look like this when done and buttoned.

Now pin the right sides together of the PUL and the fleece. The elastic area is the entry for the insert, so this must remain open.

Here is the finished sewing area on the closed side. You can cut notches to the seam but I have not ever found this to be a needed item.

Refering back to the pattern find the lines right under the snap marks. These are marked "I." Using pins mark them on the diaper.

Sew the channel for the elastic on the sides. This channel must be at least at the 15mm mark or 1/2 inch on the machine. It depends on how wide the elastic you purchased is. Obviously you want the channel a bit bigger than the elastic and I would say just as big as the button.

Do this to both sides of the diaper.

Using a sharp pair of scissors cut a hole at each end of both channels.

In this hole hand sew a button. This does not get sewn to the fleece lining, just inside the hole. Do this for all the holes that were created at each end of the channels.

You must take the double elastic now and create the Double Alphabet elastic. Both ends must be finished off, this helps keep them from popping out constantly. I used letters A-G and it has worked great. But if I was you I would say to go A - H.

Using a safety pin string the Double Alphabet elastic into the channel.

Depending on the size that you are making, this is a newborn size (F-G) Loop the button onto the desired size of elastic.

Stuff the excess elastic down into the opposite side of the channel. This excess just hangs out until you need it while the baby grows.

Pull the elastic through with the safety pin and loop the elastic onto the correct size with the button. Stuffing the excess again into the diaper.

Stuff the buttons into the fleece. I will tell you they pop out sometimes after a wash I just push them back in. Repeat the Double Alphabet elastic process on the other side.

Using the Snap pliers finish off the sockets. And on the opening side of the diaper, put the studs.

Now let us talk about inserts. This is a prefold insert from Gerber that you can purchase in most baby sections of Target, Walmart and of course Babies R Us. These are inside of my diapers and work just fine. First step open up the diaper like this.

Fold over each side so it is a trifold.

I then fold the diaper over, using the size to guide me. Obviously as the baby gets bigger the fold becomes less pronounced.

Folded side first stuff the insert inside the diaper, using the entry with the back elastic.

Fold the lining over the insert to create a nice edge.

All done! One reusable diaper ready for sizes Newborn to 5. Be green and Be Awesome.

Checking in

2013-01-22T15:22:00.000-08:00

I wanted to do a quick post for everybody so that way they could get a grip about what's going on in our house. It has been so very cold here it's amazing how cold it has been in Pennsylvania is beautiful to look at butts so icy whenever you're outside. We have had no snow this winter it's weird to think that we live in Pennsylvania yet we have no snow my parents in Pittsburgh however are definitely getting their fair share of snow this year.

As for any prepping we are off the bandwagon at the moment. We just been so busy thinking about everything for the new baby getting new crib sheets new new fabric to make new cloth diapers for my older son, which he has grown out of his old ones.  So we need to make more. I'll be posting that pattern online later.

We have been mostly healthy through this you're even though we've had a couple of sickness. A touch of a cold virus and a little bit of a stomach upset but we've been pretty good otherwise. We are having a wonderful time staying healthy eating garlic in honey, two things to help boost our immune.

My pregnancy is going great we're getting really really excited only 5 more months to go! Halfway done! Our family is doing major research into homeschooling.  Not because we are we don't like the school system, we are in a great school system.  Perhaps our child is getting a bit lost in the shuffle of having so many kids in a class.

As of January first I officially turned off a whole 28 years old I have a absolutely wonderful husband who took me to Bangkok Balcony in Pittsburgh. I had the pumpkin curry, it is amazing and I am in love with it recipe. Today I'm going to share with you the recipe for pumpkin curry. It's super easy to make mainly because we use pre-made curry sauce. You need for this recipe is 1 half of a breast of chicken on 2 cups rice cooked and then also 1 acorn squash roasty acorn squash for 45 minutes to an hour in the oven on 350 degrees. I like to grill the chicken in just a little bit of oil nothing. for the curry I use Thai brand yellow curry. I take the and use about a 1/2 a jar.  I will add it to the chicken. Once all the curry sauce is heated I will spoon out the acorn squash and add it to the chicken mixture. Just serve it over in a bowl with rice. This takes me aboutt 45 minutes to make and is wonderful.

Another simple thing we learned to make was bacon wrapped dates. These are a delicious thing to do and eat on a cold night as a snack. Simple take a piece of bacon and cut it in half, roll around a date and place on a skewer. I place 5 per skewer. To cook, place in a deep roasting pan, lined in tinfoil, bake a t 370 for 20 - 30 minutes and done. Easy and yummy. I would like to thank my brother in law for introducing me to this while in Chicago for his wonderful wedding.

They Had a pretty good photographer that took a few wonderful pictures of my kids.

Wills and his kilt

Bridget with my dear Husbands mother and father

Long time no see

2013-01-03T05:54:00.000-08:00

I do realize that it has been for ever that I posted on here... Not that I have forgotten, I am just pregnant with mass amounts of morning sickness. That being said, my New Years Resolution is to post more on my blog.

It has been an amazing few months here at the homestead, many people have come over and had spiritual reading and recieved some beautiful messages from loved ones that have passed. I am going to be offering a special every.month, so check back to find out.

Everyone is so very excited about the new baby, already having two beautiful children as long as this baby is happy and healthy, all is well and wonderful. I have had some interesting cravings, eggs, farm fresh. Eggs from the grocery store gross me out and I have to purchase mine from a local family. They are so wonderful and delicious. The other major craving is organics, I have developed an uber sensitivity to chemicals and artificial flavors. Much to the shigrin of the 'nutritionist' at my OBGYN office, I only want to have organic homemade food.

As for the end of the world on the 21st, my dear husband let me prep just a tiny bit by purchasing a 25 lb bag of flour and 10 lbs of sugar. No end of the world but at least we can make our own bread for the next month. As for Christmas I got just what I wanted, a kuerig. I use it more than I thought I would. More for the idea that I can make boiling water in exact amounts. I will more than likely teach my daughter to use it, she loves her ramen noodles.

The most I wanted my children to get from Christmas is that we are so very blessed. We are warm and happy with food to eat every day. Everyone remember it is not just getting the gifts you want but seeing the gifts you have.

2012-11-15T09:23:00.000-08:00

So I have been busy lately trying to get things organized between a new addition coming in nine months and Hurricane Sandy, things have gotten out of control. But the most amazing thing I was asked was by my mom. “How do you can?”

I love my mom so much and this post is just for her.

This is my homemade applesauce.

Taking about ¼ a bushel of one kind of apple, I used Jonagolds, and ¼ of another, Cortlands. I peeled and sliced and cored them. The Apples were all placed into a pot with 1 1/2 cups of water and 4 cinnamon sticks. I let all of this boil down.

In the meantime I put pint jars into a hot water both, letting the water and the jars start to boil together.

When the apples are boiled down a bit and the cinnamon sticks are opened up, add 1 cup sugar and mix together.

Turn on the canning lids to a simmer.

When the canning lids have simmered for 5-10 minutes pull from the heat and place in canning area. Pull the applesauce and place in canning area. Make sure to have a pot ready to dump excess water in.

Pull the first canning jar and place a funnel.

Fill the jar until there is about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch of headspace. Wipe the rim of the jar. Pick a lid out and place carefully on the jar.

Then put the ring on and tighten until finger tight.

Place the jar in the hot water bath and continue with the rest.

When all the jars are finished, let process, sit, in the hot water bath for 30 minutes.

After that pull the jars from the bath and sit them on a stone board, not on your nice HD laminate countertop. Let sit for a few hours, do not disturb. Any jars that did not seal place in the fridge and eat immediately.

Good luck mom!

2012-09-03T05:55:00.001-07:00

September 3, 2012

Labor Day Markdowns!!!!

Nursing pillows have been marked down for immediate sale. In the spirit of “Labor Day” All of the nursing pillows in the store have been marked down to $14 for the product shown. The shipping is $15, but I have a shipping guarantee, if you have overpaid for shipping and handling, I will refund you the difference. This is an amazing deal and it would be best to jump on board with this now before the limited supply is gone!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/90869649/clearance-nursing-pillow-for-the-new

https://www.etsy.com/listing/73698036/clearance-nursing-pillow-with-matching

https://www.etsy.com/listing/74495724/clearance-nursing-pillow-peach-with

This is an awesome deal for a new mom!

Have a wonderful labor day everyone.

August 28, 2012

2012-08-28T09:16:00.000-07:00

August 28, 2012

It has been very trying the last few days. My dear daughter has come down with a terrible case of strep throat. She really did not want anything but a lollipop. I don’t keep that on hand so I decided to try to figure out how to make them myself.

Mary Jane Butters Glamping book had some wonderful sweeteners using corn syrup and flavoring. So I decided to get a bit more interesting. Using some raw honey I get at my local organic store I made something similar. I took ¾ cup of water, 1 cup of sugar and ½ cup of honey. Put it in a quart pot on medium heat, and heated until it was 300 degrees. As soon as that is reached remove from heat and stir with a spoon until it is thickened up a bit. Place paper based sticks on a cookie sheet or use a silicon mold and pour into circles on a clean cookie sheet or into the molds. Let sit for an hour and then enjoy.

Learning to do these odd jobs gives my dear city parents worries. Such as “Cheese made from raw organic milk, doesn’t it have a lot of weird enzymes that could hurt you?”

To that I say, “No worse than the pre shredded cheese that you purchase at the “Extra Large Bird” Grocery store.”

I am reminded of Psalm 10: 17,

Lord, You have hear the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear.

The Lord does speak to us, but sometimes we are just too busy to listen, or do not want to believe the lord has spoken to us.

Well my daughter’s fever has finally broken and she is back to her usual self. The wash is on the line and our Lunch is almost done.

Have a blessed day everyone!

2012-08-20T10:15:00.001-07:00

August 20, 2012

Today is a bittersweet day. My dad came over the weekend and put up a full blown swingset / playground. My daughter is ever so happy right now, swinging her little heart out and playing in the fort. My mother and father are truly wonderful people that they would give my children this gift.

My daughter is so happy with her new swingset. We just need to get a swing for my little baby boy so he can enjoy it to.

I am reminded of Exodus 20:12 ESV “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”

I also spied our church from the nest of the fort. I love that there is a direct line of sight from the playground to our beautiful church, displaying some of God’s best work of art of land. You can just see the white steeple and redness right where the trees are trimmed down.

Today is a simple day of cooking. And for breakfast I made Mary Jane Farm cheese biscuits. I keep a jar of the Mary Jane Farm Budget Mix in my cabinet. I poured ¾ cup of water and 1 Tablespoon of butter into a bowl and added mix until it was a sticky doughy mess. Placing on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes.

As for sewing it is simply hemming bridesmaids’ dresses and making skirts for a girl for the upcoming school year. I will be sure to provide a tutorial for this simple skirt.

Also to my surprise, this past Saturday a box arrived from the post man. As I opened it up I found Mary Jane Butters new Glamping book. I was so excited about the prospect of reading it I ran into my house, got under my new Mary Jane Farmgirl Quilt and readied up for an afternoon of reading. I looked through the pictures and found so much inspiring information. It was a wonderful read, touching on a lot of subjects from spotting issues when purchasing a trailer, to inspiration for glaming it up, to using the proper hitch and finally safety and cooking. I would not say the book is a in depth look at how to repair and restore a vintage trailer, but it is good for a beginner, knowing what to look for in a trailer.

I don’t have a vintage trailer and my 2000 Ford Taurus might tow only 1000 lbs… not to mention not having an expendable 2 thousand dollars to buy a trailer. So we might pitch the tent one night sometime soon. And glam that up, I just have to be careful this time of year because last year we got hit with a massive flood. But part of the book spoke to me, camping in gowns, now that is glamping, and that I would very well do.

All and all my 6^th wedding anniversary yesterday was simple and wonderful. I got to sit around my friend’s campfire, enjoy a few toasted marshmallows, think just how lucky I am to have so much love around me.

Have a wonderful day!

August 10, 2012

2012-08-10T10:48:00.001-07:00

August 10, 2012

So today I decided to take on a project, just to make all my labels for my ingredients wall uniform. First before anything, let me tell you how I took the screen captures. It is so easy, first, look on your keyboard for the “Print screen” aka “Print Scrn” button. As soon as you locate it, hit it on the desired screen. Next open up the paint program and press CTRL and V

Boom screen capture!

Now right click on file, then Save As…

Find the right folder and save the picture as what ever you want.

Then click Save.

Alright back to the pantry labels…

I found these wonderful labels here http://www.scribd.com/doc/68194957/Pantry-Labels

Now you can download the PDF of it and print out the labels, if that is all you need. I still suggest printing out the labels you will need them later. But I found a bunch missing from my ingredients; I keep different boxes for Light and Dark Brown Sugar. So here is how I made my own, only using word and paint, no adobe for me.

First you will want to copy the labels from the screen, right click and click copy.

Next open up a word document and hit Control+V

Now using the crop button from the Picture Tools Menu, isolate one label.

Now click the crop button to deactivate the setting.

In the same motion hit Control+C

Then open up paint and hit Control+V

The picture will come up.

Using the Eraser tool, erase the text inside

Using the text “A” button open up a text box, underneath the label, that way you don’t have to stress about fitting it in just right. Type in the name that you want to use.

Make sure it is on a similar font such as Arial Unicode MS, size 32

Using the move box cover the text like this.

Now pick up and move.

Now highlight the box, leaving a bit of room on the bottom.

Now hit Control+C

Go back to the word document with the original label and hit Control+V on the line under the original label that was isolated.

Now make sure your zoom setting is set at 100% and hold the original printed label sheet up to you computer. Now you can see if you need to shrink or enlarge the label so it is uniform. You only have to make sure the first is uniform, that way you can match up the rest to the first.

Just resize the label and you will have more CUSTOM Labels that are uniform in size.

Once you get the hang of it the process can go quickly

Here is my ingredients before the new labels.

And now after.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

2012-08-02T11:50:00.001-07:00

August 2, 2012

I am so very excited today. I just finished putting in a split rail fence around my garden. I dug all the holes by hand with a very old post hole digger. I am almost done, I need to find a gate that will swing open for me. I have a few ideas. That is why the fence is not fully finished. It was hours of work, but well worth it in the end.

As for my sewing I am pleased to share a few family pictures from our weekend at Otakon in Baltimore Maryland.

My son is Prince Phillip, I am Sleeping Beauty, my daughter is Repunzel from Tangled, and my Husband is the King from Repunzel.

As I worked on the fence, I was praying to Jesus thanking him for giving me a strong back and helping my will to continue on. I found this wonderful bible passage about my thoughts. 1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!

Everyone have a wonderful day!

August 1, 2012

2012-08-01T10:25:00.001-07:00

August 1st, 2012

So today is a very exciting day. Today I was named the Farmgirl of the Year for 2012 by Mary Jane Farm Magazine. Here is the write up in the Cluck, all rights belong to MJF, not me.

Announcing the 2012 Farmgirl of the Year …

I am proud as can be to introduce you to fellow Farmgirl sister and our fourth ever

Farmgirl of the Year, Emily Hack. When we chose Emily as this year’s Farmgirl of the Year, she had earned an impressive 77 merit badges—and since then she’s earned seven more! So, with a grand total (as of the time I’m writing this, maybe more by the time you’re reading it) of 84 merit badges, Emily has certainly earned this recognition. What’s even more impressive is that Emily has earned all her badges in just a little over a year. That means she’s been racking ’em up (or sewing them on) at a rate of over five per month. Emily says she loves earning badges because of the sense of accomplishment it provides. “It’s a wondrous feeling,” she says. “I have always loved to learn things that I wasn’t exposed to as a child, and doing this with MaryJanesFarm gives me new goals to work for.” I bet you’re as curious about our newest Farmgirl as I was, right? Emily was born in Pittsburgh, PA, and now lives in York, PA, with her husband Richard, their two small children Bridget and William, and their little Scottish terrier, Gracie. She loves sewing, baking, and writing, and hopes to one day pass an appreciation for those things along to younger women by becoming a home economics teacher. Emily learned to sew when she was in middle school and has been doing it ever since. “It’s my real passion in life,” she told me. She also likes to quilt, which she’s been doing since college. She loved sewing so much that she left college to join her family’s business of altering bridal gowns and formal wear. “It was there that I learned how the body curves and how to put patterns together,” she says. Her passion for creativity and sewing eventually led her to the world of costuming, a hobby that she and her husband enjoy together. She also makes civil war gowns, aprons, jewelry, and baby and maternity items (she sells a few of her things on her Etsy shop). And she makes clothes for her children. Whew—her sewing machine needs a merit badge of its own! Emily found MaryJanesFarm last year when she was looking for some help with her vegetable garden. “I’m a newbie gardener,” she says. “I started some cucumbers indoors and they died when I transplanted them outside—I think I shocked them. I was looking around online for some advice and found answers to all my homesteading questions in the

Farmgirl chatrooms.”

Emily’s astounding Farmgirl efforts will be well-rewarded. The “prize package” changes each year, and this year we’re loading Emily up with what we think a fantastic Farmgirl like her deserves. In addition to becoming a lifetime member of the Farmgirl Sisterhood, she’ll receive:

- A lifetime subscription to MaryJanesFarm magazine including all back issues except those sold out

- A Farmgirl Sisterhood necklace

- All of my books, including my new one (that’s not even out yet!), Glamping with MaryJane, and any future books I publish

- A MaryJanesFarm 2013 calendar

- A $500 gift certificate to use on our online store

- A set of my organic bed sheets

- A package of Farmgirl fun surprises

I’m so glad you found us, Emily, and a huge congratulations on being the 2012 Farmgirl of the Year. Keep on earning

those badges, sister!

This is really exciting news for me and I will be looking forward to a great year.

2012-07-09T18:32:00.000-07:00

July 9^th, 2012

It has been a while since my last post but I thought I would update the world on my life.

The heat in our area has been crazy, I thank the lord for our air conditioning. Katniss and Brownie have been playing so much indoors, but none up in the playroom. This has led to a few problems and she had to be reminded of:

Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey you parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

Trying to keep up the with the garden has been an overwhelming task. The weeds have taken root and so have two bunnies. We have lost about half the carrots to carrot fly or bunnies and the other half we can eat.

But I did have a favorite carrot this year, it entertained me to no end.

The Potatoes plants have died and we dug them all up last night. The storm missed us by only a mile or two, but we watched the lighting storm over the valley. We had two 20’ rows of potatoes and they yielded 25 lbs total. I was very excited and am curious to find out if perhaps growing them in a 5 gallon bucket next year would be a good idea.

Some onions have also died off, we found that we did not plant them deep enough so they were a bit small.

I also found something very interesting about my cucumber plant. It was not growing a cucumber but a honey dew… sigh, someone at the seed company got things mixed up I believe.

As for my prepping that I have been doing lately, I found a great price of flour at Ollies Bargain Outlet, five pounds for 99 cents, I bought ten bags. Gerald my dear husband was not amused by the amount of flour I was purchasing. I placed them in 66 quart containers and put some bay leaves in for good measure. I hope to keep the bugs out.

It is official though, we are going to need to invest in another rack to keep our stockpile on. The big one we got the day after Thanksgiving is full to the brim. I will keep you updated on what we will be doing to solve this problem.

We have discovered a quick and easy recipe to make for our family for a quick light lunch.

Tator Tot Casserole

8 cups tator tots

1 can cream of mushroom

1 cup cheddar cheese

Bacon bits.

In a mixing bowl, mix the tator tots and cream of mushroom soup. Bake at 350 for 27 minutes in a covered casserole dish. Pull the dish and sprinkle in the cheddar cheese and bacon bits. Turn the oven off and set the casserole dish inside for 5 minutes. It is oh so gooy and delicious.

I made a custom order Nursing Maternity gown too, It is now one of my favorites.

If you are interested in purchasing a custom made gown, email me at alterationsbyemily@yahoo.com

Hope that everyone is staying cool.

2012-05-31T12:09:00.001-07:00

Thursday, May 31, 2012

It has been a wondrous Friday here in my part of the world. The sun is shining, the wash is drying out on the line and there is a banana bread in the oven. Much is right in my world.

Merrily we sew along…

So, if you can keep a secret, let me share one…. I am working on a quilt for my dear B. She is going off to kindergarten and I purchased the fabric for it when she was about a month old. It is a plain block quilt with lots of different fabrics. Six inches thinner than full sized quilt, it is going to be fully hand quilted. The base is together, all the layers are safety pinned together and now I am starting the hand stitching. There is about 25 squares and last night it took me an hour to do one. So around 25 hours of work. I certainly hope Christmas doesn’t come too early.

What has brought on all of the quilting was a recent family trip to Lancaster County, PA. To see what the women were able to accomplish was simply miraculous. And it inspired me to work hard on my quilt for my daughter.

Prepping with a budget…

A simple thing to understand when the stuff hits the fan is understanding you may become a target to others. But there is one thing you cannot loose and that is the knowledge in your mind. Read and read, learn about butchering and skinning chickens, it may save your life someday. One of my favorite purchases so far is a bow and arrow. H and I have been working very hard trying to hit the target, but the true William Tell in our home is B. At the tender age of 5, she can hit the target 4 out of 5 times. Can we just now call her Katniss?

Learning to walk with Jesus….

Contentment is something to learn every day. Last night I felt very restless, questioning my future and then I decided to pray for contentment.

Hebrews 13: 5-6

Be content with what you have, for God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.: So say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.”

Start Cooking….

So I mentioned earlier in the post about banana bread. I have children and not all the time do I get to use all the bananas I purchase in a week, so if there are 2 or 3 left over I make this quick recipe.

Em’s Banana Bread

2-3 bananas mashed

1 cup fine flour

½ cup sugar

Pinch of cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg

¼ cup oil

1 egg

Mix all in one bowl and pour into greased bread dish. Bake at 350 degrees until all over light brown.

Enjoy everyone!

2012-05-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

May 29, 2012

Liberation is upon me.

It truly is. Tomorrow I will be deactivating my facebook account. I just have prayed about it and have found that little good comes out of facebook. It has disconnected me from my family, by taking my time away from my children during the day, when I am more interested in checking facebook than them.

Ephesians 4:1-3Ephesians 4:1-3

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace

But let us get back to ourselves here and talk a bit more about simplee living.

Merrily we sew along….

Well, the memoral day sale at JoAnns has brought much into my household. First on the cutting board today was Simplicity 2241. It is an adorable little dress, a bit short for us but extending the pattern 9 inches proved to be easy. I have it cut out in Princess organza with a silk satin collar.

I also cut out a simple easy on dress for my dear B. Simplicity 2377 is a very adorable little dress. I got this pattern cut in a single pattern. Also it was so very easy to extend the skirt the 9 inches for our family.

Then the easiest of all the patterns cut was Simplicity 2576. This is a basic long skirt with an elastic waist.

They are all in their own pile on my work desk waiting for the right moment to be made.

Sticking another feather in your cap…

I believe that learning new skills is important in life, even if you do not like it in the end. The skill that I found very interesting was Quilling. Quilling was known during the Victorian age as paper fillagre, a very precise skill, it requires patience and time. Go here to learn more about it, http://www.marthastewart.com/how-to/quilling.

The following are some of my examples of quilling that I have made.

Until next time.

2012-05-23T19:10:00.003-07:00

Wednesday, May 22, 2012

Image looking at your world in a divided way. Not letting everyone see every part of you. If you are coming from Feathered Hat Trading Company, you only ever saw my business side of me. If you are coming from Prepping with a Budget, you are only seeing my prepper side. Let us all be honest here, there are a lot of sides to me. Business and Prepping are only two sides, where would I fit in the plain clothes I am trying to wear, what about the fantastic recipes that I come up with. They had no where to go. Even the spiritual side of all of this, that simply was left out. So now I present to you my newest and hopefully only blog. Every day I want to share something with my readers about me, about my family, and about loving family. So without further wait, let us share the new blog.

Prepping with a budget…

One of the basics of prepping is food storage. Not just food storage in the freezer, but making things shelf stable. A vacuum sealer, while we still have power, is a must. I love sealing all kinds of things, from dog food, to potato chips, to nuts. I will tell you to make sure that you get a sealer that can use the attachment hose, so you can seal up regular and wide mouth canning jars. Another one that my family has found is two liter bottles. If you have a loved one that likes to drink cola, root beer, ginger ale. Keep the 2 liter bottles. I use a funnel and when I buy my flour in bulk, I am able to store it in the 2 liter bottles with one or two bay leaves. Just make sure to rinse and dry the bottles thoroughly. There are a main place I love to go for reference of food storage, it is Rainy Day Food Storage. http://rainydayfoodstorage.blogspot.com/ they are amazing, their site is so full of information it is simply awesome.

Learning to walk with Jesus….

My pastor at my old church for the benediction at the end of every service would say, “May the Lord walk beside you to comfort you. May the Lord walk above you to watch over you. May the Lord walk behind you to keep you safe. May the Lord walk before you to show you the way.” At least something to that tune. I never really understood it until the last year. God can lead us without us knowing it. When I became pregnant with my second baby it was a bit unknown exactly what his plan was. As my pregnancy went on, I became more and more nervous. But I began to trust in God, and his plan for my life. After the birth of my son, I really understood what I was exactly to become. More of a servant to him and to spread his love and word throughout the world. But I did not know how to do this task. People think that you always need money to great things. But our family has learned to make due or to do without. My goings at church in my youth had been frankly terrible, I remember very few older women whom made an imprint on me. I honestly have very few good memories of church in those years. So when I wanted to go to church on Sundays, I would get so very anxious about going. If the women were going to talk behind my back. Were the people my age going to find us weird and thus cast me and my family out.

These reservations within my own head, kept my family from having a relationship with god, and that is who was really suffering. Once we found the church for us it was like going to heaven every week. We saw people, who cared about us, and who we care about back. That knowing a sermon is magical, when a 4 year old has to have the isle seat, that way she can watch the pastor preach.

God is not some untouchable person in the sky. God is within all of us, God WILL walk beside us, and be our friend, God WILL walk above us to watch us, God WILL walk behind us and keep us safe, and God WILL walk before us to guide us. It is just us who has to start trusting more.

Dignified in every way….

Upon understanding that I had begun a relationship with god, I started to feel bare, wearing pants to church started to bother me. Following that pants started to feel like workshop vices, I could feel myself being tethered to the earth by ropes of society. It even started to physically hurt. I started to pray for guidance and I then asked my husband. He said, “Skirts are just fine, just make sure you do not wear it with tennis shoes or t-shirts.”

These seemed like agreeable terms, so about a week ago I began to change over all my clothes to skirts with only nicer tops. It was simply a miracle. Every day, every morning I put on my skirt and my life feels complete. Everyday when I take off my skirt, I fill fulfilled with god’s way.

I am not saying that everyone must wear skirts, but for me it was a journey.

Merrily we sew along…

I did not get anything sewn for the store in the last week, everything has been skirts for my daughter and I. I will share with you my favorite pattern for skirts here Simplicity 2184 http://www.simplicity.com/p-6072-misses-skirts.aspx It is simply wonderful to wear this skirt, it hugs the hips just right, and doesn’t make your back end look the size of Russia. An easy 6 pieces it may take a novice 2 hours to sew, but I can get one out in 45 minutes or so.

Sticking another feather in your cap…

Learning is a never ending experience. If you stop learning, you will stop living. One of my favorite things that I have just learned is cake decorating. I love to do it and people love to eat my cakes. Now some recipes I will keep close to my heart, others I am very willing to share. Let us talk about classic rice crispy treats….

Rice Crispy Treats

3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter

1 package mini marshmallows

½ box of Rice Crispies

Simply Melt the butter on a medium heat, once the butter is 95% melted, add the marshmallows ¼ bag at a time. This will ensure that the marshmallows melt thoroughly. Finally add the rice crispies 2 cups at a time, it takes anywhere from 4 – 8 cups depending on how thick you want the treats. I love to put mine in a spring form pan and serve it up cake style.