Shoppe News!...

I have some new items now up for sale in my Etsy shop! 

Do you still need to pick up your Christmas cards? Check out these cute little ones lovingly made by me.  :)

I am simply in love with the little red cabin. 

                    Here are some fun little Christmas tree cut outs perfect for all your Christmas paper crafting projects.  The sparkly evergreen ones above are cut from acid and lignin free cardstock.  The assorted pattern ones below are cut form acid and lignin free scrapbook paper. 

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is tomorrow!  I am very excited!  The two things I am most thankful for, first my Savior and second my family.  (But there really is about a million things I can be thankful for but that might be a little too long of a post.) Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving everyone!

So cute...

The other day I ordered this sweet little handmade Starbucks charm from Tiny Tinker Industries on Etsy.  All of her little creations are so sweet and she is quite the little artist.  I wore it to work today and all the girls loved it.  :)  You must go take a peak at her shop! 

My dream...

The only thing that would make this setting more perfect is a chimney with smoke floating out. 

https://www.facebook.com/wholesaleloghomes

Lunch with the siblings...

Today was going to be my decorate for Christmas day but there was a happy change of plans.  Rue's brother Taraz is visiting from Denver and sent a text last night asking if he could stop in for a visit today.  Of course!!  When all was said and done it turned into an all Dannells sibling lunch.  (Taraz is the cool guy in the middle of the above picture hugging Daniel.) Taraz, Rahmat, Ruhiyyih and her husband Matt had gone on a hike (in the rain) before hand so they arrived cold and hungry.

I had a big pot of beef stew, spaghetti squash casserole, cookies and Starbucks freshly brewed coffee waiting for them when they arrived.  We had a lovely afternoon visiting and just hanging out and relaxing.  Rue got in a game of Street Fighter 2 with Taraz and the guys also played some Foosball out in the garage.  Ruhiyyih, Daisy and I had a girls' pow wow in Daisy's room discussing plans for the upcoming long holiday weekend.  And I rubbed Ruhiyyih's tummy a lot as she is expecting her first little sweety pie in February! 

Here is Rahmat and Ruhiyyih.  He's tall, handsome and single ladies! :) 

They will all be back on Thanksgiving along with Rue's parents and mine.  Sadly my brother Ben, my sister-in-law Mai and sweet little nephew Charlie won't be able to come all the way from Anchorage.  But hopefully we will be able to do some Skyping with them.  

 

Daniel forlornly watched out the window as everyone left.  Don't worry sweety, they will all be back on Thursday!  :)

My Christmas decorating day has moved to tomorrow.  I went and bought a couple more strings of Christmas lights today after everyone left.  Walmart, in the evening, on a Saturday, is quite crazy, just so you know. 

Happy weekend everyone! 

Fall outing...

Yesterday Daniel and I took off for the day.  Rue would have come but he only slept 5 hours the night before and needless to say did not feel like doing much.  We drove up the Olympic Peninsula towards Port Angeles.  We stopped in Sequim at the Railroad Bridge Park and went on a walk through the fall leaves. 

Daniel loved the fact that we crossed an old railroad bridge.  

It was a delightful Daniel and Momma day.  We stopped at the Joann Superstore in Silverdale on our way home, something that wouldn't have happened if Daddy had come along. ;) (I would have much rather had Daddy with us though.) 

Can you believe Thanksgiving is only a week away?!  Tomorrow is my big grocery shopping day.  I refuse to go to the grocery store any day next week, it's just too crazy.  Thankfully my hubby works at Fred Meyer so if I forget anything he will grab it for me.  :)  And believe it or not I am decorating for Christmas this Saturday!  The past couple of years I have had the house decorated for Christmas when everyone comes over on Thanksgiving and it's been a lot of fun.  I sure love this time of year! 

Business Cards!!...

Look at what I ordered today!!!  They match my blog and everything!  I am so happy I found Rhonda Jai Designs on Etsy.  I am in love with the little birdy design.  Plus I made my first sale from my Etsy shop yesterday!  It's all so exciting!  :)  By the end of this next week I will have my little Christmas cards up for sale!  (Please ignore all the exclamation points.)

Happy weekend everyone!  :)

Woodland Baby Shower...

This past weekend my Aunt Karin threw a baby shower for my beautiful cousin Mary Beth.  Sadly I could not be there since it was down in LA. My mom was able to be there though and took pictures. The decorations made me squeal with delight!  My aunt did an AMAZING job!  I had to share some pictures with you all. 

 

Here's the Momma-to-be.  Isn't she just the cutest pregnant girl you've ever seen?! 

My aunt set up a tree with pictures of Mary Beth and her husband Daniel when they were babies.  Too cute!

 

Love them!

Here is baby Jacoby's Great Gramma!  We have the most beautiful Gramma in the whole world!

The Twinnies

My mom (left) and Aunt Karin/Grammy and designer of this lovely shower (right).

Fall reading...

When fall comes around I always seem to feel the urge to read two wonderful books by Catherine Marshall, Christy and Julie.  I read both back when I was in high school which was over ten years ago now. (Yikes, that's kind of scary to say!)  No matter how many times I read them they are still just as wonderful as the first time I read them.  The copy of Christy I have was given to my mom for her junior high graduation which was waaaaaaaaaay more than ten years ago.  (Yikes, I hope she doesn't read that!) It's a bit delicate so I am doing my best to take good care of it.  The copy of Julie I have was given to my Great Grammy Dorothy Sundin by her son Carl and his wife Diane for Christmas 1985 which was waaaaaaaay...you get the idea, the books I have are old.  :)

"When Christy Huddleston leaves a life of privilege and ease to teach in the impoverished Smokey Mountains, her faith is severely tested by her pupils, the love of two men, and the curious customs of the mountain people in her community. Yet she grows to love these people and the simple, fulfilling lifestyle to be found in the heart of God's country. First released in 1967, Christy is based on the life of author Catherine Marshall's mother and was the inspiration for the recent television series of the same name. Beautifully told, this is a charming, timeless tale of love and faith that will appeal to romance readers of all ages". --Maudeen Wachsmith

'Julie Wallace is just eighteen in 1934 when her father risks their life savings on a struggling newspaper and moves the family to a flood-prone Pennsylvania town.

It is here a young woman's convictions take firm root, as Julie finds herself taking sides when battle lines are drawn between desperate steelworkers and the mill owners who control their lives. And it is here where her heart and her loyalties are torn, divided between two special men. But when a devastating natural catastrophe becomes the ultimate test of courage and commitment, Julie's remarkable inner strength will come to the fore — a strength born of faith and love." Barnes and Noble Overview

If you haven't read these two books before I highly recommend them!  :)  What is your favorite fall read?

Daniel in the Lion's Den...

Baking Bread with Momma...

The rain is coming down here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest which makes it the perfect day to bake some homemade bread to go with my Rasam soup I am making for dinner tonight.  As soon as Daniel saw what I was doing he wanted to help.  (Please note I don't have the best lighting in my kitchen for taking pictures.)

I tied on his little Starbucks apron and he went at his little ball of dough.  He used his little dough roller.  Later on he asked for a bowl and the whisk and he attacked his little ball of dough.  He's a very noisy bread baker.  :)

Tonight is Bible character dress up at church for Awana and I have his little costume all ready!  His costume revealing will be coming up later.  :)

Have a safe day everyone! 

Pumpkin Patch...

Fall would not be fall without a trip to the pumpkin patch. My parents, Daniel, Daisy and I drove up to Buckley to Ziemke's Farm Fresh Produce.  Their produce prices are amazing! My mom bought 2 beautiful red bell peppers for $.20 cents a piece!  I bought some cute little mini pumpkins and my dad bought a huge box of apples for making apple butter.  And of course we picked out some pumpkins. 

We enjoyed the little petting zoo they have and my mom bought a nice big bag of fresh kettle corn.  We didn't ride it but Daniel liked seeing the big monster truck take off into the woods.

And here is Daniel with his carved pumpkin from Ziemke's!  He insisted Thomas be in the picture.  My mom helped him carve it over at my parents' house yesterday morning. 

I love fall! We are set to have a couple of very rainy days here in the Northwest complete with some rivers on flood warning.  It's definitely nothing compared to what they have experienced on the east coast and I am praying for all those impacted by hurricane Sandy. 

Shoppe News!...

Now in my shop are these sweet little autumn/Thanksgiving blank greeting cards, handmade by me! Go take a peek!  :)

"Like" me!!...

Earthen Vessel has a Facebook page and so far I've gotten 8 "likes"!  My goal is to reach 50 "likes" by January!  If I can reach 50 "likes" by January then I will have a giveaway.  I will randomly pick one of my 50 (or more!) followers on Facebook and they will be able to pick one of anything they want out of my Etsy shop!  I know there's not much in there now but in the next month or so I will be stocking it with more baby bibs and burp cloths, handmade greeting cards and handmade wool ear warmers.  I'm sure there will be at least a little something there you might like.  :)

So put out the word!  Go "like" Earthen Vessel's Facebook page and tell your friends to like it too!  Thanks everyone! I sure like you too!  :)

Where have you been?!...

I know, I know, I have been very absent from the blogging world.  But I promise I am back now!  We finally have gotten rain here in the Northwest after an amazing stretch of no rain and warm weather.  Now my attention has turned back to indoors with canning, cooking, sewing, scrapbooking and blogging.  I opened my Etsy shop back up and soon I will be adding a couple new items to my shelves.  For now my baby bibs and burp cloths are still up for sale. 

My hubby and I love to ride bikes in the fall.  We love to find trails in the country with beautiful fall colors.  Rue pulls Daniel in the little trailer behind his bike.

Our latest bike ride was on the Olympic Discovery Trail out on the Olympic Peninsula "It's a paved trail system that links Port Townsend on the Puget Sound to the Pacific beaches at La Push." .  That's right, Twilight country! :)  Most of the trail is abandoned railroad grade. We didn't do the whole thing, obviously.  We rode on a little section between Blyn and Sequim.  But we know where we want to start from next time so we can see more of it.

Love my goofy men!

Talk to you soon!! :)