midweek mixtape

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autumnal vibes

This mild weather we have had lately is getting me ready super early for autumn.... Our thermometers at the farm haven't been getting above 90 and for this time of year, that is CRAZY! The fall makes me think of magical happenings. Halloween and Christmas are just around the corner, really, and I am always up for costumes and surprises! 

The cool perfect biscuit-making mornings (baking is totally magic), the bearable evenings being able to complete my farm chores without getting super hot, the perfect evening walks with the dogs, and the hammock sitting while watching the goats munch on the overgrowth around the house (yes, they are my new weedeaters since I have this new fence), the perfect amount of rain so that I have food for the animals without hauling hay, and to top it all off, this weather makes me soooo ready for carnival season. there is nothing quite like a night out with a few friends and an unlimited ride bracelet.....

We also polished off the third season of Stranger Things last night and the whole carnival setting has most definitely influenced this post also :)

Tuesdays mean the weekly deals on meat at Fresh Market, and since Eddie gets all home cooked meals, this is a lifesaver. Aside from a little planning for the next month because August starts on Thursday (and I tend to be one of those planner-type gals), work, dogs, and the usual farm chores are in the forecast for today. It is Tuesday. It isn't nearly close enough to the weekend to be planning for it, but I seriously want to already...

xo

-s

a little monday marvel.....

This evening after all the horse were done, and it was almost time to do our special work with Reece (so he gets used to Christian), I saw a pretty blue tissue-wrapped gift on the table..... I asked Christian about it and he was just like, "Oh yeah, that came from Chewy today. The actual package was messed up so I just opened it." I couldn't remember ordering any books from them, and this was definitely book-shaped...

To my amazement, when I opened it, it was a freakin' PORTRAIT of Reece!!! What? Along with a note that said it was a special surprise...

You see I had ordered something a while back, in April actually for Reece, when he first came here, and what I had ordered wasn't going to work for him, so a few weeks ago (yes, in JULY), I finally got around to signing into my account and online chatting with someone about how to return the item. They said they didn't need me to ship the item back, but to donate it to a shelter or rescue and they refunded my money. In the chat, the person on the other end asked what Reece looked like... because the chat window had an option to upload files, I just sent a pic of him. They said he was a cute boy, and that was it.... until I received this amazing surprise this evening!!!

I just had to share this before we polish off the last episode of Stranger Things...

saturday snapshots 7am-8pm

 It is late and we are about to start the third episode in season 3 of Stranger Things... this morning I woke up to open and see how easy or hard it was going to be to put up my new temporary and movable fencing that I got for clearing brush. I was gonna play a bit with setting it up, then go to the pound and work with my project pups, then come back and actually test it out while making sure it would work.... Not only was it super easy to set up, I was also able to let the goats play in their newly fenced area while I was at the pound! 

My girl Jojo was happy to get out and have an entire hour to love and play and just be a free dog for a bit. Her former life was lived in a pen, chained - so a little break from confinement makes her one happy gal!

After my time with Jojo, I drove down the dirt road halfway expecting to see them out in the yard when I arrived home (the old saying about goats and fencing is usually true "if water can get through it, so can a goat" - ha!), but all was good and the goats were happy and soon relaxed, loving their new little test area! Eventually these mobile fencing pieces will be used to help clear brush since I don't have a tractor - ya know, the poor girl's bushhog, if you will! 

Since the goats were all good, I grabbed Reece to walk & check fencelines around the horse pasture - we do this daily, and he loves the routine. He makes sure to scare all the bunnies away along the route...

Then it's Eddie's turn. Most of the time these days when Eddie check fence lines with me, it involves lots of standing in one place. Sniffing the air, finding a spot where Reece peed, marking that spot, and then just laying down to listen to the birds. We don't do a whole lot of walking these days and that is just fine! 

After time with my own pups, I met with two previous project pups and their fosters for a playdate at the park! Cloud & Jasmine. Two dogs that came from a horrible life of cruelty and neglect, now learning how to properly 'dog'. They both came running at me for immediate kisses galore, and I couldn't have been more happy to receive them and to see how great they were doing! 

Here is Cloudi, Jasmine, and Vince (Cloudi's foster bro), with Cloudi's foster mom. 

 After the playdate, I ran to the store for chicken thighs for Eddie's meals the next few days - yes, he gets home cooked meals :) and cut some grass before another round the farm with Reece while the sun was setting before coming in for some tv binging with Christian....

 Loving every single minute, in our little house on this big land, now in our fifth summer here......

xo

-s

five things friday....

Yes! It is here! Friday! The weekend! Annnnnnnnd a new segment (for now anyway)... I introduce to you..... Five Things Friday!! A segment of some of my most recent obsessions....

BABYDOLL DRESSES.

I have been going through a 60s & 90s babydoll dress thing. Lusting over them actually. Ha! Maybe this is my midlife crisis, but some biker boots or Doc Martins paired up with a flowy babydoll dress in the summertime takes me back to the mid 90s where I was just figuring out adult life, going with the flow, not stressed about anything, and taking it all in stride. I have been wearing a few already this summer and the ones I have actually have pockets, so even better! 

THIS.

I have needed to be reminded of this a few times in the last week or so. Good energy always pushes us forward. Dwelling on the negative won't do any good...

STRANGER THINGS.

Well, well, well..... I am one of those people that doesn't do well with a whole lotta hype around shows, movies, music, and books. I have to wait for the hype to settle, and then I will give it a go. Well, last week, Christian and I finally started STRANGER THINGS. Totally hooked now, and we are set to start the third season tonight. There perfect Friday night fun, right?

100 HAPPY DAYS.

I am starting this again. I have successfully started and finished this little project once since January 2014. At the end of that round, I was closing on this little slice of heaven.... I have made a few attempts to complete a second round, just to see what else might be waiting at the 100th day... I either get too caught up to remember to post, but I do feel like at least once each day I am thanking the universe for something. Gonna try my best to make this a priority once again. Boosting the positive vibrations never hurt anyone, right? If you are not familiar with what "100 Happy Days" is, this post from January 2014 explains it all!

CLOUDI PUPDATE.

Cloudi is in his first home ever. A product of cruelty and neglect, he wound up at the county pound where I pulled him out of his scared little shell and have worked with him the last few months. He is now in a foster home awaiting his forever home. Here he is, allowed to smell, be curious, and see what the world and kindness is all about. I don't know that he could have found himself in a better foster home!

 

I am so ready once again for the weekend - I have a playdate planned for Cloudi and his sister tomorrow, some Reece training, s-l-o-w walks with Eddie on the farm, grass cutting, ST binge-watching, and hopefully some tasty treat for Sunday's sweet stuff.... Happy Friday, y'all!

want/ need/ hear/ read

want:

cake for breakfast. Every day. :)

need:

A new way to clear pieces of the land that I cannot access regularly with my mower.... I am getting close to using the old tried and true method of putting my goats to work on this movable fence....

hear:

read:

THIS BOOK. Hilarious. The ultimate laugh generator when you need one...

It is Thursday!!! So close to the weekend! <3

xo

-s

midweek mixtape

sunday sweet stuff: chocolate cake!

Getting back into the swing of the regular segments by being a little late on these weekend posts - ha! After devouring some cake, I found it hard to even pick up my laptop, so instead I just "let the cake settle" while cuddling the newest official member of our family. This cake is pretty dang easy, and SO delicious. It is a perfect way to forget all about the "scary Sundays" - if you haven't heard that this is indeed a real thing, then google it! 

What you will need for your cake.....

2 C flour

2 C sugar

3/4 C cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 C sour cream

1/2 C milk

1/2 C vegetable oil (all we had was corn oil and it worked jussssst fine)

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 C very strong super hot, just brewed, coffee

Preheat oven to 340 degrees. and put about 2 tablespoons of butter in 2 round cake pans (9'), and let the butter melt - this is how I grease my pans, always. 

Dump all of your dry ingredients into a stand mixing bowl, and blend. Now add the sour cream, milk, oil, eggs, & vanilla and mix until all blended, and while still mixing, add the coffee and mix on low for about 40 seconds. 

Evenly distribute between the two cake pans, and pop in the oven for 45 min. 

For the frosting, I didn't really think it through, but had enough confectioners sugar, butter, and cream cheese for a nice firm frosting. This cake would be good with a chocolate buttercream, chocolate ganache, buttercream, or even a peanut butter frosting - YUMMM (I didn't think of this option until way later. 

Our cake was topped with a cream cheese/ buttercream and was delish. 

Enjoy, and HAPPY MONDAY! 

xo

-s

for real... it is Friday??

The past few months have flashed before my eyes. I cannot even believe it is Friday again. I guess the lack of regular blogging made it possible for me to lose track of time as well. Stuff is sinking in. I am still in disbelief that it is JULY. I turn 43 next month. I have had Reece for THREE WHOLE MONTHS. It has been FOUR WHOLE YEARS that we thought Eddie wasn't going to make it much longer. We have been in this house OVER FIVE YEARS and the land has expanded and become something completely different than it was when we first moved here....

My whole 'routine' used to revolve around my blogging. I have used it for almost 10 years as a sort of planner in my day-to-day... up until a few months ago when I lost the ability to upload mixtapes.. I had fashion segments on Fridays, the midweek mixtape, the 'want/need' segment, and the Sunday sweet stuff segments all kept me on my game! The blogging actually made me really responsible in some ways (farm projects, chores, self care), and in some ways, made me a little uptight (super stressed out about the lack of a midweek mixtape and for the longest time, no idea on how to replace the old platform - not to mention that all my mixtapes over the last 6 years were lost)..

Anyway, I am happy to be back and have my little idea hub up and running, my mixtape back, and am really ready for 5 o'clock to roll around! I am hoping for a weekend filled with pop-up thunderstorms, a little sewing, some shelter pups (Cloudi got neutered yesterday!), and a little headway on my next flooring project in the workshop! 

Happy Friday, y'all! 

xo

-s

want/ need/ hear/ see

want:

I want to begin my next flooring project in the workshop this weekend..... This floor will be more colorful, as it is going in a room that is hot pink, yellow, and teal....

need:

to get my baking groove back.

I guess I lost it pretty much when I lost the ability to have a mixtape here, so I am thinking this weekend for the "Sunday Sweet Stuff" segment, I will be making something buttery, cakey, and complimentary for my morning coffee.... The sweets on Sunday is perfect way for me to avoid the Sunday sadness of having to get ready for another work week. Do you guys have this happen to you? Every Sunday, without fail, as the weekend is winding down, unless I have some cool project to keep me creatively engaged, I get it... Baking on Sundays has been a longtime way of avoiding this, whether it is bread, cookies, cakes, or other goodies, so I am bringing it back. 

hear:

I have always loved this song... It is a good summertime, floating-in-the-pool-while-looking-up-at-the-trees song....

see:

Fleabag. This is one of those shows that you can binge in one sitting. The first season came out a few years ago, and the second season just came out this year. We watched it in one weekend, as it is only 6 episodes and highly addictive. This season "Fleabag" falls for a young, cool priest who curses, drinks, and flirts with temptations a bit too much, but if you know Fleabag, this is right up her alley...

Check it out, have a laugh, and I am betting you'll be hooked and waiting for more like we are....

I am super happy to have the Thursday "want/ need" segment back! Isn't it crazy what little things like a weekly mixtape can influence? The last several months blogging has been bleh and now I know why!!!! 

Next week's 'see' will be swapped out for a 'read', and the book is really funny and great. Tomorrow is Friday, and I am already setting things up in the shop to make my floor-painting dreams come true very soon! 

xo

-s

midweek mixtape! YESSSSSS!

I am hoping this sticks. We had a glitch with the other player, and lost all of the other mixes. Boooo.

I am very excited about this mix, and I hope next Wednesday I get to bring you another one!!! Thank you, Christian!!!!

We have almost made it to the halfway point!! You have no idea how inspiring it is to have this segment back, so now you can expect the regular blogging, as this is my blogging glue....

xo

-s

tgif

Wow! I am in disbelief that it is Friday already! This week flew by, and I wasn't able to get to a few things I had wanted, like seeing my ol' buddy Deere at the boarding facility while his farm is on vacay.

Lots of dog stuff, not too many farm pics because it has just been SO HUMID. Aside from the dog walks, I haven't been spending too much time outside...

A couple of my shelter pups that I work with are in temporary foster homes, and thriving! Hopefully with all this new info gained by being in a home, they will get adopted soon.

I am posting a few pics from the last week, and will be back tomorrow with the Saturday snapshots, and will be back more regularly after today, as I now have a little schedule going (again) for my blogging. The move from the loft in the house to doing most of my creative thinking, sewing, painting of the floors, and potion-making in the workshop took a little hiatus simply because it is so easy to snuggle with Reece instead....

This weekend I am gonna mend a few pieces of clothing, plan out the next week in posts, and hopefully re-list my stuff on etsy. I have been making all the bills just fine without the need for the etsy sales, but it would be nice to get a little ahead and move some of this inventory.

I also still have about 40 square feet of floor to paint in an new colorful chevron pattern.... I'd like to start planning that very soon!

So with all of the above, I also have a training session for Reece, a walk date with a shelter pup and her sister who is now in foster, and will be meeting a few volunteers at the shelter to help them work with a dog who is just scared of everything.

Last weekend was pretty non eventful, as it was my four day weekend and I decided I didn't want to do much but be lazy... ha! I did manage to make it to my favorite place for all things antique and vintage and found a few dresses that I need to alter, which I will do thins weekend so I can wear soon!

Anyway....

Happy Friday! I will update farm happenings very soon...

xo

-s