Moving Forward

Hello, friends!

As you can see, it has been awhile since my last post... it seems I've run out of space on Blogger for photos and the like...and what's a post without photos? After giving it some thought, I have decided to begin a new blog. The timing is well, it being a new year, and me, feeling more like myself. I'm really excited about a fresh start writing-wise, and a whole new look. You can find my new blog, Two Little Cardigans, here.

I'm going to leave VintagePlum up for awhile--thank you to those who have visited regularly and have encouraged me since 2008. I read your blogs too, and will continue to. :) Come see me in the new space!

Love & blessings,
Mindy

another first.

Our second First Birthday party... for Natalie girl. My littlest one is officially one! I am loving this age and missing all of the younger months all at once.

I think I could throw a pumpkin-themed party every year, just because it's such a cute theme. {My baby shower for when I was preggo with Nat was pumpkin-themed, pink and orange, and I looooved it. Seemed fitting to do it again for her birthday, especially as our pumpkins were still on the front stoop!}

For this party, I wanted to keep it simple. Simple cake, simple decorations, simple food. And what's a party without bunting? Inspired by this post. I loved the accordian look to it, and it was super easy to make.  It's still hanging in our dining room and I love it. (I think I'm finally going to make some pinwheels out of this dotted paper for Natalie's room...)

On the other side of the wall, I hung pictures from the day Natalie was born up thru this year. I love looking at these, because her face is just so...her. She is who she is! I feel the same way about Olivia's pictures. So cool.

I used two box mixes for the cake ($1 per box) and one box for cupcakes, but I added a little canned pumpkin to make it more dense. You couldn't really taste it, but I thought it did make the consistency better! I thought the cake might be too crumbly otherwise. Oh, the pumpkin cake. Nom.

Is there anything much prettier than a dark chocolate cake with powdered sugar...? Love.  It was special because the bundt pan I used was my mom's... she would've been impressed and happy I made use of such an old metal pan, especially hers!

I also made some cinnamon whipped cream to go along with it, and anyone who was a frosting fanatic could help themselves to a cupcake. Best of both worlds.

(I made the cupcakes the day before and froze them on a cookie sheet--I took them out about half an hour before the party started. So convenient! The sugar pumpkins are from Michaels, $5 before the 40% off coupon.)

 

She fell asleep before gifts... aww. 

 

I am loving watching my girls grow up and seeing all of the changes they're going through, physically and emotionally. Natalie has dealt with some hard times, but is doing so well right now. She had awful eczema until about seven months, and had a baaad case of separation anxiety (due to me not leaving her thanks to the eczema). Lately, she has been enjoying other people, venturing out on her own, adjusting to her surroundings without drama. (Most of the time. :) I am so proud of her!

She is smiley, snuggly, loving, and happy. Even when she was tiny, before the eczema kicked in, she was so smiley. She has the goofiest laugh, and the toothiest grin. I love seeing those big chipmunk teeth every morning. She is a joyful girl!

 

 

Babies are magical. They just are. I will never forget when her doctor told me that at her first ever appointment.  Treasure your babies and those around you; what precious days we have with them that go by way too fast!

random: how my mind works.

You know I love my Sharpies. Last night I used them to make lists upon lists... on graph-papered-post-it-notes. Sweet.

Inspiration typically pummels me at 100mph, or it doesn't come at all.  Last night, I was pummeled. I'm trying to organize Natalie's first birthday, and once I started doodling, I realized that assigning post-it squares to different aspects of the party organized my brain better than a typical list... I stuck them to the back of this pretty sheet of paper:

and then wrote out a final shopping list for today on the other side. Moving the squares around and compartmentalizing parts of the party made my list come together much faster.

 

 

By then, R had already headed up for bed, but my mind was still chugging. I decided to use this method to help me organize our house. (Ha.) Another something that's been on my mind. (When is it not?) If a method doesn't work for you, move onto something else, right? So I wrote down our major problem areas, and then organized them in a stack from quickest to clean, to most laborious.

 

 

 

It's on our fridge, so now when I'm bumbling around trying to tidy up, I can just pluck off the top post-it and get to work. I am loving this setup visually, and I love that it's tactile.  This pin inspired me, actually. :)

 

How's that for random today?

transitions

It has been an absolutely beautiful transition into fall this year, don't you think? My favorite time of year... I visited my dear old friend Leez in Westcliffe last weekend for a knitting retreat, and I am kicking myself for not taking my camera. We had such a great time! The drive there was awesome, and staying in Leez's sweet, cozy country home made the trip that much better. Always does. {She even made vanilla spice coffee syrup, people...}

When my girls get up from their naps today, I'm going to recruit their help to pumpkinize our house with our fallish things. Liv especially will enjoy deciding where to put things; she is a helper through and through. {Today, we stopped by Donahue's Paper Emporium, and the girl had to touch every thing she saw. But then, she was probably just copying me! She kept asking me, "Why all this paper mommy?" All I could say was, "Isn't it wonderful??"}

We left with some paper bag envelopes and a spool of thin twine. Our second official fall purchase, after these mums a couple of weeks ago. I'm very proud that they are still alive!

I've been sitting on our front stairs during naptime lately. Sometimes it's just to sort mail, but often it's nice to just be outside by myself to enjoy some sunshine and quiet; it doesn't happen often enough! I love the simplicity of just... sitting and enjoying.

It's almost October, and I know that the end of this year is going to be rough. I was just telling Raul yesterday that I knew it would be, and already I can feel it creeping up.  With my parent's anniversary date (1) and my mom's birthday (19) coming up next month, I can sense a new shadow of grief looming, just waiting to darken some days for me, and for my dad, as we begin the holiday season.

And you know... I'm dreading that that's going to happen... but I don't have to fear going through it. The peace of knowing my Lord is actively, faithfully ministering to my spirit every day in different ways will hopefully lessen my dread, too. I'm asking Him to do that for me, anyway! We lose our parents and families from this earth, but we never lose our Heavenly Father or His love for us... Ever...

Music has been a comfort to me, and this is one of my favorites:

Ahh. I had to get that out. Thanks for listening.  Sadness aside, I really am looking forward to this new season, and kicking it off with my best friend and a knitting retreat was just what I needed. Our little family has plans to go to the pumpkin patch and to Cider Days (a carnival of sorts where you can press your own apples!), and watch classic movies (my faaav.o.rite), knit, bake, and have fun with the girls... lots of new memories are in store.  Oh, and I need to get planning this little one's First Birthday Party:

Get ready to party, Natalie!

little reminders

Last night at Bible study, we were talking about having scripture around the house for encouragement.  I've had this little teacup photo holder for a long time, and I love it. Typically I keep it in the kitchen to hold recipe cards, but lately I've been using it for verses. {I like to jot the date on the card--it reminds me of where I was in life that caused me to write it down in the first place!}

Philippians 4:6-7 has meant so much to me over the last seven years. There is so much to be fretful over day to day, and it's so nice to just lay it all before the Lord and ask for peace. Pray about it, talk to Him about it. His promises are new every morning! Liv and I have memorized it together via this song:

I appreciated the reminder last night and look forward to writing out more verses to ponder and store up!