Crafty Weekend + My "craft room" reveal!

I finally finished cleaning our basement up, and organizing all my craft stuff. I am SOOO beyond excited to finally have a space of my own for crafting. I no longer have to lug all my stuff upstairs to the kitchen table to craft, and then lug it all back downstairs when I'm finished. It is all contained, in the half of our basement I am calling my craft room and new Hoot & Bumble Workshop! Since our basement is not finished, it isn't pretty, but it's functional. I'm looking forward to creating decorative pieces to spruce the room up a bit.

Here is what it looks like right now:

As you can see, it's not pretty. But I love that I have so much space and storage. I would love to get a carpet down there, and hang some things on the walls to make is feel more like a creative space, than an unfinished basement.

I am still trying to figure out how I want it set up for efficiency. I like to feel organized and efficient, and I am constantly looking for ways to be more efficient. 

This is my work table. I love how much space it gives me.

Over the weekend, I was feeling very crafty, and inspired (probably because of my new space), and I finished up a bunch of projects that I have been meaning to get to for a long time. Over the next few days, I will show you the projects I completed this weekend. Many of them, you can see in my craft room pictures. I was so excited to do these projects, that I didn't take pictures, or set them up for tutorials, but I can explain how I did them the best I can, and would love to answer any questions you may have.

Family Time + September Savings

This long weekend we had the privilege of being able to visit my parents in Ohio. It's always a treat when we get to spend time with them. We've spent the weekend catching up, laughing, and enjoying our short time together. It makes me truly happy to be with my parents, who have lived hundreds of miles away from us for the last two years. They moved from our home town two long years ago for work for my dad. Fortunately we only have to deal with them being away for another 7 months, when my dad retires, and they are able to move back to Delaware. It's been extra hard having them away because of Jackson. Having a child makes the realization of passing time that much more noticeable. My dads birthday is in a few days so we will celebrate today with them and then leave for home late tonight or early tomorrow. 

Want to save money on Hoot & Bumble products? This entire month of September you can save 15% on all orders by using the coupon code SEPT15 at check out. 

A Week at a Glance

We had a good week. A hike in the woods,

 A break while hiking,

Practicing some letters,

A new neighbor friend for Jackson,

Jackson dressed up for a visit to Yiayia and Papou's house. The second outfit was the next day.

Being goofy,

A casino, and game date night with my handsome hubby,

& a Sunday morning spent crafting with my little guy. 

Life couldn't get any better than this. <3 Enjoy your week!

{Our Weekly Family Recap}

We had another great week. We had a lot of adventures and "firsts". 

Earlier in the week we visited the Grand Opera House and saw a showing of Pinocchio. It was Jackson's first trip to the theater, and he loved it. We also visited a local wild life refuge with friends. We had the most perfect weather for it, and we were able to learn some pretty awesome facts.

Kyle's family is very musical, and many of them play instruments. They love getting together to play bluegrass music. Saturday night we had a super fun family gathering that included live music, dancing, singing, laughing, kids running everywhere, and great food.

Even our little Jackson played music. He has a guitar, and he loves to sit in the circle with the other musicians and pretend to play. He actually keeps a pretty good beat. I see lots of music lessons in his future. 

I even played a little. Well, not really, but I tried. {One day I hope to learn to play too, so I can play with the family}

***

Sunday Kyle, Jackson, and I spent a few hours at Lums Pond State Park. We took Jackson on his first paddle boat ride, and we got to watch the zip liners fly across the pond over our heads. 

Kyle also spent some time teaching Jackson the fun of disc golf, a sport his family loves to play. Jackson loved the concept and enjoyed throwing his frisbee while Kyle and I played a few holes. This was Jackson's first disc golf experience of many.

Some more photos of our visit to the state park.

Words can not express the joy I feel when I get to spend time with my family, doing the things we love. It doesn't get any better than the days we had together this first weekend in August. 

{Sunshine Sunday}

This weekend was so great. 

On Friday, I took the train down to Charlottesville, VA to stay with my best friend, Katherine, and her boyfriend. It was my first train ride, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was nice not having to drive, and worry about entertaining a toddler in the back seat. My train was delayed a little, but I didn't mind much. I met a few nice people to talk to who helped the ride go a little faster, and I spent the rest of the 5 hour ride reading my book, and researching stuff for Hoot & Bumble.

**

On Saturday, we all went to The Adventure Park At Sandy River Retreat, a zip lining and tree top adventure park. I wouldn't call myself scared of heights, but it was definitely out of my comfort zone. I was very impressed with the staff and how the park is run. Their equipment is top of the line and easy to use, and I felt very safe using it. 

I did the short green course first with Katherine, and Chris. There was a tight rope type obstacle that we had to walk across {while about 30 feet up in the air}. I didn't like it, but I got through it, and eventually got to the zip line. That was a lot of fun to fly through the trees. 

On the next course we tried, I got through most of an obstacle before losing my balance and having to pull myself to the end of it. I took a few steps on to the next obstacle and decided I was done. At that point, I was completely freaking out inside, and almost in tears. I was even shaking. On the outside I knew I was safe, and wanted to do it. On the inside, I just couldn't make myself go on any farther. I asked one of the employees monitoring my area to come rescue me {she had a key that allowed my zip line clips to go backwards}. She did, and I slowly walked back down to the platform, and back down to solid ground. It felt great to have my feet on the ground again. 

During the rest of the trip, I stood on the ground, and took pictures of Katherine and Chris as they did the rest of the courses. & to be honest, that was perfectly fine with me. 

Overall, I would recommend this park to anyone who likes a little adventure, or someone looking to trying something new. It really was such a great, positive atmosphere. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. You can tell they all love their jobs. For the 3 hours you get to play for it is definitely worth the money.

As a result of this adventure I learned a little more about myself. It's something that will always stick with me, and for that I am truly thankful, and grateful that I tried something new.

**

The rest of the weekend we did a little shopping, hung out with a few drinks, and visited the pool for a few minutes before a storm. I drove back to Delaware with Katherine last night, and I was so excited to see my husband, and son. It was good to get away, but always nice to be home as well. 

I hope it's not too long before we get to do another girls weekend :)

Thanks for reading, and catching up. What did you do this weekend?

Sunshine Sunday- family updates

The countdown to my vacation is down to the final 5 days. I work through Thursday this week and then I'm off for 10 days. To start off my vacation I get an entire girls weekend in Charlottesville,VA with my best friend- kid less! The hubs has the minion to himself all weekend. I've never been away for a weekend, and I'm sooo looking forward to it. We have a lot of amazing things planned for the weekend. I will update when I return :)

My parents went back to Ohio a few days ago, and we are still recovering from spending so much time with them. We miss them so much already, and can't wait to go visit them. {We are anxiously awaiting and counting down until they come home for good in April or May of 2014}.

I am spending my weekend cleaning up the house {to prepare it for a weekend of Daddy and Jackson next weekend}, spending time with family, relaxing, and of course, sewing, sewing, sewing!

In the mean time, I am finishing up the stocking of my shop for launch this Thursday night! Go ahead, be excited! I can't wait to give the grand opening announcement!

{New schedule} Yay!

Hey all! I have decided that in order to bring you great content on a regular basis, I need to come up with a weekly schedule of posts. In the next week or so, I am going to be introducing a few brand new weekly series that I am super excited about. So stay tuned for some new and exciting things!

Here's the new schedule:

Sunday: Sunshine Sunday- Family updates

Monday: Better You Challenge

Tuesday: Being Mommy- parenting tips, activities for kids, reflections on motherhood

Wednesday: Ask Elizabeth Series

Thursday: Craft review, tutorial, or sewing tips. 

Friday: Favorite products, or recipes.

Saturday: Off day- no new posts. Happy weekend everyone :)

I am really happy with where this blog is going so far. It is seeing the growth I had hoped for, and is being received very well. I just want to thank everyone who has been reading. I hope I can keep it interesting enough for you to come back often. Please let me know if there is anything you want more of, and let me know of any questions you have. I love feedback, and it really helps me keep the momentum up ;) Enjoy your weekend! Yeah baby!

Weekend fun!

                     The weekend has just begun and we are already making the most of it.

//We woke up early this morning and went to our local orchard to pick fresh blueberries. This is one of my favorite things to do in the summer. Have you ever tried blueberries straight from the bush? They are amazing! So tasty and complete goodness. One of the best tastes of summer. 

//After picking blueberries we went over to the orchard market for some farm fresh eggs, green beans, and apple cider donuts! Yummy! Later we will make blueberry muffins, and zucchini bread from a giant zucchini my father in law grew!

//We plan to spend the rest of the weekend with my parents, soaking up our time with them as much as we can before they go back to Ohio. Oh, and in between all of that I am taking little breaks to work on Hoot & Bumble :)