Monday, June 17, 2013

let's play catch-up...

I have really missed blogging, reading blogs, and all of the warm fuzzies that go along with it.
These days I am consumed with making soap, making more soap,
and then making some more.
Along with sewing dryer sachets, mixing up batches of linen & room spray and
our kitchen & bath cleanser.
and then bringing it here.
The Fulton St. Farmers Market in Grand Rapids through the week,
where you can find some of the best people selling
their honey, maple syrup and home grown,
non-sprayed, organic fruits and veggies.  
It's early in the season here but in a few weeks the place will be overflowing 
with everything the farmers work so hard to grow for us!

On Sundays this wonderful place becomes
The Fulton St. Artisans Market.
where you can find incredible pieces of work and have an amazing artist henna your hand.
(Hannah's favorite thing a couple of Sunday's ago when she came to help man the booth)
On our opening day we had 104 artists selling 
their work and it was fabulous!
Every Sunday through September... how amazing is that?
So you see, I don't have a great deal of new things to share on a regular basis,
I kinda figured 'how many times can I show a bag of soap, or the market booth'?
If you want the answer to that, just check my facebook page...
apparently, A LOT!
I have been so busy that I have gone to posting mostly on FB.  
It's quick, easy, and right now about all I have time for.

I do miss you though.
truly.

I haven't been able to read my favorite blogs in such a long time, that
 I probably need to put my picture on the side of a blogging milk carton.

Here are a few shots of some of the other things that have kept me busy...
Max started baseball in May, with Duane as his coach.
That's Max as #2!
As a side note, I hope to keep all parents from going through what we went through
as a result of Max playing ball...
One wrong bounce of the ball and Max lost a good portion of his front teeth!
He came running to me crying, "my permanent teeth, my permanent teeth!"
Oh my gosh, my heart sank!
He is now all back to new, thanks to our awesome dentist, 
... and he now wears a mouth guard when he plays ball.
Something that my other boys never did, and very few, if any
other boys in the league wear. 
mouth guards... they are a good thing.

I missed showing you these beauties...
and how they filled out the front of the house so beautifully.
Unfortunately, as you well know, they don't last long after a hard rain.
Even after staking and tying them up all of the buds you see here
took a beating and down they came.
I was happy to get this photo as the first of them bloomed!

I expanded our front garden with the help of Max...
this is the view from our bedroom window right after we finished.

...and here it is this morning!  
(just for you, I went out in my jammies to take these pics!)
The iris's are mostly gone, the peonies as you can see are all gone,
but some of the other plants that I dug up from around the house are doing really well,
thanks to all of the rain we've been getting!
This cost of this garden was a lot of hard work and the mulch.
I took all of the plants from other areas where they were overgrown.
It felt so good to be digging in the dirt with my sidekick, Max!
He was my dirt clod shaker-outer!

One last thing before I go.
I have finally hit the 'PUBLISH' button on my new website!

You can see all kinds of the goings on over at 


this has been the biggest project yet!
I have wanted to do this for a while now,
I will still have the blog, it is linked on the website,
and hopefully be able to tend to it more often, as well as visit all of you.
I also wanted to have a .com where you can purchase our products,
and not search through etsy.
For now, I will still have etsy too, and that is where the pendants and jewelry
are listed until I have time to list those on the site.
This was a huge undertaking, and quite taxing on my noggin!
I hope you will visit me there and I would love to hear your feedback!
Also, if you don't follow me on facebook,
please do!  I am there everyday, updating my whereabouts 
and adding photos of my happenings!

Like my new business cards and labels that I designed!
new pieces as I finish them...
this was taken at the Garden Gallery show last month.

and some family shots...
front yard frisbee for Fathers Day,
Cam still in his umpire pants and Max showing his skills,
throwing back to Dad!

... and this one
where you can find us at the end of a long day.

My brother had this fireplace stored under
a deck for a few years, and when we mentioned that we 
would like a little firepit back here he offered us this beauty!
How lucky am I?
pretty lucky!
(I really need to clean the siding though)
adding it to my ever growing tada list.

It was wonderful chatting with you all!
I will be taking my new little chrome book
(thanks to the generosity of my kids - my moms day present!) along with me to 
markets and when it's a bit slow, I will be playing catch-up at your place!

I hope all is fabulous in your little world
and that the sun is shining down on you today!

love,
t.xoxoxoxo









8 comments:

  1. I've missed your old white house!!!

    feeling all caught up now ..
    if you ever find the fireplace missing, it will be over at my house

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  2. Great to see you girlie! Happy almost summer!

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  3. oh my goodness, you HAVE been busy! i don't know how you do it all?! best of luck with your dot com and tell your son, he can say he was a vampire for a day? not sure if thats good though...poor little guy. it will be fun to see how your new garden will grow...love the idea of free plants.
    have a great week, dear.
    erin
    xxoo

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  4. I LOVED seeing everything you've been up to Theresa! You have been living life and I loved seeing it all in photos :) I love seeing photos of your beautiful home!
    hugs...

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  5. Oh, Theresa!!!!!
    I am so excited for you! It looks like things are coming along so well to sell all your beautiful goods. And the crowd at the market-wowie!!!!! That is awesome.
    A .com would be great. You are going like gangbusters with business and family-so blessed!!

    O.K. I need to bring my class to YOUR HOUSE. It is lovely. hmmmmm.....let's talk?
    xo
    lynn

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  6. Poor Max! He really got whacked...but they did a great job giving him his smile back! Congratulations on your new website. I'm going to zip right over there now to check it out!

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  7. I love hearing about your soap and entrepreneurial endeavors, it is so motivating. Oh I can see how you would have been sick with Max knocked his teeth, what a great repair! And your house is gorgeous!

    Carol

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  8. Hello Theresa,
    Hope you had a wonderful 4th of July with your family. I am sure you are making and selling your soap and sachets like a madwoman, looks like a great market. Wish I could come and shop there too!

    Have a great weekend my long-lost friend!
    Kate

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Thank you so much for visiting me here at The Old White House, your comments make my day! ~ Theresa xoxo