Damsel in the Dress {Interview Outfit}

I like to wear this outfit for job interviews sometimes but it's also perfect for fall. Brown is one of my very favorite colors to wear and I especially love pairing it with coral. I feel confident in this outfit, and feeling confident as you walk into your interview is what it's all about.

Tweed Blazer: Urban Outfitters

Polka Dot Blouse: H&M

Slacks: Maurices

I love this big maple tree right next to our house. I can't wait until the leaves start changing. It's going to be stunning!

Jake and I became "facebook official" yesterday. I had to laugh when I got home from my interview and saw I had a relationship status request. You know, a year and a half later. Too funny! I teased him that I was going to decline it.

EDIT: BAM! The outfit did it, I got the job! It's a part-time (which I was so hoping for, I really didn't want to have to work full-time) teller position at a bank!

I'm linked up at The Pleated Poppy.

If you haven't signed up for my giveaway yet, there are only a couple more days to do so! You had better get on it or someone else will win all that amazing home canned goodness. 

Pinterest Pretties: Chickens.

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I really want laying hens but Jake is not so keen on the idea. I told him last night (jokingly) that he is killing my dreams. Poor guy. I will get my chickens though, eventually. Just you wait and see.

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A Busy Canning Week.

I stopped by the orchard today, just in time for gala apples and bartlett pears. yum!

My stick blender came at the right time. I'll definitely be using it on some apples later this week.

I also picked up some tomatillos and jalapenos to make a batch of salsa verde.

I'm off to dig through my canning books/blogs to uncover and create some yummy recipes for all of this beautiful produce.

Any great ideas for what I should make with my apples and pears?

P.S. Check craigslist's farm/garden section for your area. You might be surprised at what you find. Today I bought 60 lbs. of extremely fresh, locally grown produce for around $20. What a great deal.

Pom Garland Tutorial.

It always seems like I finish crafts at night, and then my photos have no natural light. boo!

My sister emailed me last week asking if I could make a pom garland for Lana's 1st birthday party. She wanted it to be the color of strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. Her party has the cutest theme but I'll leave that for her to share later. I thought I'd share with you how to make your own garland. It's really simple and fun. You could make one of pretty fall colors to celebrate the coming of Autumn in your home.

Materials:

2 pieces of cardboard
A pen
Yarn
Sharp scissors
Darning needle

Draw a circle on your cardboard, with a smaller circle on the inside. The larger your outer circle, the larger your pom will be. Cut these out, as seen above. You will need two of them.

Put the two pieces of cardboard together, tightly wrap yarn around both pieces.

You'll want to wrap yarn several layers thick, to make sure your pom is nice and fluffy.

Snip off the end of the yarn. Then begin to cut through the yarn, between the two pieces of cardboard, as seen above.

Once you've cut all the way around, you'll have lots of little pieces of yarn in the center of your cardboard circles. Cut a piece of yarn, this will be what ties your ball together.

Slide your piece of yarn between the two pieces of cardboard. Make a knot and pull it tight. Repeat (double knot it). If you'd like, pull the string back and tie another knot on the other side of your pom.

Remove the cardboard, it's starting to look like a pom!

Take your scissors and trim all of the ends. Voila! You now have your very own pom.

To make your poms into a garland:

Cut a long piece of yarn in whichever color you'd like to use. I made my garland around 10-12 ft. long.
Thread the end of the yarn through a darning needle.
Find which direction you tied the knot in your pom, push your needle so it is under the area you tied the knot (through the center of the pom).
Once you've threaded all of your poms onto your garland string, space them out evenly.
Tie a knot in each end of your garland so your poms won't eventually fall off, pesky gravity.
And there you have it!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a bunch of jars of canning goodness I made.

I've linked up here and here.

Fabulous Friday.

* I've been working on a DIY project today that I can't wait to share with you on Monday once I get all of the photos uploaded. It is ridiculously adorable and perfect for a party or home decor.

* My little brother gets here tomorrow. We were going to take him to see a local band but the date of the show is now tonight instead of tomorrow night. I'm a little disappointed about it but it's okay. I'm sure we'll find something fun to do.

* I got to skype with my sister and my niece today. Lana turns 1 next week and she is so close to walking. Her little legs are so cute and wobbly when she's trying to walk. I love her!

* I've been waiting all day to post this because I had something coming in the mail that I am really excited about and wanted to share with you but it's now 5:30 and it's still not here. Grr!! It's said, "out for delivery" since 8:30 this morning. Maybe I'm just being impatient because I'm so excited.

EDIT:

No more than two minutes after posting this I saw a guy on my front porch. I flew off the couch, almost tripped and fell over a laundry basket, made it to the door, shouted, "thank you!" as he was getting back in his truck and proceeded to do my Christmas morning happy dance. I made Jake take pictures, and yes, I am wearing pajamas at 6pm, what of it?

I finally have my very own pressure canner!! Can't you just see the joy all over my face, I mean, I'm hugging the thing, tightly!? I have wanted one for so so long but they're too expensive for me to consider purchasing but as it was gifted to me, I'll take it. I was also able to buy myself a stick blender with some Amazon gift cards I had been saving up for that express purpose. I am one happy girl today. Also, aren't my pajama pants sweet?

Do you have anything fun planned for your weekend?

Giveaway Day!

I've wanted to do a giveaway for a very long time but I wanted it to be good, something that reflected me, and something that I'd actually want to win if it were switched around. I think I've finally got it all figured out. 

ta-da! I'm giving away a half pint of peachsauce (like applesauce but sub peaches) and pickles, and an 8 oz. jar of strawberry rhubarb preserves. You also win the two crocheted dishcloths they're pictured on. I'll very likely add in some other canned goodies that are tbd and I will most definitely be adding in some other crocheted goodies that are useful around the kitchen. In other words, I'll be stuffing that flat rate box like nobody's business. 

How to Enter: 

* Follow my blog (either with google or bloglovin') and leave a comment so I know that you do. 

For Additional Entries:

* Tweet, blog, or post on facebook about this giveaway - leave me a comment with the link to your tweet/blog/fb post. 

* Follow me on twitter. I'm so boring on twitter, I still don't get how it works half the time because I'm a genius; I need people to talk to. @trailergypsy  Of course, leave me a comment here letting me know you followed me. 

Next Friday I'll randomly choose one number that corresponds with a comment and that person will be the winner (not sure if I want to use random.org or put all the numbers in a jar and blindfold Jake and have him pull one out, it sounds more fun to do that. I wonder if I could convince him to let me video it?). 

Be sure that if you don't have your profile setup that you leave your email or a way for me to contact you in case you're the lucky winner. 

Good luck! 

Geek Update.

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My desktop stopped working one day so I haven't played WoW since April. That was fine, I hadn't really played much for most of the previous couple months anyway. After the Cataclysm expansion came out, I played nonstop because I wanted to experience everything but I got burned out and lost interest. Now my interest is slowly returning but I have no computer to play on. I try to sneak some time in on Jake's computer but he's usually on it, doing arena or raiding. I suspended my account because I didn't see the point in paying for something I barely ever got to use. I still wanted to play though so I started a new character on Jake's account. Tonight I asked if I could borrow his computer for an hour to play, and because he's a sweetheart, he agreed. Then he fell asleep on the couch so I got to play for 2.5 hours. Woohoo!

I got to level 13 really quickly because of all of Jake's BoA gear that gives extra experience. I am happy Jake has BoA gear because I have a ton of it on my account but I can't use it since I suspended my account and I would be so frustrated to not have extra xp. I thought it would be annoying to level from the beginning again but they've really changed up some of the zones and leveling is ridiculously easy now. It kind of doesn't seem fair how easy it is to level compared to how it used to be. Also, I made a goblin and the goblin starting zone is so much fun. 

Have you guys seen the trailer for the new Goldeneye 007: Reloaded game? It brings back so many memories of playing N64 with my little brother. 

Tuesday Tidbits.

I'm a little obsessed with this Hank 3 song, Mississippi Mud. The guys usually play it sometime during jam night and I've come to love it. It makes me want to dance around. That's good because I need to clean our house this week since my little brother is coming this weekend and I love to clean to upbeat music. I can't wait to see him. He's going to ride his Harley over here and then leave it at our house and fly out of Boise back to work. Then fly back to Boise on his next days off and ride his Harley down to my sister's house in California. A friend's band is playing this weekend at the local bar so it will be fun to take my brother to see that, they're really good. 

Do you guys like my awesome poor man's bookshelves? Someday I'd like to organize my craft room so I can actually craft in there. Right now it's a giant disaster zone of boxes because I don't have shelves to put anything on. I really don't want to spend money on shelves right now and I never see any at the thrift store. I kind of like my cardboard box shelves though, they do the job well, even if they aren't fancy or pretty. 

I've started making my Christmas list. Not a list of what I want, but a list of what I'm going to give everyone. I make one every year. It helps me to think about what I should make everyone in advance and gives me plenty of time to finish the projects so I'm not rushing on Christmas Eve (which usually happens to me anyway). Have you guys started planning for Christmas yet?

Pinterest Pretties: Horses.

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Growing up I was never that interested in horses, even though I had a couple good friends who were completely obsessed. Now that we live in a rural area, I see horses every time I go anywhere and I've got to say, they sure are pretty creatures. There is one house about a mile out that has a white horse and every time it's out in the pasture I can't help but repeat a little childhood rhyme and make a wish.

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white horse, white horse, lucky lucky me,
white horse, white horse, bring this wish to me...

I had other photos to share with you but for some reason they aren't loading. *sigh* If I can get them to work properly, I'll add them later, they were so beautiful.

Game Day Food: Jalapeno Bacon Poppers.

Do you like my bright green plate? I only use it for preparing or holding meat. 

I love football. I get really pumped up for games, I scream at the t.v., and I get pissed if my team loses. I can't help myself. Since football season officially starts today I figured I'd share a game day recipe. This recipe is not my own, I've seen it all over pinterest, in many different forms, so I'm not even sure who to credit it to. It was however, a huge hit when I made it last weekend for the college games.

Ingredients:

Jalapeños - I have a ton in my garden and people keep giving us more. I needed to use them up.
Cream Cheese
Bacon
Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Ground Mustard, etc.
Toothpicks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the jalapeños in half lengthwise, remove the seeds.
Mix the cream cheese with any extra seasonings you'd like to use. I used garlic powder and mustard because that is what I had on hand.
Fill each jalapeño half with cream cheese mixture.
Wrap bacon around jalapeño and stick a toothpick through it to hold bacon in place. It usually took about half a strip of bacon to reach around the pepper.

Bake at 350 for around 45 minutes or until bacon is fully cooked. Be sure to use a cookie sheet that has sides as there will be lots of bacon grease sizzling in the pan. Save that bacon grease and use it to make dog biscuits.

I just have to add, GO JETS!! J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS!!

Week in Review.

Our friend Zane works for a seed company and they're developing some Italian onions to grow in the area. They're called cipolline, which just means small onions. Onions are the main crop here and I love how the air smells like onions during harvest and processing. As you drive down the highway, there are onions all over the sides of the roads that fell out of the back of trucks. It's like an onion wonderland. Apparently these cipolline are supposed to be hotter than what we're used to and with a high sugar content so they'll caramelize nicely. I want to find an extra special and oniony recipe to try them in.

When we went to California earlier this summer, my Aunties gave me 12 skeins of this ancient yarn. This stuff is vintage and awesome but the skeins aren't very big and I wanted to make something special with it for my Aunties. I think I'm going to make them each a pair of slippers and make sweet little poms for the toes, they'd get a kick out of that. 

Earlier this year when LA of Freckled Nest was celebrating her 5 year blog anniversary she was offering to make free buttons for people, on a first come first serve basis. She had about a zillion responses so I never thought she'd actually get around to making one for me and I was so surprised when I opened my email today to find this lovely button. I love it, it even has crocheted hangers, it's so perfect. Thank you, LA!

Cookie Jars!

kitties love cookies.

I have visions of myself being one of those people who always has a well stocked cookie jar. I really like baking cookies, and Jake really enjoys eating them. Now all I need is a cookie jar to keep them fresh, laying them out on a plate doesn't quite do it.

I've started using this old pickle jar that Jake's mom left at our old house when she moved out. It doesn't have a lid though, or at least not one that I could find before we moved. It has a nice wide mouth for hands and cookies to easily find their way in, and out again. I love the jar but again, no lid.

I've been looking around the internet for cookie jars and most of them are ugly old things that remind me of something you'd find in a grandma's house. Not that there is anything wrong with grandmas, they're generally thought to be sweet old ladies, but since I'm not one, I'd rather skip buying their style of cookie jar.

This gnome is only $25. I can get behind a price like that. He is a little reminiscent of grandma's kitchen but at least he's not a pumpkin or cornucopia. 

I love the colors of this gnome. He looks more modern than the other but his blank eyes are kind of creepy.

I've linked this owl before. He is so super cute and can be found at Anthro. I just can't justify $68 on a cookie jar. 

These containers from Pottery Barn can be written on with a dry erase marker. While they're nice and clean looking, they aren't very interesting. 

This jar is simple but kind of boring, although it is the most frugal at $17.

To be honest, I wanted an R2-D2 cookie jar, I wasn't sure if they even existed but I found out that they do, and they're collectors items that sell for around 1k. Umm yeah, not ever happening. Sad face. 

Why I Can Food.

Corn Relish - recipe here

A few weeks ago I was talking to a farmer who was really concerned about the price of food in America. He was saying that there isn't enough farmland here to feed our own people, and of the farmland there is, a lot of it isn't used to grow food for humans but for animals, or it's used to grow items we export. Now, I don't know about the statistics of what he was saying, but I do see the cost of groceries rising every time I set foot in the store.

I went to the grocery store today and was appalled at the prices of items I know cost only 50% of what they do now, 2 years ago when I was in college. I was broke then, just as I am now, and paid extra attention to prices. Every year more and more families are finding it difficult to make ends meet, food banks are extended beyond their means, and people are going hungry. We won't even go into my feelings on how disgusting I find it that we live in a country of such wealth where the people starve.

People are having to find an alternate source of food and more Americans are planting gardens every year. I think this is awesome. I love my garden and my neighbors' gardens. Not everything I can comes from my own garden. I'm fortunate enough to live in a farming community where I can easily do a craigslist search and find lots of fresh produce for incredibly great prices.

Some of the produce I eat fresh, but the majority of it gets canned and put in the cellar. I do this because it's a great way to preserve food and save money all year long. Sure, canning is time consuming, but it is also really fun and the sense of satisfaction you get when opening a jar of something you made yourself is amazing.

I love knowing that if there ever is a time where I can't afford groceries, or at least as many groceries as we normally get, Jake and I will be okay, we won't starve because in my basement is a room full of things we can eat, including multiple types of jam, corn, pickles, asparagus, green beans, peaches, etc. I also stock up on bulk foods like flour and sugar so at least we'll be able to have bread. I don't want to come off as one of those people who thinks the apocalypse is coming but I do think we should have a stash of food because what I used to be able to get for $100 at the grocery store isn't getting me as much anymore.

I remember when I was growing up my mom had a giant cupboard full of aluminum cans of soup, beans, veggies, etc. I always thought it was kind of overkill but now I find myself doing the same thing, worried about the same things. I like that canning can help alleviate some of the stress I have about the cost of groceries. I like that we're slowly becoming more self-sufficient in our household.

Also, it's so nice to have jars to give as gifts, it saves me a ton of money and people usually love that you're giving them something you made yourself. I hope to be able to get a pressure cooker soon so I can expand my canning to include things that can't be canned in a water bath.

What I Love Wednesday: Color Combinations.

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I'm a little obsessed with orange and the blueish/green color described in these photos as pool or iceburg or whatever other goofy name they want to call it. I've slowly started purchasing yarn in these colors to make a blanket. I always try to use my JoAnns coupons so they'll send me more, and it's a nice way to slowly collect yarn. It seems like less money to buy the yarn over a period of months rather than all at once, even though it's really the same price. 

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I just need to decide if I want the other shades to be grey or pink. 

I'm linked up at lollipops.

Pickled Watermelon Rinds.

Have you guys ever heard of pickled watermelon rinds? I hadn't until I bought Put 'Em Up!. I hadn't thought much about it until I was cutting up a giant watermelon a friend had given us from his garden and I remembered I had read something about pickling watermelon. I dug out my book and sure enough, there was a recipe and it sounded delicious. Since I was already pickling cucumbers I had all of the ingredients I needed and I got right to work. Cutting the skins off the rinds is kind of a giant pain but that's okay because the smell of the brine when it's cooking is one of the best smells ever. It smelled like Autumn in my house, which is perfect considering it's now September.

I can't wait to open these up and try them. Hopefully they're delicious so I can gift a jar to the person who gave us the watermelon. I always get nervous and have to try something before I gift a jar, just in case it tastes weird.

Do you know of anything that can be canned that you thought was strange? I like interesting recipes and ideas. 

Pinterest Pretties: Cabin Fever.

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It's September and even though the sun is shining during the day, the nights are getting colder and I know fall is on its way and I am beyond excited. I love the sunshine and summer fun but I can't wait for hot tea, a little nip in the air, and to be able to get some use of my peacoat collection. The beginning of fall always has me dreaming of curling up in a rocking chair, atop a braided rug in front of a hearth fire, in a rustic log cabin with a book, hot tea, and a head full of dreams. It's in that spirit I'll begin my new series, Pinterest Pretties, with a collection of beautiful log cabins.

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Favorite Blog Reads.

I was tagged by Angie of Lariats and Lavendar for something that required me to list 3 of my favorite blogs and it occurred to me that I've never really made a list of the blogs I love to read. Since I consider some of these people my dear friends, I view this as a serious travesty. So here goes (keep in mind, I love lots of other blogs, these are just the ones that popped into my head):

The Tsartisa Sez
The Upside Down Cupcake
The Citybirds Nest
551 East Furniture Design
Life of Love
Apt 345 (this is my sister who needs to post more often, hint hint)
Curioser
Food in Jars (canning inspiration galore)
Freshly Picked
House Unseen. Life Unscripted.
Of Woods and Words
Small Things
Strumpets & Crumpets
TexaGermaNadian

So if you find yourself looking to add some fresh blood to your blog roll, I urge you to check out a couple of these blogs.

Weekly Wrap Up.

This was a busy week for me. I took a temporary job that I saw on craigslist. It only lasted for 4 or 5 days but my body was aching everyday when I got home. I was helping set up a new retail store in one of the spaces inside Wal-Mart that used to be an arcade. It's for a company that sells sports apparel, like NFL jerseys. If you know me at all, you know how awesome this was. I am a huge football fan and they had installed 2 flat screens that showed the NFL channel all day. It was like heaven.

Today I picked up another half bushel (24 lbs.) of pickling cucumbers. I'll be pickling cucumbers all weekend. Does anybody have any especially good recipes? I did dills last time so I was thinking of doing sweet cucumbers and bread and butters this time.

One of Jake's good friends is coming to visit from Utah. It was a last minute trip, he called to let us know he was coming when he was about 3 hours away so I did some quick picking up. Our living room is slightly disheveled as we pulled the mattress off the guest bed to sleep downstairs where the AC works better. It looks super classy, let me tell you what.

I've been re-reading the Anne of Green Gables series. I'm on book 6 now, sometimes I just want to jump in the book and live in Avonlea, but then I remember how much hard work it was just to eat and keep warm everyday. I'm glad that I can choose to bake my bread but if I don't feel up to the task, I can easily pick up a loaf and my family won't be hungry for the day.

Also, there is a Rock Band party happening in my living room right now and I have cheesy potatoes baking in the oven. Life is good.

Did anything notable happen in your life this week?

Tomatoes!!

You guys, I have tomatoes! Obviously they aren't ripe yet but I'm still super excited. I've always been scared to grow tomatoes. I know back home they are difficult to grow so I never tried until this year and even then I didn't have much hope for them. I only planted two plants, one of which was promptly spray painted by the gas guy who was marking the gas lines. It ended up almost killing the plant and it hasn't produced any fruit, just a lot of blossoms. This plant though I now have high hopes for. I can't wait to eat my first ever homegrown tomatoes!