Giving Thanks

Looking at this photo just makes me smile! We all stood there like that for a good 20 minutes as each person's camera was switched out so everyone could take the picture! Thank goodness I remembered to bring the tripod this year - it helped! Though we need 5 more so we could use all the cameras at once!

My Dad's side gathered together this past weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving and my aunt's birthday a little early this year - it worked out in most everyone's schedule to do so. Was able to enjoy turkey and all the fixings plus a lot of good family time - all un-rushed! The holidays are more hectic for us as we always have multiple functions to attend in one day. Having one Thanksgiving ahead of time definitely helps!



If the first pic made me smile, then this one makes me beam! As per tradition, my Grandpa knocks out cold after a hearty meal - hehe!

Droid Does - Yes, yes It Does!!

I am sure by now that you've all heard the hype about one of the latest phone on the market - the Motorola Droid. Well, I've had the opportunity to test one out and let me tell you - it's not just hype. The excitement that has built up around this phone is justified and maybe even a little underplayed! This phone is A.W.E.S.O.M.E.

What sets the Droid apart from your standard smart phone is the OS (operating system) - the Droid runs on an open platform - so much like the iPhone you have various apps you can download and install. Some apps you can buy but I am not sure why you would with the thousands of free apps that are available. (Want to browse the apps? Visit the Android Market or Droid Apps)

A few of my favorite Droid apps include:

Google Sky Map - Because it’s just cool! - http://www.google.com/sky/skymap.html

Shopsavvy – Scan an items bar code and it will tell you where to find it online or locally (mapping it as well) with the best pricing. Way cool!

Foursquare

Bubble - Basically turns your phone in a level - very cool!

I love the integration with Gmail, Facebook and Twitter Apps on the Droid. Once you're set up - you are officially untethered from the computer! Checking you email, updating your Facebook and checking Twitter is all seamless!


And with such time-saving and useful apps that help you save on shopping, groceries and just plain have fun - how could you go wrong?! Honestly, there wasn't one thing I didn't like about this phone - even begged to keep it "just a little longer!"

If my rave review didn't convince you - here's even more documentation that the Droid is hands-down amazing!

50 Apps for New Droid Owners

Droid Review of Engadget

Boy Genius Report - Motorola Droid Hands On

A Walk In the Park

Taking our dogs for a good long walk through the park is one of our favorite pastimes. It gets us out of the house and always leaves us with such great memories! Fall is a fun time to bring our pups on these adventures as there's plenty of leaves to sniff through and roll in.



Not to mention plenty of people to watch and to perchance bark at! :)



And lots of photo ops for me! It's Fall in Indiana!

Bringing In Bits of the Garden

Let me start out by saying that I am a collector of things. If I go to the beach I pick up seashells and stones, if I walk through a field I look for arrowheads, walking through the woods you'll find me snatching up pine cones and flowers.

So it may come as no big surprise that I bring in bits from my garden. I planted and gorgeous allium a year or two (didn't come back - bummer!) but did save the seed head! Now I have a daily reminder of that gorgeous flower - along with some rose hips that I collected from a nearby fence row.



One of my prized plants in my garden is my lavender. Bought it at the Indianapolis Farmers Market two years ago. Lavender is one of my favorite scents (love, love, love Lavender dish soap, laundry detergent, Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy Lavender Vanilla line of products!). Anywho, I've been tempted before to take cuttings of my lavender but could never really bring myself to do it. Well, this year it helped me out a little - some of the tips were already dry and breaking off in the wind, so I snipped a few ends off and made a little lovely, lavender scented bouquet.



And of course, put it on display on our living room bookshelf!

Just recently we had some hyssop become trampled by the utility workers doing something with a bright orange cord that wrap around the back and plugs into the side of our neighbors house (??) - I do admit we planted it close to the utility box -but come on! The thing is hideous and huge and right smack dab in my front yard! At least it was just a perennial that they stomped - it will come back next year! But, of course, I went out there and snipped off all the dried seed heads and have them drying upstairs as we speak! :)

So tell me, do you bring bits from you garden? Or collect random things?

Rhizomes and Corms Oh My!

Boy am I glad I took that gardening class this past spring that taught me all about bulbs, corms and rhizomes! It was a free class at a local library taught by Master Gardeners - here's the link to the post I did about it - http://squirrelchatter.blogspot.com/2009/03/bulbs.html.

Anywho, one of my lovely blog friends was so kind to gift me with some wonderful plants this summer including some cannas. And my amazing husband surprised with me pink glads to plant in our yard for my birthday! These plants were show stoppers all summer long!



Of course I want them to come back next year so I dutifully dug them up this past weekend while we were basking in unusually warm 70 degree weather (crazy for mid-November in Indiana!). The whole digging them up in the fall idea seems easy enough and I admit I grossly underestimated the amount of effort it actually takes. Sigh.

My stash of canna rhizomes and glad bulbs are happily drying out in my dark laundry room as we speak!

Here's a peek at my unearthed glad corms - aren't they lovely? When I first planted them this spring they were so tiny and now many are a good two inches across! I'm betting on an even greater glad show next summer!


And here's my mess of cannas! They tripled in quantity! I planted maybe 4 tubers and dug up this! Wow!


Now I can rest easy the rest of the fall/winter season. I even planted 50 daffodils and 6 narcissi! So much gardening to do so little time! I was going to move some daffs that I have planted to close to my rhubarb but I hate blind digging because I always end up butchering a bulb - so I think I will wait until the spring after they've flower and move them when I can still see their leaves, etc so I know where they're at.

New Fall Header: Help Me Pick!

Been itching for a lovely new fall header - but I can't decide which one! Help me pick!

1. (the one I have up currently) Goes with my traditional feet pics I had going for awhile there but got out of the habit of taking.



2. A lovely blurry shot of the one above - not photo-shopped! The pic actually came out like that on accident - I moved on accident as I was clicking the shutter.


3. Leave and Lola


4.Water's Edge & Leaves


5. Leafy Pathway


EDITED: Per Matt's Request

6. Fence Shadow Pic


7. Grassy Shadow Pic + Lola :)

Garden Update: Nov. 14, 2009

Yup! A November garden update, isn't that crazy?! We are down to one producing garden box instead of two. A few of the winter hardy vegetables I planted in one of the garden boxes are still growing and happy even in this mid-November! I worked a little today to clear out the old cherry tomato plants and was pleased to see my lettuce, broccoli and a few carrots and onions still going strong.



There's even some baby broccoli florets even growing! See it?? :)



Here's an aerial shot of the thriving lettuce and broccoli - they seem to be doing better now than they have all summer! Huh. Thinking about planting a few more little winter hardy things and rigging up a sheet of plastic to make a cold-frame of sorts.

I'll leave out broccoli a little longer to see if I can get any bigger than the tiny florets on it now - may pull up the lettuce here soon. Pulled up 4 sizable carrots and found but left some little onions that were still growing and popping since the larger ones had been pulled up weeks ago.

Web Finds Wednesday!

Pumpkin Pie French Toast

Smores Icebox Candy Bars

The World's Best Pancake Recipe

Sewn Lunch Bag

Indiana's Top 50 Blogs: Only a Few Days Left to Vote!

Only 5 more days according to the countdown clock to vote for my blog as one of Indiana 's Top 50! Very honored and humbled to be included! Thank you to everyone who has voted so far!

I have had a few requests to have instructions on how to vote. So, here it goes.

Click on this link or copy and paste it into your browser http://top50indianablogs.com/?p=498

This link will take you to a page that just has my blog listing on it - you should see an image that looks like the one I pasted below:



Note the #17 - I took this snapshot early on - so now the number may be something like 52. Anyways, under the # is the blue word "Vote" - this is the link you click on to vote. Just hover your mouse over the blue word "Vote" - click and you've voted!

If you don't see the blue word "Vote" this may mean that you've already voted from that IP Address - you can only vote once!

To see the entire rankings of all the blogs visit this link http://top50indianablogs.com/ - I am currently around #31.

But with your vote I could climb higher! :)

Web Finds Wednesday!

Make Your Own: All Natural Homemade Cleaners

Something to Sew: Soft Cake Tutorial

Free Quilt Patterns

Honey Ginger Chicken Breasts

Mango Strawberry Snow Cones

Best Chewy Chocolate Cookies Ever (Low Fat, too!)

Pumpkin Cobbler

Easy, Creamy Potato Soup

Bad News & Good News

(Our most recent purchases at A Certain Charm)

Let's get the bad news over first, shall we? Well, this past weekend, my hubby and I ventured out to one of our favorite lazy weekend locales for a little browsing - A Certain Charm in historic downtown Franklin. We were stunned into silence when upon walking up to the shop we were greeted by a huge sign with red letters proclaiming the worst news ever - "Going Out of Business."

We eventually were able to get more info by chatting it up with a few of the employees - the owner's husband is being relocated - hence the closing of the shop. Such sad news to hear. We've spent many hours browsing the hundreds of ever - changing antiques and sales items. I've come home more than once with bags full of goodies - vintage bowls, books and more.

This news put quite a damper on our Saturday though it did provoke us to walk out with bags in hand instead of "waiting till next time" which is what we always say, but thankfully we stopped off at another favorite just down the road, Thanks For Your Thyme, and as we walked up we noticed a new nearby antique shop. Of course we had to stop in and thank goodness we did - because now we know that the same vendors that were at A Certain Charm have relocated to this new store - can't remember the name - but phew! Our weekend antiquing has been saved!

A Certain Charm will continue to be open through November for those of you who want to stop by before they shutter their doors.

Indecisive and a Review! LG enV Touch

When shopping for a new phone I am such a bundle of nerves and it all be summed up as "indecisive." What phone do I want to use for the new two years (Verizon's New Every Two)? What phone will best fit my needs and work best for what I use it for - home or business. Most times it seems like nothing on the market matches what I want with what I can afford.

Luckily there is a finally a pretty snazzy phone is out that hits all the marks for me. The LG enV Touch (lovely touch screen phone that flips open to a full QWERTY keyboard). The keyboard is by far my favorite feature, right up there with the touch screen. I also enjoy the pleasant ring tones that come on the phone - lovely nature sounds, a fun "good morning" tone that can be set as your alarm clock if you wake to your phone (which I do).



The thing about having a gorgeous phone like the enV Touch is that, if you're on a budget, and trying to keep you bill to as close to minimum as possible, you can't possibly use the phone to it's full functionality.

So, even with a snazzy new phone - I have to restrain myself - le sigh. Well, yay for me, because a new, wonderful opportunity has knocked on my door here in the recent week! I've been honored with the opportunity to review new phones from Verizon - HOW COOL IS THAT?!

So, now I can get (for 30 days at a time) to explore the full capabilities of Verizon's newest phones! Granted, I don't keep the phone, nor does it use my number or contacts, etc - but it is fully functional! For my first phone to review I chose the LG enV Touch - yup the exact phone I just bought so I could try out all it had to offer.

And the verdict? GREAT phone pretty much all around! I instantly customized and personalized it down to the images on the two screens (pics from our recent vacation) and changed the display mode from the preset vintage stamp look to a more sleek modern look - the only other display mode option.

I tried out the internet and was a little disappointed. At least I know I am not missing out on much by not having a data plan on our phones. The browser was hard to navigate and though it was a large screen - it just didn't display web well. And really that could be with any phone.

So, if you're in the market for a new phone and want to venture out into the world of touch screens - the LG enV Touch is definitely a good phone to check out. Especially if you enjoy texting, taking pictures, sending SMS texts to your Facebook, Twitter, etc. Now, if you want to use the internet on your phone to browse your tweets, Facebook, Google Reader, etc - eh...may not be the phone for you. Just depends on what your needs are. Me? I really don't need to spend anymore time on the internet than I already do - it is nice to know that this phone can access the net if I need to on the whim, but I am not too tempted to do that regularly.

To get out more about this phone visit: www.verizonwireless.com

Seashells Down by the Sea Shore

Here's a few glimpses of some of the seashells, rocks and coral bits we collected on our cruise. Beach combing is one of of my favorite things to do on vacation. I love taking the time to drink in the gorgeous views, the sand beneath my feet, the tide lapping my ankles - and the surprise and thrill at finding a shell or something special in the sand.

I Need Your Vote! Top 50 Indiana Blogs

Good morning all my lovely readers!! One of you wonderful people nominated me for the Top 50 Indiana Blogs - thank you, thank you!! I just found out I was on the list - woot!

Voting is easy - just head on over to the Top 50 Indiana Blogs link and click on the word "vote." I am at about 3 votes so far - but I know I have a few more fans that that. ;)

Pumpkin Carving Fun!

I love grey and white pumpkins - and those pale orange ones - sigh! They are so gorgeous - so different from the standard pumpkins I grew up with. Luckily they've become easier and easier to find - especially this year!



We were able to snag grey ones for $2 a piece last weekend at the Wishing Well Motel off of US31. Thank goodness for this place and their pumpkins - we needed to go back out for smaller ones tonight and weren't able to find any anywhere - Walmart and Kroger were all out.





But, as you can see, there were still plenty to choose from here!



Each year the hubby and I love the tradition of carving pumpkins. We pop in our Garfield Halloween Special and Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin on DVD and indulge in the smell of the pumpkin innards, the squish of seeds between your fingers and the fun of carving out new designs. Each year we try something different - some years are good carving wise - others not so much. This year was a grand slam! Got my owl idea from non-other than Martha Stewart out on the blogoshere and Matt's scary spider took shape as we went.

Had to go with stringed lights to get the eyes on my owl to show up properly - but I think it actually works a lot better than candles!



Here's the end result - spider complete with legs and fangs and a cutesy owl. :) Wasn't sure if I was going to hand out candy this year - but now that our pumpkins turned out so great - I may just change my mind!

Web Finds Wednesday!

Disinfect Plastic Cutting Boards In The Microwave

Caramel Apple Breakfast Casserole

Something to Sew: Plush Alphabet

Roasted Garlic White Pizza

1,001 Uses for Distilled Vinegar

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Blondies

Maple-Pumpkin Custards with Crystallized Ginger

Cheesy Corn Chowder with Bacon

Colorful Cozumel

Going a little out of order in my vacation tales here, but bear with me! The second stop on our cruise was the little island of Cozumel, Mexico. This is my second visit to this locale and who-knows-how-many for my hubby.



What stands out for me at this port the most are the colors. Brightly colored hammocks swing from the trees, beautifully tiled fountains trinkle in the background, brightly painted shoppes boast wares of intricately painted maracas, woven blankets, and more. Not to mention the splendidly blue skies and tantalizing hues of the ocean - bright florals and luscious greens of swaying palms and other tropical foliage.



My husband and I did a little shopping right off the boat, found myself a t-shirt to ward off an already sore sunburn and we mapped out what we would buy before we had to be back on board (a new Mexican blanket and some hot sauce).

Then we hailed a cab ($7) to Dzul-Hal and snorkeled the reef there as well as dined on an authentic (obviously) meal of beef tacos with guacamole - not to mention a little pina-colada and beer to keep us cool.






We walked the beach and snorkeled again - then hailed another cab to go a few more miles down the road past Chakanab to Corona Beach for more snorkeling and another meal of nachos with salsa and guacamole.

This last beach is where my hubby got bit by a parrot fish - lol! No harm done - but kinda funny none the less! Don't get the in way of their food! :) The fish were all really friendly and would follow you around as you snorkeled. Our server at the last restaurant walked to the end of the pier and threw out pieces of soft tortilla shells out to the fish and wow! were they fans of that! :) He said they there Mexican fish because they liked tortillas. :)



One thing that is noticeable in Cozumel is hurricane damage - in the last few years they have really gotten hit. This pic is a pier that got ripped off in a hurricane and now provides a cool hang out for the local fishies. :) The other end is still above water and looks a little jagged and crazy.

Web Finds Wednesday!

Holiday Pumpkin Roll

Creamy White Chili

Mummy Dogs

Baked Apple Streusal Pancake Bars

Apple Cider Roasted Squash

Pumpkin Spice Whoopee Pie

French Bread Rolls

We're Back!

(Tabyana Beach at Isla Roatan - Honduras)

The hardest part of vacation is coming back. I feel a little like I'm in a daze. Everything went by so quick that it is hard to fathom that it even happened at all.

Did we really snorkel a shipwreck and see a sea turtle? Did I really get stung by baby jelly fish? Did we really watch the sunset while the ship left port at Cozumel? Did we really spend a week in the sunny Caribbean?

Ach! How is it over??!?!

While I'm processing reality you can check out all our fab vacation photos! :)

Flying In & Embarkation - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2173113&id=27310459&l=fca5ad7676

Fun Day at Sea 1 - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2173116&id=27310459&l=3270884931

Grand Cayman - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2173119&id=27310459&l=72f4836207

Cozumel - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2173233&id=27310459&l=bbcf05ba53

Belize - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2173234&id=27310459&l=579b2faea9

Isla Roatan - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2173235&id=27310459&l=8f8a4cccbb

Fun Day at Sea 2 & Debarkation - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2173237&id=27310459&l=7151387750

Guest Post: general stores

Have you ever been to a modern day general store? They seem like the cutest stores to visit or to own. If I ever had the chance to visit one in person, I would probably need a helper to carry out all the things I'd buy. Here are some goods from two general stores I would love to visit.
Brook Farm General Store in Brooklyn:


Donna Hay General Store:

(both found via Decor8, here and here)