A Taste of Autumn :: Dessert Recipes

Are you making fun of me yet? My hubby sure is. He always teases me for referring to Fall as "Autumn," claiming it's the snob's term for the season. I've never said it with the intention of being snobby--promise. Who knows why I use it. Maybe it's the English major/former teacher in me. I am, after all, a sucker for good grammar!

Anyways, I digress.

The real reason I'm writing this post is because September 1st arrives tomorrow, and with it comes the anticipation of cool weather, colorful leaves, Yankee Candles and heart-warming meals. My appetite is returning back to normal and I'm dreaming of Fall-inspired flavors to soon cook up. Pumpkins, apples, cranberries, cinnamon... mmmmm. Did I just name foods that all pair well with dessert? Why yes, I believe I did. ;)

In case you're on the prowl for the perfect new recipes to add to your Fall collection, here are some that just might catch your fancy:

Grammy's Apple "Crobbler"

Pumpkin Granola

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cups

Pumpkin Spiced Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've also got a few ideas up my sleeve of how to jazz some boring recipes and give them that touch of Autumn we all love so much. We'll see how much cooking I actually accomplish in the coming months. I'm easing my way back into the kitchen after a summer of soup, crackers and Entenmann's mini-muffins. ;)

I was "Lawyered"

It occurred to me that I never shared my fun little Etsy experience with everyone. If you remember back in the Spring, I announced the grand opening of Sunshine Design's new Etsy shop. After several days and countless hours of editing, tweaking and organizing my listings, it was finally up and running. And although I was only "official" for a short week or two, with no new sales to my name, I had earned some "likes" and gained many new viewers. It felt really good to be among the DIY best-of-the-best!

Then the email came.

I wish I had saved it, but even if I had there might be some hesitation on my part to post it on my blog. It specifically said to keep the enclosed information private, and the last thing I need is someone stumbling upon this little ol' site and hunting me down (although maybe I'm thinking too highly of myself).

In a nutshell, the lawyer for Nickelodeon Merchandising (or something or other) contacted Etsy to "red flag" me for selling Yo Gabba Gabba hats, claiming that I was breaking copyright law... in their eyes, anyways. Etsy promptly sent me an email to inform me about the situation, took down the two Yo Gabba Gabba items I had listed, and issued a stern warning that I was on thin ice with them.

After reading this email, I was shaking.

Shaking with fear and nerves, yes, but also with anger and rage that out of ALL the shop owners on Etsy who had listings EXACTLY. LIKE. MINE, I was the one being reprimanded. New shop owner, no sales, basically the "loser" of the Etsy kids, yet I was being picked on.

The last line of Etsy's email stated that I could contact the lawyer directly for any further information. You bet your sweet butt that's what I did! I started by doing what I felt was necessary and apologizing for any confusion or unintentional breaking of copyright laws, assuring her that I am new to the world of online selling and assumed what I was doing was okay because everyone else was doing. (Does that make me sound like a misguided child or what?) I then demanded to know WHY, out of ALL the people they could have chosen to scold, they chose me? WHY were the rest of these people still going about their lives with their clearly "illegal" listings still posted on Etsy, yet my new and humble shop was having its listings taken away?

Do you know that I never received a reply? The clear sign of a bully right there.

I was so sick over the whole thing and, honestly, so completely discouraged, that I took down my shop all together and called it a day. The fear of being called out for something else was too great, and the feeling of failure at something so many others were finding success in just weighed too heavily on my mind.

I haven't put much effort into selling any items lately, and there hasn't even been much crocheting for pleasure going on in these parts. As I'm sitting here re-telling the story, it's occurred to me that the whole Etsy situation did more than discourage me from having an online shop--it sucked the joy out of something I loved doing. Hopefully I can find my way back to enjoying my crochet hobby again. As the holidays draw near, I've started working on a few gifts for people, and I'm also eager to make some things for Baby just as soon as we find out the sex! Otherwise, I could just care less about making money with this gig anymore.

Have any of you had similar situations happen, or have you let something or someone discourage you from doing what you find joy in?

Emma Says...

... anything and everything these days. (This also means that Mama and Dada need to pay close attention to the words that come out of our mouths!) It seems like all we have to do is ask her, "Emma, can you say ______?" and she says it.

• When she asks for something, she always says "Pleeeeease!" (And if she forgets then we gently remind her.)


• Little Miss Manners is also great about saying "Thank you" and "You're Welcome," always using them in the correct context. She even went so far as to remind me to use my manners while playing tea cups the other day. Upon handing her the cup, she said, "Thank you!" When I didn't offer a reply she then paused, turned around and said, "Say you're welcome." Maybe we're training her a little too well...


• She loves playing puzzles and has been learning her colors and numbers from them! She can recognize every letter and tell us almost each sound they all make, and she can count 1-10 without skipping a beat. She's also gotten great at recognizing her colors, the latest being that en elephant is grey.


• Her favorite songs to sing, are Holy Holy, Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy Bisty, Bingo and Rock-a-bye Baby. I think someone is going to be a great big sister and help mama sing her baby brother/sister to sleep. :)

Of course, anyone who's a parent knows that every new thing learned is not going to be wonderful, especially when it comes to an almost-two-year-old. Within the past week, two of our least favorite things she has started saying are, "It's mine!" and "No!" (We knew this was coming at some point, right?) Luckily, it usually doesn't take much to redirect her. We've been teaching her that there are things that are hers, but there are also things that are Mama's or Dada's or Max's. It's also always a priority for us to make her apologize whenever she acts out, misbehaves, or treats someone poorly. We know that it's starting to click because anytime she recognizes something that's happened and shouldn't have (like her tripping and falling, for example) she turns to us and says, "I sorry!" Sure, she doesn't always owe us an apology, but at least she's understanding the types of situations where one might need to say they are sorry. We'll take it!

There are so many other things I could go on about, which has made me realize that I need to do a better job of writing posts that update our loved ones about Emma, her baby brother/sister, and life here in general! These are the things that matter, right? It's my goal to write an "Emma Says" post once a week and to throw some other weekly updates on our life in there when I can. I'm actually pretty excited about this, using my blog as an online journal of sorts!

Since this has been a post all about Emma, I thought it would be fitting to leave you with a video of our little smarty pants reading one of her favorite books: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Of course, she's not actually reading yet, but it's the perfect type of short, repetitive story that she has been able to commit to memory and say back to us. You'll see... it's a-DORABLE!!!



 

 

 

The Sweetest Sound

I can't think of any sound sweeter than that of hearing your baby's heartbeat for the first time. That's the gift I was blessed enough to receive today!!

Baby and I are 12 weeks along today and moving right into the second trimester. I can't even believe it! Time is certainly flying by.

I faithfully took belly pictures throughout my pregnancy with Emma and am determined to do the same for this baby. In fact, I was all too eager to take one tonight as I wanted to see photographic proof of just how much faster my belly is popping the second time around! The proof is in the pictures!

14 weeks with miss Emma...

... and 12 weeks with baby #2!!

Do we perhaps have another 9 lb birth on our hands? Maybe so, friends... maybe so!! ;)

WIP Wednesday: Getting Ready for the Fall

WOW. I'm actually posting something for a WIP Wednesday today? How about that!

I haven't felt like doing much of anything except laying on the couch and going to bed by 9:00 PM most days, but as I am officially 12 weeks pregnant today (YIPPPEEEEE!!!), I'm starting to feel more of my energy come back. I've also found that the close return of Fall has gotten me very eager for cooler weather, my favorite Yankee candles, all things apple and pumpkin and darling hats in warm colors.

I recently bought the pattern for this Spring Fling Beanie from Busy Mom Designs. Isn't it adorable? Not as adorable as my little model wearing it, though!!

Okay. I swear Emma will just be turning 2 next month. Why does she look soooooo old here?!? Our baby is growing into a beautiful little girl, and it's happening way too fast.

Here are some more pictures to wet your appetite for both this beauty of a hat and our gorgeous little lady! ;)

I also made her this hat from Mamachee's oh-so-fun Pop A Color Beanie Pattern, which I think is super cute, super hip and holds the potential for so many fun color combinations. For sweet Emma, I went with something a little more girly...

I've added these both to my Facebook shop, as well, so perhaps I can make a bit of extra money as the cooler days come upon us. No pushing myself, though. The most important things are to spend time with our Emma and to enjoy the exciting months leading up to the arrival of our precious, sweet little baby!!! Can you tell I'm a tad overjoyed? :)

Until next time, enjoy the impending arrival of Autumn days! Happy Crocheting!

Singing the Day Away

First, I would like to thank everyone for their sweet words of congratulations!! We are over the MOON excited to meet our little munchkin, although we are also just as eager for mid-October when we will find out if Emma will have a baby brother or sister!!!

Stay tuned ;)

I haven't felt much like sitting at the computer to post things lately, but hopefully I can at least get back into the swing of making regular family updates. That's what is most important, after all! The crocheting and recipes will come... or maybe not, depending on what direction I take this little ol' blog in the coming months. Regardless, I have something to share this morning that anyone and everyone should find completely worth watching!

Emma has some exciting news...

Our precious, sweet little baby is due to arrive March 6th, 2013!!! We couldn't be more thrilled!!

Perhaps now my little hiatus from blogging makes more sense... ;)